Chapter 326: The Age of Empire
Kaito stepped forth from the portal. Behind him, in a measured, disciplined
line, emerged Chief Lyra Frost, Sora, and Falcon.
The armored Skeleton King at the center of the plaza dropped to one knee
instantly, the clatter of his obsidian plate echoing against the silence.
"My Sovereign."
"Mmh." Kaito gave a slight nod. "A commendable performance."
The soulfire in the King's sockets flickered with a surge of genuine, spiritual
joy. "It is my singular honor, Lord Sovereign!"
He rose and retreated to the flank, assuming a sentinel position. Kaito's gaze
performed a slow, clinical sweep of the assembled humans. The Night Watchmen
subconsciously bowed their heads, unable to maintain visual contact with the
entity that sat atop their world's new hierarchy.
"Identify the Primary Administrator," Kaito commanded.
His gaze locked onto Kenji.
"I... I am, my Lord." Kenji swallowed hard, his throat feeling as dry as the
Necrotic Realm. "Kenji, Minister of Federal Intelligence."
"Adequate." Kaito nodded. "Summon your High Council. Finalize their transit to
this coordinate immediately. I require a direct dialogue."
"AS COMMANDED!"
Kenji retrieved his comm-unit with trembling fingers.
"Priority Zero! All Council members are to extract back to the Core instantly!
The Sovereign of Evernight has manifested! Dialogue is mandatory!"
"I repeat: All members to the Core! This is a Total System Override!"
Simultaneously, across the Eldritch Realm.
The seven hundred elite recruits were executing the Sovereign's "Sanitation
Directive" with mechanical efficiency.
The Sanctum Sector (Kyoto).
A Tier 6 Vampire stood atop the highest radio spire, looking down at the urban
sprawl with a bored, predatory gaze.
"Only three hundred and twenty-seven rioting units in this sector?"
"Let's commence the liquidation. I do not wish to keep the Master waiting."
The Vampire's silhouette vanished. In the next micro-second, he manifested
before a Tier 2 Anomaly that was currently attempting to breach a civilian
barricade.
"Pardon the interruption," the Vampire said. His voice was calm, almost polite.
"By the Sovereign's Decree: Cease your behavioral deviations and submit to
Imperial Management."
The Anomaly spun around, its eyes reflecting the intruder. It let out a mindless
shriek and lunged with its claws. The Vampire let out a sigh of disappointment.
"Warning invalidated. Executing cleanup."
A single claw-strike. The Tier 2 horror was shredded into a billion inert
fragments. The Vampire didn't even pause to witness the dissolution, already
accelerating toward the next blip on his mental map.
The engagement had lasted 2.8 seconds.
The Neon Spire (Magu).
A Lich stood in the center of a crowded thoroughfare. He gave his staff a
casual, rhythmic wave.
"[Protocol: Mass Binding]."
A dozen rioting Anomalies were instantly anchored to the asphalt by invisible,
crushing threads of Mana.
"Testing... can you perceive my frequency?" the Lich's voice resonated in the
minds of the monsters.
"All units: Terminate the riot. Accept the Empire's administration."
"Non-compliant units will be categorized as Rebels against the Sovereign's Will.
Liquidation will follow."
The Anomalies thrashed, their logic-cores refusing to process the concept of
"Submission."
"Rejection confirmed," the Lich shook his head. "A tragic waste of biomass."
He tapped his staff against the stone. "[Authority: Death's Decay]."
Black energy erupted from the wood, swallowing the monsters in a silent,
necrotic wave. Three seconds later, only piles of grey ash remained on the
street.
The same scenes were being archived in every major metropolitan hub: Gilded Bay,
Mistral, Ironclad. The Undead Legions were sweeping the planet with a structural
efficiency that bordered on the divine.
Issue one warning. Liquidate the deviant.
Zero drama. Zero logic errors.
In less than thirty minutes, hundreds of thousands of rioting Anomalies across
the globe had been cleared from the archives. The survivors—those with enough
logic to perceive the hierarchy—chose immediate submission.
The Night Watchmen, who had been locked in a terminal struggle for decades,
could only watch in mute, shell-shocked awe. The monsters they had spent their
lives fighting were being processed like common street-trash by these
"Recruits."
"So this is the Evernight..." a veteran Watchman whispered. "We aren't even in
the same league."
Federal Headquarters. Council Chamber.
