Chapter 163

Vas Tree Sea.

Somewhere within its flickering depths, the headquarters of the Six Demon Generals.

After years of intelligence gathering, the Six Demon Generals had confirmed that Nirvana existed within the Vas Tree Sea.

Due to some specific method, Nirvana remained sealed and hidden in a concealed location.

To locate Nirvana, only Jellal's magic could be used.

In other words,

If Jellal could not be found, their next mission would be impossible to carry out.

At this moment, Brian and the others waited quietly for news from Lisa.

Years of effort were all for this moment.

"What's going on? Has Lisa sent any news yet?"

The speaker was Kuno.

As time slowly passed, her mood shifted from initial calmness to growing irritation.

In fact, it wasn't just Kuno—Brian's mind was also flooded with countless thoughts.

These thoughts had even begun to shake his confidence in the plan he had spent years devising.

According to the original plan, the entire Allied Army should now be gathered at the Bubu Mansion, preparing to attack the Akatsuki Organization, while they followed in the Allied Army's footsteps to search for Jellal.

Relying on their past relationship, Brian believed he could persuade Jellal to leave with him.

But…

Just now, news arrived from Lisa that the Allied Army had vanished—completely disrupting his plan.

According to Lisa, the Allied Army had indeed entered the Bubu Mansion, but shortly after, everyone who entered had vanished as if they had never existed!

To be honest, Brian still found it hard to accept this news.

Only a Spatial Mage could cause such a sudden disappearance.

But even a Spatial Mage would struggle to relocate so many Mages in such a short time.

Yet no matter how much Brian denied it, reason told him it was true.

Because Lisa could not—and would not—hide anything from him.

'Could it be that bastard's doing?'

As he pondered, Brian suddenly recalled a man—the stranger who had initiated and led the Allied Army: 'Sōsuke Aizen'.

Brian, well-traveled and knowledgeable, had never heard that name before.

In fact, he had little intelligence on either the recently emerged Monu Sect or the Akatsuki Organization.

Though he did not understand their origins, through the string of recent events, he was certain that beneath Ishgall's calm surface, hidden currents were surging.

"No good—we must obtain Nirvana as soon as possible. Even if we dig three feet underground, we'll find Nirvana!"

Since Jellal could no longer be found, as the leader of the Six Demon Generals, he must now make a decisive choice.

"Nirvana is in the Vas Tree Sea. Hotei's earth magic should be extremely effective—and also…"

Just as Brian was contemplating how to proceed without Jellal, Kobra, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke.

"Leader, Lisa sent a telepathic message—Jellal has appeared!"

Kobra's words instantly lifted Brian's spirits—he turned to look at him.

Kobra's tone, however, was strangely off.

"Where?"

"At the mansion's location—but…"

Brian frowned. "But what?"

Kobra paused, then relayed everything Lisa had said via telepathy.

"Only Jellal appeared. No sign of the Allied Army around him."

"Jellal is now moving steadily in one direction."

Upon hearing this, Brian's brow twitched slightly.

Only one?

To be fair, from the start of the strike operation, to the disappearance of the entire Allied Army, to now—

Everything carried an air of eerie strangeness.

Yet Brian doubted for no more than a few seconds before making his decision.

"Tell Lisa to bring him… no, better for all of us to go together."

Jellal appearing alone was suspicious, but considering his power, Brian chose to act personally.

Even if he truly was alone, under their combined assault, even a Saint Ten couldn't escape.

Yet… precisely at the moment Brian prepared to move, his expression suddenly changed.

A massive sense of danger surged over him—instantly, Brian, gripping his skull staff, unleashed an astonishing burst of magic.

At the same time, the entire cave trembled violently, massive boulders crashing down from above.

"Dark Surge!"

Brian, anticipating this, activated his magic—the skull staff erupted into a swirling vortex of dark red energy.

"Boom—!"

The magic collided with the boulders, shattering them instantly into fine dust, eliminating the threat.

Yet even so, Brian did not relax—he stepped out of the cave and stared at a figure standing nearby, wearing a strange mask and carrying a limp form in hand.

When Brian's gaze dropped and recognized the form in the figure's hand, his eyes darkened instantly.

For the figure in his hand was Lisa—the very man Brian had sent to monitor the situation!

At this moment, Lisa was covered in blood, every bone in her body dislocated, and some bones had even pierced through her skin and flesh.

If not for the rise and fall of her chest, Brian might have thought Lisa was already dead.

However, whether alive or dead, Brian could be certain that even if Lisa survived, she was already crippled.

Taking out one of the Six Demon General's top generals in a single strike — the other's intent was not hard to guess.

Brian asked in a low voice, "Who exactly are you?"

Needless to say, this masked man was naturally Lin Cheng himself.

Earlier, through Geral, Lin Cheng had obtained the location of Nirvana.

However, merely obtaining the location was still not enough.

At this moment, Nirvana was still in a sealed state. Lin Cheng's strength could naturally force the seal open, but there was no guarantee it wouldn't trigger the seal's self-destruction or some such situation.