Serum

"A portal, huh? I knew your Emperor wasn't as stupid as he made himself seem."

Pandora chuckled, her captivating voice lowering the guards of those around her. Her words were anything but soothing though, making some clench their teeth in anger. 

But they held it in. 

The City Lord had explained his simple plan. Turns out, he was given the materials and personnel necessary to build a teleporter that could connect them to any other teleporter in the Horizon Empire. It was a pretty massive portal, and it wasn't that much of a secret at this point considering most of the city had been reduced to ruin. There was only so much secrecy one could maintain in such a situation. 

But considering Pandora was the Princess of the Dark Kingdom, this was information better kept under wraps. Unfortunately, circumstances compelled the City Lord to tell her. 

He planned on finishing the portal that had been under continuous construction for the past few weeks. It was actually almost done, and upon finishing, they would be able to receive reinforcements. The City Lord also had an artifact that allowed him long distance communication with certain people in the Capital, and he had been promised reinforcements should he get the portal operational. Pandora had a similar artifact. Turns out, while not widespread, these artifacts were popular among the nobility, and for good reason. 

With this information, Pandora had a much better picture of what the City Lord had been aiming for, and how they needed to adapt. 

Now, this was a battle of attrition. They needed to hold out long enough for the portal to finish. The City Lord estimated another week, at most, before it was done. However, this amount of time didn't solve their dilemma with the monster generals. 

"If we wait too long, the monster generals will finish their civil war, and they'll become too powerful for us to handle. If we kill them now, the armies will disperse and we'll be subject to a large siege. Either way, we risk decimation..."

Pandora rubbed her chin and pondered, as did the others. 

She was only silent for several seconds though before shrugging. 

"Very well. There's only one option, then. We need to kill the generals."

"What? How could we do that? You just said we'll be sieged if we kill them!"

Another officer spoke up, surprised by her unhesitant decision. She glanced back at him, her gaze not derisive but dismissive. 

"It's the only option because it's the one we can control. Who knows how powerful those monster generals can become? And how can we be sure they'll actually kill each other until only one remains? They might just stop when two of them remain and then attack together. Regardless, sitting and waiting can only bring more uncertainty. But if we kill the generals, we can predict the reaction of the monsters. We can prepare accordingly for a siege, and then trigger it, rather than wait and test our luck."

Pandora explained simply. For a while, nobody said anything. 

The officers present obviously knew the threat the monster generals posed. They had severely wounded a Rank 7, and killed several Tier 6's. If they were allowed to grow unchecked, they could slaughter the remaining high tier power of the city. The rest of the soldiers would be chickens on the chopping block, just waiting to die. There would be no hope. 

On the other hand, defending against an invasion, especially one they could plan for, gave them greater chances. It might come at the cost of many soldiers, but they were beyond the point of worrying about losses. They weren't just backed into a corner, but surrounded with nowhere to escape. It was do or die. 

The only reason they didn't immediately agree with the plan was because it came from Pandora's haughty mouth. 

Not even the City Lord wanted to immediately agree. But when he thought more and more, he realized that Pandora wasn't as stupid as he wished, and it really was their only plan of action. 

Why did this princess have to be smart? The City Lord rubbed his eyes, glancing deadpan at Pandora's blank face. 

"...I'm not opposed to this plan."

"Good. I'd be concerned otherwise."

She smiled, twirling her hair with a finger. 

"Now, all you need to do is begin preparations. Start setting up barricades, laying traps, and preparing your soldiers. You have... two days before the invasion."

"Why two days?"

"Because on the second night, those generals are dying, whether you're ready or not."

"..."

The City Lord frowned. It was almost as if Pandora were threatening him with her words, not trying to help them. 

Sensing the hostility, Pandora just rolled her eyes. 

"It's a deadline, City Lord. Deadlines can be a valuable tool, instilling a sense of urgency that promotes efficiency and hard work. And since I'm the one placing down this deadline, I hope you work with your people quickly. Use your time wisely, because as soon as I send this man out, the siege shall commence. Though, you don't have to worry too much. Everything will occur at opportune times. Anyway!"

She suddenly clapped, spinning on her heel and turning her back on the officers. 

"My partner and I are hungry, so excuse us. Dirk?"

"Mm."

Dirk hummed as followed, not having uttered a word during the entire meeting. He was indeed very hungry, strips of meat only doing so much to stave off his rumbling stomach. 

At that moment though, an officer violently shook his head, as if he had been in a cloudy daze the entire time. He gritted his teeth at Pandora's exiting figure. 

"Wait, wait! Why are we just letting this arrogant princess order us around?! Since when does she hold any authority here?!"

"...I could just leave."

Pandora spoke softly, coming to a stop in the doorway. 

"You know, I didn't come here completely willingly. It was Dirk here who made me feel guilty enough to help. And I've done nothing but give my opinion and assistance. But... if you don't want it, then we can just leave."

She glanced back, her glowing red eyes boring into the officer. 

At her words, even the City Lord felt a certain amount of... dread. It was as if they needed her here to survive. They didn't want her to leave, despite her arrogance and commanding attitude. The threat of her abandoning them seemed to be worse than that of the monster hordes outside. 

