Staring at Maria's small, threatening hand, Zolgear finally lost the last of his patience.
He was not one to let traitors slide. From the very beginning, he had never intended to let a single member of Sheera's family go free. Originally, he planned to secure Mio Naruse before dealing with Maria, but now, he would simply have to accelerate the timeline.
A pale purple light flickered in Zolgear's eyes. Maria, who had been maintaining maximum vigilance, felt something was wrong. Suppressing a sudden surge of panic, she tried to continue her act of threatening Mio to stall for time, only to discover she could no longer move.
"What did you do?!" Maria struggled, but even with her full strength, her entire body remained completely paralyzed.
Zolgear gave a low snort. "A lowly succubus dares to threaten me? If it weren't for the fact that you still have some use... hmph."
The purple magical radiance in his eyes grew even more intense. Mio Naruse was lifted by an invisible hand, slowly drifting toward him.
"Once I have obtained Wilbert's power and restored the vitality of my physical body, I shall pamper you properly."
His lecherous expression made his already ugly, withered face even more repulsive. Maria fought desperately against the invisible shackles, but to little effect. She could only watch in helpless anxiety as the still-unconscious Mio floated away.
To deceive Zolgear, Mio's unconscious state was real. According to the original plan, they were supposed to at least exchange Mio for one hostage, which would have bought them plenty of time. They hadn't expected that Zolgear never intended to release anyone; he had merely shown them a projected image of Sheera and Lucia in captivity before moving to take Mio.
Maria had used her wits to stall a bit longer with the fake threat, but she hadn't anticipated Zolgear possessing such a bizarre restraining technique. In reality, even if Zolgear didn't have this strange power, Maria could never have truly brought herself to harm Mio. Given the gap in their power, the result would have been the same.
Ironically, Maria's display of stubbornness and her desperate desire to save her family had successfully dispelled Zolgear's suspicions. He attributed the smooth progression of the plan to Maria's overwhelming love for her mother and sister. In his eyes, Maria had only known Mio for a short time; naturally, she would value her family more. A cold-blooded devil like Zolgear could never comprehend the true bonds of friendship. Even Zest, whom he had created in the image of his lover and who remained fiercely loyal, was nothing more than a pawn to be discarded at will.
"Lord Zolgear."
Just as Zolgear's hand was about to touch Mio, the masked Lars appeared. He bowed slightly and said, "Zest reports that reinforcements from the Underworld have been spotted. Do we need to relocate?"
"Lars, you haven't left yet?" Zolgear's movements stiffened. He slowly withdrew his skeletal hand. "If Zest discovered them, why are you the one reporting to me?"
Zolgear trusted Lars, but his centuries of experience told him that Lars's sudden appearance was suspicious. Furthermore, trust or not, he felt no moral burden regarding the idea of killing Lars. Anyone who interfered with his acquisition of power deserved to die.
As Lars fumbled for an explanation, a pitch-black magic circle appeared above him. Zolgear, his face dark with malice, launched an attack. Lars jumped back, dodging the strike by a hair's breadth.
"Lord Zolgear, what are you doing?! The Underworld reinforcements are truly nearby; they will find this place soon!"
Zolgear's expression shifted. Seeing Lars persist with this claim, he wavered, wondering if it might actually be true.
"It's nothing. I feared you were an enemy in disguise," Zolgear muttered, using a magical link to summon Zest to his side.
In the second basement level of the castle, in front of a giant birdcage, Ethan and the real Lars stood before a high-tech console.
Sheera and Lucia were bound by chains at their wrists and ankles, looking like golden canaries trapped in a cage. Ethan had reverted to his original form and was examining the lock-like device in front of the cage.
A soft, youthful voice drifted out. Sheera lifted her face, looking frail and delicate. "Lars? And this is..."
"I'm a friend of Maria's," Ethan said quickly. "How do we unlock this?"
Sheera and Lucia had many questions, but they knew now was not the time.
