Mirror Dimensions copied reality and isolated targets temporarily, but Shadow Dimensions forcibly dragged people into a secondary layer of space connected to shadows themselves.
Blocking one was extremely difficult.
Escaping one was even harder.
More importantly, Shadow Dimensions could separate targets at will.
This was not a skill that could be activated casually. The Shadow Qilin had likely been preparing it since the beginning of the Boss Battle to attack the Boss Monster and take the last hit.
Now it used the skill to separate Lord Isaac’s team.
Once everyone was divided, several teams could gang up on isolated targets and eliminate them quickly before regrouping. The livestream also would not show what happened inside the Shadow Dimension, meaning public backlash would remain minimal afterward.
The moment the distortion began pulling people away, the awakeners prepared themselves to attack Isaac’s team.
Only Zahard reacted differently.
His expression changed drastically the instant he realized what the Shadow Qilin was doing.
"You idiot!" he shouted toward Roan. "Don’t open a Shadow Dimension! The Spirit—"
His words were cut short.
Darkness swallowed the battlefield completely.
...
Inside the Shadow Dimension.
Cold black mist covered the endless dark world while shadows drifted through the air like smoke. The atmosphere felt heavy and unnatural. Even sound seemed strangely muffled.
The Shadow Qilin stood beside its summoner and communicated through their mental connection.
Roan frowned as he listened to the information.
"They weren’t pulled in?" he muttered.
The summon confirmed it again.
Emily, Alice, and Averon had all remained outside the Shadow Dimension.
Roan narrowed his eyes.
"It seems they had some artifact capable of resisting dimensional interference. It must have come from the Water Elemental Spirit. She wandered through the wilderness for years. Having strange artifacts isn’t surprising," he said slowly.
Only now did he understand what Zahard had been trying to warn him about earlier. That the Water Elemental Spirit had artifacts capable of blocking his skill.
Although several members of Isaac’s team had been dragged into the Shadow Dimension, their main targets had escaped.
Emily and Alice remained outside.
Roan’s expression darkened slightly.
"We still need to eliminate Eleanor and Sera. Then we can regroup and focus on the Water Elemental Spirit afterward," he muttered to himself.
He quickly began making decisions.
Turning toward the Shadow Qilin, he spoke calmly.
"Bea, partially open the Shadow Dimension and send some people outside. Block Emily’s path to the Second Area. While she’s occupied, we’ll eliminate the remaining members of Isaac’s team here. After that, we’ll pull Emily and the others inside as well...."
Roan suddenly stopped speaking.
The surrounding area had become too quiet.
A strange chill crawled down his spine.
Slowly, he turned his head.
Then he froze. His summon was missing, and...
"Something" gigantic was staring down at him.
At first glance, his mind failed to comprehend what he was seeing.
He could see it. Yet he could not understand it.
The moment his eyes focused on the creature, intense fear exploded inside his mind. A splitting migraine struck him instantly while blood began dripping from his nose.
Then the voices came.
Thousands of voices.
Male. Female. Young. Old.
All speaking at once inside his head.
"Who do you think you are, insect? You may have opened this place by your choice... But who leaves it will be decided by me."
Roan’s pupils lost focus. His eyes rolled backward as his body collapsed onto the dark ground unconscious.
A loud voice suddenly echoed throughout the entire Shadow Dimension.
"Everyone, group up immediately!"
The voice carried through every corner of the dark world unnaturally clearly.
"The livestream cannot reach this place! That means the Water Elemental Spirit may release its true form! I repeat, group up immediately!"
The voice belonged to Zahard.
It seemed one of his team members, Elyndra, was manipulating the space to broadcast his words everywhere.
Avery turned her head to the direction of the voice, then she dashed toward it.
...
Emily’s POV.
Emily, Alice, and Averon remained outside the Shadow Dimension.
The battlefield had become eerily empty after most of the awakeners vanished. Only the lingering destruction from the battle against the Colossus Grazer remained behind.
The three already understood what the other teams were planning.
Fortunately, they had prepared for this possibility beforehand.
Professor Catherine had leaked information regarding the participating teams to the public earlier. Naturally, that included the summons owned by Lord Qizhal’s team members.
Avery had used that information carefully while planning.
From the beginning, they had expected trouble after the Boss Monster died.
The plan itself had two parts.
First, they needed to kill. Second, they had to steal the Boss Monster’s spirit before anyone else could react.
The first part was relatively easy.
Emily only needed to hide her true intentions while attacking. Everyone would assume she was merely trying to injure the Boss Monster during the final exchange.
Instead, she killed it instantly by revealing her true strength.
The second part was much harder.
The other teams would never willingly hand over the Boss Monster’s corpse, even if its Core was missing. More importantly, if they realized Emily could tame the spirit of a Boss Monster, they would do everything possible to eliminate her immediately.
Because of that, Avery had prepared multiple contingency plans.
If necessary, she would personally go all out to create enough time for Emily to seize the corpse and rush toward the Second Area portal. As soon as she entered the Second Area, the random teleportation would make sure only her teammates could follow her. That would bring her enough time to tame the Boss Monster’s spirit.
If another team used a Mirror Dimension or Shadow Dimension, they would exploit that opportunity instead.
Everything had already been calculated beforehand.
Emily released a slow breath while her summons quickly gathered around her. Several of them inspected her worriedly, checking for injuries after surviving the Colossus Grazer’s final attack.
"I’m fine," Emily reassured them. "Prepare yourselves. We’ll begin taming the Boss Monster’s spirit immediately."
The summons became serious.
Nearby, Averon wore a strange expression while looking at his rewards.
Alice sat on the ground nearby to recover her mana. Even exhausted, she still looked far calmer than most people would after surviving a Boss Battle.
"What happened to you?" Alice asked, noticing Averon’s expression.
"I feel like I’m getting carried through everything. I barely did anything, but I still received rewards like this," Averon said.
"Oh. If it’s only that, then there’s no problem," she replied.
Averon blinked.
For a moment, he thought Alice was telling him it was natural for him to receive rewards because he was part of Isaac’s team.
Slowly, he nodded to himself.
"You’re right. I should stop overthinking it. I’m still part of the team even if I didn’t contribute as much," he said seriously.
"Huh? No. I meant you can just give the rewards back if you feel guilty," she said.
Averon froze. He turned to Alice.
Alice stared at him, and he stared back.
There was silence between the two for several seconds, then Averon spoke,
"Was that a joke?"
"Yes," Alice nodded with a plain face.
"You suck at making jokes," Averon said with a deadpan expression.