Once the negotiations were handled by Speaker Thorn, the March golems led us towards a large superstructure that they had erected within their solar system. According to their explanation, this was a large-scale interdimensional gate, similar to the Fairy Gates. However, due to the lacking ability to directly reproduce the Fairy Gates, they had to use less efficient techniques to achieve a similar effect.

Because of this, it actually did cost a lot for them to activate the structure each time. From the estimates they gave, it took all of the mana they produced on the core world in a single day to power the supergate for twenty seconds.

When Speaker Thorn heard that, she immediately made the offer to have the Metong cooperate with them for the development of this gate. The Metong do not use traditional warp technology, after all, and specialize in teleporting. In a way, they were only a few crucial steps away from being able to master interdimensional warp all on their own.

Regardless, with the payment delivered, it was only a matter of hours before the ship was positioned in front of the large ring-shaped structure. I was standing on the bridge, as were Jocelyn and Casey, knowing that this would be the big moment that determined if we were able to return home.

As the gate powered up, black and blue lights filled its interior. “Power up the engines.” Cardinal Lapis commanded before the ring was fully powered. “We have less than a minute to get the entire ship through. As soon as we get the signal, full speed. Prepare a spatial shift once we are through. Identify suitable coordinates to ensure that we do not obstruct their path on the other side.”

As Lapis issued one order after the other, the Metong on the bridge got to work. With a flash, the giant ring was filled with swirling blue and black energies. I could feel the ship shaking slightly as it jolted forward. We passed through the ring, and then almost immediately vanished in a blue shimmer.

“Spatial shift is a success.” One of the officers on the bridge reported. However, there was an odd tone to their voice. “Cardinal…”

“I know, I can feel it.” Cardinal Lapis shook her head, letting out a complicated sigh. Knowing that we were unable to tell what they were talking about, she turned her head towards us. “We were still able to communicate with the Network at the March core world. Now… the only Network is from those among us, and Mother Lyra.”

I blinked, somewhat amazed by what I was hearing. “How powerful must that network be for its range to extend that far?”

However, Cardinal Lapis merely offered a small smile. “The core of the Network is an ancient spell devised by the High Mother of several generations ago. Since then, it has been hardcoded into the Metong from birth, such that we cannot disconnect from it without first identifying the underlying structure. The reason that its reach is so far is that it uses the mana of the entire Metong race to transmit the signals.”

I somewhat understood with that explanation, nodding my head. Normally, if it were simply a device, Mother Lyra would have shed it when she achieved the Perfect Self. But if it were coded into them from birth, it would be similar to a racial evolution. From what I knew, racial abilities weren’t affected when shedding the physical body for some reason.

“Then, does that mean that you know where she is?” Casey asked in excitement, clenching her fists. Cardinal Lapis gave a confirming nod, reading off a series of coordinates.

“Prepare the spatial shift. And begin charging the Unspoken Word.” There was a certain sorrow to her tone as she gave the final command, as if she hadn’t yet fully accepted the fact that they would be using their greatest weapon against one of their own people.

“Understood.” The coordinates were hastily entered into the computer, and there was a screen projected at the front of the bridge to show the charging process of the weapon. “Spatial Shift is ready at your command.”

Finally, I’ll be able to get back… I clenched my fists, awaiting the moment that we would arrive. Sadly, things did not quite go as I hoped.

Cardinal Lapis gave the signal, and the ship once again vanished in a shimmer of blue light. When we emerged, we were far away from Deckan, and the scene shown before us caused Jocelyn and Casey to both let out startled gasps.

The Emergence was in ruins, shattered into countless pieces. The escape pods littered the area, having gotten no more than a hundred kilometers before being destroyed. Behind the Emergence was what appeared to be a silver temple suspended in space. Standing on the steps outside of the temple, arranged as if they were guards, were several members of the crew that I could recognize at a glance.

Each of these ‘guards’ had their suits active, using their limited air supply and remaining motionless. Without the Emergence, I didn’t know if Mother Lyra planned to ‘prolong’ their air or not. Or if she was even capable of producing oxygen on her own.

There was a sinister laugh that emerged from the communications system, a silver face appearing on the screen before us. Unlike the other Metong that I had seen so far, there was not a trace of kindness on this face. “So, they actually managed to send someone into this realm?”

Before Lapis had the chance to answer, Mother Lyra’s gaze swept over myself and the lycan girls. “Oh? Well… this is a surprise. I don’t know how you managed to bring them here, but you’re too late. I have already become a Class Ten lifeform. Now, none of you will have the chance to stop me.”

Does she mean she’s become a god? I felt myself becoming nervous, but Lapis simply had a calm smile on her face. “Is that so? Then, I would like to congratulate you. May I ask which domain it was that you were gifted?”

“Gifted?” Mother Lyra spat back the word as though she were offended. “I have not been gifted anything. I have achieved my power through my own efforts! Not through the glory of the Metong, or the benevolence of Tubrock. I am my own god!”

