Sibby appeared.

Green sky.

Mutilated corpses of some spindly purple things that looked crystalline and had too many limbs.

Several holes in the ground that were large enough to walk into.

Yep. She had no idea where this was, but she recognized the purple figure that stood over the bodies of its brethren.

"Cauwine." She spoke aloud as she strolled up to the goddess. Each time she'd managed to find her inside of her Shard, the goddess of last stands, war, youth, hunting, and far too many titles to bother remembering had looked different. Different, but the same. There was always a feeling of danger and youth that Sibby couldn't ignore or place. "I have some questions."

The crystalline thing... smiled? That was the impression that she got, but it didn't really have a face.

'Ah, Avatar Siberian!' Cauwine spoke in a strange way without moving her lack of mouth. Her form then morphed into one that was similar to Sibby's, but different. The tall, black and white striped woman smiled at her. Yet, she'd always had looked that way. "I am glad to see you! I've been keeping up with what you've done in my old world." Her eyes glowed as she gestured around her. "I've also been experiencing what we're a part of!"

Her smile was feral and perfect.

"You know stuff about war, right?"

"I know everything about war." Cauwine's smile grew wider. "Are you going to help Tiqr against that alliance?" She moved forward and clasped Sibby's hands. "That's perfect! A grand last stand. Fighting against overwhelming odds! Fighting and slaying worthy and unworthy opponents alike!"

"Okay." Sibby nodded. "So how do I kill them all before they hurt Nsiia?"

"Challenge them! Face them down. Fight the horde as it breaks upon you!" Cauwine had a maddening gleam in her eyes. "Every one you kill is one that won't be able to attack others!"

"Yes, but how?"

"For the rank and file, just be yourself. They are beneath you, and you can slaughter them with ease. Mages and golems will be harder. You won't be able to eat them like that Djinni, so you'll have to avoid their magical attacks and use your skills sparingly to..."

"..." Sibby looked as Cauwine paused.

"Ah... but you don't have access to Isthekenous' great equalizer." Her beautiful face frowned. "For that, it would be best to find someone else with a magic weapon. Kill them, take their blade, and use it to harm those protected by magic." She nodded. "...at least until the blade breaks. They tend to do that."

"..." Sibby frowned. She'd used weapons before, but only rarely. She much preferred tearing her prey apart with her claws.

"I would help you channel my authority. That would help us overcome magic since you don't have much of it yet." The goddess let out a sigh. "But even now I can only bring a fraction of myself to bear and only during the solstices. We grow stronger every day, but we are still weak without the accolades we deserve."

Cauwine's eyes brightened. "You can do that trick with the rock again! That will both kill your opponents and cause the awe and fear that will nourish us!"

...

"Don't do that." William crossed his arms and looked at her.

"Huh?" Sibby tilted her head. "Why not? Your idea worked great last time. Plus, Cauwine said it would be the quickest way! Do you not want me to kill the invaders?" She didn't know for sure, but that sounded like something Kevin would say.

Her first creator rubbed his temples. That meant a lecture was coming...

"Sibby, first of all, you can kill and devour every last one of them and I wouldn't shed a tear. Participants in an un-just war deserve no consideration. It doesn't matter if it's their leaders who gave the order, invading a country and killing other people is clearly wrong. By choosing to do that, those baby-killers are no better than the corrupt fat cats in Washington!"

"Washington?"

"I, er, uh." William coughed. "That is to say that I see no moral dilemma in killing all of the people invading. They made their graves and they can rot in them."

"Right!" Sibby smiled. "So I SHOULD throw a rock at them!"

"No." He sighed. "I have little doubt the first time or two you tried that it would work." He held his palm up to her. "However, these are not brainless adversaries. The most important thing is to hide your strength!"

"Oh." That was right. William had told her that lots of times in the past.

"I can see you're thinking about that." He smiled at her. "Let's put ourselves in their shoes. Pretend we are evil people that don't care about life and one of our armies gets bombed. Now, if we were in the stone or medieval ages, there wouldn't be much we could do except spread out to minimize the damage. This would make the defenders have an easier time, as the invaders could only mass together while actually fighting. It would also make travel slower and wear on their psyches."

