The suddenly erected mirrored wall reflected the image, allowing both sides to see each other.
When they saw themselves...
In that instant, they suddenly calmed down.
At the rebel leader's command, the men silently sheathed their weapons.
The tense atmosphere eased slightly.
Alka stared at the man who had fired the first shot, his expression now panicked.
"Why did you shoot?"
"I... I don't know. Maybe, maybe I was too nervous." He looked flustered, and he seemed to realize he had made a serious mistake.
Because his leader was standing nearby, looking at him with a grim expression.
Alka just stared at him.
This ordinary rebel sweated profusely, his body beginning to tremble.
"Don't be nervous. You're just being affected, so I don't blame you."
Alka said, suddenly extending his hand, his five fingers forming claws, slowly grasping and twisting.
At this moment, Sofia and the others also hurried over.
Just then, as Alka's power swirled, a mirror-like shattering effect appeared in the air, and then a demon was pulled out and imprisoned in place.
Looking at the demon's image,
Alka's expression was as if it were expected.
This demon was none other than the Devourer.
The Devourer seemed a little surprised to have been found out so suddenly. But he still looked at Alka with a smile.
"Friend, long time no see. After all this time, your strength is a little beyond my imagination."
Alka just stared at him.
Suddenly, he asked, "Have you resolved the issue with your soul? I didn't notice you hiding around here before I came."
To be honest, they hadn't been disturbed by the Devouring Mouth for quite some time on this journey.
The thread that Alka and the others had long ago planted within the Devouring Mouth's soul allowed them to slightly sense the demon's emanations.
They knew where in the Boundless Ocean there was a general sense of presence.
It was this ability that had allowed Alka and the others to remain quiet for such a long time.
But they clearly had no sense of the emanation before them.
Is he so eager to annoy me as soon as the problem was resolved?
"Hey, friend. You seem to be underestimating me. You've become so powerful over the years. Can't I also make a little progress?"
The Devouring Mouth asked with a smile.
If you didn't know better, you'd really think the two were close friends.
Hearing this, Alka couldn't help but nod. It made sense.
Considering it, they'd been planting the seeds of trouble in the Devouring Mouth's soul for years.
For a demon like the Devouring Mouth, it would have figured out how to eliminate those problems within its soul over the years. It looked like it might even be controlling the threads within its soul, clouding Alka and the others' judgment.
Alka turned to look at the grim-faced rebel leader and the other insurgents, their guns raised.
Their guns, along with those from the Holy Machine Church, were now pointed at the demon Alka had captured.
"Did you deliberately lure these people here? What's the point? Just to slightly hinder my progress?"
"Or do you intend to manipulate them into conflict with me, thereby creating hatred between me and these rebel forces?"
"How could that be? I simply wanted to see you. We're old friends, and it's been ages since we last met."
Of course, he didn't believe that.
Alka thought it was likely that his ascension to godhood in the dream had had a powerful influence on the World Scar.
That's why the Devouring Mouth came to spy on Alka, to see what had happened.
Alka couldn't believe these demons hadn't noticed that his dream realm's ability to stabilize reality had greatly improved.
These demons' power within the World Scar must have been limited, and they could no longer wield their power as recklessly as before.
His arrival confirmed Alka's suspicions, which actually made him happy.
This meant that the impact on the demons was far greater than he had imagined. Alka looked at him and said, "Now that you've seen it, wait patiently in the World Scar. I'll come back and chop off your head."
With a gentle squeeze of his hand, he crushed the body that had been split from the Devouring Mouth into shreds.
The soul vanished instantly, leaving Lucilia unable to restrain it.
"It seems he's suffered a loss before and has rebuilt his clone," Alka said with a smile.
However, it seems the Devouring Buckle has now provided stronger defenses for his soul. It remains to be seen whether he has truly eliminated the tiny dot they planted within it.
After all, the soul bound by the silk thread might just be a shell, a decoy to deceive the Devouring Mouth.
But it doesn't matter.
We'll know when the time comes.
Having it would be great, but not having it wouldn't affect Alka's ability to deal with the Devouring Mouth's true form later.
Looking at the crushed demon, Alka turned to stare at the rebel leader.
It seemed that without the Devouring Mouth, the emotions that had slightly affected them had vanished.
