At the entrance of the passage—

"....?" Holak suddenly froze at the edge of the gate and stretched his massive head toward the opposite side before immediately pulling it back and shouting furiously, "What the hell is happening over there?!"

Baf.

A gigantic human clad in the distinctive armor of the Imperial Guard landed heavily beside Holak.

His massive build and towering height prevented him from appearing entirely dwarfed even while standing beside Holak himself.

It was Drake, captain of the Body Division.

"Boss, what’s wrong?" Drake asked while glancing toward the gate suspiciously. "Why did the beasts suddenly stop entering? Did we actually wipe them all out?"

Behind Drake, black blood had flooded the battlefield like swamps.

Even the nearby salty sea had begun resembling thick oil more than water.

Battles were technically still ongoing, but corpses had already begun vastly outnumbering the surviving beasts, and the pace of exterminating the remaining enemies had accelerated dramatically.

When the First Guardian announced an increase in battle tempo and ordered an additional battalion into combat, everyone’s adrenaline exploded and they began fighting as though staking their lives on every second.

But then suddenly...

The gate stopped vomiting additional beasts entirely.

That abrupt change filled everyone with conflicting emotions.

None of them knew whether they should finally breathe in relief because of their mad leader’s decision...

Or mourn the disappearance of an opportunity to further increase their points.

"How could they possibly be finished?! Of course not!" Holak waved furiously before pointing toward the gate again. "Before the gate even opened, I counted thousands! THOUSANDS!!"

Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam.

Four additional figures landed beside them one after another.

Each wore unique armor carrying the unmistakable style of the Imperial Guard.

Three of them were Malik, Wade, and Latania, every one of them soaked in blood just like Drake.

And accompanying them was the fourth—

A human woman.

Her thick black hair extended down to the middle of her back, drenched in beast blood.

Her light hazel eyes gleamed sharply beneath even the faintest traces of reflected light.

Her facial features were not masculine like Latania’s, but they possessed a dagger-like sharpness that naturally demanded both respect and fear from anyone facing her.

A faint blue tattoo surrounded one of her eyes.

A beautiful yet dangerous-looking mark that enhanced her appearance, though it clearly did not resemble an energy tattoo.

This was Nancy.

Born inside one of Nihari’s human farms.

Possessing extraordinary natural affinity toward the Law of Gravity.

And currently serving as captain of the Gravity Division.

The moment Holak noticed all of them gathering around him, he immediately raised his voice angrily.

"What exactly do you all want from me?! Should I fart beasts for you people or something?!"

"Can’t you somehow contact His Majesty, Boss?" Nancy asked seriously. "The waves stopped immediately after His Highness and Asr entered." Then she furrowed her brows slightly. "Judging from the manner in which His Highness and Asr entered, something major is clearly happening over there. Whether additional beasts appear or not should be the least of our concerns right now."

"How am I supposed to contact him when he’s beyond the void itself?!" Holak roared while gesturing wildly. "I can’t even see over there!" Then he leaned toward the gate again. "Where did they all disappear to?! What is this darkness?!"

Naturally, nobody heard his voice.

Even Holak himself could not hear anything.

He was merely moving his mouth furiously in silence.

There was nothing close enough to the gate for his weak soul sense to detect...

Everything beyond the entrance was consumed by absolute darkness.

Then suddenly—

Something happened.

Shwaaaaaala—

A star appeared within the void itself.

Born from absolute nothingness.

And illuminated everything.

Holak’s furious expression instantly froze into shock.

Hundreds of thousands of beasts gathered together.

The Tree Father attacking endlessly.

Asir, Morgana, Blokan, and Althira standing helplessly to the side.

And His Majesty standing there beneath the light, surrounded by glowing symbols, clearly fighting seriously...

Fighting against a dark-skinned woman with white hair...?

"This..." The five division captains standing beside the passage saw everything as well, and their eyes widened completely.

"B-Boss!!" Holak suddenly shouted before instantly leaping toward the gate.

