Those six were greeted by Mistie in space, then slowly brought down to the planet. During that time, Alm and Bruno’s minds were racing.
They only noticed what was happening thanks to their divine soul. Three shadows were there, invisible to both sight and senses. It was like they didn’t exist—literally fused with the world. The world’s laws merged with them, covering them with a supreme power, something the two had only seen in heroes. But these three weren’t heroes. There wasn’t the strong, complete presence of the queen in them.
’We’re in the dark. Missing a lot of info,’ Alm muttered in his mind. ’Any move now would be a shot in the dark. We need to figure out what they are and force them to show themselves.’
Bruno sighed mentally. Their plan hadn’t even started, and it already seemed to be falling apart. The only way to make those shadows show themselves was to reveal something early.
When Mistie finally brought everyone to the vast courtyard, the whale turned to Yulong, who had recently been placed inside the array by Ruri.
Aside from him and the dragons, after Mistie completed her tribulation, she and Quirio would make their relationship official; after all that, a wedding would take place. That’s why she had been accepted into the array, becoming a squad leader, while Quirio was her general.
A message was sent through the array to Yulong and another to Mistie. Both heard the instructions with surprise, but took a deep breath and focused.
The six companions landed on the ground and observed the millions of Pure Dragons around. The demon leader analyzed them seriously for a few seconds until Yulong approached.
He bowed deeply to the demon, saying, "We’re ready to fulfill our duty. Everyone here is the elite of my sect, representing the nine Dragon races."
The demon nodded slightly. Yulong then raised his eyes, quickly glancing at an empty spot behind the demon—exactly where the whale had indicated. The demon narrowed his eyes, visibly surprised.
"It’s an honor to have you here with us," Yulong said, bowing again. His words were suggestive, possibly referring to the heroes’ companions, but his earlier glance left the message clear.
"How did you..."
Yulong looked up at the demon, who muttered, "The heavens favored us to complete our duty. In recent days, we discovered how to tap into a new power that had been within the sect for a long time. Everyone has benefited greatly, and our sensitivity to the world’s laws has increased significantly."
The demon frowned, confused by those words, but a message reached his mind, causing him to snort. "It doesn’t matter. Let’s get this over with. We can’t allow that evil creature to gather more power."
Yulong nodded, rising, and the companions began to move forward. However, they suddenly halted in their tracks. In an instant, hundreds of winged figures surrounded the group. The next moment, thousands more appeared, filling the skies.
The demon looked in surprise at the scene—they were all Feys. His gaze then fell on a small female figure. At that moment, her body began to morph, growing to human height. A spear appeared in her hand, and she gave a fierce look.
Mistie pointed the spear’s tip directly at the demon. "Don’t take another step."
"What’s the meaning of this?" spat the demon.
"You think I’m an idiot?" Mistie retorted coldly. "I heard everything. Something’s wrong. That dragon hinted at something hidden, and you didn’t deny it. My sect and my race are the guardians of this place. Either you reveal what you brought, or we’ll attack with everything!"
The demon roared, "Ridiculous…"
He swallowed the words mid-sentence, feeling a chill run down his spine. All the High Elders of the Yinblood Sect drew their weapons and unleashed their full power. The entire planet Gloom froze, and an overwhelming pressure, capable of destroying all life, surrounded those six.
The Yinblood Sect was one of the top twenty in the universe. Individually, they might not have been the strongest, but their numbers made them terrifying. With nearly a million peak cultivators, their combined power was something even the most powerful sects envied. Those six couldn’t be crazy enough to think they’d walk out alive.
"I won’t repeat myself," Mistie declared firmly. "If you don’t answer correctly, I’ll consider you a traitor, trying to exploit the seal’s weakness. Nothing happens without my authorization."
At that moment, taking advantage of the distraction caused by the Feys, the whale’s group was subtly covered by a mental power, quickly moving away and disappearing.
"You…" the demon muttered in rage but stopped as he felt a strange fluctuation behind him.
A subtle distortion in the laws occurred, and three figures silently revealed themselves. All eyes were drawn to the tall, slender woman with pure, bright blue eyes. But what stood out most were her long, vibrant, multicolored hair.
"A Chromaraic…" Yulong murmured in surprise.
Next to the woman stood a short, black-haired man. If Ruri were there, she would have been shocked—he had the characteristic features of her family on the planet Pristine. To Alm and Bruno, who came from Earth, he would be described as having a classic Asian build. However, a strange and familiar aura emanated from him.
Bruno took just a second to recognize it. ’That power… it’s the same as Thea’s runes. Is he… an Alv?’
Alm didn’t answer, focusing on the third figure. It was an androgynous humanoid form, radiating a pure natural aura. Clearly from a plant race, but so pure that their origin had to be just as shocking as the other two.
"Who are you!?" Mistie shouted coldly.
