"Alright, let's go!" I shout once I can safely speak again. Having your vocal cords melted isn't a pleasant experience, and it doesn't help with pretending to be invincible.

The engines of the tanks rumble as they tear through the walls. The fleeing Imperials are shot without a warning while the remnants of the Imperial army are struggling to reach the old factory again. The Spell Jammers have canceled their teleportation spells, so they are forced to run back.

However, running on muddy open terrain littered with obstacles and impacts is easier said than done, especially when you're being shot at.

I then focus on assaulting the area while a small group of Legionaries will take care of the few survivors. We weren't supposed to enter the building in the first place; the original plan was to raze everything to the ground. But this place being a simple storage facility was likely a decoy, so we need to investigate. We can always steal the Imperial research; knowing about the secret weapons of the Empire is always beneficial. It will allow us to develop countermeasures so we will be prepared if those new weapons are used against us.

Furthermore, I want to see what the Empire is up to, what kind of super-weapons they have in store-

It wouldn't be funny if they had demons in the basement.

Those horrors can destroy far more than a large city, and we'll have to expand who knows how many crates of ammunition to make sure that nothing remains of those abominations.

Of course, there could also be experimental weapons. The cannon which obliterated our tanks in the previous timeline is a proof of that. It would certainly explain why the Empire was so adamant in protecting this area despite the massive losses they suffered from that battle.

I can't even imagine what the Empire might be researching.

With my luck, I'm going to activate a reality-destroying bomb or something equally as terrifying.

But let's stop thinking about bad things for the time being. By now, I know that worrying about them doesn't change anything since something always goes wrong, all the time.

In fact, I'm beginning to think that all my luck has been consumed when I discovered the Rewinder.

Does luck work like that? Is everyone born with a finite amount of it and it's gradually used over time?

A beam landing near my feet takes me out of my thoughts. It looks like the Imperial survivors are mounting one last assault. I almost feel pity when I see the charging army. They are limping and covered in blood, their armor is scorched, and one guy just died of blood loss.

The few survivors who somehow evaded the tanks are using their last breath to mount a futile attack targeting me. I quickly end their suffering with a well-placed shot to the head, causing the doomed soldiers to collapse before they explode from the inside.

A sigh escapes my mouth as I survey the surroundings. The inside of the factory is dusty and littered with rusted-out remnants of ancient and long-forgotten machinery. If someone entered this place, they would only see an old abandoned factory. But certain subtle details betray the real purpose of this place, mainly the massive dust-free squares in the ground. If my hunch is correct, then those are the hidden entrances to the actual facility.

Entering this place isn't going to be easy. Something tells me that the people who are still underground are expecting us since our arrival was far from stealthy.

"Alright, listen to me!" I say to the Legionaries who just turned their vehicles back into their primordial form. "See those squares on the ground?" I then point to the suspicious areas. "Use your liquid metal to block every single one of them except this particular one."

The Legionaries nod and survey the factory floor for every possible entrance. In the meantime, I crack my neck and stare at the unblocked access. We blocked all possible exits, so the inhabitants will have to go through this door if they want to escape.

And that's when a group of waiting Legionaries will shoot them.

On the other hand, a group led by me will explore the underground facility to 'clean up' and steal all the experimental weaponry, or whatever it is they are hiding down there.

I don't know what it is, but it must be vital to the Imperial war effort. The Empire is bound to attempt to strike back, so we also have to be quick. The range of the Spell Jammers isn't infinite, so it shouldn't take too long before the Stonecrushers realize that they can teleport away from the facility and walk there.

The Order is also monitoring the area. So, if it comes to the worst possible scenario, then we'll Hammer them into oblivion. Hammer shells are not cheap, and they take time to produce, so I would rather not waste more of them. But it's the only reasonable choice if another large army is going to surround us.

"Prometheus! It's done!" a Legionary says while saluting me. I thank him and explain my plan to the soldiers, who all nod and get into position as soon as I stop talking.

Now, let's see how we are going to storm this place. This door looks complicated. Nothing is signaling that it's a door in the first place. If I'm honest, those empty squares might just be caused by the ancient machinery that crumbled, and I've been staring at a regular slab of concrete for the past ten minutes.

I would Rewind out of embarrassment if that ever happened.

The opening mechanism must be reinforced, and it's probably only usable by those who have a particular mana signature...

Let's blow it up then!

I aim my shotgun towards the floor and fire. The wild mana slams against the concrete and makes the entire building rumble. I wait until the smoke clears and confirm my suspicions, there's a lot more to this place than meets the eye.

Indeed, the regular concrete around the door has been destroyed and reduced to gravel, thus revealing the immaculate tunnel entrance.

The entrance is still sealed and only bears the faintest hints of damage, but it's a start. It's too bad that I can't use the Hammer there since we might destroy the underground floors.

Shooting the door with the shotgun until it breaks is not an option, it would take far too much time.

Instead, we need something, or someone, capable of delivering a large amount of power with pinpoint accuracy.

A certain draconic woman comes to my mind.

I grab my phone and call her, "Mary, would you mind coming here for a minute?"

A portal appears near me before I can even store the secure phone.

"Of course!" she says with a bright smile before hugging me.

I will never understand how enthusiastic she can be. I'm already weary despite the recent start of the war, yet Mary is so full of energy it's almost contagious.

It takes some struggle on my part to pry her off me; it seems like she wouldn't let go no matter what. "I need you to open this for me," I say after pointing towards the revealed entrance. I also silently thank my shield, which protected me from the crushing hug of the half-dragon.

Why does everyone around me have to be able to snap me in half with a single hand?

"No problem!" she says before snapping her fingers. A ball of plasma appears above the entrance before turning into a thin, almost invisible line. The line of plasma then cuts through the door like a hot knife through butter, and Mary kicks the door out of the way.

...Magic is so fucking unfair; it's not even funny.

I'm not jealous, I swear.

Not at all. After all, who would be jealous of the supernova-wielding, super-strong and invincible half-dragon with an indecent amount of mana? Would it be the guy whose sole achievements are making bullets hit a bit harder and a beyond wasteful teleportation device which barely works?

No, this guy is not jealous at all.