"A voice?" Michael frowned, knowing that it could only mean trouble.

"What is that voice saying?"

Elina didn’t answer. Her hands wrapped around her knees as she started to tremble violently.

"Hey, speak to me!" Eliza grabbed her sister by the shoulders and shook her, trying to pull her out of the mental haze she was trapped in.

It didn’t seem to work.

A moment later, Elina’s lips parted again.

"It’s cold." She said, her grip tightening around her knees. "I... I am going to freeze to death."

Eliza’s eyes darkened.

Her sister tended to be a high-spirited person. This was the first time she had seen her act like this.

However, soon enough. Eliza seemed to grasp what her sister meant, and her own limbs began to tremble.

"You are right... it’s freezing."

Persephone’s expression was a mixture of mild amusement and annoyance.

"Hey, hey, we are on a star! Did you go mad just a few hours into our operation?"

Sure, different people had varying understandings of what comfortable degrees were, yet Elina and Eliza’s figures were almost burning, and still they were trembling like lost maidens in the middle of a snowy storm.

Michael observed their condition.

"This must be some sort of mental attack."

"But... speaking? Weren’t these beings supposed to communicate only by sharing images to your consciousness? It must be something else." Rosalie voiced her disagreement.

"He is right, there is no other way to explain it." Nicole declared. "The aliens could have simply chosen not to use other methods of communication until now, or there could be more to the issue... We can’t be certain with foreign entities, much less subjects of a Titan."

"Please, forgive me for my oversight." Rosalie realized her mistake, bowing toward Nicole. "I will take great care that such lapse of judgment never repeats."

Nicole did not appreciate how one of their teammates was so eager to dismiss Michael’s words outright, without a second thought. She knew that if this issue persisted, it could create bigger problems down the road.

Unfortunately, it was a concern that had to be addressed at a later date.

"If this really is a mental attack then..." Persephone’s eyes studied Michael’s figure carefully. "How are you holding up?"

Given that Michael was at an even lower stage than the Lords’ sisters, it was logical to conclude he should have been affected first.

Michael remained unfazed under Persephone’s bottomless gaze.

"The same. I don’t feel anything."

He was being truthful.

Perhaps his spirit and mind were more resilient, or it was an effect of his Archwarlock technique.

The problem worsened significantly when Theodore’s voice echoed.

"I am starting to feel a little light-headed." He said, settling onto the ground.

’Bad.’ Michael’s eyes narrowed. ’If even a Supreme Lord is affected then...’

He wasn’t able to finish the thought when a message flashed before his eyes.

[Warning!]

[Your mental fortitude is being tested!]

Almost immediately, everyone began to feel dizzy.

Meanwhile, Devil observed them with a tilted head and a smile playing at his lips.

He couldn’t care less about what was happening to them. Being a soul weapon, he was essentially immune to any mental attack.

Since the Lords didn’t seem to be holding themselves well, he searched for the possible source.

"There it is!" Devil said, finding his target.

Following his gesture, Michael gazed far ahead.

Two beings of light-born creatures were locked in a confrontation.

The one on the losing end was sprawled on the ground, its form too disfigured to make out clearly.

As for the winner, it used its limbs to pin the weaker creature to the ground.

Thrusting deep, it tore the core from its opponent and brought it closer to its figure.

When the two made contact, the core shattered and was absorbed into the winner.

Immediately, its form enlarged, shimmering even brighter. Wings sprouted from its back, and the mental attack intensified.

Michael was still capable of holding it at bay. However, given that this could turn out to be the only way to gather information, he lessened his mental defenses just enough to observe what the light entity was trying to achieve while keeping his mind secure.

Immediately, he heard a whisper. It didn’t sound threatening in the slightest, but rather ragged and exhausted.

"Cold..."

The senses of the light creature focused deeper within the Light Kingdom.

"Strong enough... search for warmth."

Not willing to overstay his welcome, Michael severed the connection and watched as the creature took flight.

"The Titan’s illusions have some kind of self-awareness. Maybe by creating and pitting them against each other, the Titan ensures they grow stronger and move toward the center where it is supposedly warmer?" Michael figured from his observation.

Considering the little insight he had, it was a reasonable hypothesis. If that were the case, it would make their work easier, giving them a clear direction to follow.

It also meant that although all of these creatures were threats, they could be forced against each other while the Lords slipped past.

But it would also mean that the deeper they went, not only would the enemies grow stronger, but the surroundings would become hotter.

"How strong is this compared to the guard we faced at the gates?" Persephone asked with intrigued eyes, brushing off the mental haze effortlessly.

Nicole’s eyes narrowed. "A bit stronger, but not a major shift in power."

Rosalie smiled, certain there had been no need to be so careful.

They watched the light creature fly away.

A heartbeat later, a colossal serpent, spanning kilometers, surged across the Light Kingdom. Its immense body struck the creature with unstoppable force, reducing it to mere particles.

The serpent coiled around a nearby tower several times before peering deeper into the kingdom at light speed.

The sequence of events transpired faster than the Lords could blink.

"..."

With the disappearance of the mental haze, the Lords were left speechless, instead staring at the trail of lingering fire the serpent had left in its wake.

Michael was the fastest to recover due to the notification that flashed before his eyes.

[Quest: Curing a Paragon’s father, Updated!]

[Difficulty: Impossible]

[Task: Cursed with an untreatable disease, your father is destined to die, regardless of how much medical help he receives. Slay the Iskra Titan lurking in the Light Kingdom and use its remains to cure your father!]

[Reward: Mythic cybernetic, 5,000 → 20,000 Skill Points]

"Just, great..." He cursed.