Chapter 271 – War in the Hidden Layer

Chapter 271 – War in the Hidden Layer
The hidden chamber trembled violently.
Dust rained from the ceiling as the ancient circular gate continued to open behind the Sentinel. A deep roar echoed from the darkness beyond it, shaking the Ash conduits embedded in the walls.
Nyra felt the Core shard in her chest surge again.
The energy in the air had changed.
Everything felt unstable.
The crimson-armored woman stepped forward calmly, her Ash energy spreading across the floor like flowing fire.
“Well,” she said lightly, “this is the moment we’ve been waiting for.”
Raze tightened his grip on his blade.
“Funny,” he replied. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come.”
The silver-haired man beside her cracked his neck slowly.
“You should have stayed out of this layer,” he said.
Nyra didn’t respond.
Instead, she stepped forward, placing herself directly between them and the partially opened gate.
Her Ash ignited around her like a rising storm.
“You’re not opening that prison.”
The crimson woman studied her with quiet curiosity.
“You still think the Architects were right.”
Nyra’s voice remained steady.
“I think unleashing something you don’t understand is a terrible idea.”
The woman laughed softly.
“Oh, we understand it perfectly.”
Behind them, the Sentinel struggled against the crimson chains binding its limbs. The glowing symbols across its body pulsed violently as it fought to break free.
“Containment integrity falling,” it rumbled.
“Immediate system stabilization required.”
Lira stood near the wall, watching the scene unfold with growing fear.
“Nyra,” she whispered urgently, “the door is still opening.”
Nyra glanced back.
The Ash rings around the gate had rotated nearly halfway.
Through the widening gap, something massive shifted in the darkness.
A glowing shape moved behind the barrier.
Raze noticed it too.
“Yeah,” he muttered, “we’re running out of time.”
The crimson woman raised her hand.
“Then let’s not waste any more of it.”
Her Ash flared brighter.
Instantly, the silver-haired man moved.
He launched forward with explosive speed, his blade slicing through the air toward Nyra.
Raze intercepted him.
Steel and Ash collided with a thunderous crack.
The impact sent sparks of glowing energy flying across the chamber.
The silver-haired man grinned.
“Finally.”
Raze pushed back against the strike.
“You’re enjoying this a little too much.”
“Of course,” the man replied.
“I rarely meet opponents worth fighting.”
They clashed again, blades colliding in a rapid exchange of blows that echoed through the chamber.
Meanwhile, the crimson woman turned her attention back to Nyra.
“You and I,” she said quietly, “have more important business.”
Nyra’s Ash rose around her hands.
“You mean trying to steal my Core?”
The woman smiled.
“I prefer the word reclaim.”
Then she attacked.
Her movements were impossibly fast.
Crimson energy shot forward like spears, striking the ground around Nyra in rapid succession.
Nyra leapt sideways, forming a barrier of silver Ash to block the next wave.
The impact shook her arms.
She had fought powerful enemies before.
But this woman’s control over Ash was terrifyingly precise.
Every attack was calculated.
Every movement perfect.
“You’re holding back,” the woman observed.
Nyra narrowed her eyes.
“I’m studying you.”
The woman laughed.
“That won’t help.”
She raised both hands.
The Ash across the chamber floor suddenly surged upward, forming massive crimson pillars that slammed toward Nyra from all sides.
Nyra reacted instantly.
Her Core flared.
The Ash fragments scattered across the chamber lifted into the air once again, swirling around her like a defensive storm.
The pillars shattered against the spinning field of glowing shards.
For a moment, the two energies collided in a blinding flash.
The crimson woman stepped back slightly.
“Interesting,” she murmured.
Behind them, the Sentinel roared as cracks began forming in the chains binding its body.
“Containment unit breaking restraints,” it announced.
The hooded Core bearer standing behind the crimson woman looked toward the gate.
“The entity is responding to the conflict.”
The rumbling behind the door grew louder.
Something enormous shifted inside the chamber beyond.
A massive clawed shape briefly pressed against the opening.
Lira gasped.
“That thing is huge!”
Raze barely dodged a strike from the silver-haired man.
“Please tell me it stays inside that room.”
Nyra focused her attention back on the crimson woman.
“You’re risking everything for that thing.”
The woman’s expression darkened slightly.
“You still don’t understand.”
Her Ash surged again, stronger this time.
“That creature is not our enemy.”
Nyra frowned.
“Then what is it?”
The woman’s eyes burned brighter.
“It’s the source.”
Nyra froze.
“Source… of what?”
But the woman didn’t answer.
Instead, she lunged forward again, faster than before.
Nyra barely raised her Ash barrier in time.
The impact sent both of them sliding backward across the chamber floor.
Behind them, the Sentinel finally shattered the last of its restraints.
The crimson chains exploded into fragments.
The giant guardian rose to its full height again.
“Containment breach critical,” it roared.
The gate behind it opened further with a deafening crack.
Dark Ash energy poured into the chamber like smoke from a volcano.
The massive creature inside pushed closer to the opening.
Nyra stared at the growing gap in the door.
The prison was seconds from failing.
And the real battle had only just begun.