Even though it was the southern summer, it was still chilly when We neared Solenn. Solenn was just so very far south, near the southern terminus of the mainland at World's End, that it was never all that warm here.
"How deep is the ocean floor, exactly?" Izena asked suddenly, as the city came into view on the horizon. "I've forgotten."
I only vaguely remembered Myself.
"The World's End Cliff goes straight down about 30 leagues, I think?" I answered. "I know the bottom is whatever the depth is where the water is crushed into a weird ice, by the pressure. And the cylinder of the facility goes the whole way down."
Izena scoffed theatrically.
"What could possibly go wrong?" She said, sarcasm palpable. "We're descending into the bowels of basically an abyssal aquarium of ocean monsters, surely mind controlled if they haven't been eaten already, in order to kill the thing at the very bottom or close to it, which will probably be trying to enslave Our minds the entire time. The water pressure will be astronomical for most of the descent, and the building's protective enchantments are surely failing, so We'll be in constant danger of implosion if anything damages the walls. And then when We're done, We have to climb all the way back up."
"I can shield Us from the water and repair the walls. Plus, got any better ideas?" I asked.
"No. At least We don't need to bring a lamp into the infinite dark since We're all glowy."
"That's My Sister, always looking for a bright side," I giggled out.
A little later, Izena ruined My mood.
"Would it be better or worse for Us if the automated feeding systems have failed? You know, the enchanted items that put out tasty mana morsels for the, uh, specimens to eat?" she wondered aloud. "The monsters inside might have starved to death if the system failed, but they might also have just become very, very, very hungry and cranky."
Hmmm.
"Well, their minds would be dominated anyway, if they haven't all been eaten already. What does it matter how hungry they are? They can't make their own decisions. It's probably better if the systems failed and weakened everything that's still alive," I replied.
But then I realized a disturbing series of facts.
The monster We were here to kill surely had control of all the minds in the facility.
It was "always hungry," the storm fly had said.
It had been in the facility for a millennium.
Might it have already eaten everything in there, before the war even started or shortly after, and then monopolized all of the food provided to the entire facility by the food supply system for the last thousand years, or until the system had failed? A food supply intended for all the occupants of a massive column of ocean many leagues tall filled with voracious monsters, all eaten by a single one at the bottom...
This would be a problem, because sea monsters love big juicy mana meals, because they expand the mana pool. That's, for example, how storm nymphs eventually get enough mana to transform into storm flies. Such a diet was a means of increasing power, like the mana overdraw method that I had used, with the downside that it required killing and eating a large number of foes with powerful magic. Not the greatest synergy with white magic or a human appetite--humans would uniformly be better off using My method--but effective if one is willing and able to eat voraciously.
"Sister. I think the monster might be stronger than it was when We last fought it." I told Izena what I had realized.
I could feel Izena's chill.
"That would explain why in the past it could only manage the detailed control of Oscanion, while everything else got the easier full-wipe and simple orders technique, while nowadays it can handle two storm flies and all of their nymphs," She replied. "Will Your purification still be strong enough?"
"It has to, so it will," I said, resigned. "Please, if You can find another bright side, I'd love to hear it."
When We reached the city, We went directly to the headquarters of the Solenn Guard on the outskirts, near the old entry gate and road from the north, where the Guards rested while off duty and accepted supply shipments. It was easy to find, since it was the only building in the largely abandoned city that was maintained, and it had exactly the same aesthetic, albeit in the form of a small fortress and omitting the external layer of crystal, as the Temple at Rokesha. However, We found it deserted, but with signs of it having been occupied reasonably recently.
At least the Guard had not been completely annihilated. However, one of the storm flies, the mother, had retreated from the Rokesha attack after the father was slain. It was probable that she had returned to the laboratory.
The already-weakened Guard was likely in a crisis that required full mobilization, trying to maintain control of the seaside laboratory in the face of an ocean goddess' unwilling assault. We headed toward the nearby peninsula.
There were no signs yet of any red magic attack, or taint creeping into Our minds in any way, but that was expected. Dekel had told Me that the city itself was not unusual; only upon approaching the laboratory was there cause for concern. And, the Solenn Guard was equipped with their amulets now, which would suppress the danger.
As We headed further south, We caught sight of storm clouds on the horizon toward the end of the peninsula. Closer still, and it was an apocalyptic scene of polluted twisters and sewage falling as rain familiar from Rokesha. The storm fly was perched on the roof of the great cylindrical laboratory, strangely passive aside from summoning the storm. Was the mother still resisting in a similar way to how the father had?
Or, was the storm fly held in reserve to prevent entry to the facility?
Even under the circumstances, that last thought amused Me. Was the 'master' so terrified by My acts in Rokesha, so concerned that perhaps Izena also lived, that it was desperately focussing on keeping Us out of the laboratory, afraid that We might slip in if it didn't have a guardian at the entrance? The father storm fly had said that it feared Us greatly, for killing or liberating so many of its mind-slaves in the past, including Oscanion. It seemed plausible.
Izena apparently had the same thought, because She contorted Our face into a predatory grin. Actually, it's possible that We both did simultaneously.
Despite the impossible odds, the Guard was still fighting, trying to reestablish control of the facility while enduring the environmental hazards. Maybe they had been surprised by the initial arrival of the storm flies, but that had only redoubled their resolve when the mother returned.
They were more well-prepared for this kind of scenario than I had feared. Mandatory excellence, indeed. They were trying to fire at the storm fly using siege weapons embedded in bunkers, in the area surrounding the laboratory and dotting the nearby cliffside. A volley fired in sequence, attacks staggered to try to make it more difficult for the storm fly to block them all with a single spell, and I learned that they were some kind of ballistae or harpoon launchers. The attempt at strategy was moot; they were firing projectiles into a wall of gusting cyclonic winds. The storm fly barely needed to deflect anything, anyway.
Effectiveness aside, how had the Guards synchronized their attack that well under these conditions? Relentless drilling? Impressive.
The bunkers were as low to the ground as possible, with rounded roofs, to be resistant to the very kind of wind that they were now facing. Even the natural winter storms here must be severe. Slits fully encircling the bunkers implied that the ballistae inside could rotate to fire in any direction, the Guards having both the facility itself and the sea below the cliff in mind as possible target zones.
The Guard had clearly foreseen and prepared for a situation like this, but without access to enchanted weaponry, it was still utterly hopeless.
