The evacuation of the Battered Coast was only successful due to silent logistics.

  Under Grand Marshall Thyra’s direct supervision, ten thousand soldiers vanished into the earth. They utilized the "Deep Vein," a series of subterranean tunnels carved by Earth-attribute cultivators early on as the fortress was set up here. It was meant as a route for retreat if things got dire. It was lined with stealth and hidden arrays to hide it from enemy discovery.

  Whole battalions slipped into the darkness like ghosts. The heavy siege weapons that were not visible were dismantled and stored away in storage rings to be taken away. Those that were visible were kept there to keep up appearances. The wounded were floated on artifacts through the tunnels.

  Within three hours the fortress was a shell of what it once was. But on the surface, it looked alive.

  The forty Crimson Valkyries stood at key points on the ramparts with their red armor gleaming in the sickly purple light of the Rift. They rotated positions, lit signal fires and patrolled with exaggerated visibility. To observers the fortress was fully manned and ready for war.

  In the center of the empty parade ground Li Yu stood with Signe. The wind howled around them.

  "They are clear," Signe said as she was lowering a communication stone. "Everyone has made it through besides us. We are alone."

  "Good," Li Yu nodded. He looked up at the Rift. "This is your last chance, Signe. The tunnel is still accessible. I don’t know what will happen once I start my attack."

  Signe adjusted her grip on her massive flame-wreathed spear. She looked at him with her eyes burning with stubborn resolve.

  "I told you, Li Yu" she said firmly. "I am the wall. The wall does not move. Ask me again and I might attack you and take on the Gate Keeper up there myself."

  Li Yu sighed but then chuckled. All he could do was shake his head. It was stubborn but he had to admit, the honor and dedication were admirable.

  "Focus, Marshall," Li Yu said. "If this goes wrong, the backlash could level this mountain range. If I signal for a retreat, you do not argue. You grab your sisters and you dive into that tunnel or just get away from here as fast as possible. Understood?"

  Signe’s expression sobered. She saluted, fist to heart. "Understood. We will hold the perimeter. Nothing comes out of that rift without going through us. Focus on your own battle. Leave the rest to us."

  Li Yu stepped away from her. He looked up at the sky once again.

  'Vespera,' Li Yu projected his thought inward. 'Do you think he'd listen to you? If you emerged and asked for a favor?'

  Vespera was lounging on the balcony of her black marble villa. She scoffed back at him.

  'Unlikely. The Gatekeeper is a High Demon of the Spatial Lineage. They answer only to the Demon Lord orchestrating this invasion. Even a Queen like me is just troops to them. Besides...'

  She tapped her temple.

  'My memories regarding the hierarchy are sealed. I can tell you what he is but I cannot command him. I don’t know anything else besides that.'

  Li Yu nodded. It was expected. He had encountered such seals before. It made sense to protect secrets for war and anything else.

  ‘Time to begin. I hope everything goes alright this time.’ Li Yu thought. Memories of the earlier mistake were still fresh in his mind. 30 people had died due to that mistake. It was preventable with extra care and it reminded him of why he liked to do these kinds of things alone.

  It was easier to control a situation when it was just himself. If bad things or unexpected things happened, he could try and escape like he did with the hand. If Krell or Tekton had been with him, it was almost certain that they would have died. They wouldn’t have lasted in the 3rd layer of the void as long as he did and he barely lasted long enough to survive.

  Li Yu shook his head. Driving those thoughts to the back of his head. He would just simply have to do his best and try to react accordingly to what happened next. He stepped forward and entered the first layer of the void.

  Li Yu moved closer to the rift and didn’t see anyone there. But then he noticed something. It was faint but there were fluctuations around where the front of the rift was. If he wasn’t looking for it, he wouldn’t have noticed it at all. Something was hiding there. Still within the first layer of the void but hiding using either a technique or perhaps some arrays.

  Li Yu probed deeper and that was when he found it. The Gate Keeper demon that Vespera had mentioned. It was large.

  The Gatekeeper was easily twice the size of Vorgnir. A hulking construct of chitin and muscle that seemed carved from a black material. He had four thick, armored legs that anchored him to the fabric of space itself.

  His upper body was humanoid but broad as a castle gate. It was covered in plates of natural armor that shifted and groaned like tectonic plates. He had six arms that didn’t lose to his legs.

