Chapter 140: Victory

After the death of the Tyrant, the battle did not last long.

The stone hive had already lost many soldiers, as well as its most powerful champions. Without the guiding sentience of its ruler, the lesser creatures seemed to lack most of their intelligence and coordination. Feeling this weakness, the exhausted Irregulars advanced and slaughtered them without a hint of hesitation.

With Soul Reaper and the Daemon of Change rampaging at the front of the formation, the number of the monstrous insects quickly dwindled. Then, Saint Tyris joined the battle and more or less wiped out the remaining abominations single-handedly.

Sky Tide seemed to have received several wounds in her fight with the Remnant of the Jade Queen, but it did not slow her much. Moving between the giant insects like wind, almost too swift to be seen with a naked eye, she disposed of all the remaining Nightmare Creatures in mere seconds. Her saber cut through their impregnable white carapaces as if they were made out of water.

Just like that, suddenly, silence settled over the summit of the mountain.

The soldiers looked at each other in confusion, struggling to believe that the bloody battle had ended so abruptly. Then, when the sweet understanding dawned on them, the Irregulars lowered themselves to the ground with relieved sighs, drained of all strength.

Everyone was drained beyond belief and needed a moment to collect their thoughts. Tired smiles appeared on their faces.

Hugo smiled briefly at the sight, remembering that this was what he was fighting for.

It was a beautiful sight... But he could not remain here for long.

He summoned the [Sunlight Rings] and activated their enchantment, healing his broken and wounded body. The Ascended Memory was not as effective as it was back when he was an Awakened, unfortunately. But paired with the [Silver Tears], the two memories did wonders in rejuvenating his stamina and health.

Zed approached him, reverting to her base form and sitting beside his feet, almost as if hugging him.

Hugo smiled and patted the alien wolf.

"Hey." a voice called out to him from behind. It was none other than Soul Reaper, bathed in blood.

Hugo remained silent before changing forms to his Big Chill imprint. It was more comfortable to speak in that form, not to mention he was preparing to leave.

"I’m on it, I was just about to head out."

Jet gave him a confused look.

"What are you talking about?"

"Did you not come here to give me a mission?"

"What? No! For spell’s sake, we nearly died just now. A little rest can’t hurt anybody. Besides, aren’t your essence depleted?"

Soul Reaper, while stern, was actually a kind boss who looked out for her co-workers despite the nasty rumors about her being someone who enjoyed murder.

Well, from what Hugo saw so far, both were true but he was not confident enough to say that to her face.

"...Of course a little rest would hurt somebody. For every second I’m not out there, a soldier is dying across the continent. So why should I receive the privilege of resting while people are dying?"

He was set on this idea. Whether it was through his main body, Spirit Body, shadow avatar, Zed, or his minions, he needed to always be doing something in Antarctica, no matter what.

Why? Simply because he can. He could not lay there and rest, not with all the powers he possessed.

He knew he was taking on too much responsibility, but he was the only one in this realm who possessed the powers of the Omnitrix, so it was naturally his fate to bear the greatest of burdens.

Jet gave him an unamused look and sighed.

"...Listen, I’m not going to sit here and blow your ears out about the fact that you can’t do this, or that you’re hurting yourself or any of that crap... In truth, it’s beneficial for all of us if you go out here and rampage across Antarctica like a mad beast... But deep down, you are hurting yourself. Your selflessness could, and will, lead you down a path of regret and misery. Sooner or later, you will break under the weight you are putting on yourself, So, for everyone’s sake, take it easy, will you?"

She patted him on the back and smiled slightly at Zed, before waving him goodbye and leaving to check on her cohort.

Hugo remained in his place for a moment, contemplating her words. He knew she was right, but still...

He needed to help people. No matter what happens, he needed to save them... He must save them... It was his responsibility, his duty, and his burden...

’is this resolve or foolishness? Ah, but is there any difference...’

’...No matter, the campaign will eventually end, and the people will be evacuated.’

Or would they? What would happen if a Corrupted Titan stepped out of a Gate? Or even worse, something of the Great rank, like Allurement?

Shaking his head, Hugo headed towards Sunny, who had entered the military Rhino.

Knocking, the young Master opened the door.

"Hey Sunny, I need a favor." Hugo said, before summoning a Memory from his soul sea.

It was the [Polymorphic Crystal].

