A sturdy, overlapping space.
Everyone who had disappeared into the room arrived here. The moment the soldiers emerged, they surrounded the general, protecting him.
Arka and the others looked a little flustered upon entering, seemingly puzzled as to why they had come here.
This was also Balazs's first time in a overlapping space.
This caused everyone present to seem a little flustered.
Everyone looked toward the center of the overlapping space, where a vast array of gold, silver, and jewelry lay piled high.
Precious gems and gold coins lay piled high, along with various valuable ornaments.
"Is this all that Kylian earned in his life?" Balazs muttered to himself, gazing at the vast treasures.
Only five years passed between Kylian's rise to fame and his death.
In those five years, after deducting necessary expenses and sharing profits with his subordinates, he had amassed such a fortune.
Everyone gained a new appreciation for the pirate's cruelty.
How could such a bounty be possible without frantic plunder?
The general pushed aside the soldiers surrounding him and approached the treasure pile. His eyes, devoid of greed, flickered constantly, as if searching for something.
He seemed even more anxious.
Alka stepped forward and reached out to plunder the treasure, letting piles of coins slip from his palm.
One unique coin, hidden among the pile, vanished with the falling coins.
Besides Alka, the members of the Chamber of Commerce led by Baraz, as well as Jason and the others, did the same thing.
They couldn't help but reach out to touch the treasure, as if to confirm its authenticity.
They knew in their hearts that it had nothing to do with them.
But the treasure was too tempting.
The general didn't care at all; he paid no attention to their touch.
He simply bent down gently, pulled out something resembling a badge from the pile of money, and examined it carefully.
"These treasures weren't just plundered," he said with a chuckle.
Although he didn't finish his words, after hearing him talk about the Clarian family, he could already guess.
They must have been hidden during exile. In a place with magical powers, hiding treasures wouldn't be difficult.
Realizing that these treasures were mixed with the property of an exiled royal family, it seemed less difficult to accept.
As for why they weren't spent...
The people who exiled them weren't dead.
Alka clapped her hands and tossed everything in her hands into the pile of treasure.
He turned to the general and said, "Now that I've found his treasure for you, you can let us go as agreed."
The general's serious face remained expressionless. He turned and looked directly into Alka's eyes.
The atmosphere within the entire overlapping space grew solemn.
Even the few members of the Chamber of Commerce, intent on finding treasure, paused silently and retreated behind Balazs.
"I admire you. Do you want to work for me?
I also know many places where treasures might be buried. Working under me, you can still find treasure."
Alka shook his head. "Although we're a treasure hunting group, freedom clearly outweighs treasure hunting."
Hearing this, the general silently looked at Alka before him and gently waved his hand.
Instantly, a tremendous pressure descended, and everyone was instantly pinned to their spot, unable to move.
His actions fully spoke for themselves.
"That's a shame. It shows you still don't know me well enough. If you knew more, you'd be more willing."
Then he gently waved his hand: "Pack these things up."
"You're not keeping your word!" Alka roared at him, his eyes wide open.
The general turned to look at him, completely ignoring his rage.
As for Balazs, he seemed to have given up and abandoned resistance the moment the general arrived.
"Balazs? Don't you have anything to say?" Alka asked, looking at Balazs.
Balazs's face was filled with helplessness, and his voice was heavy: "You may not understand, but although he's a general, he's no different from a king. What can I do?"
He hadn't even given up on escaping.
He'd worked hard here for over a decade, and all his wealth was here.
Where could he run to?
Give it all up?
Impossible.
Forget about resisting. The two were completely on different levels. He couldn't even move a finger now, except for being able to turn his head and speak.
Seeing that Balazs had completely given up,
Alka said no more.
He asked this question because he wanted to know if Balazs had any thoughts of escaping.
After all, escaping was absolutely life-threatening.
Seeing Alka's behavior, the general chuckled and focused on searching for the treasure.
Alka turned slightly and said to the people behind him, "I'm sorry. It's all my fault for losing your freedom."
"Never mind. It's not your fault."
"Why don't you agree? It's better than death."
"I'd rather die than live without freedom."
"..."
Everyone expressed their opinions one after another.
The small arguments and exchanges between the people could be heard by everyone else in the space.
Seizing this opportunity, Alka opened his mouth and said, "Svsavatnari."
The moment the secret code was spoken backward, the general immediately turned his head.
An inopportune surge of magical energy appeared around him, unusually noticeable in this enclosed space.
