The carriage ride to Ovela was slow and bumpy. I was focusing on a camera I'd dropped about a mile away from Afiele. If we were being followed I wanted to know about it. By unanimous decision, we'd all decided to leave the city as soon as possible.

"Okay, I guess I could see HOW someone could sneak into the mansion. I get that there are classes and skills that allow people to do some pretty amazing things, but I still don't see the WHY?" Cara was looking nervously out one of the windows.

I glanced at her. "It's not so surprising if you assume whomever was behind it knew about my contribution. That's the only thing that might make someone take an interest in me."

Seraphel shook her head. "Not necessarily, Kevin. We don't know how the two of you came to be here. This might've been the actions of the person or organization that summoned you."

The Thronebearers were driving the carriage or riding beside it on horses, so the [Princess] was free to speak about Earth without fear of being overheard.

"I suppose." I was an anomaly in that sense too, since I wasn't from Iota like all the other kidnapped people.

"I don't see it." Cara shook her head. "If you say it wasn't a trap, I have to agree, but it obviously was a threat."

"A threat?"

She nodded. "Yeah, like a horse head in your bed. That sort of thing." She turned to look at me. "Anyone make you an offer you can't refuse lately?"

"There was one strange interaction Dalimont and I had." We'd left Afiele immediately after the incident. The [Princess] was already planning on heading to Ovela to try and convince them of Ailendamus' imminent invasion. She was no longer welcome in the city now that the undead army was gone. "When we left to survey the battlefield and see if we could find the [Necromancer]'s gear, I felt that we were being watched."

Seraphel narrowed her eyes. "How so?"

I shrugged. "Just a feeling. I didn't see anyone suspicious or anyone that seemed to be following us." I paused and looked up as I tried to remember the exact details of our encounter. "Outside the city, there was a man. He looked normal, but something about him felt off. He was familiar, but I don't think I'd ever seen him before." I shook my head. "The most pronounced detail about him was his limp, but that's easily fakeable. He could've been doing it on purpose."

"Why would someone do that?" Cara asked.

"We are talking about him." Seraphel mused. "If the only way we can describe him is as the 'limping man'..."

"...Then the description won't help anyone if he was just faking." Cara sighed and slumped back in her seat.

"Right, so the limping man came up to us and asked to speak we me. He also described me as 'new to these lands'."

Cara frowned. "That sounds like he knew you were from Earth." She looked me up and down. "You need to ditch your clothes and dress in something less noticeable."

I looked down at my distinctly non-black clothing and nodded. "You have a point."

Seraphel interjected. "We'll see to it in Ovela." She waved a hand. "However, it's not surprising for someone to assume you were new to Noelictus considering your clothing."

Cara and I nodded. "Yeah." "You also have a point."

"And was that it?" The [Princess] resumed her questioning. "Did you not meet anyone else outside the palace?"

I shrugged. "We had some guards escort us to the Hunter's Guild. They were rude, but in a 'not wanting to deal with this' sort of way. Same with the Hunter's Guild." I grabbed my shirt with two fingers. "I assumed that it was due to how I looked, or Dalimont's armor. If it was something less... involved than a mutilated corpse, then I could see it being the Guards or Hunters wanting to drive me out."

"Yeah, but how did they know it was your room?" Cara asked. "Don't forget the nobles don't care for either of us or the [Princess]. It would take one of them to know where you were staying."

Right. Seraphel had a 'curse'. This was what? Her third marriage that had ended in death?

"That would explain how it was in my room." I nodded. "Who else would know where I was staying, or have easy access to the Mansion." I shook my head. "But there are two things that don't fit."

"What are they?" Seraphel asked.

"The boy who was killed was the pickpocket who'd tried to steal from me when I first met Dalimont." I held up one finger. "Second." I raised another. "The head said 'Hail'. That's not normal for an undead monster, right?"

"No." Seraphel shook her head. "That's not normal at all." She frowned. "My knowledge is admittedly shallow, but I did do my research before traveling here. Lesser undead do not speak. Also, from the way it was described, I'm not sure the boy WAS undead."

"What?" "Huh?"

She continued. "Death magic is very concentrated in Noelictus, but it's still rare for individual body parts to animate." She held up her hand and wiggled her fingers. "If someone looses a hand, it does not commonly animate and start attacking them. I've never heard tell of something like a finger coming back either. Or bugs. I think there's a minimum size or completeness of the body that's needed. Mice can become undead, but a human head, in that condition?" She shook her head. "I don't think so."

