With his enemies in Brockton Bay crushed, there were only a few things left to completely solidify Aleister's rule.
Overnight the Machine Army had constructed a massive castle on top of the ruins of the PRT's headquarters, a sign of both his conquest and power. Floating above the castle was a set of rings that would serve as defense, hundreds of drones and weapons stored within.
While its appearance was great, its inside was the true treasure. Every luxury Aleister could think of was there, with enough rooms for an army to live comfortable.
Underneath the castle was a dungeon, with every defense and trap he could think of to ensure none of his prisoners escaped. It was already filled with hundreds who had attempted to rebel against the city's new leader, or were just generally criminals he didn't want hanging around.
Outside the new landmark, the Machine Army had started the process of cleaning and fixing up the bay. Not a single piece of trash littered the streets (And any who did attempt to litter were given punishments), old buildings long abandoned were destroyed or restored,
With help from Nia they had managed to create a few Bio-Tinker plants that would produce plenty of food for those within the city, although they didn't have any way to get a supply of fresh meat for a few days (Nibelcole was going through the process of purifying a herd of cows she had found in the Apocalyptic World, from there Nia would increase the rate they grew and bred till they had a herd of the bovines).
Dozens of jobs were no longer accessible or even possible, and if not for the fact he had three extremely powerful AI's helping him, Aleister was worried he wouldn't have been able to solve this issue. But Meltryllis had quickly implemented a system of new and safe jobs that would allow the citizens to work and keep earning the money they still clung to as if it actually gave them any control over their lives anymore.
The new rules of the city were posted online, on billboards, everything they could think of to ensure the citizens knew what and wouldn't be accepted here. There had been work on a superpower registry, a way for them to keep track of all parahumans and enforce control over the remaining heroes-
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEIR GONE!?". Aleister near-growled as he glared at the walls, the nano-machine constructed avatar of Nibelcole looking down.
"I mean I can't find Faultline, or the dozens of rogues who went to her for protection. We ignored them for to long, and with Labyrinth's power...". The AI trailed off, the answer obvious.
"Dammit!". The Magician was furious, not at the AI but at his own inaction. He'd been ignoring Faultine's crew for to long, the mercenary was smart, she had left the city not long after he'd gained complete victory. "What about the rest? Surely there are some capes still in the city?".
"Besides those captured already for experiments? None".
Aleister took a slow breath, this... It wasn't the worst situation, but it was infuriating. Just because Faultine's Crew was neutral, didn't mean they'd just accept staying in Brockton Bay when he took it over.
"Keep the registry active, eventually civilians will Trigger, if not from horrible situations but instead from not being able to leave the Bay". He ordered Nibelcole, this was annoying yes but he doubted the mercenary's would ever be encountered again. He just needed to focus on improving the bay and expanding his territory.
One failure was made up for by dozens of successes.
Mission complete!
[X] Defeat or convert the entire PRT of Brockton Bay (Ultra).
Well technically its more conquer the Bay, but eeeeh.
Sadly nothing gained with the Third Magic this turn.
Hitting the same random button over and over again will work eventually, but I suggest trying to gain something specifically by using a sub action.
Aleister stared at the simple jewelry before him, a necklace with a ruby teardrop at the end. It was small and simple, a Mystic Code that would convert mana into electricity, which would then be absorbed into the Phantom Ruby to power it.
Grabbing hold of the legendary gemstone, he began to channel mana into his Mystic Code and winced as electricity traveled from the teardrop to his arm, and then into the Phantom Ruby. A humming sound filled his ears as he grit his teeth, black lightning joining the natural electricity across his body, the manifestation of his will, Conqueror's Haki-
A wave of energy was released from the Ruby, slamming into Aleister and sending him straight into the wall behind him. Grunting in pain, the Magician was forced to let go of the Ruby and allow it to fall to the floor.
After a few seconds, Aleister managed to force himself to move again, ignoring the pain and the flickers of crimson energy across his body. His mind whirled, what the hell had gone wrong? He'd given plenty of energy to the Phantom Ruby! Was it willpower? Was it something about him the Ruby disliked? There was some level of sentience in it after all.
"Bloody mystical gemstones...". Rubbing at his nose, he grabbed the gemstone and placed it back on the table he'd grabbed it from. He'd figure it out, he always did.
Mystic Code gained!
- Energy Conversion Necklace.
A simple necklace with a ruby teardrop at the end, it converts mana into electricity.
Oh dear, I don't think the Ruby likes us! But in truth, our willpower is just considered to weak to control the Phantom Ruby. Get in some fights, level up our Conqueror's Haki.
A pile of necklaces were dropped in front of Aleister, causing him to blink and look up to meet Medea's eyes. The witch had a look of exhaustion on her face.
"NEVER ask me to call down a goddess's blessings so many times again, or I swear to Hera your sleeping in a coffin". The Caster hissed, the Magician rapidly nodded as she stomped away.
"...Alright, didn't expect that". Aleister rubbed the back of his head, he hadn't expected Medea to be so exhausted by the effort. He picked up one of the Hestia necklaces, at the very least they now had protection against parahuman masters...
God he hoped none of the Demi-Servants in New York had possession or manipulation based Noble Phantasms.
And with that, everyone who needs it has been given anti-master protection.
As they worked on the ritual to summon Yasomagatsuhi once again, Aleister was confident. They'd already pulled off the ritual once and this time they could remove any errors they had made the first time.
"Alright get me some... Aleister!". Medea's calm voice quickly became panicked, the master quickly shot up into a defensive position and followed her frightened gaze.
"WHAT THE SHIT?!". He couldn't stop the gasp that escaped him at the balls of fire rapidly falling from the sky, where the fuck had meteors come from!? He quickly shot towards Medea and the nearby Iris, using Flash Air to instantly leave the area-
BOOM!