The teleportation took a very brief moment, and Alka had already given this person, who had reached the maximum strength of the fourth stage, a sufficient forewarning of the dangers ahead.
Ensuring their escape with minimal risk.
As he spoke the words...
A pink mist suddenly erupted from the entire space, instantly filling it.
Except for Alka's group, everyone was dragged into a dream.
The mist also slowed the movements of enemies throughout the space.
Even the general was affected by the unexpected mist.
And in that brief moment, Alka and the others vanished.
They had been in Vastva for over 160 days and nights, almost a year by conventional calculations.
They had long since figured out the mechanics of the overlapping space, easily figuring out how to teleport out in one direction without having to transport everyone in the space all at once.
The dream mist within this space was also specifically instilled by Alka last night when he arrived.
They also had their research in Vastva to thank for that.
Although they couldn't create overlapping spaces themselves, spatial division and expansion shared similarities.
Although the data was incomplete, it had given them a good understanding of the manipulation and control of overlapping spaces.
The two soldiers searching outside were a bit bewildered by the sudden appearance of the crowd.
But Alka, prepared, sent two pink mists swooping directly in front of them, swiftly plunging them into a dream.
Alka wasn't in the mood to engage in a fight right now. He just wanted to get away quickly and get them back to the boat.
"Run! Run to the shore, as far as possible. The Voice of Dawn is waiting for us."
Just as they left the room, a violent shattering sound came from behind them, and a breach appeared in the space.
The general, with a serious face and malicious eyes, emerged as the space shattered.
His ability to immerse himself in dreams probably didn't hold him back even for a second.
Even more outrageous was this.
He actually shattered the space and escaped, his hands clinging to the breach with magical power, forcibly stabilizing the shattered space.
"Separate, run!" Alka shouted.
Everyone dispersed without hesitation.
However, an invisible force had already reached them, and Alka and Lucilia beside him were instantly trapped in place.
At this distance, his first target was Alka, the leader of the treasure-hunting group.
"Alka!" Seeing Alka restrained, the fleeing Shadaiti involuntarily slowed down.
A moment's pause had lost her chance to escape. The halo on her forehead had barely begun to appear.
And so, like Alka and the others, she was frozen in place.
It was over.
Alka's heart sank. If he were alone, he could have used a clone to forcibly escape, even at the cost of serious injury or even his life.
But Lucilia, who had been momentarily restrained along with him, and Shadaiti, who had also been restrained by his pause, made it impossible for him to consider himself alone.
"Do you think you can escape from my grasp?" a gloomy voice called from behind.
But this time, Alka couldn't even speak, couldn't even turn his head.
Fight to the death.
The Dreamcatcher flew from his chest, and countless thick pink mists gushed wildly around him.
Mirrors emerged from his face, one after another, huge, full-length mirrors, instantly enveloping the entire ruined village.
This place was instantly transformed into a forbidden maze.
Although Alka himself couldn't move, it was only his body; his interior wasn't controlled by some strange, invisible force.
"It's actually a treasure related to dreams," Alka heard the voice behind him, somewhat incredulous.
It didn't even hold him back for a moment?
It didn't even drag him into the dream.
The reflection of the mirror before him revealed the general behind him, almost completely enveloped in mist.
But he showed no sign of dreaming. With a simple wave of his hand, an invisible force dispelled the mist around him.
Could it be possible, at this stage, to remain unaffected by dreams?
Alka was even prepared to let him enter a dream, freeing him from his control the moment it occurred.
With Shadaiti, they escaped through the Mirror of Transmission.
But reality puzzled him.
If he hadn't dreamed yet, then why had he just been in a dream?
At least he had been in a dream just now, albeit briefly, but that brief moment was enough.
Alka, even the mirrors at everyone's feet were set up.
The general adjusted his uniform, keeping it clean and tidy, and stood straight.
He looked at Alka's face, reflected in the mirror before him.
Although Alka's face was covered by the mirror mask.
Still, the general said, "You seem surprised I wasn't dragged into the dream this time?"
"Don't worry. It's not because your move wasn't powerful, but because you used it on the wrong opponent.
If it had been anyone else, you might have escaped."
He couldn't help but chuckle at this point, but didn't explain further.
"A treasure related to dreams—how wonderful! You truly bring me luck." The smile didn't fade from his serious face.
Looking at Alka's reflection in the mirror, he said with some surprise, "And you've even mastered two treasures, reaching my current level of achievement. At your age and strength, that's quite impressive."
"If I were your age, I'd have only been able to look up to you.
Give you a little more time, and your achievements would surely surpass mine. What a pity."
