The echoes of the Zolinka battle faded behind them as Team Two descended the spiraling stairs from the ruined chamber. A strange, heavy quiet settled over the team, punctuated only by the metallic hum of their footsteps on the ancient stone. Lutrian kept glancing anxiously over his shoulder, half-expecting the fallen boss to claw its way back into existence. Zehrina moved ahead with a careful but unbothered stride, though tension still lingered in the set of her shoulders. The dim, subterranean hallway yawned wider as they reached the bottom step, revealing an expanse of grassy plains that stretched impossibly beneath the tower, yet another paradoxical space crafted by the enigmatic rules of the dungeon.
Eisenhower's head, which had been scanning the horizon, suddenly snapped north. His luminous blue eyes pulsed with rapid, analytical light. "Lady Zehrina, preliminary scan indicates many thousands of hostile targets in this area." His voice stayed flat but urgent.
A sharp metallic clang broke through the unsettling quiet as Grant clashed his heavy forearms together. "Good. It's time for us to go wild. I'm sure Zehrina knows the quantity of targets necessitates a group effort. Letting too many get close could lead to one stray monster slipping past her and us. Then it would hit Lutrian. That would kill the fragile pretty prince." He hoped Zehrina would finally allow them some action.
Interrupting their exchange, Jefferson stepped forward, eyes scanning the plains. "Wait. This floor is a perfect area to set up a secure base for the Captain and the others to meet us at."
A rare sound of dry humor escaped Madison in a chuckle. His shout came next. "Let's create a nation!"
Skepticism thickened Grant's voice. "You guys failed at that technique a thousand times, even in simulation."
Monroe wagged a finger dismissively. "That's because we didn't have the required pieces. Diplomats can create a nation. But a nation needs protection. A nation needs its generals. You two."
Pure annoyance filled Eisenhower's tone. "How does that make any sense? You think us simply standing inside your spell range somehow completes the runic synergy?"
Brimming with confidence, Monroe shouted back, "Who cares how! Let's go!"
Together, Monroe, Madison, Jefferson, and Adams lurched forward, forming a circle. Six times they conjured a series of runes. Six times those runes failed to overlap and integrate, fizzling into nothing.
The hissing noise intensified, growing louder by the moment. Lutrian caught glimpses of rushing monsters through the tall grass. "A-any time now!" he yelped.
Eisenhower groaned, stepping toward the struggling four. Grant followed close behind. "Use our processing power to figure it out. Washington isn't here. We're too far from the central shaft to connect to Serenity. But we can link well enough on our own."
Grant smacked Adams on the shoulders. "Don't let us down. Brothers, requesting Data Link."
Brilliant green light flashed in the eyes of all six Presidroids. "Confirmed," they called out in perfect, unsettling unison. Their eyes turned dark as Grant and Eisenhower's heads drooped, surrendering control to the other four.
The combined voices of Monroe, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison rose as a single, chilling monotone. "Simulation failed. Recalculating."
Lutrian fought hard not to squeal, glancing rapidly between the approaching monsters and the Presidroids. His voice cracked, edged with panic. "Guys—guys?"
"Simulation failed. Adjusting parameters."
"Simulation failed. Attempting alternate sequence."
Without waiting further, Zehrina drew a hand slowly upward, threads of Navi'N dust slipping from her robes. The dark particles coiled subtly around her fingers, poised to erupt at the first sign of total collapse.
"Simulation failed. Recalculation in progress."
At that precise instant, their combined voice returned, icy and precise. "Simulation successful. New form of magic created."
The Presidroids froze briefly, their heads tilted at identical angles, the tension stretching unbearably. Lutrian's panic finally broke through in a strangled shout, "Now, please!"
In unison, Monroe, Jefferson, Adams, and Madison slammed their palms onto the grassy earth. "Union Magic: Convention of the Patriots."
A thousand-foot-wide perimeter was rapidly established as a golden circle of pure light exploded outward. As the primary, massive circle flared into existence, secondary, slightly smaller circles of light erupted within its golden border, perfectly filling the gaps left by the initial blast. This pattern repeated in miniature, with tiny, glowing, runic circles blossoming into being within the remaining spaces of the secondary rings, continuing in an almost fractal progression until the light appeared as a solid, intricate wall of golden energy, humming with complex, arcane power.
The blast vaporized most of the encroaching monsters and violently slammed the rest far away. Soaring hundreds of feet into the air, massive, translucent walls of sovereign light formed a sealed zone. Thousands of monsters slammed into the new barrier from the outside, only to be violently hurled back by the new law of the zone. Unfortunately, a few dozen creatures strong enough to withstand the initial blast found themselves trapped inside with the team.
