The entrance to the prime world was guarded strictly. But those menacing rank 9 guards were just decorations.
There's a very powerful formation guarding the entrance of the world. Without the pre-issued passes, not even rank 9s could enter.
Forget the typical rank 9s, even a duke wouldn't be able to get in.
With their passes, Varian and the group entered the special area and found themselves surprised.
Contrary to their imaginations that this important place would resemble a strict prison, it just fell short from being a slice of paradise.
Pure white floor made of a single stone. A bright sky shining with starlight. Plants and flowers floated in the wind, swaying as if they were performing a graceful dance.
Most of all, the pink and purple vortex which spun violently, enticing them to enter the synthetic world.
But…
When they arrived, there was no one on the site.
Not even Duke Micheal who promised to cheer them on with full support. And not the King himself who was said to take care of important events by himself.
The floating plants and glowing flowers swaying in the wind were beautiful and mesmerizing.
But they couldn't take away the unease that started to creep in.
Miss Calamity entered the world a few moments later. How she got the pass to get in was a mystery but she did.
Unlike the group who were contemplating the inexplicable situation, the woman exclaimed without holding back. "Where is everyone? Did they already enter?"
Without waiting for them to answer, she shook her head. "There are no traces of weakli—I mean, rank 7s. Only the King and Duke Micheal were here…until a few minutes ago."
Instead of settling their anxiety, their words stirred even more chaos.
Sarah, in particular, tightly clung onto Varian's arm, as if she was worried he'd disappear and looked at Miss Calamity with a vigilant gaze.
"…What did I do now?" The lady asked in a genuinely confused voice.
"Shall we ask the guards what happened?" Sonya chipped in.
Even though everyone was nearly ignoring her, Varian, Sarah, and Enigma were technically in Sonya's team and not the other way around.
Miss Calamity nodded lightly and a phantom resembling herself jumped out of the barrier, landing in front of the guards out of nowhere and nearly causing them to attack the sudden intruder.
They were all rank 9. But there's a tremendous gap between her and them.
A few seconds later, Miss Calamity's phantom dissipated and the lady's brows frowned.
"The duke left first. Then the King. Both of them were in a hurry." Miss Calamity's voice grew quieter.
If those two did leave, then something important must've come up.
But what exactly?
A danger or an opportunity?
Without a second thought, Miss Calamity opened a retriever and enabled a communication channel with important army officers at the border.
"Is everything fine?"
There was a large pause after her question before an aged voice replied.
"No significant conflict so far."
"Any peculiar signs?"
"…The 7th Prince's forces are mobilized. They're everywhere. A part is moving near the kingdom, another is conducting a military parade near a satellite galaxy."
"Those bastards!" Miss Calamity's voice grew cold.
A military parade wasn't an attack. But it could quickly turn into one.
The issue was, every time this 'parade' happened, the defending army of the satellite galaxy would have to scramble to the site of potential conflict and crank up all the defense mechanisms.
Even without considering the dangers of doing it on short notice, the costs and toll of rushing to defense would be enormous.
If they keep piling up, the defenders would be exhausted physically. That in itself wasn't that big of a problem. They could be fed with some good potions, work in shifts, and more.
But if they get spiritually tired, if they think they could not face the constant harassment of a much stronger aggressive force, then they'd be done for.
Once the defenders give up, the invader could easily conquer. It wouldn't matter how tough the barriers were or how strong the warriors were. A battle that's already lost in the mind cannot be won on the field.
Since she was overseeing the satellite galaxy, Miss Calamity would never tolerate this situation.
Instead of taking it in passive resistance, she'd charge the army to attack the parade, even if it meant significant losses.
Perhaps that's precisely why they were doing this when she was away.
"Please do not worry. Even though it's taking a toll, the soldiers aren't so weak that they'd fall from one parade."
Sensing her anxiety and frustration, the old voice on the other side reassured in a soothing tone.
Miss Calamity looked at Varian and Enigma for a moment before she nodded with a reluctant expression. "Yes. Please take care of the situation. I can't come there right away."
"Please. There is no is—What?!"
The composed old voice suddenly let out a horrified shriek.
"What are you saying? No, no, no!"
That voice, which seemed to have experienced hundreds of chaotic storms, was now quivering in a mix of disbelief and despair.
Even though he couldn't see the man through an audio treasure, his voice painted a very gloomy picture of his face.
"I will be there right away!" The sound of aura channeling violently sounded, akin to an ocean's mighty waves crashing against the shore.
Then the sound of space twisting, most likely a teleportation formation activating, echoed.
"Wait, what happened?" Miss Calamity barely managed to stop herself from shouting.
A hot situation needed a cool mind. After all, panic wasn't going to solve the problem, no matter how bad.
"M-Miss!" The old voice seemed to remember she was still on line and exclaimed. "The satellite galaxy…"
Kacha! Kacha!
The sound of mirror cracking rang and the space in that distant place seemed to be cracked open.
That's what happened during the activation of a teleport formation…and during a particular type of space attack.
"-y is atta—"
Miss Calamity's brows jumped and she gave the four a bitter glance. She dashed out of the barrier at an unfathomable speed.
"I'll be back soon! Stay safe!"
A light split from her and turned into a clone. But only seconds later, the clone began to shake.
Even though she left behind the pass for the clone, the clone itself wasn't recognized as a proper entity by the formation and was attacked.
If they could just leave the clones and attend the emergencies, both the King and the Archduke would've done the same.
In her hurry, Miss Calamity didn't think far and made a mistake.
As a result, rays of concentrated light fell from the sky and struck her for the next few minutes.
The clone tried to fight back but it only elicited more pushback from the formation.
Varian's group distanced themselves from the fight even though the aftermath of the attacks was blocked by invisible barriers.
In just a few minutes, Miss Calamity's clone dissipated like a puff of smoke, showing the extraordinary power of the defensive formations.
As if they were waiting for that very moment, the participants and their backers entered the area.
