The moment Punk spotted the small wooden box beneath Tishachar's abdomen, he activated the Any Door ability on his master robe without hesitation—one of its three daily uses.
Though the gray wooden box resembled an ordinary sewing box from a poor household, and no magical fluctuations emanated from it, Punk's sharp eyes noticed a steady stream of thumb-thick energy flowing from its center into Tishachar's body.
There was no doubt—this was the legendary equipment he had been dreaming of.
As the spatial door opened, Punk cast Mage's Hand and reached through, setting the exit of Any Door right beside the wooden box. His conjured hand stretched toward the artifact across the intervening space.
As for Kang Kai, who was still airborne and exhausted, or the arthropod bone blade thrusting toward his heart, or the swarm of venomous spiders leaping toward Bahanger… Punk ignored them all.
Why had he risked so much to hunt Tishachar in the first place? It was all for this legendary artifact with a guaranteed drop rate! If he could obtain it, he wouldn't hesitate to turn and flee immediately. As for Bahanger and Kang Kai's fates? Well, they'd die here. Better for them to perish along with Tishachar.
But Tishachar, despite losing two of her limbs, had not been beaten into stupidity. If anything, her rage sharpened her reflexes.
The moment she sensed Punk's Any Door, she realized his intentions. Her entire carapace trembled with fury, and she let out a blood-curdling screech.
"No! Damn heretic!"
In an instant, her abdomen contracted, launching dozens of glistening green spiders like cannonballs straight at Punk's Mage's Hand!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The violent explosions shattered the magical construct mere centimeters from the wooden box!
"Damn it!"
Punk cursed inwardly. The opportunity was lost. Tishachar would be on high alert now, making another attempt nearly impossible.
Still, he forced himself to stay calm. The battle wasn't over yet.
More than a dozen dark green spiders were now scrambling through Any Door toward him, forcing him to end the spell. He had failed to seize the artifact, but at least there was one piece of good news—Kang Kai had survived.
Because Tishachar had been preoccupied dealing with Punk's attempt, she missed the chance to finish off the nearly defenseless ranger. With a split-second reprieve, Kang Kai gritted his teeth, gathered what little strength he had left, and leapt away.
But the bad news?
Tishachar had gone completely insane.
The excessive energy coursing through her had darkened her entire carapace to a bizarre shade of green. Ignoring Kang Kai's retreat, she frantically yanked the wooden box from the ground and, without hesitation, swallowed it whole!
The moment the box left the floor, the beam of faith energy connecting it to Tishachar snapped.
So that's it.
The reason she hadn't moved the box before was because it needed to absorb energy!
Even with his senses dulled by the chaotic battle, Punk could still perceive the remnants of a massive energy surge from the hollow left behind. It seemed that some ancient magical circuit had been funneling power into the wooden box, which in turn had been feeding it to Tishachar—a creature without a true priesthood.
Punk quickly pieced together the puzzle.
"This must have been the laboratory of a long-dead mage—likely a master-level researcher who owned that legendary artifact and was studying the power of faith here. Then, one day, something unexpected happened..."
And that "unexpected event" was likely the very thing that had carved out this massive rift in the land—a legendary swordmaster.
The facility had been abandoned ever since.
Then Tishachar stumbled upon it. She acquired the legendary artifact and activated the base's defensive system—the Construct Behemoth. However, lacking any true alchemical knowledge, she couldn't modify the energy circuits or make adjustments to the foundation. Yet, legendary equipment required enormous amounts of energy to function, so she had no choice but to remain in this chamber, siphoning power while she advanced.
Even if Punk's theory wasn't entirely correct, he was confident he had grasped the broad strokes.
More importantly, since Tishachar wasn't the true master of this facility, she couldn't freely manipulate its elemental energy pools. That meant this was not her home turf.
And there was a vast difference between fighting on home ground and away ground.
Had Tishachar actually controlled the entire base, Punk would have turned and run long ago!
Even so, she was still a terrifyingly powerful opponent—especially now that she had lost all restraint.
Tishachar, her advancement interrupted, had completely abandoned all concerns about conserving energy or holding back her trump cards.
"You ruined my ascension! You shattered my hopes! Everything I worked for was in vain!"
Her frenzied shrieks reverberated through the chamber.
"I will rip your souls from your bodies and drown them in acid! I will make you beg for death!"
As she howled, a dark green sigil rapidly formed beneath her feet. With the final syllable of her screech, the sigil expanded outward in a rush, transforming into a spreading mist of light green vapor.
Everything it touched melted into bubbling pus.
This is extremely dangerous. It must never touch my body!
That was Punk's immediate, instinctive judgment.
In mere seconds, the mist reached his feet. Without hesitation, he activated the master robe's defensive enchantment—Cloak of Chaos.
As for his precious Golem No. 1? He had no time to worry about it now!
A filthy black energy rapidly enveloped Punk's body, shifting and twisting into a tattered, formless cloak. The moment the corrosive mist touched the chaotic aura, it was broken down into raw elemental debris. Sparks, electricity, and steam burst outward at every point of contact.
At this moment, Punk had three layers of protection—Cloak of Chaos, High Mage Armor, and Distorted Positioning!
Yet, despite all these defenses, the mist was only barely being held at bay. That alone spoke to its terrifying potency.
Kang Kai, recognizing the danger, also activated an enchanted item—a necklace that burst with a white beam of light, encapsulating his body in an ethereal glow just as the mist reached him.
Official-level Arcane Magic – Obai's Incorporeal Illusion!