The first layer of Praetor armor gave me a smooth black gauntlet and then a plate up to the shoulder that had a rounded pauldron. As the layers were twisted on, the armor became more like thick snakes wrapping around my arms.
After it was done, there was a jet stream of Dark Magic pouring out of the back of my shoulder. Dark Magic was crushing my arm right now, and it was on the verge of breaking it. This was another sign that I needed to get stronger, but a message popped up as I gritted my teeth.
[Dark Magic Resistance increased 0%->3%]
The pressure eased by a fraction, but I needed to release this before I lost too much energy and had to do another layer. I don't think that I could handle more than five, but this could even do damage to an Elder Riftwalker. The problem there was getting near one with magic, which was all but impossible, even using Accelerate.
"First test! Dark Fist of the Praetors!" I thundered and blasted towards the ground.
A moment before impact, I felt a portal being open somewhere about a mile away, but they would be out of this range.
The impact of my fist with the Summoning Circle was like hitting a brick wall, but the shadow armor spun off my fist in dual twisters of darkness. They drilled into the circle, but even with the intense amount of magic that I poured out, there was absolutely no effect or reaction. I had expected this, but I was hoping there might be something.
The portal that was opened had closed, but there was no one in the area. That would mean it was probably one of the other nosey Goddesses, possibly Goldy. Claire couldn't do that, and I hardly believed that Tallia was going to come and see me or spy.
A small part of me wanted to make a sour comment about this, but I held back. I was going about this in a different way now. Getting upset about something was not going to change cold, hard facts. That was just the bottom line of things.
[That was very flashy, but like you said, it doesn't look like anything is going to work.] Xieus said, and I nodded.
"Yeah, so let's go take a look at the wall. I am hoping that Listenia has already got some people to start a supply train. If that is the case, I can start prepping the cannons. The big Riftwalker might spawn several minions, but I can take care of them, mostly. If they get by, the girls are going to need ways to deal with them," I said as I burst up into the air again, flying towards the wall.
[That thing makes babies?! What else can it do?!] Xieus asked in a strained voice.
"Let's see… Madness screams, erasing touch, spawns minions, uses Blood and Entropic Magic, breathes a red beam that disintegrates anything it touches worse than the touch, and it can change its form to be more effective in battle!" I said in one breath, gasping in the air after.
[....]
"That is the proper answer. These things aren't fair, they use every dirty trick in the book, and they only want to consume and destroy. There is literally no way to bargain with them. They survive off the Negative Energy they create by being giant assholes. They are an invasive species that no one can control but their Queen, Nermoria, because they are all a singular Hivemind, and she is all of them," I explained.
[....You know, there was a point where I wondered why I was created to be one of the worst and most despised races. Then I met you. I actually think I am quite delightful compared to these things!] Xieus declared, and I laughed out loud.
"Beautiful, you are a ray of radiant sunshine compared to these creatures. They are the literal incarnate of the word monster. Nothing can compare to their vileness," I said as I got close to the wall.
There were two piles, but I spotted some girls carrying pails of metal bits and shaving. I swooped down and landed a little ways away from them. The moment I landed, the two girls came running over to me. I wasn't sure what they wanted, but they both stopped before me and then bowed.
"Thank you for helping our friends!" Both girls said at the same time.
"No problem. Just remember to check on them when you have a chance. I might have helped them through the hard part, but there will still be small bits of Negative Energy in them," I explained, and both girls nodded but looked confused.
"How do we help them? I heard that you were telling jokes, and I am not really that funny," The brown-haired girl said.
"Steph is right; she is a bit of a stick in the mud!" The dirty blonde laughed.
"Hey! At least I can sing! You sound like you are beating a cat in a back alley, Tina!" Steph snapped, stabbing her finger at the other guard.
"Girls, if you can sing well, tell jokes, or even just hug them, that is great. The biggest thing is to do things that give off positive vibes. That is what Positive Energy is," I explained.
"But, that is just stuff to make people smile. You talk like this is real energy like magic," Steph said, looking at me skeptically.
"What do you feel when someone makes you smile? Can't you feel a warmth inside of you? There are scientific explanations on how it is caused by chemicals, but they need words and actions to activate them. Does that remind you of something? Magic works in the same way. We collect Positive Energy, and the more we have, the more effective it is when we use it," I explained, and both girls nodded.
"You know, I never really thought about it like that. I can't use magic, but thinking of the Positive Energy like makes me feel like I can!" Steph exclaimed, and I nodded with a smile.
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