The Innkeeper

"Excellent. If we keep at it, how much time can we cut down?" Lex asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement. There were too many things that could have gone wrong, or else Powell would not have given them a manual. Fortunately, things worked out - for now.

"That depends on how long we can continue to teleport. Assuming that there is no issue, and we can go right up to the target planet like this, we'll be there in 20 hours. But realistically speaking, since we are anticipating issues with teleportation, it's tough to estimate how much time we've reduced. All I can say is that this is much faster than before."

"I hope so," said Lex, almost as a whisper. The teleportation module was extremely expensive, and rare moreover. Lex had only been able to buy it due to his membership level at the emporium. Or else, he would not have been able to get it even if he offered double the money. After all, some of the resources that went into making it were just too rare.

There was a reason why only ultra large empires and organizations could afford teleportation on an interstellar scale. Most other outfits just usually tolerated the long commute time in moving between the stars. Lex sat down in the co-pilot's seat and looked out into space. Ordinarily, he would have enjoyed the spectacular views a lot. But at this moment, he had subdued all his emotions and only waited silently until they faced their next hurdle. Right now, he had no time nor did he have the state of mind to get lost in his daydreams.

*****

Z grunted as the mech was blown into the air and fell hard on its back. It couldn't be helped. Ordinarily he would have perfectly dodged the incoming attack, but with space rippling all around him, it was difficult to anticipate how the altered space would affect each attack.

Without wasting even a second, the mech rolled on the ground and quickly jumped up, avoiding a few more attacks.

At this point, no matter how impressive the Midnight battalion was, or how powerful they were, Z had to admit that he had seriously underestimated demons. To be fair, prior to this, his experience with demons was limited to zombies, who were not the most impressive bunch even at higher levels. But that was not the case with other demon species, it seemed.

Thirteen massive demons, larger even than the mech, surrounded him, all wielding extremely potent weapons.

Although the mech had avoided taking critical hits, his shield was already on the verge of being destroyed. The few attacks the mech had suffered were mostly neutralized due to the formations own internal protective mechanisms, but even so the soldiers forming and supporting the mech felt the strain.

With gritted teeth, Z decided to make a few extremely risky moves. After all, if he was going to die by being defeated by the demons anyway, he would rather risk dying by tearing space apart.

Ignoring the massive army, all attacking and shooting him from around the mech's very feet, he turned his attention to the nearest large demon. It looked like a centaur, but instead of the body of a horse, its lower body was that of a centipede. Not only did it boast considerable strength, speed and flexibility, its many claws were extremely corrosive, and played a fundamental part in weakening his shield and even spear.

"You'll be the first!" Z roared, and lunged forward. The massive demon, towering above the mech even, had already withstood many of the mechs attacks. Although its spear had pierced its body, the wounds it delivered were inconsequential, so it became confident. That confidence became the root cause of its downfall.

Just before the spear, glowing with its yellow light, pierced the demon's body, a purple flame enveloped it. Space rippled as the devastating power of the attack threatened to rend asunder reality itself, but Z did not withdraw his attack or lessen its intensity!

Two more demons lunged at the mech, not to help their ally but to take advantage of it being busy, yet this time the space ripples seemed to benefit the mech!

With such distorted space, judging distances was becoming difficult for everyone, the demons included. Only Z, who had been studying the behavior of space this entire time with his affinity, seemed to be gaining some insights.

As soon as he delivered the attack he moved away, dodging attacks on its back, and instead gaining an opportunity to attack a different demon altogether. The purple flames on the tip of his spear began to spread over its body, transforming the weapon into something even more deadly.

Yet for all the advantages he had gained, he was unable to deliver a decisive blow. That was the problem with being outnumbered so heavily, and by opponents so strong. He had to continuously deliver small blows to numerous enemies until they accumulated into something that could have a significant impact. If he was allowed enough time to focus on one enemy at a time they would have been defeated a long time ago, but such was not the case. Moreover, there was no use complaining either.

Since even the flames, although extremely powerful, were not giving him a decisive edge, he decided to take an even bigger risk. This would surely shatter space as well, so he had to be ready for more Void Dwellers.

Yet before he could make his move, lightning fell from the sky and struck the demon in front of him! Chains rose from the ground and tied up another! The temperature drastically dropped around, causing its body to freeze where it stood.

The change was too sudden, the demons were not able to react in time. Although Z did not understand where the change came from, he did not hesitate to take advantage of it.

Just as he slew the first massive demon, he finally saw the source of the sudden changes on the battlefield.

In the distance, twenty three massive figures could be seen approaching at incredible speeds. On their massive frames, Z could identify magicians' robes, and something in his mind clicked.

Luthor had already told him about them. One of the most magically inclined races in existence: the Marzu had arrived!

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