"I'm sorry, Solus. I'm so sorry." Bytra said amid tears once she could speak again. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I swear. It wasn't me." "I believe you." Solus said. "That wasn't your fault but mine. If you didn't shield me with your body, the Unwavering Loyalty array would have never caught you. Thank you, Bytra." "I'm so sorry!" The Raiju kept weeping as if Solus had slapped her in the face. "I'm a monster, Zor. No matter how hard I try, I'm still a monster!" The Shadow Dragon gestured to Lith for a mind link and he complied. 'Damn, between the blood madness and the slave array, I'm afraid that Bytra's trauma has been reopened in the most painful way possible.' She said to Lith who relayed it to Solus. 'I don't think her mind is completely here. She's still lost in her worst nightmare. Please, tell Solus this for me.' Solus caressed the Raiju's muzzle, using a handkerchief to wipe off her tears. "It's okay, Bytra. I forgive you. The past is in the past. You can sleep now." "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! I've longed to hear those words for so long." Lith took War out of Bytra's body and she shapeshifted into her human form again, holding Solus' hands. "I will… I am… I feel… So tired." The Eldritch lost consciousness yet her hands still clung to Solus. Even in her sleep, Bytra kept crying and apologizing. "Now what?" Lith asked. "Bytra is broken. She needs peace and rest. As for the Golden Griffon- What the heck is it doing?" Xenagrosh had turned around to follow the lost academy's advance and noticed that it had stopped. The Golden Griffon stood tall with his arms raised toward the sky. "Is it praying?" Solus asked. "More like casting a spell." Lith tried to use Life Vision, but the academy was too far even for the Eyes of Menadion. "No, if it was a spell, I would see it with mana sense." Solus shook her head. "Wait, I feel something and I'm not supposed to feel anything." Nandi clenched the gem on his head and the one on his chest, feeling them burn just like those on his hands that he couldn't reach. "The world energy is thin due to the Golden Griffon siphoning it yet I can hear it screaming." "Like when you guys use your Abomination resonance, song, whatever?" Lith asked. "No. When we do that, what you feel is Mogar resonating with our essence. This is more like an agonizing scream." Nandi said, feeling pangs throughout his body as the world energy coursed through it. Then, something appeared between the Golden Griffon's hands. At first, it was hazy, and visible only under its palms. As the lost academy stood still, the world energy became visible to the naked eye, forming a strand that went from one hand to the other. After a few seconds, the strand grew in size and its reach expanded as far as the eye could see in two directions until it disappeared at the horizon. "What the fuck?" Lith said, taking the words from everyone's mind. "Is that a magic circle?" The strand was just a small portion of an array so big that it filled the sky in front of them. With every passing second, more lines and runes of power appeared, making part of its structure visible. "Indeed." Nandi said amid spasms. "A dormant array that's being forcefully activated, to be precise." "Time to call for backup." Lith took his communication amulet out of his pocket dimension and pressed the Queen's rune. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid we are in huge trouble." He said while sharing his view with her. "Why didn't you call me earlier?" She turned pale as the Council representatives stood up from their seats to take a better look at the colossal monstrosity. "Because it would have been pointless." Lith replied. "Your forces are already stretched thin and there's a powerful array that negates dimensional magic. I used a Blade Tier spell while supported by five ancient creatures and nothing worked. "I didn't call you because I expect you to do any better but to understand what's going on." "Arthan was a genius, Thrud is a deceitful fox, and we are screwed. That's what's going on." Sylpha said while pressing the runes on her amulet belonging to the Headmasters of the six great academies, using the Royal Override code to have their immediate attention. "Turn off the academy's power core! I repeat, turn off the academy's power core! This is not a drill. Do it and do it now!" Marth, Distar, and the other Headmasters used their respective ring to have the east wall of their office open, revealing the power core and starting the emergency shutdown procedures. "Your Majesty, with all due respect, maybe I can help." Inxialot said. "Liches like me can reach the Golden Griffon quickly and fight it safely. We might be able to buy you some time and maybe even put its capabilities to the test." Hearing a selfless and sensible proposal from a Lich would have been shocking under any other circumstance, but the Queen was too desperate to afford to be astonished. "Don't ask, just do whatever you need!" "You heard her, boys! One keeps the phylacteries safe while the others go to battle!" Inxialot closed the communication before Sylpha could hear them arguing about who'd be forced to stay behind. Usually, Liches hated to take risks, but this was about getting first-hand experience with a legendary artifact. Each one of them would kill their mother for the opportunity. The King of Liches had now learned that the key to a woman's heart seemed to be the ability to look cool while pursuing his own interests. "At this point, keeping secrets isn't going to do you any good, Your Majesty." Raagu said. "What is happening and why are you so worried? Even though the Golden Griffon is a huge golem, it's nothing we can't take down with ease." "You are right, Raagu." Sylpha said with a sigh, sitting on her throne. "Even if I keep remaining silent, soon you'll learn the truth by yourselves. To answer your questions, the problem is that an academy isn't just a huge golem but a mage tower." "What?" The Council representatives jumped to their feet, screaming into an uproar. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶 "How can the Royals know the secret of mage towers and not have crafted one for themselves even after a millennium?" Lotho asked. "If the academies are this strong, how could you lose territories during the past wars?" Feela started to pace around. "If you knew what the Golden Griffon was capable of, why didn't you predict Thrud's strategy?" Raagu asked. "One at a time." Meron said amid fits of cough. "It's not as simple as you think." Only once the room calmed down did Sylpha explain the situation to them. "We have no idea how to build a mage tower, Lotho. I used that term because it describes the situation the best. We didn't craft another academy because the method entrusted to us by Menadion is as demanding as it's complex. "It requires to build six academies at the same time and arrange them in a specific order and position."