The control groove outside the door suddenly let out a piercing shriek.
The tool in List's hand was flung away by some invisible force and nearly flew out of his grasp.
"We can't hold it!" he roared.
Ging slammed a palm against the violently trembling load-bearing pillar beside him. Where his palm met the stone, Nen and blue patterns collided with a sizzling sound. Razor's demon let out a low roar, both arms braced against the misaligned stone slab pressing down overhead as the tracks beneath its feet cracked inch by inch.
Inside the Collection Room, Bai Zhu pressed the Blue Crystal, the Blackstone Key Piece, and the Feathered Metal Tube tightly against their matching patterns on the door.
Click.
A soft sound rang out, like a lock cylinder sliding back into place.
The blue lines on the door no longer flickered separately. They suddenly linked together, connecting from the inside out in an instant.
The heavy Black Stone Gate neither rose nor opened.
Silently, as though it had been acknowledged by some rule, it smoothly sank into the walls on either side, revealing the disheveled group outside.
The instant the door vanished completely, the restless underground ruins stopped.
The twisting tracks settled down, the backflowing black water receded into its channels, the stone mirrors sweeping around wildly turned back into place one by one, and the flickering blue patterns returned to their gentle flowing glow.
Everything fell silent.
Milluki had just been hauled off the ground by Razor's demon. When he saw Bai Zhu walk out unharmed, the thick gold chain around Bai Zhu's neck still emitting a soft blue light, he instinctively opened his mouth.
"That dog tag of yours..."
Before he could finish, Bai Zhu shot him a glance.
The rest of Milluki's words took a turn