Before Mozo could think any further, the knight lady suddenly leapt down, grabbed him, and hoisted him over her shoulder before sprinting toward the mayor's estate at full speed.
At the same time, the other Beyonders also began retreating rapidly.
But they were already too late.
From inside House 320 came a chorus of maddened voices roaring in unison:
"We won't let you have your way!"
"You can all die!"
The next instant, Mozo watched in horror as every house along Peace Street, starting from Number 320, came alive.
On the side facing House 320, thick patches of green hair suddenly burst from the walls.
Then the green fur withered instantly.
A moment later, every house violently tore itself free from the ground.
Doors split open into horrifying mouths lined with jagged teeth.
Windows twisted into crimson, bloodshot eyes.
Massive clawed limbs made of brick and stone burst from both sides of the buildings.
House demons.
Creatures that should have existed only in fairy tales had appeared in reality.
Meanwhile, House 320 itself rapidly expanded and distorted, swelling higher and higher until it transformed into a grotesque fortress towering over the entire street.
Countless house demons gathered beneath the twisted stronghold.
And from atop the fortress, the crazed voice continued roaring:
"Hahahahaha!"
"Come then! Come!"
"The great Green Angel will never let you succeed!"
"Curse the Sun King! Curse the elves! Curse everything!"
As the laughter echoed across the district, the house demons launched their assault.
Their enormous bodies surged forward like a tidal wave while razor-sharp claws swept through the streets.
The official Beyonders were highly trained, but the attack had come too suddenly.
And worse, it originated from a Sequence 2 existence.
Many Beyonders were torn apart almost instantly.
Only the captain-level operatives still managed to hold the line.
Even the knight lady, despite carrying Mozo over one shoulder, was immediately attacked.
The previously ordinary houses on both sides of the street suddenly extended gigantic claws toward them.
But the knight reacted flawlessly.
Even while carrying a full-grown man, she precisely seized the timing, slipping through the gap between the claws before using the demon's own limbs as footholds.
She bounded upward repeatedly, rapidly closing the distance to the creature's main body.
Then, with one final leap, she drew the sword at her waist and shouted:
"Let thunder shatter the darkness!"
Violent lightning erupted from the blade.
As her sword fell, the enormous house demon exploded apart in a storm of thunder, collapsing into rubble.
Mozo instantly recognized her pathway.
Sequence 5 of the Lightning Pathway.
Thunder Guardian.
One step further and she would become the demigod-level Thunder Lord.
This pathway specialized in overwhelming frontal destructive power.
Of course, it was also extremely loud and flashy.
Mozo honestly couldn't understand what Duke Windsor had been thinking by assigning someone like her to guard his daughter in the Special Zone.
Then another thought suddenly struck him.
Wait.
When Miss Windsor was kidnapped last time…
could it have happened because you couldn't fight at full strength?!
Shadow Mages were powerful, yes.
But against a Thunder Guardian of the same sequence, kidnapping a duke's daughter shouldn't have been that easy.
Still, Mozo didn't dwell on it for long.
Instead, he frowned and asked:
"The mayor's estate? Aren't we going to the Windsor manor?"
The knight continued sprinting forward at terrifying speed while carrying him.
"The young lady has already been escorted to the Fog Capital. The manor only contains ordinary servants now."
"They won't be dragged into the Mirror World."
"So right now, protecting ourselves is enough."
Mozo nodded in understanding.
Then he turned back toward the twisted fortress in the distance before letting out a sigh.
He was worried about Audrey.
Very worried.
But there was nothing he could do right now.
All he could do was pray she survived.
He had already done everything he reasonably could.
Who could have guessed the enemy hiding there would turn out to be a Sequence 2 Green Angel?
Based on the creature's self-revelation and its abilities, Mozo could already identify the pathway.
Life Pathway.
Sequence 2.
Green Angel.
But speaking of Green Angels…
Mozo suddenly remembered the Formless Courtyard.
There was also a Green Angel characteristic within the organization.
Could this guy possibly have come from the Formless Courtyard?
No… probably not.
That would be far too much of a coincidence.
And besides, the Formless Courtyard were observers.
Spectators hidden within the shadows of history, silently watching every story unfold.
Stepping onto the stage personally wasn't their style.
Even so, Mozo silently kept the possibility in mind.
Because if this Green Angel truly came from the Formless Courtyard…
then Mozo might gain another way to survive.
Or even turn the situation around.
For now, however, his only option was to follow the knight lady to the mayor's estate and seek protection there.
Still…
the mayor was only Sequence 3.
Even with the blessing of the Mirror World, he could probably do no more than stall the enemy while waiting for reinforcements from the Fog Capital.
And if those reinforcements arrived too late…
then Mozo would have no choice but to activate the Golden Legion within the ruins.
Suddenly, another thought crossed his mind.
If the knight lady was truly Miss Windsor's personal guardian…
then why hadn't she accompanied Miss Windsor out of the Special Zone?
But the current situation was far too dangerous to think deeply about it.
So Mozo simply adjusted himself into a more comfortable position over her shoulder and continued fleeing with her toward the mayor's estate.
As they drew closer, the Beyonders stationed at the Inspectorate had already constructed defensive fortifications around the area.
They splashed holy water across nearby houses and streets before rolling out dozens of cannons modified through supernatural means.
The cannons roared continuously, bombarding the approaching house demons while covering the retreat of their allies.
Once the knight lady and the surviving Beyonders arrived, a muscular man barked an order and detonated hundreds of nearby buildings.
The collapsing ruins formed a makeshift wall, barely slowing the advance of the demon horde.
They had already observed that the house demons possessed massive, bloated bodies.
Terrain like this was highly effective at obstructing their movement.
The captain, whose hair had somehow been burned completely off one side of his head, dropped the two wounded comrades he had been carrying before shouting toward the muscular man:
"Where's the Count?!"
"How the hell should I know?!"
"Open fire! Blow these freaks to pieces!"
Under his command, dozens of heavy cannons unleashed thunderous barrages.
The specially crafted shells easily overturned the advancing house demons.
But it wasn't enough.
Not even close.
Dozens of cannons could only slow the monsters slightly.
They couldn't inflict meaningful damage.
The sight filled every Beyonder present with growing dread.
Especially those who had once entered the ruins.
At that moment, they felt the same suffocating despair they had experienced when facing the Golden Legion all over again.