  He didn't have a face. He had a smooth, blank visor of black crystal where a face should be.

  He was symbolically holding the Rift open with four massive arms. He wasn’t touching it but four of his massive arms were spread open, looking like he was holding it open. Perhaps some kind of technique. The demon was at least the 1st stage of Divine Transformation.

  The Gatekeeper sensed the intrusion instantly. The blank visor turned toward Li Yu.

  "A rat," a voice boomed. It didn't come from a mouth; it vibrated through the grey mist itself. "A human rat in the silent place."

  Li Yu didn't say anything back. He summoned his Star Crusher staff.

  "Die! Puny human!" the Gatekeeper stated simply. One of the massive arms lashed out.

  It moved with terrifying speed for something so large. The fist punched through the mist and was compressing the space ahead of it into a solid wall of force.

  Li Yu was surprised by the strength and speed of the attack. He was going to attack but realized that he needed to defend instead. Li Yu raised his staff to block.

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  Bang.

  The impact was heavy.

  Li Yu felt the vibration travel through his arms and rattle his teeth. The force didn't just push him back; it shook the entire void they were in. He was blasted backward through the grey mist that was hiding the demon and sent flying.

  He was able to stabilize himself far away.

  'Strong. He’s so strong.' Li Yu was taken back. 'Physical strength that is reinforced by a really strong body.'

  "Weak," the Gatekeeper rumbled. He charged towards Li Yu. Once again he showed that his size did not affect his speed one bit.

  It was like watching a mountain sprint. The four legs churned the mist and was propelling the massive demon forward with the momentum of a landslide.

  Li Yu didn't try to block again. That first blow was all he needed to understand that this demon was stronger than he was. He utilized tranquil water steps, flickering around the massive limbs in fluid and smooth motions. His body bending and twisting just enough to get pass the demon’s attacks. Li Yu then struck with his staff to test the defenses.

  Star Crusher hit the obsidian armor and was leaving small cracks but the demon barely flinched. This was a strike that carried Li Yu’s strength and understanding of laws. Yet, the damage done was so small. The Gatekeeper swatted back at him. Each blow created shockwaves that would have leveled their surroundings if there were any.

  Li Yu realized quickly that he was losing the physical engagement. His body, tempered as it was, couldn't match the raw mass of this demon. Even when imbued with the power of destructive and void laws, the attack did very little. It was clear that this demon also had some understanding of laws and its body was reinforced by them. Which laws exactly, Li Yu couldn’t tell.

  The Gatekeeper slammed two fists together and created a crushing gravity well that pulled Li Yu toward the center. The force was so massive that Li Yu found himself struggling to resist it.

  Li Yu gritted his teeth. He needed a distraction to help him in this fight. He summoned his Sentry. Li Yu’s Qi flared.

  A duplicate Li Yu materialized next to the demon. The Sentry moved instantly.

  It unleashed a torrent of ice bindings. Massive chains of ice erupted from its hands and wrapped around the Gatekeeper's legs. The ice crackled, freezing the area and slowing the demon’s movements just a bit.

  "A trick?" the Gatekeeper scoffed. He flexed and shattered the ice chains instantly. But the Sentry was relentless. It floated backward as more ice chains were coming out. Then its hands were weaving in additional techniques. Void Javelins.

  They didn't just impact; they corroded. The javelins struck the obsidian armor and began sizzling as the void energy ate into the demon’s defenses. Most of the time these javelins would have created holes going directly through Li Yu’s enemies. However, for this demon it only had such an effect.

  The Gatekeeper roared in annoyance and began swatting at the clone. The Sentry dodged with fluid grace, drawing the demon’s attention.

  With the Gatekeeper bogged down by the Sentry, Li Yu seized the opening to free himself. The gravity well weakened without the Gatekeeper channeling it. Li Yu blurred far away and then activated his technique.

  He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second. Soul Domain: The Abyssal Ocean. In the grey mist of the void, a phantom ocean crashed down. The Koi Soul’s phantom also came out and was swimming within this ocean.

  It wasn't water though. It was the crushing spiritual pressure of Li Yu's soul domain. Something he had been working on and had already used during the previous fight with the ‘Ghost’ creatures. He had finally given it a name that he thought was fitting. His enemies would feel suffocated, slowed and crushed by it.

