"We can't force our way in."
Imshi immediately raised a hand, stopping the young knight who was about to draw his sword.
Then she turned toward York at her side and said coldly,
"As one of John's subordinates, you should have a way to open this cage, shouldn't you?"
"Impossible."
The moment York saw the pillars of light, an instinctive resistance rose in him. He even took two steps back.
But as a trace of deep violet aura flickered in the depths of his eyes, all rebellious impulses were subconsciously suppressed.
He stepped forward, feeling along the surface of one of the beams, and spoke with certainty:
"These are holy spears of light, created exclusively by the Light Elf Mother Tree.
Although only three fruits were used to form the spears here, the energy gathered within any single fruit is no weaker than the full-force attack of any one of us present.
If we try to break them by brute force, not only will the entire Savant Cathedral be reduced to rubble…
Even Old Chui-de inside could be blown into dust."
"That guy isn't that fragile, is he? He's still a Saint-tier powerhouse."
Hearing York's analysis, the hot-blooded young knight immediately spoke up.
In his eyes, even a pseudo-Saint was still a Saint.
And as long as one had stepped into that realm, they were fundamentally different from mere King-tier experts—especially in their ability to survive.
At the very least, he couldn't guarantee that his strongest strike could kill a Saint-tier opponent. At most, it would severely wound them.
Besides, they didn't need to destroy all the pillars—only a few. That would lower the energy release.
But the other two turned to look at him at the same time.
As if he were an idiot.
In the end, York couldn't help but explain:
"Perhaps you're still too young to understand the difference between a pseudo-Saint and a true Saint.
Simply put, breaking into the Saint realm is like undergoing a transformation of one's bloodline.
Those who truly break through become completely separated from ordinary transcendents.
This isn't only reflected in their Imagery World—
Their physical strength and elemental intensity are also greatly enhanced.
But pseudo-Saints are different.
They have not endured the baptism of breakthrough, so their bodies remain essentially unchanged.
In fact, being burdened by an incomplete Imagery World can even make them weaker than before.
So pseudo-Saints are invincible only against ordinary transcendents…
But against real Saints, they are nothing more than high-grade cannon fodder—killed in a single blow."
"Uh… haha. Is that so?"
The young knight scratched his head awkwardly.
Just as York said, he was a newcomer who had only recently broken into the Saint realm. Many aspects of Saint-tier knowledge were still unclear to him—let alone something as rare as pseudo-Saints.
So he retreated in embarrassment, no longer adding to the trouble.
Meanwhile, Imshi stepped up to the pillars.
With her pale, delicate hand, she lightly touched the beam of light.
The instant her fingers made contact, a scorching pain surged through her.
But what would count as extreme heat for ordinary transcendents was nothing to Saint-tier beings like them—it posed no real threat.
And the moment her hand touched the pillar, a wave of Imagery World power belonging to Sister Evelyn spread outward from her palm, rapidly extending toward the beams ahead.
Clearly, Imshi intended to drag the pillars into the Imagery World and break the cage that way.
But after only a brief attempt, her brows furrowed.
Evelyn's Imagery World was one of life-attribute—stable, growth-oriented, lacking the corrosive aggression of fallen or holy-aligned worlds.
Its speed was simply too slow.
Imshi glanced at the young knight nearby.
Unfortunately, though he was the only holy-type transcendent among them, he was a knight.
Traditionally, knights had far weaker control over Imagery Worlds than mages—especially a newly advanced Saint like him.
Imshi withdrew her gaze with a helpless shake of her head.
If it were him doing it, it might be even slower than her.
However—
At that moment, a faint spatial ripple spread behind the three of them.
A massive wide gap of space rift—suddenly opened, tearing wider and wider.
A blood-soaked figure stumbled out.
And not long after, another figure emerged, bruised and swollen all over.
That person was John.
He glared with hostility at the equally blood-covered Isaac.
For that shameless bastard who had done nothing but punch him in the face, John was deeply dissatisfied.
He even wanted to drag him back into battle for another eight hundred rounds.
But he knew today's fight was already over.
If neither of them revealed their trump cards or used true killing moves…
They could fight inside the Imagery World for an entire lifetime.
And it would mean nothing.
Better to step back, each yielding slightly, and end this foolish battle here.
Yet the moment he appeared…
He saw Imshi tearing open a breach in the trap he had painstakingly arranged.
His face turned livid instantly.
"Isaac. Control your people."
But Isaac didn't respond.
His gaze was fixed entirely on York across from him.
As the culprit responsible for slaughtering a large portion of his subordinates, Isaac had naturally seen York's portrait.
And now, that very culprit was standing openly before him.
The anger Isaac had only just suppressed flared up again.
He even suspected York's presence here was John's doing—meant to humiliate him.
So he replied just as rudely:
"Control my people, huh?"
He snorted coldly.
Then, in an instant, he unfolded his Imagery World once more, swallowing everyone into it.
The sudden turn of events left Imshi completely stunned.
She had only come here to seize a Healing Witch.
Did things really need to escalate this relentlessly?
Especially now—
With the new battle ending and Isaac forcibly dragging them all into his Imagery World…
Imshi was so furious she wanted to bring out her true body and beat these two bastards senseless for ruining her plans.
And that John—
His subordinate was being taken away by force, and this time he didn't even say a word?
Where was that "fight at the slightest disagreement" spirit from earlier?
Why wasn't he protecting his people now that it mattered?