Vale could already tell just how dangerous this place was. After all, if it was a problem that even an Arcane Immortal could not resolve, then Lesser Immortals or maybe even Earth Immortals would be in huge trouble.

"This…"

Vale went silent as he processed her words.

He remembered the Chaos Art Practitioners from his own world, including the Void Arts Practitioners and the destruction they would bring to his world. This sounded eerily similar.

Kaela's gaze softened slightly as she saw his silence.

"I know it sounds grim. But… that's why I want you near me. I have a feeling you're not someone ordinary. And…" she then gave him a teasing smile—"…I like the way you stood up against those officials of Hoffman Tower. It would be a shame if you got yourself killed before I learned everything about you."

Vale nearly choked on his tea. "…That's not as comforting as you think it is."

'So she also knew what happened inside the tower. That's scary…'

Kaela laughed after seeing his reaction.

"This is refreshing, you know? You're fun. Most people tremble when I speak to them. But you? You even suspect me of poisoning you."

"…Well, you are the daughter of the strongest Immortal in the city."

"Mm. True." She gently nodded. "But right now, I'm just Kaela. And I've chosen to keep you close."

Vale met her gaze, realizing once more that this woman was far more dangerous than she appeared—not just because of her strength, but because of her charm, her ability to draw people in without them even realizing.

'For now… I'll play along. If she really means to keep me 'safe,' I might just find an opportunity to slip free later.'

But when Kaela got closer and lightly tapped the back of his hand, Vale's chest tightened in a way he hadn't expected.

"Trust me for now, Vale," she said softly. "At least until the march begins. Then we'll see what fate decides."

Vale stared at her for a long moment… then reluctantly nodded.

"…Fine. For now."

***

Far beyond Note City, past the forests, mountain ranges, and barren lands, was the Northern Barrier—a massive wall of stone filled with seals placed by generations of Immortals.

It was said that this wall had stood for fifty thousand years, holding back the corruption of the Abyss. But now, cracks had appeared.

Behind the wall was the rift… It was a terrifying tear of darkness that had grown unstable over the centuries.

And now, several days ago, it had loosened up.

The first to emerge were the Demon Saints. Hundreds of them crossed through the rift in order to stabilize the tear itself.

After securing their entry points, they allowed the end of the Demonic Creatures.

There were so many that the ground shook as they marched. Some crawled on many legs, some flew with their bat-like wings, and others moved like beasts made of smoke…

Their numbers stretched into the hundreds of thousands, filling the horizon like a black wave.

But worse than both were the ones who came last.

After several days of preparations, the sky trembled as twelve high-ranking Demon Gods stepped through the rift.

They were entities that couldn't be easily described, as they were shrouded in darkness.

When their eyes opened, the surroundings had become corrupted, empowering the Corrupted Divinity of the Demon Saints.

"Destroy the seal…" One of the Demon gods said while looking at the barrier blocking them from entering the mainland…

But as expected, the Northern Barrier lit up with defenses. Countless spells activated at once, shields of light, fire, and shadow forming a dome over the wall.

At this time, hundreds of Shadow Immortals were already stationed there! From newly ascended Lesser Immortals to veterans who had fought in countless wars!

Even if they knew that they were doomed, they had to at least lessen the number of Demonic Creatures and even the Demon Saints until their reinforcements arrived!

The Demon Saints led the charge, slamming against the barrier.

Boom!

The wall shook violently, and entire sections cracked under the pressure.

At the same time, multiple spells exploded like storms, killing hundreds of Demonic Creatures at once, but for every one that fell, three more replaced it.

On the ramparts, Shadow Immortals could be seen fighting side by side.

Multiple Dark Spells or Shadow Spells clashed against demonic creatures and corrupted magic.

For a moment, the barrier was filled with chaos…

The screams of creatures could be heard, mixed with the roar of Immortals burning their lifeforce to strengthen the defenses.

It looked like the wall might hold.

But then, one of the Demon Gods felt impatient and made his move.

He simply raised his hand and smashed down a fist, and it already created a massive fist made of darkness and struck the barrier!

Boom!

The barrier shattered and its entire layers of Formation Arts were crumbling like glass.

Another Demon God exhaled, and black fire spread across the land, consuming everything it touched—including some Demonic Creatures in front!

Still, no one cared about the lowly Demonic Creatures as more of them just poured through the gaps. Demon Saints scattered into the battlefield, cutting down Immortals in overwhelming numbers!

In less than an hour, all the Shadow Immortals, with the strongest being a Sky Immortal, had already died…

"Mhmm… This Shadow Realm feels like home… This is perfect. This will be our new home." Tahoma, one of the Demon gods, said.

The Shadow Realm was definitely a higher realm that could handle countless Immortals without putting any strain on the Will of the Realm.

Nonetheless, because the Demon Gods just arrived, they couldn't amass their full power just yet. They had to take a bit of time to do it.

During this time, they could only send Demon Saints and Demonic Creatures to disturb the cities.

This way, the Immortals of this Shadow Realm would not gather together and stay divided while they buy more time!

Indeed, the reason why the Demon Saints were doing 'unnecessary' provocation and skirmishes in multiple cities was to scatter the forces of the Shadow Immortal and buy more time for the Demon gods to accumulate more power within this realm!

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