Zest's brain had just registered Zolgear's command to "stop them," and before she could figure out who she was supposed to stop, a streak of red light surged past her, blocking Zolgear's path.
Glancing at the dark-skinned, busty bunny-girl who still looked confused, Zolgear hissed, "Useless!" Of the two subordinates he kept by his side, the capable one had betrayed him, leaving only a homunculus that couldn't do anything right.
"Maria, take Mio and go!" Ethan knew Zolgear had tampered with this dimension. Although he didn't think it was a huge problem, it was better to remove the unstable elements first.
"Okay, Ethan-nii! Be careful!" Maria picked up the unconscious Mio and flew toward the Nonaka sisters.
Yuki and Kurumi had already activated the teleportation array. Lars, Sheera, and Lucia were all there, waiting only for Maria and Mio to arrive before warping out of this space.
Zolgear watched Mio disappear, his eyes bloodshot with rage, but he dared not move. Looking at Ethan in his Red Dragon Emperor armor, he had no desire to fight; he only wanted to find an opportunity to escape.
"Zest, stop him!" Zolgear commanded again. "Even if you have to die, stop him!"
Because she was artificially created, the white-haired bunny-girl wasn't exactly a genius, but she wasn't an idiot either—just average. The mere magical pressure radiating from Ethan made it almost impossible for her to move. Zolgear's order was clearly sending her to her death.
Zest felt bitter, but she could not resist the master who had created her. Zolgear had placed an "Instant Death" curse on her and could monitor her thoughts and feelings. She had no doubt that if she showed a hint of rebellion, he would trigger the curse immediately.
Ethan, of course, saw through Zolgear's intent to flee. However, even Kokabiel couldn't escape him when he had first broken through; a man like Zolgear, who didn't specialize in speed, had no chance. Unless someone bought him enough time to cast a teleportation spell. That person, clearly, would not be Zest.
Zest launched an attack at Ethan with a suicidal resolve. Ethan didn't even look at her; a bolt of bright yellow lightning shot from his fingertip.
"Aah...!"
After a scream, the S+ rank bunny-girl collapsed in agony. Lightning fueled by Akeno Himejima's talent and Fallen Angel blood reached levels of power that felt like "True Damage" to devils. If Ethan hadn't held back, Zest would have been turned to ash in an instant.
Zolgear's ashen face turned darker than a coal pot. In such a short time, no matter how good he was at magic, he couldn't possibly draw a dimensional transfer circle.
Having knocked out Zest, Ethan turned into a red meteor and slammed into Zolgear. Zolgear was forced to abandon his half-formed teleportation spell, shifting positions while deploying a magical barrier.
In Balance Breaker mode, Ethan's casual strikes shattered Zolgear's barriers. Dense magic turned into points of light, dissipating into the air. Seeing that escape was impossible, Zolgear could only grit his teeth and fight.
"Boy, don't look down on me! I have lived since ancient times!" Zolgear pulled out a strange, crescent-shaped weapon of dark purple. He called it a sword, and Ethan didn't argue. After a few exchanges, the weapon proved unable to pierce Ethan's armor, but it didn't shatter upon contact, making it a decent weapon. Though Ethan had the title of Weapon Master, he hadn't found a suitable weapon yet; he figured he might take this one to play with.
Zolgear's combat technique was decent—certainly more refined than Basara Toujou's—but compared to Ethan, he was lacking.
Thud!
Finding an opening, Ethan dodged the weapon's parry and punched Zolgear in the chest, sending him flying. The old but tall body smashed through several grey stone walls. Zolgear spat out a mouthful of blood. Knowing he was no match in close quarters, he revealed his final trump card.
A pale purple magic covered his eyes. An invisible hand gripped Ethan's throat, trying to lift him.
"Hm?!" Ethan felt his breathing hitch, but he couldn't find the source of the attack. Punching the air in front of him did nothing. Finally, he fired a magic beam at Zolgear, forcing him to let go.
The surprise attack caused Ethan a bit of trouble, but he broke into a smile. Right, Zolgear had a psychokinetic-style mental magic. He had almost forgotten that.
Zolgear's abilities were well-rounded, but his true strength lay in mental magic. Not only did he have this original psychokinetic power, but he could also use mental magic to control others with an effect stronger than a succubus. Beyond that were his scientific research and his prowess as a "magical battery." Close-quarters combat was his weakest link.
His melee skills were enough to bully Basara, but against Ethan, he was just a punching bag. As a magical battery, he was countered by a melee fighter, so he was forced to use his unique mental magic. This magic was very convenient to activate: anywhere his gaze landed, he could form psychokinetic force with his mind to launch various attacks.
Psychokinesis couldn't be canceled out by physical or magical attacks. You either had to defend with a magical barrier or tank it with your body. The downside was that while using this magic, the user's body couldn't do anything else—it couldn't even move. Furthermore, the psychokinesis was limited to his line of sight.
Thus, when Ethan bombarded Zolgear with magic, forcing him to move, the invisible force choking his neck dissipated. Zolgear tried to repeat the trick, but Ethan was now prepared. Psychokinetic attacks were invisible and formless, but their speed was determined by the user's reaction time. Ethan moved at high speed, leaving dozens of afterimages, instantly rendering Zolgear's trick useless.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Every one of Ethan's attacks shattered a layer of Zolgear's magical shielding. When Zolgear's magic was depleted, his time would be up. Ethan could have used other trump cards to speed it up, but it wasn't necessary. As for instant-killing a Devil King, only God-class beings could do that.
Fifteen minutes later, Zolgear exhausted his last drop of magic in despair. He lay on the shattered ground, eyes glazed, body broken and bloodied—hardly an inch of him was intact. It wasn't that Ethan deliberately tortured him; it was because, to save magic, Zolgear had only used barriers on his vital spots toward the end. Ethan naturally didn't go out of his way to avoid the unprotected areas. It could only be said that Zolgear brought this on himself.
Stomp.
A sharp red dragon claw stepped on Zolgear's chest. Ethan asked, "Hand over that strange mental magic, and I might spare your life." He had specifically kept the old man alive for this magic. While it had flaws, it was incredibly powerful and useful—especially when paired with Ethan's own immense mental strength.
Hearing a chance to live, a spark returned to Zolgear's dull eyes. But that spark vanished completely after he tried to use mental magic to control Ethan one last time.
Ethan only felt a brief moment of daze before his soul instinctively shuddered. Zolgear, who had a breath of life left, went completely silent beneath his foot.
"Tch..." Ethan kicked the corpse in frustration. While he never actually intended to let Zolgear go, he was disappointed he hadn't obtained the psychokinetic magic.
After Zolgear died, the space suddenly began to warp. Ethan knew this was the fail-safe Zolgear had left behind. The castle was actually created from a monster. Once Zolgear died, the monster would revive and consume everything in this dimension.
Ethan deactivated Balance Breaker, picked up the unconscious, busty bunny-girl, and prepared to leave. He could handle the monster, but it would be a hassle. Since the space was empty of allies now, leaving was easier. He'd report it later, and the Devil Kings would send someone to clean up.
As he lifted Zest, Ethan suddenly thought of something. This was Zolgear's final lair. Not only was there a castle-turned-monster and an electromagnetic birdcage, but surely there were other useful items. For example... a grimoire containing that psychokinetic magic.