"I see." Sibby nodded. "So it IS a good idea!"

"No." William shook his head. "That's because your opponents might have medieval tech, but they also have powers. After the first few times, they'll recognize the tactic and use a spell to strike at you while you're still in the air. Without your powers, a rock is just a rock. It will be little more than an exceptional catapult." He smirked. "And I'm sure they have ways to defend against basic artillery. By your own, it's unlikely you'd be able to pressure them that way."

Her shoulders slumped. "Yeah, rocks are only awesome when I'm helping them be like that." It was true.

"So," He smiled at her. "You should save your trick for the proper time - because you'll probably only get to use it once. And if your foe has precognitive abilities..." He sighed. "Secrets are power. Remember that."

Sibby looked at him and nodded. "Yes. I'll remember, William!" She then frowned. "What should I do then?"

"If this was on Earth, I'd say attack their supply lines... but even then, you're just one person. With multiple armies presumably coming from multiple directions, that wouldn't be viable. Additionally, magic likely makes 'supply lines' vastly different."

"Of course, of course." Sibby stroked her chin and tried to look deep in thought too.

"If you were immune to magic, then it would be a simple question of how long you could fight and how many people you could kill. Barring that, taking out their commanders would work best."

Her eyes gleamed. "I can do that! I'm a good hunter. Like this one time-"

"Yes. I have little doubt you could kill any single target - if you could find them. The problem is that second part. Given the nature of the world, I surmise that people would have officer classes and essentially be type six and ten Trumps. If they can empower their troops, it's a safe bet that targeting leadership positions is even a more common practice than it is on Earth."

Sibby watched as William began to pace.

"An expected target would be fine, if not for your vulnerability to magic. Leaders would have to be protected from all sorts of avenues of attack. Skills or magic would be involved. Likely there would be plenty of bodyguards with those sort of resources as well. Yes... yes..." He muttered to himself. "Because it's not just protecting an important official, they are also strategic resources in their own right. I never studied battle tactics, so I can't make any strong guesses as to what countermeasures would be in place."

"So... no hunting?" Was that what he was saying?

William looked at her. "Not in the assassination sense." He got his 'I'm going to teach you how to kill things' smile. "But there's a third pillar that armies rely on aside from supplies, and leadership."

"What's that?"

"Morale."

...

The first armies came from the east and the south. At least, that was what Laila had told her. Sibby had left her friend behind with the caravan. This was too dangerous to bring her along. Sibby couldn't protect her while slaughtering others.

In fact, since she couldn't grant her immunity to magic, then she might not even be able to protect Laila if she was in danger.

She'd be safest in the capital according to William.

Plus, Sibby could run a lot faster on her own. Reducing gravity, negating friction, making the ground she stepped on capable of withstanding her strength... it wasn't something she'd done for long periods of time before. There was no point in long-distance sprinting when she couldn't move very far away from William or Kevin.

Now?

Now she'd found a new problem.

Sibby stopped and took several deep breaths. Even her perfect physique had limits. William had called it a build up of some kind of acid and a lack of... something. It didn't matter. She had the solution.

She closed her eyes and un-summoned herself.

...

Sibby appeared.

Something tried connecting with her, but she brushed it away.

Ah! Much better! She stretched her arms over her head. No more of that acid-stuff!

Her stomach growled.

She was still hungry. She'd take a quick break to kill and eat something before continuing.


Magus-Crafter Femithain had ridden through Tiqr before, but never with an army. The Illivere Federation had been on edge ever since learning of the King of Destruction's awakening. Their army had been mobilized for weeks, and now almost half of it was marching in the opposite direction of where Flos was.

He looked over the camp they had made. His personal bodyguard golems towered over him. The rest were tirelessly patrolling the area, standing guard, or performing manual labor. Some tasks, like digging latrines, were the sort of mindless labor that golems were best at.

"Magus-Crafter!" A man in armor approached him.

Femithain's two steel guardians moved to intercept, but stopped when he held up a hand. "Armsmaster Dellic. What news?"

