Gacha Kingdom Building-Chapter 288: Expanding Connection

--This chapter is written using Maya's POV--

Dark flames and wind slashes erupted from behind a barricade up the street.

Alongside the magic, four men charged against us with axes and swords in hand.

These were the last standing members of the AOTG in the streets of this town.

[Gift activated: [Unseen Flame].

The stars have aligned:

Polaris offers you its blessing.

Antares offers you...]

As the name suggested, there were no flames to be seen anywhere, other than the black ones clearly heading our way.

I needed to identify the threat first, so I chose Polaris' blessing.

[In response to [Unseen Flames], Polaris offers you [Primary Targeting]

May the stars guide your way.]

Polaris gave me exactly what I needed to locate the threat.

The blessing I received highlighted everything that I could attack with a faint glow, and like a magnet, pulled and corrected the trajectory of my first attack towards the target.

Both allies and enemies, as well as their magic and weapons, were highlighted indiscriminately, but amidst the clutter, one faint glow stood out, hovering in an empty space behind Andrei.

Maya: "Careful!"

Before the oncoming magic combination and the charging men could reach him, I hastily made an earth shield and chose Andrei as my target.

With my jump and the pull from [Primary Target], I got behind his back just in time to stop the faint glow approaching him from behind.

The heat surprised me, but I trusted Polaris and blocked the invisible flames coming from Andrei's shadow.

I couldn't tell how the flames spread, though, so I changed the [Primary Target] again to focus on them now that I stood between them and Andrei.

The faint glow wasn't moving as much, but I could feel [Primary Target] pulling the mass of my shield and letting me block the flames more effectively.

Thanks to it, I understood their spear-like shape and readjusted my shield to block them without the intervention of [Primary Target].

Once the flames subsided, I enhanced the shield with [Wind Magic] to increase its power and speed, and then I threw it to the left from Andrei's back, spinning it to make it curve towards the barrage of magic coming our way.

The mana I used was just barely enough to stop the attack, so once it stopped, the shield fell to the ground.

As I had also used the materials from the street to make it, I easily channelled the mana from my feet to it, and once connected, I erupted two thin but dense pillars of concrete to knock out two of the men approaching us.

I needed a second to breathe, but thankfully, I was behind Andrei's huge back, which easily covered my entire body.

Not only that, but with their numbers halved in a second, the two charging men hesitated.

Andrei didn't miss the opportunity, and with [Wind Magic] enhancing his fists, he broke the first sword raised at him with a punch so strong that its very aftershock knocked out the man brandishing it.

His last opponent attacked Andrei's exposed dominant arm, but by spreading his magic, Andrei stopped the blade from reaching the bone.

Without flinching, he then drove his right fist into his attacker's jaw, putting him out of the fight.

With this, only the three mages hiding behind the barricade stood between us and the building we needed to invade.

No one was left to defend them anymore, and outnumbered three to one, they trembled, raising their hands and surrendering.

Or so it seemed.

[Gift activated: [Prime Dark Matter].

Gift activated: [Color Winds].

Gift activated: [Dual Purpose Gun].

The stars have aligned.

Polaris offers you its blessing.

Antares offers you...

Vega offers you...]

Thanks to my Gift's warnings, I looked around for another attack, and sensed the mana condensing above us, like a hammer in the sky, ready to strike us down.

Despite my higher level, I knew I couldn't stop an attack that big.

Polaris was a star of guidance, and since [Primary Target] had already confirmed my fears, I decided to choose the blessing of another star.

I frantically searched the list of stars offering me their blessings, only to sigh in relief once I saw Vega among them.

[In response to [Prime Dark Matter], Vega offers you [Prime Light Wave]

May the stars watch over you.]

Since the opponent had [Dark Magic], I knew Vega would protect me with light, and the synergy would grant a stronger effect for the blessing.

This was the best I could do without using Antares, which I wanted to avoid for the time being.

And yet, I still wasn't sure if it would already be enough, so I focused on finding a solution for my lack of power.

Maya: "O' Light, clear my mind."

Since this blessing temporarily gave me and strengthened any [Light Magic] I had, I decided to use it to buff myself.

Then, with my stats increased...

Maya: "Shine your might. Clear the way!"

I only knew a few chants for [Light Magic], so I could only hope these spells were enough to counter their magic.

In one last push, I remembered that I could condense my magic, focusing on breaking through theirs instead of matching its area.

