Valstein finds himself fighting an unwinnable battle.

Not only are his opponents powerful, but they also coordinate well. He can hardly pierce the petite grandmaster's shield to target Ariel, the healer, and before he can even dream of touching that shield, he has to get through a tough vanguard.

Graham seems deadlocked on stopping Valstein today. Behind him, barrages of light magic shoot at him from the skeleton mage, which intertwines with the goat-human beast's dark magic, making it exceptionally hard to defend. Though the most annoying entity remains the creature that resembles a deer.

The Ravenous Moon's intelligence department does have some information on it, yet its true capabilities have never been revealed. Rather, it is too unpredictable to categorize, as with the other entities under Aurora's wings.

It lurks in the shadows, sometimes appearing behind Valstein to stab him with a knife, sometimes morphing into grotesque forms that even the Advent has to gasp, and sometimes joining the others to add to the pressure.

''Tch.''

With the power that Buezrith granted him, Valstein can still hold on for a period of time, and that is just enough for him to formulate a survival plan.

To begin with, his survival hinges on Buezrith's success. If the other goddess comes out on top, there will not be a reality in which he is spared. He has come too far for redemption.

And before any of that, he himself has to get out of this battle.

'Teleporting won't work. They're being careful bringing that skeleton here.'

His eyes land on Skely, who situates himself near Ulaika. The holy light in his sockets seems calm, almost cynical. Since his appearance, a force field that prevents spatial movements has been set. If Valstein wants that gone, he'd have to incapacitate Skely, though in that case, the same dilemma with targeting the healer would repeat.

For a while, he starts to feel restless. The opponents are too well-prepared. Was his ambush on the princess's group within their calculations?

Nevertheless, he doesn't have any option but to retaliate.

''...!''

The battle's rhythm abruptly changes.

Graham, who stays the closest to Valstein, can feel it the most vividly—this man is going all out. Whether his goal is the other side's total annihilation or not, the reality is that Valstein is pushing his limits. A deep rumble rings in the air as the space around him distorts, likely from the dense energy his body boasts.

''Fall back!''

Sensing the imminent threat, Ulaika shouts. As Valstein raises his hand, the members all retreat behind her shield. A chill runs down their spines when they witness the rolling wave of force coming their way—colossal, unstoppable. At this point, almost everyone who can still use magic decides to reinforce the grandmaster's barrier.

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But despite their joint efforts, when the wave comes crashing down, they feel as though a mountain is falling onto their body. Even the sturdiest barrier can't seem to stop its terrifying impact. But it appears Valstein can't flick out attacks like this constantly. Furthermore, it also helps the princesses' side somewhat by eliminating the flying insects around the area.

Some of the weaker combatants collapse, but the rest soon regain their composure and continue pushing again.

Graham still leads the vanguard, with the mages and the deer-like creature supporting from behind and the sides. This time around, Valstein no longer stays passive. As he floats in the air, controlling the unidentified power to rain down incessantly, the side with more people finds it harder to break through.

Moreover, they are being pushed back. To cover their allies, the mages are forced to use less offensive skills in favor of defensive ones, causing the momentum to falter.

''Keep pushing! He can't maintain this form forever!'' Graham roars.

His guess—the culmination of experience and observation—is true. However, what nobody expects is Valstein's true objective. He has been keenly feeling the sea of mana in the air, and right when Skely's anti-spacial-movement array feels just unstable enough, he immediately vanishes, leaving the group dumbfounded.

''...''

''...''

For a long while, nobody utters a word.

Meanwhile, in the vast spanses of Zircon, the battle between two forces of monsters is heating up. Against the increasingly massive flood of monsters pouring in, the forest's defense starts to tremble.

Even creatures ripped straight from myths or legends are, at the end of the day, creatures, and unless they reach godhood, none can comfortably withstand an overwhelmingly large army of enemies. Adding to the densely packed hordes of insects is the army of Buezrith's clones, which are held back by the core team of Zircon.

Within the dry barks of West Zircon, a figure nimbly leaps through the narrow pathways, stirring little noise. It has four legs, a fluffy set of fur, and two rather aligned rows of teeth.

''Keep going.'' Chloe narrows her eyes as she leans forward on Smiley's back. ''They're right ahead. Turn left after five seconds.''

Using her third eye, Chloe constantly monitors the battlefields around the area. While it is unknown how many clones Buezrith has deployed, they have encountered seven just in the West area. Each one of them can take on a master-level opponent, and some can even rival those a notch above.

In terms of pure strength, Zircon would need to dispatch several of its core members to take care of one clone. However, they have long prepared for this scenario, with every combatant carrying several pieces of blank soul—the sole weapon that can easily take care of Buezrith.

Nevertheless, while the key to victory has fallen into their grasp, they still have to have the power to close their fingers.

Chloe and Smiley's role in this defense is essentially being a mobile hospital. The husky's mind control abilities can deter most assailants from harming them, while Chloe's supporting capabilities keep them and the other members going.

''Circle around this area.'' The girl whispers.

This time, they arrive near a large clearing—an artificial one. The trees in a vast area have been flattened and burned. In the distance, they spot a flash of pink hair clashing with a figure in a nun's habit. Not far from that, sparks of fire and lightning rain incessantly, within which is another nun figure and a blonde girl.

''We'll help the pink idiot first. The blonde idiot can hold on.''

It is a marathon. At this point, the members have driven away several clones, yet they keep coming. Fortunately, they are able to separate the forces using the terrain, avoiding a situation where one person might be overwhelmed. Still, fatigue is unavoidable.

Even now, Luxia's state as she fights Buezrith seems bruised and injured.

''Hah... hah...''

Her usual goofy expression is long gone, replaced by that of frustration and helplessness. Even with her biggest strength—the ability to read minds—Luxia can't seem to deal with this kind of opponent well.

In front of overwhelming strength, even knowing how the opponent will act is not enough. She can't take many hits, she can't land many hits—her battle is too restrictive.

The figure seems to know this, even toying with her.

That is, until Chloe and Smiley emerge behind the panting Luxia.

''Hey, idiot! Concentrate!''

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