"No sign of any resistance so far. There is a village up ahead, but our [Scouts] say it is abandoned."

"Hmmm..." Femithain steepled his fingers. "That was quick, but it's undoubtedly for the best."

"Sir, may I sit?"

"By all means." He nodded.

Dellic pulled a chair out of his bag of holding and placed it beside Femithain's. "We are fresh. We could continue to march."

"True." While Illivere's forces moved slowly, they could travel day and night as the golems would not tire. While they had only four hundred constructs in their army, they were massive things that had been built for war. A single one of them was a destructive force that was near impossible to stop.

The rest of the army consisted of eight thousand experienced [Soldiers], alongside [Artificers] to control and repair the golems if needed. While that meant that there was a ratio of twenty humans per golem, each construct could pull that many in a wagon.

Dellic frowned. "It's not such an inconvenience to march continuously."

Femithain sighed. "Yes, and we are the first army to march too."

"As you say." The [Armsmaster of Steel] leaned back in his chair. "But at this pace, even the forces from Nerrhavia will pass us before we reach the capital. They have a long way to travel, but their chariots are fast."

"That is true, but it's no reason to tire our forces unnecessarily."

"Do you not wish to engage? I know you voted against this, and there's no need for you to lead the army..."

"It's my duty. Just as I follow the will of the counsel, so too must I execute it." Besides, he might be able to be a voice of reason once Tiqr fell.

A scream rang out in the night.

Dellic immediately stood up. "[Assess Situation]." His eyes went wide for a second. "Someone is attacking us!"

Femithain stood as well as his steel bodyguards moved closer to him. "They got past the sentries? An ambush force? Wild animals?"

"I... I'm not sure. All I can tell is that troops are dying in the center of camp. [Bird's Eye View]." His eyes narrowed. "It's... one attacker. Got past the golems. Attacking the soldiers... The golems are moving to engage... She's running from them, but still attacking our people!"

Femithain frowned. "A high-level [Rogue]?"

Dellic shook his head. "I'm not sure. She's naked and looks like some sort of beastkin. A zebra? She's moving fast, and has some skill that's letting her shred through armor."

"Piercing strike, no doubt. It's wasteful to use it so soon in a fight." Femithain started casting message spells to all the [Artificers]. "What's the exact position? I'll help relay the details."


Sibby clawed through another man. She let his blood cover her so that it would be even scarier when she let it fall away.

'Avoid the golems. They obviously have magic empowering them, and it's likely that attempting to strike them will result in your form dispersing.'

The men who attacked her died, so most of them were fleeing instead. It wasn't the panicked sort of running away she was expecting. Nobody got trampled. No one turned their back to her. The golems were already moving to encircle her, but the humans avoided getting in their way.

No matter!

'If you can't block their physical attacks, let the air pressure push you away.'

Sibby rolled her eyes. She'd already had known that trick... but William didn't know that, and it was still a good idea. She charged in one direction and tore another person in half.

A large humanoid made of sand surged at her. It was faster than the other golems and its body flowed around people and obstacles to get closer.

It still pushed air out of its way. Thus, it still pushed Sibby to the side. She let its strike impart its momentum indirectly and used that to dart off towards another target. One of the invader's eyes went wide as she charged through him and left him bisected in her wake.

One after another she maimed or killed them, but there were just so many!

"[Flash Cut]!"

It was quicker than other attacks, but still too slow. She let herself be pushed away by the air and then raked her claws across his face.

The people willing to engage her slowed down, and more and more golems got in her way.

There!

A person in robes and not armor!

Sibby charged!

Her claws were reaching for his eyes... and she popped.


"She's gone?" The [Artificer] the terrifying woman had been attacking stumbled back and fell on his butt. She'd just... vanished? Though all the blood that had been on her had continued forward and gotten in his mouth.

Dellic watched him cough as he continued to use [Bird's Eye View] to watch over the camp. "The intruder has vanished." He turned to Femithain. "Magus-Crafter, may I be excused? I need to secure the camp and investigate what happened."

