No words of exchange were needed. Just this instant of eye contact, and Klein understood that Colin Iliad had arrived at the same thought. Without hesitation, he reversed the black staff, set with various gemstones, pointing it directly at himself. The very next second, Klein’s body began to fade—like a sketch being erased by an eraser—diminishing inch by inch until he vanished entirely. This was the power of "Seclusion," drawn from the head monk of the Night Church, Arianna. The "Seclusion" power manifested through the "Star Staff" was certainly weaker than its original form, and the opposing spirit held a high rank, so Klein chose not to attempt it against the "Dark Angel" Salsir. Instead, he directed it toward himself. As Klein disappeared into seclusion, Colin Iliad, holding two Dawn Straight Swords, was absorbed into the gentle radiance that illuminated the Shadow Palace. Around the "Shadow Angel" Sasriel, clad in a silver-threaded black robe, a series of silver-edged sharp flashes ignited, slicing toward the evil spirit from various angles and sides, nearly forming a spiraling vortex rising upward. Throughout this, Colin Iliad, having grown into a giant, remained completely invisible and effectively concealed his intentions, leaving the enemy unable to anticipate the direction of his next attack. — In the "hidden" state, the reality he perceived was veiled in a dense, gloomy mist, allowing him only a general sense of his location and the nature of surrounding objects. He could not exert any influence over the external world; otherwise, maintaining this state while subtly manipulating Sasliel's "spiritual threads" would have been nearly impossible. After swiftly approaching the iron-black throne, Caine ended his sustained "hidden" state, making his presence instantly visible on the right side of the target. Then, he directed his "Star Staff" at the ancient gray-white stone slab. Without pausing to examine its inscriptions, Caine quickly visualized in his mind a remarkable ability he was deeply familiar with. Crash! Waves of silver-white lightning surged forth, radiating a powerful sense of destruction, and struck the first "profaned slab" in dense, relentless waves. This was the "Lightning Storm" from the "Sea God's Staff!" Crash! Amidst the silvery glow illuminating the surrounding area, a series of ethereal, nearly intangible, and indescribably colored luminous streams emerged between the first "Tabernacle of Desecration" and Sathelir, the Dark Angel—successively evaporating and fracturing under the violent tearing of thunderous lightning. Pure beams of light then surged forth from Sathelir's body, banishing every trace of darkness from the shadowed palace and rendering no part of it concealed. "The Domain of No Darkness." Immediately, the two eyes of "The Dark Angel" Sathilir took on a bronze hue, within each eye a shimmering, ethereal river flowed, encircling the space between the first "Board of Desecration" and his own form. The river's flow reversed—from downstream to upstream—and the evaporated, fragmented strands of ethereal "light" reappeared, reconnecting seamlessly. The damage painstakingly crafted by Caine swiftly restored itself. The cycle of fate, the renewal of all things! Sathilir raised his left hand, forming a deep black staff, and with eyes of bronze, surveyed the half-gods present. His voice, though low, conveyed a sense of grandeur: "I am the 'All-Knowing,' and the 'All-Powerful.'" As the sound echoed, neither Caine nor Colin Iliard wavered, nor did they "flash" or move swiftly to evade the dreadful spirit's lock, attempting instead to launch a fresh wave of attack. Yet Caine dared not forcibly draw the "Dark Angel" deeper into his dream, for another encounter with the atmosphere and power of the "Chaos Sea" might very well send him into immediate collapse. Meanwhile, Deryck had enveloped his body in a radiant, pure divine armor forged from luminous light. At that moment, fierce black flames ignited within Sasriel's bronze-colored eyes. His voice grew eerie, imbued with a strong sense of "falling": "Thou who defilest the divine, die!" Caine's body, mind, and spirit suddenly sank, as though he were rapidly dying. His consciousness blurred, his vitality evaporated, and his flesh withered, inch by inch. Colin Iliad was slightly better, yet felt his body growing heavy, as life slipped away uncontrollably, the inherent madness of his incomplete mythic being intensifying. In Deryck, the one farthest from the "Dark Angel" Salsir, brilliant rays of sunlight burst forth, helping him swiftly shake off his daze and open his mouth to declare: "The god says—invalid!" The sensation of death momentarily dissipated, allowing Kline and Colin Iliad to regain some composure. Thump-thump-thump! The towering Colin Iliad charged furiously toward the "Dark Angel" Salsir, constantly