Meanwhile, inside the Spirit Nest, Kate's and Mater's groups continued to watch the ongoing outburst. They hadn't forgotten their conflict, but it seemed insignificant before this power. However, there was one who didn't miss the opportunity that this presented. After carefully trying to activate the token once more, Mater found himself a few seconds away from being able to leave. He wasn't sure why the token now worked, but he didn't care as long as he could get out of this place.
Once the token was activated, just a thought was enough to make his escape, but the activated token created a disturbance in the flow of nature energy large enough to pull Kate's attention.
"No you don't!"
Kate grabbed Mater's arm just before he escaped, but instead of stopping the escape, she ended up being dragged along for the ride.
"Kate!"
"Stop them!"
Pon was the first to activate his token in pursuit of them, but Shui asked the rest of the group to hold back Mater's team. With Tark out of the way, they had the numerical advantage, so it was easy for them to suppress those left behind by Mater even though the suppression was beginning to weaken.
Around the time that Shui switched places with Cassandra and dealt a finishing blow to Luis, a certain spirit appeared above them.
"I believe I told all of you to leave. Do you humans know of nothing but killing each other?"
"I can understand why you would think that, but in our defense, we could only leave a couple of minutes ago."
"Well, unless you want to be buried together, you better escape immediately."
"Isn't that your attack? Is that not enough to suppress what's down there?"
Even without his help, Mater's group was doomed, so Shui focused on learning about the crisis they were in. He didn't want to get involved in a battle far above his level, but knowing more would definitely be beneficial.
"If it was enough, would I be this concerned? Its body is weak so it can't keep a solid shape while being burnt by my flame, but I don't have the power to kill it."
"You mean even with that, it's still not dead?"
"That's right. Once that attack is finished, it'll be back to normal in a few seconds."
As his powers were recovering thanks to the weakening suppression, Shui could make a good estimate of how powerful the column of fire was. Those flames possessed enough heat to turn even the beast lord into ash, yet according to the red spirit, it couldn't kill the creature that was sealed. It didn't sound like the creature was tough, instead; it seemed to possess some ridiculous vitality.
"Wow, good thing it's stuck in here."
"..."
"It is stuck here, right?"
"Just hurry and leave. I'll keep it company for the time being."
The red spirit didn't sound like she was going to lay down her life to stop it, but even if she did, that creature would eventually find its way to the continent that Shui and his friends were from. It would be one thing if it was a completely unrelated space, but as proven by the spirits' ability to transmit images from the Spirit Nest, there was a fairly stable path between them. Even if the Spirit Nest collapsed, that path wouldn't disappear anytime soon.
Shui had a hard time accepting that disaster was approaching his homeland and his allies were the same. They had defeated the rest of Mater's followers but held back from killing them as they listened to the conversation between Shui and the red spirit.
"I must warn the young lord!"
"Wait!"
Dean hurriedly activated his token and Mater's defeated followers took the chance to do the same and escaped the Spirit Nest. Those followers had little strength left, but they might cause trouble for Kate, so Luke and Cassandra also used their tokens to leave. Reinhart took out his token, but he looked at Shui before activating it. Once Shui gave him a nod, Reinhart returned the gesture and activated the token.
"You're the only one left. Let's meet again someday, Sh-, boy."
"You could have just used my name there. And I'm not planning on leaving just yet."
"Hah? What kind of illness has overtaken that mind of yours?"
"Before I leave, I need to ask you something and I want you to be honest."
"Why are you risking your life on a silly question? Just leave already!"
"Not unless you answer me first."
"Augh! Curse me for trying to be a good person! What is it!"
"Would this be effective against that creature?"
Before the red spirit's scrutinizing gaze, Shui revealed an ember of the void flame above his palm.
"That's-! It's incomplete, but..."
Somewhat proud that his spell could impress her, Shui was about to suggest a plan, but the domineering flame that had engulfed the palace ruins begun to weaken. Noticing this, the red spirit rapidly looked between Shui and the disappearing flame before coming to a decision.
"If you were having second thoughts, then too bad. You're gonna help me weaken that thing some more."
"That was my plan. I see you're speaking casually again."
"Who cares about that? Let's go."
Wrapping him in her mental control, the red spirit lifted Shui off the ground and brought him with her into the sky. This was the first time Shui had gotten an aerial view since entering the Spirit Nest, but this wasn't the time to enjoy it.
"Listen closely because we don't have any time for repeats. I need you to keep that thing's attention while I use your flame to create an array to trap it in."
"Huh?! Aren't the roles reversed?"
"What, do you think you can create an array that will be effective against that creature?"
"Ah, well..."
"Or do you think you can make your flame strong enough to match the power of using an array?"
"Okay, but are you sure you can handle my void flame?"
"You do realize what I am, right?"
Seeing as she was a literal spirit of fire, Shui understood he had asked a stupid question.
"Fair point. I'll do my best to keep its attention. Will the array be enough to kill it?"
"Probably not, but it should give us enough to leave and prepare for its invasion."
"I guess that's better than nothing."
Almost timed to match the end of their strategy session, the column of fire disappeared and a primal roar shook the Spirit Nest. The cracks in the ground continued to rise and widen until finally, something massive broke out of the earth. A slimy black creature stood on four legs and had the face of a bull, but even calling it a chimera didn't seem fitting. Tentacles replaced fur, five snakes replaced its tail, hands replaced its horns, and pointy bones lined its back. There seemed to be no logic behind its form, but its eyes shone brightly with one thing. Pure destructive intent.
"!!!!!!"
Its screech spread death to the environment, causing all plants to wither and all critters to decompose. The red spirit protected him, but Shui still felt fear at the thought of fighting this thing. However, he was even more afraid of letting it harm those he cared about. Shui reached for his chest and pulled out Sui before aiming its tip at the strange creature.
"Okay, I'm ready!"