If he hadn't been grazed by Redina's spiritual beam, Karen truly wouldn't have noticed anything abnormal about it, subconsciously assuming it was just naturally that powerful.
The Void Space was a peculiar place. Most of the youths here had never been to Augurev Fortress. On top of that, Redina could not adapt to external environments and was practically never seen in the real world, which led to preconceived notions.
As for Aisli's description of Redina... those adjectives had a fairly wide margin of interpretation. After all, Aisli certainly hadn't fought a Redina herself.
"Mars."
"Captain!"
"This round is up to you. I'll provide support. You control the overall structure, and I'll handle the details. We just need to outlast Redina's stimulants. Once the drug wears off, it'll collapse."
"Captain, how about I support you instead?"
"No need. You should get a chance to show your stuff."
This was the first time since the squad's formation that Karen had lied to maintain his image.
Given his current grasp of arrays, he could only play a supporting role in controlling an array, checking for leaks and filling in gaps. If he were to preside over an array right now—especially one of this level—things could easily go wrong.
However, Karen had already decided that once he returned, he would focus on studying Mr. Hoffen's notes and read fewer idle books from the shelves.
Mars seemed thrilled, as he finally had a chance to step up.
Under his direction, no matter how many times Redina attacked the array, it remained stable. Although he bore a heavy load himself, with Karen's assistance, his expenditure and strain remained within an acceptable range.
The other squad members stood there watching Redina outside grow increasingly rabid.
By now, everyone was convinced the captain was right. Redina's escalating frenzy signaled that it already anticipated what awaited it once the stimulants wore off.
"What's the purpose of using stimulants?" Ventura wondered aloud.
Karen answered, "To speed up the elimination rate of the squads. And, perhaps, what is truly expensive is the Puxien waiting in the next round."
Time ticked by, and the Redina outside the array began showing obvious signs of weakness.
Meanwhile, of the ten squads that had originally entered this round, six had already been eliminated by Redina.
Squad 1, having paid a heavy price, was the first to slay their Redina.
Squad 7 finished off their target shortly after. This squad had remained remarkably resilient throughout.
The other squad still holding on was unexpectedly the one with the sleepy girl, Philomena. In an extremely dire situation, they had managed the kill thanks to Philomena piercing Redina's head with a bolt of black lightning.
Yet Philomena herself looked thoroughly battered, covered in ghastly wounds, and her teammates were all severely injured as well.
Looking at the four remaining squads, the elimination of Philomena's squad in the upcoming round was virtually a foregone conclusion, as they had no potential left to squeeze out for further competition.
Philomena seemed to understand this as well. After slaying Redina, she sat down, her gaze somewhat vacant.
At this point, however, the organizers made an interesting adjustment: they cleared the fields of the eliminated squads and contracted the space, bringing the remaining squads together into four smaller squares assembled into one large square.
Thus, the other three squads could now observe Karen's Squad 3 at close range, because Karen's battle was not over yet.
…
Squad 1:
"Captain, are they pacing themselves again?" Pasio asked.
Muri shook his head. "Doesn't look like it."
"I didn't think so either. Defending purely with an array without taking the offensive won't make the Redina outside weaken on its own.
"In the end, it just wastes the array master's power for nothing, and when the array collapses, they'll still have to fight it out.
"If it was just to let teammates recover, they already had plenty of time earlier. It's impossible to reach the end in peak condition without paying any price."
"Pasio, do you think there's a possibility..."
"What possibility, Captain?"
"That Squad 3 knows everything you just said full well?"
"Well, of course."
"So given that they know this and still chose to do it, you can set aside your skepticism and try considering a less likely possibility."
"A less likely possibility?"
"Namely, what you just said: Redina will weaken on its own."
"How is that possible? Nobody's attacking it; it's just pounding on a defensive array..."
"Redina is already weakening."
"What?!"
At that moment, all the squads in the other three barriers turned their attention toward Karen's squad, for they clearly saw that the Redina, which had just been rampaging so fiercely, was beginning to wither at a rate visible to the naked eye.
This transformation struck them as unbelievable. Yet having made it to the final selection and this far proved their excellence, so comprehension quickly dawned on them.
Along with that comprehension came an overwhelming sense of absurdity.
Muri remarked, "They injected Redina with powerful stimulants."
Pasio pursed his lips. "So... what were we doing just now?"
