Everyone stands before me in newly upgraded gear.

Many spent yesterday farming for MCP using my absorption skill in the higher floors of the labyrinth, crafting the highest-grade blood-bonded armor they could with A-Grade loot, while others rested and waited for these final hours to draw near.

While there are thousands of C and B-grade hunters around the 8 Great Regions and the Dark Continent who would happily put their lives on the line if I had their regional directors give the order, it is best that an elite squad fights on the front lines.

The weakest troops from the Central Association and the demonic army have red divine cores; only the Crimson Army and the Inner Circle can handle forces like these. Even Bri and Rodrigo stay behind in the Apex Capital with the A-Class hunters for now, continuing to spread the word.

Having semi-powerful, well-known figures in the public eye bringing me more stats to draw from is a battle of its own.

"The war shall begin when the sun rises. Be ready for anything... Any last questions?"

No one speaks, all wearing serious expressions, as the details of our mission were made clear yesterday.

"Good, let's move out."

With myself and Ember leading our army; Abby, Maria, Raven, and Arie follow close behind.

Luna follows Arie, while Fisher and Lydia walk beside her.

Monk and the Saint, along with his two orange-cored disciples, follow behind them.

Finally, the Elemental Captains lead three squads of Crimson Army troops.

Our aura lights up the night.

Everyone here has been power-leveled above level 7000 and have mana control far beyond their level. All their skills are fully upgraded and they're stacked head to toe with high quality A-grade gear.

We have 3 True Cores, 3 Yellow Cores, 2 Orange Cores halfway to Yellow, 2 Newly Awakened Orange Cores, 2 Demonic Soul energy wielders, and 3 dozen elite soldiers wielding elemental energy with mana control far stronger than the perks a mere red-core Demonic Knight has.

Above and below, two of my body doubles float with us in stealth mode, and one trails behind us a few kilometers as well.

Our force is less than 25% the size of either of the other two forces we're going against, but with over 15.6 million links of loyalty at my disposal, the number ticking upward every second, I feel both nerves, confidence, and excitement flowing through my body.

We all stop and float down to the desert floor at the edge of the Abyss, now less than 50 kilometers from the base of the tower.

To our north in Sector 1, the Demon's troops have begun moving into their own formation, following their Commanders and Generals as they move toward the Abyss just like us.

To the west in Sector 3, and to the northwest in Sector 4, forces of about 100 troops each move inward toward the Abyss as well.

The Vermillion Family Demon still stays behind a few hundred kilometers away, silently watching the tower, but I vividly remember the speed at which he traveled over to Arie not too long ago and know he could be with his troops in the blink of an eye if he wished.

With his words of wanting to settle our dispute within the throne, all I do now is size up the armies left behind and feel confident my teammates can handle it.

The only thing that irks me as we wait in the silence of night is the fact that the Big Three are nowhere to be seen.

Not even a word of them is mentioned by the troops left behind, and I don't get a single reading of them anywhere within thousands of kilometers.

Again, as the world sleeps calmly as if this is nothing but another day, three armies stand at a stalemate, waiting for the darkness to completely recede back into the black tower that reaches high into the sky.

–

I constantly scan the surrounding desert, and we slowly move our formation forward, spreading out to cover a few kilometers while following the Abyss as it moves closer to the black tower.

My All-Seeing Eye even scans the tower from time to time, but all I get back is a blinding silver light, similar to the golden glow I felt during my conversations with Ember.

Even the Abyss itself is filled with dense radiation, like intense, invisible gravity waves similar to the time I flew in the sky above the abyss attempting to see the throne up close for the first time.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

It recedes at the same rate as the black fog, allowing us to get closer, and the sounds of demonic beasts within the Abyss fighting and dying can be heard with my enhanced senses, but their bodies and energy are absorbed by the dense fog as it continues to retract.

–

The sun begins to rise, and all of the forces surrounding the tower are less than a kilometer away from its base.

Now the pressure coming off the tower does not retract any further, but the black fog continues to do so.

"Halt... We shall wait here until the throne awakens or another army makes their move..."

So much about this massive divine artifact is still a mystery to me.

I know there are trials within, it is a device used to help Demons ascend to become Lords or green cores, and it can be used to take control of a world. But my mind races, wondering what exactly will happen once this fog disappears and the throne awakens.

The only ones who truly know seem to be the Vermillion Family Demon and Ember standing by my side. I won't be getting answers out of either of them, so all I can do is wait and prepare for the worst.

