"Yes, that's a good idea. Me and Emma will go right, you all go left!" Cassandra ordered quickly, her voice sharp and filled with urgency.
Esdeath overheard it and turned to Medlia. "I'll take care of those two. You go for Ethan and those two bitches!" she said coldly, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Just as Ethan and his team were about to split up, the ground ahead cracked open. The wall between both paths split apart, and from the darkness crawled out a massive demon. Its face was that of a bull with burning red eyes and two long, curved horns. In its huge hands, it held a hammer almost as big as its own body.
BAM!...
The hammer slammed into the ground. The impact sent a deafening shockwave through the entire area, shaking the floor violently. Dust filled the air.
"Wha—!" Emma gasped and instinctively jumped to the side, rolling toward Ethan. She quickly ran beside him, while Cassandra, without hesitation, continued toward the right side as she had planned.
"No! Cassandra, split up!" Emma shouted in panic, but Cassandra didn't look back. She just kept running.
"There's nothing we can do now," Sylvania said with clenched fists. "Just hope she manages to reunite with us later!"
"Shadow slave," Medlia whispered.
A thick, black fog burst from the ground, and from it emerged a tall, shadowy figure—over seven feet tall, with glowing eyes and a monstrous, muscular frame. It roared and charged at the bull-headed demon, locking it in combat. Medlia used that moment to dash toward Ethan's group, while Esdeath turned her gaze toward Cassandra and began to chase her.
Cassandra ran as fast as she could. Her boots pounded against the floor as she rushed through the winding hallways that seemed like a maze. Low-ranking demons appeared from every direction, snarling and clawing toward her. With a wave of her hand, their eyes went dull and they dropped into deep sleep one after another. But each second she spent using her power gave Esdeath more time to catch up.
She didn't realize that Esdeath was not as strong as before. If Cassandra had turned back and fought with everything she had, she could have hurt Esdeath badly—maybe even escaped easily. But the memory of their first battle haunted her. The way Esdeath had almost defeated her, her team, and thousands of soldiers… that fear still clung tightly to her heart. She couldn't bring herself to fight back. She just kept running.
Her breathing grew heavy. Sweat rolled down her forehead.
After few minutes, Cassandra suddenly stopped. Her jaw tightened with a grim expression. "It's… the end…" she said to herself..
In front of her was a wall. No door. No path. It was a dead end.
Clang!...
Something sharp whistled through the air and slashed across her leg.
"Urgh!" Cassandra cried out, falling to her knees as blood poured down her shin. She pressed her hand over the wound, trembling from the pain.
When she looked up. Esdeath was walking slowly toward her, her projectile spinning in her hand before it turned back into a long, curved scythe.
Esdeath's lips stretched into a wide, wicked grin. Her bare feet clicked against the stone floor with each step—slow, heavy, deliberate. Her icy eyes were full of excitement, of cruel satisfaction.
"Done running, my dear dead sister-in-law?"
---
At the same time, on the opposite side of the royal palace—where the most destruction had taken place—The demons had launched a massive ambush from that side, and the soldiers, though brave, were being crushed under their overwhelming strength. Screams, steel clashes, and roars filled the air. The smell of blood and burning flesh lingered everywhere.
Most soldiers were desperately waiting for the Rank A awakeneds to arrive and save them, but none of them knew that almost all of those high-ranked warriors had already been killed by Mourya.
Slash!
Alice's sword flashed through the smoky air, cleanly slicing through the neck of a demon charging toward them. Black blood splattered on the floor as she turned quickly, shielding Brenna, Ravenna, and Selene behind her.
"Stop treating me like a child! I can fight too!" Selene said angrily, gripping her fist tightly.
She was tired of being pulled back every time danger appeared. Brenna had been holding her hand, keeping her behind the group as if she were fragile porcelain.
But Brenna ignored her completely, focusing on the enemies instead. "Stay close," she said without looking back.
Selene frowned and clenched her teeth, her pride stinging.
Not far away, Maruti was struggling in Kailith's grip, swinging her arms wildly. "Let me go! I'm not gonna run away, I promise! At least let me crush these demons myself!"
Kailith sighed deeply. "Alright, but you better keep your word!" she warned, lowering Maruti to the ground.
"Hell yeah! Time to kill some demons!" Maruti yelled with excitement, grinning wide as she dashed straight toward the nearest group.
The battle around her was pure madness. Demons killed, and got killed. But strangely, even the angels who had been fighting against them earlier had started acting differently. They were no longer attacking the demons. Instead, they began tearing down walls and running into different rooms—as if searching for something, or someone.
Maruti didn't care about that. She caught a demon by the head, slamming it into the ground with a loud thud.
