The group stood before the tall, smooth, white wall of the enormous heavenly vault, its size rising to at least fifteen floors in height.
"Teleport us twenty meters forward. There should be a corridor, if my memory is correct," Lucifer said.
Now that the barrier had been broken, Vesuvius could finally use his powers directly in the vault, or at least in the less secure parts, as no one doubted there would be multiple layers of protection to secure it.
Space warped around the group, immediately shifting into a white corridor, with silver runes glowing on every inch of the surface, reflecting in the mirror-like walls and creating staggering imagery.
"Intruder!" An artificial, almost mechanical voice echoed through the hallway. Two angelic constructs, synthetic beings with the semblance of divine angels but with metallic, clockwork features, stood guard. They drew swords of light, their eyes glowing with an eerie blue light.
Red flashed, and crimson flames enveloped the constructs, instantly incinerating them. Their mechanical forms melted into pools of liquid metal, hissing and bubbling on the pristine floor.
Simultaneously, Vesuvius's eyes flashed, and the warped space barrier quickly expanded, isolating the area from the outside. For a moment, he tensed, but as there were no signs of anyone noticing, he dismissed the barrier.
'Poor constructs.' Even Vesuvius felt pity for the synthetic beings who had come into the path of a group of king-level beings.
"This way."
The group silently walked down the white corridor, their steps not creating even the slightest noise. There were no more guards, only the white walls around them.
'Probably too paranoid to let too many angels in.' Vesuvius quickly analyzed the situation.
As they advanced, the corridor widened into a chamber. In the center stood a powerful construct, a gleaming figure of heavenly metal with runes etched into its armor, eyes glowing with divine energy. A massive, mace-like staff shone with light in its grip.
The construct stepped forward, blocking their path. "Intruders," it intoned in a voice that reverberated through the chamber. "You shall not pass." It smashed the staff into the floor, sending a shockwave that cracked the floor.
"But there was no alarm. Everything worked perfectly!"
"To hell with this! All the planning, for nothing! Why is he here?" For the first time since he knew him, Lucifer's tone changed, and his eyes turned red.
"Graah!" Satanael's body expanded, bursting and destroying all the walls in their path. The stone fell as flames exploded everywhere, melting everything into puddles of crimson lava reeking with demonic power. All seven of his heads turned to the sky, and seven crimson beams shot from the gaping mouths of the demonic dragon.
He flapped his wings, raining into the sky above the vault.
"Who dares? Who courts death?!" An unknown voice filled with power boomed, shaking the remaining rubble. "You dare trespass in my sacred domain? Your impudence knows no bounds! Prepare to face the wrath of the heavens!"
"I have to go!" The god of knowledge vanished instantly, and Vesuvius's mind went into overdrive, the thought of retreat passing through.
Vesuvius felt for the source of the aura again and breathed a sigh of relief—it was far, very far, likely just checking the vault with some divine power, like his remote domain.
Even though he had chased away the dwarven god before and wasn't alone this time, he wasn't so arrogant as to think he could defeat a god in their true form on their own territory.
He didn't even know what to expect of a god, what power they had, or what their limits were.
In the sky revealed after Satanael took to the air, countless, tens of thousands of angels swarmed the demonic dragon. Multiple king-level auras were approaching, and the god of light was also moving in their direction, his aura growing so dense it almost turned physical.
'Retreat? Hell no, I am not returning empty-handed.' Assured by his ways of escape, Vesuvius also erupted with power, his bipedal body warping and changing, quickly expanding into his true form.
"Lucifer! You have two minutes to find the artifact and steal everything that isn't pinned to the ground! Then we are leaving." He spat out the words, knowing that the fallen angel was the most likely to find their goal in the half-destroyed vault before the god arrives.
As Vesuvius rose into the sky, flapping his wings, he could finally see how truly vast the vault was. Even after the destruction, it sprawled to a size not much smaller than an entire town.
'Of course! Nothing ever goes according to plan!'