By the following day, Aluna had recovered significantly. Although most of her injuries had healed, both she and Daisy remained under strict detention.
During this quiet interval, Igaris finally pieced together so long-buried secrets surrounding the internal affairs of House Calamity of Paradise.
From what he gathered, House Calamity wasn’t just another noble family. It was one of the central pillars supporting the Federation’s military structure, renowned for its mastery over Lightning chs, deadly machines capable of overwhelming enemy lines with sheer speed and electrical destruction.
But the Federation’s enemies weren’t limited to Summoners alone. Beyond the shimring dos of Paradise lay the Great Forest of Tumbar, a primal stretch of wilderness teeming with Spirit Beasts. These creatures routinely crossed borders, attacking human settlents not only for food but possibly for darker, unknown purposes.
Since the sealing of the Spirit Realm centuries ago, many of its beasts had interbred with native wildlife. The resulting hybrids were grotesque, unpredictable, and disturbingly drawn to human blood. The reason for this craving remained unclear, but the danger they posed was undeniable.
Back to House Calamity, a strange rumor had circulated within high society around eight years ago. It spoke of a scandal involving one of their daughters.
According to whispers behind closed doors, the daughter had secretly fallen in love with a powerful Summoner—a man from beyond Federation walls who possessed terrifying camouflage abilities, allowing him to bypass detection and infiltrate the Calamity estate unnoticed.
Their forbidden union resulted in marriage, and soon after, the birth of two children: a son, Igor Calamity, and a daughter, Isadora.
For ten years, they lived in secret harmony, hidden from public scrutiny. But then, without warning, the father vanished.
His disappearance changed everything.
Igor, still a young boy, was subjected to a compulsory aptitude test ant to determine his potential as a cha pilot. What they found during that test shattered the family’s foundation.
Igor carried the blood of the Forsaken.
The truth surfaced like a corpse in stagnant water. The missing father had been a Summoner all along. House Calamity had been deceived for over a decade, and as a result their reputation plumted.
The rest of the story vanished under layers of silence and classified files. But Igaris could guess what happened.
He and Isadora had likely been marked for death. The Federation never forgave such betrayal.
Yet sohow, their mother, Roxanne, had defied them. Motivated by a mother’s love, she had escaped Paradise and fled to the one place no one would think to look—the Forsaken Land.
The sa place where her husband was born.
It was only a theory, but it fit the scattered fragnts of truth he had gathered.
---
[ Unit Na: Shadow Reaper (B) ]
Species: Higher chanical Lifeform (HML)
Rank: Master-4
Loyalty: 100%
Abilities:
1. Zero Point Slash – A high-speed strike that ignores space, instantly hitting any marked target.
2. Overdrive Core – Temporarily boosts all internal systems by 200%, though extended use risks total system failure.
3. Kinetic Redirection – Absorbs incoming physical attacks, storing the energy to unleash it in a devastating counterstrike.
---
[ Na: Malthius ]
Species: Undead Lich
Power Rank: Master-9
Loyalty: 100%
Abilities: Godslayer Sword Style, Undead Recovery, Darkness Domain
---
Igaris stood silently, observing the ten-ter-tall Shadow Reaper and the cloaked figure of Commander Malthius. His eyes narrowed slightly, not from fear, but from quiet awe.
The Blessing had pushed them both into entirely new realms of power. They were no longer ordinary servants. Their core structures had evolved—one as a living machine, the other as a deathless warrior.
Shadow Reaper now boasted a trifecta of enhanced abilities, each tailored for rapid warfare.
Malthius, on the other hand, had gained a single new power, but it was monuntal in its implications.
Darkness Domain.
A battlefield cloaked in blindness, where only the caster could see clearly. A weapon of absolute control.
Then, unexpectedly, the Shadow Reaper spoke.
"Master, you gave life. My only wish now is to serve you with all that I am."
Its voice was low and chanical, like a steel titan whispering through a storm. Deep, resonant, and unsettling in its certainty.
Igaris barely flinched. If undead could speak, why not machines infused with soul fragnts and coded purpose?
"Good," he replied with asured calm.
This was just the beginning. His ambitions demanded far more than 3,600 units. He needed chs. Many more. Stronger. Smarter. Designed for war.
Fortunately, the local syndicates had delivered. He now had blueprints and classified data on several military zones and private harbors scattered across Paradise. These sites housed unregistered or retired chs, so waiting for auction, others sealed for ergencies.
Stealing them, however, wouldn’t be as easy as hijacking a guard post.
Each target was fortified with counterasures, patrol units, biotric scanners, and advanced surveillance grids. His current army couldn’t take them by brute force without alerting the entire Federation.
He needed a smarter way in.
And that ant getting closer to Commander Dexter—the sa officer currently leading regional military logistics.
Dexter also happened to be Aluna’s father. A seasoned strategist who had recently returned to Paradise to support the ongoing war against the Forest’s rampaging Spirit Beasts.
He had clearance. He had access. And with Igaris’ Acquisition ability, controlling him wouldn’t be impossible.
But following him into high-security zones without raising alarms? That was the real challenge.
Staring at the terminal’s flickering screen, Igaris leaned back in thought. His mind raced through every failed plan, every theoretical blueprint. He needed a way to cloak his movents entirely.
"If only I had sothing like Malthus’ Darkness Domain to cloak myself and walk through another dinsion... it would’ve been simple."
But unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. He had already used the Blessing and received the Godslayer Sword Style in return.
"Or, is it still possible?"
Suddenly, sothing clicked on his mind as it worked overdrive. A flicker of madness wrapped in reason.
Infinite Acquisition: The ability that had carried him this far. Until now, he had used it to acquire subjects and objects, building a growing army of loyal undead, beasts, and now even chas.
But... what if he had been thinking about it the wrong way all along?
His ultimate goal was revenge against the Skadi Empire, and so, naturally, he had directed the power to form a vast army. That desire had shaped the ability’s manifestation.
It gave him dinsional storage. It let him control the minds and bodies of anything he subdued. All to create an unstoppable force.
But what if...
What if Infinite Acquisition wasn’t limited to that?
What if it could do more?
What if he could acquire anything, absolutely anything he wished for?
Not just creatures. Not just weapons or machines.
Abilities. Concepts. Forces beyond understanding.
What if that otherworldly energy flowing through him hadn’t set a limit. Instead he had set a limit.
What if the power wasn’t ant for brainwashing or army-building? What if it had simply answered his unconscious intent, and obeyed?
Was Infinite Acquisition not a tool, but a wish engine?
He stood frozen for a long mont.
"I need to test this," Igaris whispered, his eyes glowing with renewed hunger.
If he could acquire sothing like the Darkness Domain, if he could truly acquire anything...
Then no force in the universe; be it Federation, Summoners, or even the Skadi Empire would be able to challenge him.
Not anymore.
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