Each step of the spiral staircase was engraved with inverted magical runes. As Raine's boots pressed over those desecrated ancient inscriptions, he could feel the jade energy beneath his skin trembling with anger. Above them, twelve pairs of dark red eyes floated in the darkness, like a necklace soaked in blood.
"[Eyes of Desecration]…" γ hid behind Raine, her alchemical prosthetic eye frantically calculating the threat level. "Each eyeball is connected to the bishops' neural sensory system."
Ravenna's purple-gold patterns flickered unpredictably along her right arm. "Which means—"
Her words were cut off by a sudden psychic scream. All twelve eyeballs contracted at once, dark red beams intertwining into a net that aimed toward the three of them. Raine's Frost Tongue sword traced a jade light barrier, and the beams refracted back the instant they touched it, blowing the nearest three eyeballs into a mist of blood.
"Run!"
The three of them sprinted along the spiral staircase, behind them coming the sticky sound of exploding eyeballs. γ suddenly found the step beneath her vanish—it was an illusion! She screamed as she fell into the darkness, only to have Ravenna's purple-gold energy lasso catch her ankle. Below the abyss, countless metallic spikes glittered coldly.
"The Holy Alliance traps really are unimaginative." Ravenna pulled γ up, melting a temporary handrail along the side of the staircase with her purple-gold energy.
Above came the grinding roar of gears. The entire stretch of stairs suddenly began to rotate, and sharp teeth extended from the edges of the steps. Raine's jade vision pierced the darkness, revealing that the end of the staircase connected to a massive gear mechanism.
"It's the [Flesh Grinder]!" γ recognized the Holy Alliance execution device. "If we get pulled in, we'll—"
Her words were cut off as the staircase suddenly accelerated. The three of them had to hug the inner wall as the teeth nearly grazed their noses. Raine drove Frost Tongue into the wall, channeling jade energy through the sword into the building's structure. The ancient stone bricks groaned, and cracks spread upward like lightning.
"Hold on tight!"
With a deafening crack, the entire spiral staircase tore away from the wall, twisting and falling like a severed giant serpent. Using the recoil, the three leapt to the upper platform. In midair, Raine spun and slashed three [Spirit Phoenix Strikes] with Frost Tongue, the jade phoenix destroying all remaining Eyes of Desecration.
The platform floor was paved with obsidian and bones arranged in the Holy Alliance emblem. Twelve bodies in white robes knelt in a circle; the backs of their heads had all been modified with metal interfaces, and cables extending from their spines converged on the central altar. There, a three-meter-high dark red crystal floated, and the humanoid silhouette sealed inside was slowly awakening.
"Too late…" Ravenna's mechanical eye read the rapidly surging energy inside the crystal. "The ritual has already begun!"
γ suddenly pointed beneath the crystal. "Look there!"
The altar's base was engraved with a circular groove, within which flowed two kinds of liquids—the emerald-colored Fountain of Life and the purple-gold Alchemical Essence. The two energies converged in the groove, forming a spiraling ascending stream of light that continuously poured into the crystal.
"They're using our energy as a catalyst!" In his Emerald Sight, Raine saw an even more terrifying detail—within each stream of light floated countless miniature runes, precisely the "Keys of the Gate" recorded in the ancient elven tomes.
The crystal suddenly trembled violently, spiderweb-like cracks appearing on its surface. A pressure beyond comprehension seeped from the fissures, and the obsidian bricks on the platform began to crumble. The nearest bishop screamed in agony; his white robe bulged as something writhed beneath his skin. With a muffled "pop," dozens of dark red tentacles burst out from his body!
"Fall back!" Ravenna's purple-gold energy formed a shield, blocking the splattering fluids.
The twelve bishops all mutated simultaneously. Their bodies twisted and deformed like melting wax, their white robes torn into shreds, revealing beneath not human flesh but an ever-expanding hybrid of mechanical organs and tentacles. The central bishop mutated the most completely—his head split into four segments, exposing a rotating metallic maw inside.
"Welcome... Key Bearer..." The metallic maw opened and closed, emitting a synthesized electronic voice, "Mother... is about to... descend..."
Raine's Frosttongue Sword blazed with unprecedented emerald flames. Through his Emerald Sight, he saw the truth—the bishops were no longer human; their consciousnesses had long been parasitized by some older entity. Even more terrifying, the crystal's interior did not seal the Grand Master of the Holy Alliance, but rather...
