Reprogramming the Machine Army was relatively simple, Aleister carefully wrote lines of code to give it new orders. He had already sent out Medea and Okita to gather a small amount of the Machine Army's nanomachines, while the rest of the Army would act as normal and convince the constantly active PRT and Guild watch that nothing had changed.
The Machine Army in the real world had ended up freezing for a few minutes when its digital avatar had fought Keramon, which had led to a panic from the PRT believing it was doing something new. But as long as he kept them working as usual, nobody should figure out anything.
He did muse about letting the PRT claim a victory and destroy the Machine Army's remains once he took enough of it for his own plans, giving them a victory would let the spotlight shine of them for a bit instead of his future acts.
So many choices, so little time. Aleister grinned as he sensed Medea teleporting back with Okita, a large bucket filled with tiny machines, perfect.
Item gained.
- Machine Army nanomachines. A bucket filled with nanomachines created by the Machine Army, not top quality, but they will work quickly.
Two blades clashed, and instantly Aleister could feel the sheer strength difference between himself and Okita, the Assassin may have only had C Rank Strength, but without activating his Reinforcement or Haki she was simply to strong for him to hope to hope to overpower.
Okita instantly pulled her blade back, going for a thrust that pierced right through the Haki of his right leg, pain flared through his body but the master grit his teeth. He needed real danger to improve. Focusing Reiryoku into his feet, he attempted to perform a Shunpo-
Only for a open palm to hit his face, stumbling back he felt blood begin to leak down his nose. Okita's own face was blank, he could figure out nothing from there.
Instantly she shot forward, his Observation Haki only giving him the barest of warnings to raise his Zanpakuto and block a slash that would've left him with a bleeding chest.
"Your to slow". The Assassin went for another thrusting stab, Aleister barely avoiding it. "Why not go all out with your Haki and Reinforcement?".
"Don't want to get to used to it. Relying on one power will get me rusty with others, I'm trying to stick to using Armament only for defense". Aleister replied, wincing as his leg kept bleeding, he needed to make something that'd increase the rate he healed. He could try recreating Wolverine's powers or go with a more mystical method of healing, ether should work. "In a real fight I wouldn't hesitate, but this is a sparring match purely to improve".
"I suppose so... Now, come on!". Okita rushed at her master, the two continuing their spar with the favor clearly in the Assassin's favor.
Parameters increased.
Physical - 30%
Reiryoku - 18%
Skills increased.
- Swordplay 18%
- Observation Haki 28%.
- Armament Haki 22%.
"Oh? Hello master! How goes your day?". Kurumi River greeted Aleister, among the Demi-Servants she seemed the most stable... Which was surprising considering she was created from Shadow Stalker, the most violent Ward, and Baobhan Sith, who was... Baobhan Sith. Perhaps it was just the improvements to the brainwashing process or just how much effort he'd put into her backstory- "U-uhm master, while I appreciate your stare, if you wish for me to do something, please say so!".
"Ah, no I was simply lost in my thoughts, I wanted to see how well everyone is adjusting with all the changes lately". The master quickly grabbed the TV remote, flicking through the channels, PRT propaganda, some kids shows, some live action show, and dozens of others, but nothing truly interesting. "Note, one of the first things we'll be making once world domination is done, some proper entertainment".
"I'll make note of it, master". Kurumi was just happy to spend time with her master. "Speaking of entertainment and watching all this propaganda, perhaps we should acquire our own?".
"Our own propaganda huh? Not a bad idea Kurumi. Although none of our current team would work for it...". Aleister began to think, there were plenty out there who if he just paid enough would gladly spin good propaganda for his own group. The view of the masses was a powerful tool, and while destroying all threats to him spoke of power, peoples hearts were just as important as following out of fear. "I'll speak with Medea about it, see what we can do".
"Its my pleasure to serve".
Bond formed.
Kurumi River: 1.
Items acquired.
- Senzu Bean (7). Small green beans, eating one will heal you fully, restore your stamina/any energy and keep your stomach full for a month (If you have a normal metabolism that is).
- Large Mana Crystals (4). Large red crystals, but still able to fit in a hand, they carry a large amount of mana within them.
Okay thats nice, managed to make six Senzu Beans and four large mana crystals.
Aleister and Medea looked nervously at three grenades, they had spent hours working on this and yet...
"Are we sure they'll work?". He asked the Caster, who shook her head.
"I'm afraid with us still lacking knowledge on how parahuman powers work, theres no guarantee. I've put in every defense I could so they should work, but we'll still need an area to teleport Lung to and to avoid getting any civilians caught in the teleport". Medea was a witch from the Age of Gods, her knowledge and skill was second to only a few, but without exact knowledge of what they could be facing she was worried.
"I'm thinking of ether an abandoned town we can just unleash Noble Phantasms on, or an entirely separate Earth. Just somewhere without humans or eyes on it". Aleister carefully grabbed one of the grenades, it looked like it was made of stone if he was entirely honest. "Three chances, we have three chances to hit Lung with one of these".
"More then enough".
Item acquired.
- Teleport Grenade (3). A stone grenade that once activated, you'll have a few moments to throw it and it will teleport a large area around it to a preset location.
