Summoning the Holy Sword

Chapter 1162: Door of the Fantasy World

"What a huge door."

Looking at the door ahead, Mini Bubble Gum couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. At a glance, they were surrounded by pure, white walls like a barrier erected between heaven and earth. What caught their attention was the enormous door ahead. It was tens of meters tall, standing upright on a spacious platform connected to the pitch-black steel bridge. The defenses here were also seemingly the strongest. Not only were there four to five watchtowers, but there were also about 100 armored guards. It could be seen just how important this door was to them. At that moment, the door was closed and sealed entirely. But instead of treating it as a door, it was more like a carved mural that resembled one. If it weren't for the tight security, Rhode wouldn't have believed that he had come to the right place.

"What should we do next, Rhode?"

Gazing at the heavily-guarded platform, Canary asked softly. In fact, with their strength, it wouldn't pose an issue for them to eliminate everyone here. As long as Canary swung her arm and splashed the lava on them, the people on the platform would be scrambling for their lives. But this way, their position would be revealed immediately. This wasn't the biggest problem. Instead, Rhode didn't know how to activate and open the tightly-sealed door. But fortunately, he had some tricks up his sleeve.

"Wait."

Upon hearing Canary's question, Rhode gestured with his hand. Then, he contacted Marybelle spiritually, at the same time transmitting the image over.

"Marybelle, are you able to open this door?"

"Let's see… Yes, Your Majesty. That is indeed the entrance to the Seven Fantasy Boundaries. As long as we open it, we can head to the Seven Fantasy Boundaries. You don't need to worry about the door as deity wardens can definitely open it."

"Great."

After hearing Marybelle's answer, Rhode finally nodded in assurance. Then, he asked.

"By the way, how's your group doing?"

"No issues at the moment, but we didn't find anything useful as well… We're moving ahead right now. Those people seem to also be guarding something. I suppose we can reach the destination without wasting too much time."

"Good, keep in contact. Inform me immediately if you discover anything and head back at our starting point."

"Okay, Your Majesty."

Upon receiving her affirmation, Rhode came up with an idea. He lifted his head, gazed at the two young ladies, and said, "We need to head back and meet up with the others before making a decision."

"Alright, Rhode."

"Okay, Leader."

It was obviously pretty uneventful for Mini Bubble Gum since they sneaked in successfully and now, had to head back without taking out anyone. However, Canary didn't show any signs of discontentment. She nodded quickly upon hearing Rhode's command and extended her arm. Shortly after, the lava surged once again and brought them back where they came from. But this time…

"Ooo———!!"

Suddenly, an emergency siren blared, stunning the trio. Canary stopped her hand movement abruptly and proceeded to conceal their presence in the lava. Mini Bubble Gum and Rhode prepared themselves for battle as they stared at the surroundings. No one knew why the siren sounded all of a sudden.

Could it be that something happened to Marybelle and the rest? Or perhaps the follow-up forces got into a battle with someone else?

At this thought, Rhode pulled himself together and activated the spiritual communication quickly. But what surprised him was that Marybelle and the other group was completely fine. In that case, what exactly was that siren about…?

Shortly after, Rhode received his answer.

As soon as the ear-piercing siren sounded, the patrolling guards lined up by both sides of the path. After a few moments, the siren stopped. Rhode witnessed three figures being escorted as they sauntered ahead. Rhode made a hand gesture and upon seeing it, the dazzling rune in Mini Bubble Gum's hands diminished its radiance and a thin layer of mist erupted from it, shrouding the trio entirely in a faint red hue.

At that moment, Rhode got a clear view of the three mysterious figures.

Unlike the heavily-armored soldiers, the three figures could be said to be constructed by dark, shadowy flames. Be it their facial features, hairs, or bodies, they looked like human-shaped beings coalesced from black flames. However, Rhode sharply detected the aura of Chaos exuding from those strange 'people'. But for some unknown reason, Rhode felt like he had seen them before somewhere.

He didn't see them in Marybelle's memories, but rather from an even earlier period…

"Ooo… Ooo…!"

Shortly after, the emergency siren sounded yet again. Rhode witnessed the red warning lights by the edge of the platform flashing rapidly. Shortly after, the three people strolled toward the center of the platform and came to a halt in front of the black stone column. Then, they raised their arms in unison.

