Date: Unspecified Time: Unspecified Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Way Beyond, Unknown
"Damn it, how long do we have to stay here?" a stout demigod grumbled, sprawled lazily on a cloud as if it were his personal mattress. He shifted restlessly, using the puff of vapor as a makeshift pillow. "Can't we just combine our powers and blast the seals on those reverse gate dungeons? Invade them directly?"
Rolling her eyes, an alluring demigod clad in revealing tights shot back, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "First, if we do that, we risk destroying the reverse gate dungeons entirely. Second, we already have enough people working on unsealing them—your birdbrain adding to the mix wouldn't change a damn thing. Third, we're Plan B. The sooner we catch Henricks, the sooner we can use him to invade the Yellow Plains."
The stout demigod huffed, clearly unimpressed, but stayed quiet.
"How sure are we he'll even pass through here?" an elderly demigod asked, his sharp, weathered eyes scanning their surroundings. His intent sense probed the area stealthily, covering every inch under their surveillance.
The alluring demigod crossed her arms, her lips curling into a smirk. "Can't say for sure. But he has to pass through one of these spots eventually. Based on his usual patterns, these are the places he uses as an intermediate step to travel between realms through the Card World. Let's just hope luck's on our side and he shows up here." Her eyes gleamed with greed as she added, "If he does, we'll be able to bargain for a bigger share of the loot."
The three weren't alone in their hidden watch. They were part of an intricate network of demigods stationed across key points, lying in wait for Henricks. The World Leaders had leveraged their influence with the central government to employ their diviners, who had pinpointed specific locations Henricks had been frequently using as intermediary platforms in the Card world for his inter-realm travel. For now, all they could do was wait—and hope their prey would stumble right into their trap.
"Get the array formation ready—I sense a disturbance in the space," the elderly demigod barked, his tone sharp and urgent. His weathered eyes narrowed as he focused on the anomaly beneath them.
Hearing his warning, the other two demigods immediately snapped into action, positioning themselves to activate the space isolation array. They weren't taking any chances, ready to trap Henricks the moment he arrived, even if something seemed slightly off.
Just as the elderly demigod had predicted, the space a few meters below them rippled unnaturally before settling again, revealing two figures. Without pausing to identify who they were or questioning why there were two instead of one, the demigods triggered the array formation.
Just as the elderly demigod had predicted, the space a few meters below them rippled unnaturally before settling again, revealing two figures. Without pausing to identify who they were or questioning why there were two instead of one, the demigods triggered the array formation.
"What the fuck?" Henricks swore, his eyes darting around as he realized the space had been isolated.
"Looks like you've walked into an ambush," Wyatt said, his tone calm yet sharp, as his primordial soul pupils flared. His eyes glinted with an otherworldly glow, quickly analyzing the space isolation array and locking onto the three demigods who had entered the trap with them.
"Holy shit! Is that Dalton Wyatt?" the stout demigod exclaimed, scrambling to his feet. The lazy posture he'd held moments ago was replaced with tense energy, his excitement of capturing Henricks just quadrupled.
"Yes, it's him. We've hit the jackpot!" the alluring demigod confirmed, her voice dripping with greed. Her eyes sparkled with avarice, and her grin stretched from ear to ear, unable to contain her delight at the unexpected windfall.
"What is he doing with a traitor?" the elderly demigod muttered, his voice heavy with disappointment as his frown deepened. While his teammates practically salivated over the thought of capturing Dalton Wyatt along with Henricks, his reaction was far more conflicted. He couldn't help but feel uneasy seeing the future of the Card World standing shoulder to shoulder with a criminal. This wasn't why he'd spent decades at the Way Beyond, guarding the Five Regions from threats. Seeing Wyatt standing alongside a known criminal, the elderly demigod felt a wave of betrayal crash over him. For centuries, he had devoted his life to protecting the Five Regions, and now the one they called the future of the Card World was associating with someone like Henricks. Yet, a small part of him—a hopeful whisper—clung to the possibility that Wyatt was being held against his will. If that were the case, the elderly demigod would gladly go down in history as the hero who saved the future of the Card World, rather than someone who massacred millions of card apprentices to secure the only known source of Silver Milk.
'Let's keep them busy until reinforcements arrive,' the alluring demigod mentally communicated to her two partners, her tone sharp and commanding. The stout demigod nodded without hesitation, while the elderly demigod hesitated, his eyes narrowing as he focused on Wyatt.
"Are you being held against your will?" the elderly demigod asked Wyatt, his voice tinged with urgency. Deep down, he knew the chances of safely extracting Wyatt from this situation were slim—especially once the others arrived—but he had to try. He couldn't stomach the idea of Wyatt falling into the wrong hands. He believed the Southern Region was the only place that truly valued Wyatt's potential, while the other regions merely saw him as a golden goose they could butcher for their greed.
"Old man, what the hell are you doing?" the stout demigod snapped impatiently, his frustration boiling over. He knew the elderly demigod to be a stubborn ally, but this was crossing the line. It was clear from his demeanor that the old man didn't intend to capture Wyatt and might even help him escape.
Before the stout demigod could act, the alluring demigod moved with lightning speed. Her blade sliced through the air, mortally wounding the elderly demigod. Blood poured from his side as he stumbled back, his eyes wide with disbelief. Instinct alone had saved him from a fatal blow.
"Why?" he gasped, clutching his wound, his face etched with shock and betrayal.
"I'm not going to let anyone ruin my ascent—not even you," the alluring demigod replied coldly, her voice laced with venom. Her lips curled into a sneer as she turned to the stout demigod and barked, "Use your origin card! Now!"