Chapter 209: Reinvasion (6)
Chapter 209: Reinvasion (6)
Just as the United States had feared, Morocco was already under the control of the Demonic Humans.
Having discovered the location and timing of the portal intended to send Ego Artifacts to the demons of Nippur, they had succeeded in securing the artifacts without being detected by anyone.
A total of ten Ego Artifacts had crossed over to Earth, including those made from the rivals of Deborah—the newly appointed Duke of Asmodeus—and artifacts belonging to the demons of Mammon.
Among them, the demons of Asmodeus were already standing at the edge of a precipice. To seize a chance to turn the tide, they had to tear open a passage between Nippur and Earth.
These were the three demons who had been Counts under Asmodeus: Mallos, Catric, and Ereon.
Having lost the power struggle against Deborah, they found themselves dancing in the palm of her hand. Though they were irritated by the situation that forced them to follow her orders, they had no other choice.
Through the Demonic Humans, they immediately seized control of the Moroccan royal family along with the local Awakeners.
While Morocco claimed to be a constitutional monarchy, it was effectively an absolute monarchy ruled by the Alaouite Dynasty.
For those possessing powerful illusion and charm abilities, dominating ordinary people and making them their puppets was a simple task.
The royal family possessed many Awakeners and defensive artifacts to prepare for such threats, but they were useless.
The demons were the ones who had sent the artifacts to Earth in the first place; there was no way they would have sent artifacts powerful enough for mere humans to block their own abilities.
Though the Moroccans had been on high alert due to the recent global chaos, this was a form of Dark Magic they had never seen before, and they had no way to stop it.
Even if they tried to stand their ground, it was futile. They merely became puppets for Mallos, Catric, and Ereon.
The demons were incredibly skilled and efficient at this, having frequently infiltrated intelligent civilizations to incite internal strife during previous invasions.
They had learned everything about Morocco's national structure from the Demonic Humans and realized that seizing the royal family was the key. Once that was handled, everything else proceeded smoothly.
Since it was effectively an absolute monarchy, the Awakeners belonging to the royal family were the best-treated and highest-level individuals in the country.
Having experienced coups during the chaotic period when portals first appeared, the royal family had focused on centralizing control, which ironically made it even easier to take over the entire system at once.
The takeover happened in a single night, so seamlessly that even the United States remained unaware.
They moved with lightning speed.
Not knowing when the Moon Shadow Party might catch wind of their plans and arrive, they had to construct the Black Spire as quickly as possible to punch a hole in the Dimensional Barrier.
The Dimensional Barrier was certainly weaker than before, thanks to the Black Spire that had already been activated once in London.
Because of this, they didn't necessarily have to build the Black Spire at the primary weak points of the barrier—Japan, Korea, or the UK.
Of course, building it in one of those three locations would be most effective.
However, the UK and Japan were the primary areas of activity for the Moon Shadow Party, and since they had recently failed an attempt in the UK, the risk was too high.
Thus, they chose the safer route: crossing into Earth secretly and constructing the Black Spire in a hidden location.
The land owned by the royal family was off-limits to the general public.
From those lands, the Demonic Humans chose a desert where human footsteps rarely reached.
It was a place where France had used nuclear weapons with the royal family's support back when portals could not be controlled. Consequently, it had become a forbidden zone known as the "Desert of Death."
Such a place was extremely difficult even for Awakeners to navigate.
They would have to clear portals or defeat monsters in a radioactive zone, and even Awakeners were not entirely immune to radiation.
Naturally, one could not engage in combat with monsters while wearing bulky radiation suits.
Still, because Awakeners possessed reinforced bodies, they had a higher resistance to radiation than ordinary people, allowing them to operate for about half a day.
Of course, that was the absolute limit of endurance; if they had to actually engage in combat, the practical limit was around five hours.
The Demonic Humans who had fled from Europe to Morocco also knew that for them to survive and thrive, the demons of Nippur had to reach Earth.
This plan was their brainchild, and Mallos, Catric, and Ereon found the idea excellent given the current circumstances.
Mallos praised Klaus, the Demonic Human who wore him in the form of a necklace.
[If this succeeds, I shall reward you greatly.]