"What if it was a second [Necromancer]?" Cara asked. "The limping guy might've been one. He was in the area where the first [Necromancer] died. He might've been searching for whatever artifacts he possessed, the same as you and Dalimont." She let out a short laugh. "Heck, he might've thought YOU were a Necromancer too, since you were there. Animating heads to say 'Hail' might be how they introduce themselves to other people."

I frowned. "Maybe. I did get a skill when I saw the creature. So that might've been it."

"A skill?" Seraphel narrowed her eyes. "What skill?"

"It's called 'Thread of Fate'."

"I've never heard of a skill like that." The [Princess] murmured. "Still, it could be an invitation, I suppose."

"You should've refused it." Cara tapped her foot. "It sounds like a skill that the ess, tee, eye, tee, see, ache [Witch] would use. I wouldn't put it past her to try and get revenge on us through you." S, T, I, T, C, H? The 'Stitch Witch'. What is this, Dr. Seuss?

"Refuse it?" I asked about the more relevant part. "You can refuse skills?"

Seraphel's eyes widened. "You don't know!" She shook her head. "Of course you don't know. Most people from this world don't know, so it makes sense that a newcomer wouldn't either."

"Know what?" My curiosity was starting to become tinged with fear.

"You can refuse classes and skills." Cara said before adding. "At least classes. I've never gotten a skill without one, so I'm not sure if skills themselves can be turned down."

Seraphel shook her head. "I don't know either. It's uncommon to get a skill outside of a class." She turned to look at me. "Any idea what it does?"

"No." I shook my head. "None. Only that it's temporary and feels different." I focused on it. "I think I might be able to try and activate it."

"Temporary?" Seraphel's eyebrows rose. "That sounds like a boon." She frowned. "Or a curse. If it DID come from her..." She thought for a moment. "Is it a blood skill?"

"A blood skill?" Cara asked.

Seraphel glanced at her then back to me. "Is it red?"

"Red?" It was different, but it wasn't 'red'. I shook my head. "No. It's not 'red'."

The [Princess] let out a sigh of relief. "Then it can't be that bad. Just, be careful. We can try and get someone to remove it soon."

We sat in silence for a while before a knock on the carriage roof made Seraphel jump. "We are out of sight of any other travelers." Dalimont said from outside.

Seraphel opened the door. "Then let us halt for a moment."

The carriage rolled to a stop and we all exited. I looked around and then pointed. "The border is that direction, correct?"

Ser Godard dismounted from the front of the carriage and stepped towards us. "That's right." His hand strayed to a pouch on his belt. "Do you wish to review the map again?"

"You should take it with you." Cara said from the side. "Better than getting lost."

I shook my head. "No need. I have it memorized." Or at least saved to a hard drive in my Inventory.

Seraphel walked up to me and clasped my hands in hers. "Stay safe, brave Kevin. Ailendamus' army is far more dangerous than that of the undead."

"Don't worry." I smiled at her. "I'll be careful."

"Do you truly think you can stop them?" Dalimont said from the side. "Your golden flames are a fierce spell, but they have [Mages] of their own."

I shook my head at him. "If I can't stop them, I can delay them. Besides, no one's reported them moving across the border yet, right? I'll be in no danger." I then un-Inventoried my Samus suit before doing the same with my Cawthorne armor. I then took a step back, nodded once, and flew away towards the mountain pass that connected Ailendamus and Noelictus.

...

I kept track of the beacon I'd placed on the underside of the carriage. Cara and Seraphel were continuing their way south. Good. Not that I was stalking them, but it'd be far easier to follow a homing signal than it would be to navigate Noelictus' 'landmarks'. At least the mountains shouldn't be too hard to find.

I started Crafting as I flew towards my destination. I was high enough that I should go unnoticed.

I thought about what I'd do to stop Ailendamus' army, assuming Seraphel was right about their intentions. I didn't want to kill them. Not because it would be too hard, although magic might make it far from simple, but because it would be too easy.

Death... didn't disturb me. Gamer's Mind negated too much. I could kill them all without batting an eye.

But, I didn't want to be that sort of person. I wanted to be like Dragon... even if I was really more like Contessa.

I sighed.

