Monk and the Dark Guard that looks like an old man in white robes are the first to confront each other in the air above the mountains to our left side.

I can see the blue text hovering above the man's head in my inspect skill reading [Lv. 1602].

White energy seeps out from Monk's body to match the color of the aura surrounding the old man.

His own robes and skin turn bright white, and the two men in the sky look like they share the same power.

For some reason, neither of them has any mana readings coming off of them, but there's a thick visible aura that keeps both of them floating in the air. The next words that come out of Monk's mouth while he clasps his hands together and bows make me realize what exactly is going on here.

"Master... It seems you are alive even after defending our temple from the Dark One. I am disgusted at that monster's actions, but thankful I'll get another chance to show you what I've learned of your teachings."

A pulse of white energy comes off of Monk again, and the white light that surrounds him grows even further, seeping out from his core to create a ghost-like form of himself around his whole being.

It is nearly twice as large as his own body and surrounds him entirely, mimicking his movements exactly as he comes up from his bow and gets into the fighting position.

It looks like a more compact pure white version of my Rising Emperor's Greater Form.

At this, a pulse of white energy comes from the old man in the sky, and the same white aura comes out from his body to create a large white manifestation of himself; flowing long beard and all.

The old man bows, but doesn't speak at first. The only difference with the old man's transformation is that once he comes up from his bow, his eyes glow bright orange and streaks of the Lich King's Soul Energy bleed through into his pure white form.

He finally speaks up to Monk, but it sounds like his words are not easily mustered.

"My... mind and body are not- entirely my own. Your fate shall be tested in the strength you have gained. I... cannot- hold back. If you have not surpassed me, you will become a pawn of The Lich King... to play in the world's great game."

The orange soul energy continues to infect the pure white form that the old man manifested, and the two lunge forward at each other with straight faces and tight fists.

Both men collide and the crack of Qi on Qi echoes through the air, making the mountainous rock formations beneath them quiver. Many heads turn in their direction as two shock waves of white and orange light collide and erupt throughout the battlefield.

Then, again.

Over and over, their energy forms collide, matching fists and kicks back and forth while zipping through the sky.

Every time they do, larger shockwaves are released through the air and the orange energy that seeps into the old man's form flows faster and glows a deeper orange.

A blur of energy fills the sky while loose rocks from the top of the formations below them crumble away, making avalanches from the repetitive shockwaves.

It seems as if they're increasing the power of their blows after every attack, and their fighting style is identical. Neither of them is backing down, and they are both going on the full offensive.

Down below, near the edges of the rock formations, the falling stone crushes many ghouls as they attempt to charge forward.

The majority of them regenerate and climb out from the fallen rubble, but others are crushed by boulders so gigantic they cannot escape the death traps of stone. Screeches and cries come from these monsters that have fallen in the way of a Dark Guard's battle while many other fights begin to unfold nearby as well.

The Elite-level fighters in The Flame Emperor's Army fend off the hordes of Ghouls while the elemental squad leaders and my body double protect them from the stronger opponents that slip through the cracks.

Meanwhile, Lydia and Fisher fly into the air to confront the Wraiths that approach from the rear with black orbs of energy in their skeletal hands. I send them telepathic messages to let them know that the orange hearts of the wraiths are their weak points, and blue and white flashes of light fill the sky.

The ranked-up buff energy manifestations of a serpent and tiger collide with their first approaching [Lv. 881] Wraith, and it is pushed backward while the two orbs of compacted soul energy explode in the air.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The wraith still flies forward at the two sword wielders in the sky, forming two new energy orbs. However, its attack is cut short when two Qi-infused swords slice through its defenses using the explosion of soul energy in the sky as a smokescreen for their true intentions.

Fisher and Lydia kill the Wraith in a single dual strike. Its bones and shattered core fall to the battlefield to be trampled by more approaching Ghouls.

The two A-Ranked fighters scan their enemies and lock onto the 4 more nearby Wraiths over level 900 that witnessed their fellow monster be slaughtered in an instant.

They all fly higher in the sky with charged swords and black orbs of energy to continue their fight.

Near the right barrier of the V-shaped battlefield, three figures hover over the deep ravine.

The purple-skinned woman speaks up to Abby and Arie as they arrive before her to confront the 3rd ranked Dark Guard.

Her eyes show shimmers of orange soul energy, but the aura that surrounds her body is a deep purple color that matches her skin. My double's inspect skill picks up a [Lv. 1790] rating on her status. My instincts when looking at her make my stomach churn and skin crawl.

