Call over the present dimensional travelers, queuing up both videos on the RV's wall-mounted screen. "Before we finalize tactics, I need opinions on these."

  The dimensional travelers gather as the first video pys—your message about fgs and immortality. Silence stretches through the Fg Value video until it ends.

  Erza speaks first. "Direct. Honest. They'll hate hearing it, but you're right about symbolic entanglement."

  "Brutal," Yoruichi adds with a slight smirk. "Telling naval officers their countries are dead and their fgs are just pretty cloth? That takes guts."

  Albedo's golden eyes narrow thoughtfully. "The logic is sound. Uncimed authority breeds conflict. Better they establish new identities than fight over corpses of nations."

  The Enchanting Basics video draws more engaged responses. Robin leans forward as you demonstrate the gasoline generation, her blue eyes tracking every detail. "Elegant proof structure. You established baseline, showed transformation, provided physical evidence."

  "The dead phone powering on sold it," Rin confirms. "Visual confirmation that mana converts to electricity. That'll convince skeptics."

  C.C.'s amber gaze remains analytical. "You've just announced to the world that you can make them immortal and energy-independent. Every surviving military commander, corporate executive, and warlord will want to capture you within forty-eight hours."

  "Haven't announced it yet, and its already happening, that comes tomorrow." you reply grimly. "Which brings us to immediate tactics. Rika, Nova, Kurumi, Sinon—front and center."

  The four snipers step forward with professional synchronization. Rika's sharp features hold tactical focus. Terra Nova's violet eyes calcute angles. Kurumi's heterochromic gaze—one golden, one crimson—holds unsettling intensity. Sinon's ice-blue eyes show steady combat readiness.

  "Everyone has access to Lightbend and Faraday Veil enchantments for detection prevention," you expin. "I'm adding Silent Field to your weapons. More importantly, I'm testing a new enchantment called Reload."

  You gesture Nova forward, pcing a hand on her psionic rifle. The weapon hums with tent energy as you channel mana through Enchant framework. Golden light traces across the receiver and magazine well.

  "Current setting creates one bullet in the magazine every time you fire," you expin, removing your hand. "Each repcement costs ten mana. Test shot into that dirt mound."

  Nova shoulders the rifle with professional economy, violet eyes narrowing as psionic energy fres. The weapon nudges with the shot—silent as your Silent Field enchantment negates the sound.

  She ejects the magazine, examining it with clinical precision. "Confirmed. Ammunition count unchanged. One round generated to repce expenditure."

  "Perfect." You turn to address all four snipers. "Be careful with your shots. Ten mana per bullet means our current reserve of 3100—increasing 100 per hour—only supports 310 rounds total between you four. Add the hourly generation and you get maybe 75 extra bullets, two per hour ongoing. Won't feel like enough, but this battle should work."

  Rika's tactical mind engages immediately. "Ammunition discipline. Confirmed kills only, no suppressive fire."

  "Hopefully they've got generators in their cargo," you add. "Now, tactical advantage: We only released vague confirmation about fuel and sustenance. They don't know about our combat or utility options. They won't know to look for Lightbend or suspect Telepathy Web."

  Yusuke cracks his knuckles, spirit energy flickering green-gold. "So we hit them before they know what's happening."

  "Exactly." You pull up the Interface dispy showing current mana distribution. "Three to four hours until contact. Use that time to position, test mobility with enchantments active, and coordinate through Telepathy Web."

  The dimensional travelers begin dispersing toward the towering redwoods, each moving with purpose.

  You gather the remaining three sniper rifles—Rika's precision AR-15, Kurumi's ornate lever-action, and Sinon's sleek bolt-action—arranging them on the RV's fold-out table. The morning sun filters through towering redwoods, dappling the weapons with shifting shadows.

  "Same enchantments," you announce, pcing both hands on Rika's rifle first. "Silent Field and Reload."

  Golden light traces across the receiver and trigger assembly. The enchantment settles with familiar warmth, and you feel the mana cost register—40 units from the connected RV system. Kurumi's rifle follows, then Sinon's, each transformation flowing smoothly through your established framework.

  "Testing," Rika says curtly, chambering a round and firing into the designated dirt mound. The weapon kicks silently against her shoulder. She checks the magazine with professional efficiency. "Confirmed. Ammunition repced."

  Kurumi examines her rifle with both eyes—golden and crimson—studying the faint shimmer of enchantment along the barrel. "Interesting. The probability branches show... consistent ammunition supply. No variance."

