Jack adjusted the magnification. Locking onto the figures moving too fast for the normal eyes to track. But, his eyes were nothing but normal.
His Racer Jack could move with equal speed. Tracking the battle was not a hard thing to do for him. Joining in was another different matter though.
The factions were already tearing each other apart in the battle.
Two figures dominated one section of the air. They could be easily identified by their unnaturally pristine, yet deeply corrupted, aura. These were the Fallen Acolytes from the Purity Cult.
One of the Acolytes unleashed a torrential beam. It looked like a beam of pure white light. Visually. But the energy signature felt sickeningly wrong. Like bleached rot. The beam liquefied a section of bedrock where a hulking Eldritch Knight from the Royal Faction, had stood moments before.
Jack quickly identified him as General Primefeller from the Royal Faction. The general countered instantly. His massive, rune-etched Eldritch Axe blurred as he shifted positions. Cleaving the air and sending an energy slash. Driving the Acolyte back.
Elsewhere... the Night Salvation Organization was relying on their sheer, chaotic versatility. Three Primal Sorcerers, identifiable from the symbol of a star and twin crescent moons on their medallion, worked in concert.
A billowing cloud of searing, primal flame, came out of one Night Salvation Sorcerer. It erupted. Forcing her opponent, a powerful Primal Sorcerer specialized in earth manipulation to raise earth wall to block.
Jack immediately identified the earth-based sorcerer. It was Elder Keystone from the Royal Faction.
Keystone roared. Raising a colossal wall of jagged, reinforced rock. One that temporarily shielded his allies from the worst of the heat. As well as attack his opponent in return.
Before the earth wall could fully solidify, it was attacked by two other threats. Coiling, living shadows began to claw and chip away at the stone. Seeking fissures. It was the domain of the second Night Salvation Sorcerer.
Interspersed with the shadows was a thick, luminous green miasma. The toxic power of the third Night Salvation Sorcerer. Seeping into the cracks. And dissolving the rock structure from within.
Flying above the melee, a terrifying figure had transformed completely. An Eldritch Warlock of Night Salvation had summoned a winged hell-wolf that fused with him. Now, he was a grotesque winged werewolf.
He screeched a challenge. His razor talons ripped into the air. Creating sonic booms as he dive-bombed the Royal Faction contingent. But a blast of energy blocked him.
Targeting the Warlock was a focused, relentless stream of brilliant light blue energy. This fierce, judgmental power belonged to a priest Jack quickly identified as Arch Inquisitor Oakstake. The divine acolyte dispatched by the Trinity Church Inquisition.
Oakstake's blasts were surgically accurate. Blasting and forcing the Warlock to maneuver violently to nullify the blast impact.
Providing cover for the Inquisitor was Cardinal Paddy from the Church of Prosperity. He was surrounded by a benevolent aura of golden light. Which flared brightly every time a major attack came close an allied combatant. Immediately raising protective barriers. Or knitting minor wounds suffered by his comrades.
The Mystic Researcher Association, the one behind Lonestone Academy, also had skin in the game. Focusing their efforts on the Night Salvation's chaotic assault.
A figure on the ground was Grand Scholar Oarwinter. A formidable Mystic Scholar. He was rapidly scrawling complex patterns in the air. Using his grimoire as both a shield and a source of power.
He unleashed swirling glyphs that disrupted the Primal Sorcerers' focus. Causing the shadows and miasma to briefly dissipate.
Above him, providing air superiority, was Archwitch Elfeather. Ancient looking old woman. Yet an extremely formidable Eldritch Witch. She rode a massive, demonic heron she had summoned. A nightmare creature with bone-white plumes.
The heron shrieked. And thick lightning, unnaturally blue-veined with purple hue, arced down from the sky. Striking the Night Salvation Transcenders and the two Purity Cult Acolytes indiscriminately. Forcing them to break formation.
The Royal Faction was anchoring the defensive line. Trying to maintain a semblance of control in the growing chaos.
Countess Ashworth, the third Mystic Scholar Jack could identify, stood beside General Primefeller. Her power radiated from the enormous, bound grimoires she held. It was almost double the size of the grimoire she was holding during the Highcliff case.
She was a master of defensive and control spells. She constantly weaved shields of shimmering force. Ones that deflected the worst of the Purity Cult's corrupted light and the Night Salvation's primal fire. And she also summoned thick tentacles to attack them.
"Damn!" Jack muttered. Lowering the binoculars just for a moment to rub his eyes. "These Illuminated Transcendent Beings were way out of our league."
Reina was still watching the distant fight with her steamrune binoculars. "The key was already activated, Dear. The back gate was about to open. None of the non-illuminated transcendent people survived though."
Jack raised the binoculars again. Checking the surrounding in more detailed observation. Reina was right. The portal was about to open. and there were plenty dead bodies. Mostly in Purity Cult's white robes. And Night Salvation's black robes.
He tracked the movements of the combatants. The sheer efficiency of the destruction was terrifying. Entire geological features were being erased.
Where once there was a small ridge line, there was now only a smoking, glassed-over crater. The clash between Arch Inquisitor Oakstake's cleansing blue light and the chaotic primal power of the Night Salvation Sorcerer created explosions that deafened the air. Even from this distance.
Rune floated up. Circling Jack's head. And pulsed a quick succession of crimson and red lights. Caution. Extreme Danger Ahead.
