Serum

“Why are you being so friendly with me?”

“That’s… an out of the blue question.”

Pandora was a bit caught off guard. 

Dirk’s gaze remained level at her.

“I seem to remember pissing you off before we left.”

“You did. After all, just how you don’t appreciate being called a supersoldier, I don’t appreciate being called a psycho.”

“So what’s with the sudden change in attitude?”

“Sudden?”

She tilted her head.

“Dirk, it’s been a week. People’s emotions can flip in an hour, let alone several days.”

“...”

He was silent, which caused Pandora to smile. 

“What are you really trying to ask, Dirk?”

He was still quiet. But he didn’t turn away as his face remained neutral. 

Everything Pandora did couldn’t seem to sit right with Dirk. Although it didn’t seem like it, he was always watching her. He was always questioning the reasons she did what she did, as if none of her actions went without motive. 

Pandora smiled at Dirk’s silence. 

“As if I need a reason to be nice. Are you perhaps wondering about my supposedly hidden motives? Are you wondering… if I’m going to try and harm you?”

“...I don’t know.”

“You don’t know…”

She leaned forward, her blood red gaze seemingly piercing through the cloth that covered Dirk’s eyes. 

“You don’t know what I’m thinking, and that’s a risk. It’s an unknown variable that might bite you. It’s something you can’t control, because everything has to be under your control.”

“I don’t need everything under my control.”

Dirk rebutted, but Pandora only smirked. 

“Yea right. Dirk, both you and I seek to control everything. We just do so in very different ways. You need to be able to kill everything. You desperately wish for the security inherent to power. On Earth, it was guns and tech that gave you power. Here, it’s magic. And this world has properly shown you just how powerless those with weak magic are. So, you compensate with knowledge. You want to know about every little variable just in case you need to do something about it.”

“...”

Dirk’s face morphed into a deep frown. Why did it feel like his mind was being read?

Pandora backed off as she continued, turning her piercing gaze away. 

“I seek to control everything through influence. Blackmail, torture, seduction, bribery, manipulation, loyalty, debt. These are the tools I like to use to control others. Being a princess also helps. It allows me to do as I please with complete immunity. It was how I was able to influence the entire noble class of the Dark Kingdom to call for my own war.”

“I thought you used the trains.”

She smirked a bit.

“Dirk, there are some people who want nothing more than to ensure that nobody is above them. The nobles were fine with things remaining how they were, and if there was change, then they only cared about themselves being above the others. More often than not, that meant degrading others instead of competing to rise up. So, many nobles would rather lose money than see me attain power. But with the right incentive, they all stepped behind me and did as I wanted.”

Pandora let out a violent snarl.

“I must say, it was so very satisfying to see those scum-filled dogs bow down and lick my feet. Most of the nobles actually liked my plans that would bring about unprecedented prosperity, and they cooperated nicely. But others… I’ve seen the worst of corruption on Earth, but the power of this world unleashes a whole other level of bullshit. Fortunately, my mother had loads of dirt on everyone. I just put it to good use. That, as well as some well timed deaths and promises of abysmal futures for their entire households. In the end, there was nothing that didn’t go my way. At least until you arrived.”

She snickered at Dirk, whose brow raised in questioning. 

“What did I do?”

“What didn’t you do? You were the trigger for this global catastrophe. If you hadn’t come, then nothing would have changed. Your father wasn’t even supposed to be chosen for the envoy group. Only the Dukes had the right to be there. So tell me, why were you there? Even if your father was chosen to go, it isn’t normal to bring children along.”

“...”

Dirk was surprised for a moment before thinking about her question. 

His father actually didn’t want him to go, especially considering he had just gotten out of Asura’s mountain only a month or so prior. There was only one reason he had even brought up the option. 

Dirk felt something was odd as he opened his mouth. 

“The Emperor chose my dad for the envoy group. He also insisted that I go along. He never said why.”

“...Good god.”

Pandora frowned, before suddenly smiling, the corners of her mouth turning as wide as they could. 

“Hehe… Hahahaha!!! Yes! The Emperor! Truly, you’re even more amazing than my mother! Were you ready for this? How have you prepared? Why did you trigger the war now…”

“Pandora?”

Dirk called out as Pandora delved into her own little world. 

After a bit of mumbling, her head flicked toward Dirk. 

“Please tell me you understand what’s going on.”

“...Somewhat.”