  Sinon nods once, ice-blue eyes tracking the enchantment's resonance. "Good. Conserving shots won't be as critical."

  You move to the police cruisers next, unhitching the ftbed trailers with practiced motions. The trailer couplers release with metallic clicks, freeing the cruisers for independent mobility. Each vehicle's mana connection adjusts automatically through the Interface framework—the Georgetown RV now shows three independent cruiser nodes instead of trailer-burdened configurations.

  "Hunters," you call out, activating the Telepathy Web to full Voice Mode. Your mental voice reaches all twenty-three dimensional travelers simultaneously. "You're cleared for engagement. Rules of engagement: Find enemy formations, report positions through the Web, engage leadership targets first. Conserve ammunition—remember the 310-round limit. Capture vehicles when possible."

  Erza requips into her Flight Armor, bck wings spreading with golden shimmer. "Understood. Air superiority and vehicle interdiction."

  Yoruichi stretches with feline grace, amber eyes gleaming. "Fsh step reconnaissance. I'll mark command vehicles."

  Mikasa checks her ODM gear one final time, bdes gleaming. "Three-dimensional assault. Acknowledged."

  Albedo's golden eyes hold predatory focus as demonic energy crackles around her fingers. "Psychological warfare and crowd control. We'll break their formations."

  Maria's violet eyes fsh with succubus anticipation. "They won't know what hit them."

  Yusuke cracks his knuckles, spirit energy fring green-gold. "Finally get to punch something."

  The dimensional travelers begin dispersing into the redwoods—some taking to the canopy with supernatural agility, others vanishing through stealth techniques, still others simply blurring into motion too fast to track. Robin's arms sprout from distant tree trunks as she establishes her surveilnce network. Terra Nova's psionic cloak shimmers before she vanishes entirely.

  Through the Telepathy Web, you feel their positions spreading outward like a tactical net—each consciousness a distinct presence in your awareness. The ambush is set.

  "Rin, Riveria, Asia, Nami—stay close," you say to the support element. "We're artillery and emergency response."

  Rin's crimson eyes hold tactical focus. "Ready. Where do you want our fire support positioned?"

  The forest has gone quiet around you, predators lying in wait.

  "We'll take a minute to teach you how to drive," you announce to the support element. "A few slow learning ps before turning north and catching up to our hunters. C.C., would you please teach Riveria, Rin and Violet? Asia and Kenshin can take the Expedition. I'll teach Nami."

  C.C.'s amber eyes flick toward Riveria. "A reasonable arrangement," she says. "The elf has the theory; I’ll give her the praxis."

  Riveria nods, already analyzing the police cruiser as if it were a puzzle.Rin leads Violet toward another vehicle, talking confidently about momentum and brake timing while Violet listens with polite, earnest focus.Asia gives Kenshin a gentle smile as they approach the Jeep—she’s still a little nervous, but Kenshin’s steady calm bances her.

  You turn to Robin. "Would you like to ride along? Or would you rather stay here?"

  "I'll observe," Robin replies calmly, arms already sprouting from nearby trees to maintain her surveilnce network. "My ability works better when stationary."

  You gesture Nami toward one of the police cruisers. The orange-haired navigator approaches with visible uncertainty, brown eyes darting between you and the vehicle.

  "I've never driven anything," she admits quietly. "Ships, yes. Cars? No."

  "Basic principle: steering wheel controls direction, pedals control speed." You slide into the passenger seat as she settles behind the wheel, hands gripping it with white-knuckled intensity. "Right pedal accelerates. Left pedal stops. The gear shift—"

  "I understand mechanical systems," Nami interrupts, her navigator's mind engaging. "Show me once, then let me try."

  You walk her through the startup sequence, the engine purring to life with enchanted silence. Her first attempt lurches forward violently, smming you both against the seats.

  "Gentle pressure," you correct. "Think of it like adjusting sails—smooth movements, not sudden yanks."

  Her second attempt glides forward cleanly. You guide her around the RV park’s perimeter, watching her begin to intuit momentum, drift, and steering input like nautical navigation on nd.

  Through the Telepathy Web, you sense:

  —C.C.’s dry, razor-precise instructions as Riveria asks increasingly technical questions—Rin expining things too quickly, and Violet repeating the steps back to her to make sure she’s understood—Asia and Kenshin calmly taking turns; Asia drives cautiously, Kenshin drives like he’s performing a kata with the steering wheel

  Everything is beginning to settle into motion.

  "You're doing this for all of us," Nami says suddenly, navigating a gentle curve. "Saving us. Protecting us. Teaching us. Creating these enchantments that make us... functionally immortal."

