Meldoon Crum’s emotional capabilities flickered and died like an old lightbulb as he looked behind him at the new arrivals. They stared back at him curiously. After being driven mad by the fact Claudette Beigon refused to concede even the smallest fraction, thereby giving him no choice but to kill her and risk the ire of the Frost Matriarch, this new unexpected variable pushed his mind beyond his limits. They would make the truth of this matter even more difficult to hide. He could only blankly stare at the group of six that was suddenly standing near the wall of the isolated space.

His blank eyes wandered across the group, reeling even further as he examined them. He searched their figures for any sort of sense of reassuring familiarity, something that would ground him in the moment, but he could not find it. One of the figures was a leafy humanoid, carrying a lance and riding what looked like a camel covered in chitinous armor. An elfen humanoid stood next to the lancer, shivering lightly as he looked over at Meldoon.

In that man, Meldoon could observe a kindred sense of helpless fear.

On the other side of the group a ram demon and a Vulpine looked around with interest at the two forces clustered around the Nether Array. They spent a particularly long time looking at the armored troops of the Holy Frost Society, causing Meldoon’s blood to pound loudly in his ears. Just by observing their well-muscled physiques and auras of self-possession, both were intimately familiar with violence.

But it was the middle two that Meldoon found the most fearful. The one on the left was a lovely woman with her hair done up in a tight braid. Every part of her seemed graceful and deadly. Her arms were folded across her chest and her sharp eyes swept across every single individual present in the clearing. Even from just her gaze, there was a strange distortion in the surrounding space. Everything she looked at was briefly dyed blood-red.

This was a woman who had taken many lives.

The man on the right had medium length black hair and a black metal left arm that was covered with golden veins that pulsed as Meldoon watched. He was tall and athletic, less so than the two individuals on the right, but still enough to evidence his capability. His feet were bare. Compared to his companions, this black-haired man stood with the most casual posture; he clearly didn’t feel even a hint of a threat as he examined Meldoon’s squad and the trapped group from the Holy Frost Society.

Yet what was most threatening about the man was the total lack of image that radiated off of him. The air around him was still and peaceful. Looking at the man’s subordinates, Meldoon wasn’t fool enough to believe that he didn’t possess a powerful image. He simply had enough control that he could mask his image almost completely.

Figures who possessed so much control over their image were rare, even in the Nexus.

But the question that Meldoon couldn’t move past was who these people were. His mind was fuzzy and repeatedly tried to place this assembly into a reassuring label, but no sufficient category occurred to Meldoon. Such a grouping seemed to defy categorization. Not that there was anything strange about different races working with each other in the Nexus, but since most individuals in the Nexus were descended from a powerful progenitor, most organizations were rather uniform. Even Pinnacle Seeker groups at least had a similar, unifying image.

Yet these people…

While Meldoon’s mind continued to stall out and sputter, the elfen humanoid spoke. “Ah… that appears to be a Retrieval Squad from the Engraving Guild. See the insignia on their uniforms? They likely came out to capture some of the stronger Nether individuals. And that group- by the great Lord, t-t-t-t-t-t-that i-i-is C-C-Claudette Beigon!”

The barefooted man scrutinized Meldoon for a second then frowned at the elfen man. “...Didn’t we talk about useful information? That name means nothing to me. But she must be a Pinnacle Seeker, right? Since the Engraving Guild is willing to attack her.”

“You-! I didn’t… I didn’t want…!” Meldoon snarled, finally snapping back into a conscious state. Being accused of attacking the Holy Frost Society when he had been forced to this by that stubborn bitch was simply rubbing salt in his wound. His limbs trembled. If she hadn’t refused to kill him, should he release her…! That pride was the only reason-

“Fellow adventurers!”

At this moment, Claudette herself entered the vocal fray, favoring the newly arrived group with a winning, dimpled smile. Although her image was related to frost, her beaming expression had enough light and passion that even Meldoon’s fury was briefly silenced. “I crave a boon! Assist me in escaping this predicament and I will definitely repay the favor!”

“This… this shamelessness!” Meldoon hissed this time, practically spitting. She was suddenly willing to trade a favor for being released? Why wasn’t Meldoon, the actual controller of the array, able to take advantage of that opportunity?!?

The ram demon pointed toward the trapped Claudette and her subordinates. “She craves a boon.”

“Honestly, seems like a good opportunity. Pissing off the Engraving Guild isn’t a problem; they’ve caused enough trouble for me already.” As the barefooted man walked forward, his eyes began to glow. “Plus, we get to earn some goodwill in the process.”

Meldoon snorted, gratefully seizing onto the man’s naked aggression as a way to overcome his sense of helplessness. He unwound his Nether Core from the Nether Array in front of him and wheeled to face the approaching group. He used hand signals to get his subordinates to continue trapping the Holy Frost Society while facing these recent arrivals. While Meldoon’s eyes were red-rimmed, he felt exceedingly calm. After shorting his emotional circuits, he sweated no longer.

He had moved past that. Now he only understood necessity.

Sensing the change, Claudette and her team unleashed powerful attacks on the interior of the Nether Array. Tridents of ice slammed repeatedly into the flickering boundary. But while Meldoon’s subordinates couldn’t crush them as he could, they could still maintain the Nether Array while Meldoon dealt with these unfortunate interlopers.

Can I do this? Meldoon’s heart was pounding. But he forced himself to remain focused. No, I NEED to do this.