"That's not a gate!" Raine suddenly realized, "That's a prison! What the council wants to release is—"
His warning was cut off by the collective attack of the mutated bishops. Twelve tentacles struck like javelins, each tip flickering with different cursed runes. Ravenna's purple-gold shield blocked most of them, but three broke through. One grazed γ's shoulder, and the girl's alchemical artificial eye immediately flickered with garbled symbols; one struck at Raine's heart, and when blocked by the Frosttongue Sword, it released corrosive black mist; the last aimed straight for Raine's forehead, but was stopped by a suddenly appearing emerald leaf just before contact.
The talisman given by Elondir saved his life.
"γ! Analyze the crystal structure!" Ravenna's right arm transformed into twin-bladed axes, her purple-gold energy forming a whirlwind to push back the nearest mutants, "Raine! Cover her!"
Raine's [Spirit Phoenix Slash] swept across the platform, the emerald phoenix cutting four mutated bodies in half. But the severed limbs immediately began to regenerate, more tentacles sprouting from the broken ends. Worse, the cracks in the central crystal multiplied, and a multi-jointed shadow was writhing within.
γ's alchemical artificial eye locked onto the crystal base, and Old Nick's notes automatically turned pages: "You need to simultaneously cut off the flow of both the Fountain of Life and the Alchemical Essence! But the two valves are on opposite sides of the platform!"
Raine looked to the left and right—sure enough, two obsidian pillars, each topped with a control device. The problem was that the mutants clearly knew this; they split into two groups, guarding the pillars to the death.
"I'll take the left!" Ravenna's axes cleaved through the blocking tentacles, "γ, go right! Raine, hold the center!"
The purple-gold whirlwind and the emerald swordlight erupted simultaneously. Ravenna darted through the mutants' encirclement like a bolt of lightning, each swing of her battle-axes sending a storm of parts and bodily fluids flying. γ was much more agile; she weaved between the tentacles, using her size advantage to precisely stab her alchemical daggers into the joint gaps.
Raine faced the six central mutants alone, including the leader whose head had split into four segments. The emerald flames of the Frosttongue Sword had already extended to five meters, yet each strike felt as if it cut through viscous tar—the mutants' tissue actively wrapped around the blade, attempting to corrode its energy.
"You... cannot stop..." The leader mutant's metallic maw spewed poisonous mist, "Mother... has already awakened..."
The crystal suddenly erupted with a blinding dark-red flash. The entire platform shook violently, and a gigantic reverse magic circle appeared on the obsidian floor. Raine's Emerald Sight instantly overloaded; he saw the space inside the crystal twisting as a creature beyond comprehension tried to squeeze into this world—it had twelve pairs of segmented limbs, a torso seemingly stitched together from countless anguished human faces, and a head that was pure radiant light.
"γ! Now!"
The girl's alchemical dagger finally pierced the control node of the right-hand pillar. But Ravenna on the left ran into trouble—three mutants had entwined her battle-axes with their tentacles, and a fourth's poisonous spike aimed straight at the back of her neck!
"Ravenna!"
Raine threw the Frosttongue Sword recklessly. The emerald streak pierced through the poisonous-spike mutant and, with momentum unbroken, embedded into the left-hand pillar. Both control devices overloaded simultaneously; the flow of the Fountain of Life and the Alchemical Essence abruptly stopped.
But it was already too late.
With a brittle sound like shattering glass, the dark-red crystal split completely. The first to emerge were the twelve pairs of segmented limbs—each seeming forged from obsidian and lava, with eyeballs writhing at the joints. Then came the torso, the faces constantly shifting expression, all mouths wide open in silent screams. Finally, the halo-like head appeared, and the instant it manifested, the entire Holy Alliance headquarters' space warped.
"Mother's... incarnation..." The leader mutant knelt devoutly, then melted like a candle, absorbed by the monstrosity.
γ's alchemical artificial eye smoked from overload: "Energy readings off the charts! This isn't a living being! It's... a conceptual manifestation!"
Ravenna picked up the dropped Frosttongue Sword and tossed it to Raine: "Whatever it is! Just cut it!"
The monster's segmented limbs suddenly stabbed into the platform. The obsidian split like cream, and twelve streams of dark-red energy poured into the ley lines through the fissures. The entire Holy Alliance headquarters began to collapse; countless screams echoed from afar—those modified living machines burst violently, their energy forcibly siphoned into the monster.
"It's absorbing the entire headquarters!" γ watched in despair, "It'll reach energy saturation soon!"
Raine caught the flying Frosttongue Sword, the emerald energy resonating with the blade. But when he tried to activate [Spirit Phoenix Slash], he found the energy flow unusually sluggish—the monster's halo head irradiated the area, and all magical elements became inert!
"Magic's useless!" Ravenna's purple-gold weapon also dimmed, "It's creating an anti-magic field!"
