Heroine Creation: All My Summons Are Custom Made

The lodges emptied all at once.

Doors opened along hundreds of corridors while elevators filled faster than they could descend.

Awakeners, Kingdom Rangers, and Extinguishers came out in their unique gear. Tutors and trainers followed behind them.

By the time Lancet stepped outside with Tavrik and Selli Vane, the center of the residential district had become a river of people.

Boots were everywhere and conversations crossed over one another until individual voices became impossible to separate. Orders from prefects rose above the noise whenever someone blocked a walkway, and glowing arrows appeared along the ground to mark the approved routes toward the War Tower.

Lancet slowed near the courtyard steps. ”This many people are part of Operation Citadel?”

Tavrik looked around as though the crowd were perfectly ordinary. ”This isn’t even everybody.”

Selli adjusted the Ranger jacket around her waist. ”Some units are already inside the War Tower or in different places all over the encampment. Some haven’t even left their rooms.”

Lancet watched more people emerge from the lodge to his left. This was startling to see.

It wasn’t like he’d never seen a crowd before. Awakener Supreme could fill a colosseum. This was different.

Tavrik nudged Lancet’s shoulder with one elbow. ”Try not to look too impressed. People will know you’re new.”

They reached the first main street leading out of the residential district and found the crowd growing even larger. Barracks riders moved slowly along one side, long black vehicles carrying officers and older soldiers who clearly had no interest in walking.

Portal Stations along the opposite side opened and closed every few seconds, swallowing small groups before replacing them with others headed somewhere else.

Most people walked.

Lancet did too. He preferred it because he wanted to look around the place.

The Golden Barracks had looked enormous from the ship, but walking through it made the scale harder to ignore. The military offices, training towers and weapon depots.

Lancet found himself constantly turning his head, stunned by it all.

As he walked, he ended up running into Renan, who was walking with another group.

He had already attracted his own crowd.

Two Kingdom Rangers walked beside him, and a pair of younger Awakeners followed close enough. One kept looking at Black Gale as though hoping Renan would draw it just once.

Renan noticed Lancet and changed direction.

Lancet did the same.

They met near the center of the street while both groups adjusted around them.

”Seems you also got your very own entourage?” Renan said.

Lancet looked back at Tavrik and Selli. ”Apparently President Bane turned me into a celebrity before I arrived.”

Renan gave him a small look of amusement. ”They did the same with me.”

They both walked together to the War Tower, their entourage mixing up behind them.

They talked about how overwhelming it was. Even Hebthej had not prepared them for this. They had both seen Kingdom Rangers and Brigadiers that day, but this army was almost like its own nation.

When Lancet said that everything here felt so important, Renan reminded him that it was important.

That settled somewhere deeper than Lancet expected.

He looked toward the War Tower visible several streets ahead.

The building rose higher than the structures around it, a massive black spire armored up with gold steel running vertically from foundation to roof. Wide buttresses spread from its base into surrounding buildings, and several enclosed bridges connected its upper floors to command towers nearby.

He took a deep breath and they headed on towards the building.

For a while they did not speak. The closer they came to the War Tower, the more organized the crowd became. Barricades separated incoming groups by unit, and officers stood beneath hanging signs directing Kingdom Rangers, Awakeners, Extinguishers and training staff toward different entrances.

Lancet saw Vernon ahead near one gate with several Elementalists gathered around him. He tried to find Espel using the bond threads, but she was deep in the crowd and he would have had to leave everyone to get to her.

The main doors of the War Tower were open by the time Lancet’s line reached them. At the moment they stepped inside, the noise outside dropped.

The entrance hall rose several floors above them, its ceiling crossed by black steel beams and glowing strategic maps. Wide staircases climbed around the outer walls while lifts carried officers toward upper command floors.

Statues of old Rangers stood between enormous pillars, each one marked with the names of campaigns Lancet had only read about.

Seemingly used to the statues, the crowd didn’t stop to admire any and just kept moving.

Tavrik and other prefects directed everyone down a broad corridor leading deeper into the tower, where the walls became thicker and darker. Gold lights ran along the floor toward a set of doors taller than an average building.

Lancet saw the War Hall waiting beyond them.

He stepped inside and understood why the room had needed doors that large.

It was built like a military amphitheater.

Tier after tier of seating descended toward a central floor, enough to hold thousands of soldiers without squeezing anyone together. Each section had its own tactical terminal built into the seats, while enormous screens covered the walls from floor to ceiling.

Above them, a holographic map of Earth and Gehenna hung beneath the dome.

Lancet stopped at the entrance for half a second.

Tavrik bumped him from behind. ”Keep moving, Greatest Asset.”

Lancet gave him a look but continued.

They found seats with the others several tiers above the central floor.

Renan sat to Lancet’s left. Selli dropped into the one to his right before Tavrik could claim it, forcing him to take the next one while complaining about betrayal.

People kept entering and the hall soon filled up. Yet every few minutes another door opened and another hundred people entered.

The noise grew with them.

Thousands of voices covered the hall but they slowly started to die when President Alistair Bane stepped onto the podium.

Marshal Darius Keene followed, along with Director Selene Marr, Commander Eliant Trugardt, Chief Healer Mai Rah Vekara, and Master Armorer Rulf Denning. Several other high-ranking officers joined them and took positions behind the main table.

King Romsgard entered last and the hall completely silenced. The soldiers all got on their feet, the sound of thousands of seats moving at once rolled through the chamber.

Romsgard walked to the center with Danistasia and Ordenance behind him. Exela stepped up, her blonde ponytail moving behind her as she took her place at Romsgard’s side, folding her gauntleted hands behind her back.

The King gave one small gesture and everyone sat.

The hall settled slowly until the only sound left came from the enormous holographic map turning above them.

Lancet looked across the thousands of soldiers.

Rangers.

Awakeners.

Extinguishers.

Teachers.

Commanders.

People who had spent their lives defending Earth from the demonic wrath of the Second World.

For the first time since arriving, nobody looked at Lancet. This felt like the climax, the peak of their lives and he could sense the emotions coming from their bodies and expressions.

Every eye was glued to the man standing at the podium.

This was it.

President Alistair Bane stepped away from the officers behind him and reached the center of the podium.

The strongest Unawakened in the world looked across the War Hall and waited until even the smallest whisper had died.

History was about to begin in this room.

Alistair parted his lips to speak.