He raised his hand slightly, then clenched his palm. Alka felt the restraints tighten even more, even beginning to squeeze his body.
But now he couldn't even control his facial expression.
"Watch how I capture your friends one by one. This is what happens when you disobey me."
He waved his hand vigorously, sweeping away the surrounding mist and spreading it outward.
Magical power surged from his hand, transforming into a faint pink that fell upon the nearby soldiers.
They all woke up, including Balazs.
Balazs, who was in the shattered space, surveyed the surroundings and hurried out.
Looking at the surrounding mirrors and the imprisoned Alka, he shook his head with regret.
"General, we..." The newly awakened soldiers immediately gathered around, wanting to apologize.
"Alright, I don't blame you. Let's get out of here."
With that, he raised his hand slightly.
The three imprisoned Alkas immediately floated into the air.
Seeing this, Balazs quickly stepped forward, opened his mouth, and said, "General, can you spare their lives?"
He still felt a certain amount of guilt towards Alka's men.
"Spare their lives? I don't have any intention of taking their lives just yet. I want to capture all of his teammates."
He squeezed his hands as he spoke, and the pressure on the imprisoned men suddenly increased, causing them to frown.
"A young team like this is so great! Just capture one, and it's like capturing them all.
Passion and emotion always lure them to come to the rescue, even when they know they can't defeat them."
Looking at the mirrors around him, the general simply raised his hand and waved it, shattering all the mirrors before him with an invisible force.
This was the mirror maze's weakness. A large-scale attack with even slightly better power could instantly destroy it.
No matter how strong the mirrors were, or how many there were, they couldn't withstand the instantaneous destruction of a large area. Not to mention the attacker was a Stage 4 warrior.
They were lifted into the air and pulled outside, followed by the soldiers behind him and Baraz and the others.
With a gentle wave, the magic power previously attached to the spatial break dissipated immediately, and the shattered gap became like a whirlpool.
The collapse absorbed the surrounding materials.
In an instant, the entire house collapsed completely, and all the collapsed wood, bricks, and stones were sucked into the shattered gap.
But the gap closed just as quickly as it had appeared. In less than half a minute, it was completely closed.
"You guys go to the beach, find their boat, and tell those still aboard that if they don't arrive by daylight tomorrow, it will be the end of these two men."
"Yes!"
Several soldiers immediately ran out.
"They should know these two have been captured, right? Why bother telling them?"
"There will always be cowards who will try to escape using any means possible, even if they're already dead.
We can't let the words of these cowards influence the passionate young people."
How cruel! Balazs thought silently upon hearing this.
Alas.
The diffused pink mist didn't disappear. It was slightly affected by the magical energy in the air.
Vibrating.
Alka, trapped in mid-air, could sense this change.
He was no longer controlling the pink mist, but it persisted and seemed even more active.
It needed no energy of its own and existed in the air.
This situation only existed in the dream world.
A vast amount of pink mist gushed out once again.
Looking at the incoming pink mist, the general frowned and, with a gentle wave, pushed it all away.
"Are you still not giving up? Do you want to die now?"
Faced with his threat, Alka, squeezed tightly in mid-air, felt the pressure around him grow stronger and stronger, almost as if his bones were about to be crushed.
But even so, he continued to pour out pink magic power, showing no sign of stopping.
The outpouring of pink mist caused strange changes to the surroundings.
No, it wasn't just the surroundings; the changes were spreading across the entire island.
Some of the abandoned wooden houses around seemed to begin to twist, and the sky began to darken.
The once unchanging sky seemed to twist and shift as well.
Light and shadow, like paint, twisted and appeared around them.
The entire world became abstract.
Stones twisted, trees stretched, and gravel and dust morphed into pancakes.
Even their original colors shifted.
The green vegetation became a riot of color, stretching, twisting, and spiraling.
The gravel began to float, stretching and deforming.
Some of the wooden houses floated entirely, transforming from small cabins into giant, twisted oil paintings.
The entire space seemed to be deforming, dragging along the surrounding reality, causing the distortions and changes as if space were being kneaded like dough.
This transformation continued to spread, until the entire island was transformed, and even the surrounding sea began to distort and change color.
The Dawn Sound, lingering on the shore, was also enveloped by it, emitting an ominous musical sound.
"Everyone calm down! Be alert!"
Zero shouted from the deck, calming the puppet girls.
Jason and the others, who had already fled, gathered in groups of three or four.
The changes around them made them pause, momentarily unsure of the cause of this change.