One of the monster's segmented limbs suddenly swept across. The three of them scrambled to dodge, the ground where they had been standing carved into a trench ten meters deep. γ suddenly pointed at a particularly clear human face on the monster's torso: "That's the Supreme Commander of the Holy Alliance! He's still alive!"
Raine's Emerald Sight indeed caught a faint life signal. A bold plan formed in his mind: "γ! The last Demon-Breaking Arrow!"
The girl trembled as she raised the crystal arrow engraved with ancient elven runes: "But there's only one..."
"Shoot it at the Commander's face!" Raine was already charging at the monster. "Ravenna! Get me up there!"
Purple-gold energy formed a launch point beneath Raine's feet. He shot upward like a cannonball, Frosttongue Sword pointing straight at the monster's halo head. This provocative move immediately drew three segmented limbs to attack, but Raine changed direction mid-air in a bizarre maneuver—the emerald energy formed a temporary pair of wings behind him, tracing an impossible zigzag.
"Now!"
γ's Demon-Breaking Arrow was released. The crystal arrow split into twelve streams of light in midair, each precisely striking a human face on the monster's torso. The creature let out a deafening shriek, its movements momentarily stiffening.
Raine seized this fleeting opportunity, plunging Frosttongue Sword fully into the halo head. Emerald energy surged like a flood, and countless cracks appeared on the halo's surface. But the monster reacted—two segmented limbs stabbed from behind toward Raine!
"Not if I can help it!"
Ravenna's purple-gold energy transformed into a massive hammer, smashing the left-side limb aside. But the right-side limb still pierced Raine's shoulder, dark-red energy furiously invading the wound. Gritting his teeth, Raine pushed Frosttongue Sword deeper; emerald and dark-red energies clashed violently at the wound, his blood crystallizing into emerald shards midair.
"γ!" Ravenna shouted, "Does old Nick's notes mention—"
"They do!" γ flipped through the pages quickly. "We need reverse energy resonance! Like twin fruits!"
Ravenna immediately understood. Her purple-gold energy suddenly shifted frequency, resonating with Raine's emerald energy. The two energies spiraled together, flowing through Frosttongue Sword into the monster's head. Cracks on the halo expanded rapidly, until—
Boom!
The explosion sent all three flying. Raine slammed onto the altar debris, emerald-colored blood mist spraying from his shoulder wound. Ravenna's purple-gold energy nearly depleted; her right arm returned to human form but was riddled with cracks. γ was the luckiest, only knocked unconscious.
The monster did not die immediately. Its limbs twitched violently, the human faces on its torso exploding one by one. Dark-red energy gushed from the wounds like blood, forming an eerie blood rain in the air. Most unsettlingly, the blood droplets that fell to the ground began to writhe, attempting to coalesce as if alive.
"It's recombining!" Ravenna struggled to her feet. "We must purify all the remains!"
Raine's emerald energy was nearly exhausted. He looked at the unconscious γ and suddenly noticed the small vial hanging from her waist—containing the concentrated Fountain of Life that Elondir had given her!
"Ravenna! Continue!"
He threw the vial with all his strength. Ravenna caught it midair, drank more than half without hesitation, then poured the remaining liquid over her right arm. Purple-gold energy miraculously revived; she pressed her hand to the ground, sending rippling waves of energy that instantly vaporized the dark-red blood droplets in its path.
Raine crawled toward the altar's center, using his last strength to drive Frosttongue Sword into the ground. Weak emerald energy seeped through the cracks into the ley lines, temporarily severing the monster's connection to the ley lines.
Just as the two of them thought victory was within reach, the entire platform suddenly tilted—the main structure of the Holy Alliance headquarters could no longer support itself and began to collapse! Continuous explosions rang out in the distance, and one obsidian spire after another fell.
"γ!" Ravenna lunged for the unconscious girl.
Raine tried to help, but the suddenly heaving ground threw him off. Countless dark-red tendrils reached out from the fissures, entangling his limbs and dragging him toward the abyss. Exhausted of emerald energy, he was powerless to break free, staring at imminent doom—
Suddenly, a silver-blue rain of arrows descended from the sky! The arrows precisely cut through the tendrils, freeing Raine. He looked up to see three elven airships diving through the torn remnants of the sky. On the lead ship stood a familiar figure—Elondir, his white beard whipping in the wind, longbow still poised to shoot.
"The Watchers… never… fight alone…" The old elf's voice echoed across the battlefield through the Voice Flower.
From both sides of the ships, dozens of elven warriors leapt down, wielding specialized emerald nets to collect scattered monster remains. Even more surprising, a stocky figure jumped directly from the second airship—Ironbeard's steam war hammer slammed onto the platform, completely vaporizing a pool of dark-red matter that had been attempting to reform.