It worried me, to the extent that Gamer's Mind allowed me to feel worried. I've already killed so many people, and I'll kill so many more. Where would I draw the line? I tried to take a purely objective stance.

'Would the world be better off if this person wasn't in it?'

It was an impossible question. Even Fortuna didn't know all the answers.

*Self-doubt negated by Gamer's Mind.

I shrugged. I could only do my best. I wasn't going to refuse to kill, but I'd try not to if it was possible.

The problem, or at least one of my problems was that it was a lot easier to kill someone than it was to stop them non-lethally. Every solider had a life they wanted to get back to. On the other hand, every soldier was part of a group that was perfectly willing to kill others to get what they wanted.

It was impossible to moralize on a battlefield.

I saw mountains on the horizon. I was getting closer to my goal. My [Wall Seed] was finished. All I needed to do was to drop it off.

I had to drop lower to see the road that wound through the mountain pass. It was pretty big if I could see it from here.

I turned off my jets and floated down with my forcefield wings and reduced gravity. I angled my decent away from the road. A few people were traveling along it even now, and I didn't want to be noticed when I landed.

I touched down on a less-vertical part of the mountain, and a large stone humanoid with wings charged me. We were out of sight of the road and fairly high up. I created a barrier between us, which the... gargoyle? ran into.

It screeched and clawed at the projected wall of force to no avail. Ears of Babel wasn't translating its roars into anything, but that didn't necessarily mean it wasn't sapient. I needed to ask Seraphel about other races.

I raised my hand and expanded the wall to enclose the beast. It's voice was suddenly cut off as the force cube enclosed it. The Cawthorne didn't have resistance to sound attacks, but I could still make the forcefields thick enough and layer them to prevent any noise from escaping.

What to do?

The gargoyle was no threat to me on its own, but its cries could attract more of its kind. Also, it was clearly magical so I shouldn't say it couldn't hurt me. For all I knew, it possessed an ability that Gamer's Body couldn't negate. Or it might attract the attention of something else that was more dangerous.

The smart thing would be to kill it.

I started Inventorying the air inside of the box. Most things still needed to breathe.

It didn't take long to make a vacuum. Air didn't weigh much.

The gargoyle fell to its knees as its eyes started bleeding. It weakly scratched at the walls as it vomited a mixture of stomach bile and more blood. After five seconds, it couldn't move. After ten, it collapsed. I waited until fifteen seconds had passed before un-Inventorying the air back. That was how long it took someone to pass out from lack of oxygen.

Or at least, that was how long on average it took a human to pass out.

The gargoyle lay still except for a faint rising and falling of its chest. Good. It was still alive.

I activated Rapid Regeneration on it for a few seconds. That should fix any ruptures and prevent an embolism.

I waited, but it didn't seem to be regaining consciousness.

Good.

I wasn't being observed by anything according to Threat Sense, so I lowered the force walls and Inventoried the Cawthorne. Time to descend and plant this thing.

...

The trip down was uneventful. Threat Sense might not be reliable when dealing with magic, but it still worked just fine for stealth. Knowing that someone was going to see me in two seconds was just enough time to stop and hide.

There were small critters like rabbits and squirrels. Along side them were more dangerous predators like large cats and gargoyles. However, the most common threat I faced were the undead versions of them all. They grew more frequent as I lost altitude. I guessed that zombies weren't very good at climbing.

I Inventoried my armor once I got to the road.

Traffic was sparse, so I didn't have to wait long to plant my seed. It just needed a final touch. Conversion scaled to the size of the object I had it Craft, but it still took time to create more advanced items. I'd found a workaround. While the same limitations were in place for how many Blueprints/Skills I could combine to make the initial seed, it could also incorporate external components.

I might not have enough time to Craft some [Forcefield Pylons], but I carried several inside my Inventory. They were incredibly useful. Three ought to do it. I un-Inventoried them one-by-one and fed them to my Seed. It grew with each addition until it was the size of a couch.

I Observed it and nodded. Everything looked good. The [Wall Seed] fell from my hand and passed through the ground without so much as a ripple. I'd been hesitant to use Conversion at first, considering what I'd obtained it from, but my newest Trait was a God-send.

It still irked me that I hadn't had it when I'd Crafted my permanent Golden Gun.

While the seed started Crafting without my direction, I walked further towards Ailendamus. My goal wasn't to encounter them, but I wanted an early warning system. One nice thing about the landscape being a singular color was that it was easy to plant cameras that blended in.

