Merin blocks the attacks from both Allison and Anne with ease.
He's training his daughters—hoping to raise their strength before Anne turns eighteen, so they can both enter the Energy Dharma realm.
Only then can he leave this world, knowing they'll be safe if they choose to stay.
Suddenly, he senses something foreign entering the world—not one, but many, and each aura is strong.
Anne's fireball lands on his chest, harmlessly fizzling out.
"Father, I win!" she cheers, unaware of his shift in focus.
"You won," Merin says, then turns to Allison.
"Take your sister. Go to your mothers. Stay together until I return."
Allison asks, "Father, what's wrong?"
Merin gazes at the sky, where ships—vast and strange—pierce the clouds in waves.
"Our world is being invaded," he says.
Allison's voice trembles, "Didn't the demon world agree to your plan?"
"Not the demon world," Merin replies. "Now go."
He sends a message to everyone in the Energy Dharma realm.
Five years have passed since he shared the cultivation method—many have advanced.
Merin soars into the sky, joined by six beasts, three humans, and two demons.
One demon is Salem, a friend.
The other is Tristan—an enemy whose body is now overtaken by a demon.
They all stare at the descending ships.
The humans and beasts are confused by the strange machines.
One human asks, "What are these?"
Salem answers, "They're called Void Ships—machines that travel through the void using technology."
Merin nods. Outside this world, it isn't space—it's the void.
So naturally, they aren't spaceships.
They're void ships.
The invasion halts as the ships face them.
A voice echoes from one of the ships, cold and commanding.
"We are from the Rose Dynasty. Surrender, and we will be lenient."
Tristan scoffs.
"Rose Dynasty? Never heard of it. This world is under the protection of the Demon World. Get lost."
The voice responds.
"Then you choose resistance."
In the next moment, beams of energy rain down from the void ships.
Tristan sneers, his body flashing forward.
"I'll handle this."
With a sweep of his power, he destroys the incoming beams mid-air.
Merin turns to Salem.
"You ever hear of the Rose Dynasty?"
Salem's face hardens.
"If they can cross the void, their strength won't be below the Demon World."
Merin's eyes gleam purple.
His gaze pierces past the void ships and the world's barrier—reaching into the void itself.
Beyond, he sees them.
Larger ships. Dozens.
One of them, monstrous in size, blots out the void like a floating continent.
Then—
A scoff. Deep and mocking.
Darkness engulfs his vision.
His connection severs.
He can no longer see past the barrier.
"There are many larger void ships outside," Merin reports.
Salem nods.
"The larger they are, the harder it is for them to enter. That's our advantage."
Tristan is still fighting—tearing void ships apart, yet slowly being pushed back.
Four are destroyed.
But more replace them.
Merin watches the sky darken with resistance.
He gives the order.
"Two more—go."
A beast and a human soar upward—joining the fray.
Their arrival shifts the tide.
Void ships explode in the skies as the defenders strike with renewed fury—destroying seventy per cent of the invading force.
But then—
From the remaining ships, countless robots descend into the world.
Their coordinated assault pushes the three back.
Merin hesitates, watching the rhythm of battle.
Just as he prepares to act, the void ships and robots retreat.
Wreckage drifts in the inner void, silent and still.
"They're afraid. They ran," a beast mutters.
Merin narrows his eyes.
"I don't think so."
He raises a hand.
A giant energy palm materialises—grabbing a chunk of void ship debris.
"Let's see what I can learn from them."
With the wreckage in hand, Merin turns and vanishes.
Salem follows suit.
"I must report this to the Church's headquarters."
One by one, the defenders disperse.
Far outside the world's barrier, within the vast expanse of the void—
A woman named Mace watches the aftermath on a glowing screen.
The scout team is gone—utterly destroyed.
Yet she isn't concerned.
No life was lost.
Every robot and void ship was controlled remotely by the A.I. aboard the main battleship.
This was only a test.
A probe to measure the world's power.
"Any news on this 'Demon World'?" She asks.
An officer responds,
"Yes, sir. We retrieved fragments of information from the local database. It originated from a Gem World merchant. He mentioned the Demon World conquering realms one after another—heading for a clash with the Eagle World."
Mace frowns.
