Crack.
With the sound of shattering carapace, the tachi was pulled from the last monster's corpse. Mei flicked her wrist, and dark green blood ran down the blade, splashing onto the ground.
"Another monster I've never seen before. Just how many of these things are in the Elysian Realm?"
Admittedly, the boost from the Signets was significant. Breaking through the 8th floor using only her own strength had completely drained Mei's energy, but with the help of four Signets, she had now pushed through to the 12th floor.
Starting from the 9th floor, the enemies she faced had shifted from basic undead and Honkai Beasts to all sorts of bizarre creatures. Some still vaguely resembled Honkai Beasts, while many others were completely unfamiliar entities.
"Unfortunately, even I don't know exactly how many types there are," Elysia's voice replied. "Existence in the Elysian Realm is formed from cognition, and different cognitions breed different monsters. So, as more people undergo the trials, the variety of monsters continues to increase. Mei, you might not have sensed it, but some of the monsters you encountered during your trials were actually generated based on your own cognition."
Hearing this, Mei suddenly remembered encountering a Husk - Nihilius in the previous battle. She recalled facing it in Nagazora City; there should have been no reason for it to appear in the Elysian Realm.
Furthermore, her own Kurikara and Pardofelis's silver coins seemed to manifest alongside their strong intentions.
Is this place really just a data space?
She couldn't help but ponder this question again. But soon, her attention returned to the three newly appeared portals.
Unlike the previous trials that simply increased monster stats, these new portals looked entirely different and emitted an unsettling, strange aura. It felt less like stepping towards the next floor and more like walking into the maw of some beast lurking in the abyss.
"What's behind these doors?" She didn't enter rashly, instead carefully sensing the differences between the three.
"They lead to areas related to the Flame-Chasers. The training ground was originally designed with only twelve floors, so in a way, Mei, you've already cleared it. But if you wish to explore further, you must step into more dangerous regions, and these regions are the independent spaces where the Flame-Chasers reside."
"Like the Golden Courtyard?"
"Oh Mei, do you really think Eden and I are that dangerous?" Elysia's tone feigned hurt, as if she'd been cast aside, seemingly to express her discontent. But Mei was long accustomed to her coquettish ways and felt no inner change.
"I was just making an analogy."
With a casual reply, Mei extended a finger and gently probed one of the portals. The next second, a sharp, burning pain shot through her finger, as if the other side held not air, but highly corrosive acid.
Yet, when she looked at her finger, there wasn't the slightest trace of injury.
"Are you sure it's just Flame-Chasers behind these doors?"
"Perhaps there are other things too. You know, even I can't just barge into their domains without an invitation."
Mei remained skeptical. Pardofelis had mentioned Mobius's lab was also dangerous, yet Elysia hadn't shown any hesitation when taking her there for treatment earlier.
Elysia definitely knew what lay behind the doors, but just like with the Twin Jades, she certainly wouldn't tell Mei.
In that case, she could only explore it herself.
Mei understood. She stepped directly into the portal that felt relatively less dangerous.
Passing through, she wasn't met with the expected ambush. Instead, she entered a peculiar building.
Thick metal walls, dense clusters of circuit conduits, and storage areas resembling prison cells.
"A military base? Or maybe a prison?"
As she pondered, rumbling sounds echoed through the corridor. She had just drawn her blade when large numbers of mechanical suits surged towards her.
「Intruder, eliminate!」
A red light flashed on a tall mech, unleashing a violent torrent of gunfire that swept towards her. Instantly, the already narrow corridor was choked with bullets and armored bodies.
Mei's eyes sharpened. Lightning erupted, carving a path through the mechanical tide. But the next second, the gap was filled by even more mechs.
These were different from the monsters. If the monsters were a wave, these mechs were a tsunami. As long as their energy cores remained intact, they would attack relentlessly.
Soon, Mei was caught in a grueling battle. No matter how many she destroyed, several times more took their place.
"Is this the difficulty beyond the twelfth floor?" she panted, looking ahead. The number of mechs seemed endless. Worse still, inside this structure, she couldn't summon Kurikara and had to rely solely on her own strength.
In this situation, the assistance from her four Signets felt extremely limited. To press forward, she needed to find more.
"Elysia, get me out of here," Mei requested. Having tested her limits, she knew there was no point fighting these mechs to the death; leaving first was the better option.
But she waited for over ten seconds, and still, no response came.
Her heart sank, and Mei's expression instantly turned grim.
If the previous incident was an accident, what's the reason this time?
No one answered, only the endless tide of mechs surged forward, threatening to drown her in a torrent of steel.
Do I have to rely on this thing again?
Her gaze fell on the Obsidian Concord Signet on her arm. With its damage immunity effect, Mei could indeed escape danger temporarily. But it was her trump card, her last resort for survival. Revealing it too early meant inviting more danger.
But did she even have a choice now?
Just as Mei hesitated, a bright flash appeared before her eyes. The light pierced through the mech tide, resolving into a razor-thin line. Wherever the line passed, the mechs seemed to dislocate, neatly splitting into two perfect halves.
「Setsuna!」
Amidst the roar of machine guns, she faintly heard a woman's soft utterance.
In that instant, the space before her distorted. The mechs sliced by the line erupted in explosions, only to be instantly frozen solid by frost in the blink of an eye.
Only then did she realize the line wasn't a thread, but an optical illusion created by space itself being slashed open.
"Such a fast blade..."
Mei looked on, stunned, subconsciously holding her breath.
In a flash, the mech tide that had been surging like a tsunami turned into ice sculptures, which then shattered like pure white flowers, vanishing into nothingness. The long corridor suddenly felt incredibly empty.
Coming back to her senses, Mei's gaze inevitably shifted to the end of the corridor, landing on the pink-haired woman currently sheathing her katana.
"Apologies for startling you, Raiden Mei."
"And you are?"
"The eighth of the Flame-Chasers, Sakura of [Setsuna]."