(Rodova Team Villa, The Terrace)
Leo sat alone atop the terrace of the Rodova team villa in the middle of the night, as sleep no longer held the same grip on him since his breakthrough to Grandmaster.
He gazed up at the stars, their cold brilliance scattered across the night sky, as the silhouette of the massive Sky-God arena loomed quietly in the distance.
The air was sharp and biting, yet strangely calming, as Leo soaked in the stillness of the night, searching for a fragment of peace within the storm brewing inside him.
He had beads of sweat forming on his forehead despite the coldness of his environment, as despite the serene atmosphere he found himself in, Leo just couldn't remove the thought of his family being in danger out of his head.
'Please hold on mother….. I'll come to save you soon–' Leo thought to himself, as he tried to reassure his anxious heart that everything would soon be okay.
*Swoop*
At that moment, something flashed from the corner of his eyes, as Leo instinctively activated [Absolute Vision].
For a second he felt his senses blare on high alert, as he wondered if an enemy was stalking him?
However, minutes passed by and he neither saw any enemy, nor did he notice any movement in his vicinity, which made him wonder if his previous alarm had just been a hallucination?
'Could I just be getting paranoid?' Leo wondered, as he did not think that someone could enter his field of vision and then move out of it completely undetected within half a second, however, at this point in his life he was unaware of the speed at which transcendent warriors travelled.
0.5 seconds.
That's how long it took him to notice the irregularity and activate [Absolute Vision], however, there was nobody suspicious in his vicinity by that time.
Leo thought that maybe it were just his nerves that were on edge tonight, however, what he did not perceive was that, it was the Evil Cult moving into action.
—----------
(Sky-God Arena — Maintenance Level 7, Restricted Zone)
Du Wan and Lu Juan, two veteran security officers of the Sky-God Arena, moved with silent efficiency through the dimly lit maintenance tunnels beneath the arena.
They had just picked up the restricted package from the surface just under a minute ago, and were now veering off their usual patrol route to complete their mission.
To the world, they were ordinary security personnel— loyal Transcendent-level warriors serving under the order of the Righteous Alliance. Where their clan names alone, Du and Lu, commanded respect within the Alliance's inner circles.
But beneath the polished surface, they were something far more different.
Disgruntled by their clan's cruel practices and civilian oppression, they hated their family as much as any other commoner, which had pushed them to embrace the Cult of Ascension's ideology years ago.
They were sleeper agents of the Cult Of Ascension, who had embedded themselves within the system for over a decade, waiting for the right chance to strike.
For years, they had operated as model officers, never giving anyone reason to doubt their allegiance, their infiltration being completely flawless.
They had witnessed countless tournaments, laughed at jokes during patrols with other normal guards, and had even received medals for their "exemplary service."
And yet tonight, as the instructions they had been eagerly waiting for years finally arrived, they ditched their usual act in an instant, and became agents of the cult instead.
Their mission was as simple as it was devastating: which was to plant the enchanted bombs onto the platform-changing array buried beneath the arena floor.
Given to them were inconspicuous metal plates, no different from ordinary steel parts at first glance.
However, each one was inscribed with forbidden runes and hidden under layers of anti-detection enchantments, making them invisible to even the most advanced surveillance spells and formations.
"These plates are the real deal," Du Wan muttered, inspecting one under the flickering tunnel lights. "Even the central command's detection formation wouldn't pick up on these."
Lu Juan nodded silently, adjusting the plates under his arm. Neither of them spoke further, as they knew better than to tempt fate by getting careless this close to the finish line.
According to their intelligence report, other agents of the Cult had taken care of the patrol officers responsible for monitoring the underground floors for a short window of 3 minutes.
Which was the time-window they now had to successfully execute their mission without being detected.
With throbbing hearts, they followed the maze-like tunnels beneath the Sky-God arena, until they reached the massive core array.
Before them stood the colossal platform-changing mechanism— a marvel of modern engineering and mana circuitry, and the core of the Sky-God Arena's versatility that gave it the ability to change arena floors at will.
As without hesitation, they got to work.
Du Wan methodically affixed one of the bombs onto one of the retracting support bases, right around a hinge, where the plate blended with its surroundings naturally and looked like it was a part of the design.
"Perfect—" He muttered to himself, as when he inspected the mechanism while testing for mana flow, where he could not sense any mana leaking from the bomb at all, with the bomb feeling like it was just a regular steel part.
Lu Juan mirrored his partner's actions on another retractable base, embedding the second plate deep within the mechanical structure, as the duo repeated the process over and over again on a majority of the bases, until they ran out of bombs to affix.
The bombs didn't glow, didn't hum, didn't even shift the mana flow around them.
As they were simply perfectly disguised.
Once all of them were secured, Du Wan and Lu Juan exchanged a subtle nod and quietly exited the restricted zone, retracing their steps with the same calm and professionalism that they had shown for years, as they completed their task within 2 minutes at best.
—--------
As they emerged back into the general maintenance corridors, blending once again with the dozens of other known staff members wandering about, they tipped their hats and exchanged knowing smiles without acting suspicious.
As the staff replied with the same politeness, with nobody suspecting anything out of the ordinary.
"We've done it…. No alarms blaring yet….I think we've got away with it—" Lu Juan said with joy, as Du Wan smirked beside him.
They weren't sure if such a mission could even be pulled off, as there were security cameras and patrol officers always monitoring the various levels under the arena at all times, however, the instructions they received from the cult were clear.
They were supposed to do their part in the plan, and have faith that the other members of the cult would do theirs, making the mission a success.
And success it seemed! At Least as of yet—
"So, when does it go off?" Lu Juan asked in a low voice.
As Du Wan didn't even glance at him, keeping his gaze forward. "We don't know. The activation remote is in the hands of the Elders."
He replied, as a chill settled between them, not from fear, but from anticipation.
The bomb could go off at any point in the future now.
Maybe it went off tomorrow, maybe it went off the day after.
However, one thing was for sure— that soon the entire universe would once again witness the chaos that the Evil Cult had been patiently preparing for all these years.