It was dark and damp in the basement when they emerged from the fracture in the primary world of Moon Shall Swallow. The underground space was much too small to allow them all to step through so Eik led the first people out up the stairs and into a forlorn and moldy tool shed.

Scouts hugged the walls and checked each of the windows, just to make sure that, against all odds, cultists hadn't decided to move back in during the period since Vendekaabe had fled to Earth. Cautiously, they moved out into the open through a front door that creaked painfully on rusted hinges.

Flickers of small animals scuttling away at the sight of the group that continued to grow in number were the only signs of life in the area. Vendekaabe blinked against the sun as he stepped out of the ramshackle shed. He was by far the weakest of any of the Awakened there.

It was clear that being back so close to the cult that he had only just fled from had rattled him quite thoroughly. For a guy who was from the same organization as Oru the Devouring Maw and Gih the Madman and all the other crazies Eik had encountered, this guy sure was frail. But then again, with a personality and nature which could likely be considered rare within Moon Shall Swallow, that might well be why the oracle chose him to confide in. His hands shook as he adjusted his cult uniform robe.

"When was this place abandoned anyway?" Eik asked as Gul stepped into the sun and took up a position next to him. "It's a total dump."

"Longer than I would be able to remember if I knew, probably," Vendekaabe said, kicking a length of splintered wood down a small mound. "That's probably why the oracle picked this place to set up the fracture."

"Why not just in the middle of the forest?" Eik asked.

Vendekaabe shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose it's because it's easier to establish tracking concealment in a small, underground room with walls in every direction."

"Huh. Good point."

"I think that's everyone," Andihar announced and stepped outside as the last person. He clapped for attention and raised his voice a little, although there was no need to when speaking to a band of high-rankers. "Let's make sure we're ready to take off immediately when the scouts report back on the situation, alright?"

"What are we doing anyway?" a woman in heavy armor piped up. "I think it's about time you told us, wouldn't you say?"

"You're right," Eik said. "We've been keeping it quiet for secrecy but I guess we've made it this far now. Also, I'm not sure how secret it even ended up being, but better safe than sorry, eh?" he added, the band chuckling. "If you hadn't already figured it out by looking at our guest here named Vendekaabe, this is the primary world of the cult known as Moon Shall Swallow and we're a few hours from the capital known as Luna."

"And we're…"

"Launching an attack on them."

"With just us?" the large shieldman with the swirling tattoos asked him, looking at him as if he was an idiot. "Are you actually insane? Do you have any idea how much firepower they have there? Hint. A lot."

"I do know. As a matter of fact I spent quite a few weeks there a couple of years back."

"That was true?" he asked with raised eyebrows. "I thought that was a bunch of bullshit."

"You've heard about it?" Eik asked.

"Yeah, of course. When I was contacted about this I checked up on you. Everybody probably did," the shieldman said. Everybody else nodded in the affirmative.

"Huh," Eik huffed. "Well, that makes it a bit easier. Anyway, we aren't here to exterminate all of them, obviously. Nearly all of you will be in charge of a distraction maneuver while a smaller team carries out a different mission. I swear you are not expected to hang around in the fray until they gather enough of a response to completely overwhelm you."

"And the escape?" someone asked.

Not just one but two fracture specialists had come along and Eik pointed to them. "Our very nice portal mages here will prepare and have ready two fractures, both of which they will be ready to collapse the moment everybody's through." They nodded.

"And the smaller team, what are they going to do?"

"I will share that with them specifically once we split up. No need to risk getting objectives mixed up. Oh, and speaking of distractions, could I please get you all to come closer real quick? Now, don't panic, please."

In an instant, Eik's body burst into blue fog that rushed into each of their nostrils. Barriers cracked into existence as the high-rankers scattered. Being in hostile territory, they acted in near silence.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"What in the world are you doing?" Andihar snapped.

"Relax, everyone," Eik said. "I'm just teaching my blue friend here what all of your systems are like."

"What our systems are like?" a woman questioned as she landed, electric energy crackling up her arms, accidentally searing the leaves and twigs of a nearby bush. She seemed incredibly tempted to kick an electrified boot right up his ass in that moment. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"My ability is quite deadly, and I don't want any of you to get hurt by it during the distraction later, since I won't be there to personally control it."

"Your ability is going to be there but you're not?" someone else asked as the high-rankers gathered again, many of them looking a bit grumpy. Maybe he would have done well to warn them before he spread a well-known toxic substance among them.

"Yeah, I'm going to leave a full-sized Apocalypse Canvas in the sky above. I think it will be a big help to keep them occupied."

"That ridiculous thing you pulled off in your match against Gilim Ougi?"

"Pretty much, yeah. And if it knows what your systems are like, it won't attack any of you."

"Damn."