"Wait!!" Malik immediately activated the Law of Time to slow Holak’s movement before rushing forward and grabbing him tightly from behind. Then he shouted toward the others, "Drake! Wade! Help me hold him down!"

"Mm." Drake immediately stepped forward and restrained Holak’s arms from behind.

Meanwhile, Wade leapt upward and wrapped one arm tightly around Holak’s neck, "Calm down, Boss!"

"What are you all doing?! Let me go!!" Holak roared furiously while continuing to force himself forward despite the three of them restraining him together.

His movement had slowed dramatically beneath Malik’s Law of Time, yet even then his monstrous physical strength continued dragging them across the ground little by little.

"He’s fighting..." Holak’s voice gradually became heavier. "I’m his guardian..." Then he roared again while struggling harder, "He’s fighting alone before my eyes!!"

Latania stepped forward before carefully extending her head partially beyond the edge of the void for a brief instant.

Then she immediately pulled herself back while choking slightly.

"...Any one of us entering the other side would mean near-instant death." She took several breaths before continuing. "We possess laws and high combat power, yes, but we do not possess enough pure energy to remain alive there for more than five minutes..." Then she looked directly toward Holak. "And that’s without even engaging in combat." Her gaze sharpened. "Malik is right. Your entry would only become an obstacle and a needless loss."

"An obstacle? me?" Holak shouted in disbelief before his voice suddenly lowered into something quieter and far more dangerous.

"...An obstacle?!"

"Calm down, Boss, even you can’t punch death away!" Malik raised his voice firmly before immediately turning toward Latania. "Please move all four battalions and have them eliminate the remaining nascent space beasts. We must prepare ourselves in case any entity crosses through."

"Understood." Latania did not waste time arguing.

There was no longer any room for hesitation.

"Ah, I’ll summon the royal soul masters and the Nexus States for support." Nancy immediately turned around before leaping toward the Burton Family’s Soul Division captain.

After Latania and Nancy departed, Malik raised his head slightly.

"Wade, please take the gate and personally inform headquarters about what’s happening. Request reinforcements from every royal soul master and Connection State belonging to our personal armies." Then his expression darkened slightly. "Only those who took powerful soul oaths. We still have no idea what kind of secrets are being exposed over there."

"Understood." Wade slightly lowered his head before leaning closer toward Holak’s ear and whispering softly,

"Don’t take this personally, Boss."

Then—

Woooosh.

He vanished instantly.

"...." Malik had already prepared himself mentally to receive even more pressure after Wade released Holak.

Yet suddenly...

Nothing happened.

Holak had completely stopped trying to move forward.

"...." Malik silently waited several moments until he became fully certain Holak had truly stopped resisting before finally speaking again without turning his head.

"Brother Drake, please assist the guards in finishing things quickly and order them to rest afterward and prepare themselves. Your presence on the battlefield will raise morale and help them conclude things faster."

"Mmm..." Drake slowly released Holak’s shoulders.

After confirming that Holak genuinely was not moving anymore, he turned around and immediately leapt toward the nearest beast before smashing directly into it headfirst.

Malik also slowly loosened his grip afterward before canceling the effect of the Fundamental Law of Time surrounding Holak and stepping backward carefully.

"...There is no need for grief, Boss. Our duty is to support His Majesty however we can. Dying meaninglessly will not help him..." His voice lowered slightly. "Nor would it make him happy."

When Malik noticed Holak remaining completely silent while his gigantic body trembled faintly, he slowly took another step backward.

"I’ll go coordinate with the soul masters."

Then he vanished as well.

Even if Holak attempted charging through the gate again, Malik already knew he would never be capable of stopping him alone anyway.

As for Holak—

He simply remained standing there motionlessly.

His enormous eyes stared endlessly through the gate.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Several royal soul masters rushed past him like arrows before entering without the slightest hesitation in order to assist the battle beyond the void.

Meanwhile...

Holak remained where he was.

Standing.

Watching.

Silently watching his master fight to death before his own eyes.