  The Gatekeeper froze nearly instantly. His movements became sluggish. The gravity well he had created collapsed under the superior pressure of Li Yu’s soul.

  "What is this?" the Gatekeeper’s voice vibrated with unease. "This pressure... it is not human. Why do you have such a thing?!"

  The demon weakened and slowed under the domain. Li Yu wasn’t finished just yet.

  ‘Death’s Roar!’

  The Koi Soul opened its massive mouth and unleashed a terrifying and massive soul attack towards the weakened demon. Its soul began to crack and tear under the dual assault. The demon started to weaken even further.

  The Gatekeepers control over its body was reduced massively. The techniques and laws it was channeling within his body all but shattered as its soul lost control. Using everything it could just to defend itself.

  Li Yu rushed toward the demon’s head. This was his chance. He had lost to the demon in terms of physical strength. His usage of laws was also not giving him enough of an edge either. So he had to leverage his advantage in the soul.

  He gripped his staff with both hands. His Qi surged once again and was flowing into the weapon until it hummed with a terrifying resonance. He commanded the laws to imbue his weapon even further. Destruction, Void and Lightning.

  Martial Technique: Drunken Monkey Destroying the World.

  First Form: The Mountain Collapse.

  Li Yu swung the staff vertically at the demon’s head.

  CRACK.

  The staff struck the black visor of the Gatekeeper. The faceplate shattered. The force of the blow drove the demon’s head down and buckled its neck.

  The Gatekeeper screamed loudly. It was the sound of tearing metal. He tried to shift, to phase back to the material world.

  Li Yu sneered. He reached out with his left hand. Technique: Void Lock.

  He solidified the space around the demon. He cut off the path to escape.

  "Blocked?" The Gatekeeper gasped. It had confidence in its abilities over the void. Thinking it could move as it pleased.

  Li Yu landed right in front of the demon. He didn't give it time to recover as he too was burning up a lot of Qi to unleash all of his powerful attacks.

  Second Form: The Sweeping Tsunami.

  He spun the staff horizontally. The strike targeted the natural armor protecting the demon’s chest.

  CRUNCH.

  The chest plates exploded inward. Li Yu dropped the staff and plunged his hand into the shattered chest cavity instantly.

  He felt the core. It was a dense and throbbing sphere of spatial energy. Without any mercy he ripped it out.

  A geyser of silver blood erupted from the wound and covered Li Yu. The massive body of the Gatekeeper went rigid and then slumped completely.

  As the core left the body, a thread shot out from Li Yu’s chest. The Fisherman’s Hook. It bypassed the flesh and snagged the translucent shape of the Gatekeeper’s soul.

  The soul was dragged out of the corpse and absorbed instantly into Li Yu’s chest. The corpse of the Gatekeeper began to dissolve into grey mist and was returning to the void from which it came.

  Li Yu hovered there, panting, holding the spatial core in his hand. It was done. He quickly took a Qi restoring pill to stabilize himself.

  He looked over at the Rift.

  Without the Gatekeeper holding it open the tear should collapse. The wound in the sky should heal naturally as the others did.

  He waited.

  Five seconds passed. Ten seconds.

  The Rift pulsed.

  It didn't shrink. It didn't waver, even a little.

  It stayed open. Li Yu frowned.

  'Vespera?'

  'Master...' Vespera’s voice sounded confused in his mind. 'It... it should be closing. The Gatekeeper is dead. I am not sure what is going on.'

  Li Yu flew closer to the tear. He extended his spiritual sense and was scanning the edges of the Rift.

  The only conclusion he could come up with is that, the energy keeping it open wasn't coming from this side anymore.

  It was coming from the other side and that was somehow enough now.

  The Rift wasn't being propped open by a doorstop. It was being held open by a bridge. A massive, structural connection had been established from the Demonic Realm itself.

  'He wasn't the source holding it open,' Li Yu realized. 'He was just the maintenance crew.'

  The Rift had already stabilized. Whatever it was on the other side, keeping it open was not something they he could influence over here. He didn’t know how to close it from this side and going through the rift from this side was impossible.

  Li Yu gripped his staff.

  "We have a problem."