Solan Neumann moved quickly after Shion Lan went out. The plan was for Shion to occupy the Blood Spirit for a while so that Solan could find the magic circles and purify them.
"Now, spirits! Search for the magic circles in the places we investigated before, and disable them as much as possible!"
Her biggest concern was helping Shion, even if only a little as she thought,
'Even if he possess my family's treasures and the Blood Spirit's power has decreased, it's still impossible!
But soon the spirits responded:
"Milady, there is no circle in the basement!"
"Milady! There is no circle in the northern tower!"
Hearing this, Solan's face got pale instantly.
'What is happening?!! Where have the magic circles gone?!!'
The spirits continued without stopping:
"Milady! There is no circle in the eastern tower!"
"Milady! There is no circle by the right statue!"
'This is impossible!! An engraved magic circle cannot simply be moved!'
Solan hurried toward the sealing circle she had created, but the spirits kept reporting:
"Milady! There is no circle by the left statue!"
"Milady! There is no circle in the western tower!"
"Milady! There is no circle in the southern tower!"
When she reached the magic circle that had been in the basement and that she had transformed into a sealing circle, she found the basement filled with fresh bloodstains, skulls engraved with blood runes, and items of forbidden magic. Solan's eyes widened in terror when she recognized one of the artifacts.
"This… this is impossible!"
The sealing circle was gone. Yet she found traces of the circle being transferred to other constructs. Suddenly, the blood domain around her vanished.
'Shion must have started his plan to slow the Blood Spirit. It will last at most five minutes, but I cannot help him…'
As she struggled to breathe, a spirit emerged from beneath the traces of the transferred circle. It had blue features and was surrounded by lightning and ice. Solan looked at it in shock and whispered:
"Polter?!"
The spirit bowed to her.
"Yes, my young lady."
A rush of emotions surged through Solan as she cannot express it—despair at not finding the magic circles, fear and panic over Shion facing the Blood Spirit alone, or joy at the return of her summoned spirit.
Polter interrupted her thoughts:
"My lady, the Blood Spirit outside is fighting that person. We must go and find the magic circles quickly."
"But they've all been moved."
"My lady, they were moved only a short while ago. Those who transferred the circles took advantage of the time when you were in the Recorded Past. However, because a ninth-level power is present outside, they did not act recklessly. Still, while I was sealed, I felt an extremely terrifying force that suppressed the ninth level power, giving those people a chance to hide. However they are still here."
"Then find them! We have to save Shion Lan!"
"As you command, my lady."
Polter moved at incredible speed and left the palace. He observed the attacks striking the domain and the strike aimed at Shion, thinking to himself,
'My young lady… even though I barely know this boy, but.... he's a disaster!'
Polter vanished, searching for the people who had transferred the circles.
...
"What?!" Miral Flair and Brad Sano shouted, seeing their attacks fail to affect the barrier of domain.
The Blood Spirit's strike descended on Shion, but the lantern he carried reacted. A massive aura erupted from Shion, feeding the lantern, which blazed brightly and weakened the Blood Spirit's attack. Shion evaded the remainder of the strike.
He looked at it with disdain.
"This lantern will protect me for at least three minutes from your attacks—enough time for Solan to find the magic circles and finish you."
Everyone stared in disbelief.
The director Tim Ayr spoke to Miral and Brad:
"I stopped your attacks at the last moment."
"Why did you do that, Director Tim?" They asked in disbelief.
"This battle must not be interfered with under any circumstances. Otherwise, the one who signed the contract would die. For the contract to form, Shion had to sign as well. Your attacks would have killed him along with the Blood Spirit."
Tim Ayr continued calmly:
"If I weren't at the ninth level, I would never risk that boy's life. But he mentioned the magic circles—search for them as well."
The director changed his spell:
"(Time Magic: Time Deceleration)"
Alongside the trap he had set, he added a spell to reinforce the lantern inside. Because of this, the scroll had intended to kill both Shion and the Blood Spirit, but thanks to the trap, the punishment would be greatly delayed.
"The protection will last ten minutes. With the Blood Spirit's attacks slowed, we'll gain an extra five minutes. By delaying the punishment, we'll have nearly half an hour."
Yet all the spells the director cast shattered.
"No!"
Tim Ayr looked at the scroll, eyes narrowing.
"This scroll possesses ninth-level power!"
Those who heard this were speechless. Any ninth-level artifact was as rare as if it was a mythical item—countable on one hand.
The director continued:
"But this scroll belonged to the Neumann family, who never reached the ninth level in their lives—their maximum was the eighth level. Such power can only be activated by someone at the ninth level. Though it emits an eighth-level aura, it is enough to repel interference. Its nature has also changed."
