— — — — — —
Pchhk—!
Like a hot knife through butter.
Ryo's blade cut clean through the Prophet's outstretched arm.
The Prophet's right hand—along with his entire forearm—was severed in one smooth motion and hit the ground with a dull thud.
Golden blood streamed across the floor, and from the glowing liquid, pure white flowers blossomed up.
For a moment, the Prophet just stood there, stunned by the sudden pain.
Ryo didn't waste that moment. His next strike flashed out, slicing toward the Prophet's neck—
—and in the blink of an eye, the Prophet's head rolled off his shoulders.
Before the body even hit the floor, Ryo was already moving. He lunged forward and grabbed Rin.
Then a golden lion's phantom roared to life, Leo Pemptos, carrying them both away.
Rin, wide-eyed and disoriented, gasped, "W-what just happened? How did you suddenly hurt him?"
While the golden lion pounded at the next ceiling above, Ryo compressed his thoughts into a rapid mental transmission.
"Remember what he said earlier?"
"'An enemy has disguised themselves as one of us and infiltrated this place.'"
Rin blinked, confused. "Yeah?"
"The key is these words—'one of us.' You've played online games, right? The kind where you team up to fight monsters?"
Her eyes went wide. "Wait, you mean—"
"Exactly," Ryo said, his voice bright with excitement. "From the start, he treated me as one of his. That created a sort of system—like party damage immunity. No matter what attacks I used, I couldn't hurt him."
He smirked. "But just now, I used the Scared Sword's power to cut through concepts. I severed the concept of being 'the same team,' just for a moment—long enough to lop off his arm and his head along with it."
By the time he finished speaking, they'd already reached the third underground level.
Rin blinked again. "Then why not go for the kill? Finish him off?"
Ryo rolled his eyes. "Do I look stupid to you? A guy who can mess with system-level privileges like that? You think that's his only trick?"
"Going head-to-head with someone like that would be suicide. He was just shocked his trick got broken—that's the only reason I had time to escape."
As they landed, a familiar figure appeared before them—Highness.
"...?" Highness froze for half a second, then charged forward to block Ryo's path.
"Let her go!"
"Don't get in my way!" Ryo hesitated, then yelled excitedly.
A golden lion phantom erupted behind him, roaring with primal fury.
Highness' expression twisted. "That's—no, impossible! Ah~ the pain~"
He clutched his chest, groaning dramatically.
Ryo blinked, bewildered. 'bro, for real? Even Black Rabbit won't be fooled.'
Rin, equally stunned, thought, 'His Highness seriously enjoys this?'
From her perspective, Highness' face was lit with an almost theatrical enthusiasm.
And then it happened—a radiant golden lion burst out of Highness' chest, charging straight into Ryo and merging with his body in a brilliant flash.
Every member of the Ouroboros watching nearby froze in disbelief.
Ryo's mouth twitched. He wanted to say something to Highness—but his eyes suddenly shrank to pinpoints.
He didn't even need to turn around. He felt it: a hand reaching silently for the back of his head.
The Prophet's hand.
'Damn monster…' Ryo cursed under his breath, summoning a massive blue crab behind him.
Cancer Tetartos, The Carapace of Silver Mist!
The Fourth Primogenitor's fourth familiar—its ability: Mist Form.
The Prophet's hand passed right through Ryo's body, as if through vapor.
"Huh?" The Prophet blinked, then grabbed again—this time yanking hard.
Rin was dragged out of the mist, clutching the Prophet's arm in shock. "Old man, you are cheating."
Ryo quickly extended his free hand toward the fog.
"Rin!"
Highness, who had been writhing a moment ago, panicked instantly and charged forward. The force of his sprint whipped up violent winds, tearing the mist apart.
At that same moment, the Ninth Familiar, Sagittarius Enatos—The Bicorn of Deep Crimson—smashed through the ceiling above, creating a vortex that sucked the last of the fog away with Ryo in it.
"Rin! Are you alright?"
Highness caught up and helped Rin up.
Rin blinked rapidly, then forced a weak smile. "I'm fine, Your Highness. Sorry to worry you."
She turned to the Prophet, who was already about to leave, and added politely, "Thank you… for your help."
The Prophet paused, gave them both a long look, and then swiftly followed after Ryo.
Highness narrowed his eyes. "Time to use our final measure," he muttered.
Rin's eyes widened, but she simply nodded.
---
First Basement Level
While the Prophet was delayed, Ryo blasted open the ceiling above him—yet stopped short of escaping. He waited.
Moments later, the Prophet arrived, standing on the cracked floor below. He looked up at Ryo, who hovered nearly two hundred meters overhead.
Ryo smiled down at the old man. "Alright, one last question. The thing I came for—is it in your hands?"
The Prophet hesitated, then chuckled softly. "I'm not even sure what you're looking for."
Ryo narrowed his eyes but kept smiling. "Name's Ryo Yagami. And you, old man?"
The Prophet's eyes flickered in surprise, then warmed. "Ryo Yagami, is it? Then yes—what you seek is with me."
"As for my true name…"
He smiled faintly and sighed. "Well, with how you've handled yourself, I'm sure you'll learn it soon enough."
The elderly man, with his weathered white hair, trimmed beard, and lines etched deep into his face, smiled kindly.
"You may call me… Mithras."
Ryo's grin froze.
Before the realization could even finish forming in his mind, instinct took over. He bolted upward, bursting through to the surface.
But at that exact moment—
Mithras appeared behind him without a sound, reaching out to grab his shoulder.
Ryo barely had time to shout—
"Black Rabbit—minx!"
.
.
.