Kane, the bald captain of Squad 7, stuck out his tongue, licked the wound on his wrist, and cursed, "Squad 3's waiting stands as a testament to how foolish we were."
A female member beside bald Kane spoke up: "Our rival isn't Squad 3, but Squad 1."
Clearly, both Squad 1 and Squad 7 had eliminated Squad 3 from their list of immediate competitors, taking it for granted that Squad 3 would secure one of the final spots.
The control and intellect displayed by Squad 3 filled them with deep apprehension.
Philomena bit her lip, closed her eyes, and let out a long breath.
She felt no envy, no jealousy, and no regret; she only wanted this to end quickly. She wanted to leave this selection and have a good sleep.
Yet she also felt that sleep would probably elude her.
Redina lay sprawled outside the array, completely motionless.
The side effects of the potent stimulant had fully manifested, but Karen still hesitated, suspecting Redina might be holding back for one final ambush.
The safest approach was to remain inside the array and wait; Mars could maintain it for a while longer. However, continuing to wait would undoubtedly grant the other three squads more breathing room.
The returns on time had a relative nature.
Earlier, while the others were battling their Redinas to the death, Karen's team only expended their array master's strength while everyone else rested, waiting for Redina to collapse on its own. During that phase, the relative gain was at its peak.
That approach maximized their preservation while other squads paid the price in injuries—injuries and depletion that could not possibly heal on their own in the short term without being admitted to the ministry hospital.
Now, however, Redina had collapsed, which meant their returns had stalled. While the other squads could not fully recover during this window, granting them even a little more respite was practically a "crime" against themselves, causing their relative advantage to diminish.
In the end, Karen decided to wait no longer. He stepped out of the array and walked up to Redina.
As it turned out, the backlash had completely crushed it. Lying on the ground, Redina lacked the strength to stand back up, let alone launch a desperate ambush.
Karen raised his hand. The ground trembled slightly, and then that massive black cone emerged once again, skewering Redina's body straight from below. As the cone expanded, Redina's corpse was torn apart, falling away in mangled chunks from all sides of the cone.
Dark clouds reappeared within the barriers of the remaining four squads, signaling the start of the ten-minute countdown for the next round.
Karen closed his eyes and let out a long breath. Behind him, the Kendos Threefold Defensive Array ceased functioning, and Blanche began applying blessings to Mars to help him recover.
Aisli said, "Next up is Puxien."
"Mm, tell me about it."
"I've only read about Puxien in my father's notes. My father drew an illustration of it and made a comparison, saying it looks like one of the two balls on that part of a man's body. Um... Captain, can you picture it?"
"Mm, I have a vivid picture."
"Ah, yes, that's what it looks like! It's wonderful that you can picture it, Captain."
"Does your father often make comparisons like that?"
"That was his journal. He didn't intend for anyone else to read it. I stumbled across it back when I was trying to find the love letters he wrote to my mother."
A journal written with no intention of being read?
Karen figured Aisli's mother had probably read it long ago.
"Tell me about Puxien's traits."
"My father didn't seem very familiar with it. He only wrote down one sentence: 'When it appears alive, it will be everywhere.'"
"That's all?"
"Mm, that's all."
"I see. From that, Puxien likely possesses unimaginable speed?"
"Captain, I was thinking the same thing. So, shall we summon Mombas?"
Are you really that eager to give your father a vasectomy?
Then again, from a daughter's perspective, there didn't seem to be any reason to object.
Still, Karen couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed.
"No rush. Let's see how things develop. If necessary, I'll help you summon Mombas."
"Understood, Captain."
"Ventura, Bart, Blanche, the three of you form an independent combat unit. Pay attention: prioritize protecting Blanche, and feel free to bring out your trump cards."
"Yes, Captain!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"Mars, stay inside the array and keep resting. I want you to ensure that in the next round, you have enough power to activate the Mental Bridge Array."
"Yes, Captain!"
Ventura's trio could form the simplest triangular formation, while Karen needed to remain by Aisli's side to decide whether summoning Mombas was warranted.
In short, this round required taking down Puxien through a head-on clash.
The best-case scenario would be two squads getting eliminated in this round, allowing his squad and the other survivor to secure the final spots without entering another round.
Philomena's squad definitely couldn't hold out; their faces showed no spark of will to persevere. What Karen worried about most was Squad 1 and Squad 7 continuing to hold their ground.