Of course, I didn't know what magical options there were to notice my black cubes, or to detect spies. Therefore, I also included a self-destruct system. Nothing explosive. That was too potentially harmful - especially if magic could somehow replicate or reverse-engineer technology.

It was better to err on the side of caution.

My solution? A sub-component that was nothing more than a power sink. Activating did nothing but drain the energy reserves of the camera at an astounding rate - and that was the default mode. Only a constant signal would keep it from triggering. That way, if someone did notice and steal my tech, they'd be left with a worthless lump of metal after 0.2 seconds.

Well, a lump of some burnt out electronics and some rounded glass. I supposed the glass might be worth something in this world.

Six cameras placed up to a mile away should suffice. The could also act like relays - taking my encrypted signal from Tongue of Babel and passing it on. I Crafted more as I walked back to where my wall was being formed underground. I didn't plan on watching the road between here and Ovela, but it cost me little to make camera-transmitters instead of just relays. Plus, they would give me additional teleportion options.

The wall seemed growing nicely, so I set off at a brisk jog back into Noelictus. It shouldn't take me more than a day to return.

...

Ovela looked as Ser Dalimont had described it - a military outpost.

The walls were taller than Afiele's, and numerous towers armed with ballistas rose even higher. Some undead probably warranted such a response, but I suspected the main reason for them was Noelictus' neighbors to the East. There weren't many people exiting or leaving, so at least there wouldn't be a line.

I approached the gates, and a guard looked me up and down. "Papers." He held out his hand.

I frowned. "I don't have any papers."

He looked at me. "Then you aren't getting in."

"What?" Seraphel hadn't mentioned anything about papers. "Since when do I need papers to enter?" I mean, it might've always been the case, but I didn't think so.

"Since the [Scouts] saw movement across the border."

"Okay. Fine. What do I need to do to get papers?"

He looked me up and down. "For someone suspicious looking like you?" The guard gave a short laugh. "Wait until Ailendamus stops rattling their glass sabers."

I folded my arms and glared at the guard for a moment before turning and leaving. Noelictus was not a very friendly place, even if you disregarded the undead. Stupid insular communities.

So what now?

I don't HAVE to enter the city. I can stop Ailendamus at the pass by myself, or at least that's the plan. Once they're turned away, Ovela might let me inside without a fuss. Or they might become even more paranoid after seeing an army cross their border.

I could probably get in contact with Seraphel via a drone. I have a few nice ones that could fly in without being seen. Of course, if I was going to go that route, I could just use them to teleport in instead. In fact, that's a better idea anyways. A [Princess] of Calanfer might not have the political clout to countermand the military.

If this was America and I had to sneak into a military camp again, Threat Sense and teleportation would be the best option. I couldn't be sure that Ovela's defenses would be easily breached by an invisible drone. As usual, I had better capabilities than my gear.

I walked far enough away that I could no longer make out the guards and Crafted another camera.

I could teleport above the city and drop it before teleporting away, but I might be spotted. Or they might be able to detect teleportation. Seemed like a necessary defense in a world with magic. No, if I was going to teleport in, I didn't want to raise any alarms before I did.

Instead, I sat down and let Expansion slowly expand the range of all my abilities. It didn't take long for it to spread close by. Standing still for a few seconds allowed me to increase my base range by a factor of ten. Encompassing the city would take significantly longer.

Thankfully, I was patient. Plus, I could use the time to recharg my Golden Gun slightly. Not that an hour or two would even restore a single percentage of its capacity, but hey, every drop helped.

Eventually, I'd reached the point where Inventory could release things within the far away city. I un-Inventoried the camera right above the wall.

...It landed face down.

Another strong point in favor of Expansion and Inventory instead of Teleportation - I could easily try again.

...The second camera landed pointing towards the sky.

I really need to adjust these things' weight, or give them a gyroscope, or something.

...The third camera landed facing a dark alleyway.

Perfect!

Threat Sense told me I wouldn't be observed if I teleported inside, so I did. The alleyway was empty, but the streets were still busy despite the late hour. I slipped out when no one was looking and quickly made my way towards the beacon I'd left in Seraphel's carriage.

It brought me to an inn.

Good enough. I still had money from the change I'd gotten from buying the turnip, so I entered and purchased a room for the night.

