"But if they held this secret, and they're all dead now, ten of which you killed by the way, why are we having this meeting?" Vidar spoke up, questioning Dyon's purpose.
"Well, even if there was no remaining information left to be told, the mere fact Bas and Liska are innate aurora wielders is important enough. That not only raised morale, it makes you less apprehensive in dealing with them.
"They draw arrays significantly slower, the range of the sixth sense is nearly non-existence before surpassing the 50% mark, and their array alchemy stamina drains faster. That completely shifts everything."
Many nodded, that piece of information was quite important. But, it didn't change the fact they struggled with them. If they were so useless, why were they so good on the battle field?
As if reading their minds, Dyon continued. "The only reason you probably struggled with them is because the real innate aurora wielder was in the background. But, his cultivation doesn't far outstrip any of yours, which is why he chose to remain hidden, controlling everything from behind the scenes.
"However, he was forced to come out today because he underestimated me and Ri.
"I didn't make use of my aurora for the entirety of the battle and neither did Ri. Because of that, what he saw was something ranging between two possibilities. It was either we had no aurora or had auroras comparable to himself. And, being the only innate aurora wielder he had ever known. in his and our universe, which do you think he assumed was more likely?"
What Dyon said was correct. When auroras and souls were of similar level, it was difficult to read each other. This was why Ri was able to automatically see through Meiying's aurora awakening, while the young man couldn't see through Dyon's and Ri's. After all, all three of them were at 100%.
"Because he assumed we had no aurora, it was a logical leap to him to also assume our souls were weak since the two usually went hand in hand. So, why would he think that his geniuses would lose to us who had no energy or soul cultivation?"
The campaign heads nodded, this logic was indeed foolproof.
"That aside, there's the matter of why I really called you all here. Don't you find it odd that the Phantus were chosen specifically?" Dyon paused, letting it sink in for a moment.
"Airic, what are the Phantus to you?"
"They are the best defenders the opposing universe have in defending Gautama Tower. There is no doubt that their scaled elephants and robust body cultivation lead to explosive defending, if that makes sense, and outrageous stamina."
Dyon nodded. "And yet, they were not only sent here, but also sent here under the supervision of 3 supposed innate aurora wielders? Even if the opposing universe had a system like ours, where attacking was unregulated and only defending was as a collective, that wouldn't make sense. Because, even if the Phantus decided to attack on their own, why would they be followed by such important people?"
"Just what point are you trying to get at? We're all aware that there's something odd going on, we just don't know what it is." Ace was beginning to get impatient, it felt like they were waiting forever.
"It's simple really," Dyon said looking unperturbed, "he made a mistake and I won."
Everyone looked at Dyon as though he was delusion. What do you mean you won? Is lying faced down, pale skinned with fractured bones, a victory now?
Dyon shrugged. "You don't understand how my Devour technique works, and clearly they didn't either. If they had, they would have done whatever was necessary to kill me, unfortunately they didn't. And I was already prepared."
Dyon paused. "They for some reason went out of their way to attack the Earth tower when there were at least three other towers out there to test on.
"On top of that, do you see many campaign leaders missing from you all at all?"
The story was more rhetorical, of course. The Ragnor clan was here, the Pakal clan, although silent, was here, the Sapientia clan… No one was missing.
And they had all come here to defend against the attacking Scaled Elephants… So, who was defending the other three towers?
A sudden dreaded realization hit the campaign leaders. But, their response only made Dyon shake his head in disappointment.
"You all likely have your other brothers and sisters guarding the other towers, which is fine… for now. But, how long do you think that would last? Think about how long ago you got the report that they would be attacking, and yet it took until now for them to show up?
"That's the second point of this meeting: The other three towers are in danger. And it's best that even after I tell you what I have to tell you, that you all leave to protect your respective towers."
The campaign leaders nodded. Truthfully speaking, they had still made the right decision. Hind sight was always 20/20, but, how could they have possibly known an 18-year-old would show up and deal with all of their problems for them? The scaled elephants required at least the numbers they had brought to deal with. If it wasn't for Dyon, the battle would still be raging right now.
In fact, the scaled elephants were such a problem, that Dyon had order them be killed in their hibernation. Using Phantus bred animals to attack the Phantus was much too risky.
Suddenly, Elwing's voice cut through the stoic atmosphere, "Then what is special about your devour technique?"
"Devour is first and foremost a defensive type technique. It acts as a shield against soul attacks. However, it also has facets of attack, and… memory absorption."
The eyes of everyone in the room widened, a sudden realization hitting them. All this time, the young man with the umbrella thought he was playing around with Dyon, when really, Dyon already had what the young man wanted to keep hidden!
"Before I absorbed the souls of the Vice Commanders, I had already seen through Bas and Liska. So, I homed in on keeping their relevant memories. In addition, when I had Liska pinned down, I took opportune times to absorb bits and pieces of her memories as well.
"Because of the nature of the secrets I now know, there's little I can tell you all." Dyon raised his hand expecting the agitation that spread through the room. "Once I say it, you'll understand why.
I always felt that the gates felt much too much like a game…" Dyon voice was faint, thinking back to the first time he learned about the gates from Ri. That was his exact first impression. The gates were like an area control game where controlling certain towers gave you certain benefits and you only unlocked everything by holding all the towers.
Dyon sighed.
"Sometimes I hate being right. The gates don't just seem like one. They are one. This gate is the largest scale Ancient Game you'll ever play."
Dyon leaned back with a woe is me attitude, his demeanor making even those who didn't hate him to their core feel the urge to kick at him.