Femithain nodded. "By all means, Armsmaster. I have my protectors. We can discuss the situation after we understand it better."

"Yes, sir!" Dellic saluted and turned and strolled towards where the battle had been fought. The place stank of blood and shit and cries of pain. [Soldiers] ran back and forth with healing potions. The few that also had a [Healer] class were trying to help out as best they could.

The problem was, while their attacker hadn't gone for the kill when she so clearly could have, there was no way to repair all the damage. Healing potions could help stop the bleeding, but they couldn't remove the scars, or regrow the limbs or eyeballs that she seemed to favor.

"Armsmaster!" Arinal, his [Lieutenant] came up to him and saluted.

"Have there been any other sightings?"

"No, sir." Arinal frowned. "As far as we can tell... she just vanished."

"I see. Casualties?"

"Two dozen dead, more than twice that wounded beyond what a healing potion can fix." Arinal looked confused. "I don't understand. From what I can tell, she could have just as easily killed those men as well."

"We can't jump to conclusions, Arinal." Dellic had gotten his position after graduating from Illivere's military collage. All the military leaders in the Illivere Federation were educated and trained to do in common situations. "Just give me the facts so I can relay them to the Magus-Crafter."

"Sir!" Arinal pulled out a clipboard. "[Status Update]." Words appeared as ink flowed from a small jar across the paper. "Here you go."

Dellic took the paper and frowned. "I'll need to speak with every survivor. Double watch for the rest of the night. Pull back some golems from the perimeter and have them stationed every twenty feet."


Femithain sat in his tent and considered the possibilities. He'd studied other magic, but not in depth. Whatever this was, it wasn't a golem and therefore was out of his expertise.

"Magus-Crafter." Dellic bowed as he entered. "I have the report."

Femithain nodded. "Let's hear it."

"Twenty-one dead. Fifty-three wounded beyond what can be treated."

"Wounded? How?"

"Torn off limbs and mauled faces mainly, sir. I have the exact numbers-"

"It's fine." Femithain waved him off. "The important thing is that they cannot fight any more, correct?"

Dellic shook his head. "The ones that are missing limbs can get replacements back in Illivere, but you are aware of how much time and money it takes for golem limbs to be fitted."

"Yes." It was a difficult process to make the appendages match their recipient. It wasn't something that could be rushed.

"We are still close to the border, we can send them back and request replacements."

"I agree." Femithain nodded. "But what are we going to do about future attacks?"

"Our fighting strength has barely dropped, Magus-Crafter. Not a single golem was damaged."

"Yes, and that's another puzzling part. Our attacker not killing our men could be explained as wanting to slow us down, rather than weaken us. We either have to send them back, or carry them with us as dead weight. But, she was able to cut through steel as if it was paper. Why avoid damaging the golems?"

"I doubt it was because of altruism or honor. Otherwise she would not have attacked us in the middle of the night."

"I agree. Whomever she is, she's clearly high-level. The question is: is she a [Rogue] with [Warrior] skills? Or is it the other way around?"

"Definitely a [Warrior]. Some sort of [Juggernaut]. The way she effortlessly cleaved through our troops was like the stories of Mars the Illusionist."

"..."

"..."

Both men paused at the thought. Femithain's mind raced. "COULD it be Mars? It's said she can defeat an entire army by herself."

"Yes? No?" Dellic shook his head. "We can't go by her appearance. Mars is always said to be a peerless beauty, but that her visage changes each day. It's where she got her title from. ...But, she always fights with swords."

"That could be a ruse. To avoid the King of Destruction forswearing himself in public."

"If it wasn't actually Mars... Then our attacker may have been a [Skill] of hers."

"A skill?"

Dellic nodded. "Something like [Illusion of Battle] or [Always in the Fray]? I don't know. I've never heard of such a skill, but it could be possible for someone higher than level 50."

Femithain leaned back and thought for a moment. "No. I don't think so."

"Really? But it would make sense for it to be a skill."