“The emperor knew about the covenant between the dragons and gods!”

Her hands flailed, as if she couldn’t emphasize this enough.

“He had seen Eldritch Primordial attached to you! He knew that what Eldritch was doing was in violation of the covenant. So he sent you to the Dark Dragon in order to expose the violation. He directly triggered War Cataclysma!

“But he was also prepared. Think about this city. The City Lord was given the materials to build a large scale teleporter. But he didn’t build it right away. He waited, and only started building it when he was under siege by monsters. They didn’t want others to know about the teleporter. Plus, your Emperor has been missing for the past couple of decades.”

“He has?”

Dirk felt that was odd. Why would an Emperor go missing for so long? Although Dirk had never actually seen the Emperor, he didn’t think he was simply absent from his empire. 

Pandora sighed. 

“Have you lived under a rock? Yes, your Emperor has been missing for a long time. Nobody has been able to directly confirm his existence for the past 23 years, I believe. Until he reappeared recently. And it sounds like he only reappeared in order to save you from Asura’s mountain. Now, he’s active in his empire again, as he should be with all the chaos going on. Question is, what was he doing while he was gone?”

Pandora sunk back into thought, as did Dirk. 

The Emperor sent him to trigger the War. 

For what reason?

Dirk hadn’t been conscious when the Emperor came by to help him in the hospital. And Spyte’s mana vision hadn’t been good enough to save an image that Dirk could make sense of. So Dirk had still never seen the Emperor’s face, except through questionable portraits of the man. 

There was an entire generation within the Empire that wasn’t aware of their own Emperor’s face. That wasn’t very smart for the Empire, but then again, with enough power, what could anyone do to his reign?

More concerning was just as Pandora said. What had he been doing for so long? How did he know about the covenant? And why did he trigger the War now?

At the very least he had to be prepared. There was no way he would just let his Empire fall into ruin. In fact, the Empire should be having a smooth time handling the changes compared to the other empires. 

Pandora seemed to have these thoughts as well, as she kept smiling and giggling to herself. 

“How diabolical… How ambitious! Emperor Horizon, what have you planned? Are you looking for the Artifacts? Do you want the Sources? What about that island in the center of the world? You would rather go to war than give up that territory. Something is there… And if not for my weakness, I’d go there this instant to find out what you’re hiding.”

Pandora’s bit her thumb while gazing off into space. Dirk could practically see the tangible aura of utter focus around her. 

So much for their original conversation. At this point, she had gone beyond him, and he was too tired to keep thinking about conspiracies, even though he was at the center of this one. 

So after cleaning up any remaining cutlery and food, he made the bed and laid down, not bothering the mad woman next to him. 

……….

……

*Knock Knock*

Dirk woke up when he heard the first knock on the car door. 

“Ugh… Go away…”

Pandora groaned as well, burying her face back into her pillow. 

*Knock Knock*

“Just keep quiet and maybe he’ll go away.”

Her voice was barely audible as she continued to smother herself in the comfortable bed. 

But it didn’t stop.

*Knock Knock Knock!*

“Agh! Damned humans! The fuck are people banging on my precious car for at the shit crack of dawn?! Have I not done enough around this god-forsaken place?!”

After a repetitive banging on the doors, she finally lost it with a barrage of cursing. 

Climbing up and over Dirk’s body, she scrambled for the door and sent out a swift kick. 

*Bang!*

“Ack!*

The poor man just outside the door yelled in surprise and pain as the door smacked his face. 

Pandora growled at the entourage outside her vehicle. 

The City Lord stood before her, but she didn’t care.

“Good god man! The hell do you want?! Was killing three generals not enough to buy me a full night's rest?! And I swear on all that is holy, if you ask me to help with building that teleporter, I’m taking the damned crystal and leaving!”

“...”

The immediate surroundings around the car went silent as everyone turned and stared at Pandora’s twisted face. 

It was only when Dirk appeared behind her that the City Lord, who was covered in armor with a bloody sword at his waist, finally spoke. 

“...No. I was just going to warn you that the monsters broke through our inner blockades.”

“What?! Are you kiddi- mmph!”

Just as Pandora began to yell again, Dirk’s hand appeared over her mouth, silencing her as he restrained her flailing body. 

He nodded to the City Lord.

“Thank you for telling us.”

“Sure. Go ahead and move this thing into the castle. After that, you can go back to sleep.”

