Birth of the Demonic Sword

The group decided to rest after the battle. Those experts didn't suffer many injuries, but the fight had been tiring nonetheless.

The sheer number of Space Hounds and their annoying power had forced Noah and the others to fight for a long time to defeat the entire pack. A simple platoon had also threatened their safety, so the experts needed to reorganize and create battle plans.

The magical beasts were theoretically easy to fight, especially for a group that featured multiple experts. Every species had specific flaws that existences who wielded many abilities could exploit.

The Space Hounds weren't an exception, but their innate ability was quite annoying to counter. Only some experts had attacks that could touch those creatures once their bodies became ethereal.

The battle didn't only clear eventual doubts about the Space Hounds. It also made the group gain an idea of the overall strength of its members.

The cultivators from the Monneay family had proven themselves worthy after keeping the two upper tier magical beasts busy, but other experts also gained a decent reputation during those exchanges.

Everyone acknowledged Divine Demon and Wilfred's power, and the same went for their weaker companions. The cultivators almost couldn't believe how Noah and the others could do so well in a battle against hordes of rank 8 magical beasts.

Noah's battle prowess wasn't a surprise since those cultivators had heard stories about him, and seeing him in an actual fight made them understand that he deserved that fame.

Instead, the others came out as a surprise, especially when it came to King Elbas. The cultivator had quickly understood the Space Hounds' flaws, and he had adapted his abilities to counter those creatures.

That battle prowess and Noah's judgment made his group gain a decent reputation among the cultivators. The initial arrogance showed by some of those experts vanished after the fight. It was clear that Noah's team could help them greatly.

"Are you sure that this place holds a rank 9 specimen?" Isaac Putgan asked after the experts healed and gathered on the dark ground.

"I don't see how such a large pack can exist without a rank 9 leader," Noah explained.

Noah's judgment had been on point before, so the cultivators began to value his opinion when it came to the fauna in the dimensional tunnel. Accepting the presence of a rank 9 magical beast wasn't easy, but the situation wasn't completely hopeless.

"We might be lucky enough to avoid it," Harold said to disrupt the tension that had fallen among the group.

"Weaker species usually have a tight control over their lair," Noah explained while shaking his head. "We even have to make this path twice. Missing the leader is impossible."

"What do you suggest?" Althea asked while turning toward the experts of the Legion. "Can you repeat what you did with Radiant Eyes? My team will give you full support in that matter."

"The Putgan family will do the same," Isaac announced.

"The Sailbrird family won't retreat if you have an actual plan," Gloria continued.

"Same goes for my group," Harold added. "I only wish that your plan is solid. I like to be alive."

The other teams followed that trend and expressed their willingness to follow the Legion against the rank 9 leader, but Noah and his friends could only exchange awkward smiles at that scene.

The human organizations had already left the human domain when Noah and the others teleported on the pyramid. Their sensors didn't even work with rank 9 existences since their power disrupted the correct functioning of those inscribed items.

Most forces ignored how the Legion had escaped from Radiant Eyes. They knew that Heaven and Earth had intervened at some point, but they could understand that they didn't manage to take care of that threat. Noah and the others wouldn't be alive otherwise.

"We can't use the same method," Noah explained shortly. "We might need to face the rank 9 leader with our own forces."

"Which is impossible," Gloria commented.

Noah glanced at King Elbas, but the expert appeared distracted. His mind was elsewhere as he pondered about that issue and tried to find a solution.

"I can't create something to stop the leader," King Elbas eventually sighed. "We don't have the power to face a magical beast at that level. The task would be hard even if we were in the solid stage."

"Is that it?" Fay Sinnell asked. "Do we retreat before the situation becomes too dangerous?"

"I don't want to give up on the mission so easily," Althea complained. "Heaven and Earth have issued this mission. There has to be a way to get past this problem."

"We might need to get creative to reach the other side," Noah sighed, and the other experts soon turned toward him.

Even his friends felt surprised about those words. They studied Noah while wearing questioning gazes. Wilfred and the others knew how amazing Noah was, but the matter involved a rank 9 magical beast. He couldn't have weapons against a creature at that level.

Noah took one of the dead Space Hounds from his separate space. Harold snorted at the sight of that almost intact corpse, but he didn't give voice to complaints.

"These marks should work like the runes of the Kesier species," Noah explained while pointing at the Hound's back. "A higher number of marks describes a better proficiency in the dimensional travel."

"Many of us have noticed that feature," Daisy Newhall complained. "You aren't the only expert in the magical beasts' field here."

"The power of the Kesier species comes from similar marks," Noah continued, ignoring Daisy's words. "It's safe to assume that the same goes from the Space Hounds. These spots might be the key behind their dimensional travel, so they can also be the core to a weapon that counters that ability."

His words immediately made King Elbas widen his eyes, and the same went for the other inscription masters in the area. They had understood something that Noah had yet to explain, so they quickly took out their sensors to study the marks.

"The fabric of space is quite firm here," Noah continued. "Piercing it requires a lot of power, even from species that can travel through it. I wonder if we can create something to stop the Space Hounds before they reach our position."

Space bent before the arrival of the Space Hounds. Those creatures left distorted areas after their passage, so their travel through dimensions wasn't completely natural.

Noah wanted to exploit that feature. The marks could contain deep secrets about the laws connected to space, and the experts could turn them into weapons that made the environment even sturdier.

Fighting an endless horde of rank 8 magical beasts led by a rank 9 specimen was impossible. However, preventing them from reaching their surroundings was doable, especially since space would work against them.

"We can go past that," King Elbas explained as ideas finally surged in his mind. "Sealing the space around us is a good plan, but we have to take into consideration that the rank 9 leader will have nigh-endless physical strength. It might enter this dimension anyway."

"What do you suggest?" Noah asked.

"We can turn space itself into a weapon," King Elbas continued. "I can recreate the Space Hounds' innate ability and close the distortions at will. I believe even rank 9 specimens won't be able to enter a dimension when their power works against them."