Chapter 1348: City of the Decisive Battle (5)

A series of explosions blasted, but despite that, it could be heard that the shadowy monsters weren't actually going up the stairs fast enough. Rhode reckoned that was since they didn't even consider boarding the elevator. Well, it wasn't too surprising since one wouldn't be particularly interested in two big metal doors if one weren't aware of the existence of an elevator.

Similarly, if it weren't for Rhode, perhaps Catherine and Little Five might not even consider using the elevator earlier. Meanwhile, the enemies pursuing them seemed to intend on relying upon their feet to climb the building that was hundreds of meters tall. When Rhode heard the explosions, he was slightly tense.

But afterward, he realized that the enemies didn't understand technology and it wasn't possible for them to use the elevator to transport them up and down the building. Not only that, but they must have also messed something up which caused the elevator that Rhode's team was in to come to a halt. In that case, even if they were to meddle with the buttons on the elevator, it would likely be unable to start up again.

"Hurry, let's get out of here."

With that in mind, Rhode made a quick decision. He looked up at the elevator display panel and felt pleased at the existence of high tech. They were already two-thirds of the way to their destination in such a short time. As for the remaining one-third, they could run their way up. He didn't hesitate any longer and immediately opened the elevator doors in front of them.

Fortunately, they were currently situated right at the entrance of one of the upper floors. The three of them ran out of the elevator, rushing toward the emergency exit with Rhode leading the way. The sound of rapid footsteps echoed through the quiet corridor, but it was at this moment that the danger that had been hidden in the darkness seemed to awaken, opening their eyes to the prey that barged into their territory.

"Coo-coo-coo..."

The instant the three of them dashed out of the elevator, Rhode once again heard some strange noises. Shortly after, borrowing the radiance of the 'huge light bulb', Catherine, he clearly witnessed shadows in the darkness coalescing into mysterious substances. It was apparent that only the elevator was a 'safe zone' in this tower. And after stepping out of it, Rhode's team began to attract monsters.

"Let's go, don't mess with any of them! Keep going, and don't stop!"

Upon seeing Little Five wielding her sword and about to put up a fight, Rhode gave his order hurriedly. If it were a normal situation, it wouldn't take long for them to defeat these monsters before heading on with their journey. But now, the situation was different; there were still other people below them, so the moment they got into a battle with the monsters, the people below could hear every one of their movements and commotions.

After that happened, the situation would be much more complicated. Thus, Rhode grabbed Little Five and ran over to the emergency exit as fast as he could. Although the people below were still far away from them, wasn't that what 'the tortoise and the hare' was all about? After the rabbit became lazy, the tortoise would eventually catch up with it.

Upon hearing Rhode's command, Little Five didn't say a word, but quickly put away her sword and brought out a packet of potato chips, munching while following behind him. Looking at this scene, Rhode sighed with sorrow. Despite having a foodie and pacifist in his team, at least they obeyed his orders and weren't too much of a hindrance. Now, he only hoped that the mental projections in other teams would be more incompetent and it would be best if they could also be more of a drag!

It was always better to rely on oneself for everything, and expecting the other teams to be as unlucky as him wasn't something he counted on much. Every one of them had up to three mental projections of personalities, and according to his experience, there was at most only one 'foolish' personality. To a certain extent, these two with him were in a way...

Argh, forget it.

At this thought, Rhode felt crushed.

"Don't attack, just stay behind me and be wary! Don't make too much noise!"

In terms of sneaking around and scouting, Rhode was still more experienced than the others. After all, the strict standard of 'backstabbing' was meant to ensure that they were undetected until they reached their destination. And naturally, he was incredibly familiar with it. But apparently, Little Five and Catherine lacked this kind of experience, which was why he asked them not to retaliate at all.

Not only that, but he also sprinted ahead of them to the emergency exit and ran up the stairs. Faced with the pitch-black shadows that hindered him, he did little to deal with them. He just waved his sword to split them apart, before pulling Little Five and Catherine and shuttling through the gap. For Rhode, entanglement was the last thing on the agenda, especially in this situation.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

The glow of his sword metamorphosed into incomparably dazzling and brilliant blade rays that flickered in the dark space one after another, illuminating and tearing through the coalescence of deep darkness.

