For a full day, Adam moved across the Chaos Domain, frankly speaking, somewhat blindly. He had next to no intel, and his only hope was someone he met a few missions ago. Still, lance in hand, the man pushed on.

The Voyagers and Supplicants have fully invaded the Chaos Domain. Every second, a billion Supplicants and nearly a million Voyagers plowed through all resistance. It was as if the Chaos Domain itself realized it was being invaded, countless more Chaos Descendants were forged and thrown into battle with an alarming rate, but even that was nullified when one of the many Protector legions was directed on the points of heaviest resistance.

In just a day, Adam went through over twenty thousand Voyagers and Supplicants. For most, he observed from a distance. As soon as he confirmed it wasn’t Jean, he left. For others, he had to get closer and risk discovery, and he was indeed discovered for a few times. Thankfully, all the Protector forces still paled compared to the sheer size of the Chaos Domain, and that allowed Adam to make countless narrow escapes.

Perhaps it was the will of celestial beings beyond the comprehension of even the Protectors. Perhaps it was sheer dumb luck. Perhaps it was due to a thousand other reasons. But in the end, Adam found who he was looking for.

Adam arrived when Jean handled the poor Necromancer, but he hid for a while. As someone who could elude the eyes of the entire Protector prosecution, his skills of disguise was admirable, and neither Jean’s observers nor her senses noticed him.

Finally, he gave up the cover and walked out. he grinned slightly when Jean didn't attack him on site.

Ever since a while ago, Adam knew Jean had ambition. Good. It was those who settled with being the dogs of the Protectors that he was concerned of.

“Jean, listen to me…” Adam started, but before he could continue, a familiar voice appeared.

“Seal!”

“Damn it!” Adam swore as another layer of seals covered his entire body. Edward was the opposite from an evenly distributed Voyager. He had a lot of weaknesses, but his spells were top notch. He was at least Tier 3 by sheer spells alone.

Jean frowned. There was never any formal arrangement, but the common agreement was that every Voyager was assigned to a different area. You take care of your area and I take care of mine. Jean’s armies of Wardens and Purifiers were enough to tell any Voyager this region was taken. But now, other Voyagers were trespassing into her area and about to claim her kill.

Three Voyagers emerged from the shadows. Edward. That was expected. But there were two other Voyagers that Adam didn't recognize.

Edward stared at Adam. A victorious grin on his face.

“Decimate…”

“Hold on a second.”

Suddenly, Jean raised her hands in objection. The next second, Edward felt a surge of power surrounding Adam, extinguishing the spell he just deployed. He snapped around to Jean.

“What is the meaning of this? You dare rebel against the Protectors?”

Wow. Such a huge accusation before even an accusation. If that accusation managed to land, Jean would be really screwed. Edward was either arrogant or vicious or both.

Jean quickly fought back.

“You have overstepped. This is my kill.”

The prize on Adam’s head was too much to lose. No one would give up the chance of becoming a Protector so easily.

Edward frowned.

“I don’t think he has your name written on his forehead.”

“But this is my territory.”

“I don’t see a sign anywhere.”

“Might I make a proposal?” One of the two Voyagers behind Edward suddenly spoke up. “My name is Cypher. I tracked Adam here, and I was the one who informed Edward and White-out of Adam’s location.”

White-out was the third Voyager in the group. After losing Adam due to his carelessness, Edward went after him like crazy, but he couldn’t find him. That was when Cypher contacted him.

Unlike Edward, Cypher wasn’t a good combatant, but he was a brilliant tracker, and after a brief encounter, he was able to tail Adam without him knowing it. Cypher knew if he tried to take Adam down himself, Adam might escape or even fight back and take him out, so he contacted Edward. Cypher has been on a mission together with Edward and knew of his prowess.

The deal was that for the moment, Edward would claim the kill, and afterward, he would compensate Cypher for his contributions. If he backed out later, Cypher would go to the Protectors and expose Edward’s fraud.

