Ryu took a slow breath, his grimoire becoming illusory before it slowly vanished completely. Looking around what remained of the battlefield, he couldn't help but frown.
There wasn't a single elite Canis within that group, which was definitely peculiar.
It had to be remembered that Ryu didn't know much about the various beasts on the Mortal Plane because he never had to care about them. But, when it came to high level beasts or creatures like this, his knowledge was very deep.
There were no shortage of Ruins that had such guardian beasts. Humans had among the shortest lifespans of all creatures in existence, even if one counted those with exceptionally high cultivation. So, using such beasts and creatures as guardians was best as they would last a very long time.
Having studied many Death related matters for the sake of finding the Death Shrine, the Nether Realm was also something else that Ryu knew quite a lot about. So, he knew its creatures like the back of his hand.
Canis might have looked like warp humans, but they were much more like the dogs they resembled. They moved in wolf packs and had alphas of their own. For there to be a wave sent here without an Elite Canis was too odd.
Ryu also didn't believe that this was a ploy or probe by the Elite Canis. The reason was simple… Canis were among the most unintelligent creatures of the Martial World. They functioned on instinct and nothing more.
In fact, a lot of creatures of the Nether World were exactly like this. But, this was the humanity they gave up in exchange for their strength and life after death.
Something like making step by step layered plans wasn't in the DNA of the Canis.
"… Ryu!"
Ryu looked up from his thoughts to find a Niel who was once again panicking and a Sarriel who wanted to lean on him as though she hadn't just displayed mind numbing strength.
Seeing that Ryu was finally paying attention to them, Niel released his barrage of questions.
"Is this really the Nether Realm? How do you know? No, how did we get here? No… How do we get out of here? Is this still the Tri Palace? What the hell is going on?!"
"~Nie! Nie!~"
Nemesis snorted, stomping his silver hooves hard. His singular, spiraled silver horn shimmered as though he was eager to run Niel through completely with it.
Niel shivered. He really didn't know where Ryu kept getting these powerful creatures from. In fact, this crimson horse seemed to be breathing the Nether Qi in an out as though it was perfectly at home.
'Wait isn't this… No, that's a Black Grade beast. How the hell could a Black Grade beast step into the Seventh Order? I must be going crazy…'
Niel truly wasn't such a flustered person usually. But, for some reason, whenever he was with Ryu, he felt as though there was someone reliable before him. It was a sort of subtle trust that made him set down his identity as an Inheritor Disciple.
He didn't know where this emotion was coming from, honestly. Sometimes he had to pause himself to wonder if he suddenly liked men now, a thought that left him at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.
"This is definitely the Nether Realm." Ryu replied. "It's either that, or it is a perfect simulation of it. But, I doubt that."
With Ryu's Pupils, especially with his recent breakthroughs, he didn't believe that he wouldn't be able to see through such a trick.
Plus, Osiris was probably the highest level of virtual world that a living being could possibly create. Yet, even with just nine seals undone, Ryu could see through it, let alone the fact he now had 51 undone.
"But…"
Ryu shook his head. "Dwelling on the why's without having enough information is a waste of time. Since the Tri Palace sent us here, it's likely that there's a purpose. Also, since we haven't seen anyone else, it's likely that they've been sent to other locations or maybe we are the only ones here. Luckily…"
Ryu flipped his palm, causing the Tri Key to appear once again.
At that moment, it began to vibrate, causing Ryu's eyes to narrow. It seemed that he was correct.
This should confirm that this wasn't an accident. They were sent here on purpose. The question, then, was what the goal was. Clearly, the Key was here to lead them to this purpose.
Ryu had realized something shocking during their battle, something he was certain Sarriel and Niel had noticed by now as well:
They had no way to replenish their qi.
Ryu was in a far better position. For one, he had only used his Spiritual Qi and second because he still had the Spiritual Qi pools within his Incubator. If this was a test of the Tri Palace, it could be said that Ryu had an unfair advantage.
Sarriel and Niel, however, had no way to replenish their qi. Even if they only used their fleshly bodies, that would still consume Vital Qi and to make things worse, there was no food to consume here. If qi ran out, their bodies wouldn't be able to sustain themselves without food.
That was only the surface level. If they ran out of qi, they would soon run out of breath.
Breathing in the Nether Realm was akin to sucking in poison. By now, all three of them had stopped breathing. But, who knew how long they could last?
This entire atmosphere was saturated by Nether Qi, there wasn't an ounce of their own qi to absorb here.
The only one who seemed unaffected was Little Nemesis.
"Let's follow the key." Ryu finally decided. There truly wasn't another choice.
Holding the key out, he followed its vibrations until it got the most intense. Then, he walked forward.
He had a feeling that if they wanted to survive, they would have no choice but to follow this game the Tri Palace left behind for them.