Chaos Heir

Chapter 1537: Woods

Khan knew he was stronger than both Kings. He could probably beat them in a decent amount of time despite fighting them simultaneously.

However, that wasn’t the plan, and Khan couldn’t allow himself to get tired. His stamina had become inhuman long ago, but the tiniest variables could make the difference between victory and defeat when dealing with a God.

Moreover, now that the interference had disappeared, Khan could clearly sense the immense power radiating from the fiery cavity. That flame-like smoke had nothing to do with it, either. There was something far stronger than the two Kings under them, something he would have to deal with himself.

"You are not allowed to die," Khan announced, diving into the cavity.

Major General Arngan snorted while the rest of the team dived into the cavity. Luckily, everyone had ways to fly to a certain extent, managing to ignore that unreliable and ever-changing environment.

Khan half-expected the Kings to follow after him or attempt to intercept the group. After all, the kid-like evolved warrior had been guarding the area. Nevertheless, the descent went smoothly, putting him before the rising flame-like smoke.

It had been difficult to sense it from above the area, especially with the interference, but the True Chaos inside the cavity imitated fire in every way. The temperature down there was scorching, and the crackling smoke promised to be far worse.

Still, Khan was in no mood for those hindrances. He trusted his companions but didn’t like leaving them behind one bit. His army was also fighting a whole celestial body to buy him time, making his temper on the verge of bursting.

Some warriors in the elite group showed concern toward the flames, preparing spells or techniques to defend themselves, only for an oppressive aura to surround the entire cavity.

Khan didn’t do anything special. He used none of his energy. He simply let his aura convey his mental state, which pressed on his surroundings, pushing down on the embodiment of his opponent.

Just like that, the rising flames retreated, squeezed down by an existence they couldn’t hope to oppose, opening to create a safe path through that scorching environment.

That display of power couldn’t surprise Liiza or the Royal Guards. Even Mazatl, Ilman, and Dean took it for granted. Instead, the other three evolved humans couldn’t feign ignorance, but something greater followed.

"[Ah]!" The Emperor cried, emboldened by Khan’s anger, seemingly resonating with it to turn it into excitement that didn’t care for his self-imposed restrictions.

The cry revealed a fraction of what the Emperor was truly capable of. His charge had destroyed an entire celestial body, and his voice alone was enough for that powerful imitation of fire.

The pressed-down flame-like smoke crumbled under the Emperor’s mighty voice, exploding into gales of shimmering, scorching whisps that blew everywhere.

Luckily, the cry had pushed the gales away from the descending group, clearing the path and revealing the true depths of the cavity. There seemed to be no end to that giant hole, but one detail stood out.

Some of the flame-like smoke had endured the Emperor’s cry, or rather, it had shaken to no end, expanding in the process to create an elliptical light source.

Of course, that light still was of the dim kind which only the True Chaos could produce. It was also quite hot, but the elite team’s senses somehow pierced it freely.

Moreover, that perception didn’t head for the rest of the seemingly bottomless cavity. Instead, it dived into something impossibly distant but also within reach. The fabric of space didn’t follow ordinary rules there, but Liiza and Lord Envoy didn’t let that phenomenon trick them.

Khan and the Emperor would have attacked again, but seeing Liiza and the Royal Guard step ahead made them put their trust in them. The same went for the rest of the team, which expected far more than what actually followed.

Liiza and Lord Envoy didn’t do anything. They simply flew headfirst into the elliptical flames, disappearing from the cavity altogether.

Khan trusted Liiza with his life and could sense her through the mental connection, so he didn’t hesitate to dive into the fiery ellipse, too. The Emperor didn’t really know fear, so he followed suit.

Ilman never bothered thinking too much about the issue, either, and Mazatl couldn’t possibly let the Royal Court get inside before her. The two also crossed that spot of flames, basically forcing everyone else to do the same.

Something similar, but also opposite, to a teleport fell on the elite team. Khan and the others found solid ground under their feet despite being in mid-air just a second ago, and that was only the first of many changes.

The True Chaos glowed with black light, something that only a mystical energy could achieve. Yet, the world in Khan’s eyes was now in proper black and white, even having room for shades of grey.

That wasn’t the end. The barren, fiery cavity was no more. Khan and the rest of his team were now in a twisted, woods-like environment that showed no end in sight.

Liiza was the only one to notice that something was off, and that had nothing to do with her senses. Her husband didn’t show it, but something meaningful was happening in his mind.

That was because Khan recognized the vegetation. It wasn’t identical to the one from his memories, but featured the same kind of twisted mutations from the planet that had pointed the way toward the Nak’s home world.

A planet Khan had burned to the ground as an act of mercy.

"Yeah, no," Khan sighed. "I need to destroy this thing."

It didn’t matter whether the True Chaos had shown that to Khan on purpose. It probably didn’t. Still, Khan couldn’t just let such a scene exist.

Nevertheless, the vegetation seemed to listen to Khan and react to it, which was simply impossible. He hadn’t even used the Nak’s language, but the nearby trees stretched toward the group anyway, snapping their branches at the evolved warriors.

The snapping motion generated a scary speed boost. The branches cracked in the air, releasing sharp shockwaves that tried to crash on the group, only for two figures to intercept them.

The woods to the group’s right opened, cut through an invisible force that dug a wide groove into the dark soil, exposing the white sky above and the still-plentiful trees in the distance.

Meanwhile, the woods to the group’s left rose, their trees eradicated by an invisible force, flung into the white sky before crashing down at some distance away.

As for the culprits, Ilman and Lord Mighty had acted at the same time and even wore the same stance after noticing that someone else had intervened, crossing their arms to question each other with a frown.