Harem Regressor: I'll Save Them This Time-Chapter 39: Ch : Cold, Hard Truth.

The gate leading to the portal was as nondescript as before.

Nothing appeared to have changed on the outside, save for a pair of soldiers standing guard outside of it.

They saluted as the party approached.

"You’re not patrolling the interior?" Leopold asked. He seemed surprised that the gate was closed.

"That’s my job," Fei chirped. She froze when Leopold’s gaze turned to her and hid behind August.

"I don’t recall her meisters saying she’s so shy," Leopold mused, his lips quirking upward.

"She’s a fan," August said flatly.

Leopold suppressed a grin and elbowed the air between them.

For a geezer, he was a sharp one, and far more willing to play around than August had expected.

Stepping up to the gate, August reached for power from the binding stone. Fei jumped in front of him before he could push the doors open.

"I can open them," she chirped. "I have my key."

August smiled at her, then reached over top of her and gave the doors a shove.

A tiny pulse of magical resistance pushed back at August, but it melted when the binding stone’s power struck it.

The doors opened a crack.

"How come you don’t have to use a key?" Fei pouted.

"I imagine because he’s the Bastion, and he sealed the doors," Leopold said. His smile had slipped, and his eyes focused on August. "A curious method to keep the portal secure. I presume the keys are enchanted?"

"They are. It’s the same method used for vaults and treasuries.

A small set of keys with an enchantment that can unlock the door, except the seal is coded to a specific magical signature." August shrugged. "I read about the technique in the academy. It’s used in Falmir."

"Is it?" Leopold’s smile returned. "Perhaps I’ll see if it works for any of my portals when I return.

My Champions would appreciate being able to keep the demons on the other side without needing to watch the gate all day long.

Although I imagine that some may use the closed doors as an excuse to ignore the portal longer than they should."

August winced.

More than one fortress had fallen because of Champions who didn’t investigate the portal regularly, and Bastions who weren’t paying attention.

Out of sight, out of mind, was a dangerous mindset, but a popular one.

"Can we go in?" Anna asked. "You’ve had me on edge since August refused to properly answer Ciana."

Ciana ducked her head when at the sound of her name. Hiding a smile at Ciana’s shyness, August opened the gate all the way.

Gasps rung out.

Fei shot through the open doors, her scimitar out, and gave the all clear signal. Sen drew her greatsword and took up a watch position beside Fei.

The rest of them trooped inside afterward.

Ciana looked around with a mix of apprehension and triumph, as if she wasn’t sure if she should be happy or terrified that she was right.

"I thought you said the portal was passive?" Anna said. She pointed at the bottom of the valley they stood in. "I’m no expert, but that looks pretty ominous. And there are demons here!"

She was right. The tiny valley from earlier was no more. Worryingly, the portal now met expectations for what a demonic portal should look like, at least to a casual observer.

The valley leading down to the clearing had broadened.

An army could comfortably march toward the keep without breaking formation.

Farther below, the clearing had expanded as well.

The central mound had transformed into a massive set of craggy rocks reaching for the sky. Dozens of campfires had been built in the clearing, although only a few were lit.

"Care to take care of the demons, Fei?" August suggested. She was the reason so few campfires were being used.

The demons barely had time to react before she careened into them.

"Putting that speed enhancement to good work, I see," Leopold said. Then he winced as Fei bisected a demon. "Or something else. A bespoke enhancement?"

"She found the speed enhancement too restrictive," August said. "So I’ve combined the strength and speed enhancements to her liking. I’ve tweaked it a few times over the last few weeks, although at this point I think she just likes the process."

"Yes, young Champions get like that," Leopold said drily. "This may be wrong of me to say, but I wonder what the goddess was thinking to make the process generate such emotions."

The nearby women stared at Leopold and August in confusion.

Sen hadn’t gone through the Champion enhancement process.

Although August had thought Vera had picked up on the gist of it, perhaps she didn’t realize it happened to every Champion.

"Why aren’t you surprised by this?" Anna asked, gesturing to their surroundings. "Or worried? Or something?"

"Because he’s been trained for situations exactly like this. Isn’t that right, August?" Leopold turned to face August, his poker face firmly in place and eyes twinkling.

Behind him, Ciana nodded enthusiastically. She had understood what was happening the moment she found out what happened to the leylines, after all.

