Edward sat on his throne, not happy with how the situation turned out. Furthermore, he knew this would not be a one-time thing, so he did not want to be blackmailed again.
"I need to finish the fog," muttered Edward. One of his projects was to create a fog that would surround the Milky Way Galaxy and take the place of Guzznad's artifact.
That way, after the war ended and Guzznad could no longer protect this place, the Empire would not have to experience the invasion from the gods.
"Morgana, show me the data," said Edward, and the little elf knew what he was talking about. The Empire sent people to study and gather data on the shield that Guzznad placed on the Milky Way.
Based on the information gathered, Edward was very interested in the Magus magic artifact that created that protection. So, he planned to get it from Guzznad's dead corpse.
"How is the fog going?" he asked while reviewing the data.
"It's basically done," replied Morgana. "We've even improved it based on the data you just asked for."
The original design of the fog was based on a protective measure Edward discovered around the Black Clover Universe, so it was unique and powerful when it came to protecting a large area.
"I'm sensing a but?" asked Edward.
"The problem with the project is the Energy Core powering the fog," continued Morgana as she summoned a holographic screen to show him.
"We would need a Tier 10 Aether Core to ensure the fog that can protect the galaxy. However, one core cannot provide enough energy to block so many gods.
"Furthermore, we only have one Tier 10 Aether Core in Netheril. So, if we used it, it would become useless since all its power would be dedicated to powering the fog."
Edward frowned. The intensity of a core is important, but the application of the energy is also very important. For example, a Tier 10 Core cloud powered an entire universe. However, if the application of energy is enough, the same core could power a universe and a half. Or even more exaggerated, two or more universes.
'The Energy Application of Guuznad's magical artifact must reach another level.'
The energy that Guzznad can provide the artifact is only Tier 9. Yet, he can still block more than 3 Tier 10 Gods. So, Edward knew creating such an artifact was currently beyond his capabilities, so he wanted to get his hands on it.
"Any solution to our problem?" asked Edward.
"We can turn Netheril's Aether Core into Super Solid, so it should temporarily solve our problem. However, the core issue is to create more Tier 10 Cores."
"So, we must begin our invasion of the Dark Multiverse as soon as possible?"
"Then, send our Golem Legions. Ask them to target the timelines without the Empire, then begin mining resources and energy."
Edward feared that one of his variants would defeat the golem legions and studied them, thus allowing their timeline to develop faster than normal.
"Then, what are you going to do?"
"I'll continue my research on the Mana Grid," said Edward. "If we can find a timeline where the Mana Grid is not under the control of the Gods, we would have access to unlimited energy."
The Mana Grid rushed through the entire universe and contained unimaginable energy. If the Empire could control it, Edward won't have to worry about energy for a long time.
"Do we have a few of the Seer Golems available?"
"There are only two still available," replied Morgana. The amount of golems with Divination Capabilities is very small in the Empire because only a few people can create them, Edward not included.
"Create a team with them at the center and send them to search for such a timeline. Ask Luna to focus on this project after the war ends."
With the current situation, Edward could not mobilize too many Divination Masters or Seers. However, this project was top-of-the-line regarding importance. Otherwise, he would have asked Luna to leave immediately.
"Well, let's get started," muttered Edward before beginning his work. He first created a clone that was in charge of turning Netheril's Aether Core into Super Solid.
Then, under his order, many departments began working like a well-functioned machine, deploying the golems he requested. Finally, his main body began to work on the Mana Grid.
He was confident in his research because he had already acquired a great deal of knowledge about the grid from the Akashic Records. So, in a month, he developed an initial enchantment to draw energy from the grid.
However, despite blocking the grid from the outside, he received obstruction in the process of drawing mana. So, he needed to deal with this issue before considering his plan's success.
"Did the Magus Race leave some sort of will or consciousness on the Mana Grid? Is this why I have received obstruction? Or did the Gods still have certain control over the thing?"
While deep in thought, he received two calls, both important. Two beautiful faces appeared when the screen appeared before him, making him smile.
"The love of my life," he said.
"And who are you talking about?" asked Hermione.
"Of course, it's both of you."
Olivier ignored his sweet talk while Hermione rolled her eyes.
"So, how was the Abyss?"
"Dark, eerie, creepy, and full of negative emotions."
"I'm guessing it's not the best place for a vacation."
"Far from it," Hermione shook his head.
"Did you gain anything noteworthy?"
"A few, actually," said Hermione. "The first one is that I collected and dissected countless Abyss creatures. The bloodline of these creatures is actually very fascinating."
"They can use anything to evolve. Mana, divine energy, negative emotions, matter, souls, and anything you could think of. And based on what they used, they usually developed into different demons.
"Interestingly, their evolutions will always be toward the evil side."
"That is indeed interesting." Such a malleable bloodline is unlike anything the Empire has seen or discovered.
"The souls of these creatures are the filthiest thing I've ever seen in my life. It made me fascinated, and I wanted to study them," she continued.
"What's stopping you?"
"It's not my field, and I have my own research to focus on."
"True. So, anything else."
"There are many. The Abyss has turned into a Commerce Hub where countless planes come to exchange because of how many planes they are connected to. So, the magical resources are abundant.
"However, I have noticed these people seemed very antagonistic to people from our plane. If not for the warnings you sent me, I might have been discovered."
After the events with the Beast Master Plane, Edward sensed other planes might not be too friendly to the Cosmic Faith Plane, so he warned Hermione to be careful.
"I had two major discoveries during my time there," continued Hermione. "The first one is I learned the Devil Soul Language, and it's complete."
The Devil Soul Language is a unique magical language that is excellent at influencing the soul or even when using any soul or spiritual magic. Edward received a copy when he was traveling the world after graduating from Hogwarts.
However, it was not complete. As such, even though he deduced the rest and incorporated it into his Arcane Rune Language, he still wanted the complete language.
"That's excellent news," he said. He once theorized that he might be able to understand Soul Rule from the language. "What's the second?"
"I have found a shortcut to understanding [Authority]."
"Yes. The Abyss Lords are blessed by the Abyss Will, allowing them to control certain [Authority]. After refining the Abyss Imprint and becoming a Lord, I discovered I can take my time to study these [Authorities] instead of only using them."
"That's great news. Now, we only need to solve the issue of Willpower."