They had left Mark behind the mansion, as he still had to speak to the rest of the family members who did not know of the secret. Of course, there was no definite way to categorize those who did and those who didn"t, so he had been told to tell everyone to surrender, for now, so that they could be screened later.
He had taken command of all of the formations that had previously been controlled by his father, so they did not fear for his safety.
As for them… That was a completely different matter.
Seeing the number of monsters that were still being sent to their deaths, Eloise slowly began to wonder whether they had bitten off more than they could chew.
A glance toward the sky rea.s.sured her, though, as even though it was concealed, she knew that the ever-present G.o.dnet was still active here, and this was actually why they had chosen this spot.
As if just thinking about it had summoned it, the G.o.dnet spoke in her mind.
"a.n.a.lysis of the enemy is complete. Sending image and details of enemy formation to all sovereigns in selected area."
Hearing the strangely monotonous voice still brought slight gooseb.u.mps to her hands, but she was starting to get used to it.
She had been the one to discover it first - she didn"t know whether he had done it on purpose or not, but the G.o.dnet was such that the more they delved into it, the more was revealed to them.
She had spent a lot of time going deeper and deeper into its core by understanding and then unraveling the layers of formations that surrounded its bedrock, and at one point, she had heard this voice speak inside her mind.
And of course, the first time it had happened, she had been scared out of her wits.
After controlling herself, she had contemplated the thought of asking Daneel about it, but knowing what he would say, and also remembering that he had said that there were secrets about the G.o.dnet waiting for them if they grew skilled enough to control it perfectly, she had taken it in stride.
At the moment, because she had the most command over it, that voice only responded to her. So far, it was capable of doing tasks such as a.n.a.lysis, which she had just used, and also deploying a few incredible spells that she had found at the deepest level she had been able to reach so far.
Each level had been like a puzzle, but what she had basically been doing by unraveling them was understanding the working of this incredibly complex construct, which had, in turn, furthered her own understanding of formations, elementary particles, and, of course, magic.
If she had known that Daneel had created it in this way because he wanted his sovereigns to all be able to control the G.o.dnet perfectly with their own minds unlike him who used the system, she would have felt proud of herself, as she had progressed far more than he had thought she would in so little time.
She snapped out of her thoughts when they all felt that now familiar feeling of having something sent directly to their minds, and together, they all studied the information about the formation that was being used under the sea by the family to fend off the creatures that saw them as a tasty morsel.
Eloise, and even Elanev could not help but raise one eyebrow as they saw the shape of the formation.
It was comprised of a bulbous head in which all the elders, and those of lesser power among the members who had been transported here were sitting, while calmly monitoring the situation in the area around them.
Below this head, numerous tentacle-like objects spread out, and at the end of each was a Hero, or a pair of heroes who were attacking incessantly as the creatures kept on coming.
They knew that it was foolish to stay in one place, but the family had no choice as Eloise and the rest of them had already prepared this spot perfectly.
There was a strong barrier above them which had to be broken by the combined power of multiple Heroes if they wanted to get to the surface, and as they were surrounded from all other sides, they had no option but to only try to go up.
However, because they had to occupy themselves with first staying whole, they were not able to mount a full-blown attack on the barrier, yet.
Eloise felt that the shape was familiar, so she went into her mind to check the records she had gone through in her time in the Order.
Soon, she reached the book where she had seen it before: "A History of Forgotten G.o.dbeasts, and Their Characteristics."
Yes! A Seaking Squid… That was its name!
Legends stated that it had been a dominant G.o.dbeast in the Endless Sea, until it had had no option but to die off, or go into hibernation due to the falling Energy levels.
She had known that the last of them had been present during the Empire, at which time they had been studied by multiple individuals and then fas.h.i.+oned into formations that had been lost in the Apocalypse.
Seeing this ancient formation surface now, she wandered again about the roots of the Eskilon family, but knowing that they would find out as much as they wanted after the family was vanquished, she focused on the scene, and saw that the rate at which the dead bodies floated to the surface was decreasing.
The barrier was designed so that it would allow through creatures of the sea, so from this, they could judge the situation below, as the depth at which the family had been placed was just too far away to scan using their own senses.
"You think they"re tired yet?", asked Elanev, to which Xuan said, "I j.a.pe they"re not too tired… I still want them to put up a fight."
Seeing her battle-hungry sister, Eloise smiled, but right away, that smile turned sour when a loud sound reached them.
Not even a few seconds later, the creature they had seen in their minds appeared on the surface.
The barrier was broken… And the cost they had to pay for this was visible.
Five of the strongest Heroes of the family lay unconscious inside that head of the creature.
Seeing this, Kellor spoke in an uncharacteristic, yet apt tone filled with the thrill of battle.
"It was ingenious to let the sea tire them out… While also letting them ama.s.s so much meat for the people of the continent to eat! Well, onto the final stage now. My fellow sovereigns… Activate your thrones! Let us make the G.o.dking proud! Today shall be the day we rid our mother of the last traitors to taint its soil! It is time!"