Hostile Takeover

There was no time to waste. Millions of sacrifices were happening every day across most of the countries in the alliance. Children as young as three years old were forced to have sex with adult men and women. People were sold into slavery and had nothing but a life of suffering to look forward to. Jack knew that solving these problems would distract him from his return home but he could not look away with so much suffering happening in his current home.

The assistant had helped create a battle plan for the takeover of the entire region. Since they were talking about a population of at least 7 billion people and a land larger than the entire continent of Africa, it was a very ambitious plan. But Jack had no interest in trying to work with the current government or trying to convince them to change their ways. He would take over the continent bit by bit, city by city. His plan was to take over every one of the major cities, of which there were about 600 in the alliance. Once all the cities were taken over, the outskirts and small villages would have the choice to join him or not. If they didn't, then they would be eaten alive by the creatures which had been invading the lands. But even if the Abundance Sects were seeking refuge in the mountains and forests of the region, it would not matter to Jack since he would have saved the majority of the people. With his bats securing the city, they posed no threats.

The assistant's plan was simple. Jack needed to gather more bats from the other dimension which he had already begun to do. Over a period of 10 hours, he would take 900 more bats into his swarm to have a total flock of over 1,000 creatures. As he was hunting the bats with maximum speed, he reviewed the plan one more time. The assistant would coordinate most of the actions including the assault by the bats and the enforcement of the law through the new government. Margi was tasked with putting him in touch with the other leaders of the Serenity Sect since her word amounted to much in the entire country. She was seen as both a seer and a saint in the eyes of the people. Jack would not even need to directly engage with the people of every city or be present at all since the assistant is able to fully take over the communication and coordination. In fact, the assistant was already leading 6 takeovers with the existing bats in the other dimension while Jack was gathering more creatures.

Once a city was taken over, the assistant would have the people install detection devices it could use so that it could monitor the happenings in most parts of the city. The only task Jack had to perform was the creation of many portals which needed to be placed in the cities so that the creatures could move freely between them in case there was a rebellion or any other unforeseen circumstance.

The plan was simple and well thought through. All Jack needed were numbers. And so he spent over 10 hours building an unfathomable fleet of bats that looked like they could bring about armageddon. He gradually released them into the planet and let them rest in the high-density Sym energy area when on standby. From there, the assistant started to gradually distribute the bats into their assault teams and led them from city to city. At the same time, Jack tirelessly created portals and placed them into the pendants he had obtained from Jalk City. It nearly took him another 3 hours to create at least 600 of them since it was a tedious task. But after this marathon, he was finally done.

While he was working hard, the assistant had already taken over 30 cities and it was only a matter of time until they would have reached the entire alliance with their bats. Jack sat down in his cave in his luxury home and took a warm shower. He felt exhausted. He had used a lot of energy over these past 13 hours and he could feel his body screaming. He needed to meditate and to relax. His anger had gotten the better of him and he felt his confidence waver. Did I do the right thing? He asked himself.

The assistant, noticing his exhausted state, intervened. "Jack, we have now taken over 36 large cities in the country of Seinas and I estimate that we have saved at least 100,000 lives that would have otherwise been sacrificed just in the last days."

Jack smiled faintly, understanding how the assistant was trying to cheer him up. But it was too late for him to consider if what he did was wrong or right. He killed people to save people. That was the truth. Now all he could do was keep going and see what will await him at the end.

He sat on a pillow and closed his eyes to focus on his breathing and on circulating the energy around the microcosmic orbit. A daily habit that kept him sane. After a calm meditation of over an hour, he lay down and fell asleep. He slept for almost two hours to recover from his exhausted state.

"Jack, you have many messages. The leaders of the South and Cibolas Alliance have expressed their concerns regarding the rumors they have heard of your actions in Seinas. It seems like some of the information has leaked outside. You also have many messages from Fey asking about your whereabouts since you have not been in contact recently. You also have more messages from other contacts but they do not seem to be important." The assistant said.

Jack slowly opened his eyes and rose up. He felt refreshed both mentally and physically but he was still slightly confused regarding his recent experiences. He felt hungover from a burst of anger, amplified by condensed Sym energy. "Tell the Alliance leaders that they should not concern themselves with my business. And tell Fey that I will visit her soon once I have completed a project." He got up and stretched his body. Since he had become so powerful, he had neglected his basic stretching routine but he had recently resumed it since it relaxed him and made him more flexible. Both mentally and physically.

Jack had made a deal with Fey that she would not have to search for the lost dimensional links by herself but would get the data from him. In return, her team would research ways to create dimensional links from scratch to existing dimensions that are far away. It was a long shot but the assistant would provide them with ample data to start out with regarding the links they had discovered so far. Maybe they would find something. The assistant had also provided Fey with the locations of a few discovered links which she would be able to get and investigate. It was a good way of benefitting her but also for her to be useful to him.