None of them could understand this feeling. It pulled on their minds for a while until Pandora stepped away. When she finally disappeared, the officers let out long breaths. 

"She's powerful..."

The City Lord mumbled. Since she had done nothing to fight the monsters unlike Dirk, he had assumed she was weaker than him, especially after that display Dirk put on with the unruly captain. 

But her ability to pressure not out of sheer power, but out of psychological suppression, indicated a different kind of depth. She was definitely no pushover, possibly being one of the most powerful within the city. 

If only their greatest hadn't died early on. The City Lord lamented the cruel battles that had first reduced the city to ruin. Even he, a Rank 7, had been cut down to nothing more than a strong cripple. Anyone who could compare to him had died after the initial outbreak. It was worse than a war, with indiscriminate bloodshed and savage brutality...

"Begin preparations. You know the plan. Start relaying orders tonight."

With one final order, the City Lord retired, the day taking its toll on him. The officers rushed off, having recovered from their meeting with the vampire princess. 

............

"Good. So they took my advice."

Pandora meandered across the walls, dressed in a casual and reserved set of clothes that looked suspiciously close to sweats and a t-shirt. Her deep purple hair was also tied into a ponytail, and it swayed with the breezes of wind that occasionally graced her form. 

Dirk was beside her, and they both scanned the surroundings for different reasons. 

Pandora watched as both civilians and soldiers alike rushed to set up barricades under the command of their captains. Mages were putting in the most work, conjuring barriers of rock and stone which were armed with long spikes and pitfalls. Even water mages were conjuring vast gullies with the help of earth mages, establishing more than just solid barriers that could break down. 

They started at the walls, reinforcing any damaged sections as they had done for weeks and then adding some extra defense. Then, they established fallback barriers at three different points within the city, each one closer to the center than the last. 

Pandora was just happy that the City Lord didn't disregard her, and that the captains were willingly putting in their effort to organize this defense. 

On the other hand, Dirk was watching both inside and outside the walls. Occasionally he glanced to the hordes in the distance, their figures barely visible in his mana vision. They were a few miles away, and they only usually attacked in the afternoon. It was lucky that they had something of a schedule. Otherwise, this city would have been overrun should they just attack whenever they wished. 

This predictable nature was in fact due to the generals, and as Pandora stated, was also the reason this city was still standing. They couldn't handle an all out assault. 

At least, not yet they couldn't. 

Small groups of soldiers occasionally ran past Dirk and Pandora, almost always glancing at the princess as they passed. Perhaps it was her odd clothing, or perhaps it was her beauty that shone through even such a casual wardrobe. She was an eye-catcher no matter where she went. 

As for Dirk, he was barely noticeable beside her who pulled eyes like a magnet. Still, those who glanced at him shot him looks of nothing but respect. Dirk had clearly showcased his uncanny ability to handle hordes of savage beasts and come out unscathed. Inhuman reflexes, near-omniscient awareness, and ruthless attacks. He was the perfect killing machine on the battlefield. 

On top of that, rumor was circulating around that he was the son of Marquess Strider, a renowned name in all military circles. Dirk didn't know exactly what prestige his family name held because he was rather sheltered for most of his life. But they did. 

These two partners drifted around the compound for almost the entire morning. Pandora would take time in intervals to observe the generals beyond the walls, getting a read on their patterns and behavior. 

Dirk didn't bother with that since he couldn't see that far anyway. Instead, he analyzed the entire city. Spyte was on his shoulder as well, scanning everything and creating a virtual map that could be overlayed in Dirk's vision for heightened awareness. After all, recording the layout of the battlefield was a vital function of AI interfaces for supersoldiers. 

When noon finally came though, the sun shining at its highest and brightest point, the monster generals made their move. As if deciding on a ceasefire, a large wave of monsters rushed the city walls. 

The west wall had it the worst, and likewise had the most troops stationed there. Dirk also perched atop the edge of those walls, watching, waiting as those hordes charged like a stampede. 

He didn't plan on jumping down yet. The enemy had way too much momentum. He'd wait until it was broken. 

The ground shook, pebbles on the walls rattling against the stone floor as the paws of monsters raged against the terrain. Dirk could sense the mana of all the mages around him swirl to life, his mana vision flaring with all elements and colors. 

In a way, mana vision could be just as vibrant as regular vision. He was beginning to see that, the longer he gazed through the lenses of this magical world. 

*BANG*

The walls shook as the horde slammed against the stone. An entire section of the wall was directly demolished as hundreds of bodies slammed against the defenses. While the frontmost monsters were trapped in trenches, and those behind were impaled by spikes, there were so many that they simply kept moving forward. 

Sheer strength. The horde was like a battering ram. It almost seemed like nothing could stop it as an entire portion of the wall tumbled and reduced to boulders. 

But it did. With that section, the horde came to a stop. They clustered on top of each other outside the walls. Every inch of space was a target. 

So the mages, withholding nothing, launched the largest scale spells they could. 