"Take this!" she shouted, rubbing the demon's face harshly against the floor like she was cleaning it with his skull. The demon screamed in pain, thrashing helplessly.
Then, with a wicked grin, Maruti grabbed him by the horns and hurled his head toward the wall in front of her.
Brenna and Ravenna, watching from behind, quickly turned their faces away, expecting a bloody splatter.
But there was no sound.
Maruti blinked in confusion. The demon's head didn't smash—it passed straight through the wall, like it wasn't even solid.
"Huh?"
The force she had used threw her off balance. Her feet slipped, and before she could stop herself, her whole body tumbled forward and went right through the wall too.
The world around her twisted and changed. In the next instant, she found herself in a huge, dark, disgusting chamber. The floor beneath her squished with every step, covered in thick, green, sticky liquid. Slimy shapes moved under the surface, like organs trying to crawl.
Thankfully she didn't fall, She just let go of the demon, Since he was already dead.
"Ewwww! Where the hell am I?" Maruti groaned, lifting one foot after another as fast as she could, trying not to let it touch her skin. Her nose wrinkled at the awful stench.
She looked around. The walls were dark red and pulsing, dripping with warm blood that oozed down slowly. In front of her stood a figure—Horax, the octopus-headed demon. His long, slimy tentacles writhed behind him.
And right in front of him was Scarlet, her arms and legs bound tightly by some tentacles. She struggled, but each time she tried to break free, Horax restrained her again.
"I wouldn't be a Demon Lord if I could be defeated by just one S-rank awakened," Horax said proudly, his deep voice echoing in the chamber. But as he turned slightly, one of his glowing eyes twitched. He had noticed Maruti standing near the wall.
"It seems there were weak points in my barrier… and you came crawling through one," he said, his voice cold and amused.
Without warning, the fleshy walls around them pulsed, and an extra layer of thick, living meat grew over the entrance, sealing the room completely.
Maruti's eyes widened in disgust. "Ugh, fuck you squid face....It was already gross enough, and you just made it worse!"
----
Meanwhile, outside, Kailith slammed her fists against the wall again and again, trying to slip through the same spot Maruti had vanished into.
"Maruti!... MARUTI! Can you hear me?" she shouted, her voice echoing across the hall.
There was no answer. Only the sounds of distant fighting and the roars of demons.
"Damn it!" Kailith cursed under her breath. "I take my eyes off her for one second and she disappears!" She kicked the air in frustration, her expression tight with worry and anger.
For a moment, she stood there, her heart pounding with panic. But she quickly realized there was no use wasting time on something she couldn't fix right now. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and ran back toward Alice and the others.
"Take them and get away from here," Kailith ordered, her tone sharp but calm. "And don't change back to Arlecchino, got it? I'll join you soon!"
Alice looked at her, eyes wide but determined. "Y-yes! There's still half an hour left!" she said, nodding quickly.
Without wasting another second, they split up. Alice took Brenna, Ravenna, and Selene, leading them through the toward front exit, while Kailith turned to face whatever coming.
---
High above, Raguel and Morpheus unleashed their combined attack. Their auras merged into a massive wave of pressure, the air vibrating violently. Dark clouds above them split apart, scattering like torn fabric.
But before the energy could crash down completely, Lortell and Maddie exchanged a quick, knowing glance.
Maddie drew her saber in one smooth motion, its blade gleaming faintly, Without hesitation, Lortell bit her finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the sword. The metal hissed as it absorbed the blood, smoking faintly red.
Maddie gripped the saber tightly with her right hand. Lortell placed her left hand over hers, and together, they raised the weapon high above their heads.
Morpheus's eyes widened in disbelief. "What are they doing? A combined killer move to block ours? That's not even possible… do they think they're some kind of prodigies?" he thought, his brows furrowing.
"Crimson Bloodflame!" they shouted together.
A massive surge of crimson energy exploded from the saber. Flames roared outward like a tidal wave, tearing through the sky. The strike collided directly with Raguel and Morpheus's Slumber Strike.
The impact was deafening.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Energy bursts flew in all directions, destroying everything nearby. Glass windows shattered. The ground cracked open. Yet, through all that chaos, the crimson flames held strong—blocking their opponent's attack completely.
Morpheus wws taken aback, eyes wide, a faint smile on his face. "They actually did it," he said quietly, almost in awe. "Humans of this era… they're no less impressive than those from two hundred years ago."
But Raguel didn't share his admiration. Her face was pale, her jaw tight.
She clenched her fists, eyes fixed on the horizon.
"Only two minutes left, Where are you Esdeath?,"