Cara got up and went downstairs for breakfast, only to find Kevin was already there. Was flying off in a mechanical suit to do superhero stuff, and then showing up the next morning like nothing had happened a superhero thing? Or was it a Kevin thing?

"Hey." She sat down at his table. Kevin looked up, but a [Server] was already approaching them.

"What would you care for this morning, miss?"

He offered her a menu, but Cara held up a hand a shook her head. "Just some eggs." She glanced at Kevin's plate, he had some nice, fluffy, black bread. "And some bread and butter." If there was someone here that could make something other than flatbread, she had to try it. Besides, her new skills would keep her looking thin.

"Of course."

Once he had left, Cara turned back to her fellow dimensional traveler. "So just how late did you get in?"

Kevin grunted. "Late. The guards wouldn't let me in, so I had to get creative."

Cara raised an eyebrow. "Creative?"

Kevin shrugged. "Teleportation without anyone noticing." He took a bite of his bread, chewed, swallowed, and then continued. "Is Seraphel here?"

"She-" Cara stopped as the [Server] returned with her food. She reached into her belt pouch and produced some coins to pay him - meals weren't included with the room. Once they were alone again, she continued. "She's in her room. She won't come out for food." Cara smiled. "It's 'scandalous' for her to be staying at such a cheap inn."

Kevin gave an amused grunt. "So it's like she's a celebrity then?"

Cara poked her eggs. "More or less. I think the social differences are more pronounced, but it's still two different worlds." She looked at the superhero and her eyes narrowed. "Of course, you would know what that's like, huh?"

Kevin smiled and nodded his head. "That's the truth. For me it was even trickier." He took another bite. "But I never spent time with rich civilians. I guess you could call me upper middle class. We had our own house, but it was in a podunk town."

"Oh?" Cara leaned forward. He'd deflected when she'd asked him about himself before. While hearing about his superhero role model had been interesting, she still wanted to know how Kevin had become 'Pixel'.

He let out a sigh. "Yep. Real small. Barely a 2-A highschool, if that makes any sense to you." She nodded. "Out in the middle of nowhere. Now it's nothing more than a memorial."

"Because that's where the great 'Pixel' grew up?" Cara smirked.

Kevin shook his head. "No. It's a memorial as one of the last towns that my world's most prolific serial killers wiped off the map."

What? Cara dropped her fork and put her hands to her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"

Kevin waved her off. "How could you? It's... fine. I've accepted it."

Cara picked her wooden utensil back up and glanced around, but no one was paying attention to them. "So... What are your plans for the day?"

Kevin shrugged. "I made a wall that I can raise when Ailendamus attacks. Until then?" He tilted his head to the side. "Tinkering I guess." He speared some more eggs with his fork before pausing. "Oh. I need to go shopping too." He gestured at himself. "I need some clothes that blend in better."

Cara nodded. "I was going to bring that up earlier, but..." She made a circular motion with her hand. "Things happened." She jerked her head back and to the side. "C'mon, I'll help you find a [Tailor]."

Kevin ate the last of his eggs and nodded. "Sure. Sounds like a plan."

Despite being less crowded than Afiele, Ovela felt livelier. Admittedly, that was in part due to the undead army. There had been celebrations, sure, but I'd gotten the sense that Afiele had been waiting for the other shoe to drop. I guess that's another cultural difference between here and Earth Bet. Being saved from catastrophe at the last minute wasn't expected, but it was hoped for on my world.

Here, not so much. I suspected it had to do with Noelictus' special circumstances. If a large scale fight resulted in lots of bodies that would keep on reanimating... then a sudden victory had to be surprising.

"You know." I leaned down to speak with Cara. "I was expecting people to be locked inside the houses and soldiers patrolling the streets. I mean, they wouldn't let me in without 'papers', so all this..." I gestured with my hands. "Seems strange."

"Papers?" Cara sounded puzzled. "I guess the Thronebearers handled that for us. Nobody mentioned any lock downs."

I shrugged. "The only explanation I got was that their [Scouts] saw something across the border."

"I guess that's natural considering that Ovela is the first line of defense."

"That's why I expected... I dunno, fear? A militia being formed? Not... singing."

"Oh. That." Cara smirked. "It's common in Noelictus. They sing in the fields to help pass the time while planting or harvesting. Who doesn't like music when you work?"

I nodded. "I guess it also helps keep their spirits up."

