Chapter 2018: Chapter 2018

Black ash swirled over the waves, carried on the wind toward the giant. Unexpectedly, the colossal figure opened its maw and inhaled the cinders completely. A dark light flickered across its metallic surface for a moment before it unleashed a torrent of putrid black fire at Jenkins.

A sacred flame surged from within Jenkins, rushing skyward to meet the attack. The two torrents of fire coiled around each other. Though neither burned with searing heat, their power was no less devastating than any conventional blaze.

With a series of metallic clanks, portholes opened all over the mechanical giant's body. More bombs, trailing plumes of steam, shot out from the apertures, but the smaller projectiles were easily intercepted by the burgeoning sea of trees.

The potion was temporary, and Jenkins knew he couldn't drag this out much longer. Seeing that they were at a stalemate, he decided he was done toying with his opponent.

A blinding white light materialized before Jenkins. The Church members behind him couldn't make out what it was. They only saw the brilliant light coalesce into a colossal blade that cleaved straight down.

Compared to the spectacle of the battle thus far, the act itself seemed almost underwhelming. Yet, this single strike split the massive metal giant clean in two, even shearing off a corner of the great brass gate behind it.

The demigods from the Church couldn't see that this was, in fact, the Skull Sword transformed into the Holy Sword, but the automaton that took the blow head-on recognized it instantly.

"I see now. You knew no one would believe me, so you acted without restraint. Should I commend you? You've truly taken the power of lies to its absolute limit."

"Say whatever you like at this point,"

Jenkins said, carefully retrieving a small red sphere from his pocket. It was the item left behind by the red-nosed clown—one of the Cursed Object callers—months ago, during Miss Brolignans and Miss Audrey's first visit to his home on St. George Street.

This was the Clown's Red Nose Bomb. It would detonate upon being completely soaked in water, with an explosive force capable of leveling half the city. Jenkins had stored it with extreme care. Before leaving that morning, he had reasoned that with negotiations of this magnitude, a major battle was all but certain. He had brought it along just in case, and now, the time had come to use it.

The brass gate was closing, and the metallic man carrying the replica Mechanical Heart had already fled through it. Jenkins made no move to stop him. Instead, he waited until the opening was nothing more than a hairline crack, then suddenly hurled the red sphere.

He threw with all his might. He was at the apex of his power, and even without his feet on the ground to fully channel his Titan's Power, the force was enough to send the sphere hurtling through the gate faster than the speed of sound.

The sphere, of course, became soaked with rain as it flew. It produced a sonic boom as it shot through the opening just before the gate slammed shut and rapidly receded.

Jenkins summoned the sea of trees, raising a wooden shield before him. He held the cat, which had been perfectly behaved on his shoulder, and turned to face away from the gate. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel{f}ire.net

He counted down from three in his mind. When he finished, he could feel the world tremble, even suspended in the air. A pillar of fire erupted behind him, and fragments of the gate blasted outward, slamming into his wooden barrier and protecting the city from the volley of shrapnel.

The sea of trees retracted, shrinking back into the cane in Jenkins's grasp. He looked up and saw a dark figure fleeing high in the rainy sky. Though the strange brass gate was destroyed, the gear automaton with the replica Mechanical Heart had survived.

Jenkins shot into the sky in pursuit. Without the gate, the rest of the fight would hold no surprises, so he didn't wait for the Church demigods to join him.

Most of the Church members remained at the docks to deal with the aftermath of the battle. A few tried to follow the fleeing automaton and Jenkins, but the pair were moving too fast. A few seconds of hesitation was all it took to lose their trail completely.

The battle in the Docklands hadn't actually lasted very long, so there were still more than ten minutes until two o'clock. Standing at a church window, Alexia Miller watched the distant docks before turning to Dolores Stuart and Briny Mikhail.

"It's over," she announced. "Jenkins should be back soon."

"What do we do next?"

"The negotiations are about to begin. If you don't need to touch up your makeup, we should go now."

Briny wasn't participating in the negotiations, so she stayed behind with Julia. Together with the little pixie hidden in her hair, they waited, their hearts filled with unease.

Dolores and Alexia met up with the delegation from the northern kingdom, who had just arrived. After a brief explanation of the situation, they followed a group of clerics to a courtyard behind the main church building.

"I heard Jenkins say the Gate of All Things is underground,"

Dolores whispered. Alexia shook her head.

"The circumstances are special this time. The Legacy Sage Church intends to make a grander spectacle of it."

The clerics didn't lead them into any of the buildings, instead instructing them to wait for a moment in a cloister bordering the courtyard. Someone soon arrived with umbrellas. Once everyone was shielded from the rain, the lead cleric carefully took a pinch of colored powder from a small cloth pouch and tossed it into the rainy courtyard.

As the powder dispersed on the wind, a transparent stairway reaching high into the sky materialized before them. It was so translucent they couldn't be certain it wasn't an illusion. Dolores, however, was convinced it was a phantom, as the rain passed right through it, proving it wasn't solid.

Alexia said, seeing right through her student's thoughts.

The princess tilted her umbrella slightly and raised her gaze to the top of the stairway.

she breathed, in her most prim and ladylike manner.

Floating high above the Legacy Sage Church was an immense, circular, transparent structure resembling an ancient colosseum. Stairways extended from it in eight directions. These were not straight, however; they twisted and turned through the air, weaving together directly over the courtyard before branching out from that central point to form eight separate walkways leading to the cloister.

The circular structure was nearly as large as the entire Legacy Sage Cathedral. Though its transparency meant it cast no shadow, the sight of it hanging in the sky was still utterly breathtaking from below.