The Fourth Beast

29

Enter ExE

I

Dimensional Gap

Naruto had always viewed the structure in front of him as a piece of art rather than a sealed gate, one so formidable that it locked up an entire universe. In his defense, he had never seen an intricate structure such as this.

Billions of crimson cogwheels and azure trees merged to create a simple yet elegant shape. And the constant motion of these cogwheels and trees was mesmerizing. But now they were behaving erratically as, bit by bit, pieces of them were disappearing. Of course, new pieces were automatically created to replace the destroyed ones, but the process was not fast enough.

And the worst part was that Naruto could sense it. On the other side of that door, beings with incredible power were waiting. And he was not the only one. He knew others sensed it too.

Without moving his focus from the gate, Naruto asked the question that was on everyone's mind, "What happened?"

It was quite nerve-wracking to see Great Red, the Beast of Dreams, be so quiet and still. This alone was enough to warn them about how serious their situation was.

A moment later, too long for Naruto's taste, he answered, "This gate was carefully designed by Ophis for a single purpose, to deny the inhabitants of ExE entry to the Dimensional Gap. As such, no one should be capable enough to damage the gate. No one other than Ophis and I."

Naruto finally moved his focus and looked at Great Red. He just waited since he could see that the Beast was not done.

"The only other way this restriction can be bypassed is if someone used Ophis' powers. And seeing how the gate was damaged, along with the fact that the inhabitants of ExE are already on standby on the other side, that method was most likely used. As for how much of her power was used, that I do not know."

That piece of information made everyone on Naruto's side to be on high alert since all of them were aware of 'Blessing of Ophis'. For Naruto, it also raised many questions – Was 'Blessing of Ophis' just a test product? Was the main goal of the Khaos Brigade to destroy the ExE gate? If so, did it not mean that there was a spy from ExE in their universe?

"But a spy from ExE?" Naruto wondered if it was even possible because of the seal. Naruto did not need to look at his friends to know that everyone had similar concerns and questions.

"Fret not," Great Red finally moved, capturing everyone's attention, "It remains to be seen if Ophis is directly involved with this shenanigan. Regardless, I will create a similar gate when this one breaks down."

That statement alleviated some concerns, but still, "What about repairing the gate?"

"Powers originated from the Beasts do not play well with each other," Came the swift reply.

It made sense. Otherwise, Great Red would have tweaked all the gates long ago.

"How can we help?" Shiva asked as he moved closer to Naruto, who immediately got the message.

"It will take some time for me to create a new gate, and I need to focus," Great Red pointed at the door, "I am not sure whoever is on the other side will allow me to do that."

"You wish for us to keep them occupied."

Great Red let out a throaty chuckle, "It will be quite a messy situation if they annoy me too much and I accidentally wipe them out."