Monroe's head tilted toward Zehrina. His voice came out in a flat, informational monotone. "First Component activated. Arcane Runic Arts: Doctrine's Boundary." He gestured to the walls. "The Territorial Wall is raised. This is our sovereign domain. Hostile teleportation and forced movement are nullified at the perimeter."
Before Zehrina could reply, Adams stepped forward. "Second Component activated. Arcane Runic Arts: Seditious Aliens." Complex runes inscribed in the air settled like a heavy shroud over the trapped monsters. One skittering horror charged but slowed to a crawl, its legs suddenly heavy, as if rejected by the ground itself. Another, a magic-using variant, tried to shriek and conjure a spell. Its voice fell silent, and the magic sputtered out.
Adams explained, "The Alien Act is in effect. Hostiles are strained. The Sedition Act is in effect. Hostile communication and spellcasting are bound."
Hands raised, Jefferson called out next. "Third Component activated. Ancient Runic Arts: Declaration." Glowing axioms swept across the battlefield. One of the trapped monsters glowed with a self-generated speed buff. The text washed over it, unraveling the enchantment like a torn thread.
Simultaneously, a wave of strengthening energy washed over Zehrina, Lutrian, and the Presidroids. Jefferson stated, "Self-Evident Truths unravel enemy enchantments. Sovereign Will reinforces our own."
Finally stepping forward, Madison announced, "Fourth Component activated. Ancient Runic Arts: Father of the Constitution." His foot stomped firmly onto the earth, causing new, interlocking seals to inscribe themselves onto the ground. Two of the remaining monsters ignored the others, sluggishly attempting to swarm Lutrian. The moment they moved as a pair, an invisible force compelled one backward, forcing the creature to engage a Presidroid instead, the other was immediately sliced in two by Zehrina
After incinerating it with a runic fire spell, Madison continued, "Constitutional Binding. The laws of this battlefield are set. 'No man shall stand alone against two.' Checks and balances are enforced." Raising his hand, shimmering wards formed around Lutrian and Zehrina. "The Bill of Rights is active."
With the Data Link severed, Grant and Eisenhower's heads snapped upright, individual personalities flooding back. Zehrina, who had been observing the complex, layered magic unfold, slowly lowered her hands. A look of genuine, impressed curiosity crossed her face.
A glowing 3D map of the new chamber manifested in Eisenhower's palm as he moved forward. "What's the point of a nation's law," he said, voice once again his own, "if you don't have generals to enforce it?"
A glowing line appeared on Eisenhower's map, manifesting on the ground as a high-speed road. Grant hopped on the road and the two zoomed down the route, bypassing the monsters too weak to move and too strong to die, creating a direct path toward the strongest trapped creatures clawing sluggishly inside the barrier.
Stepping off the spectral highway, Grant tossed his jacket aside. He slammed his heavy forearms together once, then twice, the metallic clang echoing loudly. A low, rumbling laughter escaped him as he stared into the eyes of the debuffed, sluggish monsters. Crossing his arms, he crouched deeply.
"Ancient Arcane Fire Magic: Unconditional Surrender."
A translucent, shimmering barrier erupted from the ground, trapping Grant and two dozen of the remaining monsters inside. His body ignited instantly, arcs of raw plasma leaping from his shoulders. Jets of fire vented from his back as he began to laugh, the sound low and menacing. Trapped creatures shrieked, their desperation palpable in the air. One massive, clawed horror lunged at him, slamming full-force into Grant's planted form. Unmoving, his laughter swelled as the creature's claws were repelled by the searing heat of his chassis. He held its gaze.
"Surrender… or die…"
Panic overtook the creatures inside the barrier as they scrambled and clawed at the magical walls, temperature skyrocketing rapidly. Plasma and fire intensified, bounding off the barrier walls and incinerating the air itself. The monsters' shrieks cut short as the inferno rendered them to ash.
When the barrier fell, Grant stood alone in a circle of fine ash, plasma flames receding from his body. Rolling his shoulders, he chuckled to himself as he walked back toward Eisenhower.
Eisenhower simply shook his head. "Grant. You're a crazy bitch… I love it."
A colossal sound of a gavel striking wood boomed like thunder from the center of the dome, shaking the very ground. The four Presidroids who had cast the foundation spells spoke, their voices echoing with that final, unassailable decree.
"Congress is in session."