Sensing this change, the leader's expression darkened. Still, he turned his head and stared at Alka solemnly, bowing.
"Thank you for your help."
Then he looked at his soldiers and said, "We retreat."
Watching the rebels leave without hesitation, Alka turned to look at the members of the Church of the Holy Machine.
The man who had just spoken to Alka solemnly made a Church of the Holy Machine sign and offered a blessing.
"This island was originally theirs?" Alka asked.
The church member nodded. "It was indeed theirs before, but after the oracle came down, we were told to temporarily control this place, so we notified them.
They quickly gave it up, and later joined the resistance, just like those others. Now, perhaps under the demon's spell, they want to reclaim their former home."
Alka thought and nodded, then asked, "Do you have any desire to occupy this place?"
"Of course not, sir. Later, we determined that you only wanted this tower, not this place.
So, our approach and strategy at the time were somewhat ill-considered."
Hearing this, Alka stopped wasting time. He relayed his voice to the leader and, before everyone's eyes, dug out the entire Trial Tower and threw it into the small world.
Seeing this, the member of the Holy Machine Church finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He and his soldiers had been guarding this place for a long time, and now that things were unsettled outside, he urgently needed to return to the church. So, after watching Alka finish, he said goodbye and left, driving the steel battleship to the seashore.
The group of rebels remained where they were, following Alka's message.
He watched the members of the Holy Machine Church leave.
Then he watched Alka and the others board their ship and prepare to depart.
"This was your home, and it remains yours now."
"Thank you."
The leader said this and watched Alka and the others' ship depart.
Now, in the small world...
They already possessed nine Trial Towers.
This almost meant that their collection of the twelve Trial Towers was nearing completion.
"Finally, is this masterpiece finally about to reappear in the world?" Naphtos muttered to himself, staring at the nine towers before him.
He could sense his excitement.
The memory training ground was still operating.
It seems that with the addition of nine towers, three more than when the function was activated, the capacity is increased.
Even if they were to enter the training ground together now, the overload wouldn't be affected.
At this moment, Sofia and the others had just finished training and were resting nearby.
"Compared to all of this, I'm more concerned about the Devouring Mouth. This time, he's only allowed such a small group of weak rebels to influence us.
Honestly, this is truly bizarre."
Lucille nodded at Sofia's words.
Indeed.
The rebels who had just briefly stopped them truly didn't offer even the slightest bit of resistance.
"You can't think that way. After all, the Devouring Mouth hadn't considered exposing himself, had he? He hadn't anticipated my rapid increase in strength.
So, it's very likely he was just trying to hide in the shadows and observe me. Any use of his power would reveal his true intentions."
After hearing Alka's words. Sofia and the others thought for a moment and nodded.
When they arrived, they happened to see Alka dragging the Devouring Mouth out of the space.
Although they didn't see the Devouring Mouth's expression, they could tell from Alka's words. He must have been surprised to have been discovered.
In other words, he might just be trying to test the waters, hiding in the shadows for a moment's observation.
"Be careful on the way back. Based on our understanding of the Devouring Mouth, he certainly won't give up so easily.
He must be hiding something back there, waiting for us to approach. Especially now that he knows my strength, he'll either give up or set a massive trap."
Alka said.
This was what he was most concerned about.
Thankfully, the Devouring Mouth was slightly exposed here, making Alka and the others somewhat wary.
The problem was that Alka and his team were determined to collect all the Trial Towers. Knowing this, the Devouring Mouth's range of operation would be vast.
However, fortunately, Alka knew for sure that the Trial Towers in the Boundless Sea would never be moved without permission.
He could detect even the slightest movement.
At this point, Alka looked at Sofia and asked.
"How long will it take you to reach the eighth stage?"
Hearing Alka's question, Sofia thought for a moment: "At the current rate, it will probably take more than a year and a half... maybe more than two years."
Sofia gave a somewhat inaccurate number, after all, this was for advancing to the eighth stage.
In reality, the eighth stage is a relatively important milestone.
At this point, their strength would be equivalent to the peak of what mortals in the real world could achieve.
Of course, even if they didn't achieve godhood, they could still advance to the ninth stage. The difficulty at this point was meaningless.
Because at the eighth stage, the primary goal shifted from meditation to increasing strength to obtaining crown-level treasures suitable for their use.