“Ah, I see. Then you do not have a domain? That is quite good for us.” Cardinal Lapis let out a faint sigh. “If you were truly a Class Ten lifeform, then I could not guarantee that we could deal with you.”

There was an angry growl from over the comms. “As High Mother of this realm, I demand you to identify yourself! Do not draw my ire, ‘Mother’.”

“Cardinal, actually, thanks to you.” Cardinal Lapis said with a wide smile. “Cardinal Lapis, as granted by the High Mother herself. Meanwhile, your designation remains as Mother Lyra. Furthermore, through the Network I am able to gauge that you are truly still a Class Nine lifeform.”

“What?! But… that’s impossible.” The temple seemed to tremble as Mother Lyra denied Lapis’s words. “I have shed my mortal body, and empowered my soul with the spark of divinity! By all records, this qualifies me as a Class Ten!”

I let out a breath of relief as I heard that. So she’s only just started the path. If she had managed to fully ascend into godhood in the few days that we were gone, that would be far too exaggerated. 

“You may deny it if you want. However, the truth is what it is.” Cardinal Lapis spoke calmly to the enraged half-god. “You are a traitor to the Metong. For your own ambitions, you have assaulted other races and sullied the name of the Metong. Your act of creating a hostile network has caused the High Mother to place an execution order on your head.”

The face displayed on the screen blinked, before showing a wicked sneer. “Execute me? I believe you are out of your league, little Lapis. Even if I haven’t fully advanced into Class Ten, I have achieved eternity. Even the Unspoken Word will not hold sway over me!”

“Shall we put that to the test, then?” Cardinal Lapis looked at the image next to Lyra’s face, and saw that the Unspoken Word had been fully charged. “Necrol.”

After Cardinal Lapis said the strange, runic word, or perhaps a password to activate a spell, lights sprang from her body. Blue and white lights carried countless runes in thick streams that dug into the floor at our feet.

The lights of the ship began flickering, and I could see warnings flashing that the power level was declining. Then, without any delay, a blue beam struck out and drew a line through the void. It instantly arrived at the temple, striking against it.

Mother Lyra’s face screwed up in concentration. “You actually have it… I won’t be killed like this! My word is the only word of the realm! Netosh kiriol haphite lor!” Each word seemed to be the trigger for its own spell, as four distinct barriers arose around Mother Lyra. Of them, two were blue, one golden, and one green.

I closed my eyes and began to pray. Not to a god, but to another powerful entity. “I am a lost soul, seeking the aid of the one who watches all.” Cardinal Lapis glanced over to me curiously as I began chanting the spell. This was my first time trying to perform elementalist magic, but I knew the fundamentals.

Since I did not have a pact card, I created a simple circle in my mind to act as the catalyst of the magic. “Mother of nature, I beg of you for a favor. Name your price to pull my friends from harm.”

Even if Mother Lyra was destroyed, I had no hope that every single member of the crew had their helmets up. Once she was killed, they would be immediately exposed to the vacuum of space. There was no telling how many would die before the Metong were able to teleport them aboard.

Half of your spiritual energy. Give me that, and I will save them. I heard a feminine voice echoing in my mind, and was forced to put on a complicated smile.

“I’ve never trained in a spiritual class, so my spirit is no doubt lacking. However… if that is the price you want, take it.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I felt pain coursing through my entire body. I dropped to one knee, clutching at my heart. Above my head, my health bar appeared and dropped by one half. My mind grew foggy, and I knew that half of my mana had vanished as well. Half of my soul, half of everything that I was, was stripped away in an instant with my consent.

However, I felt that it was worth it. When I opened my eyes, I could no longer see anyone standing on the steps before the temple. The world spirit had pulled them all away, and even Mother Lyra’s face expressed her shock.

“What was that?” Both Lyra and Lapis asked in unison. Did they not have contact with their world spirit, either?

“Plan B.” I smirked, pushing through the pain. “She got them out, so all that’s left is your part.” My body felt as if it had been torn apart from the inside, and my head trembled from the pain. But I needed to watch this.

Mother Lyra’s face did not show any anguish, as if she truly believed that the Unspoken Word was useless against her. She didn’t even seem to notice the hole that had appeared in all four layers of her barriers, or that the silver temple had long since lost its luster. Shards of the steps were breaking off one by one before dissolving into blue light, but she still remained arrogant.

Perhaps this was how the Unspoken Word killed. Without so much as a whisper, the target is erased before they themselves are able to recognize it.

As more and more of the temple vanished, her face on the screen became more obscure. When the last shred of silver metal vanished, so too did her image. As much as I wanted to join the celebrations, I knew I couldn’t. Relief swept over me, and I collapsed on the floor, my consciousness fading.

I would wake up later, I knew, and get the most stern of talks from my captain. And if she wasn’t around anymore, it would be Casey. Either way, just the fact that everyone had been saved was enough for me to believe that it was all worth it.