He held up a hand. "I agree with that part. It would explain a great many things about our attacker if she was working under the limitations of a skill." He began to count on his fingers. "Why she was naked. How she just appeared. Why she avoided the golems. And most of all: why she didn't use a single skill according to your report." He tapped the papers on his desk.

"I didn't say she didn't use any skills. She didn't say them out loud. In fact, she was completely silent even as she tore through our men. Her attacks and the way she moved and dodged were clearly skills."

"Or..." Femithain held up a finger. "They were aspects of a single skill."

Dellic closed his eyes for a moment before opening them to look at the other man. "I agree with you, Magus-Crafter. But... then what part of my theory did you object to?"

"I doubt it's Mars the Illusionist. Such a skill would mean that she hid it during Flos' conquest and in the subsequent years while he slept... or that she recently leveled."

Dellic's features twisted into surprise and fear. "You don't mean?"

"That's why I conclude it isn't Mars. If it was a sixty-plus level skill, I don't think we would have gotten off so lightly."

"Empress Nsiia then?"

"That's most likely." Femithain frowned as he collected his thoughts.

Tiqr had willingly joined the King of Destruction decades ago. Their country prospered due to not having any fighting occurring in it during that time. It could be that the royal line of Tiqr had a... feral spirit? An inherited skill that could be used to defend itself?

He had heard of such things. All the Shield Kingdoms were said to have defensive measures that could protect against even dragons.

Or... It might be a personal skill of Nsiia. A projection of her beasts powers. But... she was known for her elephant and bird companions. She didn't ride a zebra, which was clearly what their attacker was modeled after.

"It might be her, or it might be a [Beastmaster] that has formed a bond with Tiqr's zebras." He sighed and shook his head. "It matters little as to the theory of its origin. We have to deal with its effects."

Dellic's eyes narrowed. "You think it will attack again."

"Without a doubt. We didn't defeat it. The skill ran out of time. If we're lucky, it might be weeks or even months before it can be used again."

"If we aren't?"

"Then we might not make it to Oliphant."

The only silver lining in that case would be that the other armies would advance quicker, and they would become more obvious targets instead.

...

Another attack happened the next night.

And the night after that.

Even when the army didn't make camp, the black and white woman showed up and assaulted them on the move.

"You summoned me, Magus-Crafter?"

Femithain nodded to the [Armsmaster]. "I have been in communication with the counsel."

"And?"

"We are to continue the march."

"We have lost over half of our troops!" Dellic growled through his clenched teeth.

"And still none of our golems, and only one [Artificer]." Femithain sighed. "The counsel says that our fighting capacity has not been diminished. They also refuse to send any replacements."

"You can't be serious?"

"I wish it was a joke. The skill of the person that assaults us has a glaring weakness in that it cannot interact with magic, and so the counsel says to continue on with troops that she cannot touch."

"There's more to war than just golems!" Dellic motioned to the wagons. "We need people to help with supplies. We need people to support the golems against faster opponents. We have a combined arms doctrine for a reason!"

"The counsel says that we must continue to show our support. They also suggest that we use this as an opportunity to level."

"As what? [Survivors]?" Dellic took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then exhaled. "Please excuse my outburst, Magus-Crafter."

Femithain shook his head. "No, you have every right to be upset with this situation. We are bearing the brunt of Tiqr's counter-attack. The other armies have only faced some light skirmishing, while our advance is slowed and our casualties mount."

"If only our attacker would target them instead."

"I agree." Femithain nodded. "However, it does give us more details about their skill. It's either centered around an area. Or has a certain range from its user. Or we're being targeted for some other reason."

"Why? What did we do?" Dellic leaned his head back. "Or rather, what have we done that others aren't also doing?"

"It may be because we don't have as many [Scouts] as other armies."

"Yes, and those that we did have are being whittled away day by day. That could be why our non-magically protected people are being targeted. To weaken us. To keep us from finding our attacker."

"Or, we could have been targeted because we were closest to whomever has the skill. In the end, it matters little. You have your orders and I have my duty."


Sibby appeared.

Gray sky.

Tall buildings.

A dull, metallic ground.

Numerous metal limbs that were strewn about. Some of them still sparked or leaked a dark, viscous fluid.

