My Talent's Name Is Generator

Chapter 1051: Information Retrieval

Unfortunately for him, nobody seemed particularly interested in answering. The battle had effectively ended the moment it began.

The surviving Transcendents understood that reality far quicker than their leaders did. One after another weapons fell from trembling hands while fear spread through their ranks. The ruined settlement grew quiet again as everyone stared at the aftermath scattered throughout the valley.

Of the four Saint-ranked Soul Hunters, only one remained somewhat intact.

The leader.

The other three lay broken throughout the battlefield. Their soul projections had shattered completely and deep cracks spread across their yellow bodies. The damage wasn’t physical alone. Their souls themselves had been fractured.

I walked toward the nearest fallen Saint. The shapeshifter immediately tried dragging himself backward.

"Wait—"

I placed my hand on his chest. The creature froze. For a brief moment nothing happened. Then countless silver-violet runes spread across my arm.

The shapeshifter’s eyes widened.

A second later cracks began spreading through his soul. The fractures appeared beneath his yellow skin and rapidly expanded outward like broken glass. Terror appeared on his face as he felt his existence being pulled apart piece by piece.

"No..."

His voice weakened. Then vanished. The cracks consumed his entire form. His body disintegrated into countless particles of soul force that surged directly into me.

I could feel the energy flowing through my channels before reaching my soul. Most of it was absorbed directly, strengthening the silver-violet sea surrounding my soul. The remainder I redirected toward the Dawn Core.

Within the miniature world hidden inside me, the Star of Origin immediately responded.

The celestial body suspended above the endless void brightened slightly as the incoming soul force disappeared into its surface. Green Essence flowed across its burning exterior while streams of black Deathmist spiraled around it like dark solar storms. The absorbed energy vanished into the star and became part of the ever-growing celestial construct, a new silver color was added to it.

I moved toward the second Saint. The outcome was already obvious. My palm landed against the creature’s chest.

The same process repeated. The entire body collapsed into pure soul force and flowed into me. The third Saint lasted no longer. The resistance members looked disturbed.

Not because they hadn’t seen death before.

Because they had.

But watching a Saint disappear so completely was another matter entirely. The leader stared at the empty ground where his companions had existed moments earlier.

His face had become pale. Yellow blood continued leaking from several wounds across his body while disbelief slowly gave way to fear. The kind that came from realizing there would be no rescue.

I finally turned toward him. The creature immediately flinched. The movement almost made me laugh. Only minutes earlier he had been speaking about becoming the richest Soul Hunter in the Prime Territory.

Now he looked ready to beg. I stepped forward and grabbed him by the neck. For several moments I simply studied him. Then I casually threw him through the air. The shapeshifter crossed several meters before crashing directly at Lyrate’s feet.

She looked down at him. Then up at me.

A smile slowly appeared on her face.

I returned it.

"Pull everything out of him."

The leader’s expression changed instantly. The fear that had existed moments earlier transformed into outright horror.

Because unlike death, he suddenly had a very good idea of what was about to happen.

I remained near the center of the valley while my perception stretched outward across the surrounding region. The Soul Hunters clearly hadn’t acted alone. Too much information had been involved. Somewhere behind them stood larger forces moving pieces around the Prime Territory.

Nearly an hour passed before I sensed Lyrate approaching.

She walked casually through the ruins before stopping beside me. The smile on her face told me everything before she even spoke.

"I have the information."

I nodded.

"Everything?"

"Everything that creature knew."

A dangerous glint flashed through her eyes.

"He was surprisingly cooperative in the end."

I decided not to ask how she had achieved that result. The expression on Ragnar’s face suggested it was probably for the best.

"Good."

That single word was enough. The next step had already become obvious.

I turned toward Hida.

The commander had spent the last hour coordinating survivors and organizing the return journey. When she noticed me walking toward her, she immediately understood that the discussion was over.

"We’re going back?" she asked.

"Yes."

A faint sigh escaped her. Something in my tone had clearly warned her about what was coming next.

The journey back to the hidden settlement passed quickly through the resistance transportation network. One teleportation after another carried us across concealed routes hidden beneath the Prime Territory until eventually we arrived back within the pocket realm.

The atmosphere there had changed. News traveled quickly. The destruction of Settlement Thirty-One Alpha had already reached the leadership. The Soul Hunter attack had made one thing abundantly clear.

The hidden settlements were no longer hidden. At least not in the way they had once believed.

I met Hida, Haliaka and Silverbane inside the council hall shortly after our arrival. This time there was very little patience left for political maneuvering.

I looked at the three family leaders and spoke plainly.

"The settlements are already targets. The Soul Hunters know about them. The Eternals will eventually learn about them too if they haven’t already. So now you need to tell me everything."

Their expressions remained serious.

"Everything about Verilux, the Eternals, the settlements and everything about the Ironharts."

Hida slowly exhaled. Like someone finally accepting that a battle they had spent centuries avoiding had already begun.

"Yeah."

A humorless smile appeared on her face.

"I suppose we’re past the point of keeping secrets."

The other two leaders nodded. Nobody seemed happy about it. But nobody objected either. After that the doors of the council hall closed.

The discussions that followed lasted far longer than anyone expected. Maps, records and reports emerged from hidden archives. Entire sections of resistance history that had previously been protected by bloodline oaths were placed upon the table.

Information regarding the seven regions, regarding Verilux. Information regarding hidden settlements scattered throughout the Prime Territory. And perhaps most importantly, information regarding the surviving Ironharts. One of the 11 bloodlines still surviving in the null realm.

The details themselves mattered less than the realization forming behind them. By the time the meeting ended, more than an hour had passed.

The doors eventually opened. I stepped out into the evening light of the pocket realm. My summons were already waiting.