–

It feels like hours pass when in reality it's just minutes, and the morning sun slowly heats up the desert while the final bits of dark demonic energy disappear into the bottom of the tower, making a clear view of the open desert sand from where we stand to the base of the smooth black curved wall.

All I can hear is my heartbeat and everyone's breaths around me as we wait for something to happen.

The tower is tens of kilometers wide, and each army stands on opposite sides a kilometer away from the base, no more than a dozen kilometers away from each other, but no one moving a muscle.

I feel the ground vibrate first, but still no one moves.

Then the vibrations cease, and the tower before us vibrates, sending out a low hum that grows louder and louder until the entire structure starts to glow with silver divine light.

It flashes, and a pulse of energy moves outward like a wave, flying through all of us; eerily similar to the surges I've felt before, but hundreds of times stronger.

It doesn't hurt or do any physical damage to the surroundings, but I'm certain dungeons will be breaking all over the globe as this wave travels further.

The visible silver light of the tower fades back to black, and in my vision, I watch the Vermillion Demon disappear, reappearing in front of his troops with the corners of his lips curling upward.

I send a telepathic message to everyone on the battlefield while pulling out my fire and dark swords.

"Get ready for anything... It's happening now..."

At the same time, from the west, three wells of gravity, hundreds of times stronger than any True Core I've ever felt, come rocketing our way from Central Headquarters at hundreds of kilometers per second.

The ground vibrates again, and the tower lights up with its silver glow a second time, sending another surge throughout the entire world, then fading back to black.

This time, the smooth tower walls aren't the same as they were moments ago...

In front of me, there is an outline of an archway many kilometers high and wide, and the sliver of space that leads to the inside of the tower glows with the same silver light.

My All-Seeing Eye finds three more archways that look exactly the same in front of each of the armies that seek to enter.

I watch the Demon's Leader take a step forward, then point a finger and open a Demonic Rift right beside himself.

An enormous black dragon with a dark purple underside steps out onto the sand, its True Core visible in its chest, but its pressure and presence are concealed just like the demon it stands beside blocking me from reading its true strength or status.

The approaching forces from Central veer off in three different directions.

Two head toward their armies waiting to greet them, while one of the wells of massive divine energy turns to come right toward me.

The ground vibrates more than it ever has before, and the entire tower flashes with silver light, blinding the entire Dark Continent and sending out a catastrophic surge.

When the silver light fades, the entire tower returns to black, save for the four arched doorways left behind.

Now there is no black door blocking the entry; it is an open silver divine portal leading into the tower.

The Vermillion Demon disappears, and his dragon does too, but the sand is disrupted beneath his flight path as they blast forward, flying straight into the silver light without hesitation.

Half of the Demons turn to their right, and half turn to their left, holding up their weapons and letting out an immense aura ready for war.

I take a deep breath, turn to Ember, and activate my greater form while he fully transforms into his dragon form.

Then, send a final wave of telepathy to everyone behind me.

"I'll do my job inside the tower, and you do yours out here. Let's save the world."

We blast forward through the dense gravity surrounding the throne, and I borrow 5% of stats from everyone that isn't on the battlefield now, boosting our speed to travel faster than I've ever moved before.

At the same time, I watch a blue, yellow, and white blur of light fall from the sky and enter the Central Headquarters doorway in Sector 3. My perception picks up the image of a muscular woman riding a 30-meter-long white serpent, but there is so much divine radiation in the air, it's hard to see it clearly.

Then, in the doorway facing Sector 4, a black, yellow, and white light rockets toward that door. I can see a slim man in nothing but a black suit riding an armored black horse, but the aura I receive when peering at him for too long is eerie, like a bad dream.

Finally, a yellow and red ball of divine energy comes down from the sky, aiming right for the doorway that Ember and I are flying toward.

It is a tall, muscular man with red hair and a matching beard, riding a massive hound with vicious eyes and a glowing collar matching the intensity of his True Core.

Elara and Beckman enter the doors in Sectors 3 and 4 at the exact same moment that Ember and I touch the silver door just above the desert floor.

However, the flaming man in the sky makes contact with the silver portal about a kilometer overhead, yelling aloud for all to hear.

"The time has come! The world is truly at my fingertips!"

He pulls a long flaming yellow sword from a sheath by his side and points it downward, making eye contact with me and yelling again while both of us phase through the silver portal.

"Flame Emperor, I've been waiting for you too. You'll be my first battle to celebrate coming out of retirement. I'll warm up by killing you before the first trial even begins!"

We all disappear into the throne and a fourth and final surge of silver light flashes from the entire tower before the portal-like doors fade and it returns to black.