- They fell to the floor of the mansion, gasping and pale as the echos of the now far away explosion could still be heard in Brockton Bay. Aleister barely noticed as others rushed into the room, still trying to wrap his head around what the hell just happened.
"What... The fuck just happened? That happened right? Nobody put drugs into my drink right?". The Magician was almost begging for someone to admit they had drugged him, but nobody spoke. "How the hell did we receive no news reports about a fucking meteor shower!?".
"Ether the PRT somehow blocked us from hearing and predicted we'd be in that area, it was a freak of nature accident... Or someone attacked us with actual meteors". Medea gratefully accepted a cup of water from Naomi, concern clear on her face. "And I'm not sure which I like least".
"Great great, theres no way it was an accident, which means theres a cape who can launch actual meteors out there or the PRT can somehow get past FB, Meltryllis, and Nibelcole". Aleister dragged his hand down his face, letting out a sign, before a question popped into his head. "Why the hell was there even such a large explosion?".
"I... May have been using some dangerous elements in the ritual to help improve it, like Energon and vibranium...".
"THATS WHAT YOU WANTED THOSE FOR!?".
Oh dear, it seems someone doesn't want us summoning Yasomagatsuhi again.
"Can you please calm down with the colors!?".
"Its not exactly easy to bend dimensions you know?".
Aleister was starting to think this was a bad idea, as he pushed down the feeling of vomit rising in his throat. Reality around him as thousands of colors many he didn't recognize and those he did shifting in unnatural ways and-
Suddenly it was over, the master fell to his knees shaking. Nearby Medea frowned, muttering under her breath as she kept trying to recreate the Ainsworth Bounded Field's.
"M-maybe lets just, stick with anti teleportation?". Aleister wasn't sure he'd be able to stop himself from vomiting at this rate.
"Oh stop complaining, I just need a few more tests". Medea smiled, it'd been to long since she'd got to really experiment with her magic.
The master groaned as reality began shifting around her, so many unnatural colors-!
"HUUURRRK!".
"MY DRESS!".
Well, we got the ordinary anti teleportation field around our new base, but not the Ainsworth type.
Going through his captured capes, Aleister frowned as he went through the information he'd gained. It wasn't much, but it was a confirmation.
Gallant had explained he'd gained his powers from drinking a vial, but asides from that he knew little else. The master couldn't confirm it was related to the group who kidnapped his sisters and killed his parents, but with how many things were connecting together...
A group handing out powers, a group preventing any peace so more Triggers will occur... Aleister was confident they were the same group. He just needed to find a way to find them, he was so close, so close to acquiring his goal.
He taped a button, opening a communication system with his AI's.
"Alright girls, I have a mission for you. Search for every hint you can find towards this group, I don't care who you have to kill or torture to get it, I want all information you can get on them and ways to find them". He ordered calmly, receiving quick confirmations from his subordinates.
He leaned back into his chair, it was just a matter of time until he found this group, and then he could execute them like the worms they were.
After all the stress of the day, Aleister just wanted to relax a bit and see the situation in New York. There hadn't been any Demi-Servant deaths yet to his annoyance, but he was sure it'd happen eventually.
First he checked on the news regarding heroes, but nobody had revealed any powers that were obviously magic or Noble Phantasms. It certainly didn't help with just how many capes there were in New York, he had thought Brockton Bay was bad but New York had at least triple the amount of capes as the bay when he first started out.
With the heroes checked he then moved to villains, finding a bit more there. The Adept's, some... Oh that was just ironic, a group that believed cape powers were magic? If they didn't have a Caster in there he'd eat his own shoes, and from the looks of some new equipment the group had been seen using, including staffs that he was certain where Noble Phantasms and other Mystic Codes? Well, he was starting to get a worrying conclusion on what Caster he was dealing with. At the very least if it was Caster Gilgamesh, he wouldn't have to worry about dealing with the King of Heroes full power, mortals and clairvoyance never meshed well.
Finding success with researching villains, Aleister kept it up. He wasn't exactly what cases were truly Demi-Servants and what were ordinary capes, but it was giving him somewhat of an idea.
There had been an increase in murder cases all over the city, bodies found torn apart as if by some beast or infected with numerous diseases. The methods were two different, leading to the worrying conclusion of two serial killers, but no further hints of a Demi-Servant.
The final hint he had found was reports of a fight against a Tinker-Tech construct, apparently multiple PRT teams and The Elite had to work together to take the thing down, only succeeding when Legend pushed it into the sea. There were a few blurry photos-
Aleister felt his heart still for a few moments, to most it would appear a simple Tinker-Tech creation, some mad science gone array. But he knew the truth, and knew those capes hadn't destroyed her, no.
Humbaba, Beast of The Cedar Forest was very much alive.
He quickly began to search every detail he could on the encounter, Humbaba or Huwawa whichever you preferred, had appeared only a few hours after he'd activated the Holy Grail War, digging up from under the ground and rampaging around, absorbing electricity wherever she went. The PRT had quickly figured out she was attracted to sources of power and grew stronger from them, managing to use a Tinker-Tech battery to lead her away from civilians and any other sources of power, dozens of capes fighting her.
While there had miraculously been no deaths, there had been no shortage of serious injuries (Perhaps selling a limited form of Senzu Beans wouldn't be a bad idea, healers were extremely rare after all). As the fight against Humbaba continued, they eventually managed to push her into the ocean where she 'fell apart' and the heroes assumed her destroyed.
If it was that easy to kill a living calamity, Fairy Britain wouldn't be such a hellhole. No, Aleister knew Humbaba was alive, things from the Age of Gods wouldn't die to a little bit of water.
No, what worried him was where the hell the monster had gone.