The dungeon master led Seero’s monsters to his core room. The Sacred Otterkin stepped forward as the monster with the deepest connection to Holy mana, and laid his paws on the core. He gently began to channel Holy mana through the core, trying to remove the corruption without damaging the core itself…

As Seero approached the second dungeon, she watched the Sacred Otterkin attempt to purify the core, and focused her attention there. With the assistance of his cybernetic components, the Sacred Otterkin managed to isolate and target the corruption, and terminated it with the core still intact. That part of the operation was a success.

But there was a problem. Corrupted mana continue to slip into the core. The Sacred Otterkin could eliminate it temporarily but it appeared he could not cut it off from its source. It would not suffice as a permanent solution.

Seero sent a message through the CELIU network.

“Command: Please remain in contact with the core, and continue purification protocols.”

The Sacred Otterkin’s response came in immediately.

“Yes, My Queen!”

With that, Seero went to work. The immediate solution was for her to subordinate the dungeon, and the dungeon master had already offered to surrender. But in all cases prior, Seero had to be physically present to accept the surrender. And after the corruption of the Aesdes’ system, Seero had to be in direct physical contact to interface with the dungeon core.

But she knew from previous experiences that physical contact was not a strict necessity. With the Aesdes’ System, she didn’t need anything beyond verbal confirmation. She wasn’t even sure physical proximity was necessary either, she had not tested a remote subjugation prior to the corruption of the Aesdes’ System but the Empire's records of inter-dungeon combat seemed to imply it was possible.

And Seero could already interact with the world through the CELIU network via the exchange of data. Likewise, she was connected to all of her subordinates via mana due to their Contracts, so she was already exchanging mana with them remotely. Finally, Ateia had already demonstrated an ability to interact with the world remotely via Divination and Blessing. So Seero had proof of concept, and found it reasonable to assume it was possible to do so via the CELIU network.

Whether it would be practical and efficient was another matter. But Seero had much stronger processors now, and data directly from Shialnor on the system as a whole. So this would be a much easier task then learning Spatial Magic from one shoddy, failed magic circle!

So Seero got to work analyzing the data, comparing it to the CELIU network’s observations, and determining if there was a viable solution. And it turned out there was. Ateia was already shaping other people’s mana remotely, so Seero could use that as a guide to shape the Sacred Otterkin’s mana. Seero had her own method of establishing a connection between her core and a subjugated dungeon core. Likewise, the Sacred Otterkin was already connected to Seero as a subordinate…and due to his innate connection to Holy mana had formed a connection with the Primary Home Base, similar to Ateia.

So Seero, with the Sacred Otterkin’s permission, took control of his mana and used it to establish a connection between the dungeon core and the Primary Home Base.

And…she managed to succeed.

Her mana began to flow through the new subordinate core, reorienting its main connection from the Aesdes’ System to the Primary Home Base. The flow of corrupted mana slowed to a trickle, and a shield of Holy mana formed around the core to prevent any further intrusions.

And with that, two of the three dungeons had been dealt with. Seero thus turned her attention to the final dungeon…

Amulius’s team had picked up the pace, and were approaching the end of the dungeon. After Ateia had partially restored the boons of the Aesdes, Amulius had reorganized the teams. Ateia now fought with the Legion contingent, utilizing Blessings to dramatically improve their effectiveness. With her support, they could not only hold the line with ease, but were able to actively push forward. And since Amulius and Agedia hadn’t even needed to fight before, they were able to pick up the slack on the other team, which was thus not hampered by giving up Ateia.

As a result, the group was able to rotate without stopping the advance.

Amulius was staring blankly as he watched Holy-empowered Legion troops cut down monsters with ease, and Imperial mages cast spells he had never seen before.

“That…would have been really useful a while ago…”Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Taog frowned.

“Yeah…but Ateia only got those powers because of…what happened.”

Amulius’s face fell at that but he shook his head. There would be a time for sorrow and regret, but a dungeon conquest wasn’t it. Even if it was the easiest, smoothest, and least costly dungeon conquest Amulius had ever experienced.

It had been a long and painful process for Amulius to level his Trap Detection skill, and even then he was never confident he could find them all. And traps aside, he never found a consistent method of finding a floor exit besides methodical exploration and extremely thorough map-making. And now Taog was telling him that special armor of theirs could automatically detect traps AND had an extremely accurate means to identify the fastest path through the dungeon? That they could build an accurate mental map of a floor’s layout from the entrance in mere moments?

…sometimes life wasn’t fair. He was glad it was his kids who got those powers, but couldn't help but be a bit jealous.

But, well, that armor also required being Contracted to a demon lord, so Amulius supposed they paid for what they received. All in all, he'd have MUCH preferred if they had never gone through the events that led to their strength.