She's never heard of the Eagle World.
But one thing is clear—
The Demon World's strength rivals the Empire's, so slow assimilation is no longer an option.
"Tell the mech units to get ready. At dawn, we launch the attack."
Her command echoes through the cockpit.
Affirmative responses fill the air.
Tomorrow, the invasion begins.
At dawn, the skies burn.
Void ships descend once more, followed by swarms of robots and newly deployed mechs—taller, bulkier, and sharper than before.
But Merin does not move.
He watches.
The world's strength is sufficient—for now.
His power remains concealed, reserved for when it matters most.
From Salem, he learns the line to the Demon World has gone silent.
Still, he isn't worried.
"If the Church doesn't hear from him within five days, they'll send someone. They'll know."
The defenders repel the attack.
The invaders retreat, leaving broken machines and mangled corpses behind.
Merin takes the bodies, begins his study.
The next day, dawn again brings fire.
This time, the mechs are even larger, heavier, with firepower and faster response.
Merin doesn't directly enter the fray—but his influence spreads.
Defensive grids strengthened, critical strikes redirected, energy patterns disrupted.
His mind works while others fight.
The invaders' corpses reveal little.
Their genes are locked.
But Merin discovers something else—crystals embedded in their foreheads.
They store mental power. Amplify it.
A rare treasure for cultivators.
The defenders endure.
Another victory.
Day four.
Everything changes.
The invaders unleash cultivators—figures cloaked in strange armour and calm arrogance.
Their power flows with refined precision.
They do not fight with brute force, but with mind, will, and manipulation.
Illusions cloud the battlefield.
Emotions spike—panic, rage, despair.
Merin steps in.
His mind cuts through fog.
But the battle ends not in triumph—only a draw.
A hidden defeat.
The invaders secure land.
They begin construction. A base. A portal.
The fifth day—Merin leads the charge.
Their objective: destroy the base.
They attack.
But the invaders strike the world—everywhere.
Villages burn.
Defenders scatter.
Merin is pulled in every direction.
And the portal survives.
At last—
From within that glowing portal, the commander steps into the world.
Mace.
Her presence warps the air.
Above the skies, Merin rises to meet her.
Their battle begins.
Not to win.
Not to kill.
But to endure.
Three more days.
That is the time limit.
If Merin can hold—reinforcements will come.
Because even if he defeats her, it won't end the invasion.
He must survive.
The world must endure.
Above the skies, Mace strikes.
Her sword sings with force and illusion, bending perception, distorting time.
Merin counters with magic—layered spells and mental force—but each one shatters beneath her blade.
He draws his sword.
Steel meets steel.
Their sword energy tears the sky, splits the wind, flattens mountains, and carves through the ocean.
Mace holds the advantage—her technique is refined beyond his.
But Merin endures.
Not with skill, but with law.
He twists gravity to drag her movements.
He lays formations mid-air to trap her steps.
He channels raw strength to suppress her momentum.
Three days pass—sky never still, land never quiet.
Merin bleeds, bones broken, eyes dimming.
Mace—barely winded.
He falters.
She raises her sword—
"How dare you invade a world protected by my Demon World?"
A thunderous voice crashes across the battlefield.
Demon troops descend, fire and shadow wrapped in armour.
Light flares outside the world's barrier—explosions, ship-to-ship combat.
Mace frowns, turns, and vanishes into the void.
Merin doesn't collapse—he supports the demon forces, leading the final counterattack.
The invaders fall.
Three days later, news spreads:
Mace's fleet is driven off.
But Merin is no longer seen.
He claims he can recover if left undisturbed.
"I will seal myself to heal."
In truth, he begins his final act.
Inside his retreat, his body begins to crystallise—slowly, painlessly.
His flesh turns to light.
His field fuses with the world's own, binding essence to essence.
To destroy Merin now, one must destroy the world.
But he leaves behind more.
A shard of soul, fused with his Energy Dharma, remains in the statue—capable of speaking, guiding, and warning.
His final step—
He activates the Dream Mirror secret technique.
His consciousness disappears from the world.
Blank. Still. Silent.
But not gone.
Merin sleeps beneath the sky, a crystal guardian, watching the world he saved.