Jack and Reina watched the battle unfolded with their steamrune binoculars. Still amazed at the power of the Illuminated Transcendent Beings. They massacred the undead creatures so casually. While focusing on their own opponents.
"They're not even trying." Reina murmured. Her voice was tight with awe and apprehension. "The power..."
"These undead things were just cannon fodder to these guys." Jack confirmed. His own jaw was tight.
He adjusted his focus. Trying to discern the outcome of the battle. The Purity Cultists were powerful, but clearly on the defensive. They were outmatched by the coordinated assault of the Church factions. Sooner or later, they would be defeated.
Then, as the overpowered people down there continued their destructive dance, another burst of raw power erupted from a different direction. Also coming to the ruined castle.
Soon, they appeared in the western edge of the castle...
General Primefeller, a man of muscle and eldritch energy, burst into view. His Eldritch Axe carved swathes through the air and the very ground with each thunderous swing. It was a massive weapon humming with dark, eager power.
Beside him was Elder Keystone. A stoic old man whose hands moved with the grace of a magical sculptor. Raising the earth itself. Forming barriers and crushing spikes. Ones that erupted from the desolate soil.
They were in hot pursuit of two more figures. These were from the Night Salvation. Two Primal Sorcerers. One trailed a noxious green miasma. Swirling cloud of corrosive poison that withered every twisted tree it touched.
The other conjured gouts of searing flame. Painting the grey landscape in brief, violent oranges. As fireballs exploded and incinerated patches of the ground.
These two were more evasive. Relying on their powers to create distance and hinder their pursuers. Rather than directly clash like the Purity Cult acolytes.
The eight powerful individuals now fought with extremely destructive magnitude. The air vibrated with their power. The ground buckled and cracked. The grey mist of the valley was violently churned. Momentarily clearing in pockets. Only to roll back in thicker waves.
The interfering undead hordes that shambled into their paths were easily crushed and destroyed. Vaporized by elemental fire. Dissolved by poison. Sundered by axe blade. Devoured by the earth. Or disintegrated by holy light. They were ants to these giants.
Reina and Jack watched everything from their hidden location. Holding their urges to speak. Reina's illusion fog kept enveloping them. Disguising and protecting them continuously.
They knew that the senses of the Illuminated Ones down there were also seriously suppressed. But, they didn't want to take a greater risk.
Jack scanned the periphery of the chaotic battles. The Forbidden Chalice was still inside the castle hall. No one had retrieved it yet. These factions were too busy brawling for control and eliminating rivals.
As the two groups of Illuminated Transcendent Beings continued their destructive ballet, Jack noticed a subtle disturbance. An unnatural movement in the pervasive mist. A shadow.
Jack quickly activated his [Eyes of Judgement]. He didn't dare observe the Illuminated Ones directly. As he was afraid it would alert them. Besides, they were too far away and he was looking through binocular lenses.
He used the power for general observation. Though suppressed, it could still give him an edge. And he was right.
A dark silhouette, almost indistinguishable from the shadows, glided on the ground with uncanny stealth. Sneaking towards the castle's main hall, where the Forbidden Chalice lay abandoned.
It should be the Primal Sorcerer from Night Salvation. The one who clearly possessed shadow-based powers. This one was using the chaos as cover. He had slipped through the net.
The shadow figure moved like a ghost. Phasing through small openings and cracks. Flowing on the ruined walls. Making a direct, unhindered path to the heart of the castle.
...
A moment later, a loud, triumphant laughter echoed across the valley. Cutting through the noise of the distant battles. It was a guttural, arrogant sound. One that sent a shiver down Jack's spine.
The shadow-powered transcendent being from Night Salvation appeared on the shattered ramparts of the castle's central tower. Clearly visible even through the mist. Holding the Forbidden Chalice high in his hands.
The chalice, even from this distance, seemed to radiate a faint, sinister aura. A reddish gleam reflecting the valley's gloom.
"He got it!" Reina softly exclaimed. "But showing it off like that... That dumb idiot never changes!"
"You know him, Love?"
"Not personally. But I know of him." Reina replied in soft whisper. "And the other ones from the Night Salvation there. Shadow Sovereign, Flame Overlord, and Miasma Monarch. Shadow Sovereign is known to fail his jobs plenty of time because he loves to show off."
Jack nodded. "And he did it again this time. He didn't see the curse I bet. And the others won't let him take the artifact easily."
He watched. Waiting for the other Illuminated Transcendent Beings to react. The laughter had certainly drawn their attention. The fighting paused. Heads turned. Their focus shifted to the laughing figure.
Jack could feel it. Rage, frustration, and renewed determination flashed across their distant forms. Especially from the Church and Royal Factions.
