Five people entered the cavern under Damien and Pandora's watch.
The two groups gazed at each other from their respective places, neither moving prematurely.
Damien's solemn expression persisted as he used All-Seeing Eyes to inspect the enemies.
'Damn…'
A High Commander and four 2nd and 3rd class Nox, this group was far beyond what the realm should've allowed.
And tracing their eyes, their goal was also clear.
'That man must be…'
Damien suddenly got flashbacks to the situation he experienced in the 3000 Beast Mountain Range.
A sealed Demigod that was close to breaking free from his shackles, a catastrophe caused by the collision of such world-breaking forces that killed hundreds of millions of beings.
"You are talented humans to make it here," the man at the head of the Nox group started, his gaze landing on Damien.
"Do not needlessly waste your lives here."
He spoke as if it was a foregone conclusion that the two of them would die in combat against his group.
And he wasn't necessarily wrong. With Damien's combat strength, he could at most take on the underlings. Their leader was far out of his capacity.
And Pandora…Damien didn't have many chances to see her strength, but he didn't think she was stronger than him.
"You tell us not to waste our lives, but aren't you just going to kill us anyway? What's the point of talking?" He said cautiously, entertaining the idea of escape.
The Nox High Commander scrutinized him before speaking again.
"There is a way to survive. Join us. Do not place your fates in the hands of this doomed universe."
"Pfft…!"
Damien scoffed unwittingly, and even Pandora turned her head to the side in amusement.
"Do you think anyone who can make it to this stage would join you? The only ones you could possibly convince are those rabble with the mentality of bratty children."
The one who quipped back wasn't Damien, but Pandora!
At the same time, a mental transmission entered Damien's ear.
'We have to take care of these trashes before they can accomplish anything. Do you have a plan?'
Damien's eyes widened as he looked over with no idea whether or not he was hearing things.
Was this the same stale and petty person he'd been dealing with thus far?!
He immediately regained composure and responded.
'Not really. That guy is a High Commander, and neither of us has the strength to deal with him. If he gets to the being sealed on the spire, it'll be over for us.'
'That person is alive?'
'Alive but sealed. He should be a Nox Demigod.'
'I see. Then we should kill him as well.'
Damien almost couldn't hide his blank stare.
What was this attitude? It was like she was saying "It's just killing Demigods, right? What's the big deal?"
But she wasn't talking to someone ordinary either, so her words weren't as nonsensical as they normally would've been.
'I can take care of a sealed Demigod, but you'd have to hold off the High Commander.' Damien finally responded, only half serious.
However, Pandora didn't seem to notice his sarcasm.
'High Commander…it can be done. When you move, I shall move as well.'
Damien couldn't stop the smile forming on his face.
What a daring individual! In front of the Nox, Pandora's entire demeanor changed into that of a true Holy Land Saintess.
And Damien…
'This is too fun of a gamble to resist.'
He was confident in saving himself at the very least, and if Pandora wanted to risk herself, why should he interfere?
The exchange between the two took place in a split second, and with the way their expressions changed, it looked more like they were laughing at Pandora's quip rather than formulating a plan.
And unlike the two of them, the Nox were not amused in the slightest by the situation.
"All you geniuses choose death. It is a shame to see." The High Commander sighed.
"Very well, if that is your wish, I shall grant you deaths befitting of warriors. The name of your killer is Malak. Remember it well."
The High Commander, Malak, took a single step forward.
And Damien moved instantly.
"Good luck!" He shouted as he exploded with strength and jumped into the air, climbing up the spire.
"Hmph!"
Pandora responded with a snort and moved to stand between the Nox group and Damien.
She clapped her hands together and maintained a praying position. The artifacts on her body began to shine with magisterial light.
"Master, please aid your child."
She whispered the words, and as her prayer floated into the air, her garments changed into mystical smoke that coalesced over her head.
Pandora's form was revealed wearing the beautiful top disciple robes of the Prismatic Sun Holy Land. Long locks of her navy blue hair swam in the air like an ocean, and while her piercing eyes and sharp jaw made her face look extremely serious, her beauty was also truly unparalleled.
It made sense for her to wear garments that hid this appearance, lest it destroy worlds!
In the star-filled orange mana that encased her body, this beauty was even more enunciated.
Only, it was shadowed soon after by the being that formed from the smoke atop her head.
"Disciple, why have you summoned me? Don't tell me that little assembly was too much for you?"
A heavenly voice oozed out of the mystical beauty in the smoke, filling the entire cavern in a contrastingly dominant way.
Malak didn't take his second step once that being appeared.
"You are…"
"Hm?"
The figure's eyes turned to the Nox High Commander scornfully.
"I see. So such a thing truly happened."
Her words were simple, but the power behind her voice increased severalfold.
"Disciple, lend me your body."
"Yes, Master."
Pandora closed her eyes and allowed the smoke to descend into her, and when her eyes reopened, they shone with a rainbow light that completely differed from their regular color.
"Beast, you actually dared to bully my disciple. It shouldn't be a problem for me to return her suffering to you, no?"
The woman in Pandora's body, no, the Prismatic Sun Holy Master, stepped forward and without a hint of hesitation, dragged the Nox group into battle.
Damien watched the entire situation pan out from the very tip of the spire, a smile forming on his face.
'So this is your trump card. Mm, I guess when you have a Demigod's Avatar supporting you, there's no reason to fear a High Commander.'
He didn't expect to meet the Prismatic Sun Holy Master so soon, but if he wanted to converse with her, it'd have to wait until the current situation ended.
'This time, the Nox's attack is just plain stupid. This is the gathering place of the universe's experts, and they were destined for failure from the start. There is absolutely no reason for them to throw suicide troops into this realm unless…'
Either this Demigod was incredibly important, or the treasure aura on his body was linked to something the Nox valued deeply.
BANG!
An explosion of rainbow light kicked up large clouds of dust in the cavern, bringing Damien out of his thoughts.
'Well then, I guess I should get to work too.'