  You gnce at her. The navigator's expression holds complex emotion—gratitude mixed with something approaching awe.

  "I'm doing what needs doing," you reply carefully. "Survival requires cooperation."

  "It's more than that." Her voice carries conviction now, brown eyes flicking between the road and your face. "You could have left any of us behind. Used your magic for yourself. Instead you're building something—protecting people you barely know, giving us tools to survive."

  She executes a three-point turn with growing confidence. "In my world, I've seen plenty of powerful people. Most use their power to take. You use yours to give. That's... rare."

  The sentiment sits uncomfortably. You redirect focus to driving instruction, guiding her through reverse parking and emergency stops. Thirty minutes passes in focused practice until her movements become smooth and predictable.

  "Acceptable for apocalypse driving," you assess finally. "You won't crash unless something catastrophic happens."

  Through the Telepathy Web, C.C.’s voice comes through first—clinical, composed: “Riveria has adapted to the controls quickly. She understands the mechanics now.”

  Rin follows, her tone a mix of pride and impatience: “Violet’s fine. she just needed the basics. She’s a fast learner.”

  Violet confirms with military calm: “Rin’s instruction was sufficient. I will operate the vehicle without issue.”

  Asia checks in next from the Jeep, her voice gentle but steady: “Kenshin is handling the turns well. I reviewed everything Brad taught me. He’s very attentive.”

  Kenshin adds politely, warm with quiet humility: “Asia-dono is an excellent instructor. This one is confident in continued improvement.”

  You gather the newly-trained drivers, engines idling silently. "North toward our hunters. Stay in formation, maintain Telepathy Web contact."

  The convoy rolls forward just as Terra Nova's clinical voice cuts through the Web: "Contact. Enemy formation located in Orick vilge, twelve miles north. Approximately forty vehicles conducting systematic building searches. Recommend immediate repositioning for optimal ambush geometry."

  Yusuke's mental voice adds eagerness: "They're spread thin. Perfect for hit-and-run."

  Your convoy accelerates northward, forest blurring past as the hunt begins.

  The convoy crawls northward at thirty miles per hour, giving Nami and the other new drivers room to adjust to the apocalypse roads. Through the Telepathy Web, you feel the battle's conclusion before seeing it—a sudden cascade of mental confirmations as targets fall silent.

  "Command vehicle neutralized," Terra Nova reports clinically. "Seventeen personnel eliminated, twenty-three incapacitated, twelve in full retreat."

  Yusuke's voice carries satisfaction. "They didn't even know what hit 'em. Couple tried surrendering when Albedo showed up—took one look at her and dropped their weapons."

  "Vehicles secured," Erza confirms. "Minimal damage to cargo trucks. They were carrying generators, ammunition, medical supplies. Significant haul."

  The forest opens onto Orick's main street as your convoy arrives. The vilge resembles a battlefield frozen mid-chaos—eighteen military vehicles parked haphazardly along the road, windshields intact but doors hanging open. Bodies lie scattered where they fell, most wearing tactical gear bearing the Prometheus Solutions logo. The dimensional travelers move with efficient professionalism, dragging wounded and surrendered personnel toward a chain-link fence surrounding what was once a community garden.

  Mikasa stands guard, ODM bdes gleaming as she watches twelve prisoners being disarmed with systematic thoroughness. Yoruichi moves between them with casual menace, checking for concealed weapons with practiced efficiency. She pulls communication devices from pockets, belt clips, even one hidden in a boot heel.

  "Twenty-three survivors total," Yoruichi reports as you exit the cruiser. "Most are scared shitless. Three tried fighting after their commander went down—Yusuke handled them."

  The Spirit Detective grins, knuckles still crackling with residual energy. "Barely got to warm up. These guys expected normal humans, not... whatever the hell we are now."

  Albedo approaches, golden eyes gleaming with predatory satisfaction. Despite the sughter, her white-and-bck outfit remains pristine—apparently psychological terror required no physical contact.“Their forward command attempted a tactical withdrawal,” she reports, voice syrupy with pride. “Musashi intercepted their lieutenant. He resisted. Briefly.”

  Rin joins you at the roadside, studying the eighteen captured vehicles with sharp analysis.“Alpha element brought decent assets,” she says. “Two comms vans are still operational, and several armored transports and armed pickups survived intact. Enough here to supply a small force—and one mobile command center, too. We can prioritize enchantments on the trucks for field operations.”

