Just as the Kori Federation had reached the apex of the Black Payirci and the Alliance’s forces had charged straight into the belly of the Arachne Queen, the Himmel Empire had also charged right into the apex of the Red Payirci. As they’d anticipated, the Red Payirci was ruled by the Lion Chimaera, the Noble Beast that was blessed with the affinity of fire. All throughout their ascent, the Himmel Empire’s raid force was stopped by flaming sentinels and endless magma pits. Hot steam forced their low body temperatures to overheat, and the infinite smoke had suffocated their entire respiratory systems.

Fortunately, for the Himmel Empire, they too had an expert in the Fire-Element. And he wasn’t just any expert, the man was the Spirit Saint whose name was synonymous with fire itself.

For most cultivators, entering this lava chambers was akin to suicide. Their faces would melt off once they came too close to the explosive area, and their bodies would sweat off its entire body weight if they were exposed for too long. However, for Saint Firebird, entering this Payirci was no different than coming back to his own personal abode. The Fire-Elements rejuvenated the slumbering Phoenix inside of him, allowing him to breeze through the toughest sections of the Payirci within seconds.

And eventually, just like their fellow comrades in the other Payircis, the Himmel Empire’s raid force came face-to-face with the boss of their dungeon.

The final chambers mirrored the exact environment that Akai would thrive in. Bubbling molten rock coloured in the flavour of the fiery pits of hell rose to the surface while sulfuric smoke blocked the vision of all who stepped forth. It was as if the Himmel Empire’s forces had been transported into the middle of a volcano’s crater rather than a central building of the Black Masks.

Though, it wasn’t all lava and fire in the room. Bits of obsidian rock that were resistant to the sweltering heat, could be seen floating at every odd corner. Like islands in the open ocean, the rocks floated without much hindrance, allowing some of the Black Masks’ to hold their ground while waiting for the Alliance’s eventual arrival. And to top it all off… A towering figure sat impatiently on the central obsidian rock, squirming about in discomfort as it moved its eyes between the Paradise Heart and the entrance to its abode.

When the monster first saw movement, its eyes glistened with hope and jubilation. It wanted to roar with all of its might and was barely able to hold its excitement. However, once the monster did a cursory scan of the group of intruders, all of its anticipations faded away as it shot the Himmel Empire raid force a look of pure disappointment.

Snorting, Akai scolded the group: “Rarara, you’re not who I’m looking for!”

“... Were you expecting someone else?” Saint Firebird replied while trying to hide his twitching face. Just like Saint Atossa, he’d expected that his opponent would be a Tier 9 Spirit Beast. However, the ruby red aura that pulsated out from Akai was nowhere less potent than his own Spirit Saint energy.

“Rarara! I have no business with you!” Disinterested, Akai bent his gigantic lion body down and rested on top of his pure obsidian island. “Rarara! Go back and tell Shin Iofiel to come! We have unsettled business!”

“Shin Iofiel?” The Himmel Empire’s Spirit Saint was perplexed that his disciple’s husband’s name came out and raised a single eyebrow. He thought about the connection between the red beast and Shin and was hard-pressed to find one. It took one of his subordinates to whisper into his ear that Saint Firebird finally understood what had gone wrong.

“Ah, that Gargantuan Treant huh? You want to face Shin because you want vengeance?”

“... I don’t care about that stupid tree!” Akai harrumphed and didn’t elaborate any further. “Rarara! Just get him over here! If you leave now, I can spare your lives.”

“Haha, that’s not an option...” Saint Firebird shook his head. Raising one hand up, the Spirit Saint summoned out an image of his famed Phoenix Spirit, sucking in all of the Fire-Elements within the sacred grounds. Unlike the others, Saint Firebird wasn’t all that good at physical enhancement to bypass the mana leakage problem. Therefore, he had come up with a new strategy to deal with the Paradise Heart that was sucking in all of the elemental energies.

Akai’s body jerked as he came to his feet. Saint Firebird was sucking in all of the Fire-Elements that he’d prepared to feed the Paradise Heart in the hopes of allowing the Allfather to open Heaven’s Gate. If Saint Firebird was to get his way, the Paradise Heart would be crippled, and the Allfather’s precious doorway to the Immortal Realm would crumble away like a house of cards.

“See, Shin is like my son-in-law. I can’t let you kill him on my watch, can I?” Saint Firebird raised his voice.

“Rarara… If you want to die, so be it!!!”

❖❖❖

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Tree of Darkness...

“Where the hell are we?!”

“Didn’t we pass this place before?”

“Don’t leave the group! Stick together or you’ll get lost!”

While the raid forces from the other teams had reached the final boss room and were ready to face their respective Noble Beast, the Lantis Republic’s congregation was unable to escape from the first floor that they’ve entered. It wasn’t that they were weaker than their counterparts, and neither were they inexperienced. It was just... this White Payirci that they were trying to conquer, it was just too…

Confusing!

Mirrored hallways with dizzying Space-Elemental traps were as commonplace as ants in the White Payirci, and it posed a considerable problem for the Lantis Republic’s raid force to gather their bearings. Since all the rooms looked the same, it was hard to tell if they were walking around in circles. Placing down markers was also proving useless. They could mark their paths with whatever means at their disposal, in the end, the Space-Elements in the Payirci would remake the rooms, reverting back into its original shape.

Breaking the mirrors was no solution either. Saint Shenshe learnt that the hard way. She attempted to utterly destroy the entire floor in the hopes of finding an exit. However, to her utter surprise… None of the mirrors were destructible. They were like illusions that could never be altered with the physical form. Each time an attack landed on a mirror, it would simply reform itself as if it had never been hit.

There were no Umbras. There were no Brahmins. There were no Spirit Beasts.

However, the Lantis Republic’s raid force had failed to even pass the first level!

“This fucking Mirror Deity!” Saint Shenshe cursed, her face turning as red as can be. “Call for reinforcements from the Alliance! Preferably get someone that’s adept at moving through confusing spaces!”

“Yes, ma’am!” One officer saluted the Spirit Saint and was just about to turn around before a thought shocked his consciousness into a standstill.

“What’s the matter?”

“I’m sorry but… Which way is the exit?”

“...”

Silence. The Lantis Republic’s raid force immediately turned silent. They weren’t even able to escape now and were trapped here like a mouse in a bowl.

“THIS FUCKING MIRROR DEITY!!!” Saint Shenshe continued to curse, this time with one octave higher.

At the same time, a white-haired boy was watching this entire scene unfold with bemused eyes. The mirror in front of him was flashing with pure bright colours, showing every detail of the Lantis Republic’s ascent in his Payirci.

“They should be trapped here for the foreseeable future,” Shiro deduced. “Fortunately, Shin Iofiel didn’t attempt to enter my Payirci. Hah, if he did, there’s no guessing how quickly he would see through my traps.”

As Shiro had anticipated, Shin was the wild card of the Alliance. His ability countered all of the Noble Beasts’ specialities, and he had experience fighting or observing all of them. Shiro would literally rather fight a Spirit Saint than to spend a minute playing the dance against Shin.

“Now, all we have to do is buy some time… The Allfather should be preparing to open Heaven’s Door anytime now.”