Their opponent was a god, so despite Orion's curiosity about how the three-star warriors would fare against White Flame, he wouldn't take such an unnecessary risk until he learned the current situation of the Prismerian Kingdom and had a conversation with Aegis of the Arctic Deity regarding how the trial had ended and why he had woken up outside the mountain.
…...
Upper section of the mountain
Iris steadily gripped her great sword, suppressing the trembling feeling in her hands as she stared at the long, broad, rocky, route in front of her, gradually lit by a bright white flickering light.
Turning her head to the side, she observed that, just like her, the warriors and the elite warriors, all of whom had passed the trial and obtained the power to defeat White Flame finally, were also shivering, barely standing properly on their feet as they witnessed the route before them slowly brighten up.
Iris could only clench her teeth in annoyance and frustration as she observed this scene. She couldn't blame them or anyone else who reacted in such a way in their current situation because they were about to face a being that had plagued the Prismerion race for countless generations.
A being who was the cause of the 'Three Great Slaughters,' a being whose sole existence had made them accept their fates of being trapped in this mountain, showing just how powerless and fragile they were.
And now, they were about to come face to face with this being.
"Tchh," Iris bit her tongue in annoyance to snap away and break free from the fear within her body.
She understood that if they didn't regain their composure in time, regardless of whether or not they had gained the power to defeat the White Flame, they would surely die at the hands of the vengeful god without being able to do anything about it.
"Everyone, snap out of it!" Iris shouted as she looked at the other eighty-one warriors around her. "How will we win this battle and obtain the freedom of the Prismerion race if we continue like this? Don't tell me that you have already thought about losing. If so, why did you risk your life to obtain the divine power that would enable us to defeat the White Flame?".
Seeing them all pondering deeply at her words, Iris inwardly sighed that they were all gradually returning to their senses.
They were all elite warriors and warriors who had trained for several years to achieve their current strength; as such, she wasn't that surprised by their swift change in composure once they heard her words.
Nevertheless, she recognized that she didn't have much time left as the rugged, stony walls around them had also brightened up, indicating that in less than a few minutes, they would soon be confronted with the vengeful, bloodthirsty god.
"Tch! Tch! I can't believe that I allowed myself to be carried away by fear after all the sacrifices I've made up until now!" a voice sounded in the crowd.
Everyone turned their heads toward the leader of the 5th Elite Division of the Crystalforge Clan, the Starfall Legion, who had spoken up as he brandished his spear toward the direction of White Flame that was about to appear before them.
"Everyone, don't forget to give the current leader of the Starforged Knights a gift after this, as we all need to thank her for bringing us back to our senses!" a member of the 9th Elite Division, the Iron Bane Legion, spoke up as she tightly grasped her long sword, her gaze also focused forward on the lit route in front of her.
Several more voices rang in the air, each sharing the same determination as the last.
Witnessing this, a smile appeared on Iris's face, "Quickly, everyone, sense the divine mysteries and activate the divine power that you received from the trial," she spoke loudly.
After the trial was over, the Aegis of the Arctic Deity told them that the divine blood that they had collected would bless their bodies with the power to injure a god.
Without wasting any time, Iris closed her eyes and tried her best to sense the divine power flowing through her body due to the drop of divine blood coursing through her veins.
A rumble echoed within Iris's mind and simultaneously within the others around her who were also attempting to draw out the divine power within them.
Although she had prepared herself physically and mentally, continuously training her body and mind since they completed the trial, she still didn't expect the mental and physical impact to be overwhelming.
Her muscles tightened, and the rumble in her mind slowly intensified. Let alone subdue it. Even defending against it seemed basically impossible. Iris could feel her consciousness slipping out of her body.
Roaring loudly, she gathered her consciousness and steeled her willpower, which she had strengthened for several decades as an elite warrior. Still, it felt as though she could collapse here at any moment.
"I… can't… die here! I CAN'T DIE HERE!" Iris gritted those words through her teeth as the sensation of her soul being painfully pulled out, string by string, suddenly overwhelmed her whole being.
Under the impact of such a sensation, Iris felt as though her whole being was already on the verge of falling apart.
"Katcha!"
The sound of something shattering deep within her body caused Iris's entire body to tremble. Suddenly, a bright milky mark of two wings appeared on her forehead, one looking immensely more significant than the other.
The bright-winged mark became more apparent with each passing moment. It slowly seeped within her being as though it was etching itself deep within her body and soul before it slowly began to dim down, suppressing the overwhelming sensation that had previously consumed her entire body.
Gradually, Iris could feel her consciousness returning, causing her eyes to flicker open slowly.
Around her, some of the warriors had already fainted from exhaustion or shock, failing to withstand the process of merging with the divine blood to the end, even though the Aegis of the Arctic Deity had helped refine some of it while they were unconscious at the end of the trial.
