Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

991  Chapter 991- Spectral Threat

As the world shifted, Rothgard couldn't perceive anything coming before it actually happened. From his perspective, the ground just flashed with dark light, and the next second, everything around him was engulfed in green energy.

Before anyone could respond, the transformation was complete. A powerful light swept over the land and sky, engulfing everyone.

[True Silver Sword]— "Traceless Sword Path"

 At the same time, Vincent acted. The speed at which he drew his sword was faster than the eye could capture.

A wide, long horizontal ring appeared around the four of them, blocking the murky green energy and cleanly severing anything it tried to spread. But when it reached the border, the silver light didn't just disappear—it dissolved inside the green energy with a hissing sound.

Vincent narrowed his eyes and signalled to Itherion, who instantly pulled out a circular golden shield from his space ring. The golden shield hovered above their heads, its golden light dispelling any of the green liquid trying to approach them.

"What's going on? Where are we?"

Rothgard asked, his voice filled with genuine confusion. Being the most ordinary among them, he couldn't perceive anything coming before it happened.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he reached out to touch the wiggling green energy at the boundary of the golden light.

"Don't touch that," Itherion hurriedly warned, a rare grim expression plastered on his face.

"We've been had. It looks like we fell for a trap"…

 "A trap?"…

Vincent stepped forward, unsheathing his sword "It looks like some kind of formation was invoked. From my attack earlier, I can tell we're trapped inside it. Plus, it seems we've been transferred somewhere else."

He paused, analyzing the situation "I tried spreading my senses through my sword slash earlier. Most of it got consumed by that barrier, but I could tell we're not in the same place anymore."

 "How bad is it?" Itherion asked.

"Bad. The foreign energy outside seems capable of dissolving our attacks" Vincent answered.

He didn't say much, but Itherion understood the gravity of the situation from his words. Vincent's attacks could sever even space, yet it was stopped by that barrier. This indicated that the formation that trapped them wasn't ordinary.

While the three humans were processing their surprise and shock, Simon was going through a conundrum of his own. The dark green world, the spreading liquid energy—it all matched his vision perfectly.

Itherion and Vincent were handling things, but Simon knew the future he saw was inevitable unless they acted now. They needed to get out of here. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Can we break that formation?"

Vincent and Itherion fell silent at that question. They exchanged a quick glance before nodding.

With their vast knowledge and experience as top-level warriors handling traps such as this wasn't too difficult for them. However, this formation was no ordinary formation.

"We're inside a highly advanced formation," Itherion explained. "To break it, usually we need to disrupt its core. It's likely concealed somewhere inside the huge barrier. If we focus our attacks there. We can overload the energy flowing through them and destabilize the barrier"...

"However, that is not our only problem. The energy outside, it seemed to be hostile to everything it touches. It dissolves any attack we throw at it. Even if we locate the core, just reaching it will be a monumental task."

 "That is not all" Vincent suddenly interjected "Every formation is laid out for some kind of purpose and use. We need to find out what the formation's effects are before it's too late".

As someone who was used to installing various kinds of formations in his dungeon, Simon knew that what Itherion and Vincent said was right. They needed to find out what the formation did before it caught them by surprise.

At that instant, the vision from before flashed in his mind. The abyss, the dark murky green energy covering the land and two figures locked in combat… a horrifying possibility crept into his mind and Simon's expression immediately darkened.

 What if the effect of the formation was to make the ones trapped inside fight among themselves? A formation designed to manipulate its captives.

It was not impossible, especially given the fact that even Itherion and Vicnet said that it was a highly advanced formation. They needed to act fast If the effects of the formation, it eas all over for them.

The group lapsed into silence as each of them searched for a solution.

"It's not like there is no way" Vincent reached into his space ring, pulling out a small, glowing amulet.

"This is an [S] tier protective artifact, it can temporarily neutralize the foreign energy to some extent. If one of us wears it, we can safely venture out of the shield's range and search for the core. However…"

 He added "Its effects won't last long, especially against something this potent. We'd have maybe a minute at most before the artifact burns out."

 That is to say, if the artefact burns out, whoever's out there will be left defenceless. The group fell silent as they weighed the risks and success of the plan.

On one hand, it was a good idea, the artefact could neutralize the energy outside allowing one to venture out. On the other hand, though it had a limited duration. If the core wasn't located quickly, the wearer could be consumed by the dark murky green energy.

"Is there no other way?" Rothgard asked in concern. Relying on the artefact alone was simply too dangerous.

"There is…" Itherion muttered, reigniting hopes once again "It is true that simply relying on the amulet on Vincet is not feasible which is why, I will also aid. Unlike Vincent's True Silver which possesses the property of unmatched Severance, my True Gold possesses the properties of the Luminance of the stars, it is capable of blocking any energy"

"If Vincent and I work together we should be able to find the core and destroy it at the quickest possible time".