FB checked dozens of camera's, taking in hundreds of details with each one. Occasinaolly she'd pause to report a crime to the police or PRT, with the chaos of the ongoing war between the ABB and heroes dozens of criminals though this was their chance to gain power. Aleister didn't need anymore rivals, so they were quickly dealt with.
The ABB were staying their territory at the moment after a fierce battle with the PRT, without a healer like the PRT were slower to recover, but as long as Lung was around it didn't matter. The PRT were using this time to regather their strength, Meltryllis had noted that Dragon was trying to bring in more heroically inclined capes only to be denied by upper management of the PRT, fearing the response of Lung if they brought in to much firepower.
Medea's Familiar's had managed to find a few bomb stashes, but it wasn't much, the ABB were doing their best to ensure their stashes weren't found, keeping them out of places the Familiars, AI, or Digital Human could see.
A quick check on the Crowley family ensured all four were okay, although Finn Crowley was noted to be particularly antsy. Aleister would be pleased his family was safe.
FB kept her watch on things, everything seemed to be calm and safe at the moment, a perfect time for them to move-
EMERGENCY REPORT!
The Digital Human 'blinked' for a few moments, and then quickly began going over the information one of her programs had sent her, one constantly checking the news and social media for anything dangerous...
Looking at the hospital now overrun with monstrous plants and fleshy beasts, FB's avatar paled, this... This was not good. She quickly sent a message to Aleister, he needed to know of this immediately!
Welp... Looks like that mental break down has finally hit Panacea.
Aleister and his group watched the news reports, tense.
"The PRT have made multiple attempts to breach the hospital and save those within only to be run off by the plant creatures, Panacea's fate is currently unknown nor is the identity of the villain who's done this-". The video was paused there, a frown across Aleister's face.
"Looks like that predicted mental break down came, but who would've known Panacea's powers were so great? She was holding back this much... Add on her Demi-Servant abilities, we're lucky she's essentially retreated to the hospital and isn't interested in expanding". The master looked to his group, a question on his lips. "So, what we do know?".
"The PRT are calling the 'unknown parahuman' Bio-Beast right now, but that will probably be changed once they realize its actually Panacea doing all this. With how much Dragon is observing everything right now, we're letting the heat die down a bit before hacking the camera's ourselves". FB explained, both her and Meltryllis currently going through dozens of news sites for anything useful.
"My Familiars are circling the building, trying to avoid staying unnoticed but whenever one gets to close, a flesh tentacle reaches out and grabs them, likely to serve as more bio-matter. Thankfully these those Familiars were created from captured birds and not mana constructs. That said... We have no idea the limits of Panacea, or the influence of her Demi-Servant on her current mental state, Berserkers are not the most sane after all...". Medea winced, rubbing at her forehead. "And the Familiars were just shot down by PRT troopers, great...".
"Their trigger happy, that doesn't make things easy. I could just Rhongo blast the hospital...?". Iris suggested, only for Medea to shake her head.
"And risk it destroying Berserker's Spirit Origin entirely? Rhongoymniad is not a weapon that can hold back, it will destroy everything it hits, and we have no way to replace an entire Servant Spirit Origin for the Holy Grail War". The Caster looked to Aleister. "I would suggest only sending machines or Servants to deal with Panacea, if she can control biology at this level... Well, even the Gods would be impressive".
"The situation between the ABB and PRT is going to rapidly escalate, the PRT could only hold back the gangs because of Panacea's healing. With her gone, there's nothing stopping Lung". Lumine pointed out, drawing an annoyed hiss from Aleister.
Looking at the information he had access to, the allies he had, the super-villain knew he had to move quickly. Take out Lung, the PRT, and capture or kill Panacea. He couldn't help but think this was to... coincidental.
"All our enemies in weakened positions by a single move...". Aleister though aloud, sure Panacea going rogue was dangerous but if he dealt with her quickly before she could build up and without her usual protection, he could get the worst threats out of the bay in day's. "Someone planned this".
"What?". Multiple voices replied, while Okita's eyes narrowed.
"Lung and the ABB taking time to recover, the PRT losing the support of Panacea and now being forced to deal with the chaos she's causing, Panacea alone with only the hospital and those within as her defense... Its all been set up, its to perfectly coincidental". Aleister explained his reasoning, a Precog or Thinker of some group-
Beep.
Eyes were instantly drawn to Aleister's computer, an Email?
"FB, Meltryllis, check it for malware or anything suspicious, now!". He demanded the two, instantly getting to work himself he cut his computer off from everything else and after getting the okay, opened the Email. "Its... Just a good luck message? And some Greek? Medea".
The witch approached, reading aloud.
"Τώρα σου άνοιξα τον δρόμο... It roughly translates into 'Now I have opened the path to you'... Someone is defiantly playing us, but this opportunity is...". Medea frowned, looking to her master, he was the leader here, it was his choice.
Aleister let out a sigh as he began to think, this was an opportunity they couldn't afford to waste, but at the same time he despised working under someone else's agenda. Checking the Email again, the sender was unknown, all they had was good luck and some Greek.
"Alright... We're going to take advantage of this, but we'll do it our way".
So... The Red Queen is finally in play, and lets just say she's a lot more dangerous then canon with access to Demi-Servant powers. And someone else seems to be playing things in Aleister's favor, I think we can figure out exactly who that is.