Chapter 466: Voiddivers
The towering spires that had appeared throughout the Bloodfang Empire finally revealed their true purpose. They blurred—no, fractured—the boundary between the material world and the void, carving open pathways between the two realms. Through that membrane, things could now slip across, pass through, and sink from the physical world into the fathomless dark.
"Are they... fleeing? They're trying to enter the void? Have they lost their minds? No, wait. Our current theories suggest that no intelligent lifeforms can survive in the void, yes, but this is the Utopia we're dealing with. With their advanced knowledge of the void, it isn't impossible. No. Absolutely not. We must stop them!"
The magicians of central command observed the true state of the Bloodfang Empire as the siege engine smashed through the last layer of concealment. Their thoughts spun. The Utopia's intent was obvious, but why—and how!—they were doing this remained beyond their comprehension.
But one thing was clear: whatever the Utopia sought to accomplish, the Alliance had to oppose. They had to prevent the Utopia from completing anything it wished to achieve.
"Wizards, delay their descent as much as possible! Attacks from the material world still affect them, but once they enter the void, nothing from our side will be able to touch them!"
Orders shot through the command chain. As the commander briefly entertained the question of why the Utopia would attempt something so crazy, a dreadful possibility took shape. If the Utopia did possess the means to survive and operate within the void, allowing them to sink completely would be catastrophic. They had to be stopped before they crossed that threshold.
"Requesting immediate support from Skyborne City! Proceed to the battlefield at once and execute a full annihilation-grade bombardment on the Bloodfang Empire! The Utopia must be stopped!"
The commanders issued the request without hesitation.
"Received. The main city is moving. Estimated arrival at firing range for magitech annihilation in five minutes."
Skyborne City's reply came swift and crisp.
"Damn it... I don't know if that'll be soon enough."
The commander's brows tightened as he stared at the tactical projection. At the current rate at which the city was sinking, it would vanish beneath the void's surface within five minutes.
Skyborne City, once the most terrifying engines of war of the olden days, still possessed unmatchable firepower. If anything, its technological refinement had made its destructive potential even greater.
But Skyborne City's modern purpose was academic; its armaments largely existed largely to counter continent-level disasters and safeguard its independence.
Unless its scholars were evacuated and the city shifted to wartime protocols, it would not directly participate in battle. As a result, even their battlefield support—the equivalent of a nuclear strike—would take time. No matter how fast their preparations were, it might be too late to stop the Utopia.
"What a colossal entity... Can we restrain it at all...?"
The mobilizing wizards communed with the void, attempting to use what void manipulation they possessed to slow the Utopia's descent. Their mental energy soon brushed against a vast presence—the "congregated will" dwelling within that sinking nation.
Its size exceeded all expectations. Very few wizards had ever sensed anything comparable; only those who had once come into contact with the evil gods of the void felt an eerie familiarity. Yet between the two, who commanded more of the void's power... none could say. That uncertainty alone was terrifying.
None of them knew if they could arrest the Utopia's descent, but they had to try. Their mindscapes reached into the void, drawing void energy through their affinity and packing it beneath the sinking kingdom—filling the void with a force opposed to the Utopia and thereby resisting their descent.
"So... strong...!"
Teeth clenched, the wizards endured a crushing pressure that weighed directly on their souls. Even with every wizard in the Alliance acting together, the void energy they channeled was being forcefully seized and overwhelmed by the descending monolith.
At that moment, the siege engine, now fitted with a newly replaced warhead, fired again. A massive torrent of energy tore through the heavens, vaporizing everything in its path before slamming into the sinking kingdom and unleashing another cataclysmic shockwave.
The entirety of the Bloodfang Empire shuddered violently. As the blast's light faded, however, it was clear that the attack had been ineffective. The land was untouched. The spires had emitted a concentrated surge of void energy, warping reality itself and nullifying the siege engine's bombardment outright.
"No, it's working! Do it again! They have to divert power to defend against us even as they descend. We can dramatically slow their progress!"
As the towers drained their void reserves to counter the material bombardment, the wizards felt the oppressive resistance ease. Earlier, opposing the Bloodfang Empire's descent had been like wrestling a wild boar. Now, however, their job was far easier. Every volley of spells from the alliance forced the Utopia to burn more void power on defense, giving the wizards precious leverage.
