Everyone stands before me in newly upgraded gear.
Many spent yesterday farming for MCP using my absorption skill in the higher floors of the labyrinth, crafting the highest-grade blood-bonded armor they could with A-Grade loot, while others rested and waited for these final hours to draw near.
While there are thousands of C and B-grade hunters around the 8 Great Regions and the Dark Continent who would happily put their lives on the line if I had their regional directors give the order, it is best that an elite squad fights on the front lines.
The weakest troops from the Central Association and the demonic army have red divine cores; only the Crimson Army and the Inner Circle can handle forces like these. Even Bri and Rodrigo stay behind in the Apex Capital with the A-Class hunters for now, continuing to spread the word.
Having semi-powerful, well-known figures in the public eye bringing me more stats to draw from is a battle of its own.
"The war shall begin when the sun rises. Be ready for anything... Any last questions?"
No one speaks, all wearing serious expressions, as the details of our mission were made clear yesterday.
"Good, let's move out."
With myself and Ember leading our army; Abby, Maria, Raven, and Arie follow close behind.
Luna follows Arie, while Fisher and Lydia walk beside her.
Monk and the Saint, along with his two orange-cored disciples, follow behind them.
Finally, the Elemental Captains lead three squads of Crimson Army troops.
Our aura lights up the night.
Everyone here has been power-leveled above level 7000 and have mana control far beyond their level. All their skills are fully upgraded and they're stacked head to toe with high quality A-grade gear.
We have 3 True Cores, 3 Yellow Cores, 2 Orange Cores halfway to Yellow, 2 Newly Awakened Orange Cores, 2 Demonic Soul energy wielders, and 3 dozen elite soldiers wielding elemental energy with mana control far stronger than the perks a mere red-core Demonic Knight has.
Above and below, two of my body doubles float with us in stealth mode, and one trails behind us a few kilometers as well.
Our force is less than 25% the size of either of the other two forces we're going against, but with over 15.6 million links of loyalty at my disposal, the number ticking upward every second, I feel both nerves, confidence, and excitement flowing through my body.
We all stop and float down to the desert floor at the edge of the Abyss, now less than 50 kilometers from the base of the tower.
To our north in Sector 1, the Demon's troops have begun moving into their own formation, following their Commanders and Generals as they move toward the Abyss just like us.
To the west in Sector 3, and to the northwest in Sector 4, forces of about 100 troops each move inward toward the Abyss as well.
The Vermillion Family Demon still stays behind a few hundred kilometers away, silently watching the tower, but I vividly remember the speed at which he traveled over to Arie not too long ago and know he could be with his troops in the blink of an eye if he wished.
With his words of wanting to settle our dispute within the throne, all I do now is size up the armies left behind and feel confident my teammates can handle it.
The only thing that irks me as we wait in the silence of night is the fact that the Big Three are nowhere to be seen.
Not even a word of them is mentioned by the troops left behind, and I don't get a single reading of them anywhere within thousands of kilometers.
Again, as the world sleeps calmly as if this is nothing but another day, three armies stand at a stalemate, waiting for the darkness to completely recede back into the black tower that reaches high into the sky.
–
In front of me, there is an outline of an archway many kilometers high and wide, and the sliver of space that leads to the inside of the tower glows with the same silver light.
My All-Seeing Eye finds three more archways that look exactly the same in front of each of the armies that seek to enter.
I watch the Demon's Leader take a step forward, then point a finger and open a Demonic Rift right beside himself.
An enormous black dragon with a dark purple underside steps out onto the sand, its True Core visible in its chest, but its pressure and presence are concealed just like the demon it stands beside blocking me from reading its true strength or status.
The approaching forces from Central veer off in three different directions.
Two head toward their armies waiting to greet them, while one of the wells of massive divine energy turns to come right toward me.
The ground vibrates more than it ever has before, and the entire tower flashes with silver light, blinding the entire Dark Continent and sending out a catastrophic surge.
When the silver light fades, the entire tower returns to black, save for the four arched doorways left behind.
Now there is no black door blocking the entry; it is an open silver divine portal leading into the tower.
The Vermillion Demon disappears, and his dragon does too, but the sand is disrupted beneath his flight path as they blast forward, flying straight into the silver light without hesitation.
Half of the Demons turn to their right, and half turn to their left, holding up their weapons and letting out an immense aura ready for war.
I take a deep breath, turn to Ember, and activate my greater form while he fully transforms into his dragon form.
Then, send a final wave of telepathy to everyone behind me.
"I'll do my job inside the tower, and you do yours out here. Let's save the world."
We blast forward through the dense gravity surrounding the throne, and I borrow 5% of stats from everyone that isn't on the battlefield now, boosting our speed to travel faster than I've ever moved before.
At the same time, I watch a blue, yellow, and white blur of light fall from the sky and enter the Central Headquarters doorway in Sector 3. My perception picks up the image of a muscular woman riding a 30-meter-long white serpent, but there is so much divine radiation in the air, it's hard to see it clearly.
Then, in the doorway facing Sector 4, a black, yellow, and white light rockets toward that door. I can see a slim man in nothing but a black suit riding an armored black horse, but the aura I receive when peering at him for too long is eerie, like a bad dream.
Finally, a yellow and red ball of divine energy comes down from the sky, aiming right for the doorway that Ember and I are flying toward.
It is a tall, muscular man with red hair and a matching beard, riding a massive hound with vicious eyes and a glowing collar matching the intensity of his True Core.
Elara and Beckman enter the doors in Sectors 3 and 4 at the exact same moment that Ember and I touch the silver door just above the desert floor.
However, the flaming man in the sky makes contact with the silver portal about a kilometer overhead, yelling aloud for all to hear.
"The time has come! The world is truly at my fingertips!"
He pulls a long flaming yellow sword from a sheath by his side and points it downward, making eye contact with me and yelling again while both of us phase through the silver portal.
"Flame Emperor, I've been waiting for you too. You'll be my first battle to celebrate coming out of retirement. I'll warm up by killing you before the first trial even begins!"
We all disappear into the throne and a fourth and final surge of silver light flashes from the entire tower before the portal-like doors fade and it returns to black.