By the time Benjamin collected the last floating Stair, the ripples of battle had become clear enough that there was no need to sense them with psychic power.
Explosions, the shriek of energy impacts, and something like the breathing of a massive beast streamed endlessly from the depths of the space.
He slowed his pace, and Void-Step suppressed his presence to zero.
Like a weightless shadow, he soundlessly glided across the gray ground toward the edge of the battlefield.
The core of this space was larger than he had imagined.
It was a circular hall more than five hundred meters across, its interior an open expanse of grayish-white ground.
A massive sphere of light floated at the center of the hall. Its color lay somewhere between pale gold and milky white, flickering unsteadily like a burning heart.
Countless fine, ever-changing patterns covered its surface. Each pulse sent a ring of energy ripples spreading outward.
And Professor Victor Rayne stood directly beneath it.
The silver frames of his glasses reflected the light's color. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to his elbows, exposing arms densely covered in runes.
Those runes seemed to shine through from beneath his skin, flashing in sync with his heartbeat.
Both hands pressed against a magic array floating in midair, his ten fingers constantly moving among its runes as though playing an invisible piano.
Whenever he pressed a rune, the sphere's pulse changed slightly. Under the precise control of his fingertips, the entire sphere was continuously adjusted.
Three powerful Psychics from the Psychic Association stood less than fifty meters from the sphere.
The President stood at the forefront, his storm-like anomaly unleashed at full power.
Yet his attacks were not aimed at the professor, but at the monster blocking the professor's path.
It was