Silas turned back to the magic circle and observed the incomplete patterns carved into the ground below. "You need to kill him, Aaron. We're too close to our goal to allow complications."
Aaron's posture straightened. "How much time do I have?" he asked.
"Three weeks are needed for the Mana Siphoning circle to be completed. Perhaps less if the final materials arrive on schedule."
Silas gestured at the ores and bones surrounding the circle. "These came from the portals and can't be found around these parts. They're essential to the circle's function."
He walked along the circle's edge. "Once completed, this circle will drain all mana within a 200 kilometer radius. Everything. The air, the ground, the monsters, and even System-bound survivors caught in the effect will be drained of their mana. All of it will flow here, and that will then be fueled into those standing in the center."
He paused.
"They will absorb that power." Silas's expression held something close to hunger. "We've calculated the effect. A single activation lasting twelve hours would elevate anyone in the circle's core by 150 levels. More if we sacrifice high-level monsters within the siphoning field, and less based on how many people will be inside."
"Our gamble in the valley paid off."
"Precisely. Level 250 monsters provide far more mana than level 60 survivors, but of course, the result had been a lucky outcome. We were still in the creation stages for our magic circle. If things worked as intended now, there would not be more portals now." Silas knelt beside the circle again, his hands resuming their work.
"If the test here succeeds, we'll replicate this design across multiple locations. Every Church cell will have access to unlimited power. Our forces will grow exponentially. Do you understand how important this is?"
He paused.
"The Progenitor grows impatient." Silas's voice took on a reverent tone. "He demands a perfected version of the circle for his own use. If we provide that, his ascension will be complete. He'll surpass every constraint the System ever imposed and will extend his mantle of protection over everyone. Humanity will be saved."
Aaron bowed his head. "Glory to the Progenitor."
"Glory to the Progenitor," Silas echoed.
"Miller threatens everything. The Spriggans are manageable on their own, but with him leading them, they become an annoying obstacle."
"I'll handle it." Aaron said. "I'll keep the Spriggans contained while eliminating Miller. Venn's forces can pressure their territory and force them to divide their attention. When Miller moves to respond, I'll be waiting."
"How will you deal with his summons? You said yourself, they nearly tore your barrier."
"I won't fight them directly next time." Aaron paused.
Silas nodded. "Don't underestimate him. I made that mistake in Havenwood, and he escaped."
"I won't."
"Good." Silas returned to his work, mana flowing once more from his fingertips. "You have Three weeks, Aaron. Eliminate Miller before then. Contain the Spriggans. Do not disappoint the Progenitor."
"I won't, Archdeacon." Aaron bowed again, deeper this time. "The Church provides."
"The Church provides," Silas repeated without looking up.
Aaron turned and left the chamber. His footsteps echoed up the stairwell as he ascended back into the building above.
Behind him, clinging to shadows and watching through their compound eyes, the Vorathid Foragers saw and listened to everything. Every word. Every detail.
Reidar saw it all. He had been watching through the Vorathid Foragers as Aaron ascended the stairwell. Every word of the conversation between Aaron and Silas was replayed in his mind.
The pieces fell into place.
The Church hadn't opened the portals just to create chaos; apparently it was just pure and dumb luck, but one that not only created the chaos to make the Aegis Phalanx focus on something else, the monsters, rather than them, but also one that gave enough monsters from which to siphon mana.
Their goal had been all along to create the magic circle that Silas was currently perfecting, one that would increase the amount of mana in an area so much that whoever was standing in it would get stronger at an unprecedented rate if the system wasn't there to filter the mana.
A Mana Siphoning circle. Just the thought made Reidar tremble.
Three weeks. That was all the time they had before the circle became operational.
<If they complete it, they'll drain everything within 200 kilometers. The monsters. The survivors. Even the air itself. And Judas—does that bastard know what he's signing up for? Is he still working with them, knowing they'll drain him dry along with everyone else?>
The implications poured through his thoughts. 150 levels from a single activation. The Church's champions would skyrocket in strength. Aaron would become unstoppable. Silas would get equally strong. And if they replicated the design across multiple places, the entire Church would not need an army anymore; they wouldn't need an infrastructure because they would be the infrastructure.
But that wasn't the worst part.
The Progenitor wanted a perfected version for himself. If Silas achieved his goal in creating that, the world's most dangerous creature would gain unlimited access to power. He'd ascend beyond anything the System had ever measured.
<They're exploiting their nature as mutated humans,> Reidar realized. <They're human monsters now. They can absorb mana like any other creature, from the environment, from kills, from anything with mana in it. The circle just speeds up the process.>
It was brilliant. Terrifying, but brilliant. Monsters naturally absorbed ambient mana to grow stronger.
The System prevented bound humans from doing the same to ensure safe growth and no mutations. But Aaron and Silas had shed those restrictions.
The magic circle was their cheat code. A way to condense years of natural growth into hours.
Reidar pulled his consciousness back from the Foragers. His hands clenched around his wand. The ruins around him came back into focus: the shattered buildings, the darkening sky, and his summons standing protectively in formation.
Three weeks wasn't enough time to stop them through conventional means. He couldn't assault their base directly. Aaron would defend it, and so would Silas and the War Hounds.
But he had to do something.
The Spriggans needed to know. Seraphine needed to know. Helga, Aldric, and every faction leader who'd just arrived in Creamont needed to understand what the situation was and act accordingly.
This wasn't just a territorial dispute with the War Hounds. The circle represented a threat to every survivor, every faction, and every living thing within 200 kilometers. If the Church completed it and replicated the design across multiple locations, its champions would ascend beyond anything the System had ever measured. No one would have the power to stop them. Not in Creamont, not in the world.
Reidar dismissed his current summons except for a flock of ravens. The massive birds descended, landing beside him. He climbed onto one of them.
The raven ascended westward, carrying him toward the Spriggan base. Below, the Vorathid Foragers remained in position, monitoring the Church's hidden facility.
Reidar had Three weeks to devise a plan and act.