Chapter 291: Elder Core

A few days after our victory, we came to the conclusion that we truly didn't have time to waste.

Difar may have been wounded, but he still escaped. He would likely stay in the Abyss until he had recovered enough to attack us again.

Or...there was an alternative.

At least now there was....

Valtheim, the Avatar of the Void, had gone berserk. There was no telling what she would do in that state.

If he wanted to, Difar could easily allow Valtheim to consume all of creation while staying safe in the Abyss.

We had to act.

We had already given a full report to Johann and he promised to contact the Artificer for us soon. That was days ago and now we'd been called to give our report.

Although, I didn't trust the Artificer. But still...I hoped he would be useful for now.

Currently the three of us, Isabella, Cassandra, and myself, were about to speak with the Artificer.

We approached the machine that would contact him and it roared to life. His image appeared before us in the form of a hologram.

When he saw me, he seemed somewhat surprised.

"Ah...so you really are alive? You look somewhat different..." The Artificer said.

"I'll take that as a compliment. But I'm not here for small talk," I said.

"Hmm...the Oracle informed me that your mission was a partial success. He did not give me details and told me to prepare to speak with you. What happened? Were you able to save Tanavol?"

The twins stood silently and looked at me.

I'd already planned for this. 

"No. Tanavol was completely destroyed. We obtained the Eye of Creation and made an ally out of the Avatar of Peace. But we were attacked by Difar before anything else could be accomplished," I lied.

Truthfully...every single Avatar Eye was recovered in one way or another. To top it all off, we obtained the power of the Elder Core. A power that I planned to use very soon.

"Ugh...of course. Why would I except any different from you? You turned tail and ran at the first real sign of danger and murdered billions again, didn't you?" The Artificer said angrily.

I simply raised an eyebrow.

"My actions are a means to an end and the result of the previous Oracle's meddling. I thought you understood that. I-"

"DAMN YOUR ACTIONS!!! You have continuously abused my good will and understanding for your own personal gain! Why should I continue to tolerate you? Give me one good reason!"

"IF YOU WOULD LET ME FINISH, I CAN TELL YOU!!!" 

"Very well...I'm listening."

"We stood our ground and managed to push Difar back. He was wounded, but I still lack enough power to completely destroy him. In the process, however, something else happened..."

"Go on..."

"Using the Eye of Creation, Stella fought on even terms with Valtheim. Difar attempted to have her funnel the Void into the Central Realm of Tanavol and thus revealed Valtheim's true form. She was wounded in the battle and it caused her to go berserk," I explained.

"Berserk? How? I thought she lacked emotion?"

"She does lack emotion. But she began acting erratically. She sent Difar away and chased us all the way back here. We barely escaped."

"I see...that is perfectly in line with my new reports..." The Artificer said.

"What do you mean?" Isabella said.

"Simple. Many of my outside sources have reported worlds disappearing en mass as of late. It seems like the Void Avatar has decided to go on a rampage. In fact, I thought it was strange...she left a message with one of my scouts. As if she now exhibits intelligence beyond mindlessly following orders," The Artificer said.

"A message...?" I said.

"Yes. She said, 'I will he waiting for you in the place where you first defeated my Master. Until then, I will devour every world in sight.' How does that sound to you?"

"Delvandal..." I said.

That was the place where I first defeated one of Difar's fragments. 

Suddenly, I began to wonder about Vakra's safety...

I quickly pushed the thought from my mind, however. He could take care of himself.

"Yes...Delvandal. That was also the place where we detected the presence of the Void. Or rather...the lack of anything at all."

"Then it's settled. We'll have to get stronger and then we'll move to defeat her," I said.

The Artificer looked furious at my words. 

"GET STRONGER!? ARE YOU INSANE? HOW MANY MORE MUST DIE FOR YOU TO FINALLY HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO END THIS!?!?"

I wasn't sure what he meant. I simply planned to use the Elder Core instead of destroying more worlds.

In fact, destroying more worlds at this point would be incredibly time consuming for only a little bit of power.

But before I could inform him...

"Very well! I've decided. I will employ my own special task force to aid you in the upcoming battles. They will help you get 'stronger' and together you will destroy Valtheim forever."

"Special task force...? You mean...the Hero Party?" I asked.

The Artificer seemed surprised at my words.

"How on Dominus did you know about-"

"Let's just say that I spent some time in captivity with the Avatar of Destruction. She told me lots of things. Like how you sent those people to kill them because you thought they were a threat."

"It makes no difference. Yes, I have a personal combat force for handling existential threats to creation. So what? It changes nothing."

"If you have something like that, why am I even here?" I asked.