shifting his position to evade an unyielding stream of dark, sharp glimmers. In the span of a single blink, he reached his target. The "Dark Angel" Salsir immediately directed his black staff forward, drawing a shadow from Colin Iliat's body within the "Domain of No Darkness," and bringing that shadow to life, engulfing it upward along the silver city chief's legs. A distant chime resonated, echoing as though it had pierced through history. The ethereal image of the ancient, weathered stone wall clock reappeared before Kline, causing a brief pause. Seizing this moment of stillness, Kline used his "Star Staff" to re-create the "Gun of No Darkness," launching it toward Colin Iliat's shadow. A brilliant, radiant light erupted instantly, dispelling the shadow like the sun. Colin Iliat's face, hidden beneath his faceplate, twisted momentarily, yet he showed no hesitation—suddenly leaping upward to stand above Salsir, and then delivering two powerful morning-sun blades downward. Clang! Sasriel seemed to intuit Colin Iliad's intention, raising his dark staff to block the leap attack. Suddenly, Colin Iliad's body dissolved. He transformed into a thick, heavy "mercury," flowing downward in a wave, instantly submerging the "Dark Angel" Sasriel, as if the latter were clad in a seamless, silver exoskeleton with no visible seams—pressing down on the armor as though trying to suffocate the wearer. Sasriel's movements were immediately constrained. Cayne seized the opportunity, his form suddenly becoming translucent, floating beside the iron-black throne. "Teleportation!" Then, he lifted his "Star Staff" and mentally manifested a remarkable ability within his mind. It was one of the core abilities of the "Thief" Path: "Stealing." As Cayne had anticipated, this instance of "Stealing" proceeded smoothly—so seamlessly, it felt as though the current Sequence 2's Parvaz Soloyasht had personally executed it. One after another, the "light" connecting the "Dark Angel" to the first "Board of Desecration" detached from Sasliel and flowed toward Caine! At this moment, Caine's thoughts nearly exploded, and once again, before him unfolded a vast, ethereal ocean—its colors and forms indescribable, seemingly holding within it all the secrets of existence. As he nearly lost control under the overwhelming presence and power of the "Chaos Sea," the portions of his being eroded by the "True Maker" suddenly stirred. They seemed strongly drawn to one another, rapidly coalescing, and began to take over those nearly intangible, phantom streams of light, halting Caine just at the edge of the cliff. Indeed... Caine sighed, striving to steady his shaken spirit, momentarily unable to move. Thud! Thud! Thud! The silvery "armor" covering Sasliel's body began to crack, one dark fissure after another. The light emanating from the "Spirit-Body Blade" pierced through, rending the mercury into fragments and hurling them far away. With a soft thud, the scattered mercury landed upon the ground and reformed into Colin Iliad. Numerous large holes now marred the silver city's chief, each filled with solidified black, fallen, and ethereal essences. At this moment, Sasriel's form, adorned with layered veils of dark, translucent wings, grew dimmer, his eyes once again taking on the hue of bronze, with faint, shimmering streams of ethereal rivers subtly outlining them. As Colin Iliad witnessed this scene, an instinctive memory of what had transpired earlier surged to mind. Almost instantly, guided by intuition, he surged forward with unwavering resolve and steadfast determination. Transparent flames erupted from his body, radiating a bright dawn light. These radiances came from his soul, from his flesh, from his extraordinary nature, merging with the two straight swords he wielded, forming a surging, furious, and powerful storm that swept forth. At that moment, Colin Iliath's "eyes" were filled entirely with the dawn light he had created and the towering figure clad in magnificent black robes, bearing ethereal black wings. He carried the light toward the light, "racing" toward Sasriel. The terrifying "Storm of Light" immediately engulfed the "Dark Angel," tearing at his body, disrupting the extraordinary abilities he had been about to unleash, and causing this malevolent spirit—now weakened, its power diminished, and its dignity clearly lowered—to rapidly fade within one fragment of light after another. When the light finally receded, numerous holes appeared on Sasriel's surface, and though his layered wings unfolded behind him, no strength was drawn upon to sustain him. Colin Iliad instantly solidified into a viscous "mercury," once again enveloping half of the evil spirit and firmly restricting its movements. Then, as he had done when facing Loviea, the chief of Silver City turned to Deric Berg and shouted firmly, "Attack!"