Volume 2 — Chapter 13
Shadows Behind the Battlefield
The war had spread across the entire dimension.
Every region had become a battlefield.
Mountains echoed with the clash of steel and divine power. Forests burned beneath waves of demonic flames. Vast plains were covered with thousands of soldiers locked in endless combat.
Millions of fighters were now involved in the war.
Heaven.
Hell.
Independent factions.
All of them struggling for survival inside the Creator's Dimension.
And above all of them—
The Void ruler continued watching.
---
The sky above a shattered valley trembled slightly as reality wings slowly moved through the air.
Icarus Grimm floated silently above the battlefield.
His wings stretched across the sky like fragments of broken space.
Below him, tens of thousands of fighters were engaged in a massive battle.
Divine knights from Heaven clashed against demonic warbands from Hell.
Lightning abilities tore through the air.
Dark flames scorched the ground.
Entire sections of the battlefield collapsed under overwhelming attacks.
Seraphine floated beside Icarus with her arms folded.
She watched the battle quietly for a moment.
"…They're still doing it."
Icarus remained silent.
Seraphine tilted her head slightly as she observed the battlefield movements.
"They attack."
"They retreat."
"Then another army replaces them."
She frowned slightly.
"It's too organized."
Nexus spoke inside Icarus's mind.
[Tactical pattern detected.]
[Enemy forces are repeatedly redirecting battle formations toward the same geographical region.]
Seraphine raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
She looked toward the distant horizon.
Several armies were moving across the land.
Thousands of soldiers marching in long formations.
But something about their direction was strange.
They weren't advancing toward territory.
They were advancing toward a single point.
Seraphine turned toward Icarus.
"…Your territory."
Icarus's expression remained calm.
"Let them come."
Seraphine sighed softly.
"You're very relaxed about a million soldiers marching toward your castle."
Icarus said nothing.
His gaze continued scanning the battlefield.
Another Heaven army began charging across the valley.
Demonic forces rushed forward to meet them.
The clash exploded instantly.
Thousands of fighters collided like crashing waves.
The ground trembled.
Energy blasts erupted everywhere.
Seraphine watched the chaos below.
"…This war is getting ridiculous."
She paused briefly.
Then added quietly.
"Even the commanders are acting strange."
Nexus confirmed the observation.
[Enemy high-level commanders detected retreating from direct engagement zones.]
[Probability of deliberate battlefield manipulation increasing.]
Seraphine looked thoughtful.
"So they're avoiding direct fights with us…"
Her gaze moved across the battlefield.
"But they're still pushing armies toward this area."
Icarus finally spoke.
"They want something."
Seraphine glanced at him.
"And you're just going to wait?"
Icarus's wings shifted slightly.
"Yes."
Seraphine chuckled quietly.
"You're either extremely confident…"
"…or extremely reckless."
---
Far away from the battlefield…
Inside the floating chamber where the gods and devils had gathered…
A massive projection hovered above the circular table.
The projection displayed the entire dimension.
Thousands of glowing markers represented active battlefields.
Armies moved across the land like shifting tides.
A devil leaned back in his chair with an amused smile.
"Well."
"Everything seems to be going perfectly."
One of the gods nodded calmly.
"The battle formations are working."
Another god spoke while observing the projection.
"The Void ruler has remained in the same region for three days."
The devil chuckled.
"He's patient."
Another devil added with a grin.
"But not patient enough."
The projection shifted.
A new marker appeared in the distant mountain ranges.
Unlike the others, this marker glowed with an unstable energy signature.
The room grew quieter.
One of the gods stared at the new signal carefully.
"…It has begun moving."
A devil leaned forward slightly.
"Already?"
The god nodded.
"Yes."
Silence filled the chamber for a moment.
Then another devil spoke quietly.
"Good."
"That means the bait is working."
The younger god from the previous meeting still looked uneasy.
"…If that thing reaches the battlefield…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
But everyone in the room understood the implication.
The armored god folded his hands calmly.
"That is the objective."
The devil beside him grinned slowly.
"Poor Void ruler."
"He has no idea what's walking toward him."
---
Back on the battlefield…
Icarus suddenly stopped moving.
Seraphine noticed immediately.
"…What is it?"
Nexus spoke again inside his mind.
[Unknown energy signature detected.]
[Source location: distant northern mountain region.]
Seraphine noticed the shift in his gaze.
She followed his line of sight toward the distant mountains.
"…Something there?"
Icarus didn't answer immediately.
He simply watched the distant horizon.
The energy signature was faint.
But extremely unusual.
Different from divine power.
Different from demonic energy.
Different from anything Nexus had detected before.
Nexus continued its analysis.
[Energy classification: unknown.]
[Threat potential: extremely high.]
Seraphine slowly exhaled.
"Well."
"That sounds interesting."
Below them, the battle continued raging.
Thousands of fighters still clashed across the valley.
None of them realized that something far more dangerous had already begun moving toward them.
Deep within the distant mountains…
A lone figure stepped across the shattered ground.
Each step carried unnatural power.
The air distorted slightly around its body.
Its eyes moved slowly across the horizon.
Toward the battlefield.
Toward the Void ruler.
And then—
It began walking.