Before leaving Terra City, there was one final matter Ery needed to address. He descended deep beneath the palace, moving through the silent underground halls until he arrived at a chamber that had remained largely untouched for the past two decades. At the center of the chamber stood a massive structure built from black alloy and layered runic formations.
The artificial waypoint.
The device had once served as a secondary connection to the Khaos Gate.
Ery stood before it quietly.
During his breakthrough on the Astiel planet, Ery had sensed that the fractured surface of the Khaos Gate had begun slowly repairing itself. Over the last two years, he had occasionally returned to check on the gate, hoping that the connection might one day be restored. This ti, he planned to use the artificial waypoint to assist his attempt to reestablish the link.
With his second cosmos layer partially recovered, he had hope that the effort might finally succeed.
Ery approached the artificial waypoint and sat down in a lotus position before it.
Slowly, he began channeling his Khaos energy into the structure.
Dark energy flowed from his body and seeped into the layered formations carved into the tallic ring. The runes flickered faintly as the system attempted to respond.
For a brief mont, the gateway trembled.
A faint ripple appeared within the center of the ring.
Then-
Nothing.
The energy faded.
The chamber fell silent once more.
Ery frowned slightly before shifting his consciousness inward and entering his inner domain.
Within that vast ntal landscape, the three ancient guardians remained present as always.
The colossal dragons-Dargotoh, Chututlu, and Killgragah.
"What happened?" Ery asked them. "What is missing?"
For a long mont, none of them answered.
Eventually, Daurgotoh spoke first.
The skeletal dragon speculated that the Khaos Gate might have exhausted most of its remaining energy when it had helped Ery escape from the Leviathan's
stomach.
Chututlu, however, disagreed.
The swamp dragon contended that the problem was far simpler. In his view, Ery had not yet fully recovered from the internal damage caused by the fracture of his second cosmos layer. Until his cultivation returned completely to its original state, the gateway might remain unstable.
anwhile, Killgragah maintained his usual stance.
According to the fire dragon, the root of the problem was still Ery's Dao of Balance. The coexistence of opposing forces within his inner world must be interfering with the gate's ability to function properly.
Each dragon had a different explanation.
None offered a clear solution.
Ery spent several more hours attempting to force the connection.
Every attempt failed.
Eventually, he released a quiet sigh and rose to his feet.
For now, the matter would have to wait.
When he exited the underground chamber, soone was already waiting in the hallway.
His newly assigned bodyguard.
Without the white mask covering his face, the hybrid grand magus known as Typhon appeared far less human. Two short horns curved from his forehead, while faint ash-gray scales spread across parts of his face and neck. His facial structure carried subtle draconic traits, particularly around the jaw and eyes.
It was a clear example of the difference between halfbloods and hybrids. Halfbloods were humans who carried the bloodline of beasts.
Hybrids, on the other hand, were beasts who had undergone a tamorphosis into a humanoid form.
Although Ery had never discriminated against hybrids or cared about their appearance, Typhon seed to prefer wearing his mask whenever they were in public. According to him, concealing his identity prevented unnecessary attention and complications.
As Ery approached, he paused briefly.
"Do you have to follow everywhere," he asked, "or would you be willing to
stay here and guard the city?"
Typhon shrugged casually.
"No, Grand Uncle," he replied. "I cannot do that."
He leaned against the wall as he continued.
"The Beast Union does not care about your faction. They only care about your
safety. My task is to remain within your vicinity at all tis."
Ery had asked partly because he believed Terra City might benefit more
from Typhon's presence than he would personally.
After all, Ery was confident in his own ability to survive most situations. Unless he was trapped by several three-cosmos enemies simultaneously, escaping danger was rarely a problem for him.
But after witnessing the fights earlier, Ery could not help thinking Terra City
might require stronger protection.
Before departing, he reminded Rosia to increase the city's security and not hesitate to request reinforcents from either the Karat faction or Zodiac City
if necessary.
Only then did he board his old Nova-starship waiting in Terra's orbital dock.
With Typhon accompanying him, the vessel departed the planet and began its journey toward the Alpha Quadrant.
The trip would take roughly three days.
During the flight, Ery decided to log into the Virtual Palace, reasoning that
the travel ti provided an ideal opportunity to continue training. Conveniently, Typhon also possessed access to the palace network. When Ery materialized within the virtual realm, his first thought was to
return to the Beast Emperor's chamber and use the second entry he had
earned after completing the first stage of the inheritance.
However, the three-day journey created a small problem.
The chamber required a seven-day training cycle, and beginning such training
now might interrupt the session halfway through the trip.
As Ery pondered his options, Typhon suddenly interrupted him.
"Grand Uncle" the hybrid said casually, "I recomnd a spar between us"
He stretched his shoulders as though eager for the fight.
"Understanding each other's strength will be useful when we face future
threats."
Ery considered the suggestion briefly before nodding.
