Seero landed back at the Imperial Palace on her allies’ request. She considered immediately responding to the situation, but there was a problem. If every dungeon was affected and everywhere was under attack, then Seero couldn’t determine an efficient location to start. She had yet to identify the source of the corruption, and still had no data regarding the cult’s location as well, so had no key targets she could eliminate.

As a result, the only possible response at present was to begin terminating or integrating the dungeons. But Seero didn’t have dungeon locations on record save for the ones she had already visited, so her only method if she reacted now would be to begin searching manually. And while locating dungeons in general was not that difficult for her, it would still be less efficient to devote time to the search if her allies already knew the locations of major dungeons in their territory.

Likewise, Seero’s allies were the main party under threat at present. The Primary Home Base and the other dungeons in Seero’s network were not under assault at present, and neither was the Dobhar Home Base, though their border scouts were starting to report increased monster sightings. As such, Seero had no key targets of her own that required an immediate defense. So in this case, Seero would prioritize defending allied forces. But she had only a basic level of understanding of the Empire’s structure, economy, military, and infrastructure, and no data as to the key locations the Empire needed to remain viable.

As such, Seero came to the conclusion that the most efficient response was to coordinate with her allies, who could grant her intel on dungeon locations and the key locations they needed to defend, and so enable Seero to prioritize the most impactful termination or integration missions.

Magister Canus saluted as Seero stepped into the room. Emperor Lucius had ceded command over to him given the situation, so the new half-elf Magister Militum was already attempting to coordinate the defense.

“Your Majesty, glad to see you. So, you mentioned the Realms of Mana? If that’s the case, it seems every dungeon we know of is becoming corrupted.”

“Correction: Analysis of an affected dungeon indicates the dungeons are not fully corrupted. It is possible to remove the intrusion via the application of Holy mana, though it might be necessary to integrate the dungeon into this unit’s network to prevent subsequent intrusions.”

Magister Canus’s eyes widened slightly.

“And you did this for the Imperial Family’s dungeon?”

“Affirmative.”

Emperor Lucius sighed at that.

“A bit of good news, then. I do not want to imagine the situation where we lose every dungeon across the entire Empire.”

Magister Canus nodded.

“Not only that…we know what to do. Do we know where Amulius is?”

“Affirmative.”

Seero opened an entrance to the Primary Home Base right in the room, startling everyone outside of her subordinates. Magister Canus rubbed his chin as Amulius, Agedia, Ateia, and Taog stepped out.

“So that’s how you moved the Dobhar so quickly…Your Majesty, could you share the restrictions on this spell?”

“Response: It is limited to dungeons under this unit’s control or the area around this unit.”

Magister Canus nodded.

“And would you be willing to share this capability with us, and assist us with the dungeons?”

Seero’s eye flickered for a second as she conducted a cost-benefit analysis. But since her allies had remained friendly towards her upon learning of her dungeon nature, she concluded the risks to doing so were acceptable.

“Affirmative.”

Magister Canus nodded, then hummed for a moment. Everyone paused what they were doing to watch him. Soon, he smiled to himself.

“This will work. Magister Peditum Ausonius, draw up a map of fallback positions, and instruct the Legion to evacuate all civilians there. They’ll hold the line until reinforcements arrive.”This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Magister Ausonius saluted and got to work. Magister Canus turned to Seero.

“If we give you a list of dungeons, would you be willing to conquer them, Your Majesty?”

“Affirmative.”

Magister Canus nodded.

“Thank you. Off the top of my head, the Imperial Academy is close by, and we could definitely use the support of the mages there.”

“Acknowledged. Engaging dungeon termination or integration protocols.”

Magister Canus nodded, and then turned to Amulius.

“Could you take Exploratore Amulius with you? I’d like to verify if a hero can purify the dungeon as well.”

“Affirmative. Informative Statement: This unit should also mention that friend Taog also has the hero feat, and friend Ateia is highly capable of generating Holy mana. Many of this unit’s other subordinates are also capable to varying degrees of applying Holy mana.”

Amulius’s jaw dropped and he turned towards Taog.

“Wait, what?”

Meanwhile, Magister Canus’s eyes widened slightly before he smiled.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. That is very helpful to hear.”

With that, Seero turned to leave.