"…!"

Along with this action, a deep, unknown rumble erupted. The ground shook and lava spilled over. It sounded like the bellow of a certain beast, and even Canary and Mini Bubble Gum couldn't help but cover their ears due to this resounding roar. At that moment, Canary frowned.

"Rhode, that thing is moving!"

Without the need of Canary's warning, Rhode had witnessed it already. The huge mass of shadows lurking at the bottom of the lava that puzzled Canary earlier began to move. It constantly extended to both sides like a cell dividing into two. Looking at this scene, Mini Bubble Gum and Canary tensed up instantly. They couldn't care less about what was happening on the platform anymore. They stared at the constantly-squirming shadow and shortly after, the massive shadow passed directly under them as though it didn't detect their presence. The trio followed its movement and stared blankly after taking a closer look at the scene.

The swirling and flowing lava erupted all of a sudden. Two gigantic tentacles like burned skewers burst out from the lava lake, discharging a putrid smell. The layers of rotten flesh on them had revolting, grain-sized spores that made one's hair stand on end. Rhode couldn't look straight at them, not to mention Mini Bubble Gum and Canary.

However, the pair of tentacles apparently had no regard for others. It wriggled and wrapped around the door ahead. Shortly after, the pure, white walls darkened as though they were injected with pitch-black ink. Not only that, but the high temperature of the scorching lava was also seemingly overwhelmed.

"This is the power of Chaos…"

Rhode gnashed his teeth. He sensed the power of Chaos in the two gigantic tentacles permeating the pure, white door. The walls of the door were completely smeared in black. As Chaos invaded, the surroundings became unsettled. The scorching lava plummeted in temperature. The boundary between reality and illusion became indistinct. The door that resembled a carved mural shuddered and opened gradually to the sides with several golden rays escaping the gap. Looking at this scene, the soldiers raised their arms, bursting out in loud cheers. Amongst the cheers, the three people standing beside the black stone column stepped forward in large strides. Then, they vanished into the door that was forcefully opened. The door closed behind them and the pair of revolting tentacles that were wrapped around the door descended gradually, returning into the depth of the lava. As the tentacles withdrew into the lava, the black, contaminated areas on the white walls faded away. After a few moments, everything restored to its original state.

"Let's go!"

At that moment, Rhode's expression was no longer grim, but ashen instead. He swept a glance at the seemingly harmless shadow that shrunk back and lowered his voice to give a command. On the other hand, Mini Bubble Gum seemed to be terrified by the two tentacles. She simply nodded and didn't say anything. Meanwhile, Canary maintained her silence as she controlled the lava for their retreat.

Shortly after, the trio returned quietly to where they came from. Marybelle and the rest were already there, waiting for Rhode's command. They also realized the happenings, but didn't figure out the exact situation. Upon seeing the trio's arrival, they crowded over swiftly.

"Your Majesty Rhode, what happened?"

"We'll talk about that later."

Facing Lydia's doubt, Rhode shook his head and said. Then, he turned to Marybelle and Bubble No. 2.

"Update me on your findings."

"Okay."

Even though it was somewhat strange that Rhode didn't clarify the situation immediately, Marybelle nodded and described what she saw. What concerned Rhode was that the happenings Marybelle described were anything but reassuring. Marybelle's group headed north and arrived at the front of an enormous cave that was as huge as a plaza. But that wasn't the main point. Instead, they witnessed hundreds of what seemed to be egg-like, transparent, crystal vessels with several people trapped within! Even though their identities were still unknown, they resembled the primitive men they met earlier. If Marybelle guessed it correctly, the people imprisoned inside the crystal tanks were natives of this world.

"Not only that, but they also used a special device to inject the power of Chaos into those people. I think they are going to turn into Chaos's slaves soon!"

"… Can we find out where the source of power is?"

"Even though I'm not certain, we sensed that the power of Chaos was being abstracted from the lava by a mysterious black rope. As for where it leads to, I'm not too sure."

Although Marybelle wasn't certain, Rhode roughly understood the situation now. He exchanged looks with Canary and Mini Bubble Gum, before turning to the group of four.

"Alright, No. 2, how's the situation at your side?"

