Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Eliza and Demonmir clashed fiercely, causing the very ground to tremble as if a series of miniature earthquakes had taken over the landscape.

The battleground isolated by the secondary Birdcage Barrier underwent a dramatic transformation. Once a flat expanse, it was now divided into two distinct regions.

One half of the battlefield was enveloped in Enderflames, creating a vivid sea of green fire that emitted scorching heat. The intensity of these flames could easily obliterate hundreds of Expert Rankers within a 100-meter radius.

The other half was a chaotic blend of wind and lightning, intensified by Wrath Mana, creating a furious domain of wrathful electrifying energy.

Though the clash of weapons echoed, the ongoing events within the secondary Birdcage Barrier remained hidden from the eyes of most of the onlookers.

Although the Rankers involved in the fight were Grandmaster-ranked, not even Sages would want to be inside the secondary Birdcage Barrier at this point. This was because the Rankers involved in this mortal duel had used their respective intent-based magic to amp up their spells and powers.

Even the simplest forms of attacks made by either Eliza or Demonmir were enough to seriously injure most Sages if not outrightly kill them. As such, no sane Ranker would decide to barge into the battle between these two powerhouses carelessly.

Not every spectator could understand what was going on inside the Birdcage Barrier though.

"What… what the fuck is happening right now inside that damn barrier?"

A Sage spoke in part surprise and part frustration. Due to the strong disturbance caused by Demonmir and Eliza's battle, he was unable to sense what was going on inside the Birdcage Barrier.

However, the leader Sage from Anfang Alliance, Zavir could use his Soul Sense to keep track of things inside the Birdcage Barrier. He waited for a while to confirm his earlier readings before speaking up.

"It's Demonmir. He has somehow appeared inside the barrier and is currently battling against Eliza Samael," Zavir updated his allies in a grime tone.

"Demonmir? What the fuck is he doing there now?" asked Hansen Lehan with a shocked expression. He had a score to settle with Demonmir as well. But he was more surprised by the fact that he had decided to appear on the battlefield and fight against the Witch of the Enderflames.

"Is… is Demonmir with us in our fight against Eliza Samael?" asked a female Sage while looking in the direction of the Birdcage Barrier. For some reason, she believed that confronting Eliza would not be as difficult as the other Sages made out to be if Demonmir was fighting her alongside them.

"Surely, you are kidding. You have to. That demon… he will never be on anyone's side," Hansen spat in contempt before speaking further. "Demonmir is the leader of backstabbers. He would never put his own life on the line for something so unrelated to him. It looks like he was forced to come here," Hansen said while looking at Zavir.

"Indeed," Zavir confirmed Hansen's suspicions. "He has been set up to fight with Eliza Samael," he said in a serious tone.

"Are… are you fucking serious? Please tell me it's true. Hahaha," Hansen started laughing all of a sudden.

"I never thought I would say this but this but I'm glad someone who could fight against that wretched bastard and kick his ass is here. Serves that demon right.

He has been backstabbing and setting traps for everyone for so long that it sickens me. This is the first time I see that he has been given the taste of his own medicine," Hansen Lehan looked overjoyed by Demonmir's predicament.

"He was probably set up by the same man who had almost killed you not too long ago. So you will do well to keep your personal grudges in check, Hansen," Zavir warned Hansen in a stern tone. He didn't like that Hansen was laughing in such a serious situation even though he agreed with his words all the same.

Zavir was still glad for the fact that someone had appeared to stop Eliza's logic-defying Ranking Progress.

Hansen opened his mouth to say something. But ultimately, he decided to rein in his words, deciding to mumble a few words of displeasure against someone or something instead.

"Wait… look at Grimdawn. What is he doing?" someone in the group delivered everyone's attention to Eren who was present inside an isolated space between primary and secondary Birdcage Barrier.

The Sages outside watched with curiosity as they saw Eren and his subordinates work on another Runic Formation. This Runic Formation bore a resemblance to the original Soul Seed Insertion Array with only a few minor tweaks.

"It is the Soul Seed Insertion Array from House Lancelot!" Another Sage recognized the type of Runic Formation Eren was constructing inside the isolated space right for everyone to see.

"It seems he stole the layout for the Soul Seed Insertion Array from House Lancelot. That brat Avalon was not completely honest with me," Hansen sighed as he spoke.

Avalon Lancelot was already dead because of being offered as a sacrifice for Eliza's rapid Ranking Progress. So Hansen did not want to speak ill of the dead.

"Hmm? What is he doing by constructing such a useless Array Formation inside the barrier?" asked the same female Ranker who was concerned about Demonmir's allegiance earlier.

"It seems… he is creating an artifact? I can only guess based on what I CAN see," said the Sage who was a bit aware of how Array Formations worked.

"Should I contact Grandmaster Baelin to confirm?" asked a Sage from Layos. Hansen was surprised by learning that a Sage from the enemy kingdom could contact one of the most prominent weaponsmiths of Anfang so easily. It could only mean that Grandmaster Baelin had been selling his weapons to the Rankers outside Edinburgh, profiting from the war.

'These damn weaponsmiths from House Lancelots. It's good that their city was robbed. Served them right,' Hansen thought to himself. He decided not to pursue Baelin's apparent betrayal of Edinburgh at this point. It served no purpose. They had bigger fish to fry here.

"Do it," Zavir gave permission, and the Sage elf from Layos contacted Grandmaster Baelin quickly using a special Array Disk. In the next second, Grandmaster Baelin's spectral image hovered over the Array Disk for everyone to see.

Grandmaster Baelin coughed while looking at Hansen Lehan. He then confirmed the hypothesis, stating that Eren was indeed about to make an artifact. However, even Baelin was shocked to the bone after he realized the peculiarities found in the new Array Formation created by Eren.

"It… it can't be. Leo Longblade! It was him!"