As Silver City's strongest figures waited, night was soon upon them. The spatial crack continued to widen, causing tremors and releasing spatial fluctuations that could easily split apart an unlucky Sky Realm expert. The calamity had yet to appear, but everyone, including Senior Inspector Han, looked at the spatial crack with growing unease. Senior Inspector Han had secretly dealt with the Chun clan during the evacuation period and sent the remaining members into the crack once it appeared, but he couldn't sense the few that managed to pass through without dying despite implanting them with special beacon artifacts. These artifacts were proven to be effective even in secret worlds, but they were of no use once inside the spatial crack.
As unfortunate as this was, Senior Inspector Han wasn't surprised that his methods were fruitless. He kept a stern and confident face around others, but in truth he was just as disposable as they were. If his sect were truly serious about addressing this calamity, there was no way they would only send a peak Sky Realm expert like him. He, along with the cultivators gathered here, were merely scouts meant to communicate the danger of the calamity with their deaths. Nonetheless, Senior Inspector Han held no grudge against the sect for making him a sacrifice. He believed it was natural to pay back the grace that the sect had bestowed upon him.
The night passed without incident, but with the rising dawn, a few Sky Realm experts noticed something different about the spatial crack. There seemed to be something moving on the other side of the crack, and more tears in space seemed to appear with every movement.
"All prepare for combat!"
Despite not having identified the threat, Senior Inspector Han called for battle. As their forces gathered and readied themselves for what was to come, they witnessed the thing on the other end of the spatial crack stop before revealing its enormous eye. Its eye alone seemed to be the size of a luxurious manor, and looking at it tainted one's mind with corruption and insanity.
"Don't look at it!"
"Turn away!"
Faster than the warnings could come, several Sky Realm experts suffered mental collapse and either deformed into hideous monsters or simply died. While directing unaffected Sky Realm experts to subdue those who had transformed, Senior Inspector Han furrowed his brows as he considered their next course of action. If the creature on the other side of the spatial crack could corrupt Sky Realm experts with just a look, then there wasn't even a point in using them as sacrifices. Senior Inspector Han thought he was prepared to lay down his life to investigate the incoming calamity, but upon learning that his life wouldn't make a difference, he was struck by a sudden sense of loss and helplessness.
"Senior Inspector Han."
"Honoured Father!"
An old man in plain silver robes with a cane in hand approached Senior Inspector Han with light steps. He seemed ordinary at first glance, but he was one of the five Masters that stayed behind to deal with the calamity and an elder of the Argentwave clan. He was also the first Master to confront the crown panther beast lord of Malirin Forest, during the most recent hunt.
"Elder Argentwave. Do you have any advice?"
"You should take the other youngsters and leave now. Once that thing crosses over, there won't be another chance."
"With all due respect, Elder Argentwave. The orders passed down by the sect are to—"
"Senior Inspector Han. I believe your first priority should be to deliver information about this calamity to the sect. Will you be able to do that well by dying?"
The elder from the Argentwave clan was blunt, but his words were not without truth. Nearby, the other four Masters silently gave their agreement. Senior Inspector Han's pride made him reluctant to consent to what was essentially fleeing before the enemy, but if he considered which option would benefit the sect more, then the answer was obvious.
With a sincere bow, Senior Inspector Han commended the Argentwave Master.
"Your courageous feats will not be forgotten. I wish you luck in battle."
"Mmm. Go now and don't look back."
During this exchange, emotional words reached the tip of Mayor Argentwave's tongue, but he could only swallow them back. For the sake of the clan, this was the best choice. At Senior Inspector Han's command, all Sky Realm experts retreated from the city. They would remain close enough to sense the effects of the battle but far enough that they would be able to escape if a tragedy occurred.
Once they confirmed that all Sky Realm experts had left the vicinity, the five Masters gathered and approached the spatial crack.
"From these energy fluctuations, that creature should have power limited to the Master Realm, but it's at least comparable to a peak Master."
"If it can shatter space like this with brute force, its real abilities must be far greater than that. If our old bones don't look appetising, it'll be quite difficult to hold it back."
"Hahaha! Then perhaps I should roast myself first to grab its nose."
"Perhaps we can consider that if we need someone to serve as bait."
The two Masters of the Argentwave clan, along with the Masters from the Lava Stream Sect and Storm Sky Manor, conversed with casual tones despite the dire circumstances. The Master representing Maiden Academy remained silent, but her veiled face also showed no tension. For cultivators like them who had survived many tribulations, a powerful foe wasn't enough to break their spirits. Even if they would die here, they would go out in a blaze of glory.
"It would be nice if we could do something instead of waiting for it to emerge. Is anyone familiar with spatial laws or have a treasure that can interfere with it?"
"Don't ask for too much, Old Mayor. None of us specialise in the laws of space, and even if we had a useful relic, would we really carry it to our deathbeds?"
Although space expansion bags and storage artifacts were prominent, the natural laws of space were enigmatic and difficult to manipulate. In the current Alterna Kingdom, those who could make artifacts that affected space could be counted on one hand, and outside of storage artifacts, perhaps only one person could craft such a thing. Even secret spaces and ruins rarely contained any spatial artifacts so they were treated as heirlooms and treasures of the highest importance. Few would be willing to take them into a dying battle.
"Fair enough. I suppose we'll just have to lay some traps and prepare our formation until it arrives."
While the five Masters did their preparation, the largest spatial crack continued to widen as more cracks appeared in its vicinity. Once space near the crack became too unstable, the five Masters moved away from the city and quietly raised their fighting spirit for the upcoming battle. Like an earthquake, the sound of space breaking down reverberated through the atmosphere, causing weaker creatures to explode just from the vibrations. These vibrations grew more and more intense until the fallen pushed its right paw through the gap in space.
"!!!!!!"
The fallen's screech tore apart buildings and uprooted trees while space finally shattered to match its arrival. Appearing above the site of Storm Sky Manor, with space quickly recovering behind it, was a shiny black creature. It had the head of a rhino, the torso of a lizard, wings in the form of massive hands with webbed fingers and a spiky tail. Just the aura of the beast seemed to suppress all life, and they could feel it trying to drain their vitality. The five Masters, despite their vast knowledge and experience in fighting evolved beasts, had never seen a creature like this before, but they didn't let its appearance cow them into submission.
"Activate the arrays!"