"What do you need all these things for, my lord?"
"To create equipment. I thought it's about time we get some proper weapons and other useful items. The suits need some upgrades too."
"You don't have to trouble yourself with this. You can just leave it to R&D."
"It's fine, Reynor. I want to test out my new wing."
There were only four days until the raid on Nostram's dungeon, and both Caelum and Erta were in the middle of preparations.
Caelum ordered a large mass of precious metals and monster materials from Halo to create their equipment. They were currently in one storeroom for the R&D Division on the middle floors of the building.
"Wow, there sure are a lot of good metals here. A shame that the monster materials aren't as good. No. I should be happy that not many strong monsters have appeared yet. I'll just have to use some of the stuff I brought."
He moved back a few steps and released his wings. The silver, black and crystal blue wings once looked incredibly majestic and powerful to Reynor, but now they only look like instruments for torture as he shivered while remembering the many beatings he had endured during training.
The three wings converged on the floor in front of Caelum and let out a pile of metals, scales and sharp teeth.
"My lord, where did you get those things?"
"Foreign metal from Akasha which I salvaged from the simulacra. And Fafnir's scales and teeth from when I blew off his lower jaw. There's not much opportunity for us to come across such great materials so I wouldn't let them go. Alright, do your thing Ciel!"
[You did not need to release the other materials, Father. You are making my work redundant.]
Ciel complained as she controlled the crystal blue wing to suck in all the materials they needed. She began processing the materials within the wing far faster than any kind of machinery in the world could. And in less than five minutes, she had completed her preparations.
[Processing of materials complete. What would you like me to create, Father?]
"A dagger should be a good start."
The moment he decided, a single shard of crystal flew off from his blue wing and appeared before him. It glowed dimly as a dagger began forming above it in a matter of seconds.
The dagger was made from an alloy of the simulacrum's metal and Fafnir's tooth making it the first weapon on Earth to be made of dragon materials.
It was also one of the strongest existing weapons currently. The moment the dagger was created, a window detailing the characteristics of the weapon appeared in Caelum's vision.
{[Name: Dragon Fang]
[Modifiers:
1) 25% increase in speed
2) 50% increased effectiveness of concealment abilities
3) 75% mana amplification
4) Can pierce through most materials]}
"...."
[What is it, Father? Was my work not good enough?]
"No. The problem is that it was too good. How is this thing so broken?!"
[Father, I recommend buying glasses. You had just witnessed me create the dagger right in front of you. How could it already be broken?]
"I'm not saying that it's physically broken, you brat! I'm talking about the modifiers!"
[This is my standard, Father. If you want a toothpick, look elsewhere.]
Caelum stayed silent, trying to hold back the urge to yell at Ciel. Since their common senses were different, it was difficult to hold normal conversation at times.
But what really annoys him was how snarky and smug she would get. He swore that he would one day discipline this daughter of his.
With a sigh, Caelum tossed the dagger to Reynor who only looked at him in shock and confusion.
"Keep it. I promised to repay you for helping me, didn't I?"
"My lord, there's no need for you to do so. I live in service to the Pillar of Grace. It is only natural for me to aid you."
"Stop using that as an excuse. And it's better in your hands than mine anyway. Use it to protect Ceres."
"Very well, my lord. Thank you."
"Ciel, continue producing whatever we may need. Use any amount of the materials you want, but save at least 5% of them in case of emergencies."
[I shall save 80% instead. There are far too many unexpected events happening around you, Father. 5% will not suffice. Besides, I am able to construct such items in mere seconds. It takes the same amount of time as withdrawing them from your wings.]
"Fine. You know how to operate Reason better than me anyway. I'll trust you. Alright, let's go meet with your mom."
After their short but fruitful time in the storeroom, Caelum and Reynor left to look for Erta.
They passed by many people busy with work. It had been a while since Caelum had been inside Halo's building to the point that he had somehow forgotten that most of Halo's employees were actually non-combatants.
It was only because he had mostly been meeting with the Security Division that he mainly thought of them when talking about Halo.
All around him were people dressed in lab coats and other uniforms, some even in hazmat suits as they studied and experimented on various materials.
This was the true face of Halo, the leading power behind Earth's mana engineering industry. And standing among them was a beautiful silver-haired angel.
"Cal, I'll be done in just a minute."
Erta did not even need to look behind her to know that he had arrived. She could feel him through their connection.
And before long, she sighed as she released all tension from her body. And as soon as the mana that she had been releasing was drawn back into her, the people working with her also sighed in relief.
They seemed to have been pressured by her very dense mana throughout their work but they could not do anything about it since it was necessary.
"You look tired. Shall I carry you?"
"No. And I'm not tired. I just couldn't relax all this time. Enchanting is a very delicate process. One mistake and the entire floor could have been destroyed."
Everyone who heard her paled as they stared at her in shock. Were they really working on something so dangerous the whole time? They did not know since Erta deliberately did not tell them so that they would not be scared.
She wanted them to first experience it without the anxiety and fear hanging in their minds which could lead to an even worse outcome.
It still did not change the fact that they were completely clueless about it, however. They were literally standing right next to a bomb that could have annihilated them, and they did not know. Even Caelum was surprised, but realising that all work had stopped, he blurted out while laughing lightly.
"Oh you and your weird jokes! She's just kidding everyone! No need to worry!"
[You were just kidding, right? Please tell me you were kidding.]
[Does it look like I'm kidding?]
Caelum stared at her blankly, then dragged her away. Their work for the day was done, but there were still things they had to finish today if they wanted to rest before leaving for the Evonian Republic.
They got in a car and left for Avalon. Erta closed her eyes to rest her mind while Caelum was looking at the details of the enchantment she had just made in Halo.
According to Ciel who assisted her, Halo's R&D created beacons that sent out waves of mana outwards in a 6km radius.
These waves of mana will be undetectable to most except those very sensitive to mana, and will act like a sonar that scans the area for gates or any mana anomalies.
These beacons would be scattered all across Eventide at first, then later the rest of the world, to form a network of surveillance.
The enchantment that Erta imbued on them allows the beacons to be powered solely by the mana in the environment. It works in a loop of absorbing mana from the atmosphere and releasing it to scan the area.
"This is ingenious. Is this what you used in Sanctuary too?"
"We didn't have something like that in Sanctuary. In terms of technology, Earth is a bit more advanced since my world focused more on magic. And most of the technology left by our ancestors from before the emergence were lost to the Great War."
Caelum was speechless. He felt guilty for having stepped on a landmine. He held Erta's hand instead and that seemed to have been a good choice as she smiled and leaned onto him. Caelum realised that she had fallen asleep and asked Reynor to drive slower to give her time to rest.
It was early afternoon when they arrived. Already, there were more than a dozen people gathered.
Of course, not everyone could come so early as they all had responsibilities, but those who were available were present.
Today was the last day of training before Caelum and Erta left for Evonia. It was also the day they decided to hold their test to see if the students they have been training for the past days could be trusted with the fate of humanity.
"Are you ready?"