When we were done with the 5 large spaceship-like creatures, I as well as my Familiars went towards the insect monsters that now couldn't maintain the same coordination they had until moments ago.
Finishing them all was easy even with absurd numbers, that's why we weren't fighting them as an organized group, area attacks that didn't work before, were now being much more effective, not to mention that there were monsters attacking their own companions.
Those insect monsters aren't as strong as I am, the one that came closest was the one with the most humanoid form I killed, all the others just have a numerical advantage that loses its effectiveness now.
The fight was almost boring for me, but I continued until I exterminated everyone, I even found myself with Nicole in some kind of spaceship with wings similar to swords slashing all the enemies they pass.
After the battle is over I let other people take care of collecting monster materials and whatever else while I approach Nicole.
"Sakura, I leave the organization of materials and other things to you." (I)
"Yes." (Sakura)
"Nix, go to Miriam and Navar to collect the two creatures used as vehicles we captured." (I)
"What should I do with them?" (Nix)
"Take it to the Dungeon, on the floor where we haven't finished the project yet, I have plans for them now that I know they are living creatures." (I)
"Fine, but I'm taking Layla with me, I might need her spatial magic." (Nix)
"Then I think you better find her, the moment I started delegating tasks she disappeared." (I)
"She can't escape me." (Nix)
By this time I had already reached Nicole's silver and white spaceship, the surface just above seems to become some kind of liquid metal opening a passage for me to enter.
"Dad, do you want to go meet Astrid now?" (Nicole)
"Yes, we still have things to do and I don't want to take care of that kind of task." (I)
"Don't want to get the blood..." (Nicole)
"Don't even finish that sentence, I won't drink that disgusting substance." (I)
"..." (I)
"But we can still collect for Lyra to study." (I)
"Orion, I leave the blood collection to you." (I)
"I will go this very moment." (Orion) ---------------
A few hours later I found myself in a beautiful garden within the underwater facilities of this Astrid base, this garden is protected by a glass dome allowing visitors to enjoy the relaxing scent of flowers, the artistic beauty of the designer of the garden and see this marvel of ocean wherever you look here.
"Why are you here, Mistress Santa?" (I)
"Your senses have improved." (Thalia)
"It's hard not to notice when you look like you want to poke a hole in the back of my head with your eyes." (I)
"How did you know about me? It could be anyone else." (Thalia)
"Because I felt movement in the Blessing of Goddess Kalistos that I carry when her Aura touched mine, this kind of reaction I have felt many times from other saints." (I)
"Then you must know why I'm here." (Thalia)
"I was hoping the warning I gave Miriam that day at the World Tree would allow you to stay away from it." (Thalia)
"You forgot that even being far from my perception, my Familiars could still know everything that happened." (I)
Sakura was connected with all the trees in the area and heard Thalia talking to Miriam, it was a brief conversation, but long enough to take away some information like the Saint of Death's connection with Miriam's people.
"Let's go objective, which is why I'm having the Saint of Death here." (I)
"I want the Souls that were captured, the vast majority of these Souls need treatment for the damage they suffered." (Thalia)
The Saint of Death didn't need to explain it to me in detail, I knew from this early part of the battle that their Souls were injured, these are injuries caused by their own physical modifications, their bodies and Souls are two different things being held together by force, I know that this kind of situation causes damage to the soul.
"I can deliver the Souls of most, but not all." (I)
"Want to use some on your Soul? If so, I can exchange it for the same number of Souls of executed criminals whose souls have already been cleansed of the traces of their previous lives." (Thalia)
"I agree, but I'm still going to keep some Souls, the reason doesn't matter." (I)
"I'll give you time to think it over, no more than a few days." (Thalia)
"I promise I'll think about it even though I find it hard to change my mind about it." (I)
After our little chat, she disappears through a gate of bones that comes tearing through the space behind her.
As soon as she was gone I went back to thinking about the Dungeon's plans, some things were still in progress, mainly collecting points since I used up all the DP I had saved over the years.
"Hinata, can you call Astrid here to talk to me?" (I)
"Yes..." (Hinata)
After several minutes Astrid comes up with eyes lined from lack of sleep and tiredness, large dark circles under her eyes. "Nice to see you again, Mister Zenos, sorry I didn't come looking for you sooner..." (Astrid)
"< Blood Magic: Body Renewal >" (I)
A few drops of my blood come out of the wound I made on my finger and it becomes pure red energy as it becomes a magic circle around Astrid in less than 1 second.
The magic circle activates instantly, releasing a powerful vital energy that permeates Astrid's body making her skin smoother and softer, dark circles disappear, hair becomes brighter and the expression of tiredness seems to have diminished a lot.
"When I go through the Awakening Ceremony I would very much like to learn this magic if possible." (Astrid)
"So just become a Vampire, you can talk to one of my Daughters later, but that's not why I called you." (I)
"If it's about the last battle, I believe your subordinates know more since all the prisoners are with you." (Astrid)
"It's not about that, I'll let my sister take care of them, what I want with you is to go over the list of changes to be implemented." (I)
"I'm glad you listened to my request." (Astrid)
"As you asked, I'll leave one floor of the Dungeon for you to build a city, but it won't be just for your people, like the other suggestions you made." (I)
"I could put everything in a reading glass for you, but that's faster, open your mind." (I)
I stand up and place two fingers on her forehead conveying my thoughts to her, it only takes a few seconds before I drop her onto the bench next to me before I sit down as well.
"You've made more changes than I thought." (Astrid)
"The main points are the changes in the education sector, the implementation of a new neighborhood in the main city, the allocation of its people, the expansion of farms, a welcome festival, and the implementation of new laws." (I)
"I will speak to my people about this, we still have a few months before Miss Caitlyn is done influencing my people." (Astrid)
"Yes, we also need to do some meetings... not to mention the last change I didn't pass on to you." (I)
"Before the Dungeon only had 1 city, but when your people finish joining there will be 3, not to mention that the total size of the Dungeon is already similar to a medium-sized continent." (I)
"That's why I can't keep thinking about the Dungeon containing a city-state of a small Kingdom." (I)
"That's why another festival will be held a few weeks after your welcome festival to celebrate the Eclipse Empire, a nation I can no longer hide." (I)
"I don't understand this Empire thing, we didn't have that in my world, but other than the name will there be any other big changes?" (Astrid)
"No, other than what I've already passed on to you, my sister is overjoyed while I'm the one who has a greater amount of responsibility on my shoulders." (I)
Sigh
"Do your people understand that even though I voice my opinion, the last word on the decisions of your entire society still depends on someone they never heard of until last year?" (I)
"As hard as it is for you to understand, yes." (Astrid)
"My people were in despair, most of them never cared about their leader as long as they were able to survive, it was also not the only time in recent decades that my people became refugees in other nations." (Astrid)
For the next few hours, I chatted with Astrid about the future of her people, the Dungeon, and what to expect in the coming years.
While talking to her I was thinking about everything I had to do, this year was very tiring and boring for me, luckily soon all this extra work will be over and I will go back to dumping these problems on someone's back with more patience than me.
Of course, there was still the plan I've been thinking about all year, I think I have everything I need now, so by the months that Astrid and Caitlyn will be taking care of the people on this base, I'll already be doing something of my own.