If that happened, his squad would also be dragged into the next round to rely on sheer luck.
The dark clouds began to churn, yet no rift appeared.
When the churning clouds gradually dispersed, the sky overhead suddenly cleared up.
Everyone looked up, wondering if something had gone wrong on the organizers' end.
Right at that moment, Squad 3 Captain Karen, Squad 1 Captain Muri, and Squad 7 Captain Kane shouted to their squad members almost simultaneously:
"Careful, it's already here!"
No sooner had the three captains spoken than a sphere covered in wrinkles and crevices emerged on the floor tiles within each of the four barriers.
It was not the time to chat, or Karen might have suggested to Aisli that her father choose a more elegant metaphor next time—like... a walnut.
Puxien's bizarre appearance instantly pulled the situation into its rhythm. A glow condensed within the sphere.
Blanche immediately cast the black umbrellas symbolizing spiritual defense over Ventura and Bart, while Karen cast Order Purification on Aisli.
The squads in the other barriers performed similar actions; none attacked rashly in this situation.
Yet the light within the sphere was not released outward; it served more like a primer. Instead, the floors of the four barriers suddenly erupted with blinding white light. In an instant, vision and consciousness alike were flooded by that brilliant radiance.
……
"Ah..."
Cardinal Kred happened to wake up at that moment and said:
"There's been so much going on lately. I was too exhausted and dozed off."
"Please take care of your health."
"Please take care of yourself."
Moswatt and Gleriven immediately gave Cardinal Kred a graceful out.
In truth, pretending to sleep at first had been an act, but once he closed his eyes, he really did fall asleep, because his exhaustion was genuine.
"Is it this round already?" Kred asked.
"Yes, Puxien has activated its spiritual domain."
"Mm, did all of them fall for it?"
"Because it was transmitted from below, rather than descending from the sky as before."
"Oh, playing dirty."
This was essentially altering the established framework of the selection, breaking the tacit understanding between participants and organizers.
Gleriven smiled and said, "This was also done to allow Puxien's abilities to be utilized to their full extent. It's not just for selection, but also to properly temper the final two squads so they can better adapt to the environment behind the Gate of Samsara."
Kred said, "This time it serves the selection, and all regulations exist to serve the selection. But for next year's event, the rules and regulations must be more detailed."
"Rest assured, Your Eminence, they will be."
"Please rest assured."
"Puxien's spiritual domain... if I recall correctly, its principle works in reverse?"
"You remember correctly. Other illusionary beasts use spiritual attacks, whereas Puxien uses spiritual blessings. It employs its ability to bestow a blessing upon the target's spirit and soul, placing them in a false state of amplification for a period of time, thereby trapping their inner mind within the enclosure of their own consciousness.
"Therefore, theoretically speaking, the stronger a person's soul and spirit, the higher their original wall of consciousness, and the greater the amplified scale once boosted, making it even easier for them to trap themselves. This containment induces self-doubt and self-denial. But as long as one climbs over it, their self-awareness will reach a higher level, making accidents far less likely once they enter the Gate of Samsara."
"What about the load limit?" Kred asked. "I wouldn't want these youngsters—especially those who have made it this far—to be trapped to death within their own conscious walls. Just like an array, once it exceeds its load limit, it quickly spirals toward unpredictable consequences."
"Please rest assured. So far, we have never encountered a case where the amplification effect spun out of control. We conducted experiments on many priests, monster beasts, and aberrant demons with powerful souls. Even when their soul strength was amplified, they were still very far from reaching the critical threshold."
"Oh, right. I recall the Shadow of Order seems to have researched this?" Kred asked.
"We at the Shadow of Order did indeed conduct research on it, but the findings were later appropriated by the Whip of Order for interrogation purposes."
"That Foden truly loves hauling anything good over to his department whenever he sees it." Kred pointed a finger at the screen in front of them. "Can the consciousness scenes inside the spiritual domain not be projected?"
Gleriven replied, "We cannot achieve that for now. Forcibly embedding an observation link would disrupt the Puxien species' innate abilities. However, for any Puxien that eliminates a squad this round, relevant memory projections can be extracted from it. As for a Puxien that fails to eliminate a squad, it will cease to exist, and naturally, no memory projections can be retrieved from it."
"Then that's rather dull and boring. I'll sleep a bit more."
……
When Karen opened his eyes, he found himself standing in an expanse of pure white. In front of him stood a door.