"This is the switch for the Super-Electromagnetic Device," Sheera's voice was incredibly soft; she didn't look much more mature than Maria. "Without the password and the specific magical formula, it's almost impossible to unlock."
"If you force it, the device will trigger, instantly incinerating everything inside the cage."
Ethan followed Sheera's gaze to the top of the cage. Zolgear might not have grown much in power over the centuries, but he had certainly spent his time researching other fields. Whether it was the creation of Zest or this fusion of magic and technology, his technical skills were top-tier.
"The power of this device..." Ethan began to ask for more details, but Lars interrupted him. "There's no time. My puppet can only stall for another minute at most."
As a Puppeteer, he could sense the status of his controlled puppets at any time. Once Zest arrived, he would be exposed. He didn't care about the puppet's destruction, but time was running out. Even if Zolgear didn't realize someone was rescuing Sheera and Lucia, Mio would be in danger.
Lars had claimed to find Underworld reinforcements, but that had always been Zest's responsibility. His job was to bring back Mio. Once the lie was exposed, Zolgear would realize something was wrong immediately, and they wouldn't even have a minute.
Without the password, a forced rescue would definitely alert Zolgear. They had to exploit a narrow window of time.
Thinking of this, Ethan decisively manifested the Boosted Gear. Crimson dragon-shaped armor covered his body. Using the Balance Breaker ability, he instantly boosted his power five times. His speed might not be faster than an electromagnetic wave, but it only needed to be faster than the device's reaction time.
After charging for three seconds, Ethan threw a punch toward the upper section of the giant cage. Red and deep blue magic converged, carrying a power filled with the scent of destruction. It formed a beam of light that instantly annihilated the upper cage and the critical parts of the electromagnetic device.
The remaining magical force didn't slow down, punching straight up through the castle floors from the second basement. Outside the castle, Yuki and Kurumi Nonaka watched the soaring pillar of light, their young hearts deeply shaken. The powerful attack slammed into the barriers of the pocket dimension, causing the entire space to shudder several times.
The magic circles surrounding Sheera and Lucia flickered with light but then went dark. The destruction was so fast that the energy source couldn't even activate the magic circles.
Before the stunned eyes of Sheera and Lucia, Ethan casually crushed the magical shackles binding them.
"Lars, take them to meet up with Yuki and the others first." Ethan left them with those words and charged toward Mio and Maria's location.
At that moment, Zest had just finished communicating with Zolgear. However, the Puppet Lars—having been informed by the original that Ethan was on his way—faced Zolgear's ferocious gaze without flinching.
Zolgear no longer had the mind to deal with him. That soaring beam of magic had terrified him. The strength of the newcomer far exceeded his own; even in his youth, he wouldn't have been a match, let alone now when he was halfway in the grave.
"Zest, stop them!" Zolgear made a split-second decision. Ignoring Maria's restraint, he lunged for Mio, intending to take her and flee.
Forget Maria; he was willing to abandon his final stronghold. As long as he could obtain the power inside Mio, he could eventually reclaim everything.
Just as Zolgear was about to grab Mio, the Puppet Lars leaped between them.
"Get out of the way!" Zolgear didn't want to waste time; an invisible force tried to swat the puppet aside. The Puppet Lars knew he couldn't stop Zolgear, but he only needed to prevent him from grabbing Mio.
BOOM!!!
To Zolgear's fury, the Puppet Lars self-destructed. The resulting shockwave threw Mio far toward Maria's side. While the Puppeteer's dolls could look identical to the original, their power was far inferior; even the self-destruction was more flash than substance. This was why the Puppet Lars hadn't tried to fight earlier; he could barely dodge Zolgear's casual strikes. If they had truly fought, he would have been subdued instantly, just like Maria.
The rapidly changing scene left the bunny-girl Zest dazed. One second, a terrifying beam of magic came from the basement; the next, Lars had blown himself up?