Towering at over ten meters in height, a creature composed of light rays and beams noticed the Lords’ arrival.

Humanoid in stature, it bore four long arms. Two wielded sabers, the other two lances made of pure light.

Behind it tendrils of rays spread like threads in every direction, an extension of its will.

Tilting its head in their direction, the guardian projected images of their bodies being mutilated directly into the Lords’ minds with the aim of faltering their resolve.

Then, without an ounce of hesitation, it moved.

Flanking them at light speed, the looming creature materialized behind the Lords. Its four weapons attacked instantly, as did the tendrils spreading from its back, eager to claim their lives on the spot.

Fortunately, the Lords were experienced in warfare and managed to react in time to the guardian’s advancement.

The moment its figure disappeared from their point of view, leaving the gates unguarded, they knew it had reappeared behind them.

Michael’s body moved on instinct, summoning Heaven’s Judgment. He commanded her to assume her shield form, preparing to block.

A heartbeat later, the tip of the guardian’s lance collided with his soul weapon.

Heaven’s Judgment held.

His legs did not.

Michael was swept off his feet, flung backward, and slammed into the towering walls.

Two things became apparent from the short exchange.

First, the creature held outstanding power. The light-born creature could easily rival a Monarch in physical confrontation.

Second, given the Sun’s colossal size, the star’s gravity was almost thirty times stronger than Earth’s. While the increased pressure impacted the Lords negatively, it did not have any effect on MSAP-8’s subjects.

"Off to a great start." Michael mused out loud, rising from the rubble of the walls.

The moment he did, the integral structure of the walls recovered in a flash, absorbing the Sun’s temperature greedily.

However, Michael did not pay attention to that detail, his sight fixed solely on the battle ahead.

Barely a second had passed since the light guardian struck, yet every Lord had been forced a few steps backward.

The creature remained unfazed. Its two arms moved, and the two lances it held snapped together at their ends, forming an absurdly long staff.

Bang!

Raising its newly created weapon, the light entity proceeded to slam it into the ground with full force.

In a blink, ten thousand beams materialized in the form of a giant dome encircling the Lords before shooting toward them.

"In its own territory with a nearly infinite energy source, we only stand to lose the longer the battle prolongs..." Michael murmured. His eyes locked on Devil while he was busy dodging the projections.

"What are you waiting for? Isn’t this what you wanted?!" Michael shouted out loud. "Go all out!"

Devil smiled menacingly.

"Roger!"

Charging blindly, he tested his shapeshifting ability to the limit, his frame matching the guardian’s height.

"Mine!"

His two claws shot forward, carving deep wounds into the being’s form.

Giving in under the pressure, the light parted at the exact spot Devil struck, only to instantly heal.

Turning, the light creature buried its two sabers deep into Devil’s torso.

Only to be baffled when Devil responded with laughter, taking the guardian into his embrace.

"Let me give you a hug!" He sneered in pure amusement.

Pressing the guardian tightly against his body, Devil restricted the possible movement of the foe.

Nicole capitalized on the opportunity, her fist colliding with the guardian’s head, shattering it.

Simultaneously, Persephone acted, taking hold of the creature’s leg. The ring of darkness around her intensified, spreading across its entire body.

Realizing it was cornered, the guardian retreated.

Unbothered by its missing head and the darkness snapping it of strength, its torso shuddered.

A small sphere emerged, accompanied by powerful lighting coursing through it.

Repositioned, the body of the guardian materialized again a second later.

However, the light creature didn’t have the time to retaliate.

Working together, Eliza and Elina sent their icy meteor shower toward it.

To make things worse, Gloria, Solomon, and Emanuel, the three Supreme Lords of the Golden Vanguard, worked in perfect harmony with the sister Lords, cutting off any potential escape routes.

It was forced to disperse its form again, barely dodging the attacks.

When the creature tried to reassemble its body, Francesca interrupted its reconstruction.

Theodore continuously hurled spears, keeping the light entity on guard.

As things progressed, the guardian was about to lose. The creature knew it had to act fast.

Yet when Rosalie and Noctis entered the fight, it became too much.

Running away and preserving its life was the smartest choice.

Its core flared at full speed toward the gates, desperate to escape.

However, in its rush to flee, the guardian failed to notice Michael, who was lying in wait, using his Fade technique to evade the foe’s senses.

Jumping, Michael took hold of the sphere. Tightening his grip, he shattered it into countless fragments a moment later.

Spiritual energy was emitted from the broken core, signaling the death of the creature’s existence.

The Lords let out a collective sigh of relief. It appeared that the light illusions created by the Iskra Titan they were hunting would release energy upon its defeat.

One of their concerns had been what they would do if they were faced with a lack of spiritual energy to recover their strength... With this, their anxiety had been put to rest.

"We would do well to assume that each illusion bears a core. It is their weak point, so we must take great care to focus on them." Nicole exclaimed, earning nods in agreement from the others.

Notably, the core didn’t emit enough spiritual energy to allow the Lords to achieve enlightenment, but it served its purpose of refreshing them with power.

Once the energy was depleted and the Lords were more or less back to their full strength, they gazed at the towering heavenly walls.

A downside of traveling on the Sun was that, due to its amplified gravity, they couldn’t simply soar through the skies.

Doing so would slow them down, render them easy targets, and consume too much of their spiritual energy.

That had been the reason why they chose to engage in battle rather than fly over the walls.

Exchanging glances, they stepped towards the gates.

Officially entering the Light Kingdom.