The following two weeks passed surprisingly quietly, without anything strange or on a large scale happening, to Uriel's great dismay.
He had prepared himself for a large number of scenarios after what happened at Camp Erebus, but nothing happened.
Sure, every now and then a Corrupted would appear, but it was quickly eliminated by him or his cohort.
Currently, he had recovered his Terror core and only needed to regain his Titan core and saturate it to return to his maximum strength.
But setting that aside for the moment, the evacuation was going surprisingly well. In just two weeks, Camp Erebus was like a ghost town due to the mobilization of millions of civilians aboard the enormous evacuation ships.
Currently, the last batch of about three million people had boarded the ships heading to Falcon Scott, and so Camp Erebus stood empty.
Currently, Uriel was discussing the final evacuation, which would be done overland via a thousand-kilometer journey to Falcon Scott with about a hundred thousand civilians, of which at least three hundred were Awakened and about four thousand were Sleepers.
"So we have everything covered," said Randal, looking at the map.
"Yes," said Dale.
"Master Uriel will use his dragon Echo to eliminate the abominations coming from the sky, along with his other Echoes, while the soldiers and we defend from the ground."
"How long will it take us to arrive if we travel without stopping?" asked Uriel.
"A few days. The vehicles are in good condition, though it depends on the abominations that appear on the road," expressed Randal.
"Good. We leave in an hour," Anders informed.
Everyone nodded, leaving the room to meet with their respective cohorts.
"Hey, Sunny, wait. I have a gift for you," he said with an amused smile.
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of gift?" he asked.
"Oh, it's nothing important, just a simple armor," he said as he transferred the armor he had obtained from killing the Profaned Sibyl.
"Well, see you later." With that, he walked away.
Sunny summoned his runes and, upon reading the Memory he had obtained, froze.
'What the hell,' he thought, surprised to see a sixth-tier Transcendent armor.
...
Uriel returned to his cohort, which was ready and fully rested after doing nothing for two weeks. In the distance, in the center of the city, the now-familiar tree had completely disappeared, no longer necessary for the city's protection.
"Captain, good morning," Tiffany greeted.
"Hello, Tiffany... everyone," said Uriel. "We're leaving for Falcon Scott soon, so if you want to do anything, now is the time before we go."
"I have nothing else to do," said Lucien.
"Me neither," said Abel.
"Us neither," said Asher, speaking for the others.
"Well, do you want to play cards? We'll bet Transcendent shards," he said, beginning to shuffle a deck of cards.
Everyone nodded and began playing poker.
...
An hour later, an enormous two-kilometer-long column was advancing down the road, led by two imposing Rhinos.
The formation was simple. In the front, Sunny and Uriel would lead the way. On the sides in the middle would go the mundane soldiers and the Sleepers.
In the back and center would go the Awakened, who had a better angle to defend against any threat.
Finally, at the rear would go Master Dale, Randal, and Berne.
It should be noted that Professor Obel and his assistant Beth were going with Colonel Anders and a team of Awakened.
However, although the protection was high, it wasn't enough.
In the sky ahead of the caravan was an enormous dragon eliminating the flying abominations, and on its back was Soul, controlling the abominations over a wide range, keeping them off the road.
Thanks to this level of protection, the journey was calm but tense at the same time.
As the enormous caravan advanced, new refugees joined, making it grow larger and larger.
Of course, the pace didn't stay that way for long. Corrupted-rank abominations like Tyrants and Terrors appeared, forcing Uriel to join the battle with his Echoes to eliminate them quickly.
There were also mundanes who transformed into abominations upon failing their Nightmares, who were quickly eliminated, though not without some casualties.
...
Uriel was sitting on top of the Rhino, looking at the cloud-covered sky from which snow fell. The sound of the Rhino's engine was somehow calming.
After about three days of travel, the caravan stopped so everyone could rest from the long journey without worrying about the abominations, thanks to Soul.
Uriel was on top of a snow-covered hill, which could barely hide the ground and the result of a disastrous battle from long ago.
In the distance was a ghastly mountain of charred bones and remnants of destroyed artillery near the slope.
The most unsettling thing was the thousands of abominations destroying each other, controlled by Soul from several kilometers away.
Three enormous Category Two and Three Gates opened, releasing more abominations that joined the massacre.
"It's a disaster, isn't it?" asked Sunny, emerging from the shadows.
"Yes. Yes, it is," Uriel murmured.
"Yeah... It was even more terrible when six new portals opened just as we were trying to deal with the six that had already manifested, surrounding the entire division. That's how Antarctica welcomed us, a long time ago."
"I suppose you had more luck than me, at least."
