CHAPTER 125: THE REINFORCEMENT HAS BEEN SENT

The masses of Black Living Clouds hovered like sentient storms over Vaingall’s assembly ground, their amorphous forms swirling with aetheric tendrils that absorbed the 201 Divine Constructs—200 Limbo Tiers in precise ranks and the singular Lust Tier at their forefront—into vast spatial storages.

The process was seamless, the Constructs vanishing in ripples of void energy without a sound.

As the clouds ascended, they blurred against the sky, activating invisibility features that rendered them indistinguishable from the clouds above, leaving only a faint distortion visible to the trained eye.

Blanchette, her wide smile unchanging as she munched the last of her fruit, tilted her head with mock curiosity. "So, why aren’t the key players joining the Constructs? You three could turn that bastion into a fortress just by showing up."

She tossed the core aside, her eyes glinting as she glanced between Kivas, Samael, and Oizys.

Karen Wong, adjusting her lab coat with a thoughtful frown, stepped forward before anyone else could respond.

She pushed up her glasses, her braided twintails swaying slightly as she gestured toward the vanishing clouds. "It’s the volatility. The Suiyen Concord’s hit by psychic quakes and Hollow Aequor’s illusions—bombarding minds with fake realities.

Sending our strongest there risks them getting trapped in those loops, helpless against phantom threats. But the Constructs? They’re extensions of Samael, referenced to her Well, not directly synced unless she chooses.

"With her here, far from the influence, they stay grounded. Her stability anchors them—no illusions can fully corrupt if the Hive’s untouched and far away from the battlefield."

Blanchette raised an eyebrow, her smile widening into a grin as she leaned in, arms crossed. "Smart cookie, aren’t you? But still—"

Azulus, jotting notes in her ledger with a quick flick of her quill, spoke up her curiosity with a neutral glance at Oizys. "How does this newcomer grasp all that information? She’s barely been here a week, yet she’s dissecting psychic warfare like she had experienced it."

Oizys chuckled, wiping her hands on a rag as she pocketed a tool, her violet halo flickering with amusement.

She patted Karen’s shoulder, a casual squeeze that made Karen blink in surprise. "Karen’s a genius at processing info—picks it up, interprets it precisely as long as we display it in a way that is not otherworldly to her. In a way, she fits the position of a Field Archivist more than you, no?"

Karen calmly brushed Oizys’ hand aside, "As much as I’m thankful for the praise, I’m in the middle of lecturing Blanchette, who’s supposed to understand this common knowledge despite her rank and position."

"Yeah, she is currently lecturing me, why are you interrupting her?"

"I forgot that you’re barely ever on my side," Samael accepted Karen’s lack of support with an understanding smile of defeat.

Azulus’s mouse ears twitched, her deadpan cracking into a faint smile. "In a way, she’s already a high-ranking Consortium member at this point. Short tenure, but impressive ascent. As expected of someone who manages to sneak into the core of Vaingall from a total different world."

"I’m merely taking my opportunity to its fullest."

Oizys grinned wider, leaning against a nearby pillar with her arms crossed, her black feather wings rustling softly. "Having a normal person in this madhouse? Nothing but beneficial, in my opinion. Cuts through the nonsense we take for granted."

Blanchette, undeterred, popped another fruit into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully before speaking around it. "Coming back to the topic, are those constructs enough against the Hollow Aequor? Endless abyssal horrors who twist reality to their whims—existence versus non-existence, all that philosophical drivel~"

Kivas’s eyes sparkled with mischief as she turned to Blanchette, her smile sharpening into something teasing.

She stepped closer, tilting her head with exaggerated concern, her halo pulsing brighter. "Aw, Blanchette, you sound so eager to help. If you want in on the fight that badly, I can whip up an Unrelenting Vow to send you frontlines. You’d be perfect—an unstoppable slack-proof warrior in no time~!"

Blanchette’s smile froze, her eyes widening fractionally before she swallowed hard, the fruit core dropping from her hand.

She backed up a step, hands raised in mock surrender. "Whoa, no need for that. I’ve got diplomacy meetings lined up—Karasu reps, merchants from those shady factions. Important stuff. Bye now!"

She spun on her heel, her cloak swirling as she vanished into the crowd of Claturians with hurried steps.

What a trickster way to utilize the Claturian’s massive height difference.

Azulus watched her go, her quill pausing mid-note, a worried furrow creasing her brow. "Is letting someone like her handle diplomacy wise? She seems... volatile, not in a good way."

Oizys waved it off, her grin turning sly as she pocketed the rag, leaning in conspiratorially. "The Unrelenting Vow keeps her in line—prevents any intentional sabotage. When forced, she’s shockingly competent. Spews charm instead of chaos."

"Indeed, something that I like about her is that she barks all of that nonsense but she can be pretty honest to a fault at her own action, ensuring that she is efficient and makes not a single mistake in her ongoing endeavor." Kivas’s halo pulsed softly, casting a warm glow across her silver-yellow hair as she turned to Azulus with a conspiratorial smile, her fingers tapping a playful rhythm on the edge of a nearby pillar.

Her voice carried a teasing lilt, but her eyes held a calculated spark. "Speaking of current endeavors, Azulus, how about a front-row seat to the war? No danger, no travel—just pure spectacle. All I ask is a peek at some of those dusty archives in your Library, deal?"

Azulus’s mouse ears flicked upward, her usual deadpan softening as her lips curled into a rare, genuine grin.

She snapped her ledger shut with a decisive thud, her quill tucked behind her ear as she gave a thumbs up. "Deal sealed. All of those intricacies can be dealt with higher up at a later time."

