A series of explosions of white, purple, and yellow light erupts like popcorn, growing larger as each of the purple arrows Arie shot off curves toward their target and rains down on the energy crescent moving his way.

However, Arie's eyes glow brighter, and the number of arms growing from his back multiplies even faster upon impact.

This is because he watches these high-powered strikes losing their strength the closer they get to the incoming attack.

It's impossible to physically see, but a cold vibration ripples off the outer edges of the Berserker's energy attack, giving off the presence of an ancient and ruthless aura.

It's as if the confidence of a King who has never lost a battle is being personified into existence.

Arie's light purple arrows, with enough divine energy in their cores to kill a 1st Class True Core in a single hit, collide with this crescent of energy by the hundreds.

The attacks don't physically slow down, but the closer they get to this crescent of energy, the weaker they seem and the less momentum they carry in relation to the target they're attempting to hit.

The eruptions of explosions are, in fact, the arrows making contact, and small holes are carved into the crescents of energy traveling his way. It still retains over 80% of its energy mass and hasn't slowed down a notable amount at all.

In just a matter of seconds, the tens of thousands of kilometers between them are cut in half.

Arie releases another flurry of arrows as the crescent emerges from the energy blast and grows hundreds more arms again, preparing for what he must do next.

Two more chain reactions of explosions collide with the crescent coming his way, and he feels the same cold aura disable the effectiveness of his arrows each time they make contact.

Though, its mass falls below half of what it was before. Arie is receiving feedback that his attacks are working.

From a distance, it's far harder to understand, but once the gap is closed even further—less than 1,000 kilometers away—it now affects the visuals of the world around this human archer, sending vibrating shivers down his spine as he feels the remnants of an old deteriorating Noble Bloodline trying to suppress his will.

The archer grits his teeth and now completely understands how and why the commanders left this planet the second the aura hit them.

It's like nothing he's ever felt before.

From dungeons filled with monsters double his level, to Demonic Beasts within the Abyss with overwhelming strength and foreign powers, even the use of intimidation skills or domination buffs—nothing has ever given off readings like this before.

Arie knows what it means to mutate the system, as it's happened to him twice in his life in very drastic ways.

The first was that his unique skill was created by cultivating Qi before he ever even awakened the system, making his arrows stronger and not exactly fully mana-based.

The second was when he decided to make a change to his destiny. Instead of following the normal path of this mana-based world, where everyone trains the same way, the Abyss called to him...

Not just to find out what happened to his old village in the Dark Continent, but on a deeper level—to take advantage of another unique scenario and wield this Dark Power unlike anyone else in the human world.

Now, he feels another system mutation, one that threatens to suppress his own.

While his instincts scream at him to be in fear, something clicks in his mind—a trigger of understanding in the moment—that this is merely the same thing, just within an older lifeform with far more time being mutated within the system.

The stronger will wins.

This is not an objective god that can suppress everything it touches. That is, as long as he can prove to its wielder that he is stronger.

After wearing down the attack, another 700 arrows are sent flying its way as a final barrage.

Arie can feel the air getting colder and his system processing speed harder to navigate, but the calm smile doesn't leave his face once the eruption of arrows on a battered crescent of light breaks it into pieces. It destabilizes the entire attack and sends a final shockwave through the atmosphere, confirming that this 3rd Class human just deflected a direct attack from a Noble Demonic Berserker King.

–

Another explosion about ten thousand kilometers away shakes the atmosphere as well, forming a black and red orb of destruction that obliterates an entire region as the attack meant to hit Raven curves down to strike the planet's crust.

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She disappeared from the monster's senses, and so the logical thing to do was to blow the entire region to bits in order to take out a target that evaded its eyes.

Raven has slipped away into her divine stealth mode, where nothing at all can see or even touch her.

However, the shockwaves coming off of the blast are so cold and sharp that even perceiving them brings them into reality.

A cold pressure washes into Raven's mind as she flies through her hidden stealth dimension. She can tell that if she made herself visible right now, the pressure would be unbearable, yet she can't pinpoint exactly what it is or the source of its power.

She does know that she's glad she didn't try to clash with that crescent of energy head-on and chose to dodge like her instincts told her to.

Once far enough away, and the cold mental pressure feels as though it's almost entirely lifted, she resurfaces into reality again. However, the remnants of the shockwave still vibrate through the air, and the pressure feels far more intense than she thought it'd be.

While not a direct hit by any means, Raven feels her grasp on all of her skills and abilities temporarily weaken.

