Carine Forest — Outer Camp — Dawn
Morning arrived without warmth.
Mist clung to the ground like pale smoke drifting through the camp while thousands of soldiers moved beneath a sky still painted in shades of gray.
Artillery crews were already awake.
Engineers hammered supports into place.
Supply teams rolled ammunition crates across muddy paths.
The camp had begun moving long before the sun itself had risen.
Near the eastern staging area—
Rows of scouting units prepared for deployment.
Cardinals checked weapon locks.
Church knights adjusted runic seals.
Reconnaissance harnesses stood waiting.
Then—
"Where are you going?"
Darian nearly jumped inside his armor.
Because Logos had somehow appeared directly beside him.
Again.
The Black Baron dressed in a simple white shirt and black pants merely tilted his head.
Darian stared through his half-open faceplate.
"…Saints preserve me."
Logos blinked once.
"Elaborate."
"You keep doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Appearing."
Logos tilted his head.
"I walked."
"No normal person walks like that."
Nearby soldiers quietly nodded.
Because they agreed.
Darian pointed accusingly.
"See?"
Logos looked around.
"…Interesting."
Then immediately moved on.
"What are you doing?"
Darian climbed halfway into his armor.
"Our scouts reported nothing unusual."
He gestured vaguely toward the distant tree line.
"So I am checking deeper regions."
Logos stared at him.
Then pointed behind himself.
"Take these."
Several soldiers dragged forward a reinforced crate.
The lid opened.
Inside rested dozens of black rods roughly the length of a man's arm.
Engraved mana channels covered their surfaces.
Rotating metallic rings surrounded each one.
Darian frowned.
"…What are these?"
"Experimental systems."
"That explains absolutely nothing."
Logos handed him a folded map.
Darian unfolded it.
Black markings connected strange locations through geometric patterns.
"What am I looking at?"
"Place the rods here."
Silence.
"…That is your explanation?"
"Yes."
Darian narrowed his eyes.
"…Do they explode?"
Logos looked thoughtful.
Far too thoughtful.
"…Probably not."
"PROBABLY?!"
Several nearby scouts immediately looked horrified.
"It should be fine."
"You said should!"
"That is statistically reassuring."
"No!"
Darian pointed at him.
"No statistics!"
"No percentages!"
"No likely!"
"I want certainty!"
Logos stared.
Then nodded.
"I am certain something will happen."
Absolute silence.
Darian lowered his head.
"…I hate you."
Logos looked genuinely confused.
"That seems excessive."
"If these explode in my hands…"
A pause.
"…I am haunting you."
Logos nodded thoughtfully.
"I know basic exorcism rites."
Darian froze.
"…What?"
"You may attempt haunting if desired."
"Though eternal enslavement remains possible."
Silence.
Then—
"SERIOUSLY?!"
Nearby soldiers physically stepped away.
Kleber, who had just arrived carrying reports, stopped moving.
Closed his eyes.
Then sighed.
"…My lord."
"Yes?"
"Please stop threatening people with supernatural slavery before breakfast."
"I was joking."
Darian stared.
"…You were?"
"Yes."
A pause.
Logos looked away.
"…Mostly."
Absolute silence.
Then Darian climbed into his armor.
"No."
"Nope."
"I am leaving."
He pointed at Logos.
"And if I die—"
The faceplate sealed shut.
"—I am haunting you first."
Logos watched him leave.
Then tilted his head slightly.
Because he was reasonably certain that had been a normal conversation.
"Moving on."
He looked toward Kleber.
"Status?"
Kleber handed over the reports.
"Engineering divisions are prepared."
"Excavation crews are waiting."
"Artillery positioning completed twelve minutes ago."
Logos read through the papers.
Nodded once.
"Good."
Then he looked toward Carine Forest.
Toward the endless black tree line disappearing into mist.
Toward something waiting beyond it.
"Begin."
Immediately—
The camp moved.
Massive transport carriers rolled toward the perimeter.
Locking mechanisms disengaged.
Steel frames unfolded outward.
Walls.
Supports.
Pillars.
Fortifications.
Even Banes moved among them.
Colossal armored giants carrying structures that normally required hundreds of workers.
The sight alone shocked nearby forces.
Exo-harnesses were symbols of prestige.
Symbols of nobility.
Of heroes.
Not labor.
Not construction.
Yet to Laos—
Everything was a variable.
Everything had utility.
Wall segments slammed into the ground with thunderous force.
Runic pylons rotated into position.
Excavation engines bit directly into earth.
Within an hour—
The empty land surrounding Carine Forest began changing.
Transforming.
Growing.
Like an iron city emerging from the ground.
Further along the ridge—
Sous watched silently.
Beside him stood Adrean and Mirelle.
"…This is absurd," Mirelle said quietly.
No one answered.
Because there was no argument.
Fortifications meant to take weeks—
Were appearing in hours.
One of the younger Angelus officers suddenly swallowed.
"My lord…"
Sous looked toward him.
The man pointed slowly toward the forest.
Very slowly.
The tree line was moving.
Not from wind.
Not naturally.
Something beneath it was shifting.
Then—
Darian burst from the forest.
His scouting unit followed behind him at full speed.
Not riding.
Running.
Several harnesses were damaged.
One had lost an arm entirely.
Mud and black blood covered their armor.
Darian tore off his faceplate.
"We found it!"
The ridge froze.
Sous stepped forward immediately.
"What did you find?"
Darian looked toward the forest.
Then back.
For the first time since anyone had met him—
There was no arrogance.
No excitement.
No bravado.
Only disbelief.
Slowly—
He raised one shaking hand.
Pointing toward the trees.
"…The forest…"
A pause.
"…the forest is moving because those aren't trees."
Silence.
"Calm down, then explain," Logos said as he stepped forward.
Darian took several breaths.
Then spoke.
"It was huge."
"Larger than houses."
"Covered in black growths."
He swallowed.
"Hundreds of creatures surrounded it."
The ridge remained silent.
Then Logos asked:
"How many?"
Darian frowned.
"What?"
"How many?"
"Hundreds."
"No."
Logos's voice remained calm.
Flat.
"How many?"
Darian froze.
Because he suddenly understood.
Logos was not asking casually.
He was calculating.
Darian swallowed.
"…Maybe eight hundred."
Silence.
Logos looked toward the forest.
Then toward the black rods on the map.
Then back toward the forest.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then—
"Activate artillery positions."
Sous turned immediately.
"…Already?"
Logos looked toward the moving tree line.
"No."
A pause.
Then for the first time—
A faint smile appeared.
"We are leaving early because I just realized something."
Sous frowned.
"What?"
Logos looked toward the forest.
"…Those weren't trees."