Sunny raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything more. They both simply stood in silence, watching the abominations kill each other.
Twelve hours later, the caravan set off again.
Two weeks of constant travel passed. Kilometer after kilometer, the distance between them and Falcon Scott decreased.
Finally, at the end of the two weeks of travel, they were just a few kilometers from reaching Falcon Scott. Uriel had contacted the city's army earlier, who promised to send reinforcements as well as a special envoy.
After waiting an hour, Uriel finally felt it. A person riding a flying Echo, which Gunlaug allowed to pass without harming, knowing of its existence.
The griffin landed in front of the caravan. From its back jumped a man in his mid-thirties wearing polished armor. He had a well-groomed beard and steely yet curious eyes.
If Uriel remembered correctly, that man was Master Roan, the husband of Saint Tyris.
Uriel snapped out of his thoughts as he watched Gunlaug land on the mountain, generating a brief earthquake under his enormous weight.
'Show-off,' Uriel thought.
Looking ahead, he watched the Master approach where he and Sunny were.
"Sunless? Wait... is that you? Are you the famous Devil of Antarctica?" the man asked, surprised, looking at Sunny.
"Uh... yes? I suppose that's what they've been calling me lately. Anyway, it's a pleasure to see you again, Master Roan. Really," said Sunny, his voice denoting pride at receiving more recognition than Uriel, who honestly cared very little.
"So you know each other?" asked Uriel.
"Didn't I tell you?" asked Sunny.
"No, you only told me about the incident with the Valor clan," replied Uriel.
"Well. This is Master Roan of the White Feather clan. Master Roan, let me introduce you to Uriel, Lord of Darkness," Sunny introduced.
Roan, upon hearing that, turned somewhat pale. His face slowly turned toward Uriel, as if doubting what he was actually seeing. Then his eyes shone with excitement.
"Are you really Lord of Darkness?" he asked.
"Yes."
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Let me tell you, you're incredible, really. Your feats at Camp Erebus are legendary. Can I have your autograph? My daughter is a huge fan of yours."
"Sure," said Uriel, taking out a sheet of paper and a pen, making a signature, and handing it to the Master, who folded it and tucked it into his armor.
"Thank you, Master Uriel."
"Well, how many people do you have?"
"About one hundred and forty thousand," replied Sunny.
Roan was silent.
"...You really brought that many people from Camp Erebus?"
"Yes. Although a few thousand joined during the journey here. Those poor souls have traveled over a thousand kilometers seeking refuge."
Roan nodded.
"You did well. Good job," said Roan.
"So, how are we going to do this?" said Sunny.
"Actually, you don't need to worry too much, Sunless. We've received many refugee convoys in the past few weeks. So the procedure is already perfected. However, Master Uriel, we could really use your help with your Echoes."
"Of course, no problem at all," he replied, looking at Gunlaug, giving some orders to Soul, who was on top of his head.
With a slight grunt of annoyance, Gunlaug took off into the sky. Immediately, Master Roan witnessed how thousands of abominations stood still, unable to move.
"We have a clear path," Uriel informed.
"How did you get an Echo like that?" asked Roan.
"It's simple. Just kill an Awakened Terror and feed it for thousands of years, and that's it," he replied.
Master Roan blinked, looking at Sunny, who gave him a look that simply said "don't ask any more questions."
A few minutes later, the caravan set off, advancing along the now-cleared path, watching as the abominations killed each other.
An hour later into the journey, Uriel passed through the enormous gates of Falcon Scott for the second time.
"We finally made it," Uriel murmured, closing his eyes to rest for a few minutes.
...
Somewhere in the distance, deep in the mountains, an enormous crack began to open. The crack was so large that the mountains seemed insignificant around it. From the titanic breach, a torrent of pure darkness slowly emerged, consuming everything.
Elsewhere, far away, an enormous flying swarm advanced with unbridled fury, consuming countless Nightmare Creatures. At the center of the swarm was a massive flying abomination leading it.
Elsewhere, about two thousand kilometers away, an imposing snowstorm stopped and changed course.
On the edge of a secluded mountain, a powerful abomination was devouring the remains of dead Nightmare Creatures of different ranks. The abomination stopped, looking in another direction. Its golden eyes shone sinisterly as several fingers on one of its hands twitched. Soon, the abomination continued eating, even more ravenously.
Finally, in the depths of the sea, a crack slowly began to open, spreading rapidly. Soon, the crack spanned hundreds of meters in width, from which a sea serpent wrapped in deep shadows emerged.
...
Several days passed quickly.
Uriel was inside his mind, in a recreation of a large training ground that had an enormous amount of destruction. Enormous holes, earth turned to lava, shattered mountains—these were several of the things that could be appreciated at a glance.
