"Well, do you think you got their attention that way?" X asked, hands buried in his pockets, his voice carrying a dry edge behind the distortion of his skull mask. Sarandel lowered her greatbow, the string still humming faintly with residual divine energy. "Yes," she replied evenly. "But I already feel two of them being stopped." The bow dissolved into shimmering light as she turned her head toward him. "Get ready. At least two Demon Lords are heading straight for us. We'll handle one each."
X exhaled slowly, the sound warping through the mask into a hollow sigh. "I came here to only deal with Ercale, you know?" he said, almost like a complaint. Sarandel's eyes narrowed. "And you wasted plenty of time not doing that," she retorted coldly. "So you'll make up for it by dealing with the ones invading now." X had no comeback—her tone cut any room for argument. He stayed silent, eyes flicking toward the horizon where the sound of rapid, heavy footfalls grew louder.
The tremors came first—stone rooftops cracking under immense pressure, followed by sharp bursts of shattering glass from the streets below. Both of them turned their heads just as a figure blurred across the skyline and landed at the far end of the street. The man's attire was bizarre—a patchwork of a leather explorer's outfit layered with fragments of samurai plating and knight's armor. A dao hung loosely in his hand, its curved blade gleaming faintly in the sunlight.
An instant later, another presence appeared beside him, teleporting in with a sharp displacement of air. Arkanis stood there, his staff in one hand, his piercing magenta eyes locked onto the pair ahead.
"Arkanis? You being chased by an arrow too?" Armada asked, voice clipped and wary.
"I am," Arkanis replied simply, scanning the surroundings before turning his gaze toward X and Sarandel. "And I assume you've already traced where the energy came from?"
Armada followed his stare. "Yeah. Clearly, they wanted us to find them." He cupped a hand around his mouth and shouted, "Hey! Call off your damn arrow!"
He glanced over his shoulder just as two of the divine arrows curved through the air, they're trajectory locked onto them both. Armada tensed, about to leap away, but Arkanis's hand shot out, gripping his shoulder. "Don't move," he ordered calmly. "I think I've figured out how they work."
Armada gave a sharp nod, trusting the older Demon Lord. The arrows closed the distance in an instant—two streaks of radiant energy cutting through the air before striking their targets dead-on. Neither Demon Lord budged. The arrows lost their force immediately and fell harmlessly to the cobblestones.
"Just as I suspected," Arkanis said, lowering his staff slightly. "They gain strength the more you try to evade them. Designed to exhaust the target, not kill."
X gave a slow, sarcastic clap, his mask tilting ever so slightly. "Good job. You have a brain. Want us to give you a cookie for it?"
"Don't taunt them," Sarandel said sharply, giving X a sidelong glare. He waved her off dismissively, and she exhaled through her nose before turning her attention back to the two Demon Lords. "You two," she began, her tone cool and commanding, "we can do this one of two ways. You tell us who's leading this invasion and why—or we take the complicated route and beat the information out of you. Which will it be?"
Arkanis's eyes narrowed slightly. He leaned toward Armada, his voice dropping low. "I'll take the woman. She feels like she relies on magic."
Armada nodded, drawing his dao with one hand as his other hovered near the holstered pistol at his hip. "Then I'll take skull-face. Who knows what that one can do? On your mark?"
"Mark. Go."
The word had barely left Arkanis's mouth before both Demon Lords burst forward, their speed shattering the cobblestones beneath them. Armada fired the instant he moved, a searing, laser-like round streaking through the air toward X, the crack of energy echoing across the street. He followed immediately behind the shot, blade raised in a diagonal swing meant to cleave through whatever stood in front of him.
At the same moment, Arkanis's staff ignited with roaring flame. Gravity warped around it, distorting the air as he swung it in a precise arc aimed directly at Sarandel's head.
Two things happened in the blink of an eye.
First—there was a sharp snap. X's gloved fingers clicked, and time itself fractured. Armada and the bolt of energy froze mid-motion—the Demon Lord suspended mid-charge like a statue, his attack frozen inches from X's chest.
Second—Arkanis's staff connected with Sarandel's skull in a thunderous explosion of flame followed by a crushing implosion of gravity. The blast tore through the air, stone cracking under the force—and yet Sarandel didn't even flinch. Her hair didn't shift.
X's distorted chuckle broke the silence. "Looks like we're doing this the complicated way."
He grabbed the frozen Armada by the collar and, with effortless strength, hurled him backward into his own suspended energy shot. Another snap—time resumed. The shot detonated against Armada's chest, launching him into the air as X leapt after him in pursuit.
Arkanis froze, his eyes widening at the sight.
"Too bad, Demon Lord," Sarandel said coolly, extending a single finger to push his staff aside with casual disdain. "Looks like you're no Godslayer."