Smoke and ash filled the air. She paused. The air wasn't right. There wasn't enough of it. It didn't matter to her, but it was interesting.

Wherever this was, it wasn't Earth.

She looked around and saw a small, metallic object that was still moving. It had treads and short limbs. Somehow, despite not being alive, it exuded a youthful vigor.

"Cauwine." Sibby greeted it as she approached.

"Siberian." From one moment to the next, Cauwine was in a much better looking black and white body. "I have been watching your glorious last stand and I applaud you."

Sibby tilted her head. "Really?"

Cauwine's eyes glowed as she took Sibby's hands and nodded. "Yes! I thought my idea of wiping armies out to gain worshipers was the best plan, but yours is..." She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before opening them to look at Sibby. "Delicious. It's not as far-reaching as mine, and I didn't understand why you weren't slaughtering them at first." She beamed. "But I see the reason now!"

Ah, good...

That meant... That she understood why Kevin said not to kill people?

"You do?"

"Yes!" The goddess smiled. "It's not worship, not exactly. They don't venerate you, but they fear you. That acknowledgment, that focus, that validation..." She sighed. "I was hungry for such things for so long... So, very, very long. I can tell it's going to last." Her lips twisted in a malicious grin. "The ones that have left the war have spread our tale. We grow stronger with each passing moment!"

"Stronger?" Sibby liked the sound of that. "Can I win the war?"

"No."

"No?" She was confused. "But you said I was getting stronger. That I was winning."

"Yes, and I fully expect you to be able to defeat the army you're currently fighting. You'll have to expend magic and authority to do so. Just as the 'laws of physics' bow before you, so too will magic... eventually." Cauwine paused. "...I'm sure."

"Then I can win the war." Sibby nodded to herself.

"You can win the battle." Cauwine sighed and sat down. "You can win every single fight, and still lose the war." She gestured at herself. "How do you think I came to be like this? Or, how I came to be the shadow of myself that approached you on the solstice? I chose my side. I won every fight. And we lost. It's..." She shook her head. "It's not important. The point is that you could kill every person and golem in that army tomorrow and it wouldn't matter."

Sibby's eyes narrowed. "Why? What do you know?"

"I know only what you do." Cauwine smirked. "My knowledge gathered over the centuries by peering into the world when the veil weakens is general and vague. The point is, Tiqr is beset by forces that outnumber it. They have no natural defenses. They have no way to make a choke point. If you started displaying your full power... then perhaps..."

"No." Sibby shook her head. William was smart. Her rock trick was best saved.

"Then Tiqr will fall."


Over the following weeks the forces of Tiqr fought and fell back. Over and over again they battled against the combined armies that invaded them. While they gave ground, they were holding out.

...But that was only against their immediate neighbors.

War against one of them could have been won. Against them all? There were too many armies on too many fronts. Nsiia couldn't split her forces and defend against them all.

Still, even then, they could possibly drag the fighting out. Long enough for the King of Destruction to do something? She held out hope that Flos Reimarch would ally with them. He could use [Army of the King] to turn the tide of a single battle.

Killale pushed in from the North-West and Deimos from the West. They were closest to the capital of Oliphant, and their armies were the weakest. They didn't make much progress.

Compared to them, Xern, Savere, and Lamult came from the South. The [Bandit] kingdom of Savere was strong, and they pushed through with ease. Their progress was slower simply because they lacked discipline and their irregular troops enjoyed plundering the villages they sacked.

The Illivere army's advanced had been stalled for some reason. Nsiia told her [Beastmasters] not to waste the lives of Tiqr's animals, and the golems were too hard of a target. That should've meant they wouldn't have encountered any resistance, but the rumors were that a high-level individual was harassing the federation's army. Coincidentally, Sibby was nowhere to be found.

However, the army from Nerrhavia had finally arrived. Two hundred thousand troops. Hemp infantry. Silk charioteers. Magical artillery. A high-level [General]. It was a force that could easily win against all the other armies on its own.

...And they had just passed through the Illivere Federation and into Tiqr.