"Fire!"

A captain roared, his voice shaking everyone's ears. All fire mages stepped up with his command, and spells washed over the ground below them. 

Screams could be heard as every monster was roasted alive, the smell of burning hair and flesh wafting upward with the smoke. For a while, the front of the wall blazed, the magical fire spreading from monster to monster, their bodies fueling the raging blaze. 

Then, it gradually died out. 

The captain roared once more. 

"Earth!"

Another command, and massive spikes appeared in the air. They formed heavy bodies and sharp tips, before being dropped. 

*SCREEECH!*

Even more monsters screamed as they were impaled to the floor. Hundreds of spikes riddled the battlefield, and it seemed like those mindless armies had been bested with strategy. 

But then, Dirk could sense the birds. Aerial beasts came swooping over, threatening to snatch soldiers like little rats and drop them to their doom. 

The captain saw this, and roared with a bit more urgency. 

"Water mages! Bring them down!"

With that command, Dirk felt the humidity of the atmosphere rise, becoming swampy. 

All around him, both small blobs of water, water blades, and rivers of water were conjured. They formed a sea of water in the sky. 

He was quite stunned by the organized display. 

And then, it all came down. 

The rivers of water crashed into all the enemies below, slamming them to the floor along with all that liquid weight. The spheres and blades of water targeted everything else in the sky, precisely shooting down those aerial enemies. 

Only the blades of water did damage to those aerial monsters. As for the spheres, they merely knocked them out of the sky. But that was enough. 

The earth mages, still hard at work, targeted all these aerial beasts with spikes that nailed them to the floor. And with a blessing of fire, they were reduced to ash. 

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

Pandora clapped with a wide smile, catching the attention of the captain for a mere moment. 

"Good coordination, obvious experience. They've done this several times before. Unfortunately, this kind of tactic can't be sustained. It's good for breaking momentum, but not long term battle. Over the next few hours, the mages will dwindle, forcing the body refiners to step up and risk themselves in direct battle. The mages also become susceptible to attack, and perhaps one or two get picked off as they retreat... Over the course of many days, citizens and armies get devastated, only getting worse with each passing battle and death. Still, this is about the best they could do."

Her words seemed to envision the gradual downfall of this city, as the nearby soldiers grimaced in anguish. 

Suddenly, Dirk smacked her shoulder, causing her to recoil. 

"Hey! What was that for?"

"You're smart, so shut up and quit breaking their spirits with the obvious past. Unless you're trying to get your plan to fail."

"...Hmph. Fine. 

She huffed after glancing at him for a moment, crossing her arms. 

At least Dirk's reprimanding seemed to help their fallen spirits lift a bit more, because the nearby soldiers decided to shake their heads and continue fighting. 

After so long, so many days of desperate battle that only left their city in ruins, each of these soldiers was on the verge of breaking down. 

Even rookies were now veterans hardened through an apocalyptic situation. This was no better than a war, nearly all the citizens in this prosperous place ravaged and eaten by mindless monsters. Hell, it could be said that it was worse than a war, since at least people had a conscience. Civilians wouldn't be massacred without reason. 

But monsters... they didn't care. They even ate each other, let alone innocent people. 

To watch this city degrade under constant attacks, watching their comrades and people be savagely cut apart and eaten alive, would break the minds of any soldier. The only reason these people kept fighting was because the only other option was death. 

Dirk knew all this. He knew war. Just because he had been hardened to it didn't mean he didn't understand. So he decided to keep Pandora in check, she who either didn't know or didn't care about what war did to people. 

But that wasn't all he would do. 

This was a war. 

And supersoldiers could turn wars on their heads. 

He turned and walked to the captain who roared out orders. They were a bit more tame than before, accommodating the limited mana reserves of his mages. 

Dirk took a spot by his side, waiting for a gap in his yelling before speaking. 

"Captain. Cool it at the base of the wall. I'm going down."

"..."

The captain turned back, giving Dirk a hesitant look before sighing. 

"Very well. Good luck, Strider."

"Don't worry about me. Just focus on everything else."

With those words, Dirk approached the edge of the wall. 

As he stepped up, Obsidius was called through their bond. That little black blob bounced around his body before splashing against his clothes. 

It rapidly spread, gaining material from seemingly nowhere and covering his entire body. That metallic body armor sealed every gap, making it airtight before hardening. 

Everyone, even the mages, turned their heads to watch him as he stood tall on the wall's edge. In his hands appeared two short swords. 

Then, his anima activated, Aura spilling into Obsidius and making the armor glow with complex golden lines that ran across his body. 

Then, he bent down. His legs bulged with power, those lines on his armor pulsing with power. 

*Bang!*

The wall shook with his jump. 

Even Pandora couldn't help but smile as he soared through the air, free falling into that endless horde of mindless beasts. His shortswords were pointed down as he fell, becoming coated with a thin layer of golden Aura, ready to pierce through even metal. 

The monsters below noticed this beacon of power as it flew toward them. 

Eyes behind him, claws and savage teeth bared below him, rising to meet their prey. 

And blood blossomed.