"I know, Rune." Jack replied. "I'm not jumping into that mess. Not even Judge Jack would last five minutes against the clash of those Illuminated Beings."
He lowered the steamrune device and folded it carefully.
"So, what's the plan?" Reina asked. Her voice was steady.
Jack grinned. A sharp, humorless split of his face. "The plan, Love, is to be invisible, silent, and fast." Jack stated. The distant roar of energy clash was a constant reminder of their place in the hierarchy.
Reina watched him. Her expression was calm. Though her fingers briefly traced the hilt of her mystic dagger. "We can't fight them. That is evident. So, we sneak, don't we?"
"Exactly. But we don't sneak. I sneak."
Jack elaborated. Pointing toward the shimmering, chaotic distortion that was the half-opened portal. The back gate of the Valley of Despair.
"You, Rune, and the bike are going into the Mirror Space." Jack said as he pulled a foldable mirror from his Spatial Backpack. "This fight is too volatile. One stray blast, and even our Enhanced Transcendent biology will turn into vapor. The Mirror Space is absolutely safe. Nothing from this dimension can touch you there."
"As for me..." Jack continued. "In my human form, I definitely wouldn't dare to sneak there. But I could do it in my spectral form. I would just phased underground if necessary."
Reina nodded. She didn't argue about the necessity of being sidelined. It was the most suitable plan after all.
"And for retrieval?" Reina asked. "Your Mirror ability needs a reflective surface to be used, doesn't it? And you can't carry the mirror when you're in spectral form."
Jack grinned. Confirming her practical observation. "Astute as always, Dear. I'll go in as Jack Mystery. Invisible, non-corporeal, untouchable... mostly. Once I'm inside the Valley, I'll find a reflective surface."
"It's bound to have something shiny or glassy." He continued. "A pool of water, a polished rock, maybe even some shiny metal discarded by a long-dead people. If I can't find anything, I'll just use enough [Water Splash] cantrip to create my own reflective surface. It shouldn't be a problem."
He tapped his own head. "The primary concern is getting past this swirling chaos without being vaporized by a stray energy discharge. Spectral form is the only way that guarantees survival against them."
Rune, hovering near Jack's shoulder, pulsed a quick rhythm of steady blue light. Signaling approval and readiness. The mechanical fairy understood the necessity of safety and absolute stealth.
"I'll be waiting, Dear." Reina confirmed. Stepping closer to him. "Just be careful."
"Understood, Love. Let's go."
Jack had already gone into action. The foldable mirror was already unfolded. Jack quickly activated his [Mysterious Mirror World] power.
With a silent shimmer, he, Reina, Rune, and the substantial volume of the Lightning Hoverbike vanished. Absorbed fully into the alternate dimension. Mirror Space. The transition was instantaneous.
Inside the Mirror Space, Jack activated his [Incarnation Shift]. His tough human form immediately transformed into the spectral Jack Mystery.
The leather armor and gear dissolved into shimmering grey smoke. His body faded, losing all mass and color. He became pure specter. A swirling vortex of specter In the shape of a man wearing an old-fashioned masked suit.
His spectral form was his ultimate stealth tool. He was functionally invulnerable to normal physical attacks. And his lack of biological needs made him tireless and even more undetectable.
Jack nodded to Reina and exited the Mirror Space.
The foldable mirror remained where he left it previously. A mundane object resting on the dirt and pebbles. Jack couldn't put it in his system inventory somehow. Probably because it was too... mundane.
His system only accepted his personal artifacts. Or items with a certain level of significance, like Rainsister's coins, or Baroness Artheim's letters. He hadn't even known what actually made objects qualify the storage requirements.
He probably needed to have a kind of Spatial Storage spell for his convenience. Especially for his spectral incarnation.
Jack looked at the chaotic battle. It hadn't decreased in intensity at all.
He looked back at the mundane mirror. And folded it neatly. Before tucking it into a small crevice between two rocks. Covering it with loose gravel. All using the telekinesis power of his [Mysterious Anomaly].
If he passed this place next time, he could retrieve it. If he didn't, well... It was not that expensive. Easily replaced.
He looked back at the battle in the distance. The fighting wasn't linear. It was a swirling, chaotic vortex. Centered around the semi-open portal. Those Transcendent Illuminated Beings were throwing around power that redefined topography around it.
Jack didn't hesitate. He knew the surface was a death sentence. He phased downward.
The transition from air to solid earth was seamless for Jack Mystery. He plunged deep. Bypassing the rocky topsoil and burrowing into the dense, cool bedrock beneath.
He descended quickly. Calculating his trajectory to stay perhaps thirty meters below the surface. Enough rock mass to dampen the bulk of the residual energy shockwaves. But not so deep that his movements would be impaired by geothermal pressure.
The subsurface environment was deafeningly loud. Even with thirty meters of soil and granite separating him from the fighters, the earth was roaring. It vibrated violently with the continuous, jarring impact of high-tier magic and divine retribution.
He moved forward. A ghostly phantom cutting through the earth. Underground. His spectral senses worked ceaselessly. Mapping the geological structure around him.
Suddenly, the earth seemed to get enraged. Jack felt the stone above him crack and boil. A concentrated fire pierced the earth. Sinking deep. Stopping just a few meters above him.
The resulting explosion, even muffled, was raging crazily. Wild enough to make his non-corporeal form shiver.
It was... too close...