The number of Shields had increased quite a bit within the last few years.
Since the Maw was no longer an issue, Aegis didn't need to suppress their number of Shields anymore.
Their own advancement of the Consumption had happened centuries ago, and Aegis now also had over a thousand Protectors.
A couple of them had been Peak Protectors, and as soon as the Maw had died, they had advanced.
Now, Aegis had over 20 Shields.
Humanity had essentially won.
No wild Specter, except for the Eternals, could possibly thrive with so many powerful Extractors around.
Specters were no longer a horrible menace that haunted all cities.
Now, Specters were valuable resources.
One of the new Shields, a young woman by the name of Mathilda, traveled from the Southern Continent to the Desolate Continent.
The Desolate Continent still had its name, but the name no longer fit.
Over a million humans were already living in several cities on the Desolate Continent.
Nature had also returned somewhat.
While the number of animals was still low, plants were starting to spread across the entire continent.
As Mathilda flew over the ocean to get to her new post, she didn't notice that she wasn't alone anymore.
'I don't have the luxury of morals anymore,' Nick thought as he watched Mathilda. 'I only have a couple of centuries left, and I need to become an Eternal before the era resets.'
'As soon as the era resets, I won't have any way to become an Eternal since there will be no strong Extractors.'
'I'm sorry, but this is for humanity.'
'As a Shield, you swore to give your life to humanity anyway.'
Nick didn't feel good about what he was about to do, but beggars couldn't be choosers.
He needed the suffering.
It was already risky to infiltrate the alien base as a mere Eternal, but it gave him a chance, at least.
Mathilda casually flew across the ocean.
BANG!
Suddenly, something hit her Barrier, and it collapsed in a single moment.
She couldn't even react before darkness swallowed her.
Her mind was in chaos as it ran out of Zephyx.
At the same time, Nick's ability deactivated.
The Champion could see the entire planet, and while he couldn't perceive Nick when he wanted to stay hidden, Nick couldn't keep such a strong attack secret.
The Champion's perception immediately locked onto Nick, and while he didn't recognize the appearance of the Specter, he knew that it had to be the Trickster.
BOOM!
The Champion charged out of Aegis' headquarters at full speed.
As Nick saw the Champion's speed, he had to take a deep breath.
This guy was traveling at almost 10,000 kilometers per second!
He would be here in less than two seconds!
The Champion was even more powerful than Nick had anticipated.
However, Nick had been prepared for that.
He grabbed the Shield, who was covered in a cloud of darkness, and pulled her into the ocean.
The next moment, several gigantic beams of light appeared above the ocean and fired right at Nick.
Nick hid himself behind the body, and the beams missed him.
When the charging Champion saw that, his eyes narrowed, and he gritted his teeth.
Then, more beams appeared in the air, which directly shot at Nick and the body.
Nick vanished for just a moment, and his ability reactivated.
By now, the Champion had reached Nick's range of perception.
Next, Nick used the majority of his Zephyx to create a momentary illusion for the Champion.
It looked like Nick was charging downward with the body when, in reality, he was creating a portal.
More beams of light appeared, and they all missed Nick.
The illusion vanished, and the Champion saw the closing portal.
Nevertheless, he arrived on top of the ocean and unleashed a devastating slash.
BOOOOM!
Tens of kilometers of ground and ocean were turned into nothingness, causing a humongous earthquake that caused several tsunamis across the world.
Yet, the Champion only looked downward with narrowed eyes.
Right now, his perception was trying to find Nick across the world.
But he couldn't.
The Champion waited for several seconds, but he just couldn't find Nick.
And sadly, he also couldn't find Mathilda.
BANG!
The Champion charged away again.
Some seconds later, Nick reappeared in the humongous hole the Champion had created.
He flew to a big stone and pressed on it.
This was a Containment Unit for Eternals.
When Nick saw the cracks in the Containment Unit, he had to take a deep breath.
The Champion didn't directly target the Containment Unit, but it still took immense damage.
This Containment Unit was made of the most advanced materials Nick could create, and it could stay hidden in someone's perception, just like the underground city.
If the Champion hadn't seen the portal close, he might have believed that Nick was still there and would have searched in the crater for him.
Most likely, he would have found the hidden Containment Unit.
Nick pulled Mathilda out of the Containment Unit and pocketed it.
Then, he pulled Mathilda down into the dark underground.
Deep underground, Nick used his control over the Nightmare's influence to cause a state of delirium in Mathilda's mind.
After that, Nick removed Mathilda's skull cap to access her brain.
His Zephyx entered her brain, using his memory manipulation ability.
With Nick's incredible knowledge of anatomy, he could quickly find the right neurons to manipulate.
For a couple of minutes, Nick rearranged Mathilda's neurons, essentially changing her memories.
After changing her memories, Nick pulled her to the Containment Unit the other two Shields had been in several decades ago.
Mathilda woke up and looked at Nick.
"Did I lose consciousness?" she asked.
"Yes, but that's normal," Nick said.
"Sorry, it won't happen again," she said.
"It's fine," Nick said.
"I'm ready to continue working, Master." Mathilda said with conviction.
"Good," Nick said. "But we can't continue yet. I need to get one of your disciple brothers."
"Oh, of course! I will wait, Master," Mathilda said with a smile.
Nick nodded and vanished from the Containment Unit.
One Shield wasn't enough.
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