"I'll have to cut everything."
Agheira descended in an aggressive dive, concentrating the wind into a single point to pierce through the mist. The impact tore through the air, but upon passing through the layer of water, the force was dissipated. The attack lost density, and the regeneration that normally accompanied this kind of maneuver did not occur immediately.
'What is this? Why—'
Aina raised both hands, and the water around her rose like an inverted tide. Currents intertwined in the air, forming a closed structure that enveloped Agheira while she was still in motion. The wind tried to break the prison, but the reconstitution constantly reinforced the breaking points, sealing every gap the instant it was about to appear.
'Shit, this is bad, very bad.'
Trapped, Agheira beat her wings harder, but the airspace inside the liquid prison became unstable. The air was forced outward, compressed, drastically reducing her ability to fly. Without sufficient altitude, her regeneration ability began to lose its foundation.
"You fought well, Nartheis, but know that it wasn't enough to defeat me."
With a proud smile at the impressive line she had delivered, Aina concentrated all her remaining magic into a single point where Agheira was.
"Pressure point."
The water compressed violently, spinning at high speed around Agheira, while the reconstitution prevented the structure from collapsing before the magic took effect. The internal pressure increased until it surpassed the limits of Agheira's body. Her wings bent irregularly, and the wind completely lost control.
"Ga— human—aaaahh"
"Thank you for offering a good spectacle to my family, Nartheis."
Agheira's body was crushed, and the core appeared exposed, declaring her victory—but only for a fraction of a second before being pierced by the concentrated pressure of the water. There was no visible explosion, just a sudden collapse, as if space itself had swallowed his existence.
When the water fell through the air, Aina remained motionless for a few seconds, feeling the magic slowly dissipate as the water dripped onto her head. With a serene expression, she placed her hand in her hair, pushing it back with a beautiful look.
"She was a good opponent."
Rina and Raizen looked at their sister as if she were an idiot. She was being quite childish; the two of them already knew she had taken so long only because she was thinking about how to impress them and Enrico.
'Idiot.'
While everyone was looking at Aina, even Yumeha, who had arrived moments earlier by following the trail of her connection with Enrico, he himself was looking downward with a red glow in his eyes. He had activated the crimson eyes to see if Serteria would return.
Raizen approached while Aina tried to open the cage without success. With a confused expression, she let Takeshi strike it with his spear, but even then, when it hit the bars, there wasn't a single scratch.
"It would be better to leave them there until Gideon is defeated."
"Gideon?"
"The second strongest Nartheis in this dungeon."
"How— oh right, you came from the future."
He scratched his head, having forgotten about that part. Now that all those Nartheis had been defeated, only three remained for this dungeon to be completed. Of course, that was if no one released the Basilisk, which he hoped wouldn't happen, because with the Nartheis levels being higher than the original, it was quite possible that besides the Kairom ranks being fully at circle nine level, the three strongest of the Ranvil rank would be close as well.
'Besides, Renzou won't be able to have so many complicated fights… although, if that bastard's plan works, maybe I won't need to worry so much.'
The person he was referring to was his alter ego. That Nartheis had mentioned some of his plans. Enrico thought the plan was madness, but it might be a good idea to help himself even if he didn't like it.
[It's a good thing you have this new Nartheis by your side to know his plans.]
'I agree.'
The Nartheis in love with his female form would be quite useful for knowing his plans, but that wouldn't last long if Enrico tried to interfere with any of them.
'Besides, I might run the risk of him eliminating this Nartheis outright, since he has control over her.'
Seeing that Aina seemed worried about how to open the cage, Enrico decided to pull the door open with a line of fire, opening it and leaving Aina sulking because she hadn't managed to open the door for her little sister. She just wanted to surprise her family. At the same time, Enrico raised a finger toward Karyu and Lisa while Rina, Aoi, and Sisaka left.
"You two stay. If Gideon drains all the blood from Lisa's body, he'll turn into a Kairom rank."
His words left everyone shocked, and Karyu with deep fear inside her. She ran to the door and quickly closed it, locking the two of them inside. Lisa lowered her head, now understanding why he needed so much of her blood. Enrico looked downward again and narrowed his eyes.
"Raizen, you can fall back. This opponent is mine."
"Your opponent? Is there another Nartheis here?"
"Yes… I had put them in the cage to protect them, but with you here I won't need to worry."
"You worry so much about me, my Ketsumei. You don't need to be like that—I can protect you too."
"That's right, master. I may have just arrived, but I already know what thoughts you were having."
Enrico looked at them seriously, which made them—and soon the others—realize that a large amount of magic was coming from below them. Everyone wanted to look, but Enrico gave them a signal. Sighing, Raizen grabbed his two younger sisters by their clothes and began to walk backward. The two of them had also heard that he wanted to fight, so they simply kept sulky expressions like their sister moments earlier.
'Looks like she came back. System, activate the near–eighth-circle body pact.'
[Fine. Just don't die, idiot.]