...
Meanwhile, in front of the gates of Amaharpe within Blue Oasis' sector...
Right now, Asgard, Niflheim, and Minus were face to face with Ewan, Dragus, Wess, and three other members of Cross Haven. The current atmosphere was heavy on both sides.
When Ewan arrived, of course, he demanded an answer for the blatant attack against one of his Five Great Generals. One had to know that attacking a General of Cross Haven was the same as attacking the entire guild. It was not something they could afford to ignore and not respond to.
However, Asgard had told Ewan everything he knew about this attack, which was absolutely nothing! Asgard truthfully had no idea as to why a Lieutenant from his guild attacked a high ranking member of Cross Haven. But, this answer was obviously not enough to satisfy Ewan or Cross Haven.
"Guild leader Asgard, there must be something you can tell me. Anything that would indicate that this is not some kind of ploy by Blue Oasis." Ewan said as he frowned. If there was not a single shred of evidence, then that would further complicate things.
"This-" Asgard glanced towards Minus who had been silent this entire time. Ever since the beginning, he had yet to say a single word. Red Days was a Lieutenant under his personal command, therefore, Red Days actions would be seen as a reflection of Minus' very own actions.
Minus gave a slight nod towards Asgard. "Guild leader Ewan, if you do not mind, I would like to say a few words."
"Oh? You're... Captain Minus, correct?" Ewan kept good track of the high ranking members of top guilds. "If I'm not mistaken, this Lieutenant was under your direct command. Maybe you can offer me a bit of insight on this matter."
"I accept full responsibility for the actions of my Lieutenant. As his commanding officer, I failed in my duty to maintain order in my ranks. Therefore, if you want to blame anyone, do not blame guild leader Asgard or Blue Oasis, I will personally bear the responsibility." Minus said as he made an apologetic gesture.
Niflheim frowned when he heard the words Minus spoke. There was something bothering him about this entire situation. Also, although Minus was trying to shift the blame to himself to make things less difficult for the guild, there was no way that things would just end with that alone.
"By your very own logic, Captain, since you are under guild leader Asgard's command then you would hold him responsible for your actions. So you see, no matter which way we look at it, it all leads back to Blue Oasis." Ewan said.
Asgard tried his best to maintain a calm attitude, but right now he felt as if his Blue Oasis guild was being bullied. They were still a top guild and would only allow so much insult.
"Guild leader Ewan, I have remained respectful but you-" Just as Asgard was about to speak up on the matter, Ewan spoke.
"...However, I respect and admire Captain Minus' courage of accepting the responsibility for the entire matter. Due to such a show of sincerity, I have a proposal to make, guild leader Asgard. I hope you will not find it to be unreasonable." said Ewan with a slight grin on his face. But, this grin was one that was difficult to read.
Asgard furrowed his brows at Ewan's request. However, if he wanted to avoid things being escalated any further, he had to come to a compromise. "What did you have in mind?"
...
"Ahahaha! I see, I see! So that's what you meant! Tell me, how did you get a Lieutenant of Blue Oasis to attack one of Cross Haven's Five Great Generals? Ahahaha!" Slayer was in an extremely good mood at the moment. It seemed that he had really underestimated Vault and the Headhunter Syndicate.
"Those fools will have no choice but to defend the reputation and face of their guilds. During that time, hmph, let's just see how they will manage to interfere with our plans." Slayer said with a large grin on his face.
"It will soon be time for your Sage Falls guild to take action, Slayer. Is everything in place?" The cloaked figure who was sent there by Vault said.
"My Sage Falls guild is always prepared. Just worry about things going right on your side." Slayer said with a voice full of confidence and arrogance.
...
"It is done." Menevra said in a soft tone of voice.
"Excellent! How are the two sides reacting?" Vault asked with a sly smile on his face.
"The guild leader of Cross Haven has already left his section to pay a personal visit to the guild leader of Blue Oasis. Although Wang Qiang's elimination would have been the most ideal situation, it still does not interfere with the overall plan. In a few moments, the information about-" Menerva explained, but she soon stopped speaking as someone rushed in and whispered something in her ear.
"Hm? What is it?" Vault was displeased that Menerva suddenly stopped talking halfway through her explanation.
"I apologize, but I've just received word that the guild leader of Cross Haven and his entourage were just sent away by the guild leader of Blue Oasis. According to the information I just received, it seems that both sides were unable to reach a proper compromise." Menerva said.
"Good, very good! Contact Slayer from Sage Falls and inform him of our plans. After all, he is a key component in what we hope to accomplish. If everything goes as planned, I'll make sure that I uphold my end of the bargain." Vault said as a vicious grin appeared on his face.
Menerva bowed in a polite manner, "Understood." As she bowed, there was a look of relief in her eyes when Vault said those last few words. However, there was also a hint of guilt hidden away behind that relief.
