The Oracle Paths

Jake's expression changed at once as he realized what this meant. The Mana Storm had previously been circumscribing the planet, as the outer layer directly overlaying the black clouds. If they could hear the Mana Storm's fluctuations from all directions, it meant that Quanoth had already been completely devoured by it.

"We're doomed." Asfrid yelped out from inside the ice fortress.

The other Players may not have known what the Mana Storm was, but scanning their surroundings with their mental sense or an Oracle Scan told them all they needed to know. Their faces turned pale as they detected the astronomical number of millions of different Mana signatures.

Anyone who was hit by this motley mass of energy would inevitably be sentenced to death. Even if they miraculously survived, they would certainly wish they had died instead.

Jake used an Oracle Scan again and realized that the Mana Storm was less than three kilometers away from them. At the speed it was approaching, the Celestial City would be hit in less than fifteen seconds.

With sweat dripping from his brow, Jake racked his brain for a solution, but none seemed satisfactory. He was convinced that 5 Codexes would not be enough to stop this Mana Storm.

Clenching his fists in frustration, he decisively opted for the only solution available to him. He didn't have time to force the alien woman to reveal her hypothetical trump cards.

"Fuck it." He cursed, summoning his Purgatory to full power.

He was not the only one to react in such a radical manner. Vexa teleported next to him, his wounds fully healed and a tiny palace of amethyst held in his palm: The Purple Hell.

The two men exchanged a short telepathic conversation and by tacit agreement made the smartest decision.

"Let's combine our artifacts." Vexa said grimly, "My Purple Hell has a higher rank than yours, but is not designed for combat. I will summon it first and you will summon your Purgatory inside. Even with 5 Codexes, I estimate we have no more than two minutes to end this Ordeal. If we exceed that time, it will be a victory for Anti-Life and Vhoskaud."

"In that case let's not waste time." Jake nodded.

The amethyst palace in Vexa's palm emitted a blinding flash of purple light, and a purple sky and a labyrinthine complex of buildings overlaid the Celestial City. Jake and the others recognized the training rooms and futuristic equipment they themselves had used extensively over the previous weeks.

The artifact had covered the entire Celestial City. Not surprisingly, they found Radur, Prysm and the other members of Mirror Vanguard inside, who immediately gathered in front of their leader. There were several hundred of them. In the blink of an eye, their numbers had increased more than tenfold.

"The fateful moment has come." Vexa declared plainly.

Prysm dimmed when she saw the dilapidated state of his armor. It wasn't easy to damage such great equipment.

"Did you get hurt?"

"Nothing I can't recover from." The cube man reassured her coolly.

As Jake activated his own Purgatory, he saw the purple sky become riddled with holes like a sheet of paper that had just been set on fire. The cube man twitched at the sight.

"We have less time than I thought. What on earth is this storm..." Vexa grumbled under his breath.

"You'll cry later." Jake snapped, releasing his own Bronze Artifact.

The ground became covered with lava, the purple skies with storm clouds, while the air became saturated with radiation, the heat in the air unbearable. The black clouds trapped inside caused damage to the landscape, but with no way to replenish itself, Jake and the others could handle it.

Using his full instantaneous perception of the Purgatory's interior, Jake blinked and then called out,

"Lost Divinity at 11, Anti-Life and Vhoskaud at 3. No other presumed survivors. Let me know your ideal battle environments."

Mirror Vanguard, the Myrtharian Nerds, Pureblood, Ruby's team, the two natives, and the alien woman unhesitatingly shared their ideal battle conditions, all appearing alongside her outside the ice fortress.

"Finally my turn to enter the scene." Lucia smiled broadly as she stroked the blood-hungry blade of her sword with her fingers.

She wasn't the only one in a hurry to fight. Leaving Jake and the others to protect them while they waited in silence had been excruciatingly torturous. When they hadn't yet decided who to target, Jake grunted,

"Lost Divinities is gone. They summoned a strange building that looked like an ancient temple littered with statues. The temple vanished right after."

"The Pantheon of the Gods." Radur snarled gloomily. "Inside they can use their Divinities at full power. This artifact is like an antenna that amplifies their connection to their main Divinity as well as all their believers. Incidentally, it can also be used as a means of transportation, a temporary fortress AND to make matters worse... concealment."

"They want to force us to attack first." Will commented matter-of-factly.

"They know we can't afford to wait." Enya agreed. "What do we do?"

Vexa thought silently for a few seconds, then sighed, "I know Ael well. There is no doubt that Anti-Life and the Mirror Vanguards are his target. He has the same goal as we do, to reduce the number of participants below 10,000. He may hold a grudge, but there aren't enough of you to change the course of the Ordeal even if we wipe you out."

"If we can't avoid the trap, let's make sure we choose which way we shall fall into it." Alef, the highest ranking member of Ruby's team, suddenly came forward. "Mirror Vanguard should attack Anti-Life. The rest of us will intercept Vhoskaud and his armies. Lost Divinities will probably ambush you when you're at your worst, but no matter what the scenario losses are inevitable."

"Why should we take all the risks?!" A Mirror Vanguard Player protested angrily as he grabbed the old officer by the throat. Others joined him in his protests right after.

"Let's fight." Vexa flatly ruled, leaving no room for argument. His subordinates, Radur and Prysm stared at him and he added, "Those who are slain will be compensated. We are Mirror Vanguard. We're not afraid of anything or anyone. Let's set an example."

Those who protested fell silent as the one strangling Alef loosened his grip. The instructor massaged his sore neck as he glared at the Player behind the choking, but he refrained from voicing his opinion again.

Turning to Jake, Vexa added, "You okay with that?"

"Yeah, but we should take some precautions..."

A second later, Mirror Vanguard broke away from their group and the sounds of explosions and clashes of metal weapons of all kinds echoed a few hundred meters away. With the exception of Jake, no one had a clear view of what was going on.

"The opponent that Vexa was fighting earlier directly came to meet him. Their confrontation has begun. Vexa has the advantage." He reported to his comrades. "Our turn."

As they also set off, an explosion of antimatter ripped through the black clouds from the battlefield of Vexa and the others. Jake winced as he discovered that one-fifth of the Mirror Vanguard Players had been taken out by that one blast. The rest had already activated their Oracle Shields.

Apparently she hadn't used all of her bugs before.

"Let's hurry!" Jake urged his companions as he felt a sense of urgency.

At the same time, thousands of orange cubes scattered through his Purgatory like a swarm of mosquitoes, covering the entire Celestial City. This was the plan they had decided on with Vexa so that they could move quickly through the battlefield to help each other.

"Only 90 seconds left."

Jake and those who could teleport appeared all around Vhoskaud and Psykow a split second later. Before any of them could even hit the drop-shaped alien, it vanished as if it had never been there.

"Damn it, where did it go?!" Drastan bellowed as his steel club smashed the ground at its former position.

With Vhoskaud's gigantic body impossible to ignore, all the other attackers pounced on him after his ally abandoned him.

"Psykow!!!" The android roared as he was bombarded by various spells at full power.

A blurred figure charged at him at lightning speed, a blinding spray of sparks formed an arc in the air and his huge right arm fell heavily to the ground. Lucia reappeared a few meters behind him, holding her sword in both hands.

"Tch! I wanted to cut his head off."