"Woah!"
Not only me, but the girls raised voices of admiration at the wondrous scene before us. It felt like we were in the middle of outer space, with large masses of rocks and debris floating around and not moving. It was as if a planet exploded, spread around space, and then God hit the pause button.
I tried pushing one away, but it was as if I was pushing a large mountain. It didn't budge even a little.
"It's spatially and temporally locked, master."
Ember, behind me, quickly explained. She was examining other debris floating around with great interest. She, too, had a space element, so it must be amusing and educational for her to see this entire area that was locked in both space and time.
"Is it another sealed space?"
Although it was slightly different from how the space that locked the Void Beast felt, it was definitely in the same category. Ember nodded her head, agreeing with my opinion.
"It's a little different, but they should be similar. However, unlike the one before, this one doesn't seem to have limited space."
The one before had a size as large as a continent, making it seem almost like a whole world at a glance. Without Fatima telling us that, we would've assumed it was like that. However, this space was different. It was literally limitless, like the entire universe itself.
"Leader, there are no life signals anywhere nearby. This space seems barren."
Fang notified us after she scouted the entire space for presences. However, her face was frowning as she pointed ahead of us.
"But I picked up traces of someone passing through here not long ago."
"Noir!"
I quickly realized that we were a step too late. I looked at everyone and stopped at Namia, who was still bound by Ember's slime suit. Given that we don't know what will happen here, having more hands is better.
"Ember, release her restraints."
"...! Master, are you sure?"
Ember scrunched her eyebrows as she looked at Namia, who was just smiling at us. I know that Ember is still not willing to trust her, but we have no choice but to use everything we can right now.
"She can't injure anyone among us anyway. And if anybody appears before us, they're most likely an enemy, so she'll be a great addition to our forces. Do it."
Ember looked at me, then at Namia, and sighed.
"Alright..."
As she said so, the slime suit that covered her melted and returned to two blobs that cutely hopped back to Ember. Namia, finally free from her restraints, did a few stretches as she basked in her newly gained freedom.
"You, brat. I'm warning you, but I wouldn't be lending you my power."
She added as she glanced at me.
"I know. But I also know that you'll help us if we need it."
The moment we released her restraint, if she really didn't want to lend her power, she could easily go away and out of this space. Her space manipulation powers should be stronger than Ember's, who was just at the 5th stage.
Since she didn't go away, that means she was willing to accompany us. I don't really know her reason for doing so, but that in itself is worthy of celebration.
Namia, looking at my reaction, simply snorted as she turned away. Although she distanced herself from us, the distance between our group and her wasn't that great. It was enough for her to rush instantly when we encountered some sort of trouble.
"Alright, let's go! We must catch up with Noir!"
I quickly declared as I took a step forward. However, about ten steps later, I felt something amiss. It was the usual warning I feel when faced with a deadly attack!
Without hesitation, I took a step back and pulled both Fang and Igni away. As I did, the space before us suddenly released a large surge of energy, scorching the ground ahead.
If we didn't back off, we would've been roasted by that! Furthermore, that wasn't an attack but rather seemed to be a naturally recurring phenomenon around us.
"What a dangerous place..."
With this experience, we now know that we can't let down our guard at any moment. I looked behind me and decided to change our formation a little.
"I'll be at the front, with Ember slightly behind. The rest, follow along our steps."
"Leader, shouldn't I be at the front? My senses should still be sharper than yours."
Fang quickly rebutted, but this isn't a matter that the five senses could help with.
"My danger sense is still higher, so it's better for me to be in front. Though I may fail to react in time, in that case, please save me alright?"
I smiled wryly. Although I'm confident enough to detect all life-threatening dangers before anyone else could, I'm not sure if I'll be able to completely dodge them in time. This trusty "danger sense" of mine may warn me, but it's always just an instant before the danger strikes.
If I'm not careful enough, I'll definitely get hit and maybe get injured or even die.
"Leave it to me, Leader!"
Getting relied on, Fang quickly beamed with joy as her tail wagged energetically. With our new formation in place, we went ahead once again.
The pace we were going at was pretty much half of our maximum speed. Any faster, and I may fail to detect dangers in time, endangering everyone else. There were a few times already in just the first minute that the danger crossed the middle of our formation, making it even harder to dodge.
Despite all the dangers, we covered a great distance in just a short while. Not long after, we finally reached a dead end... No, rather than a dead end, it's a large chasm that separates two sides completely.
The problem wasn't that it was hundreds of meters away or something, but rather the person standing on the other side.
"Noir!"
His familiar figure was leisurely walking ahead of us. When he heard me calling his name, he turned around and showed a surprised expression for a moment. Then he smiled.
"Hey, kid, I didn't expect you to come here this fast. Did Zeshion help you, perchance? A busybody as always."
His glance turned from his usual joking one to a sharp and intimidating glare.
"Sorry, but this is as far as you'll go."
He snapped his fingers as he muttered. At that moment, from the shadows all around us, figures started appearing. They looked like a mix of humanoid monsters and insects—a full black figure with a streamlined body and sharp, sickle-like arms and legs.
"That's my gift to your group. Enjoy!"
Noir muttered as he vanished, moving ahead. The shadow-like figures, as if on cue, started rushing toward us, attacking at the same time.
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