Void Evolution System

Very, very hard. That was the obvious answer.

August started small by trying to probe the First Dragon Emperor's strength, but that was not something he could do in a single battle.

Boom!

He dashed across the ground and summoned just as much water as he always did. It was a massive wave, but compared to the Dragon Emperor's size, it looked like nothing more than a puddle.

Using his manifestations, August tried to force the Dragon Emperor to split his attention into multiple different enemies, which would give him more room to maneuver.

However…

VOOM!

The Dragon Emperor did no more than flap his wings.

A powerful burst of air was created. It instantly dispersed August's mana and destroyed his manifestations. Before he could react, it struck him as well.

The only thing he felt was numbing pain as his body exploded into a blood mist.

In the next moment, August was back where he started. No signs of the prior battle remained.

"Haa…haa…haa…"

August breathed heavily as he dealt with the phantom pain of his death.

[How does it feel?]

The First Dragon Emperor teased him, a playful light in his eyes.

August smiled wryly. He had to admit that he was dreaming if he wanted to probe the First Dragon Emperor the sway he probed his other opponents.

This was a battle against a force that, with August's current power, was just as indomitable as Damien.

A single hit?

It was only easy if the person being hit was sitting still and waiting for it.

The Dragon Emperor clearly had no plans of doing so.

As such…

'This is going to be a long one.'

August straightened his back and charged again.

And again, and again, and again.

Naturally, every single the died in the exact sway.

The First Dragon Emperor only needed to flap his wings once to kill August. If he wanted to cause more pain, he could kill him in an even simpler fashion.

What August found in his first few attempts was that he would never get anywhere if he couldn't find a way around the Dragon Emperor's first attack.

But, how long would it take him to do that?

August had died ten times already, and he had only been in this realm for a few hours.

When days turned into months, or when months turned into years, how much would that number change?

Unfortunately for August, he was about to find out.

After all, it would take more than just smonths for him to properly meet the First Dragon Emperor's expectations.

***

August's soul was in a relatively calm situation. He was dying over and over again, sure, but it was happening in a controlled environment.

The cavern was nothing like that. It was an environment where only chaos reigned.

Fighting over a hundred enemies that were at the slevel as them wasn't possible no matter what kind of magic they used. This predicament that they'd found themselves in couldn't be escaped with anything like cheap tricks.

They had to find a way to take down each and every one of these geniuses without losing any of their own.

To turn impossibility into possibility, the best they could do was plan ahead.

The instant Valerie returned to command, she put exactly that in motion.

She ordered Mikaela to use her power. Under Valerie's command, she created a large maze around them.

If Raul was available, it would have been better, but they had to manage without him.

Juno and Yuna were fighters who couldn't contribute to support efforts, so it had to be left to Mikaela alone.

"No matter what happens, make sure they can't break through the walls," Valerie said.

Mikaela nodded. It was difficult but possible. Since her mazes were created from the smaterial as the surrounding environment, she could use the cavern's strong rock, built to withstand the pressure of millions upon millions of gallons of water, to strengthen them.

Valerie could somewhat help as well by finding any dirt or other wood-related elements in the ground and using them to tether the maze walls to the earth.

It was enough to force their enemies to actually follow the formation instead of bouldering through it.

This was all they could do. From here on, they could only fight and hope that they wouldn't die before they killed all of their opposition.

Valerie, Juno, and Yuna chose three separate paths to move through.

The other two left immediately, but Valerie took a second to glance at Ophelia first.

That woman who was still unable to lift herself off of the ground…

"Tch, pathetic."

…only one word was necessary to describe her.

There was no point paying attention to someone who was content with sitting around and waiting for death.

She turned her attention to Mikaela instead.

"Close the walls."

"Close them? But…!"

"You heard me."

Valerie didn't let her speak.

"Close them and fortify them. Even if you hear us pleading from the other side, do not open the walls. If the worst comes to be…

collapse the maze and run with Melania."

Mikaela's eyes hardened.

"You won't die here. None of you will."

Though she was unable to believe it herself, Valerie still smiled slightly.

"Yeah, let's leave it at that."

Without another word, she turned and moved into her third of the maze.

Hearing the walls close behind her, sealing the clearing where Melania and the rest were, her smile widened.

'I'm sorry, but there's no way I can guarantee that none of us will die.'

She looked down at her hand, at the pulsing green mana hidden deep within her veins.

'But, if it comes down to it…'

Her feet moved faster and faster until her walk turned into a run. Through her awareness, she could already sense the first group of enemies she had to face.

Her attention moved away from her thoughts, and yet, that statement somehow managed to finish itself.

'If it comes down to it, I can at least make sure that only one of us dies. As long as the rest of you make it out, it'll be worth it.'

Valerie was never a heroic individual.

Valerie was actually the person in August's group of close friends whose thought process was least similar to his.

It was because they were her friends that she was willing to fight for them, but she was never someone willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good.

She wanted to live. She wanted to see the world and reach her goals even if it meant she had to turn a blind eye to sthings that were going on in the world.

If it meant that she could live…perhaps she would be willing to abandon someone else.

However, that sValerie, whose mentality never changed, was having such thoughts of self-sacrifice.

'I feel stupid.'

Really, it was a miracle what emotions could do to a person.

'But…'

The only goal in her mind now was making sure that Melania survived.

Regardless of what her prior feelings were, regardless of what her brain told her to do…

…Valerie was prepared to do anything necessary to make that goal into a reality.