Chapter 2820: Assistance Shouts rang across the open sky. "It’s Caelthar—he’s the one approaching!" "That’s Lady Ishtar with him!" "Then who in the is the one chasing them?!" A mid-sized Nephilim flying vessel drifted between cloud layers, its deck crowded with magus and guarded by three Grand Magus whose divine senses had been locked on the pursuit long before it entered visual range. Only moments ago had they realized who was fleeing—and that realization sent a ripple of unease through everyone aboard. "He’s coming straight toward us..." The wind twisted violently as Caelthar’s voice echoed across the sky. "Nobles of the Malachir, I request assistance!" The plea was not repeated. Caelthar redirected his massive flying sword without hesitation, descending toward the Malachir vessel. Ishtar clung close as they landed heavily upon the deck. The instant his feet touched down, Caelthar folded into a lotus position as he stabilized his internal flow, suppressing the violent turbulence within his body. Ishtar did not even bother hiding her panic. "Help us!! That man is extremely dangerous," she snapped, her voice sharp with fear. He has already killed three of our Grand Magus!" The effect was immediate. Every magus aboard the vessel stiffened. No one aboard doubted her claim—not when Caelthar himself looked as though he had barely escaped intact. High above them, the chase stopped. Emery hovered in the open sky, his presence alone pressing down like an unseen weight. Behind him, the two pursuing ships slowed and took formation, lingering just out of engagement range, awaiting his intent. His gaze swept across the vessel below, locking onto its banner. Malachir. Another Nephilim secondary family. Neither weak nor dominant, occupying a position comparable to the Astiel clan. Three; two cosmos Grand Magus stood at the fore: a man and a woman in the early stage, and an elderly figure whose presence was far heavier, unmistakably at the peak of the two cosmos realm. For Emery, their cultivation levels were not the true problem. What concerned him was the consequence of turning yet another Nephilim clan into an enemy. He drew in a slow breath, forcing the turbulence in his chest; he chose restraint. "This is a personal matter," Emery said, his voice carrying clearly through the air. "Are you planning to involve yourselves?" The words were spoken with courtesy. The implication was not. Several Malachir magus bristled at the tone, annoyance flashing across their faces. The three Grand Magus, however, exchanged quick, silent glances. A lone cultivator who could force Caelthar into flight was no one to dismiss lightly—especially when another presence suddenly drifted into view beside him. A white humanoid golem, its body etched with golden runes, descended soundlessly through the air. Cosmic energy rolled off it in dense waves, its pressure rivaling that of a three-cosmos Grand Magus. The elderly Malachir expert’s eyes narrowed. "Be carefulll..." he murmured, quietly warning the woman beside him. Seeing the Malachir hesitation, Ishtar snapped. "This is ridiculous!" she shouted, "He’s a fucking intruder—attack him! Kill him!" The Malachir woman, clearly the ranking authority aboard, did not echo her panic. Instead, she stepped forward slightly, her tone measured as she addressed Emery. "We prefer not to interfere in matters we do not understand. However, we are guests within Astiel territory. We cannot ignore a plea for aid from our host." Emery clenched his jaw, restraining the surge of anger. When he spoke again, his voice was steady, controlled. "I am Emery of the Earth faction," he said. "A subsidiary of the Nephilim. My presence here is justified—I am searching for a kidnapped member of my faction." With that, he flicked his wrist. A medal flew through the air and landed neatly in the Malachir woman’s grasp. Her expression changed instantly. The emblem etched into its surface was unmistakable—the mark of the Amarhikks. Ishtar’s face drained of color. "Don’t believe him!" she screamed. "He’s lying!" She was right. The medal had been issued as temporary identification—permission to access the sanctum, nothing more. Using it here would almost certainly implicate Jinkan and anger the Amarhikks. But Emery felt no hesitation. The Amarhikks’ authority had dragged Klea into this problem in the first place, this was merely a balance. The effect was immediate. At the mention—and proof—of the Amarhikks, the Malachir forces stiffened. No secondary family, would casually clash with one of the top three Nephilim clans. For a heartbeat, the sky hung in uneasy stillness. Then Caelthar spoke. "Lady Trini," he said, "this man cannot be trusted. But I will not ask you to attack him." His eyes flicked briefly toward Emery. "Only to protect us... Our elder is already on the way." That was enough. The compromise landed. Lady Trini exhaled sharply, then raised her voice. "Activate the array!" The order fell like a guillotine. Runes ignited across the Malachir freighter’s hull, one after another, spreading into a vast formation that wrapped the ship in layers of luminous script. Cosmic energy surged, fed directly by the Grand Magus aboard, reinforcing the structure until the air itself vibrated under the pressure. "I won’t allow it." Emery moved. The Icarus Wings detonated behind him in a thunderous flare as he dove forward, Excalibur already drawn, its edge humming with the Dao of Heaven and Earth. —but the two Astiel ships behind him fired in unison. Pulse cannons roared, beams of compressed energy tearing through the sky toward his back. The white golem reacted instantly. Under VIA’s control, it pivoted midair and crashed headlong into the incoming barrage, its body flashing gold as it absorbed the impact. In the same instant, it surged forward, slamming into one of the Astiel ships with overwhelming force. Metal screamed. Emery did not slow. He twisted through the bombardment, Excalibur flashing as he carved straight through the second ship that blocked his advance. The vessel split apart, its surviving magus leaping desperately into the sky, the grand magus aboard fled toward the Malachir vessel just before the barrier flared into existence, sealed the vessel completely. A fortress-class defensive field. The golem’s fists and Emery’s sword strikes slammed into it, sending tremors through the hull—but the formation held. Emery gritted his teeth. Time was turning against him. He cannot linger. His hand slipped into his domain. A massive scroll unfurled across the sky, ancient ink bleeding into reality as a painted mountain range emerged in staggering detail. The artifact radiated terrifying pressure. [Seven Myriad Mountains] Above the Malachir vessel, space cracked. All felt it immediately—a crushing pressure descending from above, heavy enough to bend their knees and distort their breath. Trini’s expression changed for the first time. "What—" The sky darkened. From the painting, stone began to emerge—first fragments, then entire ridges, tearing free from the scroll’s surface as reality itself warped to accommodate them. A mountain formed above the freighter. Not an illusion. Not a projection. A real, condensed mass of earth and cosmic law, summoned from the artifact’s domain and dragged screaming into the physical world. It took several seconds to fully manifest. Several seconds of pure dread. Then it fell. The mountain descended like divine judgment, blotting out light, its shadow swallowing the Malachir ship as gravity roared into existence. The barrier flared blindingly bright. And the sky erupted.