In the middle of the enormous field, a massive dragon made of pure darkness crashed into the ground, generating an enormous crater.
The darkness, unable to maintain its form, dissipated, revealing Uriel's form, which was covered in cuts and deep wounds as well as severe burns.
A sword plunged into his stomach without mercy.
Growling in pain, he looked at Skadi, who had a calm expression.
"I must admit," said Skadi, leaning down to look at Uriel more closely, her tone calm and uninterested, lacking the hostility from several weeks ago, "you can fight against a Transcendent without problems in terms of power, but in terms of experience, you still lack."
"Yeah, I already know that," replied Uriel.
"We've been fighting for almost four hours straight. Don't you think that's enough?"
"I suppose so," replied Skadi, pulling the sword from Uriel's stomach.
The training ground completely faded away, leaving everything in darkness. Uriel stood up as he dismissed Skadi and then left his soul sea.
Fortunately, mental damage wasn't reflected in his physical body; otherwise, he would be very dead.
Skadi was a terrifying combatant, and in none of their encounters had he been able to corner her, even when she held back completely.
...
Stretching, Uriel quickly took a shower, using the standard evacuation army uniform instead of summoning his Holy Mantle.
After a quick shower, he looked through one of the window projections toward the center of the city, where there was an enormous two-kilometer-tall tree. Of course, this tree was Soul, still doing its job of alleviating the pressure from the abominations besieging Falcon Scott.
Finally, after a long time, the weight of tens of millions of souls had been lifted from his shoulders. He only had to kill the Winter Beast to have a good vacation.
Using a Memory with the enchantment to slightly change his appearance, his hair went from black to dark purple. He did this for one reason.
It was to avoid being recognized by millions instantly. His fame had spread enormously throughout Antarctica and the rest of the world.
At first, he was sure he would be recognized, but not this much. Billions of people knew him, hundreds of millions worshipped him like a god. It was certainly disconcerting and frightening to a certain extent.
He wondered if being a golden boy would accelerate the awakening of the Forgotten God, but he dismissed it. He didn't have the lineage of any demon, so the possibility of something like that happening was completely null.
Uriel wondered if when he became a Supreme, immediately after he would become a Supreme who ruled over hundreds of millions of humans in an instant, making him terrifying.
According to what Skadi had shared with him, his will had not yet taken a defined form. The will of each Supreme was totally different, and there were never two of the same type. They were like the Aspects and Flaws of the individual themselves.
It could be self-sufficient, or it could come from the worship of subjects that increased his power, giving him an almost inexhaustible amount of essence.
But putting aside those technicalities, Uriel had finally arrived at where the meeting with Jet would take place after a long time.
Entering the meeting room, he noticed Sunny, who was using the Holy Shroud of the Puppeteer that he had given him.
Sitting in an Active's chair, the enchantment let his hair return to its natural black.
One or two minutes passed until Jet appeared. She was wearing her tight suit. This made Shade make comments, which he ignored.
"Oh, wow. If it isn't the Dark Hero, the Angel of Death, the Savior of Millions. Your fame precedes you, Uriel," Jet commented mockingly.
"Master Jet," he greeted.
Jet blinked, somewhat disconcerted at not being received by an eloquent presentation of elegant words.
"You seem subdued."
"I'm just meditating on whether to throw myself headfirst into a Fourth Nightmare and reflecting on my life decisions," he murmured.
"And what conclusion did you reach?"
"That it's not worth it. And it's better to sleep," he said, resting his head on the table.
Uriel ignored everything for several minutes. After the arrival of the other Masters, he paid attention to the meeting. The only one missing was Master Jesse, who had died defending one of the cities a month ago. Otherwise, the other Masters seemed more relaxed, though equally tense, since far from the situation calming down, it would only get worse.
Master Jet sighed and then took her data tablet, leafed through some documents, and addressed them with a cheerful voice:
"Well, let's begin. Within an hour, there will be an important strategic meeting for everyone important enough to attend, but first, I must bring you up to speed on the current situation. In the coming days, Falcon Scott will be besieged by an endless sea of abominations. Our task is simple: we must ensure it does not fall for at least three weeks..."
[NOTE: Well, this is the 100th chapter of this story. I didn't originally think I'd get this far, but here we are, so I have to keep writing.
My goal is to finish all of volume four before the end of this month and then resume my second story to finish the first volume. Okay, with that said, leave your comments about what you think of volume four so far.
Whether you think it's bad, good, or both, it helps me consider some things when I start volume five.
That's all. Leave me some power stones, and I'll post three more chapters tomorrow.]