But before the other transcendent beings had a chance to respond, something changed. Before a single spell could be cast or a charge initiated, the atmosphere in the Valley of Despair changed.
It was not just around the castle. But across the entire valley. A palpable shift. The heavy mist seemed to congeal. Twisting into darker, more menacing shapes.
The temperature plummeted. A bone-chilling cold that reached wide. It even seeped into Jack and Reina's hidden perch on the cliff.
Multiple cold and demonic energy signatures appeared. Not just one or two, but twelve distinct sources. Each was radiating immense, chilling power.
They materialized from the swirling mists around the castle. Not phasing through solid objects like Jack Mystery. Or slithering through tiny cracks like the shadow sorcerer. They simply appeared. As if they had always been there. Merely hidden.
Twelve revenants... half-spectral beings with torn black robes, appeared. They were tall, gaunt figures. Their forms were flickering like heat haze. Yet utterly solid in their presence.
Their faces were hollow voids. Their hands were gnarled and claw-like. Jack was reminded of his old draugr form before it evolved into his Black Buto one. It looked like that. Mixed with his spectral [Battle Spirit] form.
The difference was that... each of these creatures radiated an ancient, undeniable power. A cold, deathly aura. Much stronger than the current him.
They were no less powerful than the Illuminated Transcendent Beings. Perhaps even surpassing them. At least, that was how it felt from the aura pressures that Jack felt.
Jack exchanged a grim glance with Reina. His heart pounded against his ribs. They would be utterly useless against foes of this nature.
"Fortunately..." Jack whispered in hoarse voice. "Fortunately, we didn't bring the chalice out."
Reina nodded. Her eyes were wide with a mixture of fear and awe. "Twelve undead beings with such power would definitely kill us easily, Dear."
They hadn't anticipated this. No one had. The Valley of Despair should be a low level spatial realm. It should contain only the common, shambling undead creatures. And the mindless ghosts.
But, these twelve revenants were not low level. These were apex predators. Ancient guardians. Hidden monsters. Secret BOSSes.
"What the hell did Saint of Joy plan?" Jack whispered his concern exasperatedly.
He kept watching. Binoculars pressed to his eyes. A muscle in his jaw twitching. Beside him, Reina gripped her own optical device tightly. And Rune, perched on Jack's shoulder, pulsed with a dull, warning red glow.
The revenants moved with impossible speed. Their ancient grievances seemed to fuel their current existence.
Eight of them detached from the group. Each sent spectral missiles aimed directly at the first eight Illuminated Transcendent Beings.
Dark, destructive energy bullets streaked towards the Purity Cult's Fallen Acolytes. who were exchanging blasts with the Church Faction. Many of these bullets also descended upon Cardinal Paddy and Arch Inquisitor Oakstake. Their opponents.
Four revenants targeted them. One revenant for each opponent.
The pair of Primal Sorcerers from Night Salvation, deep in a chaotic dance of miasma and fire magic, found themselves facing another duo of these undead powerhouse creatures.
And finally, General Primefeller and Elder Keystone of the Royal Faction were blindsided by the last two.
The remaining four revenants moved as one towards the third Primal Sorcerer from Night Salvation. The one who clutched the Forbidden Chalice. The Shadow Sovereign.
He had just emerged from the ruined castle. A triumphant smirk was on his face, only for it to freeze in horror as the undead guardians converged.
The battlefield had already been a maelstrom of supernatural energy and incredible force. But now, it was elevated to a cataclysmic scale.
The air vibrated with the sonic boom of impacts. As the revenants slammed into their targets. Earth, stones, and trees were destroyed so easily as if they were made of tofu.
The Fallen Acolytes of the Purity Cult reeled under the revenants' assaults. Their unholy white energy destroyed common undead creatures very efficiently. But it seemed to merely scorch the torn robes of the revenants rather than disintegrate them.
One revenant easily parried a concentrated beam of white light from an Acolyte. And then, it countered with a dark blast. One that shattered the Acolyte's energy shield. And sent him flying into the crumbling walls of the castle. The stone exploded into dust and shrapnel.
The others were facing similar trouble.
Cardinal Paddy found his golden holy barriers cracking under the relentless, ethereal blows of his revenant opponent. Arch Inquisitor Oakstake was forced onto the defensive. His pale blue holy energy could only be used temporarily to defend himself.
"They're stronger." Reina observed. Whispering in soft voice. "Significantly stronger. These aren't just powerful undead. It's like they're designed to kill transcendent beings of illuminated stage."
Jack nodded in agreement. His gaze was still focused to the battle. Through his steamrune binoculars.