She's a beautiful woman, but even at this distance, I get the feeling that she's a very tricky and manipulative creature. I'm on guard even though I'm not even fighting her.

Arie speaks up first as they approach.

"Whatever you are... you creep me out..."

He activates his ranked-up buff called [Energy Form of the Ancient Archer] and six enormous arms made of swirling black energy erupt from his back. They're each many times larger than his normal arms, and the energy engulfs both of his actual arms and hands so he's able to finely control these manifestations. They tower over his body by nearly 4 meters.

Three on his right side all hold bows, and he turns his body to have them face the woman.

The top one is bright white, it is loaded with a Qi and mana infused spirit arrow. It is not quite Soul Energy, but on the verge of awakening.

The middle bow is jet black, and the energy arrow locked and loaded in this bow is made of pure demonic energy. It looks like the ball of energy Ember is able to manifest outside his body, however, it is in the shape of a long sharp arrow.

The final bow is shimmering gold. It is gripped tight by the bottom manifested hand, but there is no arrow loaded in it.

Two of the hands on Arie's left side pull back the spirit and demonic arrows, keeping them pointed at the woman.

She lets Arie power up while the purple energy around her grows denser, then replies in a calm manner.

"Six arms? Not bad... but I can do better."

She stares him in the eyes and gives a devious grin, then turns to Abby.

"It looks like the insects have finally come to play in my nest. It's time to feast."

The purple energy around her grows even denser, making it hard to see her physical features, but only the outlines of her figure in a cloud of Soul Energy.

Abby takes this initiative to put up a protective shielding of her own bright green Soul Energy around her body and manifest two spears of stone infused with Soul Energy in each of her hands, pointed at the Dark Guard.

Her new ranked-up buff is not activated, and as I watch from afar, I question when she'll use it and how exactly [Form of the Immortal Healer] works and what it looks like when in full use.

The instant she glows green, eight bright purple threads of Soul Energy are shot out from the Dark Guard's hidden veil.

Four of them head toward Arie and the other four straight at Abby.

Two arrows are shot out from Arie's manifested bows. The bright white arrow that collides with the first purple thread snaps it in two and breaks its forward momentum before it even makes it halfway to him.

The second black arrow makes contact with the thread and sends a shock wave down the entire attack.

The purple thread does not burst into sparks like a normal mana attack would when making contact with Demonic Energy. This is because its made of Soul Energy. However, it is engulfed in a wave of darkness and consumed entirely, disintegrating both the arrow and the thread it touched. Pure White Qi fades into the air after both the demonic energy and mana are dissolved away.

Arie's bows create brand new arrows once the two are released, and he spirit-steps upward while sending out two more attacks at the remaining threads that follow him like heat-seeking missiles.

Abby throws both of her stone spears forward, and they collide head-on with the endpoints of two of the purple threads. On impact, they're both split perfectly down the middle and shatter into energy in the air.

She steps forward, leaving a trail of green light behind her, getting in between the last two remaining purple threads and letting her forearms covered in Soul Energy collide with the attacks.

There's an enormous eruption of energy as the two forces collide, but in the end, the purple threads shatter just like the others.

Arie destroys the two that have followed him up into the air as well, and both of them close in on the woman beneath the purple mist.

Her voice rings out again with a smooth tone full of confidence.

"You two are strong food. I do like a good fight before a rewarding meal."

The purple fog pulses with energy and her outline beneath it shines white, then begins to deform. Arms begin to grow from her back, just as they did from Arie moments ago. Instead of stopping at 6, she manifests 8.

The extremities don't stop growing larger and unnaturally long. They gain more joints than a normal human's arm, at the same time, her human arms and legs begin to shrink away into the center of her body. Behind the mist, her entire body shifts and grows into a much larger creature.

The outline of a spider forms, and it continues to grow.

Its legs grow outward to over 5 meters in length each, but it doesn't stop there...

Both Arie and Abby jump back and defend while far denser threads of purple Soul Energy erupt from the fog along with the head and many eyes of an enormous arachnid monstrosity.

—

At the back of the battlefield, my double, Ember, and Maria continue to watch all of the main fights unfold.

The last Dark Guard does not move a muscle either, watching from a few kilometers away at the back of the army.

—

Back in the town, roughly 200 km away, Luna watches the battle using her ranked up buff and reports the updated events to my double that guards my main body.

Deep underground in the bunker where only 1 isolation pod remains, the rumbling and humming sounds are increasing with every minute that passes. Through the tiny cracks in the seal near the containment system at the top of the pod; small amounts of mana and Qi escape at a normal rate. However, there is also a faint dark red glow that leaks out, hinting that a unique awakening has begun.