Elemental Cats

Toz reluctantly stopped and made footholds for himself and the other two by solidifying the space beneath their feet. He looked at General Scoll.

"We don't have time for this, General. Be quick."

"Is there no way to save everyone?"

"There is."

"Then…!"

"Convince that big red fella to stop."

"..."

"I can bring along and shelter a few people in the Void. But too many, and we won't be able to outrun that bloodstain. Even now, it's taking it slow because the army has stopped moving."

"Is there really no other way?"

Toz pondered for a few short moments before looking at Merr and Derada.

"Depends. How useful are those two?"

"Very."

"Okay. Give me all the mana potions and grimoires."

"I don't have any grimoires on me, but the mana potions are on their way."

"General."

Toz looked at General Scoll with a stern glare. He hadn't meant the grimoires that General Scoll had.

"I'll see what I can do."

General Scoll sighed and began relaying orders as Toz jumped upward by stepping on pieces of solidified space.

Toz, Kahglia, and the Death Knight neared the atmosphere. Kahglia and the Death Knight were naturally worried since they thought Toz would bring out a vessel or something that they could use while traveling through the Void. But Toz didn't even change his expression or lower his speed as they neared the end of the plane's atmospheric barrier.

"Hey…! What are-!"

Kahglia tried to get Toz to stop before he entered the Void. They might be strong and close to the transcendent level. But Kahglia, and especially the Death Knight, were still beings at the ninth level. They couldn't withstand the Void with only their bodies.

However, Toz burst into the Void without a care in the world. Kahglia instinctively tried to protect herself against the Void's pressure before it ate away her body. However, she quickly realized that Void's pressure didn't touch her. As she sensed more closely, she noticed a thin, nearly undetectable layer of magic was protecting her from the Void.

"Void magic?!"

"Yep. Now be quiet and let me concentrate. Oh, and if you have any more mana potions, hand them over."

"Tch."

In the Void, with Toz's magic the only thing protecting her, Kahglia didn't really have a choice, and she handed over two mana potions with a click of her tongue.

Toz grabbed the mana potions and downed them in two gulps before sitting down crosslegged with closed eyes. Since he had agreed to save everyone in exchange for all the grimoires in the camp and the army, he should at least try his best.

The first thing he needed to do was complete the portal so that he could get even more mana potions as quickly as possible. And while he was setting up the portal, he also had to prepare the thing that would protect everyone against the Void's pressure.

A thin silvery metal sheet spread out beneath Toz and gave Kahglia and the Death Knight something to stand on before they drifted away.

Toz used his space magic to connect to the space mana he had left behind next to Merr and triggered it. With Merr's active cooperation, a pair of portals quickly linked the plane's surface with the metal sheet that continued to grow and spread even further.

Cooper was the first one through the portal, and he stepped on the sheet with a wary expression. However, when he noticed that there wasn't any danger to his life, he quickly located Toz and walked over to him with several spatial rings containing mana potions. It was part of what was left after the Alliance's battle with the Tribe of Death.

"General Scoll asked me to tell you that those who don't have grimoires are willing to pay you in items, treasures, and everything valuable. Is that okay?"

"As long as I still get all the grimoires."

"The General guessed as much. Umm, by the way, are we moving?"

"No. Don't bother me. Kahglia, if you handle the treasures and stuff, I'll give you a share."

"Twenty percent."

"Ten."

"Eighteen."

"Ten."

"Fifteen.

"Nine."

"Hey! Come on! Twelve."

"Eight. Final offer or I'll ask Sir Death Knight to do it."

"Do you really think they can?"

"..."

"Fine, ten percent."

"Seven."

"Tch."

Kahglia finally accepted and started preparing to accept the treasure of those who would pass through the portal.

General Scoll, Riella, Seich, Derada, Merr, Wyrie, Mifter, Hal, and the Lightning Rascals walked through the portal one after the other.

Since Merr was a high level space mage, he could maintain the portal even from the other side. And that wasn't the only thing he could do. He could also maintain the portals' connection while moving one of them further away.

While Merr made sure that the portals remained connected, Derada started getting to work.

For the first time since the war started, she showed a lively expression as she walked to Toz.

"What material is this?"

Toz didn't want to be disturbed, but he could tell that Derada would be responsible for moving them, and for that, she probably needed to know what she was working with.

"Void metal. A combination of void magic and metal magic. Just metal, no specific ore."

"Combination magic?"

"How durable is it?"

"Depends. It resists magic but is pretty weak against physical force."

"Give me a piece."

Toz didn't bother answering. He just made a face-sized square sheet of void metal in the air in front of Derada. Derada snatched the sheet out of the air and started investigating the metal.

After a little while, she began scribbling on it with her finger. Well, she tried. Her scribbling didn't stick to the metal and just fell off.

But Derada just hummed. And it was impossible to tell if it was from frustration or joy. However, Toz was too busy to even try to care, and he continued expanding the sheet so that more of the troops could fit. The only other thing he cared about was how it was going for Kahglia in her collecting of spatial storage items.

The mana potions went directly to Toz, and he gulped them down endlessly. But he didn't have the leeway to care about the storage items with grimoires and treasures at the moment. So, he left it to Kahglia to accept and organize everything.

And the Death knight took it upon themselves to guard Toz and ensure his safety while he was defenseless. Only an idiot or a spy would attempt to disrupt Toz at this juncture. But if there was anything the world would never lack, it was idiots. And spies were as common as weed, especially during war.