The thirteen members of the High Council arrived in a frantic, uncoordinated
stream. They utilized every localized teleportation device at their disposal to
reach the chamber in record time.
Chief Lyra Frost, Chairman Ironclad, Director Selene, Minister Kenji, Elder
Hideo... the collective power of humanity was gathered in one room.
Kaito sat at the head of the mahogany table. He released zero pressure, sitting
in a state of absolute stillness. Yet, every individual in the room felt an
unquantifiable weight pressing against their souls.
"Is the quorum reached?" Kaito asked.
"Affirmative, my Lord," Lyra Frost stood, her voice heavy with reverence. "Every
member of the High Council is present."
"Excellent." Kaito gave a slight nod. "Then we shall finalize the contract."
He raised a bony hand. A document manifested on the table—the petition Bochi had
carried back.
"You petitioned for the Evernight Empire's protection," Kaito stated. "Data
confirmed?"
"Affirmative, my Lord," Lyra said, drawing a deep breath. "Human civilization is
on the event horizon of extinction. Without an external variable, we project
total liquidation within two decades. Therefore, we petition for salvation."
Kaito was silent for five seconds.
"Salvation?"
His voice was a flat, clinical vibration.
"You have committed a logic error." "The Empire is not a humanitarian charity."
"If the Empire provides you with its Shadow, you must pay the tax." "It is an
Equivalent Exchange."
Lyra nodded. "We understand. We have prepared an inventory of 'Tributes.' We are
willing to surrender every resource we possess."
"Insufficient," Kaito said, shaking his skull. "The items on your list possess
negligible value to the Sovereign."
"Then... what is the required price?" Lyra asked, her voice a shivering whisper.
Kaito stood and walked to the window, looking out at the city.
"I require this world to become a Vassal Plane."
"You will adopt Imperial Management. You will obey Imperial Law. You will be
subject to Imperial Deployment."
"In exchange, the Empire will liquidate the Scourge in this coordinate. We will
ensure the persistence of your species."
"Furthermore, the Empire will grant you access to a limited tier of resources
and Magitech to assist in your redevelopment."
Kaito turned back, his soulfire watching the thirteen leaders.
"These are the terms. Acceptance or Rejection."
"You are granted ten minutes for internal processing."
The chamber fell into a heavy, ringing silence. The thirteen members exchanged
glances that carried the weight of history.
To become a Vassal Plane meant the termination of their independent sovereignty.
But to refuse meant the statistical certainty of extinction within twenty years.
It wasn't a choice; it was an extraction route from a terminal scenario.
"I authorize the contract," Elder Hideo was the first to speak. "As long as the
species persists, no price is too high."
"I agree," Lyra Frost added instantly.
"Agreed." "Agreed."
One by one, the voices of the leaders resonated through the room.
The final tally: Thirteen votes for Acceptance.
Kaito nodded. "Satisfactory."
"Effective this cycle, this coordinate is formally designated a Vassal Plane of
the Evernight Empire."
"Imperial Administrators will be dispatched to oversee the restoration of order.
All Anomalies are now Imperial property. Those who submit will be processed
through the 'Re-education' protocol. Those who deviate will be cleared."
Kaito paused, his gaze sweeping the room.
"Are there further queries?"
Kenji raised a hand. "My Lord... a minor detail. Will Lord Bochi be returning to
our coordinate?"
Kaito's soulfire flickered with a sharp, parental annoyance. "Perhaps in the
future. Currently, his 'Leave-Cycle' has been terminated. He isn't going
anywhere."
Sora, sitting in the corner, had to suppress a giggle. She could visualize
Bochi's expression right now. He must be statistically devastated, she thought.
"Very well," Kaito waved a dismissive hand. "The session is terminated."
"Specialized units will handle the integration. You are required only to
maintain compliance."
With that, Kaito turned and stepped back into the transit rift.
The moment he vanished, the crushing atmosphere in the room evaporated. The
council members slumped into their seats, letting out a collective, ragged
breath of relief.
"It is over..." Kenji whispered, his strength finally failing as he collapsed
into his chair.
"Humanity... has achieved survival..."
Lyra Frost walked to the window, watching the dawn beginning to break over the
city. The glowing arrays in the sky were gone. The shadow that had haunted their
world for sixty years had been replaced by a new, colder, yet infinitely safer
shadow.
The Age of Anomaly was finished. The Era of the Evernight had arrived.
☆☆☆
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