  The prisoners watch your approach with mixed fear and calcution. They’re professionals, but the shock of being annihited in six minutes is still settling across their faces.One older man with graying hair and a Ranger’s posture finally speaks.

  “You’re the enchantment guy,” he says evenly. No panic—just observation. “The one from yesterday's broadcast. Our orders were to take you alive.”His eyes sweep the dimensional travelers—Mikasa, Musashi, Yoruichi, Maria—his tactical brain quietly recalibrating. “They didn’t warn us you had people like… this.”

  Maria steps lightly to your side her violet eyes glowing with amused cruelty. “They’re learning,” she purrs. “Some faster than others.”She gestures toward three prisoners staring at Albedo with stunned reverence.“Terror works best when the mind has no frame of reference.”

  Across the Telepathy Web, your team awaits your orders—eighteen superhuman combatants and four freshly trained drivers, standing among the wreckage of a battle that ended almost as fast as it began.

  You kneel before the older man, studying him for a full minute while emotions war across your face—anger, indecision, twitching restlessness—before settling into eerie calm.

  "Question for you, soldier. What's worse: an experienced or an inexperienced torturer?" Your voice carries conversational weight. "I had a chance st week to interrogate a few military bastards who were human hunting for the CDC. I wanted to string them up by their ankles and drag them screaming, slowly along the roads." You pause, letting the imagery settle. "Unfortunately they chose to talk. We left them zip-tied and I didn't get to test at all. Very disappointing."

  The man's weathered face remains carefully neutral, but his posture shifts—subtle recalcution of threat assessment.

  "Now, from several groups who were misled to Crescent City, I have you twenty-ish who came here to capture me as a sve." Your tone sharpens. "When I'm literally offering to save what's left of human economy for damn-near nothing. So I'd like your opinion: What should I do with twenty svers, two weeks after society shut down?"

  He meets your gaze steadily. "You're not a torturer. You're angry, scared, and trying to project strength you don't feel." His voice carries professional assessment. "If you wanted us dead, we'd be dead. If you wanted information through pain, you'd already be doing it. So what do you actually want? Cooperation? Then treat us like soldiers who followed bad orders, not svers."

  You consider his words for a long moment, then reach forward and touch his boot. Golden light fres as you channel mana through Enchant framework.

  "You started out right, then started lying. Curse of Compelled Truth."

  The man's eyes widen as the enchantment settles into his system. His mouth opens—then begins speaking against his will.

  "We're Prometheus Solutions, private military contractor. Orders came from corporate—capture you alive, kill or capture dimensional anomalies, seize enchanted technology. Crescent City's been cleared by the converging groups. Approximately four hundred personnel spread across three elements." His voice strains with the effort to resist. "FOB at Crescent Beach—two attack helicopters on standby- minimum fuel reserves. Fuel tanker holding eight thousand gallons diesel. Mobile command center Alpha. Lieutenant Colonel Marcus Vaughn commanding. Bravo element on coastal roads, Charlie element innd sweep."

  He tries to stop talking but can't. "I lied about the torture assessment. You're unstable enough to be dangerous. I was trying to manipute you into viewing us as redeemable to increase survival odds."

  You stand slowly, no hurry, no raised voice—just the steady, unnerving calm that makes the soldiers more nervous than shouting ever could. You turn away from him and walk toward the captured mobile command center, motioning for Asia and Nami "Drive the mobile command center down to Trinidad's center, I'll enchant it first. Nami follow in the Jeep, then come back up. Check if the soldiers are still here and count vehicles on your way back."

  Asia nods immediately. Nami gives a quick, determined thumbs-up before climbing in.

  Inside the command center, you pce your hand on the first monitor bolted to the wall. Drawing from Prometheus Station's reserves—golden light flows across the vehicle's frame as enchantments settle into pce.

  "Rika, Hinata—pair up. Sinon, Nova—you're together. Take two cruisers north to Crescent City. Find positions, identify helicopters, tanker, command center and guard rotations. Stealth only—no engagement until we get there."

  Terra Nova's clinical voice confirms through Telepathy Web: "Optimal reconnaissance positioning acknowledged. ETA to Crescent City: twenty-three minutes."

  You return to the street as Asia pulls away in the command center, Nami following in the Jeep. The remaining dimensional travelers watch with predatory patience while you begin enchanting one armed pickup and two APCs, drawing mana from USS Portnd's reserves.

  The older man watches you work, compelled honesty still forcing words from his lips. "Vaughn's doctrine assumes conventional threats. He has no protocols for what you've assembled here."

  SnafuSam