Daniel stood floating in the air, his gaze fixed on the distant scenery، on the single tree that stood alone in the center of the mountain range.
Every time he looked at that tree, a strange feeling came over him, as if he were staring at something familiar... a bizarre sense of nostalgia.
Even stranger, he could feel as though the tree was calling out to him، not in the way of a mental attack or some ordinary beckoning, but something far more distinct, far more personal.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find an answer. He let out a sigh and decided not to overthink it. Sooner or later, he would go to that tree anyway.
His gaze then turned toward William and Diana, who had taken their positions and were ready to begin the plan. The Rank S awakeneds had also agreed to help, thankfully.
They were stationed somewhere near the center of the island and said they would soon move toward them. Now, all Daniel had to do was give the signal, and the plan would officially begin.
The plan itself was simple. William, Diana, and the other Rank S awakeneds would draw the attention of all the Rank S monsters، especially the peak Rank S one
While the monsters were distracted, Daniel would head toward the tree and destroy it. Once the tree was destroyed, they would finally earn the right to exit the dungeon.
It sounded simple in words, but there were too many unknowns, too many possible anomalies. What if one of the Rank S monsters reached him too quickly and killed him?
What if they couldn’t hold back the peak Rank S monster, and it wiped out everyone, including him? Or what if there were more Rank S monsters than they thought, ones that had been hiding until now?
Any of these possibilities could turn into a disaster for them. Still, this plan was their only real option to clear the dungeon and escape.
Daniel wasn’t too worried, though. If more Rank S monsters appeared, he could summon his Fallen to keep them occupied and buy time.
If the peak Rank S monster managed to break through the others and come after him, even killing him wouldn’t be the end. He would just use proper timing and come back to life with one of his extra lives.
As long as he reached the tree with full speed, he was confident he could get there no matter what variables appeared along the way.
The only real unknown was the tree itself. Even though it looked defenseless, what if it possessed an unimaginable power? What if it could defend itself, or even attack?
That was the one situation where their plan could truly fail. Still, Daniel had even thought of that. In such a case, he would simply activate Fallen Will.
In other words, he had covered every part of the plan. The chance of total failure was close to zero.
"They’re here." Suddenly, Diana’s voice echoed in his ear.
Daniel looked toward the sky. Multiple figures appeared from different directions, their gazes fixed on the three of them.
Each one radiated an immensely powerful aura, an aura so intense it felt like it could shake both heaven and earth, the kind of presence that made it seem they could destroy everything around them.
After a short glance, they nodded and entered battle stance, unleashing their auras. The sky began to tremble.
It didn’t take long before colossal monsters appeared, Sky Titans over a hundred meters tall, stone titans ten times larger than the ones that had existed in the outer layer.
Even wooden titans showed up, smaller in size than the ones Daniel had previously killed, but the aura and power flowing from them were indescribably terrifying.
Moments later, both sides clashed. The roars of the titans shook the sky as they went all out from the start.
"The humans who invaded the Sacred Land must be punished."
The heavens began to rumble violently, and terrifying bolts of lightning rained down upon the Rank S awakeneds, lightning that looked strong enough to shatter mountains and split oceans.
Without hesitation, they activated their defensive layers and resisted the attack head-on.
"It’s time for us to start too," Daniel said, glancing at William and Diana.
He had wanted to wait a little longer for the peak Rank S monster to appear, but there was still no sign of it.
He guessed it might show up once they attacked the tree—or even when they tried to. Either way, they couldn’t waste more time now.
Without hesitation, Diana flew forward, rushing toward the mountain range. She raised her hand, and a massive spear made of ice appeared in the sky.
After locking onto her target, she hurled the enormous spear straight toward the tree.
The ice spear tore through space itself, shattering the air as it shot toward its mark. It looked certain to hit—
—but then, boom!
A deafening roar shook the entire world as the ground split open. From the depths of the cracked earth, an enormous hand surged upward, moving with terrifying speed toward the ice spear.
Before everyone’s stunned eyes, the colossal earthen hand caught the spear, crushed it effortlessly, and shattered it into fragments.
For a brief moment, even the titans froze, seemingly terrified by the entity that was emerging. The awakeneds took advantage of that moment to launch a counterattack.
Another roar thundered through the sky, and a second gigantic hand burst out from the ground. The hand was easily over a hundred meters tall, and its sheer power felt capable of destroying everything.
Diana felt an unprecedented sense of danger. She tried to retreat, but her speed wasn’t enough. The massive hand swung down like swatting a fly.
She was sent flying thousands of meters away. Her bones shattered instantly, blood splattering through the air before she finally crashed into a huge tree and stopped.
It was clear she was in terrible condition—just a step away from death.
"My turn," Daniel said with a grin instead of fear as he looked at the enormous hands and the tree. Then, without hesitation, he shot forward at full speed toward them.