[We are currently above the Roen River and what appears to be a screen made of mana. According to the guilds that have concentrated their forces around the area, this screen was created by an invisible dungeon discovered by the Angel of Slaughter himself.
A Chosen who had personally helped him in finding it states that the Angels of Slaughter and Light suspected that the Chosen who have gone missing within the past week were all dragged into this dungeon.]
[The scenes playing on the mana screen seem to be depicting a battle between different forces. Several Chosen have already confirmed that some of the people appearing in the scenes were the Chosen that have disappeared in the past week.]
[The area around the Roen River has transformed into a gathering for Chosen as they eagerly watch the mana screen as though it was a television. And with the appearance of the Angel of Slaughter finally making his move, the people's cheers are only getting louder.]
Several of the media were covering the strange phenomenon of a giant screen made of mana appearing over the Roen River. This happened at exactly sixteen hours since Caelum and Erta entered the dungeon.
Reynor, upon the two's entry, immediately called for backup from Halo while Mary and Eleanor contacted their guilds. Within an hour, the area that had become desolate due to being near the site of the Battle of Sylven had become filled with tension as numerous Chosen gathered.
Reynor explained what had happened with the help of Mary and Eleanor to which the guilds responded calmly albeit confused and anxious. They could only be grateful that they found where their members had disappeared to, however they could not rejoice.
They brought most of their Chosen here in fear of a dungeon break, but they could not even find the entrance. The people were growing impatient after waiting for over half a day already.
And that was when the giant screen appeared. It played out the events happening inside the dungeon as though it was a tv drama. The tension of the people gathered there instantly changed.
"Woah! That's a dullahan, right?!"
"Why the hell is Kyle playing as Gawain?! Who the hell gave him such a cool role?! He should've been a squire or something!"
"Santana, I love you! You're so hot! Go out with me!"
"Will someone shut that bastard up! She can't even hear you!"
"Damn, the Angel of Light is so beautiful. Do you think she'll give me her number if I ask her?"
"Dude, stop. Do you want to get killed by the Angel of Slaughter?"
The people of Aegon, and possibly the whole world, were watching this grand spectacle of a dungeon's clearing from outside.
This was an extraordinary phenomenon never seen before among the dungeons of Earth. Attention quickly gathered on it, and the popularity of the Chosen who entered the dungeon rose with more screen time.
Of course, this was all happening without any of them knowing. Instead, the Chosen actors were entirely focused on their predicament.
"Tristan, shoot the horses before they reach the ground! Merlin, protect the archers! The rest of you, follow Lancelot!"
Erta began giving out orders. At this point, the entire army had already recognized her as the true commander and not Lancelot.
The riders of the Wild Hunt came charging from above while a great number of malevolent fairies met the army on the ground. Lancelot led the rest of the army to engage the fairies while Tristan and her archers shot volley after volley at the riders.
Merlin created a barrier to protect them while also reinforcing their attacks. Erta could not support them with her magic just yet. She needed to conserve her mana for when Caelum needed her. Instead she rushed forward to meet the enemies.
"Nightless Fire!"
Her four wings immediately transformed into blazing tongues of golden fire. In her hands were two swords of fire emitting the same golden brilliance.
She charged at the ghastly cavalry while carefully dodging any attacks heading toward her. When she reached the middle of the enemy forces, she spun in the air with her swords pointed outwards.
The flames trailing the swords immediately transformed into golden chains that snaked and coiled around the riders and their horses. She had locked them in place perfectly before shouting loudly.
"Galahad! Now!"
"Isaac! It's me, Thomas!"
"Ah! Thomas! Help me!"
Immediately after finding his position, Erta went ahead and knocked Isaac unconscious. She left the riders of the Wild Hunt still locked in chains and brought him to Galahad who was shocked by what she did.
"Why did you do that?!"
"Confirm that this is your friend! Quickly!"
