Monarch of Profound Toxin

Chapter 339 - 339: Taskforce

"Hey… We really are safe here, right?" the lead analyst muttered, his eyes flitting around with trepidation.A little ways away, on the horizon, a crater created by the detonation of a Death Star that had nearly obliterated the effigy formed a massive ridge that stretched for kilometers across their vision. It resembled a fresh mountain range more than anything else.

In a moment it was obscured by blue as Eik erected an all-encompassing dome of solid crystal that spanned more than five hundred meters in diameter. Light was blocked out completely, but the luminescent toxin provided more than enough to see with its brilliant glow.

"Perfectly safe," Eik assured him. "Nothing that might roam this world will make it through this dome. And even if it did, I am ready to annihilate it in the blink of an eye."

On very short notice, Eik had recruited a slew of experts to help him figure out what the effigy was, what it could do, how it could do it, how to stop it, and, if possible, how to turn it into something they could use against the Lord of the Moon.

It was only a couple of hours since Eik and Chop had returned that he brought the lead analyst and his team, who had been the first to discover the miasma-infested worlds back again with him. In addition to them were both a team of biologists and a team of geologists who would be taking samples for field study as well as for laboratory study later.

Gul had stepped in and helped him find a couple of expert ritualists to try to decipher what manner of magical uses it might have. And since this had now turned into a whole thing, Eik had also brought in Sireal, the nervous cartographer of Eik's Great Group of Guys, and asked him to survey the subsurface for any other indications of non-natural objects. After all, it wasn't impossible that the effigy was simply the top of the ice berg, so to speak.

Guild Master Ganyak hir Gawak of the Alchemist Guild of Gimleh, who had also come along to offer his expertise, gasped softly at the sight of the dome, his head laid back all the way to take it all in. "Magnificent… Simply magnificent. Such craftsmanship." Jarice, the guild master's personal aide, flanked the hunched over old man just as he always did.

Or, actually, perhaps calling him hunched over wasn't such a fair description anymore. Ever since Eik had brought him into the Court of the Supreme Divinity of Toxin, he had livened up to an insane degree. Way more so than Eik himself had ever expected.

Jarice still stuck closely enough to be able to catch the guild master at any point should his body fail him like it had done so often in the past, but the bounce in Ganyak hir Gawak's step left little reason to fear a fall.

"How have you been feeling recently, guild master?" Eik asked.

"Oh, better than ever, and it's all thanks to your kindness. And the ease with which I can now perform the art of alchemy… I can never express the depths of gratitude I feel for what you have done for me, Elixir King."

"Aw, dude, come on. Stop it," Eik laughed.

"No, I couldn't possibly stop. My craft—my passion—has been brought to a new level, all because of this gift you have granted me. I have never for a moment forgotten that I am using a borrowed power, but now that I can call on your Profound Toxin to consume the retaliation of the hazardous ingredients, I have succeeded in creating works I'd thought to be forever out of reach for me."

With those words, he offered Eik a deep and sincere bow. Eik feigned nonchalance while eyes were drawn to the spectacle. "All right, all right, I get it," Eik muttered, hands held up in front of him. "You're grateful, and you're welcome. Please stop bowing now…"

With no issue, Ganyak hir Gawak climbed back to his feet. "Speaking of craftsmanship, Elixir King, may I ask wh—"

"Eik. Please, don't call me Elixir King. Just call me Eik."

The old man huffed a laugh. "Very well, Eik. May I ask to see more of your crystal art?"

"My crystal art? Uh, sure. What do you want to see?"

"Well, the size of this dome is marvelous, of course," the guild master praised, sweeping a hand up over his head in an arch. "but I would like to see some more delicate work, if you don't mind."

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Eik thought it over for a little bit while the rest of the group continued to set up for the examination of the effigy. "Ah, I've got it!" Eik closed his hand into a loose fist as an azure glow radiated out through the spaces between his fingers. For about half a second it lasted before he opened it again to reveal what he had created.

A gesture at Ganyak hir Gawak encouraged him to pick up the new creation.

"Oh, my!" he exclaimed. "What is this, now?"

"That," Eik began softly, a longing smile brushing his lips. "is a miniature copy of a painting that hung above the cupboard in the kitchen on my childhood home back on Earth. Every morning when I was eating my cereal before leaving for school, I would stare at that."

