Helen hesitated. She knew they shouldn’t have been here, at least, but since they were already here, there was nothing she could do.

She simply sighed and said, "He’s in there... with the Emperor," she explained as they all stared in that direction quietly.

"What?" Lysander stared toward the building. "Then what was that explosion? I think we should go in and save him..."

"No... he said he has this under control and asked me to wait out here..." Helen expressed.

But they were uneasy.

"Stay here. We’ll go in and check," Adrian decided.

But even before they could turn to leave, an explosion took place. It wasn’t as massive as the first, but at least it had blown some purple and dark particles from the building into the atmosphere.

They all stepped backward, covering their faces with the backs of their hands while the explosion happened. And soon, they all removed their hands to get a closer look.

Immediately, they caught sight of two figures flying through the sky. A purple and black spark flew through the air until it crashed into the ground.

The dust from the ground filled the area for some time before clearing off. Helen and the rest paused, staring for a while before they saw a purple spark flying backward toward them.

It landed on the floor, and Eden slowly let out a cough, getting up to his feet.

"Eden!" Lysander rushed toward him with the rest as they all helped him up.

Eden staggered to his feet with their support as he stared at them. "What are you all doing here...? You’re not supposed to be here..."

They stared at his bruised face. Blood was dripping, and his expression was dull and exhausted.

Elvis gently ran a finger through his lips, cleaning off the blood. "You’re not okay... You should stop now, or else it’ll get bad for you..."

Eden brushed off his hands and stepped backward from them. "No... I’ve already started this, so I have to end it."

He ignored them as he turned and stared at Kyle, who had also staggered up to his feet. The two had been fighting for a long time, casting and exploding themselves until they were left in shambles. Their clothes were covered in dirt and cuts, and their faces were dark with bruises and wounds.

One would wonder if the two of them could even last.

"And..." Eden said to them, "Felix is still in there. Please go and get him to safety." He said, staring at Kyle.

Kyle stared at them with a scoff. "I guess everyone came around, then..." He laughed. "Too bad, that won’t aid anything."

Kyle began stepping backward, opening both his hands as a black portal began appearing in them.

Eden stared at him in alert as he placed a hand over his chest. A purple light filled his hands as he directed it toward Kyle. A purple spark of light brushed through the ground, creating an earthquake and then crashing toward Kyle.

But Kyle smirked as he took to the air, twirled, and dodged the attack.

He now stood in the air with the two dark holes building up in his hands as he stared down at Eden. "You think that’s going to get me? Think of another way, because that’s not going to work anymore!"

He laughed as he spread both palms into the atmosphere. Black dust began spreading around the sky, and holes began appearing in the clouds.

The atmosphere had gone dark and moody with the holes in the sky and the dust filling the scenery.

Eden and the rest looked around. "What’s happening...?" Helen asked.

"I think he’s casting some powerfully wicked spell..." Lenny blinked.

Eden looked around, observing as the dark dust filled the atmosphere and settled down through the ground, filling the soil with its dark energy, with some black raindrops from the holes nourishing the ground.

He could tell what was happening. "... Or maybe he’s raising his army."

The ground began vibrating as people began rising from the ground. Dark human beings.

They looked like normal human beings but all wore shabby black clothes. Their skin was black as though they had been drowned in black ink. They looked like zombies with their worn-out faces that were saggy and covered in black oily blood. Their eyes were pale white, and their mouths were open as black fluids dripped from them.

They moved like zombies but all walked in the air. Hundreds of them had risen from the ground and all began making their way toward Eden and the rest.

They stepped backward, alert.

Kyle laughed, his eyes black as he controlled them all while floating in the air. "You came with company, so it would make sense that I also come with some. How do you like my friends?" He laughed.

Eden stared at these people. "These are those whose lives he has taken. He manipulated their souls into this."

"How pathetic..." Helen clenched her fist, pissed off.

"I’ll handle them," Eden said. "You guys should step backward and go get Felix."

"Don’t be silly. You’re already looking worn out. What if you die or something?" Leo demanded.

"We’ll help you," Adrian said. "That’s why we’re here."

But Eden shook his head. "None of them are human. How are you going to help? You’ll only be putting yourselves at risk." He sighed as he stepped forward, placing both hands together.

Eden used his strength to summon some energy into his fists as he stared at the approaching zombies. "I’ll handle them."

He flew into the scene, waving his hands at them as purple waves brushed through the ground and flashed at them.

Some of the zombies were cast backward while some fell to their knees. Some lost their hands and some their legs, but they continued moving. They approached as Eden continued using all the power he could summon to take them down.

But they couldn’t die. They kept coming. They kept moving as though nothing had happened, and it was weakening Eden, who kept trying and trying to stop them using his inner essence power.