Once they learned the location of the 'Alien God', Shiomi and the others quickly formulated a plan. The day after meeting the Dinosaur King, they headed for the Great Plains near the Second Netherworld, approaching Iztauhqui, the obsidian mountain range that formed its boundary.
Across the plains, Deinos fighters could be seen running back and forth, rotating shifts as they took over the task of maintaining the defensive line.
Judging from their size, these Deinos fighters looked very close to the Tyrannosaurus rex reconstructed through modern scientific research.
But that was secondary.
After passing through the Deinos camp in an all-terrain vehicle and drawing closer to the obsidian mountains of the Second Netherworld, Shiomi began to grasp just how serious the situation was.
The Second Netherworld was already in constant tremors, with massive obsidian boulders continually breaking loose and rolling down toward both sides of the Netherworld boundary.
At the same time, the closer they got to Iztauhqui, the more violent the wind became.
It was a gale strong enough to lift a person straight off the ground, exceeding fifty meters per second.
If the wind was already this fierce just by approaching, then inside the Second Netherworld the storm would undoubtedly be even more extreme.
Worse still, the wind carried with it clear distortions in gravity.
By the time they reached the border between Iztauhqui and the plains, Shiomi felt the head-on hurricane nearly choking off his breathing. He raised a hand to shield his face.
"Iztauhqui's magnetic field is chaotic as well. And with winds this strong, if the Storm Border tried to force its way through, it would probably crash straight into those spike-filled obsidian mountains," Shiomi said.
Morgan looked toward the obsidian range where no clear climbing path could be seen, observing the environment through her fairy eyes.
"And it's more than that. This abnormal magnetic field is different from the one in Tlatlauqui. This one is completely uncontrolled."
"So it's not necessarily something the 'Alien God' is deliberately causing, but rather the environment itself?" Scáthach said.
Skadi looked visibly uncomfortable in the wind. With one eye closed, she pressed a hand down on her hair as the gale whipped it around.
"We need to find a path into the mountains first. If the 'Alien God' is here, the Alien Apostles are probably here too—"
Before she could finish, Scáthach grabbed her shoulder and pulled her backward.
At that moment, Artoria stepped forward, raising the Holy Lance and releasing 'Invisible Air'. The enormous obsidian boulder that had just fallen from above, nearly half the size of the Storm Border, was shattered instantly and scattered through the gale.
The fragments were razor-sharp, like countless daggers. Carried by the wind, even a brief touch would leave terrifying wounds.
"So that's how those injured Deinos ended up like that," Morgan said.
She had already raised a protective barrier and watched as the shards slammed against it.
On their way here, they had seen the Deinos constructing massive wooden fences across the plains, more than ten meters high and interlocked like jagged teeth.
These fences effectively prevented the shattered obsidian from spreading deeper into the plains. However, they also suffered tremendous damage and had to be repaired constantly.
The injured Deinos fighters were the result of this relentless bombardment.
Even after they had just destroyed the falling rock, more massive obsidian chunks crashed to the ground nearby, sending tremors rippling through the grassy plains.
"It's like meteorites falling," Scáthach said with a sigh.
Morgan frowned slightly. "At this rate, there might not even be a place to stand. Fighting up there will be extremely troublesome."
She wasn't asking Shiomi. She was asking Scáthach and the others.
Morgan could merge with Shiomi and become the Unity God, allowing them to fly freely through these magic-filled storm winds. But Scáthach and the others didn't have that advantage.
"Even the Runes of Navigation can't help much," Scáthach said, attempting to use Primordial Runes to suppress the gale. The results were minimal.
With an abnormal phenomenon on this scale, unless the source was dealt with, any magecraft, ritual, or Mystery would be little more than a temporary patch.
"Then Master, you all wait here," Shiomi said, taking Morgan's hand. "Once the wind weakens, follow us immediately. Morgan and I will go ahead and find the source."
He suspected that the cause was most likely the 'Alien God'.
The abnormal magnetic field felt extremely similar to the 'Alien God's' manipulation of gravitational fields.
"We have no other choice," Artoria said, glancing back at the barriers the Deinos had built. "We'll observe the situation here and help the Deinos of Chichen Itza deal with the obsidian."
At that moment, Skadi deployed a new barrier, replacing Morgan's previous one to defend against the falling rocks.
After exchanging glances with them, Shiomi merged with Morgan, becoming the Unity God. Ignoring the abnormal gravity and violent winds of the Second Netherworld, they moved deeper beyond the Netherworld boundary.
"Just looking at it gives you chills," Shiomi said. "If someone tried walking through here, the obsidian sharpened by the wind would slice away flesh and clothing until nothing but bones remained."
"In the Aztec mythology of Proper Human History, the third layer of Mictlan, Itztepetl, feels exactly like this," Morgan said, looking down at the obsidian blades trembling in the wind. "It's a trial for the dead, meant to strip away every adornment they carried in life, leaving only their bones."
"Too bad we're not the dead," Shiomi said quietly. "We're gods."
Morgan seemed slightly surprised by that statement.
"My husband rarely calls himself a god."
"If we act like half-hearted gods, we won't save anyone," Shiomi said softly. "Responsibility has to be carried. Expectations have to be answered. We have to protect everyone together."
"Mm."
Morgan didn't elaborate. She simply responded with a solemn sound.
As they went deeper into the Second Netherworld, the wind grew even faster and the gravity even more unstable. Their Unity God form relied entirely on divine authority, along with the strength that had grown from hardship, just to maintain stable flight.
"I can't see anything," Morgan said. "But I can feel mana… and my husband's authority."
"Same here," Shiomi confirmed.
Both the source of the Second Netherworld's disturbance and the location of the authority pointed to the highest peak of Iztauhqui's obsidian mountains.
After confirming their destination, Morgan changed course and steadily ascended toward the summit.
But the closer they came, the more distorted the gravity felt.
Immense mana churned chaotically, as though it existed purely for destruction.
"The source is here. Getting any closer directly wouldn't be safe," Morgan said, raising her hand.
Shiomi agreed.
"Then let's begin."
Morgan generated a gravitational field opposite to the Second Netherworld's magnetic field, locked onto the highest peak of the obsidian mountains of Iztauhqui, and fired it.