Eren wanted to take the easy and safe way out by prolonging the battle.

Aleph wished him to do the opposite. He wanted Eren to face Arto head-on and not run away from a fight. He wanted Eren to consciously make an effort to break into the Awakened rank, which was supposed to be a significant hurdle in a ranker's life.

Aleph pulled into a near-stagnant world and explained further.

"I wouldn't have said this earlier, Eren. But you have turned this task into a suicide mission for yourself. There were several ways you could have obtained the warehouse's resources without getting killed in the process. But what's done is done.

Since it has come to this, you might as well benefit from your plan to wreck your synth body. Try breaking into Awakened rank while fighting with this swordsman. Even if you died, the experience you gained from achieving the breakthrough would remain with you. Your main body would enter the Awakened rank without any glitch when that happened. Even if you fail, there's no harm done to you. Sometimes, failure can also teach us many valuable lessons.

In-battle breakthroughs are rare because most rankers don't know how to consciously enter a battle trance. But that's where I come in. I'll tell you how you can make use of the swordsman to get more out of your suicide mission."

Eren saw the near-stagnant world as he listened to Aleph's suggestion. He wanted Eren to activate the crown mana circuits in his crown in specific ways, which would allow him to enter the battle trance while fighting Arto. From then on, the body will operate on autopilot for the most part.

Eren knew that he was still far away from breaking into the Awakened rank even if he was in the last stage of the Meta rank. Yet, he wanted to give Eren's suggestion a try since it didn't have any side effects. At worst, he would have to stick to his previous strategy of winning over Arto.

Eren listened carefully as Aleph spoke. The guy had come up with all sorts of plans on the go, making Eren realize that there were many ways a single problem could be solved.

Eren agreed to Aleph's plan after thinking for a bit. If he failed, his mana core inside his real body would also reflect the injury. But he had come to understand that the risk was worth the potential gain.

***

When Eren was drawn into the near-stagnant world by Aleph, Arto found Eren's image becoming blurred for a moment. When his image stabilized, he disappeared from his position.

Unlike previous times, Eren had chosen to confront Arto head-on. He didn't use the firebirds or other summoned creatures as a cover anymore. This was going to be a mano-e-mano showdown between two men using their respective weapon comprehensions.

"So you finally decided to fight me like a man, huh?"

Clang!

Arto tried to incite Eren when they got into each other's striking zone. Yet, all he received was Eren's silence and his focused attacks.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sparks flew and various weapon-based attacks canceled out each other. Other slashes were dodged or directed away, damaging the surroundings around the two rankers.

"Don't want to speak with me? You think maintaining silence would somehow work in your favor?"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Eren answered Arto's question with a bunch of brand-new moves. He started mixing his mid-range lightning, fire, and wind spells into his attacks. He would perform elemental and aspect fusions to give an additional edge to his attacks.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Arto raised his sword in front of him only to receive a blow inflicted on it by Eren's ax. The latter spun around and launched another attack at Arto from a different angle.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Igni Chains had also been used by Eren to extend his weapons' range and bring out more variation in his attacks. These Igni Chains were coiled around his arms like fire serpents. Their other end was attached to the weapons' hilts. These Igni Chains and the attached axes would respond immediately to Eren's movements, enabling him to launch 360-degree attacks on Arto.

Aleph would provide support for Eren whenever he was in a critical pinch. He would alter his perception of time whenever he was about to get wrecked by Arto. This would enable him to stay on track by effectively dealing with the incoming attack

Arto had injured Eren numerous times by this point. But whenever he thought that he would land a fatal blow on Eren, the latter would somehow find it in him to evade or dodge the attacks.

Eren couldn't talk or reply to any of Arto's jabs because he had his concentration focused on keeping the mana circuits around the crown activated as per the mnemonics taught by Aleph. As a result, the mana flow around Eren's crown intensified and he started seeing things in crystal clear detail. His hearing and cognitive abilities also improved. Eren's hand-eye coordination also received a significant boost by activating certain nodes in the mana circuits.

Aleph called this part of the mana circuit the crown chakra. Activating this chakra made Eren see things in a different light. He became more focused on his task and started to respond to Arto's attacks with more efficiency even without Aleph's aid.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Aleph also started getting injured by Eren's intention-driven attacks. The more focused and ruthless Eren was, the more he was able to inflict serious injuries on Arto.

The battlemage was also injured by Arto. However, the constant healing spell he cast ensured his injuries would not fester. Arto, on the other hand, started feeling the heat of Eren's constant attacks.

The two moved and tried various combinations of attacks. And with each passing moment, Eren kept on making progress toward victory.

Under Aleph's consistent guidance and support, Eren finally entered the battle trance he had experienced before. The pressure Arto put on him also played a significant role.

Eren's aura turned menacing when he entered the battle trance. He started using Alfem and Taranbiest in his attacks. To change his direction and orientation, he would summon tiny firebirds and detonate them under his feet. He would use the lightning hounds to lock Arto in his place while he prepared his attacks. The hounds would bite Arto's legs and explode, forcing the swordsman to stay in his position and face Eren's attacks without any leeway.

***

During this time, Eren's fire domain kept growing. Since it was unstable due to the spell's basic building block getting altered, Eren did not have any control over it anymore. It kept growing in size and intensity, slowly taking over the warehouse.

Ariadne and Lagartha had started doing the tasks they were assigned. They coordinated with each other and kept looting the most valuable sub-caves. Ariadne had gotten hold of the control array circle of the entire warehouse, which she used to open the safety mechanisms put in place for every sub-cave.historical

Lagartha would then enter the compromised sub-caves and loot them while using the space artifacts she had prepared beforehand. After all, she couldn't take everything in her limited personal storage.

Ariadne and Lagartha faced almost no resistance to doing their tasks. Awakened rankers were either engaged in combat or were killed. Eren's sabotage in the Meta rankers' battle earlier had kept most Awakened-ranked Spiders away from the warehouse. Vasemir and Raul had gotten killed. Arto was fighting for his life with Eren. And the Meta rankers did not dare to come in front of the Awakened-ranked ladies. Not everybody was foolishly brave like a certain battlemage.

Meanwhile, Kiara's team was done cleaning up the mess Eren had created for them. She did not mind though. After all, she did not break the agreement and there were no repercussions after the enemy team attacked and interfered first.

The battle quickly ended as soon as the Awakened-ranked entities from both sides got involved. The Meta-ranked Spiders stood no chance of surviving the ordeal. Even a bunch of Stardust guild members had gotten killed because of Eren's planned sabotage.

Kiara finally felt avenged after finishing off Bobby's core team. She killed all the Awakened-ranked Spiders deployed by the House of Spiders at the battle. They were only meant to serve as deterrents. As a result of Eren's interference, they and the killed members of the Stardust guild became sacrifices.

Kiara led the remaining forces of her team into searching for the Spiders' warehouse. The general location of the warehouse was known to her. Upon reaching the vicinity, she was required to pinpoint the location using the artifacts given to her by her seniors.

Kiara spent a while zeroing in on the place. She finally reached the dead end of the natural cave and knew the array mechanism was at work keeping the warehouse hidden from her perception. And just like Eren had thought, she had decided to destroy the entire lock instead of trying to find the necessary key.

Kiara was about to enter the warehouse from one end. Ariadne and Lagartha were on their way to leave the warehouse from the other end after looting it. And in the middle, an unstable fire domain kept expanding. The domain was on the verge of collapse.

One could say that the situation had reached its boiling point when Eren broke into the Awakened rank.

===

AN: Eren first enters battle trance in chapter 215. The domain collapse first takes place in chapter 228.