But this was a trick question. August didn’t understand why, but Leopold was testing him. Again.

The trick was that August could never have learned what was happening right now, at least not the normal way. No book had ever been published or would ever be published describing this.

Most Bastions never encountered this set of circumstances either, because it required somebody to commit heresy in the first place.

The portal had been passive when August had arrived. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

He had known that the energy must be going somewhere else, and any Bastion could determine that fact.

The leylines were being disrupted and causing the demonic energy from the portal to flow out into the world.

Eventually, that would create a new portal and a new demonic invasion.

The natural reaction was to stop the disruption. Everything should go back to normal. But it wasn’t, and it was for the same reason that the leyline disruption had weakened the portal to begin with.

"It’s similar, but different," August answered, trying to hedge around his actual knowledge. "This looks and feels like a cascade. But it’s not."

"A cascade?" Vera probed.

Leopold gave her a considering look, then shrugged and gestured for August to continue.

"All binding stones and demonic portals are linked through the leylines. When excess energy pours out of one portal, it must go somewhere. Normally this isn’t an issue, but when too much energy pours out at once, we call it a cascade," August explained. "This is how demonic invasions can occur at multiple portals at once or in close sequence. Not all of the energy from the first invasion was let out, so it spills over to nearby portals."

"But that’s not what’s happening here?" Vera asked.

"It is, but it can’t be," August said. "There are no demonic invasions nearby. The binding stone at Forselle Valley hasn’t reported any, neither have any other fortresses deeper within the Empire. And the binding stone on the other side of the mountains, within the Federation’s Fort Taubrum, is still inactive."

Leopold nodded, his smile broadening. "So?"

"Like I said, it’s a cascade, but it isn’t. The effects are the same: rapid expansion of the portal; constant arrival of demons; an accelerating rise in demonic energy.

Every time I take out a bandit group, the situation worsens, so I’ve slowed down." That was a lie. August had been taking it slow since dealing with Sen, because he had expected this.

"In other words, you think this cascade is related to the leylines?" Leopold asked.

Ciana was practically jumping up and down.

"I believe your ward agrees," August said, inclining his head toward the unicorn beastkin. She blushed but stood her ground this time.

"He’s right, Leopold," Ciana said. "And you know he is. You taught me about leyline cascades."

"That I did," Leopold said. He patted Ciana on the shoulder again. "Yes, this is a cascade. It is, in fact, the primary reason I came out here. I wanted to confirm that Gharrick Pass still existed, and that I wouldn’t need to hold this fortress myself."

"What a vote of confidence," August drawled.

Anna’s jaw dropped. After several seconds, she picked it back up and gathered her wits.

"You thought my county was in danger but did nothing?" she hissed. "What kind of protection is this?"

"The sort that is focused on the future of the Empire," Leopold said. His smile dropped. "A Bastion who can’t deal with a demonic invasion isn’t useful to His Majesty.

That is the cold, hard truth. The fact you appear to be managing the situation is a testament to your ability, August.

Most would have suppressed all the bandits within a few days, then been overwhelmed by the ensuing demonic horde immediately. A valiant end, but a pointless one."

August shrugged. Somehow, this colder side of Leopold felt easier to deal with. Perhaps because he felt similar to many other senior Bastions from August’s timeline.

"I estimate I have another week or two," he said. "My real worry is the Federation. I can deal with demons, but both at once?"

"Fortunately, you will now have a monogem Champion of your own," Leopold said. "Although I recommend that you make some more preparations." His gaze fell on Sen. Did he realize that she wasn’t a Champion yet?

Probably. August hadn’t requested permission to grant her the status. Sen lacked the training to accept an enhancement, and there was something else she was much more suited for.

"I have a few more tricks up my sleeve," August admitted. "If we’re done here, why don’t we have some lunch? The cooks have prepared something special."

The rest of Leopold’s visit went smoothly.

Seeing Ciana during her cuter phase was heartwarming for August, as his memories of Ciana so young were very distant. But when Leopold left with Anna and Vera, August found his thoughts drifting to the coming war.

War.

The very thing that August had come back in time to avoid.

He knew what he needed to do to stop his timeline from happening, and the demons from destroying everything. But was that enough to stop the Messengers in this timeline?

He needed to make more preparations.