"Maybe I'm going to believe you guys and wait for that moment," Marco replied.
"After all, it's not your goal that I'm going for, it's my own goal that I'm going after while following you," he added.
Marco took a breath and stared toward the other three while lifting his brow a bit.
"If I want to win, then why won't I take risks?" he concluded.
"Exactly, that's the spirit. That's something the world is waiting for certain individuals to show," Aizis replied, smiling out of joy.
"But the problem is, sometimes, I feel like I will do everything and even wipe out the world itself to reach my goal. Is it really hard to do, or is it just my hesitation that's holding me back?" Marco thought to himself.
"Why in the world is this spawning in my head?" Marco thought to himself.
Aizis noticed Marco's behavior as he was staring at him for a while.
"Marco? You okay?" Aizis asked out of worry.
Marco didn't reply for a second.
"Marco?" Aizis tried to get Marco's attention one more time.
Marco finally noticed Aizis's words as he got back his consciousness from internal thoughts.
"Yes, Aizis? Any problem?" Marco replied in surprise.
"No, I thought it was you who was having some problem. You were just standing like a statue, so I thought…" Aizis countered.
"No, I'm fine," Marco replied.
Aizis responded with a casual smile and understanding expression.
"So then, what's next in your planning box?" Marco spoke up, tired expression.
"I already decided to do what I should. I already planned the way I will ascend to the 5th layer this time—and the way of clearing out every single one in the 6th layer who gets in my way," Raizel replied.
"I can see who will do it, and I know how I will counter them this time," he added.
Aizis took a long breath, smiled a bit.
"Alright, I'm looking forward to your plan. Pretty sure you're going to do your best, but the question is…" Aizis said, casual smile on his face.
He took a casual breath and stared toward Raizel while lifting up his eyebrow.
"Are you really sure that you can defeat every single one who tries to get in your way?" he added.
Raizel didn't express much aside from smiling a bit toward Aizis—it was a smile of confidence.
"Aizis, it's not the first time for you to be with me in my journey. I know you're well aware of me and know what I like to do and what I do at the very end."
"This is maybe why I'm trying to follow you," Aizis replied.
"Then keep following me. Just like me, believe we can win someday," Raizel said, smiling a gentle smile afterward.
Aizis smiled a bit in reply. The rest of them remained silent for a few seconds.
Raizel was the one to break the silence.
"Well then, guys. Like I planned, I will visit the supreme ruler of the 8th realm."
Raizel took a breath, smiled a bit, and started speaking again.
"After all, he was the one and only person who helped back then."
Marco smiled a bit at Raizel's face and raised his voice.
"Well then, hope you'll be successful in recruiting him this time as well," Marco said.
"I will be going off now," Marco added after a few seconds.
Neither Aizis nor Raizel replied to Marco. Marco smiled a bit toward both of them and then drew a purple magic circle for teleportation.
A spark of purple light covered Marco, and he disappeared from there along with the light.
"It looks like I should leave as well. I'm leaving," Maria said as soon as Marco disappeared from there.
Maria instantly disappeared from there, without any presence of a magic circle.
It was no teleportation magic, but pure physical speed.
Suddenly, Raizel seemed lost in thoughts. He was thinking about something very deeply.
"Are you worried about something, Raizel?" Aizis asked, glaring toward Raizel.
"I didn't expect Shiara to have _The Purple Touch of Destruction_—the spell that increases someone's physical attributes to a level where they're capable of wiping out worlds easily. He actually managed to master it so early," Raizel spoke up.
"It's been a while, actually. Our return happened after quite some time," Aizis replied, offering a minor smile toward Raizel.
"It's really impressive how he managed to lead the spell to here, to a strong stage like this," Raizel said.
"I just taught him the basic stage of the magic when he used to be with me," Raizel added, taking a breath.
"Time passed, he changed. He started to seek what he wanted until his death. He left me, and now he wants to kill me."
"Things change really fast—faster than our realization," Raizel concluded, a bit of sadness appearing in his eyes.
"How did you feel after murdering your student?" Aizis asked, smiling a bit.
"I don't know," Raizel replied, taking a casual breath.
"As he tried to get in my way, I just destroyed him. I know he was my student, but it was obvious for me to murder him. I did it—I did it," he added, without much expression on his face and eyes.
A blue magic circle appeared right beside Aizis. It was Maria all along—she appeared there along with the magic circle, with a trace of worry on her face. She seemed to be in an insane hurry at that moment.
Aizis and Raizel were surprised a bit by her sudden appearance as she showed up in the middle of their conversation.
"Maria? What happened?" Aizis asked.
"I don't know who, but someone with an incredible amount of magic power appeared in the Secretive World. His presence almost shattered my magic troops like nothing," Maria replied with urgency.
"I assume he is a sacred spirit considering his magic power," she added.
Raizel took a long breath and drew a magic circle to create a portal. It was a dark-purple portal for teleportation.
"It looks like I have to run for battle one more time," Raizel said while standing in front of the portal, smiling a bit.
As he was about to enter the portal, someone appeared there with a flash of purple light—it was Marco, wearing a dark long coat that covered his entire body.