Void energy surged from the wizards, filling the depths beneath the sinking kingdom. Spellcasters launched wave after wave of bombardment, compelling their enemy to defend and exposing gaps the wizards could exploit.
The coordinated assault finally showed results. The Utopia's descent slowed dramatically, almost to a halt. If the Alliance could just hold out until Skyborne City arrived, the Utopia could be crushed in one decisive blow.
"Wait..."
Gilbert's gaze fixed on the kingdom sinking into the void. The sight clawed at an old memory, one that was disturbingly familiar.
During the war between Aleisterre and Selwyn, when the God of Terror descended... Selwyn's people had plunged into the void as well. They didn't do so alongside their city, but the act itself—rupturing the boundary between the void and the material world—was the same.
"What... exactly are you?"
Muttering to himself, Gilbert finally recalled it—the people of Selwyn had mentioned something eerily similar to the Utopia. As he watched events unfold, he realized that the shadow of that organization was surfacing everywhere.
"Wait, if that's true... Be careful!"
The realization struck him like a bolt. If the nature of these two phenomena were even partially alike, then what had happened in the capital of Aleisterre might well repeat itself here on this battlefield: mental contamination.
As though to confirm Gilbert's fear, the wizards struggling to halt the Utopia's descent suddenly sensed a surge of will, a vast, complex, violent consciousness, welling up from the sinking domain. It followed the channels of their mental energy back to its source and crashed upon them like a tidal wave.
Just like the wizards of the first investigation team, their mental wards proved wholly useless. The overwhelming will ignored every defense and poured straight into their minds.
A chorus of strangled groans rose as their eyes glazed over, their focus slipping away. An apparition unfurled above their bodies, a shimmering phantom that took form in the material plane, like a god's incarnation manifesting during a divine descent.
"What is that? A divine projection?!"
The soldiers, not the wizards, were the ones who had cried out. Confusion rippled through the ranks; few yet understood what had happened. But with the wizards incapacitated, the descent of the Utopia immediately accelerated.
And the wizards themselves weren't doing well. Their souls and wills were being eroded by that alien consciousness. They were like tiny skiffs tossed in a storm, which could be overturned at any moment.
If the mental assault hadn't swept across all the wizards at once, several would already have been lost. Even so, they could not endure much longer. Their souls waned. Their awareness blurred...
Just as the first wizard collapsed, a radiant brilliance swept outward. Upon touching their bodies, it flowed inward, gentle yet resolute, embracing their wounded souls and shielding them.
"Ah! Why didn't the mental wards do anything?!"
A wizard shuddered back to awareness, face drained of all color, gasping weakly. His voice trembled with confusion and relief.
"Divine light...?"
Gilbert halted for a heartbeat. Scattered among the coalition forces, the few paladins and clergy of the Church of Light were praying desperately, calling upon their god to protect the afflicted. And, as always, the God of Light responded.
Holy light caressed the injured wizards, severing their link to the sinking kingdom and slowly mending their ravaged spirits.
Meanwhile, in the Church of Nightfall's ranks, a gentle darkness had risen up the moment the corrupting will touched their minds. The Tree of the Night's automatic warding activated, dispersing the invasive force. Their wizards—perhaps the only ones wholly unharmed—stood firm.
With divine intervention stabilizing the chaos, the phantom vanished from above the wizards' heads. Yet despite the efforts of the Church of Nightfall's wizards and other spellcasters, the Utopia's descent continued far too quickly. Without the incapacitated wizards, they could no longer hold it up.
"It's too late."
The commander's voice carried bitter resignation. The descent could no longer be stopped. Had the war begun earlier, the outcome might have been different. But there were no ifs on the battlefield. They had failed this time around.
Under the Alliance's watchful eyes, the Bloodfang Empire sank fully beneath the surface of the material world. No one could perceive the Utopia's stronghold anymore—it had completely slipped into the Void. The wizards could still sense it, but only barely, as it continued to sink into the depths of the void, drifting farther from the boundary between worlds.
A minute later, Skyborne City arrived within firing distance. But it no longer mattered.
"...We're in trouble."
A wizard of central command staff pressed a hand to his head. His voice trembled with anxiety and dread. Their failure to stop the Utopia from entering the void would unleash consequences far beyond anything they had imagined.
