Even Vale failed to notice the presence of this figure, who was observing them.

He was just focused on defeating the creature in front of him…

'Ember King… There shouldn't be any entity like you in here…' Vale mused as he moved faster than any Sword Expert the others had ever seen.

Then, his blade cut through the fire of the Ember King, dispersing it into sparks…

'Let's try how strong this is…' Vale then used his aura as it rippled outward, forming a barrier that shielded the nearest mercenaries from the heat that followed. His aura was quite mysterious as well but as expected, it worked just like how he imagined it to be…

Still, the King pressed harder.

Lava surged from its chest, forming a torrent of flame that threatened to engulf Vale and the others behind him…

"Now!" Ilya shouted…

"Support him!"

At this time, he had already confirmed the presence of the Fire Stone! Now, they just had to defeat this Ember King and remove any obstacles!

Soon, the Alchemists hurled their vials of water essence… Soon, explosions of cooling mist struck the torrent of fire!

Then, the revolvers fired in unison!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Runic bullets swiftly pierced through the King's molten body.

Yet Ilya's eyes never left Vale. He wanted this mysterious Sword Expert to bear the brunt of the assault, to reveal the full extent of his power.

He could actually tell that Vale wasn't showing his real strength and he couldn't help but worry that the Fire Stone might be stolen from him instead.

Vale, however, didn't care about Ilya's plot…

Even after he caught the faint satisfaction in the man's eyes, Vale continued using his sword against the Ember King.

'So… Are you part of the Order of Fatality?' Vale mused. Apparently, that was the only thing he was concerned about. Ilya's identity

His aura darkened as faint Dark Energy started seeping out of his body… Although he was disguised as a Sword Expert, the truth of his nature still leaked onto the battlefield.

Nonetheless, with his Dark Energy, his blade moved faster, and he was able to cut through the Ember King's flames a lot more easier…

Just like that, it didn't take that long before the Ember King staggered… It was still extremely hot and could burn anyone from approaching, but the vials of Water Essence were slowly weakening it. Then, with Vale able to parry all of its strikes, it couldn't win at all!

Vale's blade was soon covered by his thick sword aura as he prepared the final strike.

The Ember King, weakened and staggering, released a wave of heat in defiance but its molten body was collapsing under everyone's attacks.

Perhaps, one more blow would have ended it.

But just as Vale's sword descended, a barrier of pure Divinity erupted before him.

Bang!

The impact rang out and his blade clashed against an invisible wall that refused to break!

Vale's eyes squinted as he saw this. "What? Is this Divinity?"

He didn't expect that his sword would be stopped just like that.

The mercenaries gasped as they also stumbled back after getting hit by the shockwave caused by Vale's attack on the barrier...

"W-what's going on?!"

"How can that Ember King cast barrier?"

"This is impossible!"

Even the Master Alchemists froze as they felt something was off about that barrier. Their vials of Water Essence didn't even do anything against it.

None of them had expected this to happen…

Then, from the smoke, a cloaked figure emerged.

"An Immortal?!" Ilya was shocked!

"We… we didn't mean to intrude on your territory!" Ilya shouted at the top of his lungs since he knew Divinity.

As soon as he felt it, he realized that the Immortal was protecting the Ember King for some reason.

Thankfully, although its presence was suffocating, it was strangely restrained. The figure raised a single hand, and the barrier pulsed with divine light, effortlessly stopping all of their attacks…

Before anyone could react, shadows coiled around the Ember King.

The creature shrieked as its molten body was swallowed whole by the darkness.

In an instant, the towering inferno was gone! It was just pulled into the void as if it had never existed.

"Mhmm? Who is this guy this time?" Vale frowned as he looked at the cloaked figure.

It seemed that aside from the Golden Immortal Adam, there were other hidden Immortals in this realm.

'Why are they only appearing now?' He couldn't help but complain as he didn't find the aura familiar at all.

The cloaked figure lowered its hand.

For a moment, its Divinity spread…

Then, without a word, it turned and vanished into the mist, leaving no traces at all.

Vale's grip tightened on his blade.

'Who? And why save the Ember King?'

His Divine Sense stretched outward, but the figure's presence had already disappeared completely…

The mercenaries exchanged fearful whispers as they knew that whoever it was, they were lucky to survive and not get its attention.

"An Immortal… here?"

"Why didn't it kill us?"

"Why save the Ember King?"

The Master Alchemists looked shaken… They had prepared for the Ember King and also wanted the Mystical Core that it had. Unfortunately, that was now impossible to obtain.

On the other hand, Vale remained calm as he analyzed the situation.

That wasn't random. Someone wanted the Ember King alive…

"Let's move on!" Ilya shouted as he ignored the cloaked figure entirely.

His eyes burned with greed as he rushed forward.

"The Fire Stone… it should be here!"

He reached the scorched ground where the Ember King had previously…

But as he extended his hand on his pendant to sense the location of the Fire Stone, he noticed that its previous glow had faded.

The Fire Stone was gone.

"What?!" Ilya's voice cracked.

He frantically searched the area, his familiars quickly moved through the smoke.

"No… no, no, no! It was here! It was right here!"

The mercenaries looked at one another uneasily. They just realized what had happened.

The mysterious Immortal didn't just take the Ember King but also the powerful Fire Stone!

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