Realm of Myths and Legends

Swoosh!

With one graceful motion, the fearsome spear swept out above the group of celestials and scattered the black flames. In addition, the instant this person appeared, the oppressive force that encompassed the group dispersed.

Not long after, the rain of black flames abruptly stopped.

When Methysria, Kyamakri, and the other celestials present saw the person who emerged before them, they were overcome with a sudden sense of relief.

"It seems I made it just in time. It took longer than I anticipated dealing with that snake in its den." A steady and charming voice sounded from the group's savior.

The voice belonged to a woman who seemed to be somewhere in her twenties with long scarlet hair that was neatly tied up and a pair of piercing cerulean eyes.

She wore a set of red and black combat robes. In her hand was a long black spear with markings carved into the side. And, with one glance alone, one could feel the mighty aura that the spear released, which did not lose to Astratis' Lightning Ruler's Gauntlet.

Bang! Rmmmble!

When the woman casually placed the bottom end of the spear on the ground next to her, the surrounding earth trembled and cracked from its weight. That's because this particular spear was crafted out of material many times heavier and more durable than something like steel.

"Master...!" Kyamakri uttered as her eyes lit up.

Seeing the appearance of that spear, Kyamakri did not even have to look at the person to know their identity. After all, the owner of that spear was the one who taught her how to wield one!

"All of you held on well. You can leave the rest to us." The woman said solemnly as she turned her gaze to the distance.

Name: Daughter of the Lawful Order, Nomii(???)

Level: 0

The Daughter of the Lawful Order, Nomii, was one of Astratis' siblings. She was tasked with confronting the Pillar of the North, Heaven's Mind, Myania and departed from the Hidden Celestial Abode long before Izroth and the other celestials. This was due to the Pillar of the North's personality.

Unlike the other celestials who relied heavily on their strength alone, Myania was highly proficient in setting traps for her enemies to walk right into. Therefore, it could be said that trying to confront her head-on was several times more difficult than any of the other three pillars.

Thus, Nomii secretly infiltrated Myania's territory long ahead of time and slowly disabled the traps. Then, the day finally came when their plans to topple the pillars were set in motion and her reinforcements arrived.

In the end, Myania was caught off guard by her traps being disabled and the sudden ambush of celestials. Nevertheless, a pillar was still a pillar.

But, even though Myania put up a good fight, the fact that Nomii was present in the Fourth Heart of the World meant that she had succeeded in her task.

Kyamakri contained her emotions since they were on a battlefield; however, she was happy that her master returned alive. It was not that she doubted her skills, but confronting a pillar was a life-or-death mission.

All of a sudden, Kyamakri's eyes widened in shock as she exclaimed, "Master, your arm...!"

"Hm? Ah, that-" Nomii looked down at the empty sleeve of her combat robe where her left arm should have been.

She then looked back at Kyamakri and replied with a  smile that contained no traces of regret, "It was a small price to pay."

Nomii managed to vanquish Myania, but not before the pillar claimed one of her arms in the process. However, in Nomii's eyes, such a price was cheap compared to the freedom of the celestials.

"All of you, fall back. This is an order." Nomii stated as her expression turned serious.

The next moment, Nomii's silhouette flickered before she vanished into thin air.

A look of sadness flashed through Kyamakri's eyes as her master left.

Methysria placed her hand on Kyamakri's shoulder and held up her gourd.

"What do you say we share one when this mess is all over?" Methysria said.

"...Yes, I'd like that," Kyamakri responded with a weak smile.

Methysria made a small yet reassuring gesture before she faced the group of celestials and declared, "You heard her! We're falling back! Those of you who can move properly, assist those who have trouble moving or have lost consciousness!"

...

'Just what happened here?'

After clearing out the treasure room, Izroth and Hakros returned outside of the palace.

However, the sight that awaited them was almost as though they were in a completely different place from the Fourth Heart of the World.

The atmosphere in the Fourth Heart of the World was already gloomy and eerie, but the land now reminded Izroth of his time in the Shadahi Realm—a land of death where most living beings simply could not survive.

A large part of Ourami's palace had crumbled and the battlefield was now a barren land that had been razed to the ground.

The majority of the natural ethos in the atmosphere that Izroth could previously feel had disappeared.

Izroth wanted to check on the area with his Energy Vision Sense; however, when she attempted to use it, he felt as if he had been abruptly thrown into the center of a boundless ocean.

There were only a few times something like this happened. Though the most common reason was that something or someone nearby was emitting such an abnormal amount of energy that his Energy Vision Sense became overwhelmed.

But, even without his Energy Vision Sense, using his enhanced perception Izroth was able to peer into the distance where Astratis and Tal'Nis should have been fighting Ourami.

While doing so, Izroth's gaze landed on an unknown individual—an old man with sunken eyes.

All of a sudden, that old man glanced over as if he could see Izroth looking at him and met his gaze.

At that moment, Izroth underwent a similar experience as when he met the gaze of that unknown massive creature back at the Mountain of the Blighted. It was a casual gaze that made one want to willingly submit to an overwhelming display of power.

"It would seem that a somewhat troublesome one has appeared this time," Izroth said calmly.

"So you can feel it too, huh? Even from here, that guy is making the blood that runs through my veins boil..!" Hakros commented.

The blood of the Ancient Behemoth Okath was reacting strongly to Kyvernos' presence. It was to the point that even though Hakros was not in a direct confrontation with him, the behemoth's blood still felt the need to increase his strength.

From this reaction alone, Hakros knew that whoever that person was, even someone like Ourami could not compare to them.

"We'll part ways here for now. Find Sychia and then meet up with me." Izroth stated.

Izroth had not forgotten about the SS-ranked quest Enemies In All Directions that required him to aid the Thousand Blossom Maiden in her safe arrival outside the Secret Realm.

Since most of the strong ancient races under Ourami had been defeated and the pillar himself was under siege by two powerful individuals, Izroth was not too worried about Sychia's safety. After all, she was more than capable of taking care of herself under such conditions.

However, the situation had changed. Now, there was an unknown foe of extraordinary power present on the battlefield. Even if she were not directly a part of the fight, there was no guarantee she would not be caught in the crossfire.

This issue was even more concerning after Izroth witnessed the dramatic changes to the environment of the Fourth Heart of the World.

"Tch, and I was just starting to get excited. Fine, since our earlier promise is still going on, I guess I'll have to leave the fun part to you for a bit. Don't go taking it all for yourself!" Hakros shouted with a grin.

The behemoth then leaped a great distance away from Izroth as he began his search for Sychia.

'The fragment of Tal'Nis will not last much longer. Many of my skills are still on cooldown. And, my essence has yet to recover to even a tenth of its total value. Regardless...'

Izroth unsheathed his Sword of the Storm and removed the Scorched Inferno Fang from his inventory.

'Has there ever been a challenge that, I, Izroth, have ever run away from?'

During his time in the Seven Realms, Izroth faced numerous challenges that, at the time, seemed impossible to overcome. But, never once had he run away with his tail tucked between his legs.

While there was no shame in admitting one's weakness and working to overcome it, Izroth understood that this was not the current case.

'The system is fair. Even if a head-on confrontation is not possible, there has to be a way to clear the quest. If I can find the conditions that need to be met, then...'

Swoosh!

Izroth sprinted at great speeds towards the center of the battlefield.

'Clearing this quest is not impossible.'