Six A-ranked scouts touched down and jogged over. "We've checked it out."

"Alright, report."

***

They were huddled up outside the edge of the boundary of Luna's perimeter. Everyone with any type of concealment ability had shrouded the team in cloaking effects. Eik had picked out three people to come with him, one of them being a stealth specialist.

The other two were an assassination-style combatant wielding twin blades who was an expert in dispatching victims before they even knew their lives were being taken, as well as a hybrid healer and control specialist not unlike the direction Michael had been going before he decided to focus entirely on medicine.

A skilled tailor in Gimleh had already prepared perfect replicas of the cult robes for them using Vendekaabe's genuine uniform in order to get it perfect. Eik pulled them out and handed them out to his three team members. They put them on.

"This feels strange," the healer controller hybrid muttered.

"You'll get used to it soon enough, mate," Eik mumbled under his breath.

Andihar spoke quietly but loudly enough to be heard. "All right, in two minutes, we will be sending a contingency of various summons east. Hopefully that will divide their focus for at least a little while and reinforce the image of our primary distraction maneuver as a legitimate attack."

"I will throw up an Apocalypse Canvas and cause as much mayhem as possible. Anyone with large scale destructive capabilities, don't hold back. The larger a force we can mimic, the more cautious the cultists will hopefully be. If it buys us even a single extra minute, it is worth it," Eik said.

All of the high-rankers nodded along. This was not the first rodeo for any of them and the looks in their eyes revealed as much.

"Summons, now!" Clan Leader Ougi ordered as countless dark, shadow-like silhouettes climbed out of the ground around him while Eik let loose thousands of Living Manifestations which coalesced into more than four hundred mid-sized beasts with slender, draconian features on feline physiques.

All manner of creatures made their appearance, from shapeless forms of water and earth to ghostly apparitions as well as apparent perfect copies of one of the Awakened. Thousands of them now charged eastward.

"Let's capitalize on their charge!" Andihar announced, drawing his own massive blade. "Keep the concealment up until the last moment! And begin launching ranged attacks at my signal!"

They began running together in absolute silence, at a steady pace like marathon runners, as the great walls of Luna loomed ahead.

"Fire!" Andihar's sharp orders sounded. With rhythmic timing, hundreds of multicolored bolts, blasts, and surges sailed ahead toward the wall. Some flew straight like laser beams while others were lobbed in great arcs like projectiles thrown by a trebuchet.

They had specifically chosen to attack a wall instead of one of the several gates along the city perimeter. This specific point was the closest they could get to the Arch Temple, as Vendekaabe had informed them it was named, where he had also agreed that it was most likely that she was being held.

Even if the upper leadership of Moon Shall Swallow believed her to have committed great transgressions against the cult and had usurped her throne as a result, there would still be a deep reverence for her position as oracle. They wouldn't dare exile her from the Arch Temple. Vendekaabe was sure of it, even if he didn't know where in that huge temple she would be. Not to mention how much easier her betrayal would be to keep secret if they just kept her inside.

With how tight of a grip Moon Shall Swallow had on its cultists, they would probably have an exceptional ability to reason their way out of events that contradicted their beliefs. But something as world-shaking as the oracle that dictated the dogma and direction of the cult literally changing her mind completely would surely plunge the lot of them into existential distress. Gih the Madman's reaction after Eik told him of it was enough to prove that.

As soon as the many projectiles came close enough for the defensive structures to detect them, an automatic counter strike was commenced while the guards inside would be alerted. Unfortunately, that was not quite enough to intercept everything that was thrown at them. Especially Andihar and Clan Leader Gul managed to penetrate and take out the magical launchers one by one.

Eik launched seven compact spheres of Pesticide that rained down upon a shield of energy surrounding the city. But they had expected that.

He then conjured a single droplet of Profound Toxin at the tip of his finger. Using the skill called Concentration—one which he had neglected since his had first Awakened as an F-ranker years ago, but which had been offered again out of the blue—he refined the droplet.

It was a relatively slow process, taking a couple of seconds, and therefore not really appropriate for use in the fray of a close-quarter, high-rank fight where the blink of an eye could spell death. He launched the droplet into the sky above where in disappeared among the clouds. A second later, a sheet of brilliant blue burst forth from the vanishing point.

The night was instantly illuminated, cast in deep turquoise.

First to emerge from the Apocalypse Canvas this time was the titanic blade, and instead of hanging silently in the air, it plummeted abruptly toward the wall, even as two more, slightly smaller versions made their appearance from the blue veil.

Where the barrier was being pelted with ranged attacks, a weak point was gradually opened. One that needed to be exploited.

Eik watched the colossal rod of crystal approach the atrophy of the city barrier as he ran. The exhilaration of the imminent blood shed pumped energy through his veins like nothing else. "Crush them!" he howled at full lung.

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