It was an emblem the size of the palm of his hand, glittering strangely as its grooved shape caught the light of the dome above and reflected the same glow that it, too, was giving off.

Like blue jade, the crystal was shaped into a smooth representation of a forest landscape, with copses of leafing trees in the foreground, a cozy, tranquil lake in the center, and more forest in the background.

The piece was crafted in three dimensions, the trunks, branches, and crowns of the closest trees literally coming out of the scene and allowing one to run one's fingers across the polished crystal. Inlaid with a minuscule amount of liquid toxin, the lake seemed to practically flow out and into the hand of the person holding the emblem.

The detail and precision of the craftsmanship was such that each tiny tree had individual leaves, reeds as thin as a strand of hair decorated the lake, and distant clouds were scattered across the sky on the horizon that somehow seemed to stretch on endlessly.

Holding it up to his eyes, the guild master studied it closely, almost forgetting to breathe as he took in the shifting shapes of the emblem. "This is… I believe there are many collectors who would pay handsomely for a piece like this. It is absolutely magnificent. Your mastery of space and proportion is breathtaking."

Eik laughed. "I appreciate that, but I'm already making more than enough money selling my other products. And this doesn't really have anything to do with artistic ability, I'm afraid."

"Making money is not the only reason to create. The joy of creation and the legacy a piece of your heart like this can leave behind has value beyond just the material. What you told me about your childhood gives this emblem a history that makes it unique."

"Thank you, guild master. Maybe I'll reconsider once everything's settled down a little bit. But for now, how about you bring that home with you?"

"I'll treasure it," the old man said simply. "Now, shall we take a look at this object you found?" With sure steps, he started toward the site where a tent as well as several magical domes had already been erected.

Eik whistled. Quick work. These guys were really going all in to figure out what this damned thing was. Good.

With a mixture of trepidation and overflowing curiosity, experts and interested parties were practically elbowing each other aside in order to get the best look at the effigy. Eik looked over shoulders for a minute as discussion, arguments, and the first hints of quarrels began to fly among the frenzied scientists.

Standing at a little under two meters, the effigy had been surrounded by a knee-high wire fence to make sure that none of the twitchy, sciency fingers got a little too close. The lot of them had already been explicitly warned that there would be absolutely no direct touching of the effigy, no matter how interesting or tempting it became.

Eik wasn't about to have his hands filled with the problems that would follow if some guy got his entire arm melted off or someone's body turned to dust, or whatever. Nuh uh.

Crudely built of whittled, black sticks, it seemed to have been made to resemble a humanoid figure with six arms and a crescent laid on its side for a head. It really wasn't particularly well made, so it was difficult to tell if that truly was what it was supposed to be but it looked creepy nonetheless.

"So, do we have any initial findings?" Eik asked the group, eyes shifting to him once they realized that he wasn't just another guy shouting about theories and methodology. "I know I've only given you a few minutes but do you have anything preliminary you can tell me? Anything, really, would be great. The more we can get ahead of this thing the better."

"Well," a woman piped up with a raised hand. Eik couldn't remember what kind of scientist she was. "It is far too early to say anything with certainty, but I can say that it doesn't appear to be made of any material we have on record."

"Good to know," Eik said with a nod.

She continued. "Although I should note that there could be a number of reasons for this, such as illusion or transmutation."

"Right. Noted. Anything else?"

"I, too, can say that this is something I have not seen before, Mr. Magnasen," said a bearded man dressed in what looked like an ankle-cut purple monk's robe, secured at his waist with a length of rope. Eik recognized him as one of the ritualists who had been brought in by Clan Leader Gul. "There is a definitive vibe not unlike what I often work with myself, but it is undoubtedly something different. The depth of both its power and its darkness is incomparable to anything I have ever experienced. It's frightening, frankly, and I feel ready to assume that it is not healthy to be this close to it."

The man's eyes told Eik that he meant those words.

"Can you do something about that?"

Solemnly, the ritualist nodded. "Possibly."

"All right, step back, everyone," Eik ordered. "Let's do what we can to secure the site and avoid any unfortunate incidents, yeah?"

Extra safety measures were received gratefully and pockets of muttered discussion continued around the tent while the ritualists and other experts did what they could. Eik would also post small but powerful Living Manifestations around the effigy in order to intercept any hostile energy that might target the workers.

Safety first, after all.

Eik couldn't deny his excitement. This could well be a step in the right direction.