The assault happened with shocking suddenness.
A shattered black sword pierced the brilliant, golden net woven from 'Romance' that spanned the skies above Okhema as easily as if piercing through something light and thin.
Where the blade passed, a string of dark-red, cubic patterns composed of the Black Tide spread rapidly like living things, madly eroding the shimmering golden threads. Okhema's magnificent and holy defensive web dimmed at an alarming rate under this sinister corruption, disintegrating and dissolving like a spiderweb set ablaze.
While most of the guards within the holy city were still looking up, stunned by the terrifying sight in the sky and not yet fully reacting…
A black-robed figure shrouded in an aura of scorching heat and lifeless silence had already materialized like a ghost in the depths of the Demi-God Council chambers—the very place where the 'Worldbearing' Coreflame was stored.
Without any probing or hesitation, Khaslana raised the hilt of his sword.
A wave of pure 'Destruction', absolute in its intent, spread out like an invisible tide. The layered wards protecting the coreflame casket, the ancient runes, the physical locks… every single defensive measure silently annihilated and dissipated the instant they made contact with this will.
He effortlessly snatched the 'Worldbearing' Coreflame, which radiated an aura of chaos, from within the casket.
"Intruder! Sound the alarm!" The elite guards stationed here were seasoned. Though startled, they did not panic. The moment the wards shattered, they had already triggered a piercing alarm that instantly echoed throughout the entire council complex.
The guard captain leading them roared, charging headlong, his spear aimed straight for the black-robed figure's back, intending to stop him from taking the Coreflame—even if only for a moment!
However, Khaslana didn't even glance back at the soldiers.
The moment he secured the 'Worldbearing' Coreflame, his figure seemed to melt into the shadows with a sudden blur. Moving at a speed that defied logic, he shot straight through the soldiers' blockade.
Transforming into a black meteor, Khaslana shot with clear purpose towards the most central, most sacred place in Okhema—the Worldbearing Altar, where the remaining Coreflames were kept!
His target from the very beginning was never just this single coreflame…
"Alert the guard unit at the Worldbearing Altar! I repeat! Alert the guard unit at the Worldbearing Altar! The enemy's target is the Coreflames on the altar!" The guard captain's hoarse shouts were left behind, ignored, as Khaslana sped away.
But all warnings and preparations seemed pitifully feeble in the face of absolute speed and power.
From the moment Khaslana tore the 'Romance' weave with his shattered sword to the moment he descended like a shadow of death over the Worldbearing Altar, where the other nine Titan Coreflames gathered, the entire process took less than five seconds.
This wasn't even enough time for the holy city guards stationed around the altar to complete their most basic muster, let alone form an effective defensive line.
Many guards had just picked up their weapons and looked up to see that ominous black-robed figure already hovering above the slowly rotating Coreflames.
But just as Khaslana reached out, intending to sweep all nine flames into his grasp, and even began calculating whether to conveniently collect the 'Time' Coreflame from another location in the city—the one safeguarded by that small pink creature—
A voice tinged with mockery and languor abruptly sounded by his right ear, so close it felt as if the speaker's lips were brushing against his earlobe:
"I say, Flame Reaver…" The voice carried a playful, cat-and-mouse taunt.
"You don't naively believe you can just steal precious treasures right from under the nose of the Demigod of Trickery… that easily, do you?"
The voice came from the right, but… at the exact same moment it sounded, an exceptionally fierce whip-kick shot toward him from his left side without any warning! The kick tore through the air with a sharp crack!
A classic feint, the very trick 'Trickery' excelled at, and a lethal strike Cipher had meticulously prepared.
Yet, this strike was dodged by Khaslana with a reaction speed bordering on precognition, as he shifted his body aside.
A tattered corner of his robe swept by the leg-wind silently turned to dust. But that was all.
Cipher's expression grew slightly more serious than before, though the corner of her mouth still held that habitual, faint curve suggesting everything was under control. She spoke in a deliberately light tone:
"What? Does it surprise you that the Demigod of 'Trickery' is tasked with guarding the Coreflames, making sure they aren't stolen by others?"
Cipher watched Khaslana's movements warily, her words cunning. "I mean, we're actually quite similar. You like snatching coreflames, I like pilfering treasures. We both favor black attire, and our deeds are the shady, unpopular kind."
"In this glittering holy city, we're both the 'villains' the mainstream doesn't much care for, right? How about we sit down and chat? We might find some common ground."
"You're stalling for time… Demigod." Khaslana's voice, filtered through his mask, was icy and devoid of any fluctuation, directly puncturing her intent.
He couldn't even be bothered to engage in meaningless sparring. His figure moved, transforming into a blurry black shadow shooting straight for the nine floating Coreflames on the altar! His speed nearly surpassed the limits of visual perception.
However, the moment his fingertips touched the Coreflames, brimming with immense energy, and firmly seized them—a sudden anomaly occurred!
The few Coreflames containing vast Titan divine power twisted and warped in his grasp like illusory bubbles, before *poof*—transforming into several ordinary, even somewhat dusty clay pots.
The clay pots clattered to the ground, shattering to pieces.
The real Coreflames had already been swapped out by Cipher at some point, without anyone noticing!
"I told you…" The disdainful smirk on Cipher's face deepened, mixed with the satisfaction of a successful scheme. "Were you even listening? I said it before—it's not so simple to just brazenly snatch things away right in front of me, the Demigod most skilled in theft and deception."
Yet, beneath her seemingly relaxed exterior, internal alarm bells were ringing wildly: 'How did he move so fast just now? I could barely track his movement! If I hadn't swapped the Coreflames in advance…'