The door simply stood there without walls on either side. Not far off, there were five other doors; Karen could sense that they likely corresponded to his five teammates.
Was even Mars dragged into this?
Right, the Achilles' heel of the Kendos Threefold Defensive Array was below.
Still, teleporting an illusionary beast from underground—no, having the beast lie in ambush underground beforehand to launch a sneak attack—was truly shameless.
In the previous rounds of trials, the stone floor tiles and ground had always been treated as indestructible constants.
"A spiritual illusion?"
With a relaxed smile playing at the corner of his lips, Karen reached out to open the door before him.
Yet before his hand could even touch the doorknob, the door swung open on its own. The frame expanded infinitely, making him seem infinitely minuscule in comparison, and his surroundings dissolved into a sea of stars.
Karen's expression turned solemn. This meant his mental defenses had been inexplicably breached. How had it done that?
All at once, realization struck him: his mental defenses hadn't been breached from the outside; rather, he had entered his own "inner mind."
This sea of stars felt strangely familiar, closely resembling when he and Captain had entered Raniedal's "brain" within the consciousness space last time.
"Karen, my grandson."
His grandfather's voice suddenly rang out.
Karen turned his head and saw the space behind him warping. A youthful version of his grandfather stood atop a palace, clutching a black crystal that radiated a sacred aura.
"Grandfather?"
"Karen, my good grandson. The path of the God of Order will be walked anew by you. You shall return to where the God of Order belongs."
"What?"
"You are my hope. Everything I did was so you could take that final step—and then, I will seize everything from you."
"Grandfather? That's impossible."
"I don't want a godhead fragment; I want to become a god!"
With that, Grandfather flew toward the palace below, clutching the godhead fragment.
Boom!
An unimaginable, horrifying explosion erupted, forcing Karen to shut his eyes.
"Karen, oh, my little Karen."
"Purr?"
Karen opened his eyes to see Purr in her human form, floating in front of him.
"Oh, my little Karen, you have to keep it up."
"What?"
"Light awakened Order, so next time, it will be Order's turn to awaken Light, hehehe..."
Purr began to laugh.
Along with her laughter, a towering, radiant figure of Light emerged behind her, also laughing. Immediately after, a grand and solemn voice boomed:
"Light shall return from Order."
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
"Kevin?"
Karen turned around to look at the golden retriever bounding toward him from afar. The retriever ran up to Karen, rubbing against his pant leg. Just as Karen reached out by habit to stroke its bald patch, he saw the golden retriever vanish. In its place knelt a melancholic man, bowing before him:
"Please be at ease, great God of Order. I shall enter slumber and await your awakening. Your most loyal guardian, Raniedal, shall accompany you as you tread once more upon the path of return!"
"No, no, this is impossible, this can't be!"
Karen pressed a hand against his forehead.
Just then, he suddenly noticed a chain of Order appearing beneath his feet. The chain extended infinitely—stretching, stretching, and stretching further—until it finally reached a supreme throne.
Upon the throne sat a colossal dark silhouette. He was majestic and solemn, his fingers holding the chain extending from Karen's feet.
"I await your return. I await... my return."
Immediately after, Grandfather, Purr, Kevin, the Throne of Order, and everyone he had met and known since his awakening ripped away their masks, revealing their other faces to him.
Some were calling to him, some were expecting him, and some were waiting for him.
Karen clutched his head with both hands. He sensed his entire framework of cognition being torn to shreds bit by bit, as if countless termites were gnawing away at him.
This feeling was just like the book he had recently finished, Rogart Manor. In the first half of the book, everything was normal; in the second half, every person and event was upended.
Karen now experienced the hysterical despair of the protagonist. And the protagonist's ultimate fate in that book was... he went mad.
…
Within each of the four barriers, a Puxien hovered quietly, the white light from its body falling upon each of the six youths inside.
The difference was that three of the Puxiens were genuinely calm, resembling elegant large walnuts showcasing their innate power.
Yet one Puxien, while outwardly quiet, was screaming in sheer terror within the depths of its consciousness.
It wanted to terminate the process immediately, only to discover that it not only couldn't halt its ability, but couldn't even budge its body in the slightest. And the outside world remained entirely oblivious to its predicament.
If its soul could be manifested into physical form, one would see it staring fixedly at the youth before it, trembling violently.
As if it had laid eyes upon...
the true...
terror!
Chapter 321