"Dwarven reinforcements arrive next!" he laughed, helping Raine to his feet. "Heard you needed some explosives?"
The third airship landed atop the platform debris, and an unexpected figure emerged—Nisthya! The twelfth Watcher looked worn, but the emerald glow in her eyes remained bright. She carried a crystal vial filled with the purest life essence from the Mother Tree.
"Drink this," she handed the vial to Raine. "The Mother Tree sensed the crisis here."
Raine drank the life essence, and emerald energy surged through him like a spring tide. His shoulder wound healed rapidly, and the lines on his skin became more defined. Ravenna also received treatment; her purple-gold energy reacted wondrously with the life essence, transforming the cracks in her right arm into beautiful purple-gold patterns.
"The Council's main forces are retreating," Nisthya pointed northeast. "But they took some of the Mother's remnants with them."
Raine's Emerald Sight penetrated the smoke and debris, confirming that several strangely-shaped black airships were escaping. More troublingly, he sensed a massive consciousness awakening deep within the ley lines—not the defeated monster, but an older, darker being.
"The war has only just begun," he whispered.
γ had awakened by then, and squealed with delight upon seeing Ironbeard. The dwarf laughed, ruffling her hair, then reported seriously, "The orc tribes were also attacked, but their shamans used ancestral totems to temporarily block the corruption. However…"
"However what?" Ravenna pressed.
Ironbeard's expression darkened. "The northern observation station sent an alert. The crack in the Gear Moon is widening—something is trying to come through."
Everyone fell silent, looking up at the sky. Though the Holy Alliance headquarters' sky dome had shattered, higher up the Gear Moon indeed showed anomalies—the crack slicing through the moon faintly revealed a multi-limbed shadow writhing within.
Elondir approached Raine, handing him a fresh emerald leaf. "Three leaves have sprouted on the Mother Tree. One for you, one for Ravenna, one for γ."
Raine took the leaf, feeling the surging life energy within. Even more astonishing, the patterns on the leaf resonated perfectly with his own emerald energy.
"This is…"
"The blessing of the World Tree," the old elf said solemnly. "When the final battle comes, it will protect you."
The elven warriors had finished clearing the battlefield. They sealed all monster remains in specialized emerald containers, ready to return them to the Mother Tree for purification. Ironbeard's dwarven demolition team set explosives across the ruined headquarters, preparing to obliterate the corrupted site.
Ravenna checked the Holy Alliance archives recovered from the altar debris and whistled sharply. "The Council is crazier than we thought. They planted traitors in every race and even built…"
Her words were cut off by a sudden earthquake. Everyone scanned the surroundings alertly, realizing the epicenter was far away—the crack on the Gear Moon's surface suddenly widened, and a massive fragment slowly detached!
"It has begun…" Nisthya's voice trembled with fear. "The 'Moonfall' of the ancient prophecy…"
Raine clenched the emerald leaf, feeling the Mother Tree's consciousness flowing through it. Blurred images flashed in his mind: twelve ancient trees encircling the world, each with a Watcher beneath; darkness falling from the stars corrupting eleven of them; the final hope resting on the twelfth tree, located in the Elven Forest…
"We need to unite all the races."
He said firmly, "Dwarves, orcs, elves, even the remnants of the Holy Alliance."
Ironbeard slammed his hammer against his chest. "The Dwarven Kingdom stands ready at all times."
"The Elven Forest has awakened," Elondir stroked his beard, smiling.
γ timidly raised her hand. "I… I can contact some alchemists…"
Ravenna suddenly pointed to the sky. "Look!"
At the moon's breach, a silver-blue energy was converging. It formed a net that caught the falling moon fragments, gently pushing them away from the continent. Even more astonishing, the source of the silver-blue energy seemed to be the far north—a towering crystal spire piercing the clouds, radiating a dazzling light.
"That is…" Raine's Emerald Sight barely made out the figure atop the spire. "Master Alfred?"
Old Nick's notes drifted from γ's arms, automatically flipping to the last page. On the yellowed sheet, new writing appeared—scribbles from the old alchemist:
"Seek the guardians of the Aurora Spire. They know the truth of the 'Gate'."
The three elven airships hovered above the ruins, dropping ropes. Raine lifted the weakened γ, Ravenna examined the recently recovered Holy Alliance maps, and Ironbeard loudly commanded the dwarves to speed up the demolition.
As the airships ascended, Raine cast one last glance at the ruins of the Holy Alliance headquarters. Beneath the collapsed obsidian altar, deep within the ley lines, he was certain that something was watching and laughing coldly…