No one said anything immediately after my declaration.
The atmosphere inside the dome grew noticeably quieter while the leaders processed my words in their own ways, and even the tiger feran’s eyes slowly shifted away from me toward Layla as though expecting the Naga Matriarch to object first.
But she didn’t.
Not a single movement.
She neither denied my claim nor questioned it, simply continuing to watch me with that same calm unreadable smile resting on her face.
"Well," the Demon Monarch finally said as he stepped forward through the silence, "I suppose the affairs of the galaxy can wait until we actually leave this place."
Compared to the others, his presence felt almost strangely lively despite the situation.
Now that I observed him properly instead of through combat, I finally got a better sense of him.
He was wild.
That was the best way to describe the man.
Even trapped inside the Crimson Zone fighting endless replicas of himself, he carried an almost reckless energy around him as though part of him genuinely enjoyed the chaos. The four arms hanging from his massive frame moved naturally while black-red flames flickered lazily around his fingers, and despite everything, he actually looked amused.
"Normally," he continued while grinning slightly, "I would enjoy chaos like this." He rolled one shoulder casually before sighing. "But it’s been too long since I last saw Dragos."
Then he looked directly toward me.
"So," he asked, "how exactly do you intend to help us?"
I looked around the dome once more before asking the more important question.
"What’s stopping all of you from leaving?"
The Demon Monarch’s expression shifted slightly after hearing that before his gaze moved toward Layla.
"Well," he said while scratching one horn lightly, "the main problem is the Crimson replica of the Matriarch."
The moment he said that, even the others looked visibly irritated.
"It keeps appearing whenever we attempt to move outward from this location," he continued. "And unlike the rest of the replicas, that thing is actually strong."
"A Saint-ranked replica," the old naga swordsman added quietly from the side while resting his blade against his shoulder.
The Demon Monarch nodded.
"Not easy to deal with at all," he continued. "Every time we manage to push one back and prepare to move, another appears."
I turned toward Layla afterward.
"Even you can’t defeat your own replica?"
The Naga Matriarch sighed softly after hearing that.
"If it were only one," she replied calmly, "I would have already killed it." Her eyes narrowed slightly afterward in clear annoyance. "The problem is that they always appear in pairs."
The giant serpent projection behind her shifted slightly while silver essence moved across its spectral scales.
"While I’m occupied fighting one," she continued, "the second attacks everyone else." Her gaze briefly swept across the others inside the dome. "Which forces me to keep diverting my attention to protect them."
The Demon Monarch immediately raised all four hands defensively.
"To be fair," he said, "we never asked you to save us."
Layla looked at him blankly.
"And yet," she replied calmly, "you would already be dead otherwise."
The Demon Monarch thought about that for a moment before nodding seriously.
"That is unfortunately true."
"Okay," I said after hearing the explanation. "Then I’ll deal with the second replica."
The others looked toward me immediately after that.
"Now let’s get out of here."
I had already begun turning toward the outer edge of the dome when Layla’s voice stopped me.
"Wait a second."
I paused and looked back.
The Naga Matriarch stepped down from the center slowly before walking toward Vivi, her golden slit eyes studying her carefully from head to toe while the giant spectral serpent behind her lowered its massive head slightly as though sharing her curiosity.
The atmosphere became strangely quiet again.
Then Layla finally spoke.
"What exactly are you?" she asked calmly. "And why do you feel familiar to me?"
Vivi remained completely unfazed under the scrutiny.
"I’m Vivi," she answered simply.
Layla blinked once.
"Vivi?" she repeated. "That’s all?"
"Yes."
The Matriarch narrowed her eyes slightly afterward.
"And who," she asked again while taking another slow step closer, "is Vivi?"
Vivi smiled softly.
"For now," she replied calmly, "you can simply call me Vivi."
I almost laughed hearing that response. Barely managed to stop myself.
Even the Demon Monarch looked like he wanted to grin after watching Layla receive absolutely nothing useful in return.
The Naga Matriarch continued staring at Vivi silently for several seconds afterward as though trying to sense something deeper from her existence, but Vivi’s expression never changed even slightly.
Eventually Layla gave up or more accurately, she decided not to press further.
Without another word she turned around smoothly before stepping upward into the air itself, her body landing lightly atop the giant serpent’s head while silver essence began spreading rapidly across its spectral scales.
The enormous creature lifted itself higher immediately afterward.
"Alright then," Layla said while looking down toward me. "We push outward as aggressively as possible."
The silver serpent’s aura intensified sharply around her.
"And let’s see," she continued with the faintest hint of amusement in her eyes, "whether this gentleman here can truly handle my replica the way he claims."
Then without waiting for anyone else, the giant serpent surged forward.
Its massive body tore directly through the transparent runic dome, shattering open an exit before launching itself into the endless crimson mist beyond while silver essence exploded outward around it like a rising storm.
I grabbed Vivi’s hand tightly and the moment my feet pushed against the void, silver essence erupted across my body.
The Saint Body activated instantly.
A blazing silver glow spread through my veins and skin while the surrounding crimson mist recoiled violently away from me, unable to properly touch the aura pouring from my body now. The pressure around me rose sharply as laws wrapped naturally around my movements, and in the next instant my body shot forward through the Crimson Zone like a streak of silver light tearing across the endless red haze.
Behind me I briefly caught the expressions on the others’ faces.
Shock especially Layla’s.
The silver serpent itself slowed slightly as though the Matriarch hadn’t expected me to possess a Saint Body already.
Then everyone moved.
The leaders surged behind us while Vivi maintained her spinning violet shield around our bodies, but we had barely crossed a short distance before the crimson mist around us suddenly churned violently.
The mist ahead twisted inward. Then two gigantic crimson beams erupted through the void.
One tore directly toward Layla and the silver serpent.
The second came straight toward me and Vivi.
We stopped instantly.
Layla calmly pushed one palm forward and a colossal silver palm materialized before her, glowing runes spreading across it before the crimson beam slammed into it violently.
Seeing that, I mirrored her movement naturally.
Silver essence surged across my body and gathered into my arm before pouring outward from my palm.
A giant silver hand formed before us.
Then the crimson beam collided against it head-on.