She shivers, not only from the cold, but from the feeling of a monster's will that has never tasted defeat, nor even comprehends the concept of itself dying.

Instead of being intimidated, and letting this vibration suppress her further, Raven thinks back to why she's here in the first place. The memories of a magnificent battle over the desert in the Dark Continent that re-lit her flame for battle warms her body and mind; pushing out the last remnants of the cold aura suppressing her.

While her next urges lead her to want to retaliate and feel this pressure again, she stays focused on the plan as Abby's words echo in her ears using telepathy.

"Let's move on to the next stage. We got their attention, now we'll bring them south."

Another massive explosion occurs after this transmission as a yellow arrow hits the ground behind the healer, and its dome of disruption lights up the sky behind her.

She activates the same ability she used to let the attack phase right through her like she was an illusion, and the Noble Vibrations that erupt from this shockwave ripple through her with ease.

She doesn't even change her facial expression. The green-haired woman crosses her arms and stares forward at the Kings, waiting for the other general's reply.

Arie replies through the link first. "Yeah, let's do it."

Raven gives confirmation too, and Abby summons another pillar of stone compressed with her True Core's yellow threads.

The moment it phases down into the planet's surface, the formation of generals shifts and begins to strategically retreat.

–

Another explosion is triggered between the Kings, and retaliation comes back in the same fashion as before.

Though the generals are a bit further away this time, they now have a reference for the demonic beast's attack power and speed.

Arie is able to pinpoint the Berserker's crescent and force it to explode before it even comes half the distance his way.

Raven sends a few long-range crescents of pure divine energy and mana toward the one coming her way too, though it only makes two small dents in the attack.

Her aura is far more suppressed by the Noble Vibrations than Arie's, as his contains far more refined Qi.

Though, it does give her a gauge of the monster's strength before disappearing into her stealth dimension—this time flying a safe distance away before the shockwave of the attack hitting the ground strikes her like before.

She begins to test how long she can wait before disappearing, and how much of the aura she can bear at a time once reappearing. Plus, actively fights the aura to see how much of this strange attack is mental and what is truly a physical attack.

Abby floats with a straight face, allowing another one of the Demonic Lich's arrows to phase right through her, then sends another message to the generals.

"Again."

While her green eyes focus straight forward at the Kings, Abby's mind is occupied by the recording of the Wyvern Corpse that Monk brought back from their prospecting trip.

After feeling the aura of the Kings, she understands why their systems were suppressed by its bones, and wants to see this tomb for herself.

Though, for now, she continues following out the agreed upon procedure.

–

This process repeats a few times.

Though, the reactions of the Kings aren't what was expected at all...

After every attempt to distract them, to trigger a retaliation, they do exactly the same thing, as if they've lost their memory of the last attacks they just threw and hope to overpower the enemies disturbing their brawl.

When the generals move their formation further south in order to draw them away from the throne, it continuously seems as though they've taken the bait.

The Berserker King is the most mobile and appears to be a lot faster.

Every time it attacks, it charges thousands of kilometers forward, but once its attacks are deflected and it senses the generals backing up even more, for some reason, it backs up too and adjusts its path to position itself closer to the throne.

Even the Archer moves forward to get a closer shot at Abby after she detonates another distraction, obliterating an entire region of this world.

However, it often continues to move back north in response to the Berserker retreating.

This other King is a far larger threat to the throne than these pesky intruders.

While following the generals away to kill them would be beneficial, a raw instinct pulls it back to the throne no matter how illogical it may seem.

–

Instead of moving south, another half a dozen exchanges pass, and the five True Cored Monsters on this world completely circle the globe.

It creates a massive circular ravine, over two thousand kilometers wide, separating the unprospected land around the throne from the barren world littered with demonic corpses.

Bri and Alveron watch with wide eyes as it seems these mindless Kings aren't going to be so easily manipulated after all.

They've strategically held the line and won't let anyone pass.

Alveron's voice echoes through the Link.

"This is far more data than I've ever managed to receive on the Kings. They have never fought like this before. Fascinating..."

Bri stares at the live visuals and holographic imagery of the globe.

"They know exactly what we're doing... They're toying with us..."

Arie replies through the link next.

"The only way to that throne is going to be over their dead bodies..."

Raven speaks next.

"He's right. Even if we keep them occupied on one side of the throne while another party tries to raid it, their range can still reach them. It's too dangerous for the commanders to be on this world right now... I say we move onto Plan B. Kill the Kings."