However, the shadows of darkness didn't give up just yet. Instead, they twisted and winded their bodies, attempting to restore their original form. Rhode was already used to the responses of these monsters. It was very difficult to defeat them completely, so he didn't pay much attention to this aspect at all. On the contrary, after ripping apart their bodies, he darted across their wounded bodies. Although the combat power of these shadowy monsters wasn't weak, they were nothing in the face of his strength.

Rhode's team progressed swiftly and after being reminded by him, Little Five didn't go on a rampage like before, which could be said to have saved some time for them. After a short while, the three of them arrived on the highest floor. The moment they stepped onto the rooftop, Rhode swung his sword without blinking an eye. Along with his action, the rooftop behind him collapsed, sealing the exit and blocking the path of the shadowy monsters that chased them relentlessly. It was only at this moment that Rhode scanned the place and of course, the first thing he did was to look for the mental crystal that his team worked desperately to get here for. But the instant he saw the mental crystal, he couldn't remain calm any longer.

Before arriving at the top floor, Rhode's mind was occupied with thoughts of those shadowy monsters below them and didn't ponder much about the mental crystal. And now, he found that he had overlooked a legitimate problem. First of all, the tall buildings were hundreds of meters high and even though he stood on the top floor, he saw that the light emanating from the mental crystal at the top of the tall building also illuminated the night sky. There were only two possibilities; it was either extremely huge or extremely bright.

And now, this mental crystal was right in front of him, being both huge and bright!

Its brilliance wasn't blinding, and even if he were to look directly at it, he wouldn't feel any discomfort. However, its size was very problematic to him. The crystal itself was nearly seven or eight meters tall and resembled a cylindrical light bulb. He wouldn't be able to carry even one of them, not to mention carrying 12! It wasn't a matter of strength, but totally an issue with size! But who knew? Maybe the mental crystal could shrink in size on its own?

With this thought in mind, Rhode approached the mental crystal, knocked, and touched it repeatedly. But unfortunately, no matter what he did, there were no changes in it as if it were completely unresponsive. Moreover, he also let Little Five and Catherine touch it again, but the result remained the same. In that case, this could only mean one thing: none of the methods he used to trigger it was correct...

"Where exactly did we go wrong?"

Rhode had yet to find an answer to this question. He carefully investigated the areas around the mental crystal, but found neither enchanted fields nor magical rituals that could trigger it. He didn't find any switches or buttons that he was familiar with from memory, but was also certain that Karin didn't put such a large piece of mental crystal here just to tease him. It was apparent that there must be some secret in this crystal that he hadn't discovered, which was why it wasn't activated. And now, his main task was to find this secret in order for it to not be seized by others.

"What the hell is going on with this thing? Do you want me to try slashing it with my sword?"

Looking at the unresponsive mental crystal in front of her, Little Five was the first to lose her patience. She once again drew her sword, eager to make a leap of faith. This time, however, Rhode didn't stop her. On the contrary, he knitted his brows and remained silent for a moment, before nodding in agreement. And after receiving his approval, Little Five revealed her excitement and complacency, tossing the empty packet of snacks to the side. At the next moment, she stretched out her hands with the sword in hands, her entire body metamorphosing into a green hurricane and slamming onto the mental crystal in front of her. Soon after, the sword in her hands, which was almost as long as her body, sliced through the air and struck the mental crystal heavily.

Clang———!

The moment her blade hit, the mental crystal that emanated a shining glow suddenly dimmed and let out a bell-like ring. Along with this crisp sound, a halo erupted from its cylindrical body and shrouded the entire top floor in a shining barrier of light! Soon after, a splendid and eye-catching magical ritual emerged and rotated gradually.

"Watch out!"

Upon looking at this scene, Rhode was stunned. He gripped his sword in his right hand and frowned at the scene in front of him. Meanwhile, Little Five was also bewildered. Although she was a reckless eater, she wasn't a fool. The instant she witnessed this scene, she felt like something had definitely gone wrong. Thus, she raised her long sword and leaned against Rhode's side, keeping a wary eye on the surroundings. But at that moment, Rhode and Little Five discovered a rather serious problem; along with the activation of the magical ritual, a strange power suddenly appeared out of nowhere and imprisoned the two of them!

What's going on?

Rhode stared in astonishment at the magical runes that rotated and circled his limbs and body constantly. It was clearly a kind of confinement spell. Could this be a trap? Or a countermeasure? Was it used against those who tried to destroy the mental crystal? Logically speaking, it wasn't impossible. But...