But now was not the time to think about this. While the assistant was taking over the cities in the entire West Alliance, Jack was ready to jump to its capital, the city of Zios. He wanted to personally take out the government since this was the last piece of the puzzle. The creatures that were slowly moving towards the city had finally arrived and placed a portal for Jack to use. He entered and appeared on top of a large building with a stunning view over the largest city on this entire planet. It was nighttime but the city was still bright and active. It looked like a mix between tradition through its large bazaars and modernity signified by the many vehicles on the roads. There were also large factories all over the cities which seemed to be producing varying Sym devices at scale. This country had somehow managed to combine the most abhorrent of human behaviors with advanced industries.

In the center of the city, Jack could see multiple large altars that still had blood all over them. He could even see sacrifices occurring at this moment. Jack felt the anger enveloping his brain but he did not have the time to personally intervene every time. He opened a portal and sent 20 bats to take over the altar and kill anyone who tries to resist. Then he made his way to the personal palace where the leaders of this country reside. The country is governed by the royal family and the highest office is occupied by the patriarch who had the humble title of Messiah. Jack had listened to the assistant briefing but was not particularly interested regarding their government structure. Once he takes over, the assistant will coordinate with every level of government, both federal and local, to create the most efficient system possible. In the short term, the government will remain the same but, in the long term, there will be significant changes.

The assistant had created a plan to take over the entire alliance and expected the plan to be completed within 1 to 2 months. Since communication and coordination of government workers as well as the bats will be seamless, it will be the most effective large-scale takeover the world has ever seen. It also helps that almost the entire Serenity Sect is happily participating in Jack's plan which makes it easy for him to appoint new leaders in key positions. If rebellions and resistance is encountered, the assistant can easily deploy hundreds of bats into a single city to clean it out completely. With over 1000 bats, perfect communication reach and an ubiquitous network of portals, the assistant's task is no different from a civilisation building simulator.

It was also simplified by the abilities the bats possessed since they not only had abilities useful for combat such as telekinesis, manipulation of temperature, electromagnetic fields, propulsion, teleportation and others but also had varying healing, detection, telepathy and related skills which allowed for specialised tasks to be assigned. There was a lot to be learned from these bats but Jack had postponed it for now. Followed by Alpha, he jumped on top of the palace and scanned the entire facility to find the leader.

Jack could sense over 50 people in the palace even at night and it seemed like everyone had woken up for an emergency meeting. He could identify the security staff which had hidden weapons and also the family members who wore casual clothing and stayed in their beds. "Well, there's never a good time for a coup d'etat." Jack mumbled as he opened a window portal and jumped to the room where the Messiah received his briefing while Alpha flew above the palace.

Jack arrived in the room and saw a familiar scene. All the men in the room jerked around and looked at him with a shocked expression while fumbling for their gun and yelling. He had seen this exact scenario multiple times before but it never gets old. The people in power generally take that power for granted. They are used to being treated with respect or even fear so they are not good at being at the receiving end. Absolute power does not just corrupt, it dulls your mind.

Jack, with his white mask on, looked at the men with a bored face as their energy bullets bounced off his barrier. He played along with the charade for now since he was blocking the only exit anyways so the men would not be able to go anywhere. He was wondering if he should use the good old portal sucking trick or if he should kill the guards and then have a good talk with the Messiah. But Jack was not in a good mood. As he was scanning the palace, he noticed some disturbing scenes. The king shared the bed with two boys who he used for his sexual pleasure judging by the chains on their necks. The basement had an elaborate selection of slaves as well as a small and private sacrificial altar. Even though he did not witness what types of rituals would need to be hidden in a land where they were warmly embraced, Jack didn't want to find out. His current thinking was to kill them all just because they deserved it.

But killing an entire family for the sins of a few would be too much. And killing the children's father in their own home was likewise something he was not entirely comfortable with. It was a dilemma. But Jack knew that being successful in your endeavors often comes down to being bold and decisive rather than being hesitant. Whatever he wanted to do, he should do it now.

Then Jack had an idea that made him laugh. He started to slowly walk towards the guards who were frantically shooting at him from new angles in the hope of breaking the barrier while trying to protect the Messiah. As Jack closed the distance, he expanded the size of his barrier until it started to hit the walls and filled the room. The guards, caught off guard by this new threat, stopped shooting and tried to push the barrier back so that they would not be losing more ground. But they were too weak and Jack's barrier was too strong for them to handle. The guards, including the Messiah, got pushed back further and further until they were all pressed against the wall, unable to move. Jack fixed the barrier in this position and walked to its outer border to look at his catch.

The men looked ridiculous as their faces grimaced along the transparent and thin barrier. Jack walked to the Messiah who was wearing an elaborate night dress which looked expensive and had many stylistic ornaments attached to it. "Nod if you know who I am."

The Messiah stared at Jack but was unable to move. Jack might have pressed him a bit too hard against the wall so he opened the barrier at just one point and grabbed the Messiah before throwing him on the ground inside the barrier. "Better?"