"What do you mean, sir?" Rona Flair asked, puzzled.
"It should have killed both individuals inside if any rescue or help attempt had been made. Yet, despite my interference, Shion and the Blood Spirit are still unharmed."
He paused, thinking,
'Could it be the person who stopped us at the beginning?'
Inside the domain, Shion felt multiple spells and techniques activating. He saw lights moving rapidly outside.
"What are they doing?"
A sudden headache struck him.
"What's wrong? You've been talking too much lately."
"It's not that I enjoy it—but there are things you need to understand."
As Shion sat, listening to Shi Yun Lan under the glow of the spirit lantern, the Blood Spirit reached the peak of its anger but held back its attacks.
'If I attack him, I'll deplete the power of the magic circles, and I won't have another chance to attack that girl, so....'
The Blood Spirit sat, waiting for the lantern to extinguish after three minutes.
Shion thought,
'Indeed, advanced monsters have intelligence—they won't act blindly or purely instinctively. It would be difficult to provoke this level. Without that surprise, it wouldn't have lost control at all.'
Shi Yun Lan said,
"This spirit isn't easy. Follow the instructions I gave you if you want to live—as no one has the right to kill you except me."
"…"
Shion was speechless for a moment, then massaged his temples as the headache intensified.
...
The two battalions also moved to search for the magic circles. Since they didn't know the locations, they spread across the village as the palace entrance was blocked by Shion and the Blood Spirit.
They saw the spirits Solan had supposedly summoned roaming the area, so they decided to search elsewhere.
"Activate your domains!"
Several seventh-level figures released their auras. Ice, water, lightning, and fire energy spread to scan the surroundings. They split further, storming houses to search for the magic circles quickly.
Polter observed from above.
"They narrowed the search area. I found nothing in the north, and they found nothing in the west. The eastern area has magical barrier that none can get over it. Only the southern area remains."
Polter moved at incredible speed. As a summoned spirit, he could pass through houses instantly. Expanding his domain, he intensified the search.
Within a single minute—
"I've finally found those rats!"
Polter transformed into a bolt of electricity, piercing the house where they were hiding destroying it. They moved quickly and avoided the strike. Polter stared at them with cold eyes.
"The Kingdom of Amorichi—what brings you to the Kingdom of Ostiferos?"
They froze.
'How did he identify us at a glance?!'
Their leader stepped forward:
"Wandering spirit, we are only here to retrieve something belonging to our friend. We will leave quietly."
He clenched his fist, but Polter sneered:
"I also want something—and someone—belonging to the Neumann family, isn't that right, Sora Neumann?!"
...
Solan heard Polter speaking and, with her suspicions confirmed, she said:
"Spirits, focus on what I told you."
She left the spirits to care for the body on the ground, flew outside, and saw Shion Lan calmly facing the stationary Blood Spirit.
The director noticed her and called,
"Solan?!"
Miral Flair, Brad Sano, Rona Flair, Beliza Sano, Kin Light, and Glass Sano all stared with admiration. As Solan Neumann was a white spirit, pure and radiant. Just looking at her washed away fatigue, even though she wasn't in her physical body.
Solan spoke quickly,
"Director, I need to reach my spirit servant in the southern area immediately. He has found the magic circles with people from the Kingdom of Amorichi."
Everyone looked at her in shock, then quickly became serious.
The director expanded his domain south and sensed the spirit's trace.
"Miral, Brad! Go with Solan and retrieve the magic circles immediately so we can finish this!"
They nodded.
So Tim Ayr used his spell,
"(Rapid Transfer)!"
...
A masked figure heard his name but ignored it and stepped forward.
"Polter, the spirit summoned by my young lady—what do you want?"
"I want the life of a traitor."
"I betrayed no one," Sora said coldly.
"I was merely raised in the Neumann family and took advantage of the situation to benefit my kingdom, Amorichi. Where is the betrayal in that?"
"Do you really want to know?"
Everyone turned to the voice—it was Miral Flair.
Another voice followed:
"Betrayal is gaining trust and then wasting it, even if you are not of the same family. You did not betray your kingdom, but you betrayed us."
Brad Sano spoke calmly.
A third voice struck Sora's vertebral column with a cold.
"You carried the name of the Neumann family. They embraced you and gave you everything, yet you let everyone die without remorse. Today, as the head of the Neumann family, I—Solan Neumann—will eliminate the person who cared for me most and sacrificed me!"
Solan Neumann spoke in anger.