Vega was a defensive star, so under normal circumstances, I would have cast a protective dome over us.

But that would spread my mana too thin. The area would be too large.

Instead of a bubble barrier, I made a cone.

The smallest I could, placed at the tip of a light beam.

Like a spear.

It was a risky gamble since, if I wasn't powerful enough, I'd only intercept a point without breaking through, leaving me vulnerable to the rest of their attack.

Still, I chose to believe in my effort and Vega's protection.

Despite not chanting, I was faster and left them no choice but to launch their strike prematurely.

Even then, it was still a close call.

The light beam I launched met the darkness and the fire that painted the sky over us.

It pierced through the darkness, resisting the opposing wind and the flames, shattering them completely just seconds before it could reach us.

In the aftermath, the dissolving elements rained down, but thankfully, no one was hurt.

The fire and the darkness had no more mana fueling them.

We didn't give the AOTG mages a chance for another fake-out.

Before the dust settled, we had them unconscious on the asphalt and their wrists in magic-draining handcuffs.

Before we could enter the building, I had to recover my mana for the next fight.

I always kept a small mana reserve since changing stars and blessings already came with an upfront cost, but it was running dangerously low.

At most, with the mana I had, I could change two more times.

Thankfully, I could use Deneb on Chris' Gift to recover my mana.

[In response to [Astral Echoes], Deneb offers you [Astral Recursion]

May the stars mend your spirit.]

This method wasn't as fast as using mana potions.

It just allowed me to recollect the lingering mana from recently cast spells in the area, so it was only useful in large battlefields or against mages with an incredible mana reserve of their own.

Still, it didn't strain the body as much as mana potions, which allowed me to fire more magic in the long run, even if I had to use a lot of mana at once.

Maya: "They are already waiting for us. We'll be bombarded the moment we set foot inside, so for now, can you surround the building? I'll give you a signal when it's safe to enter."

When we stood in front of the door, my Gift detected the activations of dozens more.

To face that head-on would be suicide.

At least, without Antares.

[With your current power, Antares cannot be activated.]

Even though I got stronger, the maximum number of stars I could keep active was three.

Unfortunately, some stars, like Antares, consumed even more power, so to use it, I'd have to deactivate one of the stars I had active at all times.

My two permanent stars were Castor and Altair, with blessings I received from their response to members of the Aegis and AOTG.

Castor and Pollux were the stars I had the best relationship with.

Even after deactivating them, their effects would remain for a few hours, so after my run-in with Lance, I started using Castor as a measure against Gift-inhibiting abilities, like [Hollow Destiny].

I was afraid to change away from Castor, so, unfortunately, I had to sacrifice Altair, despite its incredible blessing.

Well, at least Antares showed up.

Some stars, like Sirius and Spica, only offered me their blessings under specific conditions.

Specifically, Sirius only offered me a blessing in response to Piper's Gifts...

Despite its absurd power, Antares liked me enough to offer its blessing every time, and it was always one of the first to do so.

It really was a brilliant star.

Red Mask: "Ugh... Absurd..."

Maya: "I take it you surrender?"

Despite facing Antares, the AOTG members inside the building lasted for almost an hour.

Their leader, a man known for wearing a red mask, resisted for almost fifteen minutes.

As expected of someone working directly under an executive, it was an impressive fight.

But with his defeat, the building was now property of the Aegis.

It would need repairs since I went a little overboard, but it would work well for our meeting.

Most importantly, this town had just recently been captured by Erik, and it was being used as a supply hub for the AOTG.

He'd now have to take a few steps back to reclaim it, which should give Miwen and me more time.

Hopefully, with this time, I could avoid the worst-case scenario.

Maya: "First, I want to thank you for choosing to stay with me, despite my recent actions."

The main purpose of today was a meeting between the Pillars of the Aegis and me.

I owe them an apology for attacking the government without asking them, but I didn't want to start off with that.

Instead, I thanked them.

I was fully aware of how controversial my decision would be when I took it.

I fully accepted any member or associate who decided to quit or cut ties with us.

Yet, to my surprise, not a single one of the Pillars left.

I was immensely thankful for that.

Despite my best efforts, I'd never achieve victory alone.

I needed the Pillars of the Aegis and every member fighting for our cause.

And now, with Miwen's return, it was finally time to tell them the truth.

What our cause was.

Why we had to fight for it.

And why we had to win.

I owed this to everyone who believed in me.

I trusted them to understand.

And above all...

I trusted it was the right thing to do.