Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"Haash! The initial steps are complete."

Layla spoke in an even tone as she directed her gaze toward Lady Zee.

Given that Lady Zee had been compelled to ingest the Astral Projection Potion and allow her body to absorb its effects, it was expected that the results would take some time to manifest.

According to Layla's calculations regarding the effectiveness of the Astral Projection potion on Lady Zee, it would take a day or two for her system to fully process the potion's effects.

While she had utilized Voodoo Magic from Labh Salem to expedite this process, it was insufficient to prompt Lady Zee's soul to willingly depart from her physical form within just a few hours.

"How noisy, right? Let's bring an end to this turmoil and create a calm environment for us and the spectators gathering outside the barrier. Let's show them a scene that'll etched into their memories forever," the Little Witch chuckled with a touch of malevolence as she activated another pre-prepared Runic Formation.

It was as if she was remembering the old memory of being trapped inside such traps in the past and was now venting the effects of that trauma out by torturing the trapped Rankers. One could see that Sage Eliza was also reliving her past memories as soon as she heard what the Little Witch was up to.

***

Layla decided to address the trapped Rankers who were still causing significant commotion through their ceaseless attempts to breach the primary and secondary Birdcage Barriers.

As soon as the Little Witch initiated the formation, the ground beneath the trapped Rankers became marked with a variety of enigmatic magic runes and symbols.

In the next moment, the vision of the confined Rankers was enveloped in a green hue as a sea of green flames materialized within the primary Birdcage Barrier. These flames selectively ignited the ground occupied by the trapped Rankers, sparing the area protected by the secondary Birdcage Barrier.

The potion used by Layla in conjunction with the Runic Formation was, in fact, a concentrated form of the Enderflames in potion form that Sage Eliza had conjured for her. The Little Witch had harnessed a conventional Spell Synthesis Array Formation to transmute the Enderflames into this potion.

The Array Formation that had been deployed at this point not only facilitated Layla's precise deployment of the Enderflames but also granted her control over their intensity and reach, providing her with the means to transform the trapped Rankers into a unique kind of fuel.

More precisely, it was a fuel that Sage Eliza could utilize to boost her Ranking Status immediately upon her revival. Of course, this procedure was also based on Voodoo Magic from Labh Salem and had no roots in the Land of the Faithless.

***

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Even the few Grandmaster Rankers ensnared within the Birdcage Barrier resorted to desperate attempts, pounding the impassable and ethereal walls before them with all their strength.

Some directed their assaults at the primary barrier, seeking escape to preserve their own lives, while others set their sights on the secondary barrier, aiming to breach it and confront Eren and his companions.

"Attack together! Unite your efforts!"

Cried out a Ranker who was not actively engaged in the assault on the barriers, seemingly considering such endeavors futile.

However, he recognized the danger of disengagement and others joining him into not-doing-anything-ness, choosing to encourage those struggling to break free, as "their" success might ultimately serve "his" interests.

It was evident that living beings spanned a wide spectrum of behaviors and attitudes in any circumstance. Among them, some persistently prioritize their self-interest, even when their survival hinged on cooperation with others.

However, not everyone was keen on standing on the sidelines or letting others take care of their survivability for them. A large group of Rankers had already decided to cooperate.

Inside this enclosed space where Edinburgh and Layos Rankers were held captive, something unexpected unfolded. The Rankers from both factions ceased their hostilities. In an odd turn of events, they began to collaborate in their efforts to escape this sudden, enforced imprisonment.

The threat to their lives, along with the presence of an external force capable of posing such a threat, proved enough to overshadow their longstanding enmity.

The Rankers from both sides displayed a striking shift in behavior compared to their recent hostilities. They came together to assail the barriers in unison, pooling their collective strength, ranking resources, and artifacts to maximize the damage they could inflict.

Some of these Rankers initiated Battle Formations together, enhancing their assaults and coordinating their strikes with the Sages outside who targeted the same barriers.

Eren's actions unintentionally and strangely brought about a truce between the two kingdoms within this confined domain. The Lord of War had become a Peacemaker in the end.

***

More Sages had begun to join the efforts to break the barrier by this point.

It should be noted that, at this juncture, the Birdcage Barrier might have given way if not for its unique capacity to absorb the elemental attacks from both the entrapped Rankers and the Sages outside.

The formation, entrusted to Eren by Beelzebub, converted this absorbed energy to fortify its barriers, granting it the tenacity required to withstand the ceaseless barrage of Rankers attempting to breach it from both within and without.

Amidst the attacks, an arrogant Ranger Class Master Ranker from Layos exuberantly rallied his comrades as they directed their efforts against the primary Birdcage Barrier.

"Hahahaha, we're getting close, my fellow comrades," he jubilantly proclaimed, leading the charge with a team of Rankers supporting him.

"Just a few more hours of dedication, and we'll shatter this damn prison. If the Sages from our side can bring down the secondary barrier, I'll personally deal with Grimdawn," he asserted confidently, his eyes blazing with ambition.

Similar conversations and coordinated actions unfolded across various groups of Rankers as they synchronized their strikes against the isolation barriers.

Yet, before the Ranger Class Master Ranker and his counterparts could celebrate their efforts or the abundance of their resources used in the endeavor, an overwhelming surge of mana enveloped them.

In an instant, the vision of these Rankers was consumed by a deluge of green flames.

"Enderflames!"

Exclaimed the leader Sage outside the Birdcage Barrier with a look of terror, his face aglow with a greenish hue due to the flames before him.