To make sure Edward wouldn’t suddenly turn on him, Cypher also contacted White-out, another powerful Voyager, to join the group.

“What do you say we make a deal?” Cypher proposed. He was fine with Edward giving out another piece of compensation to settle this matter quickly and safely.

As the Voyagers were talking, Adam suddenly realized he could move again. Jean’s Power of Death deflected any energy input Edward put into the seals, and Adam’s power was able to break through the barrier.

That still wasn’t enough to kill all four Voyagers and save the day, but it was sufficient to give him the chance to say a few words.

Learning from his past failures, he no longer started with ‘listen to me!’. This time, he went straight to the point.

“The Aggressors are a a lie!”

The field was all of a sudden, dead silent.

Edward lowered his head and sighed.

White-out, who has been standing with his mask shut, his arms folded, and his swaggers up, stood up straight.

Cypher bit his lips and made a short statement that explained the entire situation.

“Damn it.”

The next second, all hell went loose.

“Seal!” “Decimate!” “Incinerate!” “Agony!”

Jean held her hand out and summoned her Soulbringer. A single swipe of the halberd started a soul extraction process. The targets: Cypher, Edward, and White-Out.

Cypher switched all his powers to his armors and ran away as quickly as possible. Twenty trinkets were summoned into his grasp and then immediately snapped. Seven layers of shields, five tiers of acceleration spells, and eight emergency teleportation protocols were applied onto himself.

He knew clearly that if he stayed, he would die.

White-Out’s mask popped up, and his eyes turned glaring white.

With just a sentence, the four Voyagers were turned against each other.

The reasoning was simple. Adam knew something. That got him persecuted and would probably get him killed. This was the same reason Edward didn't want to listen to a word from him, but now, his information was out in the open. The Aggressors are a joke. What could that even mean? No matter. The important thing was, if the Protectors knew these four Voyagers knew this information, they would stop at nothing to silence them.

The only way for them to live was if the Protectors didn't know about this...if no one was alive to tell them. Of course, if all four Voyagers could know for sure each other wouldn’t expose them or try to blackmail them, then great! There would be no need for blood and violence. But the trust the Voyagers could place in each other...

So, say goodbye to the time of negotiation and hello to the time of backstabbing.

All around the battlefield, Jean’s Wardens and Purifiers made a move on all the Voyagers. Cypher, the escapee, was the first to be targeted. Rune cannons and runed missiles rained down on him. A thousand explosions tore the sky, all to kill a single being, and as of the moment, they remained unsuccessful in that job.

Countless Swordguards and Warden Striders took aim at Cypher and opened fire.

Cypher moved like crazy. He was the weakest one here. By the time the other three tried to silence the witnesses, he was already on the way out. The Wardens and Purifiers didn't really pose a threat to him by themselves, but they were hardly alone.

The Decimate spell Edward put out hit Cypher like a truck. Well, at least like a truck would hit a normal human being. It not only tried to punch a hole in the Voyager’s armor and exhausted half of its energy, but it also slowed him down by a fraction of a second.

That was enough delay for all the bombardment to rain down on him.

Even a steel wall would’ve collapsed in that situation. Cypher’s Voyager armor kept him alive, but its energy was quickly depleted. The Voyager moved to counter it. After all, he has still gone past three missions. It would take much more than a few minions to take him out.

Except he couldn’t counter it. He couldn’t even lift a finger on his body...not when his soul was getting dragged out of his body.

Even at that point, Cypher resisted. It would take a while for Jean to completely strip his essence out, but if there was one thing to remember, it was that one should never, ever fight a war of attrition in the spirit realms when your body is getting blown to bits.

As Cypher fought back against Jean for the control of his soul, the Wardens and Purifiers finally exhausted the energy in his armor and ravaged through his body.

And so Cypher died just like that. He died with his mind occupied and his body evaporated. Then again, no one really cared about him. All they devoted to his end was a single spell, some Power of Death, and a few Wardens and Purifiers.