"Mr. Rhode, what happened to both of you?"

Not everyone was caught in the magical ritual. Catherine stood where she was, gazing at the two of them who were trapped in the confining spell with a clearly terrified expression. And what was most amusing was that even then, her hands were still wrapped around the various snacks and lollipops that Little Five scavenged from the refrigerators earlier, which seemed quite hilarious when paired with her expression that looked as if she were an abandoned puppy. But unfortunately, it was clear that neither Rhode nor Little Five were in the mood for a laugh right now.

"Are you alright, Catherine? Be careful, this place is..."

Swish!

Before Rhode finished his sentence, he heard a soft sound, followed by a flash of white light. At the next moment, a figure that was also enfolded by golden light from her head to toe like Catherine appeared in front of the three of them. She held a sword in her hand and gazed around with a serious face as if she had just ended a fierce battle. And the moment Rhode and Little Five saw her, they immediately recognized that this young lady was also Catherine.

But even though both of them were Angels of Light, there was still a difference between them. The armor that the Catherine in Rhode's team wore was more akin to a combination of leather and cloth. She was also arguably unarmed, and Rhode and Little Five hadn't seen any presence of weaponry on her body at all. Coupled with the fact that she looked like a young, melancholic literary woman at all times, she simply couldn't be more recognizable.

On the other hand, this Catherine who suddenly showed up was entirely different. She wore a platinum armor similar to a battle angel like Celia. She also wielded a shining sword and her entire being exuded an austere aura, which was a stark contrast to that fool who stood by with snacks in her arms and put up a bewildered expression. The difference was so huge that even though they looked the same, their temperament and quality were distinct enough for others to tell them apart.

The Catherine who appeared here all of a sudden was also stunned. Just like Rhode and his team, she sized up the surroundings cautiously, before pausing her gaze at Rhode and Little Five, puckering her brows, and gazing at the glowing cylinder before her. It was apparent that she also heard Karin's broadcast, so she recognized what was in front of her at first glance.

"Mental crystal?"

She muttered and strode toward the mental crystal. Of course, she also observed Rhode and Little Five and after reckoning that they seemed to be imprisoned by an unknown force, she became more cautious as well. But even so, she didn't come to a halt. After all, Karin had made it clear that the only way to leave here and return to their world was to obtain the mental crystal. And no matter which Catherine it was, neither of them were interested in staying here. Thus, it was only natural that they wished to obtain mental crystals and leave. However...

The Angel of Light came to a standstill.

What surprised Rhode and Little Five was that it was precisely their Catherine who stopped the Angel of Light, standing hesitantly in front of her other self. Although Catherine looked much less aggressive and the packet of snacks in her arms made her look undignified, she still summoned the courage to stand in front of her other self.

"D-Don't come any closer. This mental crystal belongs to Mr. Rhode and us..."

Looking to her other self, Catherine spoke hesitantly.

"..."

Upon hearing Catherine's words, it wasn't just the Angel of Light who showed a surprised expression, but Little Five and Rhode were also stunned. To be honest, they didn't expect much from Catherine who saw the 'non-violent and non-cooperative' ideologies to the end. In the face of the shadowy monsters, she almost ended up like a martyr. No one expected her to step out and defend them at such a moment.

"But it doesn't look like the crystal has acknowledged them."

The good thing about angels was that they kept order, so even if it was another Angel of Light in their way, they didn't start a fight right away, but replied very calmly instead. And upon hearing her answer, Catherine hesitated, but finally stood there with gnashed teeth and didn't retreat in fear.

"But we're the ones who came here first... By rights, this crystal belongs to us. Besides, even though Mr. Rhode and her have indeed met with an accident... I'm still around, isn't it?"

"That's true."

Upon hearing Catherine's words, the Angel of Light nodded, swung her sword, and pointed it at the former.

"In that case, we shall have a duel right here. The victor will gain dominion over the crystal, how about that? Do you have any objections?"

"Huh... Huh?!"

Faced with this blade pointed at her, Catherine clearly showed an expression of helplessness. She turned to look at Rhode who stood beside her as if waiting for him to give her an idea. But in the face of Catherine's gaze, Rhode didn't say a word. Instead, he knitted his brows and observed the scene in front of him.

A barrier that enveloped the entire rooftop... Two Catherines who move about freely... And the mental crystal...

At this thought, Rhode finally understood what everything was about.