Was this truly something she should be using her gifts for? No, there was no room for her to have second thoughts. There was too much at stake and Menerva knew exactly what she had to do. She could not allow herself to falter, even if it meant betraying what she truly believed in.
...
"You said that we're going to go meet up with the others, but how do you even know their location?" Guan Yu asked with doubt apparent in his voice.
At the moment, Guan Yu and Qi Jiguang were following after Valentine within the Chaotic Dogma Realm.
Qi Jiguang had also regained his full power and his weakened state had come to an end. However, he did not like leaving a debt unpaid. Therefore, he said that he would accompany them and offer any assistance he could until they were able to locate their party members.
Also, since every last one of his party members was eliminated by that strange item Silent Step used, he did not have anyone else to rendezvous with. But, that did not mean he was without a plan or purpose. As soon as he finished his business here, he would make it his goal while within the Chaotic Dogma Realm to hunt down Silent Step and have him pay for what he did.
"Do you really want to know how?" Valentine said with a slight smirk on his face.
"Why wouldn't I want to know?" Guan Yu responded.
"Then, if you look at the magical sequence formed by the Chaotic Shift and compare it to the black specks, which are most likely miniature spatial deformities, then you can realign the patterns present within its infrastructure in order to reverse engineer how the two interact with one another and function overall. What I was attempting to do earlier was-" Valentine explained but was cut off.
"Okay, I got it! You're right, I don't want to know!" Guan Yu's mind was swirling from all the nonsense being spewed from Valentine's mouth. He didn't understand a single word of it!
Qi Jiguang was similarly baffled by what Valentine spoke of. Then again, both he and Guan Yu were classes that focused mainly on the physical aspect of things. While his class had a few magic skills up its sleeve, it was nothing on the level of an actual magic caster and was more for support or enhancement purposes.
It appeared that the higher levels of magic within RML worked quite differently.
A smile appeared on Valentine's face. "To put it in the most simple of terms, everyone has been transported to a place that we, as a party, have visited once before." Valentine explained.
Guan Yu frowned, "Then, why did I appear in a location that I have never seen before in my life?"
"Ah, that's the wonderful part of this whole thing. You see, it's not in the literal sense of where we've been before. Think of it like this, do you remember when we first arrived inside of the Chaotic Dogma Realm and was trapped inside of a massive illusion?" Valentine said.
Guan Yu nodded, "Of course I remember. But, what does that have to do with anything?"
"I noticed that the walls in that place were formed by magic. However, I originally believed that it may have been something created by the Earth Devouring Groundbull that we encountered, so there were not too many questions to ask. But, it turns out that I missed a very important detail that I failed to notice until just recently." Valentine explained.
He then continued, "No spatial deformities, or black specks as you know them by, were present inside of that cave. Though, that's not really the important part. Back when we entered into that temple, did the area there not feel similar to a certain other place?"
Although to everyone else at that time Valentine was unaware of anything, he was actually experiencing the same things except in a different way. In other words, it was as if he was there with them throughout the journey past the six wooden doors.
Guan Yu furrowed his brows and tried to think about it. That temple place was strange and the area inside kept shifting through multiple environmental settings. To his knowledge, it did not remind him of anything he had encountered within RML thus far.
"Still nothing? Alright then, I'll just say this. If you were to look down from the sky with both places side by side, the only difference would be the environment. However, everything else is the exact same. If I'm not mistaken, any other team who has experienced a Chaotic Shift must have also entered into an unusual area of the Chaotic Dogma Realm." Valentine said.
Guan Yu was startled. Everything between both places was exactly the same?
"You mean to say it's not a place we've actually been to before in this specific location, but rather a place we've come across while inside of the area with the black sphere?" Guan Yu asked.
"Precisely. Therefore, all we have to do is retrace our steps and we will eventually find some clue as to where the others are." Valentine said.
"You- You really are a magic freak." Guan Yu said as he shook his head.
Valentine gave a helpless smile and shrugged his shoulders. How could he help his interest in all things magic? It was something that had been with him before he could even walk.
Guan Yu and Qi Jiguang continued to follow after Valentine. But, little did they know, a pleasant surprise awaited them ahead.
...
Izroth, Luna, Zi Yi, Halls, and Ying Yue did not stop for long and kept walking after their brief pause. However, there was now an awkward silence present.
Though, this was to be expected after everything that was just said a few moments ago.
This all started when Izroth asked Ying Yue what should have been a simple question.
However, after that question, Izroth had not bothered to ask or answer any further questions regarding the matter.
This, in turn, caused Ying Yue to become quite dejected.
Everyone was confused by sudden silence and why Ying Yue had such a pitiful expression on her face.