Kivas chuckled, her hand brushing Azulus’s shoulder in a fleeting gesture of camaraderie before she turned to the group—Samael, Oizys, Karen, and a lingering Blanchette. "Let’s go visit Yoiglah.

"It is time to see our Constructs in action."

The group wove through Vaingall’s bustling central hub, passing Claturian merchants haggling over local fruits and Tengu scouts sharpening their scythes.

And temples, lots of temples for absolutely no reason in all directions, up, or even below.

To think that these temples weren’t even used by the Claturians for accommodation. They were mostly all tributed to Kivas as an offering.

So in a way, it did give some benefits, but it was still quite excessive.

They reached Yoiglah’s hallowed sanctuary, a vast plaza where the colossal tortoise deity rested, his crystalline shell refracting the fading sunlight into prismatic arcs.

Yoiglah’s amber eyes gleamed with ancient warmth, his massive head lowering slightly as his voice rumbled like a distant quake, resonating through the stone beneath their feet. "Welcome, bearers of purpose. The threads of my sight are woven."

"Let’s attune to our little soldiers, shall we?"

With a subtle nod from Kivas, Yoiglah raised a claw, and the air shimmered as divine holographic screens unfurled like petals of light, each a window into the Constructs’ perspectives.

The screens hovered, their edges flickering with divine essence, casting soft glows across the group’s faces.

Karen, her lab coat slightly askew from her hurried pace, stepped forward, her gray eyes wide behind her glasses, her voice tinged with awe and confusion. "How does this work? These Constructs are Samael’s extensions, not Yoiglah’s. And Kivas... farsight isn’t in her divine portfolio—plus, the distance to Suiyen Concord is insane. What’s powering this?"

In her time for the last few days in Vaingall, Karen had been a black hole of curiosity, absorbing every information and intricacies that was showcased in front of her.

Even without proper skill and attributes, it was quite baffling how she managed to adapt this fast. In a way, this urged Kivas and others to just lead Karen toward a more critical and valuable understanding and information of Vaingall, including Kivas’ nature as a deity.

She hadn’t been informed of the timeline reset, however.

Samael smirked, leaning casually against a low wall, her draconic horns catching the screens’ ethereal light.

She flicked her wrist, gesturing toward the holograms with a flourish, her red-black hair swaying as she tilted her head. "Kivas blessed every Construct before they left—with a much more subtlety. Her divine essence sticks like a stubborn stain, in a way, distance be damned. Yoiglah being her living shrine could just tap into that blessing for the miracle."

Oizys snorted, her violet halo flickering as she folded her arms, her black feather wings twitching with amusement. "You really don’t like the glowing glyphs, huh."

"It makes covert operations harder, I dislike them."

The screens revealed the Black Living Cloud’s interior—a boundless white expanse where the 200 Limbo Tier Constructs and the Lust Tier moved with surprising liveliness. Some clustered in tight circles, pulling game boards from their shared spatial storage, their pale-flame eyes glinting as they tossed dice with calculated precision, their airy laughter echoing like wind chimes.

Others had conjured a glowing orb, forming teams for a gravity-defying soccer match—leaping in elegant arcs, passing with synchronized kicks, their movements a blend of discipline and play.

The Lust Tier, towering over its kin, joined a game, its crimson-black hair swaying as it juggled the orb with a teasing flourish, as its radiant voice calling out mock taunts to its teammates.

Azulus’s quill paused mid-scratch, her eyes narrowing as she studied the screens, "They’re... almost human. I thought Constructs were just puppets—extensions without souls. This individuality’s... unexpected." Her voice held a mix of curiosity and unease, her ledger forgotten in her lap.

Samael exchanged a quick glance with Kivas, her smirk tightening as she shrugged, her tone deliberately vague. "Looks can trick you. They’re... more than they seem, but less than you think." She flicked her hair, dodging further questions with practiced ease.

Sometimes, Samael made sure that the Divine Constructs were to act like they were their own individuals to the Karasu Associations and not a simple Samael’s puppet extension as they initially deemed.

While it was no lie that the Divine Constructs did possess their own automated mind and sense of personality, it was a much better impression to showcase others in case that they could try anything sketchy with the Divine Constructs, even on the future.

Before long, the screens flickered, the scene shifting to the Constructs materializing in Suiyen Concord’s inner field, a barren expanse encircled by the second concentric wall of Eulanite alloy and gray stones, its wards glowing faintly under the alien sky.

The Lust Tier stepped forward, its Valkyrie-like helmet tilting as it addressed the gathered defenders, its voice rich and conversational, laced with a flirtatious warmth that carried charisma.

"The New Vaingall Consortium sends its strength. We’re here to hold the line."

Morgina, his skull mask casting sharp shadows across his cloak, stood atop a low platform, his presence commanding despite the weariness in his stance.

He raised a gloved hand, his voice steady but heavy with warning, cutting through the murmurs of his subjects—soldiers, diviners, and hired Void Hunters clutching Curio Items.

"The Consortium’s aid is a lifeline—thank you." Moringa’s tone then became serious, cutting right into the business. "In less than two hours, a psychic quake will strike, and with it, the Hollow Aequor’s illusions. They’ll weave realities so vivid you’ll question your own existence. Some of you—" he gestured to the Constructs, unaware of their true nature, "—our Vaingall allies, will be dragged into these false worlds.

"Treat every threat as real. Because death in their illusions might end you for good, fake or not. Despair blurs the line, and the depths feast on it."

The Lust Tier tilted its head, its blindfolded visor gleaming as it replied, its tone calm but edged with defiance. "Understood. We’ll fight as if every blade’s real—illusion or not, the Hollow Aequor won’t break us."

Morgina nodded, his mask hiding any flicker of emotion.