The Virtual Palace was indeed an ideal place for combat training. Within its simulated environnt, cultivators could fight at full strength without worrying about destroying real landscapes or harming bystanders.
The two of them soon entered one of the available arenas.
Standing opposite Typhon across the vast training field, Ery felt a rare sense
of excitent.
After all, his opponent was a three-cosmos grand magus, a strong enough
opponent to test his newly gain strength.
Ery activated his Twilight Transformation, dark energy flowing across his
body as Excalibur appeared in his hand.
Yet to his surprise, Typhon suddenly showed a different expression.
All of his previously polite and respectful deanor vanished. "Hehe... Inside this arena.. i can say and do whatever I want." Typhon muttered,
cracking his neck.
Ery blinked in confusion.
The change in personality was so sudden that it felt almost surreal.
Typhon lowered his body into a combat stance, claws gleaming with violent
energy while a predatory grin spread across his face.
"You tried to leave in that tiny city, didn't you?" he said.
"..."
"You thought you were stronger than and didn't need , didn't you? What
an arrogant #%&#."
Ery stared at him for a mont before muttering quietly,
"...Hybrids and their personalities. Are they all crazy?"
Typhon had already moved.
Flaming claws erupted forward as he launched himself across the arena like a
blazing cot.
Ery raised Excalibur just in ti to block the first strike.
BAAMM!!
The clash that followed was explosive.
Within seconds the arena filled with a storm of blades and claws.
Less than half a dozen exchanges passed before Ery realized the terrifying
truth.
Typhon was overwhelming him.
Each strike carried monstrous power, forcing Ery backward step by step
until he was eventually cornered.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Three consecutive blows struck his body and Ery was thrown backward
across the arena.
When he regained his footing, disbelief lingered on his face.
"What stage are you at on the Cosmic Bridge?" he asked.
Typhon answered casually.
"?"
He stretched his claws.
"I'm at level seven."
Ery froze.
He himself had not even passed level five yet.
At that mont, he finally realized that The hybrid standing before him was not rely a bodyguard.
He was also a Beast Union genius.
The battle continued, and with every clash Ery found himself struggling to
keep up. Through his divine sense, he quickly realized that Typhon was wearing a special
artifact covering his claws-a tier-7 weapon designed to reinforce his strikes. The artifact allowed the hybrid to block and parry Ery's tier-7 sword directly, making Typhon's martial prowess extrely formidable.
In terms of speed, Ery initially believed he would hold the advantage. His battlefield domain limited Typhon's movents and should have allowed him to control the tempo of the fight. Yet the hybrid quickly adapted. At several monts during the exchange, Typhon's body suddenly dissolved into a grey mist-like cloud, slipping out of Ery's restraints before reforming again a short distance away.
Each ti he reappeared, he launched another relentless sequence of attacks.
Forced onto the defensive, Ery unleashed his newly empowered Twilight vines, the dark tendrils erupting around him and forming a protective sphere. For a brief mont the barrier held, granting him precious seconds to stabilize
his footing. But the advantage did not last.
To Ery's shock, Typhon once again dissolved into that strange mist-like form
and flowed directly through the vines, entering the protective sphere as though the barrier barely existed.
Realizing he could not continue fighting defensively, Ery resorted to his last option.
He activated a partial primal transformation, pushing his battle power to its maximum safe limit.
Dark energy surged across his body as his aura exploded outward. Typhon, however, remained completely calm.
Rather than continuing to rely on his mist transformation, the hybrid's body
suddenly expanded and shifted, revealing his true nature. The humanoid form collapsed and reshaped itself into the powerful figure of a Qilin beast, its scaled body radiating ancient and majestic power.
In this form, Typhon's movents beca even more terrifying. The Qilin maneuvered with fluid grace, its footwork combining beast instincts
with refined martial technique. Each step flowed seamlessly into the next,
allowing him to evade Ery's attacks while launching counterstrikes with terrifying precision.
Ery attempted to turn the tide by unleashing his newly mastered technique. Star-Rending Cleave.
The three devastating strikes tore across the arena with overwhelming force.
Yet none of them struck their target.
Typhon simply moved through the battlefield like a living storm, slipping past each attack with impossible precision.
Monts later, the battle ended.
Ery stood in the arena, breathing heavily.
Defeated.
Once the battle ended, Typhon imdiately returned to his previous polite
deanor.
"My apologies, Grand Uncle," he uttered with an awkward smile. "I tend to go a
bit... overboard during a fight."
He scratched the back of his head before adding,
"As you can see, I'm not particularly strong. But in life-threatening situations,
my abilities should at least help you escape safely"
Hearing those words imdiately after his defeat only made Ery feel even
more defeated.
The loss felt like a slap across the face-a brutal reminder of the gap that still existed between him and the truly powerful cultivators of the higher realms. Typhon was only at the second layer of the Third Cosmos Realm.
If Ery could not defeat Typhon...
Then defeating the Sky Lord would be nearly impossible.
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