“No. I’ll be out as soon as we park. Just guide us.”

With that, Dirk shut the door. The City Lord just smiled before moving back out to the battlefield. 

After Dirk let go, Pandora let out a grunt. 

“Ugh. What was that for? I can’t believe those guys couldn’t keep the monsters out even after days of preparation! I swear, without you, most armies are useless.”

“...”

Dirk was silent as he took his place in the driver’s seat. Before he started driving though, he turned back to Pandora, staring at her for a bit. 

Her brow raised at his obvious gaze. Currently, she was in smooth silk clothes, fit for a princess, yet didn’t do much to hide all of her goods underneath. 

She smiled flirtingly, until Dirk finally spoke. 

“You’re not a morning person, are you?”

“Shut up! I’m sorry if I prefer sleeping for a full night instead of three hours like you! And if I don’t get my sleep, then my genius mind doesn’t operate at full capacity!”

“Uh-huh. Just get dressed, because you’re going out there with me.”

Dirk sighed as he started the vehicle and drove it into the castle under the guidance of a soldier. 

Pandora’s face dropped at his words though. 

“What? Why am I going?”

“Because I’m not working my ass off while you sleep. And if you don’t come out, I’m loading a machine gun and letting loose.”

“No! Fine! I’ll go outside. But don’t expect any grand magic!”

“Never did.”

He snorted as he parked inside a large hall of the castle. Then, Dirk quickly dressed and left the vehicle. Pandora wasn’t far behind. 

As Dirk walked out onto one of the castle walls, Obsidius finally seemed to wake up as it slithered out from under his clothes. Realizing that he was getting ready to fight, Obsidius began bouncing on top of his head in excitement. 

Dirk observed the surroundings when he finally looked over the edge of the wall. 

It was mayhem. A carnal battlefield with mountains of corpses and pools of blood. 

The walls on the edge of the city had long been destroyed, a massive hole allowing wave after wave of monsters to flood through. 

They had broken through every defensive line that the soldiers had built, and troops were constantly falling back. It seemed hopeless, like everyone would be overrun. 

And the soldiers weren’t the only ones beginning to panic. There were still thousands of civilians within and around the castle who were working desperately in order to help the defense effort as much as possible. 

But, from Dirk’s view, not all was lost. 

The reason he thought that was because beyond the broken wall, he could see the last lines of the monster flood pushing forward. 

There weren’t that many left. 

Plus, there were still plenty of soldiers. The City Lord had fought for longevity, so his priority was preserving lives. His leadership had paid off. A majority of the initial army was still alive and kicking, even as they moved back.

And as they moved back, their power consolidated, becoming more concentrated and effective. As they had to defend smaller amounts of land, they were able to kill more monsters. The barricades broke down slower and slower. Now, they were approaching the last few lines of defense. 

They could hold out long enough. The city wouldn’t fall. 

Especially with his help. 

Taking in the landscape and plotting a path, Dirk tapped his connection with Obsidius. The little blob acknowledged his desire, and began to grow and spread across his body.

The result was a dull set of armor. Once Dirk activated his Anima though, golden circuits glowed across its body. 

He flexed his muscles before breaking out into a sprint, running across the wall and down toward the frontlines. 

Pandora watched as he entered the battle unprompted. She saw a pistol appear in his hand, his Stigmata that allowed for easy and specialized magic casting. 

The body of the pistol began to glow with runes as he took aim. And then, once he ascended one of the makeshift barricades, he fired. 

Three compressed fireballs shot out of his pistol, zipping over to a group of monsters and exploding in a triangular formation. 

This triage of fireballs compounded off of each other and roasted the dozen monsters within its range, making it even more effective than normal. 

And that explosion drew the attention of every soldier, even the City Lord nearby. And without question, all of them lit up with excitement and valor. 

Dirk Strider had entered the battle. 

Sure enough, they all saw that dark figure dash through the hordes, brandishing his blades and drawing a bloodbath. His image of ruthless carnage served to bolster the morale of every tired soldier. They had seen this man fight for hours on end every day that he was here. And stories had already been passed around of how he killed the monster generals. Stories of Pandora’s magic also went around, but nobody was fond of that cocky princess. 

The only thing they cared about was that one figure that dominated those hordes with endless stamina and accuracy. He was their beacon of hope. With him there, the army felt that they could win this seemingly endless battle.