The Chromaraic woman gave a slight smile and stepped forward. "You and your race are trusted to protect this place, but we are not your enemies. We have a connection to the heroes. We are called the Divine Inquisitors."
Alm and Bruno were alarmed by the revelation. They had heard of the Divine Inquisitors before, in the underworld, through the missionary Mihkriel. (Chapter 366)
According to Mihkriel, in the past, anyone with a divine soul below immortal cultivation was hunted by the Divine Inquisitors. These beings would invade universes, capturing anyone that fit the profile.
"Never heard of you," Mistie replied flatly. "This was never mentioned to us, the ones responsible for protecting this place. Only heroes are allowed to enter here, and even then, we made an exception this time, with extreme caution. And now you come to me with this story? If you don’t give me proof, I’ll attack immediately. I won’t repeat myself!"
The heroes’ companions glared coldly at the Fey, while the three behind her just sighed, as if they didn’t care. But it was just an act. The whale, watching closely, felt a strong bloodlust radiating from them. These people were used to being revered, and someone as insignificant as that Fey daring to threaten them wasn’t something they would forgive easily.
The Chromaraic woman, apparently the leader of the group, waved her hand, making a small multicolored rune appear in her palm. The rune floated toward Mistie. There was no danger; it was a knowledge rune, something easily created by high-level cultivators. It was a good way to transmit secret knowledge, as they dissolved quickly.
Mistie absorbed the information in the rune immediately. At the same time, she secretly transmitted everything through the array. Alm, Bruno, and all the group’s leaders connected to the array also received the data.
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The first bit of information revealed that the Divine Inquisitors had been summoned by the Demon in the last three days. They were the reason for the rush and the need to wait those days, despite the urgency of the situation.
These people were a secret, temporarily protecting the universe while the heroes weren’t around. But their power was different, and they couldn’t fully replace the heroes. That’s why they still had to wait for heroes from other places to arrive and deal with the seal problem.
These beings weren’t just an obscure secret. They lived in a hidden place at the core of a galaxy, protected by a guardian who ensured their anonymity. That protector was the universe’s oldest sect, currently the fifth largest: the Nine Stars Tree Sect.
In that world, the ’Sacred Goddess’ housed the oldest and most powerful races; they were brought from various universes and lived there. The Chromaraic, Alvs, and many other terrifying species were there, preserving their pure bloodlines.
There were no Heroes or Empyreans in that place. It was like a micro-universe separated from the rest. Everyone there was transformed into Divine Inquisitors and received a type of power that was close to, but distinct from, that of the heroes.
The role of the Divine Inquisitors was different from that of the heroes. If the heroes were the sword that faced enemies head-on in every universe, the Divine Inquisitors were the hidden dagger that acted in the shadows.
Alm and Bruno took a deep breath. They knew the Queen had hidden and preserved powerful races like the Chromaraic somewhere. After all, the main problem of the quest that led them to meet Corin came up when the Queen tried to dominate that race in that primitive place.
Now they understood why. They had fought against heroes and their companions, but it was naïve to think the Queen only had those types of soldiers. The Divine Inquisitors were one of her other weapons. Thinking deeper, the Yang Chaos Dragon and the other primordial beasts were probably part of another group of soldiers.
The main proof was that the Divine Inquisitors didn’t have the same power as the heroes. The Demon had summoned them to make sure the seal was reinforced. But without the heroes, they couldn’t solve the situation completely. The Queen had different types of allies, each with specific abilities.
’The power of the Divine Inquisitors is a mystery…’ Alm thought seriously. ’Heroes can perform feats no cultivator is capable of. We don’t know what the Divine Inquisitors are truly capable of. The risks are huge. The safest choice would be to reveal ourselves, use the beasts and all the Dragons to kill them.’
Alm and Bruno tensed. If they chose that route, they would never have peace to cultivate in this universe. They would be forced to flee, and the cost of cultivating for them now was immense. If there wasn’t a time limit, it wouldn’t be so bad; but now, less than five thousand years remained until their universe was invaded. That was an absurdly short period for a cultivator.
Fleeing to a universe with a different time flow wasn’t an option, it would be foolish. Universes like Rehvka’s or their previous one were too simple, with basic laws, where even reaching the peak of cultivation would make them far weaker than the heroes of the main universe.
’There’s still a chance that even if we use everything we have to try and kill them, we won’t succeed,’ murmured Bruno.
The two found themselves without a clear choice. Then, simultaneously, they felt something through the array.
It was the people in the group. Since Mistie was just a squad leader, everyone above her, the generals, received the information. Though they stayed silent, they transmitted a strong will to fight.
Alm sighed, while Bruno nodded, saying seriously, ’We’ve chosen a different path in this life. We’ve gathered allies and advanced together. If there’s no clear option… I don’t want to stray from the path we’re on. If we can’t act alone, we’ll trust their abilities and share the burden.’