Hero of Darkness

A purple mist-like aura spread across a valley that was filled with tried woods and barren ground. Suddenly, a sound of footsteps was heard and at the exit of these dilapidated treelines… a figure of a man in a black and gray longcoat was finally revealed. 

Kahn exited the dense fog and finally saw what was ahead of him. 

"What the hell… this is completely opposite of what's outside." he said. 

Because in front of Kahn… was a completely different environment compared to the entry point from where he entered inside the second barrier. 

A sky filled with dark clouds, lightning striking down from above from time to time. A thoroughly destroyed and charred ground with nothing but black soil on its surface appeared in front of Kahn. 

From where he stood, he could already see over a dozen enormous typhoons a few kilometers away. And it wasn't just one but all four directions. 

In many locations, ground full of hot lava could be seen while in some places, a stream of hot water flowed across the ground. 

Kahn then noticed that no matter where he looked, he couldn't find any living creature or green plant life as if this place was completely void of life itself. 

"Everyone, out." spoke Kahn. 

Soon, all the generals jumped out of his shadow and stood around him. 

"Oliver and Blackwall. Search the terrain. 

Ronin and Ceril, you two look for any anomalies or hidden places around this region using your skill. 

Armin, Jugram and Omega, with me." said Kahn. 

"All of you should stay within a 100 kilometers radius of my location. And inform me as soon as you notice or see anything worth mentioning." he relayed his commands to the subordinates. 

Blackwall had the Earth Sense skill which allowed him to inspect everything on the ground within and 10 kilometers radius using this skill he got from the Mountain Titan. 

Ronin had the Spiritual Sense skill that helped him sense all living creatures within 5 kilometers radius. 

Ceril could feel the mana and world energy most promptly so he'd be the first to notice any magic formations or barriers that were either a trap or tried to hide anything. 

Oliver, who could use the Horus Eye skill to see even a small ant from 20 kilometers away, had the best advantage from the sky to gather intel about this region. 

Meanwhile, Jugram and Armin were already a great combination together in a fight against strong enemies. 

So Kahn needed their protection in case they encountered any strong being. 

Because so far, only Kahn and Omega, the first two members of the pack were actually the ones who remained the weakest compared to everyone else. 

As the other subordinates spread in different directions, Kahn then headed towards the inner region using quicksilver skill, his fastest movement technique. 

Every time he moved, he'd appear 200 meters away the next second. Just 5 steps were enough for him to cross a kilometer distance. 

But compared to Kahn, even Omega was faster and Jugram and Armin only needed to leap a bit higher and they'd land at least 300 meters because of their stats and ranks. 

A couple of hours passed and the generals had traveled more than 200 hundred kilometers in different directions. But there was still nothing else than the destroyed and barren lands that felt like an anomaly of nature given the situation of the surroundings. 

Finally, a message from Ceril arrived. 

[Master… I have noticed something odd in this place.] he reported. 

"What is it?" asked Kahn. 

[Try opening a dimensional crack.] said Ceril. 

"Huh?..." 

Kahn then used and gathered the space force in his body at the edges of the greatsword. 

He had come prepared this time. In the last 15 days, the doppelgangers had amassed and absorbed a lot of space force so currently, Kahn was at his maximum capacity in terms of reserves. 

Swing! 

He swung his weapon vertically. 

Crack! 

A void crack opened right in front of him. 

But instead of spreading wider, the crack squinted and then ceased to exist the very next second. 

"What the… why isn't it opening?" asked Kahn to himself. 

[So it's just as I suspected… the Space has been sealed inside this entire region. 

Master, I don't think you'll be able to use any of your Dimensional Law skills.] suddenly, Ceril informed Kahn. 

"What do you mean? To seal space? That's not something anyone can easily do." spoke Kahn with a baffled expression. 

This was the first time he heard about someone being able to seal the space. 

[I think it's this entire dome that's doing it. But to make such a magnificent and vast barrier… 

I don't think even a 6th stage saint rank magician can do that. 

And this isn't even a magic formation. So we're definitely dealing with something very powerful.] replied Ceril. 

"I see. Well, let's keep looking. We can make do even without my dimensional law skills." he said and carried on his travels while crossing this chaotic region as if going on a journey to middle earth and destroy the ring. 

----------------

ONE DAY LATER 

Even someone like Kahn had been exhausted because even now, they hadn't found anything as if they were inside some loop where you couldn't exit a pathway under some sort of magic. 

But this wasn't the case here. This entire region in itself was more than a thousand kilometers vast. And even now, there seemed to be no end. 

The distance between Kahn and the four generals who spread in different directions had increased to the point they had to use the communication artifacts after they separated for a few hundred kilometers. 

BOOM!! 

BOOM! 

Two sonic booms were heard and finally, Oliver arrived at Kahn's location. 

His 3 meter tall frame with two brown wings landed in front of Kahn. 

"Master. We need to gather everyone. 

I found the end. And there was another door just like the one we entered from. 

But we will need everyone to gather first." informed Oliver. 

"Finally!" exclaimed Kahn as he let out a sigh of relief. 

"But why would we need everyone?" asked Kahn in a curious tone. 

Oliver then spoke with a somber expression on his face as he revealed why they needed to gather the whole squad… 

"Because just like before… there's another Guardian."