Truly, Claudette’s earlier ridicule was correct; Meldoon wasn’t highly rated amongst those in the Nether Lattice. He had only received his Nether Core in the past year. The Engraving Guild had created a powerful shortcut to creating a Nether Core, but it relied on being partially incorporated into another’s Nether Core. So a portion of Meldoon’s Weight was taken by the superior that had given him this chance. Until Meldoon reached 500 Influence and was able to bestow a Nether Core onto one of his subordinates, he would remain relatively weak.

Usually, the powerful individuals within the Nether Lattice had at least ten subordinates with Nether Cores. Achieving that feat would likely require a hundred more years for Meldoon Crum, because a portion of every gain he made would be siphoned off to the one who had given him his Nether Core.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t handle an arrogant interloper now. Especially when his squad had set up several back-up Nether Arrays in this isolated space to handle unexpected situations. As the barefooted man walked forward, he walked thoughtlessly into a preprepared Nether Array. Instantly, Meldoon gestured sharply and his Nether Core began to spin. A burning cage of Nether erupted out of the ground and trapped the man.

Rather than being worried, the man glanced around with the same aloof curiosity he had displayed before. “Oh? The deployment of this ritual is pretty rapid. And the way it’s woven together… haha, it’s like a finger trap isn’t it? The more force is applied from the interior, the more intense the constriction it gets.”

Upon hearing the man’s words, Meldoon couldn’t help but choke. It… wasn’t possible that this individual truly could immediately see through the Nether Array, right? Very quickly, the Engraving Guild officer reassured himself that the man must be bluffing; he likely knew the details of the Nether Array beforehand and was now just taunting Meldoon.

Meldoon narrowed his eyes as he felt burning hatred rise in his chest. I’ll teach you to take me lightly… take this…! All of my 37 Weight! As long as I crush you in front of your subordinates, I can still salvage the situation!

Instantly, the Nether Array constricted at Meldoon’s direction. 37 Weight only meant that he received 3.7% boost, but that was across all of his abilities. As he utilized his Nether Core, his Willpower, and his Stats, that small boost incestuously multiplied his power, perhaps reaching a full 30% increase in capability.

Also, Meldoon’s eyes brightened as he watched the barefooted man’s actions in response to the array activating. It seemed his assumption was true; although the man understood the mechanics of the array, he didn’t even bother to apply that knowledge. He simply walked forward, feeling the full force of the suppression that Meldoon unleashed.

At the moment, his physical body is slowly being crushed. Meldoon managed to smile vindictively. Every movement he makes will allow the array to absorb a little bit more of his energy. Soon, he- eh? Wait, why… why can he just…

Meldoon’s eyes bulged as the barefooted man continued to stroll forward. The suppression of the array, even with all of his Weight behind it, didn’t slow the man in the least. Even more horrifyingly, the man quickly reached the edge of the cage and continued to walk forward without stopping. The elastic black bindings of the array stretched and warped as the man continued forward. While the bindings should be as powerful as a refined metal alloy, the man’s Strength distorted the surroundings to the point that the Nether Array seemed to have been constructed out of chewing gum.

Still, with every step, the array rapidly absorbed more and more power. Meldoon’s Nether Core spun faster and faster. The suppression grew more powerful. And Meldoon could guarantee that the Nether Array was working. The ground within the array was slowly cracking from the force. So why was this man so unbelievably powerful…!

The man continued walking forward, stretching the Nether Array one meter beyond its original position. His steps were steady as he moved first two meters, then three meters forward, basically walking directly toward Meldoon. Rather than a dangerous Nether Array, it looked like Meldoon had thrown a pesky black net across the man that he now carried with him as he moved.

But at about five meters of walking, with a few meters still between the man and Meldoon, the man revealed a helpless expression and shook his head. Finally, his speed had slowed as the Nether Array accumulated more restrictive energy. “I guess it’s a little arrogant to think I can just force my way through a barrier like this. Nether is just a higher tiered energy…”

For a split second, a spark of triumph flashed in Meldoon’s heart. Then the man gestured lightly and Meldoon felt an unexpected tug upon the flows of energy he manipulated through the Nether Array. His spinning Nether Core was destabilized as it bounced off of something massive. He was taken by surprise by the sudden intrusion, but it wasn’t just that. Meldoon’s Weight was shoved to the side without any difficulty.

The Nether Array unraveled instantly. Once more, Meldoon could only stare blankly ahead. It felt like he had aged several years in the past several minutes. He couldn’t understand how the man had quickly severed the Nether Array. Why… why is this happening…?

I just… I wanted a future for my family… I thought...

After somehow unraveling the Nether Array around him, the man turned and did the same to the Nether Array binding Claudette Beigon and her subordinates. The man opened his mouth to speak, but Claudette moved more quickly. As soon as she was freed, she spread her arms and an enormous image manifested above her head.

In a vast frozen tundra, the hilt of a sword stuck out of the ground. The hilt was wrought in silver, with a pearl the size of a child’s fist forming the pommel. The air around that exposed hilt was such a low temperature that even if the wind would dare wander too close, it would be frozen immediately. As Meldoon looked up in fear, the pearl seemed to pulse and come alive.

Like a pupil-less eye of a monster, that pearl trembled and locked onto Meldoon and his crew. A wave of frost blasted outward from that image manifestation, instantly flash freezing the surrounding space.