Recognizing the Memory, Sunny’s head seemed to have connected the dots.

"Get inside."

***

Hugo had transferred the Ascended Memory to Sunny, and currently the young man was staring at it with a deep expression, studying its weaves.

His arms were moving in strange patterns around the small crystal. To anyone else, they would think Sunny had gone mad, trying to perform some form of bizarre sorcery.

But that was not the case, not at all.

The young Master was performing a unique form of sorcery—weaving—and altering the ascended memory.

Hugo had asked Sunny to elevate the rank of his Memory to the Transcendent rank, intending to harness the powers of the [Polymorphic Crystal] enchantments, which was perhaps his best Memory after [Nemetrix] and the dearly missed [Azmuth’s Ship].

Thinking about the divieb relic... Hugo mood became even more solemn.

He could’ve already evacuated all of Antarctica using the divine ship... Yet that opportunity was stolen from him by that cursed, or to be specific, sacred, bastard.

’Curse it all...’

Changing his chain of thoughts, Hugo kept studying Sunny’s weaving. The sorcerer had definitely improved in the last few weeks, no doubt thanks to his dedication in mastering this form of sorcery and the ever-helpful [Omni-Book].

Within an hour, which Hugo spent controlling his minions through the [Crown of Falsehood], the process was finally finished.

And...

The Memory shattered into white sparks, causing Hugo’s eyes to widen in shock and panic, before moments later, it reformed into a new crystal, the same in size and shape... but one that felt infinitely more powerful.

Sunny relaxed and leaned against the walls of the Rhino.

"There you go... I had to spend a Transcendent shard out of my own pockets, but whatever..."

He touched Hugo’s arm, and the Memory was transferred.

[You have received a Memory.]

Nodding at his words, Hugo summoned [Nothing].

"Thank you for your services, but I’m planning to pay you, generously."

Sunny raised an eyebrow as he saw Hugo put his hand in the mist of [Nothing], looking for something.

"Hey look, I know I usually price you for everything you get from me... But maybe this one could be on the house. We are in a doomed continent and might die at any—"

Sunny’s words were suddenly cut off as his onyx eyes reflected a beautiful white light.

There, in Hugo’s arm, sat four powerful crystals brimming with latent soul essence.

They did not have any presence, but Sunny clearly recognized the quality of the shards.

"S-Supreme shards... How did you get them?!"

Hugo shrugged.

"I killed a depressed Great Tyrant by dreaming about you as a pervert."

"What?"

"Nevermind. So, back to business. I’m willing to give you all four shards if you upgrade all my Ascended Memories to the Transcendent rank. And if you can’t do that right now thanks to a shortage of Transcendent shards, then that’s fine. Make it so next time we meet, you’ll owe me multiple free upgrades."

Sunny listened intently to the offer.

In truth, he would agree to this deal no matter the terms. After all, those four Supreme shards were of Valuable to him beyond measure.

Any human would seek Supreme shards, whether it was to enhance their soul core or for their collection.

But for Sunny, whose sorcery was based around weaving soul shards into memories... This opened the door for him to upgrade his sorcery and even create Supreme Memories.

Supreme Memories were a powerful thing, so much so that even Sovereigns would find them valuable.

Without contemplation, Sunny nodded.

"Agreed."

"Pleasure doing business with you."

***

In the end, Hugo had ended up traveling with Sunny and his cohort for a day, resting and rejuvenating his essence while Sunny elevated the following Memories:

[Proto-Truck], [Proto-Tool], and [Sunlight Rings].

In the meantime, Hugo was actively controlling his minions through the [Crown of Falsehood], making sure his main body could rest for a little while also being helpful across Antarctica.

He ended up parting ways with the group of Irregulars after the Memories were upgraded, though.

Reaching a cliff, Hugo stared at the distance somberly, then summoned Zed once again, stroking the blue wolf.

"Are you still trying to get yourself killed, dear?" A feminine voice suddenly appeared on his shoulder, belonging to none other then Serena.

Hugo summoned [Polymorphic Crystal] and shook his head.

"I don’t intend on dying anytime soon."

"Hmmm... But for someone who doesn’t want to die, you sure have a habit of throwing yourself at dangerous situations... In the last two months alone, you nearly died dozens of times! That is not healthy for your spirit."

