Friday, March 14, 2025

Page 3809

That particular sight caught Sai-hee’s attention. She’d never seen the Man-Eater fight before, nor had she been paying him much mind until now, but she could have sworn that his fur had been white a moment ago. Another of his monikers was the Silver Devil of Dante after all, according to Dreivox’s memories.

Yes, there was definitely something peculiar about him. She could see him growing in size, too. Quite rapidly. He’d been maybe the size of a small car before, but now he was like a truck.

What a peculiar creature. Just observing him fight like this was tickling something in the back of her mind. Something from Dreivox? She wasn’t yet sure.

The beast was all over Morgunov, biting into his shoulder and ragdolling him around like a chew toy while a few of those rumored robots swarmed around them both like flies. And they seemed to be about as effective, too, for all the damage they were doing. Flames, lightning, spinning saws, and mechanized tentacles lashed against the Man-Eater’s body, apparently not bothering him one bit.

In fact, the blackness of the wolf’s fur seemed to only be growing deeper. Darker. Until it, too, had tendrils extending out of it, lashing back at the machines’ attacks and knocking them around like buoys at sea.

As for her own position, Sai-hee settled into a hovering, weightless form above the gargantuan whirlpool. It was a rather delicate technique, requiring precise use of pan-rozum so that her body retained its shape, but she was very well-practiced in it by now.

She smirked a little as she continued watching. Getting to see Morgunov in such dire straits here was quite the welcome surprise. It seemed too optimistic to humor the notion that he might actually die here today, but she certainly still appreciated the spectacle of it.

Dozer, meanwhile, was dealing with the Vanguardians. The prior lull in combat had not lasted long at all, and now everyone seemed to hardly be paying her any mind.

Not surprising, she supposed. These were some of the Vanguard’s most veteran warriors. And their collective aura was as intense as she’d ever sensed. Their single-minded determination was bleeding together, spurring one another on, keeping their morale strong in spite of everything.

Admirable, she thought. Facing down two hostile emperors without so much as a crackle of noticeable fear. Foolish, perhaps, but admirable, nonetheless. Was her presence helping them in that regard? Tough to say.