Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1536: Maze

The black evolved warrior genuinely looked like a kid no older than twelve, but his scarlet irises, pointy ears, and two horns on his forehead vouched for his fearsome status.

The existence that had remained hidden until now also showed its face and might. An unclear but profoundly powerful aura covered over the area, enveloping it in an ethereal veil that interfered with the elite team’s senses.

The King’s playful smirk exposed his sharp, black teeth, but Khan couldn’t focus on him. His attention was on that ethereal veil and the world below it. The flame-like True Chaos inside the giant cavity shone with actual power, which seemed to increase toward its depths.

Of course, that was mostly a hunch, a guess that the ethereal veil’s interference prevented Khan from confirming. It was as if the kid-like King was hiding it on purpose, guarding the area from potential invaders, but also inviting them in through his playful smirk.

Everything about that pointed toward a trap, which wasn’t hard to figure out. The ethereal veil could already mess with the elite team’s senses from above it. Its interference would be even stronger from inside.

However, nothing said that Khan had to pierce that technique. Ethereal or not, his mana could shatter that veil, eliminating the problem altogether.

Still, that wasn’t Khan’s battle to fight. Actually, someone had already preceded him again.

The ground under Lord Enforcer had disappeared after the area’s transformation. Still, he had continued to kneel on the air, and another wave of invisible mana escaped from his lowered hand.

At that time, Lord Enforcer’s mana only went for the veil, limiting its scope while also meeting higher resistance. Yet, it was more intense, too, creating disturbances in that ethereal technique.

Actually, Lord Enforcer’s attack wasn’t the source of the disturbances. The veil opposed his influence, shaking and churning, trying its best to reject those orders, only to fail miserably.

Expert eyes could obviously see more about that clash. Lord Enforcer’s technique wasn’t necessarily stronger. Instead, it appealed to the area’s nature, pushing it toward its original state.

Meanwhile, the King’s veil was unnatural, requiring effort to maintain, but losing against the area’s nature.

Therefore, traces of dim smoke became visible under the floating King, occasionally flashing to reveal proper structures. Initially, that change only affected sparse spots, but, as the process continued, the technique’s actual shape materialized.

An intricate array of dark tunnels appeared, creating a maze-like structure that stood above the fiery world below. The very fabric of space bent and twisted all over that giant building, revealing how the entrance to the celestial body’s core wasn’t as straightforward as the elite team had initially thought.

At least, that was how the entrance used to be.

The materialization of the maze marked its destabilization. It seemed that structure couldn’t exist in the same reality as the celestial body, leaking True Chaos the more solid it became.

The countless branching paths started to lose their structural integrity until they melted into dense smoke that rose toward the air, opening a direct path for the giant cavity.

Nevertheless, the rising smoke didn’t disperse. A sucking force invaded it, making it spin toward a specific spot. Another massive whirlpool formed, only to be absorbed by the kid-like King.

The absorption’s finalization also showed a change to the kid-like King. His playful smirk had disappeared, replaced by a childish pout that almost reeked of youthful innocence.

The pout didn’t trick the elite team, and Lord Enforcer wasn’t one to waste time in those trivial matters anyway, especially when he had a job to do.

"My element counters his," Lord Enforcer exclaimed, straightening himself up. "He isn’t worthy of wasting your time, [my Emperor]."

"[Bring honor to the Empire]," The Emperor ordered, his voice releasing shockwaves that made the kid-like King drop his pout.

"[Yes, my Emperor]!" Lord Enforcer responded, finalizing a conversation everyone understood despite the different language.

Still, something else happened. The tremors caused by the Emperor’s shockwaves seemed to have stirred something into action, which darted across the area to approach the elite group.

Everyone sensed that incoming threat, but no one moved since a growl resounded among them, followed by the violent charge of a dark-red figure.

Major General Arngan kicked the air, releasing a streak of scarlet light to rush from the group’s side and slam into something invisible. A violent clash unfolded mid-air, flinging the General down to the cavity’s edge.

The General didn’t slow down his fall at all. He endured the violent landing, bending his legs while the black soil around him cracked and rose. Still, his attention didn’t waver, and his clawed arm promptly rose to block something.

Another clash resounded through the area, but the General didn’t waver now. Having a proper foothold seemed to bring out his figure’s real balance, but the problem remained. Despite blocking the attack, that new threat remained invisible.

Still, Major General Arngan didn’t seem to care. He growled again, only to spread his fanged mouth and exhale loudly, releasing a pale-red mist that quickly expanded through the area.

That scarlet mist covered the cavity and the air above it until it touched something, highlighting it through brighter shades of red. A humanoid figure was standing in the sky, seemingly in the process of preparing a descending attack.

Being highlighted by the red mist was only one of the effects of the General’s technique. The unclear figure forcefully interrupted the descent, snapping backward to retreat toward the kid-like King, releasing True Chaos to remove that scarlet stain.

That glowing smoke escaped in the form of slashes that pierced the redness, severing it apart to reveal what it contained. Another black figure became visible, donning long hair and the same two horns on his forehead, but wielding a short knife.

Apparently, there was another King in the area, and the more grown-up evolved warriors only had eyes for the opponent who had dared to block his invisible assault.

"Go," Major General Arngan growled, sharing that intense attention for the new opponent, knowing someone had to remain behind to pave the way for the rest of the team.