Gideon flew straight toward the syringe room. When he arrived, he saw that the gate was already open and, quickly, in desperation, went inside.
'I can't feel my subordinates' magic… don't tell me those useless ones died?'
Seeing that the syringe had been taken, his face became furious, and he immediately activated his magic in the form of localization, sensing the entire area below and inside the castle. He did not want Renzou to know where he was, so this was the only thing he could do.
"Judgment Magic: Location of the sinners who wronged me."
His magic could only be felt by people who had been located. That way, he could flee from anyone stronger than him. Sensing some presences below, he opened his eyes with even more fury when he felt Karyu. He also sensed the syringe he wanted so badly in the hands of a human.
"If that damned woman betrayed me, she will pay."
Not caring about anything else, he propelled himself downward, passing through all the floors of the castle. When he reached the end, he moved forward as well, breaking through the walls.
"I found you."
Passing through the last wall, everyone inside the room turned to look at where Gideon was. Behind him, the walls began to regenerate; he had been so fast that neither Raizen nor Takeshi managed to sense his presence in time.
"It's him… you should run."
Aina turned toward where Lisa was, her lifeless gaze directed at Gideon. To her, everyone there was weaker than him, so the only thing they could do was flee to a safe place or wait for someone strong to arrive to face him—but honestly, she didn't think there was time.
"And you?"
"If you're worried about us, don't be. Karyu and I are safe in here."
It was true. Gideon did not have the capacity to break or damage that cage. Raizen thought that this cage had power above an eighth circle, and he was right—but not because of any incredible power.
'A rule that God himself placed on this trap, which can only be opened by completing it, just like that boy did.'
It simply belonged to a rule created by her father when he asked the god Apollo for help, so the only ones truly capable of breaking it were tenth-circle users, and only one currently existed.
"What do we have here? I didn't think you had the ability to enter the cage, Karyu."
A red magic appeared in the hand of the furious Gideon. He did not like what was happening in front of him: a traitor, the object he needed to become stronger, and humans trying to steal what was his.
"If I had known this, I would have tortured you just like I did with Nerfe and turned you into my doll like him."
Hearing that, Lisa clenched her teeth. For the first time since Sisaka entered that room, that lifeless girl showed a look of hatred directed at someone—and she knew that feeling well. The feeling of hatred, but at the same time the frustration of not having the power to kill the person she hated. It reminded her of herself.
"You should shut up."
Gripping her katana tightly, she took a step forward, positioning herself between Gideon and the cage. The feeling she sensed from him was the same feeling she had felt when that Nartheis destroyed her family years ago.
'Why does the feeling from him feel so similar? It can't be him… can it?'
No, she was sure it wasn't him. Besides having a different appearance, the magic he used was completely different. The only thing she felt was the sense that she had seen something like this before.
'Wait—what if he is the same type of Nartheis, and this is the level that that bastard wants to reach?'
Unable to think any further, Sisaka saw a concentrated ball of magic being directed at her. Yumeha, Aoi, and Rina stepped in front and combined their three magics to form a barrier.
"At your level, it's impossible to stop this attack, idiots."
Aina stepped in front of the barrier along with Takeshi and Raizen. Like them, they formed a combined barrier, but much stronger. With some difficulty, when the attack hit the barrier, they managed to redirect it into the hole below. Down below, a red explosion occurred, changing the atmosphere of the sky. Sweat ran down Raizen's forehead as he looked up.
"Damn, this guy really is strong—"
"The syringe is mine, so give it back, insect."
Raizen turned and, in despair, saw that Gideon was already behind Rina, about to touch her head with his claws, without a doubt to kill her.
"NO!"
"Relax, brother-in-law. I won't let anyone touch my future wife."
Gideon's arm was kicked upward, leaving him surprised as he felt a bit of pain from that attack. Seeing that the person in front of him was the same one who seemed to have disrupted his plans, his face twisted with rage.
"You—"
"I know I interrupted you, but the one you should be worried about is my father-in-law above us."
Enrico had a smile on his face as he lowered his leg. At first, Gideon was confused by his words, but when he felt a powerful magical blow strike his head, sending him out of the castle, he immediately knew who it was.
'Damn it, he found me.'
Renzou had a murderous look after seeing him almost hurt his daughter. With some anger, he descended through the hole he himself had made in the ceiling. Behind him, Sayaka descended quickly to check on Aoi.
"You dare touch my daughter? It seems that, as always, you Nartheis have no fear of death."
The massacre would begin in the next instant, Renzou crossing the distance like an invisible blade while Gideon abandoned any attempt at direct confrontation and launched himself into a desperate escape through the skies. Renzou's words were a complete lie, especially for the rational ones who always sought ways to evolve.
'There's no way to face this monster head-on.'
Each flight of Gideon was accompanied by explosions behind him that reached the castle even at the distance he moved away—walls being torn apart, pillars reduced to dust, the castle groaning under the absolute difference in power, along with the sky creating a vacuum from the potency of the attacks.
"Aaaahhh!"
Renzou did not retreat or slow down, landing every blow, tearing pieces from Gideon's body, ripping corrupted flesh, breaking wings formed by magic to escape faster, crushing bones that regenerated more and more slowly.
'I need to escape.'
Terror replaced any arrogance he might have had, the Nartheis staggering, spitting unstable magic while trying to create distance, the air seeming to unravel around them. When Renzou appeared in front of him, hand raised and ready for the final blow, the presence of death was absolute within him. At the last instant, he remembered that person who had visited his castle a year earlier.
"I ACCEPT YOUR PROPOSAL. I KNOW YOU ARE WATCHING."
Hearing that, Renzou immediately halted his body, but at the last instant, a white portal opened violently, swallowing Gideon with a scream of hatred and despair, leaving behind only echoes of corruption and the heavy silence of forced escape.
"Wait, isn't that magic from the Kairom rank that appeared two years ago?"
He remembered well that portal magic from the giant Nartheis that had been born at the end of the battle against the Nartheis.
'Does that mean that the Nartheis from years ago was watching everything?'