"Even Saint Geom's attacks aren't working?" Shin gulped, not wanting to believe his eyes. Among all of the Spirit Saints, there was no one better at single-target attacks than Saint Geom. If his sword lights fell short, one didn't have to imagine how the other Spirit Saints would fare.
As if to confirm Shin's hypothesis, an array of probing elemental attacks charged straight from the congregation of Spirit Saints and landed right where Saint Geom's sword lights were aimed at. Unfortunately for the Alliance, all of those attacks were absorbed just like Saint Geom's and had just become additional fuel for the spiralling whirlpool in the sky.
"It looks like the Allfather has figured out a method to absorb spiritual energies from attacks." Isadore frowned. "If none of the Spirit Saint's attacks worked, none of us will be able to destroy the Payircis or the Tree of Darkness from the outside."
Shin nodded, acknowledging his right-hand man's deduction. The Allfather has been preparing for this moment for centuries. The preparations that he had and the number of variables he'd calculated far surpassed anything that the Alliance could come up with. Thinking back, it was foolish for Shin to have thought that they had won that easily.
"The five remaining Payircis are the ones sucking in the elemental and spiritual energies from the atmosphere, behaving like filtration tanks that pump energy to power Heaven's Gate. Kin and Gin said that Heaven's Gate requires an astronomical amount of spiritual energy, an amount that couldn't be obtained even if the Allfather multiplied his resources ten times over. However, if he could continually absorb spiritual energies from the world..."
"He'll gather enough spiritual energy to open the path to the Immortal Realm," Shin grimly finished off Isadore's sentence. He glanced down at the five floating towers, carefully examining every nook and cranny. It was smooth and shiny as if it had been polished to perfection by an obsessed cleaner. Unlike traditional buildings, there weren't any windows or chimneys that the Alliance could use to infiltrate. It looked alien, a structure that modern science was unable to completely replicate. It did, however, have one similarity to all modern structures.
"Those doors… They're unguarded." Shin thought out loud, not thinking about the ramifications of his words.
The Guardian Sword members overheard his ramblings and turned their attention to the opening to observe that Payirci for themselves.
"It's another trap," Isadore declared. "They want us to spend our spiritual energies inside the Payircis to further power up Heaven's Gate." A logical conclusion, given as how the four destroyed Payircis were floating up into the sky, becoming fuel for the never-ending vortex.
"But we can't sit here and do nothing!" Ella butted into the conversation with her own two cents. "If we do nothing, Heaven's Gate will be opened. If we at least try to destroy the Payircis, there's a chance that we could stop the influx of spiritual energies into the sky! I say we charge in and do what Guardian Sword is known for!"
"I concur," Elrin sided with the ponytailed archer. "Time is money. If the Allfather ascends to Heaven, he'll break the ecosystem of our world in the process. God knows what that would do to the economy! If we dilly-dally any longer, we'll lose our only chance of stopping the Allfather!"
"Let's not be hasty." From the side, the most maternal figure of them all interrupted with a gentle, yet anxious smile.
Shin turned to the blonde beauty, pouting while biting his lower lip. He asked: "Master, what do you think?"
"Naturally, we'll take it down from the inside. Just like we've always done."
"You also think so?"
"But… The remaining five Payircis aren't like the four that we've destroyed," Lady Seph reminded them. "They're all home to one of the Noble Beasts. Not to mention, the Black Masks has an army of cultivators and Umbras that could be sprinkled all over the floating towers. Though I believe Guardian Sword has sufficient manpower to conquer it, why risk it when we can gather more reinforcements?"
The Divine Healer turned her head around, prompting the rest of the crew to look backwards. Ten lights bolted right at Shin and the others, stopping only when they were just a dozen metres away.
"Shin!" Raphael screamed at the top of his lungs. "Did you notice the change in the Payircis?"
"Yes," a simple affirmation came out of Shin's mouth. "They're batteries powering the Allfather's plan to open Heaven's Gate! We have to stop it from the inside!"
"It's good that you're quick on the uptake! There's been a change of plans! Since the Allfather is planning to go all-out now, we won't be pulling any punches anymore." Raphael extended all five of his fingers, pointing it right at Shin.
"Five Payircis, five Spirit Saints. The Himmel Empire, Lantis Republic and Kori Federation will take care of one Payirci respectively. The remaining members of the Alliance will take the fourth one, so… Could we trouble Guardian Sword to remove the fifth?"
"No problem!" Shin declared without any hesitation. From the very beginning that was their plan. To enter the Payirci and destroy it from the inside. Furthermore, Guardian Sword had the backing of Zishen, a Primordial Beast that could equal the might of a Spirit Saint. Not to mention, Shin himself was at the Saint-level. If anything, Guardian Sword was the most prepared among the five raid forces to take down their allocated Payirci. Though, it wasn't bad to have an additional Spirit Saint backing them up.
"Who would be our supporting Spirit Saint?" Shin asked.
"That will be me," a familiar voice sounded out from the pack of ten as a black-haired beauty stepped forth with a smile. "Zemin will be leading the Lantis Republic's raid force. I'll join you, Shin."
"Aunt Tian..."
Longyu Tian was the Spirit Saint that Shin was most comfortable with. She knew all of his habits and for a certain period, acted as Shin's solitary master. Additionally, Longyu Tian's expertise came in supporting the attackers using a mixture of Time-Elemental abilities and her cheat future sight, something that Zishen and Shin sorely lacked. In a sense, there was no one more suited than Longyu Tian to watch over Shin's Guardian Sword.
"Time is of the essence. I'll notify the rest of the Alliance about this arrangement." Raphael, still with a red face and sweaty palms, rapid-fired his statements, ending with one question. "Shin, could I leave the blue Payirci to you? You're nearest to it and have fought its owner once before!"
"The blue one?" Shin inadvertently asked, but expected no answer. He turned his head to the right, watching as the nearest Payirci fired a blue beam into the sky, congregating all Water-Elements there was.
The blue Payirci. Even without checking its interior, Shin knew who its owner was. Over the years, Shin had encountered many Noble Beasts, be it face-on or from a distance. However, there was one Noble Beast that stood heads and shoulders over the rest in Shin's mind.
That Noble Beast was responsible for leading Junius deeper into the Allfather's clutches and as a consequence, he was also the Noble Beast that had the most history with Shin. Even before he was the Prince of Water. Even before he was the gem of the Lantis Republic… That Noble Beast had known Shin. Some might say that Noble Beast knew Shin more than most of his teammates.
Love it or hate it, their fates were interlocked, far more than the Allfather was with Shin. That's why… Shin had to be the one to end it.
"Yes… Leave the World Serpent to me."