Because, as far as Alka knew, after the eighth stage, unless one achieved godhood, the increase in strength was unlikely to lead to a qualitative change.
But will it take another year or two?
Alka pondered silently.
That would be roughly the time they would need to collect all the Trial Towers.
The Sound of Dawn sailed.
Time flew by.
Another Trial Tower, under Alka's control, entered the small world from outside.
When this Trial Tower fell, the number of Trial Towers in the small world reached ten.
Only the last two Trial Towers remained.
Not to mention that number 12 was the Trial Tower they'd used before, the one they were most familiar with.
After so many years, this journey to collect Trial Towers was gradually drawing to a close.
The Memory Battlefield had been strengthened once again.
This time, from the battlefield of the restored memories, it was possible to isolate a section of the Memory Battlefield and capture just that fragment.
In other words, the large battlefield they faced could be transformed into a single arena by capturing just one opponent.
"How long have you been able to last on the battlefield recently?" Juanlu asked, standing beside the Memory Battlefield, as he looked at Porolo, who had just emerged from it.
Porolo rubbed his swollen head and pointed to a stone tablet not far away.
It was called a stone tablet, but the numbers and words on it did change.
Porolo's name was clearly engraved on it, with the time behind it.
"108."
Interestingly, even for those above Pororo, the remaining time was also 108.
This means that the longest time in the Trial Battlefield was only 108 hours.
This is because this is a fragment extracted from the Nafudos Chronicle. Although he persevered to the end, by the end, he was practically terribly close to death.
So, after this battle, he became the control center of the Trial Tower. This was also a transformation made to ensure his survival.
Although their strength was only at the seventh level, they seemed to have been on this battlefield for so long that they had become accustomed to its rhythm and fighting style.
They were able to fight steadily and coordinate with their comrades, persevering to the end.
Their combat experience had grown rapidly over the years.
The intensity of each day's battles exceeded the total of their previous battles.
Under such circumstances, how could their combat skills not soar?
"Naphtos also suggested preserving this stele. It was Alka's suggestion, apparently.
He said that such a ranking would be very effective in motivating the trial-takers' competitive spirit."
"Really? Come to think of it, it makes sense."
At this moment.
On the deck outside.
Alka stood on the deck, enjoying the sea breeze and gazing out at the distant sea.
An island floated in the distance.
From its appearance, it looked unlikely to be a deserted island; it might be a drifting island.
This is something you might encounter from time to time in the market; it's quite normal.
"Would you like to come over?" Sofia asked from the side.
At this moment, Alka turned his head slightly and looked up.
He was looking at the observation deck at the top of the tree.
Jason was inside, staring at the island.
"Let's get closer." Alka thought for a moment.
As the Dawn Voice approached the deserted island, it slowly stopped at a good, easy-to-land spot.
As the ship docked, everyone in the small world also left.
Out.
Looking at the island.
"It looks like no one lives on this island."
"Want to advance here?"
Alka suddenly turned to Jason and asked.
Jason's strength had reached the seventh stage of perfection. Ululius, who was at the same level, had been dormant in the small world for several months.
The eighth stage is a milestone. Even for an ancient crystal dragon like Ululius, it's the same.
For the dragon race, it's also a milestone where a period of dormancy is needed to grow.
After this, one becomes an adult dragon.
Hearing this.
Jason glanced at the island's environment and nodded.
"Okay, let's do it here."
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but become curious.
Although they had seen Alka advance to the eighth stage, Alkana's advancement was quite unexpected.
"Let's not go to the island, let's advance around here," Jason said.
Then everyone prepared. The Voice of Dawn settled around it, its roots digging deep into the seabed, some tethered to the island.
Jason was ready soon.
The meditation had already begun, and a magical storm had already gathered around the liquid energy.
As Jason entered, the magical vortex intensified.
However, compared to Alka's previous situation, it was still much better.
And now, under Alka's control, the surrounding environment, aside from the constantly gathering magical storm, both the sea surface and the strong winds, calmed down.
As Jason advanced, Alka suddenly frowned and glanced underwater.
There. Is something coming?
It seems Jason's advancement gathered an excessive amount of magic power around him, attracting some kind of sea creature.
"Be careful," Pororo said, gazing warily at the water.
It's definitely a large creature.