“Acknowledged. Status Report: This unit is commencing dungeon termination or integration mission. Target: Imperial Academy of Magic.”

Magister Arcanum Cnaeus was not having a good day.

He was currently standing on the walls of Academiae Civitatem, the city containing the Imperial Academy. A horde of monsters surrounded the city, pounding on the walls and testing the barriers guarding the skies. The Legion and the mages of the Academy were firing back, the Magister Arcanum included, but the hordes didn’t thin in the slightest. Even now, the Magister Arcanus could see columns of monsters feeding into the horde.

At first, establishing the Imperial Academy in a location surrounded by dungeons was a wise and practical decision. The mages of the Academy needed a hefty supply of magic cores and magical materials, so having easy access to several dungeons was a must. Likewise, it was noted that Rifts were less likely to occur in areas with heavier dungeon concentration, and more likely to occur with heavy magical experimentation, so locating the Academy here improved safety as well.

At least, assuming those dungeons kept to themselves, and did not become corrupted.

And worse still…the loss of the Aesdes had hit the Academy hard, and Magister Cnaeus most of all. He found he could hardly cast any of the spells he had learned since he became the Magister Arcanum. Which was to be expected! Ever since then, Cnaeus had to spend countless hours filling out paperwork, negotiating with witless politicians and clueless legionnaires, managing bickering and arrogant mages, and taking care of the constant stream of young and reckless aspiring mages, all the while keeping track of all the experiments going on to ensure a minimum of explosions and trying to find some time for his own research on top of that! So, he could and SHOULD be forgiven if he relied a bit too much on the Aesdes for the continued development of his magic!

The disappointed looks from Academiae Civitatem’s Legion guards as he failed to cast a strategic spell were entirely unfair! He hadn’t cast such a thing in years, and the Senior Mages of the Academy didn’t get along well enough to practice Ritual Magic with one another! And that Sidonia, the one who should be handling this sort of thing, was nowhere to be seen!

Just then, the wall lit up with several magic circles.

“All right everyone, aim for my beam!”

A young mage, Mage Nonus Callisunus, formed a magic circle. A number of other mages and apprentices did likewise around him. Nonus had only recently graduated from apprentice, but had quickly become a rising star. He had been forced into theoretical studies for years by his condition, so when the Queen of the Dobhar had cured him and enabled him to finally put such things into practice, he had grown dramatically.

Nonus fired a simple Light Beam. The other mages around him did likewise, aiming for his beam instead of the monsters below. Once the beams collided with Nonus’s, they all fused together into a super beam. Nonus directed the beam towards the monsters below, piercing straight through the heart of a giant about to lob a boulder at the walls. The monster fell back, crushing all the monsters behind it before fading.

Nonus had been…quite enthusiastic in studying the reports on the Queen of the Dobhar. As such, he managed to discover an entirely new spell modifier. His new Fusion Light Beam was the talk of the Academy.

And since he had studied the theory for years before he could even attempt to gain the skills, he knew his spells inside and out long before the Aesdes gifted them to him. So he, unlike even many of the Senior Mages, was hardly affected by the disappearance of the Aesdes.

Still, one mage could not overcome an entire horde. Nonus’s spell could allow him and several other weaker mages to contribute beyond their individual ability, but he was no Magister Arcanum. The walls were holding for now, but the situation was growing bleak. Magister Cnaeus himself was drained of mana, as were most of the Senior Mages.

Until…Magister Cnaeus noticed something strange. A string of explosions and shifting patterns of light in the distance, along one of the columns of monsters. Said explosions grew closer, until they hit the horde around the walls. The defenders of the walls blinked, and then turned to Magister Cnaeus.

“As expected of the Magister Arcanum!”

Magister Cnaeus just heaved a sigh.

“Does it look like I’m casting spells right now?”

And then…the sky lit up.

Dozens of strategic magic circles filled the skies. Beams of all colors and attributes rained down on the hordes below.

Nonus looked up and his eyes brightened.

“It’s the Queen of the Dobhar!”

Magister Cnaeus glanced up as the Queen of the Dobhar floated above the city, Multicasting strategic spells across an entire city. He furrowed his brow, and then threw his hands up.

“That’s it! I’m done with this!”