"Thank you, Lord."
So far, everything was proceeding perfectly.
Klaus felt that his efforts in rallying the Demonic Humans who fled Europe had paid off.
Mallos had taken a liking to him, and he had become stronger than ever thanks to the Ego Artifacts that the demons of Mammon had transformed into.
In truth, Klaus was a man who had turned into a Demonic Human in Albania. He was brilliant, but because his supernatural abilities were weak, he had never held a high rank.
He had been among the Demonic Humans who moved from Albania to France. During the invasion of London, he had been part of the rear guard because he arrived late.
While on his way, he saw Han Shin's group literally pulverizing the Demonic Humans in London. He immediately convinced the remaining Demonic Humans that going to London would be suicide.
Immediately after Klaus voiced his opinion, the group was divided.
However, Klaus's advice was ultimately taken...
And thanks to that, they survived.
Because of this, Klaus came to lead the Demonic Humans, bringing them to where they were now.
'I must seize the opportunity when it comes.'
Klaus was proud of himself for grabbing the chance presented to him.
He now possessed a body strong enough to eat and sleep in the radioactive Desert of Death without issue, and he had gained destructive Dark Mana.
The Black Spire standing before him was nearly complete, just waiting to be activated.
Everything was going well.
"The materials have arrived."
[Good. Activate the Spire immediately.]
"Yes. I will do so without delay."
The Demonic Humans had kidnapped the homeless and the impoverished—those ignored and marginalized by society—under the cover of night and forcibly dragged them here.
They intended to use these people as sacrifices to power the Black Spire.
Before long, the Black Spire began to consume the people, emitting dark energy to pierce through the Dimensional Barrier.
★ ★ ★
The American Association received full support from their government, including constant access to state-of-the-art military aircraft.
As they headed toward Morocco aboard one such aircraft, Han Shin's group received a brief briefing.
The US Branch employee who stepped forward to deliver the briefing was quite nervous, feeling the pressure of having to make a good first impression on the Moon Shadow Party.
He had received orders from his superiors to treat them with the utmost respect and never to offend them, so he had to be extremely careful with his conduct.
"May I begin the briefing?"
It felt awkward to see a man who was the epitome of a burly, rugged American macho bowing so politely as he asked.
More than anything, the pride of American Awakeners—which often bordered on arrogance—was famous.
'We really have become a big deal.'
Han Shin realized their current standing once again seeing the man act so submissively.
'But I don't really care for this kind of treatment...'
As long as people weren't outright rude, Han Shin didn't mind how they acted.
"You don't need to be so formal. Please, just start the briefing."
"Yes! Understood!"
The employee had already heard from the UK Branch that the Knight, who had come from another world to help Earth, could speak Earth's languages.
However, hearing the Knight speak in person, he was surprised by how fluent he was.
Immediately displaying a map of Morocco on a large screen, the employee began the briefing.
"We confirmed this via satellite yesterday, and further investigation of our records shows that the Black Spire is located in the Desert of Death—a zone currently closed off because nuclear weapons were used there in the past."
He showed a series of photos on the next screen, satellite images showing vehicles moving back and forth periodically.
"Vehicles are moving in and out constantly, and high-altitude reconnaissance drones have confirmed that it is indeed a Black Spire."
"How long can average Awakeners stay there?"
Han Shin knew that while his group would be fine, ordinary Awakeners could not be completely free from the effects of radiation.
Since American Awakeners would likely be joining them, that was his first concern.
"We are setting the operational limit at five hours."
Han Shin nodded, realizing he would need to take that into account during the battle.
The US Branch employee's impression of the Knight improved even further at the question, as it seemed the Knight was considering their safety first.
It showed that he didn't view the American Awakeners who would be fighting alongside him as expendable.
"We plan to land at a military airport in Algeria, right next to the Moroccan border, and move from there... but if you wish to move faster, we can set a flight path directly over the area."
Knowing that the Moon Shadow Party had safely dropped directly into London and engaged in combat immediately, he made the suggestion cautiously, expecting they might choose that route.
"Let's do that."
Han Shin decided they needed to get there as quickly as possible, operating under the assumption that the Black Spire was already active.