"It's simple. They were not potent enough to accomplish your goal. Now then, you should prepare to meet up with them. I'll be sending the Hero Party to Excelsis within the next couple of days. In the meantime, I expect you to be ready for battle with Valtheim. Hop to it."

The communication was terminated and the twins looked at me uneasily.

"Darling...I don't trust him," Cassandra said.

"I felt like he was analyzing us..." Isabella said.

"It's fine. We'll handle it. First things first, we need to use the Elder Core," I said.

Ever since leaving Tanavol, our powers had begun to decrease at a slow rate.

Well...

Everyone's except mine, of course. The Elder Core was still in my inventory and therefore close enough for me to still gain benefits. If anything, I felt supercharged as a result of its proximity.

But I wasn't in the habit of hoarding something like that all for myself. Not when only an eighth of its power was useful to me in the first place, anyway.

The three of us made our way to the Cursebreaker and I sent out a request for the Avatars to gather in the engine room.

Stella was the first to arrive. Shortly after, Nirani, Aldaril, Sato, and Mikoto did as well.

At this point, I knew I would need to assign a new Avatar of Life...

After some thinking, I decided to choose one of Stella's subordinates. Mikoto, the Shadow Dryad.

It seemed fitting, since one of her Aspects was The Dryad. It would enhance her already-potent abilities.

First...I had to implant the Eye. 

Or rather in this case, I had Stella do it. I helped with removing her heart device and Isabella shielded her to prevent the latent energies from causing any damage to the ship's engine. Also to prevent her from suffering.

Once it was finished, she recovered quickly thanks to Isabella. Still, she remained sitting on the floor as she caught her breath.

"Now that Mikoto has taken her place as the Avatar of life-"

"Ugh..." Aldaril grumbled.

"She's an ally, Aldaril. Calm down. Now then...as I was saying. Since that has been taken care of, we can focus on using the Elder Core to give everyone a permanent increase in their abilities."

"Can Mikoto handle that? I mean she literally just be me an Avatar five minutes ago," Aldaril said.

"No worries! I should be fine..." Mikoto said with a weary smile.

"I'm not too sure..." Aldaril said.

"How about I make it so that her power releases slowly instead of all at once? Just to make it easier for her to handle," I said.

"You can do that?" Aldaril said as he raised an eyebrow.

"You dare question his Majesty? Have you not seen him in action numerous times? Seriously, Aldaril?" Cassandra said.

"Listen, Cassandra, I don't doubt his abilities. I'm just not sure if it's possible to modify the Elder Core of all things..." Aldaril said.

"Isn't that the same thing...?" Cassandra said as she crossed her arms with a bored look.

"It's alright, Cassandra. I would rather demonstrate instead of explain. That would be easier," I said.

"Of course, darling!"

"Now then..." I began.

I pulled the Elder Core from my inventory and held it in the middle of our group. Isabella shielded us immediately. 

I started by dissecting the energies radiating off of the Core. There were eight different magics swirling around it. The magic threads were all severely tangled up in a chaotic mass.

Additionally, even if the Core was sentient on its own, it was in a deep sleep.

I would need to 'kill' it and divide the fragments between us to permanently unlock the full power of our Avatar Eyes.

And so, I summoned Vengeance to my hand and changed it into a spear. I stabbed it through the center of the Core and it caused the magic to violently explode outward.

Vengeance, being a Deus Arma, had the unique ability to slay incredibly powerful entities permanently. 

It could kill immortal creatures that normally wouldn't die from simple means. 

This was likely part of the reason that it was given to me. Because Difar fell into that category...even if I still had to overcome his absurd power to actually end his life...

Regardless, the core exploded into eight fragments and I began using magic to untangle the threads. This was a quick process. 

And as soon as the pieces became untangled, I connected their threads with the Eyes they were tied to. It allowed the fragments to funnel themselves quickly and painlessly into their hosts.

When I got to Mikoto, I did the same, except that I placed a lock on it. Her powers would take a month to fully materialize.

When everyone else's had finished, I did it to myself. It was an odd feeling. Like having my eye dialated and shining a light into it. It made me a bit dizzy, but the transition was simple.

Finally...it was done.

The Elder Core was no more. And all eight Avatars would be permanently at full power.

Actually, I felt slightly stronger than before as well.

"See? His Majesty is a genius!" Cassandra said proudly.

"Yeah yeah...I've heard it all before. If we're done, can I go now?" Aldaril said.

"Of course. All of you are dismissed. Return to your duties while I discuss things with the vice-captains," I said.

"I will be around if you need me, your Majesty," Stella said with a bow.

Everyone left the engine room except myself and the twins.