When Cypher was busy getting blown to bits, the other three Voyagers were already trying to do the same thing to each other.

The soul extraction failed to do much work. Then again, the same could be said for Edward’s spells. Suddenly, Jean and Edward sensed a wave of danger coming off of White-Out. Both saw the light in his eyes, and immediately, both moved to reinforce their souls. Jean circled herself with the Power of Death, and Edward dried his mouth giving himself psychic protection spells.

And then, still with glaring white eyes, White-Out waved a giant rifle into his hands, took aim at Edward, and pulled the trigger.

“What the fuck…” Edward swore. What type of self-respecting Voyager would face an enemy, use a psychic power, and then turn and pull out a fucking rifle? Stick to your goddamn trade!

But it was too late. Adam was right when he said Edward was so focused on a single major that he ignored everything else. His protection spells were solely on his soul. After all, just look at his attacker’s name! White-Out! White-Out! He obviously had some sort of power that could erase his opponents from existence, right? How was he supposed to know he would pull out a gun? If you were a firearm major, call yourself “Arsenal” or something! Have some integrity for god’s sake!

As a result, when a specialized bullet with a CAS of 1,000 left the gun barrel and shot Edward in the face, he only had his Voyager set to protect him, and that was far from enough.

The Voyager who could disable Adam with a single word collapsed on the ground, dead.

White-Out snapped around and turned to Jean. He was fast. Really fast. He prioritized Edward because he knew his trick was a one-time thing. As long as Edward realized it, he would be fully capable of protecting himself. As for the female Voyager, judging by her army, she must be a summoner. Against assassins like him at this close, she was as good as dead.

And with her gone, White-Out would not only be safe from being silenced. He could also claim Adam’s kill for himself. Two birds, one stone.

But when a second round of ammo cruised toward Jean, it crashed into an invisible shield and disappeared into oblivion. Unlike Edward’s protection spell, the Power of Death blocked curses and bullets alike.

Jean turned her halberd, and a swarm of souls came crashing down on White-Out. The assassin pulled out his Voyager Blade and started backing off. That was the code of assassins. Once you lose the advantage, you fall back, regroup, and wait for another chance. Getting slain on the spot would help nobody.

As he backed off, White-Out reached into his watch and tossed out several grenades onto the ground. Every single one of them exploded into a wave of fire and fury. Hellfire Traps. Jean even had a few of them in her watch that she purchased when she first entered the City of the Voyagers that she never got to use. These grenades could scorch flesh and souls alike. They were excellent against the numerous yet individually vulnerable wraiths.

But that was just a distraction. After she tried to extract White-Out’s soul and failed, Jean summoned her Wardens and Purifiers to hold the Voyager in place while preparing another trick of her own.

With her Voyager Armor and Voyager Blade, White-Out chopped her way across the sea of Jean’s minions. Even the best Swordguards couldn’t last a round before him. Hundreds fell at his feet, but more piled on.

Suddenly, White-Out felt a surge of fear exploding from the bottom of his heart. It was as if every single move from him would result in a sudden and painful death. He forced his body to go back into motion, but with that instant of delay, countless strikes have landed on his armor. For a moment, he was completely occupied with keeping himself alive.

“Psychic blade!”

White-Out froze. An invisible strike fully composed of the Power of Death pierced his body. Psychic blades could kill Aggressors, avatars, sure, but still Aggressors. The assassin-major Voyager was completely caught by surprise. The Power of Death quickly spread across his body and ended his life.

At the end of the day, two Tier 3 and one Tier 2 Voyagers laid dead. Jean collected the three Voyager sets and turned to Adam. The former Voyager was freed from his restraints, but all the wounds he has accumulated through the days made him too weak to fight.

Jean waved her halberd Soulbringer back into oblivion and tilted her head. “You said the Aggressors are a lie? Explain.”