"Yeah." Cara pointed. "There's a [Tailor], let's get you fitted."

I pulled the money I had out of my Inventory. "Will this be enough? I'm not sure about the prices here."

Cara look at it before shoving it back towards me. "It's not, but don't worry about it. I'll cover it." I looked at her, but she waved me away. "Seraphel gave me some spending money. I swear, you rich people would get fleeced if you ever did the shopping yourselves."

I stiffened. "Hey, I do my own shopping. You can't blame me for not knowing the local economy."

Cara smirked at me. "Fair. C'mon rich boy, lets expose you to the local fashion."

The local fashion, as Cara put it, was black. Black shoes, black pants, black shirts, black coats and black hats. The singular exception was what would've been called 'flair' back on earth. A ring, hat band, belt or brooch of a bright color that drew the eye.

I'd seen the same thing in Afiele, but I'd ignored it. I'd never cared about clothing, much to Riley's chagrin. My defense - that I was at least better at it than Sibby - hadn't won me any arguments.

"I don't need the feather." I told the storekeeper. I motioned at my current outfit. "I have plenty of non-black clothing, so I don't need more."

The portly man looked me up and down. "You foreigners are all the same. You think you can add a splash of color anywhere and it will look good." He sighed. "But, if you want to look like a [Serf], who am I to judge?"

I left the store with an arm-full of clothing. I wasn't going to casually use Inventory in public, not after the incident with the [Thief]. So I'd had to carry everything back to the Inn by hand. Cara and I sat in the common room next to my recent purchase.

"Thanks, again. I'll pay you back."

Cara shook her head. "Like I said, it was Seraphel's money. Besides, you can't say you didn't earn it."

"I suppose." But if I had wanted a bounty or a reward, I could've landed in Afiele as Pixel. "I wonder if I can sell anything to make some money while staying out of the spotlight."

"That depends." Cara tapped her foot as she thought. "You could pass off your tech as magic around here, do you have anything that doesn't blow stuff up?"

I nodded. "I can make potions."

"Really?" Her eyes opened wide before she rolled them. "I shouldn't be surprised. Healing potions are good. I'm not sure about guilds and stuff. There might be regulations on them."

"They also are noticeable."

"Noticeable?"

I nodded. "They're pixelized too."

"What? You mean that's, like, a requirement and not your... uhm... image?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Everything I make looks like that."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "That's how powers work on my Earth. They all come with their own quirks or limitations. If you want to get technical, my tech 'creates an energy field around an object that allows it to mimic the properties of other advanced technology'." Or at least that was the PRT's line. It was based on what Dragon had thought before I'd told her the truth.

Cara laughed. "Wow. That's something else."

I wound up talking with Cara for the rest of the day. Earth Bet might differ from Earth Iota, but the similarities were enough to trigger Cara's homesickness.

The days passed quickly. I learned some traditions of both Noelictus and Calanfer alongside several things this world took for granted. Like magic, truth stones, classes, and skills.

Cara liked songs, and her [Pop Star] class had numerous skills that helped her sing. She explained how the farmers here had [Singers] and [Musicians] that played for them while they worked. A sort of medieval radio. We also went shopping for more clothes. I tended to go through them rapidly when I wasn't wearing my armor, so a surplus that wouldn't stand out was a good idea.

Seraphel was interested in Superheroes and kept on asking me about them. Once I told her about the PRT and the Protectorate, her eyes lit up. She compared them to Guilds, and I couldn't really disagree.

Her Thronebearers were mostly content to stand guard, since Seraphel didn't want to spread knowledge of other planets. Thus, they weren't included in many of the conversations. Ser Godard did come to me in private, asking that I model my armor for a sketch.

I didn't like having to do PR in my world, but I saw the use of it. Besides, if his pictures someday made 'Pixel' famous, it might help in finding Riley. Also, there was a reason for having multiple identities. I could blend in easily enough if I didn't make obvious use of my Crafting Perk.

It was during dinner on the third day that Ears of Babel picked up an alert.

I stood up. "Ailendamus is on the move."

"Already?" Cara and Seraphel looked up at me.

"Yes." I focused on the signal from the outermost camera. "They're at the mountain pass and are crossing the border."

"...And you need to teleport away. I got it." Cara stood up and put a hand on my shoulder. "I know you're an invincible superhero, but... stay safe."

I nodded. "I will."