My Talent's Name Is Generator Chapter 723: Reinforcement

The chaos of battle didn't ignite right away.

A short, delicate moment passed where everything just halted.

Saleos halted first.

He floated over the ruined second layer, with flames still flickering on his arms and shoulders, the fire laws buzzing naturally around him like they awaited his following order. His strike had launched already, his determination fully invested, yet his gaze shifted away from the foe.

His eyes fixed skyward.

Directly at me.

For the initial encounter since our meeting, Saleos overlooked concealing his expression. The leader's facade fractured slightly, revealing the reality hidden below. Astonishment hit initially, piercing and abrupt. Next came doubt, his gaze tightening as though the chaos of war had deceived him personally.

His breath altered then.

Deliberate. Labored.

Optimism emerged, unwelcome and risky.

It lasted barely a moment before strict training suppressed it. Saleos had endured far too much to chase illusions. He gripped his fist tightly once, steadying himself while the surrounding blaze calmed.

Yet the hesitation had propagated.

The demon forces sensed it afterward. Ragnar's assault decelerated as the leading Phantoms wavered. Monstrosities stumbled in their push forward, huge forms quaking like the force propelling them had faltered. Blades paused. Realms wavered. The warzone, mere seconds earlier a thundering machine of ruin, broke its cadence now that the Eternal's aura, present just before, had disappeared from the fray.

Countless stares turned.

Seasoned fighters who'd witnessed whole armies eradicated. Leaders who'd interred their superiors. Warriors trained to act on instinct, since reflection bred terror.

Their sights lifted high.

They traced the fading deathmist, the fractured void, the eerie stillness, until spotting me hanging over the second layer, with blood and wreckage floating lazily from my form.

Ragnar burst into laughter next.

This noise lacked restraint. Savage and primal, it sliced the quiet like a sword.

He smashed a Phantom during its rush, his enormous fist smashing right through its torso as though it consisted of vapor. The beast scarcely registered agony before Ragnar yanked his limb out, flinging the remains away like trash.

"That’s who my boss is!" he bellowed, silver aura bursting forth while his club crashed down, smashing yet another group of abominations. "Bring him more Eternals!"

The enchantment broke.

The demon forces responded.

Initially, surprise dominated. It morphed into a keener edge. Anguish rose, identities called into emptiness, recollections of leaders who vanished forever, kin vanished into the tear. Sorrow trailed right after, weighty and suffocating.

Fury seized control then.

A bellow ripped across the emptiness, more thunderous than previous assaults, infused with years of sorrow and loathing now channeled with purpose.

Saleos prevented it from escalating.

His tone chased Ragnar's, laced with command and balanced by restraint, resounding over the warzone without overwhelming it.

"Do not falter now," he ordered. "The rift is still open."

Those instructions landed true.

The conflict remained unresolved. Slaying one Eternal wouldn't seal the scar. Adversaries persisted, still flooding via the gap, still endangering all in their rear.

The forces advanced once more.

With greater force. With increased speed.

I chose not to linger for the subsequent clash.

The void twisted, and I disappeared.

I materialized nearer the second layer, floating sufficiently elevated to survey the extent of devastation. Vast portions of the framework lay splintered, luminous fissures extending like arteries across lifeless alloy and rock. Inferno tempests blazed at Saleos's impact sites. Monstrosities streamed from the central layer, directed by frantic Phantoms attempting to regain dominance.

Deathmist billowed all around.

Here, it hung denser than earlier, vital and ravenous, surging outward akin to a wave designed to submerge any opposition. It still bore down on my Essence, exploring, challenging.

I lifted my palm.

On this occasion, doubt didn't grip me.

The Star of Origin reacted at once.

As my Psynapse flared more intensely than before, I delved further, avoiding tugs on the deathmist or clashes with it, instead directing the area below. Existence warped, forming a consuming gateway beneath me, broad and firm, its borders stark and dark.

The deathmist responded like discovering a chasm.

It plunged below.

Starting with slender flows, escalating to furious cascades, full surges folding in as the gateway engulfed them entirely. Taint lifted from the layer, scoured pure and hauled into the Dawn Core to be consumed and channeled right to the Star of Origin.

Edifices creaked as tension lifted. Monstrosities reeled as their supporting mist dissipated. Demon troops underneath noticed immediately, the atmosphere purifying, their Essence circulating more fluidly, their actions gaining precision.

The Star quivered.

With anticipation.

I kept the gateway active, sustaining the draw until almost eighty percent of the deathmist vanished, sparing just erratic traces unable to cover the warzone. Upon sealing it, the ensuing hush differed.

I faced the central layer.

During my advance, an inner shift registered. The Star of Origin shed its inactive state. A subtle dark luster wove into its radiance, faint yet irrefutable, resembling a darkness mastering luminescence without devouring the brilliance. Awakening neared.

My pace didn't slacken.

Knight, Lyrate, Steve, North, and Primus had penetrated the foe's domain. Their route would determine events in the tower's domain.

My objective proved straightforward.

Should the Eternal assume the demise of a peer would instill wariness in me, it erred.

I propelled ahead, Essence swirling, purpose honed.

In my wake, the demon forces advanced onto the second layer led by Saleos, claiming territory unprecedented. Before me, the central layer awaited.

With my awareness extending over the central layer, I halted abruptly.

The sight caused my heart to clench.

Gateways.

Dozens upon dozens.

They dotted the entire central layer, hanging in the emptiness, fixed to frameworks, drifting amid armament stations and spires. Currently, they lay inactive. Vacant. No entities emerged through them as yet.

However, their positioning revealed all.

This marked the backup the Eternal referenced.

Not one force poised to enter, but a deluge barrier. Once these gateways stirred, foes would overwhelm the warzone swifter than Saleos might counter.

Doubt evaded me.

I enacted the prior maneuver from the second layer.

The void curved under me while I formed a fresh consuming draw, broader now, more profound. Deathmist surged without delay, charging it like heeding an irresistible summons. Dense surges of it folded in, wrenched from the central layer and pulled directly to my Dawn Core.

Now, clearing the warzone wasn't my sole aim.

A purpose drove me.

I concentrated internally, steering the current with intent, compelling the deathmist straight to the Star of Origin. Full awakening was my desire. Complete vitality. No inactivity. No partial slumber.

The Star shook more vigorously than prior.

Its luminescence intensified, dark strands extending over its inert exterior. An internal transformation registered, tension mounting, contained yet expanding.

As the mist cleared, the central layer sharpened into view, and I started targeting those gateways for annihilation.