"Yes, it's him! I wouldn't mistake his annoying face for anything!"
Hearing this, Erta created a brilliant white flame on her hand and pushed it into Isaac's chest. It quickly spread outward until it covered his entire body.
Just when Galahad was about to yell angrily at her, the fire disappeared with an ominous black smoke coming out of Isaac's body. Then a disembodied voice rang out in the sky above the tumultuous battlefield.
[How clever, woman. To think you would find and destroy it so quickly, a pity that is. How I would have loved to see that thing rip its friend's head off with its own hands.]
"It's easy to burn a curse of that level. Even my husband can make stronger curses than you, wraith."
[Truly? Then I would love to see this man you are so proud of. Bring him to me that I might judge his worthiness of your praise and love. If not, then I shall take his soul and you as my wife.]
"Disgusting. Don't worry, you will meet him soon enough!"
Erta left the purified Isaac to Galahad and flew back into the sky. The chains binding the riders were close to being destroyed so she hurried to kill as much of them as she could.
Tristan and her archers were continuously shooting arrows imbued with Merlin's mana at them, but there were just too many. And their attacks were not as effective as Erta's. Even with their numbers, they were barely matching her speed of killing the riders.
On the ground, Lancelot, Gawain and Galahad were dominating their enemies. Lancelot's spear shot out lightning with each strike while Gawain looked like a weaker version of Erta as he swung around a greatsword covered in red flames, burning several fairies at once.
Galahad, who was protecting his friend in the midst of battle, struck the ground with his shield. The enormous amount of mana he poured into it caused fissures on the ground, toppling enemies and creating obstacles in the battlefield. His ability was a perfect tool to control such large-scale battles.
Erta was annoyed that the dullahan was only watching all of this happen from above. But since she knew that they had yet to enter the final act of the dungeon's theatrical play, she continued to slay more and more riders while the chains were still holding on.
Meanwhile, a festival of blood was occurring elsewhere. Caelum slaughtered the barbarians one unit at a time. They were scattered throughout the forest so it was not difficult to ambush them.
"It's a good thing I learned to meld. It would've been far more annoying if they saw me coming for them."
After observing Reynor use his stealth ability multiple times, Caelum wondered if he could imitate it. He knew that the key would be his Serenity and focused on it.
After a lot of trial and error, he succeeded not in hiding himself, but in melding his presence with the surroundings. It was a practical application of his Serenity's harmony that defied common sense.
The last test run he did was against Erta who was capable of sensing even the most perfectly concealed magic in the world. And it was a great success.
Caelum flew all around the forest for some time, slaughtering barbarians. However, he could not help but feel suspicious.
The enemies belonging to Odin's Wild Hunt were supposedly more than just barbarians. He was fully expecting to have met at least a few tens of Valkyries by now, but there was not even a single feather in sight.
Thus he decided to seek answers from the ones who could provide them. He rushed to a unit of barbarians who were busy being lazy and ripped out their limbs before showing himself and interrogating them.
"Where's the rest of your army?"
"Gaah! You cowardly bastard!"
"Answer me! Where is the rest of your army? Where are the Valkyries and Odin?"
"Gahaha! It's too late! None of your allies will survive!"
The barbarian kept laughing maniacally even as he was bleeding to death. Caelum had heard everything he needed to hear from him and silenced him completely. He smirked as the barbarian's laughter still echoed in his head.
This was one of the possibilities they thought of. There was no way that the puppet master directing this whole play would let the battle drag on for a long time. The real excitement will come when all three factions met in one battlefield.
Knowing this, he flew away while talking to Erta through their connection.
[Erta, we're entering the final act. Are you ready?]
[Everything's good to go now, Honey. Where are you?]
[I'm heading there now.]
Thus the curtain opens to the final act. The people outside the dungeon were holding their breaths as they watched the war was only just beginning through the mana screen. Unbeknownst to them, the actors were already moving as their scripts dictated.