Realm of Myths and Legends

Hakros took out the item Izroth left with him and casually tossed it over.

"You haven't forgotten your other task, have you?" Izroth asked as he caught the item in his hand.

"Tch, don't worry, I didn't forget. As long as flower girl is in my field of vision, she won't be allowed to die." Hakros responded.

As the two spoke casually while surrounded by enemies, a look of horror appeared on the faces of the nearby ancient races the instant Hakros removed the item.

This thing--wasn't it the left eye that was kept by The Mandate of Scrutiny? How did these two get their hands on it?!

It was no wonder they received such abrupt orders to eliminate all intruders without question.

The Mandate of Scrutiny was tasked with watching over everything that went on in the Fourth Heart of the World and the left eye gifted to him by their master was what made that possible. The eye alone could be regarded as a high-level artifact.

But, even if someone defeated The Mandate of Scrutiny, they would not have the courage to lay their hands on it. That's because that eye belonged to the Pillar of the West, Ourami!

What brave soul dared touch it? Or, at the least, that should have been the case.

If these two were crazy enough to snatch the left eye of their master from The Mandate of Scrutiny, one could only question their actual strength as well as their sanity. That's why the ancient races were hesitant to engage Izroth and Hakros even though they had them surrounded.

Not only did one of them manage to run through Keros, someone from the Megada ancient race who were well known for their physical strength--they even took the left eye from The Mandate of Scrutiny. If they tried to fight such people, wouldn't they just be rushing to their deaths?

"Only the Keepers and Mandates of our master can fight them..." One of the ancient races muttered.

"...We can't retreat. If we do, the master will not tolerate it."

"It's just two of them, we can tire them out."

"Tire? Sir Keros was blown apart. No tiring, we walk away in one piece it is a victory."

"Attack or retreat?"

"Attack? No, retreat? Wait, we..."

"Which one? What are we doing?"

After Keros' defeat and the added pressure from being in front of the left eye, the ancient races quickly became disorganized and spiraled into a state of confusion.

There was no leader to take control of the situation as the other Keepers and Mandates were busy with their own battles.

When Izroth witnessed this sight, he inwardly shook his head.

Many of the ancient races had a basic level of intellect; however, it seemed that most of them were not blessed with a high level of intelligence like the Ateleigos Thanasia or the Anzeyta Maragos.

It also did not help that the pillars relied heavily on fear to keep the ancient races in line and viewed them as disposal goods. With this combination, it was no surprise that the ancient races could not think for themselves when faced with a major crisis. They only knew how to follow the orders given to them. But, when both choices in front of them would lead to the same outcome, which did they choose?

As the ancient races struggled over their next course of action, a breeze that carried with it a few scattered cherry blossoms appeared near Izroth and Hakros before turning into a spiral.

Swooosh!

A small gale of wind formed as the spiral of cherry blossoms dispersed in every direction, revealing the Thousand Blossom Maiden.

Sychia had just finished her battle against the Keeper of the Eighth Gate, Fidossa--a being that belonged to a humanoid serpent-type ancient race.

Their attacks were sharp and they possessed fangs that were capable of discharging deadly poison.

Although she did not agree with the way the pillars did things, she had no personal grudge against Fidossa. But, seeing poison brought back some bad memories for Sychia to when she was ambushed. And, in the end, those thoughts quickly left the Thousand Blossom Maiden mind as she showed no mercy to her enemy.

Once she wrapped things up on her end, Sychia was going to regroup with Hakros and begin to assist the other celestials in their fights at Izroth's request. But, when she arrived, she noticed that Hakros was not alone.

"You are here? Did you already succeed?" Sychia asked curiously.

According to the original plan, Izroth was supposed to be well within the palace. However, if he was here instead, did that mean he accomplished his goal? Wasn't this a bit too fast?

"No, there's been a change of plans. But, before we discuss that... It's somewhat crowded here. Clear them out." Izroth stated calmly as his gaze swept across the ancient races around them.

"Very well," Sychia replied without hesitation.

"These guys are a bit boring, but... Whatever. I guess I can count it as a warm-up. After all, just this much alone--I'm still not satisfied." Hakros grinned.

The following moment, Sychia and Hakros left to carry out Izroth's request as they started to mow down the ancient races and break the encirclement.

As Hakros and Sychia took care of that problem, Izroth looked down at the small orb in the palm of his hand.

Since the left eye was still registered as "alive" by the system, Izroth could not store it in his inventory, which is why he handed it over to Hakros for safekeeping. After all, he could not risk being discovered by Ourami as he snuck into the palace.

But, now that the Pillar of the East arrived, Izroth tossed aside his initial thoughts.

'Hopefully, this works to grab his attention.'

Izroth squeezed the eye in the palm of his hand, immediately gaining the attention of the individual behind it.

He then lifted his hand to reveal a ring that emitted a vibrant aura of life. This ring was the Breath of Gaea that he received from the system upon entering the Secret Realm.

At the request of Astratis, Izroth removed the ring before they departed from the Hidden Celestial Abode.

Astratis mentioned that the aura of life the ring exuded would interfere with Isylo's ability, which kept them away from the prying eyes of others. Therefore, Izroth had kept the ring in his inventory. That is, until now.

Izroth placed this ring into the clear gaze of the eye.

'This ring--are you familiar with it? Let's find out.'

When Izroth revealed the ring to the eye, it locked its gaze onto the item. But, after a couple of seconds passed, the presence from the eye vanished once more.

5 seconds...

10 seconds...

15 seconds...

As time went by, Izroth tried to activate the eye's watchful gaze again. However, after he showed the ring, there was no further response.

'Did it fail?'

Izroth slightly furrowed his brows. Could it be that he was mistaken?

'It seems I will have to go with plan B-'

Out of nowhere, Izroth's Soul Sense sounded off numerous alarms as he felt multiple power gazes lock onto him simultaneously!

'Oh? It looks I caught his attention, after all. Perhaps a little too well.'

At the same time, all throughout the battlefield, a bizarre scene unfolded that left both sides in a brief state of confusion.

Without warning, the Keepers and Mandates who were busy facing the celestials had abruptly pulled out of their respective battles.

"Trying to escape?!" Kyamakri shouted as she chased after her opponent with a spear in hand.

She did not know what they were up to, but had no plans to sit around and wait to find out!

A similar situation was unfolding with the other celestials as well, who followed in pursuit of their fleeing opponents.

At first, they were concerned that Astratis' presence had been discovered and they were making a retreat back to the palace. However, the Keepers and Mandates did not appear to be heading to the palace. Rather, they seemed to be making their way towards a specific location on the battlefield.

But, just what or who could seize their attention to this extent while they were in the middle of an intense battle?

In the blink of an eye, the area around Izroth, which had been recently cleared out by Hakros and Sychia, was once again occupied.

In a split moment, their position had become the center focus of the entire battlefield as the Mandates, Keepers, and Celestials all arrived.

"It's him?" Kyamakri was taken aback when she saw that the enemies appeared to be drawn by Izroth.

Even if he was someone skilled, was this much necessary for one person?

"Hm? Wait, that thing in his hand... And that ring... That's...!" Kyamakri's eyes widened in shock as she finally understood what was going on. And, she was not alone.

The other celestials were also dumbfounded by Izroth's actions.

Who did not know of the bad blood that existed between the pillars and the one called Gaea?! They did not mix like oil and water. Hatred was too light of a word to describe it.

If Izroth was in possession of this ring and still dared to step into the pillar's territory--it was no wonder every Mandate and Keeper was drawn to him!