In any case, Amulius turned his thoughts to something more productive. He focused on the fight. Then he frowned, and rubbed his chin. Agedia raised an eyebrow.

“You notice something?”

Amulius shook his head.

“Not regarding this fight. But…something feels off to me.”

Agedia narrowed her eyes.

“What is it?”

Amulius hummed.

“This…is too easy. And not just because Ateia and Taog can do things I never imagined. This dungeon…it’s acting like it’s corrupted in terms of indiscriminate monster attacks, but by the amount and diverse types of monsters, it doesn’t seem corrupted at all.”

Agedia nodded.

“Shiny girl said as much.”

Amulius nodded too.

“Right. But then…what’s the goal here? The Legion has held the line even against corrupted dungeons. Normal dungeon hordes, even if every dungeon across the Empire is affected, are just not as dangerous. They have less monsters overall, they don’t replenish as fast, and, most of all, they don’t grow overtime on their own. If the Legion fends off the initial assault, it can handle the situation.”

Agedia frowned and crossed her arms.

“Small comfort to those caught in the way.”

Amulius shook his head.

“True, there’s going to be a great deal of chaos and devastation across the Empire, not to mention the world at large, but still, the Empire can survive it if it acts carefully and is willing to cut some losses. From what that demon…”

Taog crossed his arms and Amulius cleared his throat.

“...Seero claimed, the Heralds of the New Dawn struck at the Aesdes themselves to bring about this situation. So a mere blow against the Empire, even a heavy one, doesn’t seem like enough to represent the extent of their plans. I would expect something that the Empire couldn’t survive at all, at the very least.”

Agedia narrowed her eyes.

“So you think there’s something more going on here?”

Amulius sighed.

“Right. No idea what, though. But…I think we need to keep an eye out.”

In the end, the group conquered the dungeon without issue. Amulius attempted to purify the dungeon, but only did so temporarily and nearly damaged the core in the process. Seero, predicting that connection to the dungeon via Ateia would be even easier than with the Sacred Otterkin, attempted the process through Estrith instead, who had no particular connection to Holy mana. It was quite difficult, but they managed to pull it off. She then gathered her monster subordinates, and met the allied force at the entrance to their dungeon.

Seero grabbed those who couldn’t fly with barriers, and then they all flew back to Academiae Civitatem. On the way back, Uscfrea filled her in on the latest developments. It appeared the Southern Court’s representative had arrived…

Emperor Lucius sat upon his throne, looking at the representative from the Council of the Southern Realms.

“I understand the situation is critical, but that does not mean I will simply release a hostile force.”

The representative gaped at him.

“Your Majesty, I must protest! High-King Xavlaeron’s force was by no means hostile towards you or the Northern Court, and we cannot protect the Realms without the Sky Legion! I understand you have good relations with the Queen of the Dobhar, but would you really sacrifice all of the Southern Realms over the High-King’s spat with a foreign power?”

Emperor Lucius scoffed.

“I beg to differ. The High-King usurped my control, took command of my Legions, declared martial law without my approval, locked me in my palace, and told me he was going to execute my daughter-in-law. You may beg to differ but as far as I’m concerned, you have acted very hostile towards me and my Court.”

And then Emperor Lucius smirked.

“And to put it plainly…yes. Even if none of that were true, I would prioritize the Queen of the Dobhar. In the time it took you to arrive, she has already cleared the area around Academiae Civitatem on my behalf. She has been a far greater ally to me than any of the Southern Realms, and especially in the circumstances we now find ourselves.”

The representative paled, and his face fell. He dropped his head.

“...what must we do to convince you?”

Emperor Lucius nodded sagely.

“That is simple. Unconditional surrender.”

The representative looked up and balked.

“What?”

Emperor Lucius shrugged.

“Or, a direct and unrestricted affirmation of each of the Southern Realm’s loyalty to Corvanus and its Emperor, with a request for the Emperor to negotiate peace between the Southern Realms and the Queen of the Dobhar and a commitment to abide by any terms the Emperor and the Queen of the Dobhar agree upon, if that is more palatable.”

The representative started to tremble.

“Such a thing…”

Emperor Lucius waved his hand.

“Oh, I’m aware that most of the Southern Realms, especially Mirima, have maintained nominal independence with the Empire up to this point, and that you cannot agree to this on their behalf.”

Then he grinned at the representative.

“But those are the terms I offer. The Sky Legion and the remains of High-King Xavlaeron’s fleet will not be released with anything less. So I suggest you contact the Council of the Southern Realms sooner rather than later.”

Emperor Lucius rose to leave the room, leaving the representative staring despondently at the floor. But as Emperor Lucius approached the exit, he turned to glance back.

“You and the Council should also consider this: the Queen of the Dobhar protects her own. So, consider what options might arise if the South should surrender…”

And with that, he left the room.