"Nothing much happened. Earlier on, some people arrived to investigate the situation but didn't enter the cordon, so I let them off. But judging from their behavior, they seem to have decided to gather manpower for patrolling or something afterwards. But it is a pity that I can't understand their language, so I don't know what they meant."

Bubble No. 2 said, spreading her arms apart and displaying a helpless look. However, Rhode wasn't too mindful and nodded in response. It seemed like his guesses were right. Those guys seemed determined to expand this place. This wasn't related to Rhode at all since they weren't in the Dragon Soul Continent, so it was up to them whether they lived or not. But the problem was that the situation now didn't seem to be as simple as he thought.

"The situation on our side is more complicated…"

Rhode said and quickly narrated to everyone what happened earlier. After hearing his descriptions, Marybelle, Erin, and the others turned pale. They knew exactly what he meant. The Seven Fantasy Boundaries was a product of Order and yet, not only did that creature defy the power of Order, but it also injected its power of Chaos into the door and forcefully opened it. It was absolutely uncommon to witness such a creature.

"Have you figured out its true identity, Your Majesty?"

"No, but I'm sure that it is so massive in size that it can penetrate the entire lava lake, at the very least. But this isn't what we need to worry about…" Rhode paused and pondered in silence. Rhode had already decided his plan after spotting the door that led to the Seven Fantasy Boundaries. He decided to regroup with the two groups first before returning to the platform. Then, the three groups would attack at once to surround the place, eliminate all resistance, destroy the area, and enter the door. But now, the existence of that huge, mysterious creature disrupted his plan. He had no choice but to reconsider everything…

Rhode let out a long, helpless sigh, shrugged, and said.

"Looks like we need to raid the place."

"Raid?"

Upon hearing this word, the eyes of the two Bubble and Canary glinted, while Erin and Lydia scratched their heads. However, Rhode had no intention of leaving them hanging either. Shortly after, he explained to the both of them.

"That's right. We shall gather everyone and overrun the enemies. But we need to change our current target. As of now, our main goal isn't to annihilate them, but to open up the door as quickly as possible and leave this damned place. After all, we shouldn't stay here for too long and I'm quite certain that that Chaos creature isn't easy to deal with. I don't know what that is, but I sense that its powerful strength may pose a huge problem for us."

Even though Rhode was known as a 'walking library', he didn't feel ashamed admitting that some things were beyond his knowledge. Well, he couldn't be blamed. Creatures of Order were more or less fixed. But it was entirely different for creatures of Chaos as there were infinite variants of them. Besides, not even the same Chaos creature would stay identical the next day. Although it might be a physical creature now, it could turn into a form of liquid or air at the next moment. That was why even if that creature had tentacles, Rhode couldn't be sure of what it was. But based on its massive power when it awakened, Rhode knew it wasn't one to be trifled with.

If Rhode only had a few members with him, there wouldn't be a problem for them to sneak past the enemies. After all, with the two Canarys around, there was nothing difficult in transporting soldiers. But now, Rhode also had to look out for hundreds of natives. It would be a real waste if they were to die here after surviving on Earth. That was why Rhode had to abandon his original plan. But this didn't mean his raid was sub-par in quality where they would rampage their way over. Rhode turned to his group and after pondering in silence, he made his decision.

'Gracier, Madaras, Erin, Lydia; we will form a group this time and eliminate the surrounding sentries as quickly as possible without getting spotted. I trust that this isn't hard for you."

"Sure, Your Majesty Rhode."

Upon hearing his command, Lydia nodded slightly. Rhode turned to the two Canarys after hearing their answers.

"Canary, both of you are in charge of standing guard and most importantly, check on that creature through the flow of lava. If you discover anything strange, inform me instantly. Got it?"

"No problem, Rhode."

Both of them accepted his command.

"Good."

Rhode said and turned to the remaining two Mini Bubble Gums.

"I want you two to reorganize the troops with Marybelle and be responsible for covering us. Remember, after we wipe out the sentries, you guys must pass through the steel bridge and bring everyone to the door as quickly as possible. There must not be any delay. Do not retaliate even if you face ambushes. Activate the defensive shield and hang on until then, understood?"

"Got it, Leader!"

"Good."

After hearing their affirmations, Rhode turned to the surroundings, extended his arm, and gave a decisive command.

"Let's begin!"