The Messiah crawled on the ground to catch his breath and then slowly stood up to face Jack. He knew that he was trapped. The barrier covered the whole room and constrained his entire security team while also blocking the door. He was caught alone in a cage with a wild animal. And that animal liked to play with its prey. "I was told about you. Our city has the strongest weapons in the alliance. We will be able to kill all of your creatures no matter how many you bring. The gods are on our side."

Jack smiled, "Oh, really? That's great, then how about this one?" As the Messiah was speaking, he had brought Alpha through a portal behind him and it silently levitated into the room. When the Messiah turned around, he felt pure fear for the first time in his life. He had never faced any challenges as part of the royal family and he did not need to. A great leader is born and not made. That was what the previous Messiah had taught him. But now, he was not so sure anymore. He had heard from reports that hundreds of these new types of creatures had appeared all over the alliance and were making their way to the capital like a swarm of locusts. It was a difficult challenge but they had faced many challenges in the past and had overcome them all. This was not the disaster his advisors made it out to be, he had believed. But now, he changed his mind.

The Messiah took a few steps back and guided by his fear did not realize that he was walking towards Jack until he bumped into him. When he felt hit Jack, it felt like hitting a statue that was hard as stone and did not budge. He turned around in shock and stared at Jack with Alpha breathing down his neck.

Jack took a few steps along the barrier. "I have decided not to kill you." He looked at the Messiah. "Don't get me wrong. You do deserve it. But I will only imprison you for now."

"You cannot imprison me. This country will fall into despair. You are going against the gods." The Messiah said with a visibly shaken expression.

"Don't worry about that. We already have a plan for the country." Jack said. "And I am disappointed that you did not even ask what would happen to your family." Then he opened a portal that sucked the Messiah in and left only Jack and Alpha standing in the room.

The Messiah found himself inside a cave. In this cave, there were a few canisters of water, a box full of bread and a bucket which he did not know what it was for. The cave had a large entrance through which he could see a stony desert and bright daylight which told him that he was far away from his nightly home. When he tried to leave the cave, 5 large bat creatures appeared from every direction and started to hiss at him. He fell on his butt from the surprising sight, then crawled back into the cave but the creatures did not seem to follow him. They sat down in front of the opening and just watched him. He walked back into the cave and sat down, leaning against the wall. This was his prison, he realized. And it started to dawn on him what the bucket was for.

Jack still stood in the Messiah's room where his security team was pushed against the walls by his barrier. He released the barrier and stared at them while Alpha had started to levitate in the center. Luckily, the palace had very high ceilings, Jack thought.

The guards looked confused and did not immediately try to attack Jack. He looked at them and shook his head. "If you attack me, you will die. If you try to take anything or do anything in this palace, you will die. I will now allow you to go home to your families. But do not take any detours or do anything funny. And drop your guns before you go."

The guards looked at each other and then dropped their guns before running out the door. Fighting Jack was already a scary proposition but the appearance of Alpha had made their decision an easy one. Jack picked up the guns and threw them into his storage dimension. His task was over. He had already let almost one hundred bats enter the city and they were patrolling the streets. The assistant had the ingenious idea to transmit a video message to all the citizens in the alliance. It was a message by the Serenity Sect which talked about the revelation Margi had and how the birds of the gods were bringing a new era of peace and prosperity to their countries. It was propaganda but it was effective in calming people's minds. The people were all religious with practically no exceptions and concepts like secularism or atheism were unheard of. Playing on their gods was the best way forward. And the fact that it was true was an unintentional benefit.

Jack and the assistant expected problems in the short term due to the prevalence of sacrifices, the reliance of industries on slave trade, as well as the cultural impact of banning core traditions, but it needed to be done. The assistant would gradually use its knowledge to enhance their industrial capacities, innovative discoveries, and crop yields. It expected that it could increase the gross domestic product of the alliance by tenfold within just a few years since they are already very well developed in terms of industrial capacities.

But Jack did not care about any of that which is why the video message did not even mention him. It was the Serenity Sect that would take over with the enforcement of the birds sent by the gods while the assistant was pulling all the strings in the background. Through its growing capabilities that were dramatically enhanced by Sym energy, its ability to operate had reached fearsome heights. There seemed to be no limit to its abilities.

For Jack, this was all over now. The assistant would coordinate the entire takeover and manage the bats. The bats would lock down the palace while the assistant had already found appropriate government representatives in the city who could take over and move in right away. The family of the Messiah would be placed under house arrest for a while and would be relocated to the outskirts of the city.

Jack could refocus on his research to go back home. He needed to track down the humanoids which were in hiding and also support Fey to conduct more research. He was thinking of funding a larger research team himself since he had more than enough funds to do so.

But first, Jack went into the bedroom of the Messiah and removed the chains of the two boys who were chained in place. They looked scared and confused but he reassured them that their lives would be better now.

He handed them over to the priests of the Serenity Sect and then opened a portal back to the Cibolas territory.

The bats had discovered a large portal deep in the high-density Sym energy zone which was as large as a house and different from all the portals they had seen so far.