The murky black Emperor Bone Sea reflected in the Tephit Clan Head's personal training room was dyed red with the color of blood.

'Almost..just a bit more and I can finally leave this place. I can finally..become a god.'

A light of madness painted his eyes. This escape plan had been brewing for more than just the Clan Head's lifespan. Every Clan Head before him aided in the completion of a plan that was just now coming into fruition.

The reason was simple.

To use blood sacrifice to tear open a hole in Aquazyl was easier said than done. Aquazyl was created by the Sea God, an unmatchable existence. Naturally, it took a great deal of time to properly accumulate the necessary sacrifices.

Now, millions of years later, their hard work was finally paying off. With just a few thousand more sacrifices, the crack would be opened wide, allowing Tephit to not only escape Aquazyl, but also to truly control the Emperor Bone Sea.

'Your refusal will not faze me. You will become mine!'

The Tephit Clan Head excitedly licked his lips. The scene on the projected walls around him changed, reflecting the inside of Aquazyl.

Despite the low level of authority he truly held, he could at least spy on the happenings in Aquazyl.

'Ahhh, you've finally decided to come. I've been waiting for so long!'

Tephit excitedly grabbed a transmission talisman and sent a message, ordering all forces to return to the main headquarters and prepare for war.

historical

At the same time, he pushed open the training room doors and appeared in Aquazyl for the first time in many years. His reentrance clearly signified the importance of this moment for him.

A few children thought themselves powerful and decided to wage war against him. In normal times, he naturally would've been extremely irritated by their behavior. But in his current circumstance..

War was just another opportunity.

***

The main attack force consisted of Damien and Zara, Maximus and Ria, the Sanctuary's 4th class beings, and the most powerful 4th class beings from the Ruvia and Oga clans.

This force didn't have more than 20 people, but it was a team of elites. Those weaker than them would trace their steps and attack the lower-level Tephit Clan members while they pushed forward.

They stood in the middle of a flat plain. The Tephit Clan's main headquarters was surrounded by a large concealment array, making it completely invisible to the outside world.

But to Damien, it almost felt like home.

"There is a three-layer defense system behind the concealment array that tries to beguile and kill anyone who enters. The first layer is an intricate beguiling formation that uses Aquazyl itself as a foundation. If you aren't careful, your mind will be broken by it. The second layer is more material. Tephit Clan guards armed with powerful technology will be waiting there. If your mind becomes too immersed in the formation, they'll move and kill you before you can even react. As for the final layer..just leave that one to me." Damien said with a grin.

"Everyone is aware of the plan, right?"

"Hmph, it can hardly be called a plan. Your only intention is to kill until there is nothing left to kill." Bianca scoffed.

Damien scratched his head sheepishly. "I mean, is there any better way to do things? At this point, our options are pretty limited."

Bianca shrugged and didn't say anything. Of course, there were plenty of other ways to go about this plan. The problem was that every other method would take strenuous amounts of time, time they didn't have.

This full-frontal assault would indeed be the most efficient route to take in their current circumstance, especially due to how knowledgeable Damien had suddenly become about the Tephit Clan.

The main attack force had already discussed this plan countless times in the past day. Now that they were at the enemy base, nervousness and anticipation hit them in waves.

But before they could submerge themselves too deeply in forethought..

"Let's go!" Damien yelled enthusiastically. His body flashed forward, his fist flying through the air!

BANG!

Cracks spread through the air as the sky itself seemed to shatter. An extremely well-hidden concealment array cracked and fell apart, giving way to the Tephit Clan's scenery.

With Damien's knowledge of the clan, finding the array's weak point wasn't difficult at all.

He didn't stop after breaking the array. His body flashed through the beguiling formation. His powerful mental strength protected his mind with everything it had, but even then he could feel himself veering off course.

"Haa!"

With a spirited shout, Damien spread spatial mana around him in a thin web. His awareness infused into this web as he moved, allowing him to better sense the surrounding space.

Ting!

A sudden reaction came from the web's periphery. There, a Tephit guard was slowly making his way towards Damien, armed head to toe with luxurious armor.

Damien grinned. 'If you come to me, that makes things so much easier!'

'Material Shift'

Damien's recent breakthroughs in Dimensional Magic allowed him a supreme ability to manipulate position. Dimensional Shift was this concept used on the grandest scale, shifting the position of the dimension itself.

However, there were smaller and more precise applications of this ability that Damien could use. Material Shift was likely the most practical of them.

Indiscreet spatial mana wrapped around the unaware guard. In the next instant, he found himself directly within the beguiling formation!

Damien's body took the guard's original position. Using the boost he'd received from this move, Damien shot forward and increased his momentum!

Material Shift allowed him to toy with the position of material objects, whether they were living or nonliving. If he wanted to, Damien could use this skill to easily transport his every team member past the beguiling formation.

But this wasn't his job.

Damien's target..was the Clan Head himself.

But before that, he had to take care of something else. He zoomed past the secondary defensive layer of armored guards and arrived at the third layer. Unexpectedly, this layer was actually a large wall of murky black water.

This water was from the Emperor Bone Sea.

Not only would the water itself harm intruders through poison and other nefarious methods, the beasts and plants residing within were terrifying in their own right. Damien had personally experienced their ferocity, so he knew not to downplay this defensive layer.

However, in the end, this was merely a spark of the Emperor Bone Sea, not even enough to be quantified as a fraction. If he showed fear in front of this tiny piece, how could he confidently claim the entire sea in the future?

His hand reached out and brushed against the sea wall's surface. Pitch-black mana exited his fingertips, snaking along the wall.

'Devour it all. And don't worry about portion sizes. There'll be plenty more to eat after this.'

Void Mana jumped and danced in jubilation upon hearing his words. In its excitement, its foggy form became more material, resembling the gaping maw of a terrifying and unknown creature.

In the next second, the maw emitted a soul-snatching suction force, forcibly devouring the Emperor Bone Sea wall whole.