Jasper's team and Einar's team started to duke it out with each other, which made the Factions who were watching outside the gate of Domain of the Fallen sigh in dissatisfaction.

Originally, all of them wanted to have the teenagers work together and complete the mission as one team, but due to a conflict of interest, all of them were at each other's throats now.

Even those who initially believed that Nero would allow their representatives to breeze through the final battle found themselves dumbfounded about the fact that an Apostle could fight against a Ranker, even able to push the latter back.

This was something that never happened in the past, and they didn't think it was possible.

"This is why those idiots from noble families fall short. They've only attained their Ranks through the use of their family's resources," one of the Representatives from the Xynnar War Pact complained. "When faced with a person of equal rank, they are simply cannon fodders who can't even do anything!"

"True. But, he is now a Ranker and, this time, his opponent is just an Apostle," a member of the Skystead Alliance. "Is he that incompetent? I mean, I can understand if his opponent was also a Ranker. But an Apostle? You gotta be kidding me."

The member of the Skystead Alliance then glanced in the direction of Gerald, Rainer, and Anastasia and sneered.

"This is the result of bad upbringing," the member of the Skystead Alliance stated. "In the end, a paper tiger is no match against a true tiger."

Several of the people around him nodded their heads in agreement. They also glanced in the direction of the three Guardians of Wildgarde Stronghold, who were watching the projections.

Gerald was seething in anger, but he kept his rage in his heart. He didn't want to bicker with anyone because it might only worsen the situation.

His greatest regret was seeing Lux and Nero, who both belonged to their faction, fight against each other with the intention to kill.

Rainer and Anastasia also remained silent and simply watched the glimpse of the battle between the two rivals.

After careful thought, all of them came to the collective opinion that since Nero's strength was just forcefully upgraded to a Ranker, the prodigy from the Wildgarde Stronghold didn't have the battle experience to handle his newfound powers.

This conjecture of theirs was partly true because Nero wasn't truly in full control and mastery of the power of the Abyss that he had just gained, but what others didn't know was that if it were other people who were fighting against Nero, they would find themselves being pushed back because of the latter's current strength.

They didn't know that Lux was only able to make Nero suffer due to his passive ability, Abyss Touch [EX], which was specially designed to fight against Abyssal Creatures.

Also, there was the fact that Lux, Eiko, and the Half-Elf's Named Creatures had the ability, Duel [EX], which forced anyone to exchange a single attack with the one that cast it.

These two skills combined allowed the red-headed teenager to deal consecutive attacks against Nero, who was being repeatedly affected by the taunting spell.

The silver-haired man who was watching the battle had a complicated look on his face as he watched the battle unfold between the two.

On one hand, he wanted Lux to lose against Nero because the teenager he had chosen would play an important role for him.

On the other hand, he could sense something in Lux's possession that had the power to threaten his life should he make an appearance on the battlefield.

Because of this, he decided to observe the battle for now without interfering, just to better understand what was making him feel a little anxious in his heart.

'I wish I could see more of the battle between Lux and Nero,' Aron thought with regret.

Since most of the representatives inside the Sacred Dungeon were fighting against each other, those outside were only able to see glimpses of the battle between the Half-Elf and the Devil-like creature, who were the leaders of each Faction.

-------

Nero unleashed a barrage of black lightning bolts from his position in the sky towards the Half-Elf on the ground.

Black blood seeped out from the corner of his lips as he glared hatefully at the red-headed teenager on the ground who was doing his best to avoid the long-range attack that he was unleashing from the sky.

After being repeatedly taunted by Lux's summons, Nero had suffered a lot of damage, not only to his body but also to his soul.

The damage he received grew increasingly more serious every time he came within range of the Half-Elf's minions, who had the power to forcefully taunt him from a distance, causing him to suffer injuries and grievances each time.

"Come down and fight here, coward!" Lux shouted in disdain. "What's wrong? Are you afraid of a weak Apostle like me?"

If Lux wanted, he could fly in the sky and engage Nero in Aerial Combat.

However, if he did that, it would be a bit hard to synchronize his attacks with his allies because most of them couldn't fly.

Also, while fighting with Nero, he couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was observing him closely.

Whoever that someone was, Lux knew that they were a powerful being, whose strength surpassed the Abyssal Monster he was currently facing.

Because of this, the Half-Elf decided to play safe for the time being, just in case someone was planning to ambush him while he was engaged in a duel against Nero.

'Is it perhaps a Ranker from the Ammarian Kingdom?' Lux thought as he continued to taunt Nero with his words. 'I might get killed if they suddenly sneak attack me, so it is better if I just fight here on the ground.'

Right now, Lux's forces had positioned themselves in key locations around him, ready to intervene if a Ranker from the Ammarian Army decided to use this opportunity to eliminate Lux.

They always had two individuals who could cast Duel [EX] at any given time in case of emergencies.

Naturally, Nero also tried to target Lux's Summons, but the Half-Elf would just summon these Monsters to his side, evading Nero's attacks with ease.

Nero endured Lux's hateful taunts because he knew that if he came within range of the Half-Elf's ability, he would experience another round of suffering once again.

The stalemate between the two lasted for nearly ten minutes before something unexpected happened on the battlefield.

A silver-haired man appeared in the sky between the two fighters.

Lux and Nero looked at this newcomer with varying expressions on their faces.

In Nero's case, he felt a little intimidated because the silver-haired man, who was his benefactor, had a disappointed look on his face.

Lux, on the other hand, found himself feeling angry because the silver-haired man didn't appear alone. Hovering beside him was a meter-long Boar, who was still unconscious.

"Who are you?" Lux asked as he tried to reign in the anger in his heart. "What are you planning to do with Cai?"

The silver-haired man smiled after seeing the Half-Elf's seething expression. After watching the battle for so long, he knew that he had to intervene, or else, his chosen candidate was going to lose in the long run.

Even though he felt that Lux possessed something that could endanger his life, he thought that as long as he had a hostage and played his card right, he had nothing to fear against the hidden danger that threatened him.

"I've grown bored of watching this battle," the silver-haired man replied. "So, let's do it this way. You are going to fight Nero without using that disgusting taunting skill of yours. If you use that skill again, I will kill this Boar. Easy to understand, right?"

The silver-haired man summoned a silver sword and placed it over Cai's neck, and made a chopping gesture, which made Lux seethe in anger.

The Boar was currently in a weakened state because she had done everything in her power to keep Lux alive.

Seeing that Cai had been captured, the Half-Elf knew that Xander, who was duty-bound to protect her, might have been incapacitated by the unknown enemy that appeared in front of him.

Now that the enemy was using Cai as a hostage against him, he felt as if something inside him had snapped completely.