"Many things are not healthy for my spirit, yet I still do them anyway. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is that I’m alive, and as long as I am, I’ll continue fighting for what I think is right and uphold my principles."

"...You are truly peculiar, little Hugo. Instead of spending time like anyone your age would do, you instead spend it in a continent infested by the corrupted! How mischievous! "

Caressing zed, he turned his head towards Serena and spoke:

"And what do you suggest that I should do instead?"

"Well I don’t know, maybe continue texting that pretty girl with the True Darkness

Affinity. Perhaps a beautiful romance would bloom between the two of you one day!"

He only scowled at her words, shivering about the idea of being romantically involved with the daughter of a supreme. but didn’t say anything.

"Anyway, what are you doing?" Serena asked, now looking at him with intrigue.

"Giving a gift to the best girl in my life."

Hugo said, summoning the [Polymorphic crystal].

He had recently gotten a very bold idea... The [Polymorphic Crystal] possessed an enchantment that allowed it to upgrade Memories to the next rank as long as it were bonded with them. That even worked for mundane objects. Of course, it only worked for artifacts of the same rank as the crystal.

It wasn’t capable of upgrading living beings, or echoes, for that matter.

However, hugo had told Sunny to not only increase the rank of the Memory, but to also alter the [Upgrade] enchantment in order to upgrade Echoes...

Indeed, Zed, despite wielding a sacred relic, was incredibly weak compared to him and his Spirit Body and shadow avatar.

The Nemetrix was incapable of upgrading her ranks, as all of her Transformation were of the same rank as she was.

Not to mention, she could not grow in rank and class due to her being an echo. So, Hugo wanted to see if this Memory could help her Transcend.

He activated the upgrade enchantment and embedded it in Zed’s forehead.

Bright red energy wrapped around the Ascended Devil. Zed grew in size, and her crimson eyes became even brighter Ashe seed to slightly increase in size.

She seemed to hold a mastery over the Nemetrix more now, with the sacred relic becoming even more beautiful.

"Good girl..."

This was a good power-up, however it was incomparable to True Transcendance. Or to be specific, it only was possible while the [Polymorphic Crystal] was embedded into her like a charm.

This also granted Zed the ability to absorb some energies and allow her to unleash them as kinetic energy.

Overall, despite it not being a true increase in rank, this was a great upgrade.

"Ohhhhhhh! That baby looks wonderful!" Serena moved her floating head towards Zed, playing with the wolf, who, surprisingly enough, was able to see her.

"Indeed... I was worried that two Memories fused into her was problematic, but it seemed to be of no problem due to the fact that zed is bonded with the Nemetrix thanks to her own devil ability, while the Polymorphic crystal is embedded in her thanks to the innate enchantments of the memory. "

With this done, Hugo had decided to keep the [Polymorphic Crystal] bonded to her for an indefinite amount of time.

***

As days went by, the Chain of Nightmares grew even more rampant. New Gates manifested with increased frequency, disgorging more and more abominations into the waking world. Luckily, the burden pressing down on the First Army also grew lighter, since more and more divisions reached their destinations and entrenched themselves inside the cities that would become humanity’s strongholds in the coming months.

And yet, Hugo could not allow himself to rest. He needed to make sure they had not only an edge above the Nightmare Creatures, but also completely overtake them, destroying every Nightmare Creature on Antarctica.

The Gates would remain, sure, but perhaps one day, Antarctica could be weaponized by humanity as a place where Awakened could go to challenge the Gates, allowing more Masters to rise and, more importantly, more Saints.

It was a foolish dream, and borderline impossible to achieve, but it was still better then fighting at all.

And so, his daily routine—bloody and tiresome—had resumed once again.

Kill, help humans, kill, create minions, recharge, kill...

It was a truly hellish cycle, making hours feel like days and days feel like weeks.

The war between Nightmare Creatures and the First Evacuation Army kept raging on in Antarctica. Battle after battle was waged with the terrifying forces of Nightmare Creatures growing every day, spilling new horrors into the world.

The situation only seemed to get worse in terms of gates, with no hope of improvement... But at least, humanity—hanks to Hugo’s minions and the tenacity of the human warriors—was able to hold the line against the endless chain of nightmares.

To combat the increase, Hugo had to get even more creative on how to use his abilities.

One such creative method included his beloved Echo, Zed.