They finally arrived at the core's location.
It was in an open space with hollowed walls—entrances leading to various tunnels containing branching paths.
The sphere-shaped core floated in the middle of the grand chamber, pulsating with ominous and mysterious energy, filling the space with an unsettling hum.
"That looks ominous..."
Moreover, it was unguarded, making the thought that it might be a trap could be justified.
"Agree. It makes you think something bad will happen if we destroy it."
Eliana and Alphonso exchanged a glance, and with a shared nod, they knew what needed to be done despite their unnecessary ideas.
Taking a deep breath, Eliana unleashed a powerful blast of fire.
"Phoenix Form: Bullet."
The flames, which looked like a phoenix soaring, shot forward, striking the core with force.
The core shuddered under the impact, cracks splintering across its surface as the fire consumed it.
And then, with a deafening roar, the core exploded, sending shockwaves through the chamber.
The walls trembled, and the ground beneath them shook violently, signaling that the Monolith's power was finally broken.
Soon, a portal that could send them back to reality would appear.
Usually, once a Monolith had been cleared, it would stay in the world for some time before completely vanishing. Hence, a portal was created as a means to return for the group that cleared it or those who would come during the post-clearance period.
However, instead of the portal appearing, it was something else.
The tremors returned and intensified.
"Huh?"
The very earth beneath them seemed to groan in protest, and a loud, grinding sound echoed through the chamber.
"What's going on?!"
Alphonso and Eliana barely had time to react before the ground split open at the far end of the chamber, and a new Monolith began to rise from the depths.
"Wait... that... you're joking, right...?"
Alphonso muttered, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"A second Monolith?! Inside the existing one?! This is madness..."
Eliana stared at the towering structure in shock, her heart racing. The impossibility of it all was overwhelming, but she knew one thing for certain—they were far from done.
A Monolith appearing within a Monolith realm was unheard of.
Even if something similar occurred in the past, no one was able to come back alive from it, triggering the Monolith Chaos.
Monolith Chaos was an event when the Monolith reached its maximum phase, where the mysterious energy surrounding it started leaking to the outside world.
When that happened, the Monolith would start cracking, ultimately causing monsters residing within to pour outside into the world.
Many Monolith Chaos had occurred since they first appeared, and the number categorized as "the worst" was also not small.
That "the worst" category was caused by various reasons. Some were recorded in the Alliance Omnibus, and some might not.
Among the number of Monolith Chaos that had occurred until now, maybe one or two of them were caused by the appearance of the second Monolith.
It was just unfortunate that until today, no one could figure out the cause of Monolith Chaos, which was categorized as "the worst" except that that category or the common ones were going into maximum phase because they were neglected or too difficult to be cleared.
"This is impossible," Eliana said, her voice trembling. "Niveus. We need to get Niveus here!"
Alphonso nodded. As much as he disliked him, he had to admit Niveus was probably the only person reliable in this situation.
As they were about to race back to find Niveus, the said person had already just emerged from the tunnel entrance they previously came out.
"What's happening here?" Niveus asked as soon as he arrived at the core's location.
Alphonso was surprised by his arrival, but it wasn't time to question him. He glanced behind and then back to Niveus.
"You won't believe this, but it happens... A second Monolith has emerged."
"What?!"
"You're not deaf, buddy," Alphonso said, his voice filled with sarcasm. "Anyway, how did you get here?"
Niveus raised an eyebrow.
"What? I followed your trace."
'There's no way I tell him it's because a sentient Beacon told me about your location.'
Sighing, Niveus stared at both of them. His face was serious.
"Enough with the skepticism, tell me how did this happen?"
To his words, Eliana stepped forward and started explaining.
...
"You just hit the core with your magic, and then it shattered as normally as described in Omnibus. A quick quake occurred. However, rather than a portal, another Monolith appeared?"
Eliana nodded. "Yes. That's what happened."
Niveus glanced at Alphonso, finding him nodding to confirm the truth of Eliana's story.
Sighing, Niveus asked Nono.
'Do you know something? Were there any events related to the second Monolith?"
["It's... the first time I've heard this."]
'Hmm, so there are some things that miss know-it-all doesn't know. First, the ring, and now this.'
["I'm not omniscient."]
Niveus stared at the Monolith blankly, his mind filled with various scenarios that would happen if they left the second Monolith unattended.
"The worst" Monolith Chaos category.
Accelerating the Monolith phase to its maximum.
And so on, so many bad things would happen if they ignored it.
Sighing, Niveus decided to split the group.
"You two, go back and inform the Commander about this."
Alphonso went eyes wide. But eventually nodded, understanding the situation.
However, Eliana refused to let Niveus go alone.
"Take me with you!"
Niveus looked at her, thinking whether to bring her or not. But, no matter how much he thought, there was no benefit in taking her along.
In fact, it was better for Niveus to go alone.
'If I'm alone, I can use my power as I like.'
Niveus had a reason why he didn't want to reveal to anyone if he had Celestial blood.
He didn't know if what happened to a Celestia side character in the hidden route would happen to him if people knew about it or not, or the thing that Nono worried about.
But, for him, convincing Luminous, who held the authority of light and divinity, was much easier than the people in Actlane.
'He's the ruler of Celestia and cares a lot about the Celestial, even to those who are already exiled like my people.'
But... Niveus had a doubt.
'Will he be the same as in the game?'
Looking at Eliana, Niveus shook his head, his expression firm.
"No. I'll go alone."
"But—"
"This is an order from your captain. Return to Glacend and report the situation to the Commander."
Eliana flinched. Meanwhile, Alphonso's eyebrows twitched.
That was the first they heard Niveus using the captain's authority over them since the creation of their small, specialist unit.
And his hard cold tone reminded Eliana of her demanding parents. She backed down immediately and looked down, biting her lip.
"I... understand."
Glancing at Alphonso, Niveus lifted his chin, gesturing for him to do his job immediately.
Sighing, Alphonso patted Eliana's shoulder and handed a crystal-shaped object to her.
"A Return Stone, an item to leave the Monolith in case of emergency, though we used it for the scouting units that gather intel inside the Monolith before raiding it."
Eliana frowned at him.
"I know that already."
Shrugging, Alphonso crush the crystal with his palm. A few seconds later, his body was enveloped by white light before disappearing.
Eliana stared at the Return Stone in her hand, then at Niveus.
"Be safe, Niveus," she said, breaking the crystal and disappearing.
Letting out a long breath, Niveus strode toward the second Monolith.
"I'll count on you, Nono."
["What a reckless man you are... sigh..."]