It didn't take long for the others to get swept up in Damien's momentum. His current attitude combined with the mysterious ability he had used to gather them was enough to lead the flow of conversation.
Damien started first, describing the scenes of the 90th floor as well as the topics he heard the researchers discussing. He also mentioned their plans for the world core but left out information on its location and his newfound bond to it.
Even if he had established that the old men from the Cloud Plane were allies, it didn't mean he'd place his full trust in them. He'd wait until later to explain these things to his companions.
But the lack of crucial information didn't make his discoveries any less shocking. To the girls, it was the sheer scale of the plan and the madness of it all, but to the old men, it was something more.
These were the enemies they were facing on their own planet as well, and seeing the depths of their schemes left a sense of foreboding within them.
After Damien, the girls also shared their findings. Even though they had stayed within the bunker for the same amount of time, they had seen much more. It couldn't be helped since they descended almost 30 floors while Damien went directly to floor 90.
They spoke about the lumps of flesh they saw being researched, the tubes filled with deformed beings, and the experiments that turned these beings into abominations.
After that, they spoke about the 80th floor down to the 90th, which functioned as a prison area for those who would eventually become test subjects.
Damien could sense how uncomfortable the girls were with what they witnessed, so he moved to cut them off, but he also noticed Rose hesitating as if she wanted to add something. He lightly grabbed her hand, hoping to give her some small form of assurance.
Rose looked at him gratefully before opening her mouth to speak. "Those syringes filled with that mysterious substance…it looked awfully similar to the body of the Nox."
A solemn atmosphere descended. Not only was Damien serious, but also the old men. The Nox was a common enemy that all of them had, they very well may be the common enemy of many worlds.
Damien already had an inkling that the Nox would be involved, but even this slight confirmation was still incredibly serious.
"Looks like we need to move as soon as possible."
He looked at the 3 old men before continuing. "I hope you three can help us fight against the three from Niflheim."
Xiao Zhen nodded, and with his approval, the other two didn't disagree.
"Alright, we don't need to destroy every single one of those villains in there, since that'd be overkill. As long as we kill the 3rd classes, the rest is light work. After their deaths, I'll destroy the facility."
Everyone nodded once more. To be honest, this was enough planning. The fight may have been delayed a bit, but it was their inevitable victory.
Without another word, all 7 of them, including Zara, released their full auras.
Within the 3rd floor of the Niflheim bunker, Haldir and the other two were alerted by the sudden influx of aura from the peripherals of their base. Gathering, the three looked at each other solemnly.
"Let's go. The three of them don't have a chance against us anyway, and nothing can be allowed to stand in the way of our plans. Let's eradicate them before we finish this world."
The other two nodded before they all left the base, arriving before Damien's group.
Looking at the new players arriving, Damien's first feeling was disgust. Rather than the manly forms they showed outwardly, Damien was seeing their true bodies.
They were grotesque black goblin-like creatures with bat-like wings. Their pointy noses and beady eyes filled with greedy resolve served to send a chill down the back of anyone they made contact with. These were the dark imp race of Niflheim.
Without any words, Damien drew his sword and charged.
'Void Sword Art First Step: Bladeless'
The air was cut in two as a massive crack formed in earth's atmosphere, gushing with the deathly aura of the void.
The three dark imps were forced to dodge hurriedly to avoid being cut. Damien charged directly for the one on the right, who went by the name of Isaiah.
While the two began their battle, similar scenes took place in the different areas of the large marshy land.
Elena and Rose charged together towards the other weaker one named Weiss while the three old men from the Cloud Plane ganged up on the leader.
There was a reason for this. Although they weren't aware of it before, they were now. This man named Haldir was at the peak of 3rd class. Even if they were powerful, none of them could take him individually.
The three old men directly surrounded the dark imp and decided to hold nothing back. They had no desire to lose their lives in this battle.
"Sacred Eye Formation!"
Lines of mana erupted and connected the three old men, forming a closed triangle around Haldir. However, the dark imp simply watched everything with a calm gaze. From within the triangular formation, tens of attacks were launched. Wind from two sides, and flames from the other. The elements combined into a massive fire tornado that threatened to swallow Haldir whole. Yet, he didn't move. Opening his mouth, he let out a guttural screech like a beast.
"KREEE!"
The wind was blasted apart and the flame tornado was put in a disordered state. Haldir's fingers elongated into claws as he began his assault on his opponents.
The other two battles were much more favorable to Damien's side. He and Zara worked together to easily overpower Isaiah, while Rose and Elena somehow had great teamwork that did the same with Weiss.
The two dark imps were already on their final leg. From across the battlefield, the two locked eyes. It was clear that they had the same thoughts.
'We can't let anything get in the way of our mission!'
Simultaneously, the imps distanced themselves from their enemies. Before either team could catch up, they put their sharp claws up to their chests and ripped massive gashes in their skin.
"I offer my body as sacrifice to the Venerable One!"
"I offer my body as sacrifice to the Venerable One!"
They said one after another. Immediately, black beams of light left their bodies, encasing them in massive cocoons.
*Crack!*
It didn't take long for them to emerge. However, they were no longer the same as the ones who entered. Their previously 1-meter tall bodies had doubled in size and their eyes were hollow. If before they still attempted to maintain their human appearance, that was no longer the case.
Their grotesque forms were plain to see, but they had become much worse. The inky traits of the Nox were prevalent in their bodies now, and it didn't seem like they possessed conscious thought.
Damien charged once more, hoping it was just a physical change, but how could that be the case. As he relentlessly slashed and stabbed at the new Isaiah, he found that his body was eerily similar to the Nox they had met before. No matter how much he cut, the injuries would become ink and reattach to his body.
But Damien wasn't the same as he was in the temple, and he also had the empowerment of the earth. Raising his arm, he spoke a single word.
"Incinerate."
A beam of light fell from the sky like a shooting star and pierced Isaiah's body. The dark imp roared with pride as if something like this couldn't hurt it, but that was just hubris. The second the beam made contact, the imp's entire body was turned to ash.
Glancing at the aftermath for a second, Damien turned to watch Elena and Rose's battle as well.
The girls were doing great, and Elena's first combat against a Nox seemed to be even better than his. Her light element was specialized in purification and speed, directly countering the Nox elements of Weiss' transformation.
The light burned its body, similar to the beam Damien used, and slowly chipped away at its health. Meanwhile, Rose stayed at range, using her wind and illusions to keep it occupied.
She hasn't used her Illusory Throne yet, but Damien didn't think much about it. Perhaps she was just training for situations where it was unavailable.
The main problem was the three old men from the Cloud Plane. Even with their combined might, they were barely able to push Haldir back. The final dark imp was leagues stronger than the other two.
He shot dark projectiles that corroded the old men's flesh and tissue while using his terrifying claws to aggravate the wounds. There seemed to be some sort of poison at work too.
Yet, the old men still had the numbers advantage. Over the course of the past half hour, they had managed to corner the dark imp.
Haldir was fed up. Gritting his teeth, he made the same move as his underlings.
"I offer my body as sacrifice to the Venerable One."
