Maria had lived in the most remote part of the Devil World since birth. Despite being an adult, she had never even engaged in the succubus practice of absorbing life force.
She had no access to information regarding Devil Pieces or servants. Sheila likely thought the same, never mentioning the matter to her.
After giving Naruse Mio and Maria some time to process the information, Ethan initiated the conversation about the sisters being hunted.
"Maria, did your mother tell you how to resolve this? You can't just keep hiding forever."
"Well... Mom said to hide until the Three Factions Conference ends in a month, and then seek the protection of the Gremory family..." The succubus LOLI looked at everyone, saying somewhat awkwardly.
Ethan nodded, realizing that the two families had indeed maintained contact, and Sheila was aware of the Gremory family's situation.
Although their situation was somewhat precarious, they still had a Devil King and maintained their status among the Four Great Pure-Blooded Devil families.
Once the peace treaty was established, no one would dare to cause trouble again. Protecting three "weak" women would naturally be no problem.
"No, I have to go home... Dad and Mom..."
With the facts laid bare, Naruse Mio no longer doubted anything the succubus LOLI said. But many years of emotional attachment couldn't just be abandoned.
After struggling internally for a moment, she stated firmly, "Dad and Mom will be in danger. Even if I have to hide, I must bring them with me."
"Understood."
Ethan nodded. If Naruse Mio's foster parents were still alive, the Gremory family was entirely capable of protecting them.
If he weren't busy dealing with the Phenex family, he would have intended to take a trip to the Devil World and eliminate Zolgear directly, ending the matter once and for all.
If there hadn't been too many changes, according to Ethan's memory, Zolgear's strength was at most Ultimate-Class Devil level.
Zolgear was referred to by his subordinates as a Devil Duke, meaning he held the rank of Duke, and he was an aging Duke from a remote area whose lifespan was nearing its end.
Ethan wasn't very familiar with Devil ranks, but the Four Great Pure-Blooded families all had Duke ranks.
Their family heads held the Duke rank, signifying strength at the High-Class or Ultimate-Class Devil level.
Of course, this didn't mean that the top combat power of the Four Great Pure-Blooded Devil families was only at this level. Stronger individuals had long moved on to other roles, rather than remaining as Dukes.
For example, Rias's brother, Sirzechs, possessed immense power and became a Devil King.
The same went for Sona Shitori's sister.
"Then let's go now..."
Naruse Mio retracted the wings behind her, took out her pink flip phone, and glanced at it. A sudden bad premonition made her anxious.
This feeling had persisted since she confirmed that the succubus LOLI was telling the truth.
Almost twenty hours had passed since she met Naruse Maria after school, yet her phone contained no text messages or missed calls from her parents...
Thinking of the Devils and demon beasts chasing her, Naruse Mio didn't believe her parents could defeat them.
Wilbert had chosen Naruse Mio's foster parents from among his many loyal subordinates, not only because they were kind-hearted but mainly because they were ordinary enough that their sudden disappearance wouldn't attract attention.
Furthermore, after over a decade of peaceful life in the human world, without using magic or fighting, their combat power had likely decreased even more.
Ethan knew what Naruse Mio was worried about. Without wasting time, he immediately asked Akeno Himejima to prepare the teleportation magic circle.
"Naruse-san, your home is in..."
Just as Akeno Himejima was asking for the address and preparing to pinpoint the location, Naruse Mio's phone suddenly rang.
"It's Mom calling!"
Naruse Mio answered the phone happily, but the voice that came through instantly made her heart plummet into an ice abyss.
"You have one day. If I don't see you at your home, then prepare to claim your parents' bodies..."
The low, hoarse voice finished and hung up the phone. A photograph of a middle-aged couple lying bloody and still on the floor was immediately sent to Naruse Mio's phone.
"Dad! Mom!"
Looking at her foster parents, whose fate was unknown, Naruse Mio tried calling back in anger and distress, but she only heard a busy signal. The other party had no intention of negotiating.
"Mio-sama..."
Maria looked at Naruse Mio worriedly. "This is clearly a trap. They haven't contacted you because they don't want you to go back..."
The succubus LOLI was right. More than ten hours ago, after losing track of Naruse Mio, the pursuers found her foster parents and attempted to make them call Naruse Mio back.
But the couple refused, even at the cost of their lives. In desperation, the pursuers had to figure out how to call her themselves.
As they rarely came to the human world, it took them a significant amount of time to master the use of a phone, which is why they were only contacting her now.
"No, I have to go back. I have to save Dad and Mom!"
Naruse Mio also knew it was a trap, but even knowing it, she had to jump in.
They had lived together for over a decade. They were more than just foster parents.
Maria cast a pleading look at Ethan, hoping he would help persuade Naruse Mio.
Ethan ignored her look and instead said, "It seems these people have kidnapped your parents, and it's highly likely they are in your home... In that case, we need to change the teleportation destination."
Naruse Mio gave Ethan a grateful look, trying hard to suppress her anxiety. She said, "My house is in Maple Town, 5-chome, Ehime Prefecture. Can you teleport there?"
"No problem."
The teleportation magic could travel between the three realms, let alone a distance covering less than half of Japan.
"Akeno-senpai, let's select a location on the outskirts of Ehime Prefecture, to prevent the teleportation fluctuation from alerting the enemy."
"Understood."
Akeno Himejima closed her eyes for a moment, locked the location, and the teleportation circle in the center of the club room emitted a dazzling light.
"It's ready."
As soon as Akeno Himejima finished speaking, Naruse Mio impatiently stepped onto it. Seeing this, Maria quickly followed suit.
"Akeno-senpai, I'll be back shortly. Please prepare the teleportation circle again in three hours."
After giving the instruction, Ethan also stepped onto the circle.
The Naruse sisters would be lucky just to protect themselves; they couldn't possibly rescue the hostages. The reason he agreed so quickly was that he planned to take action himself.
"Just the three of us?"
Maria secretly looked at Akeno Himejima and the others. When they briefly revealed their Devil forms earlier, she clearly sensed that everyone present, except Asia, was basically stronger than her.
If a few more people went, whether they successfully rescued the hostages or not, Naruse Mio's safety would at least be guaranteed.
Ethan didn't expose her little scheme, just saying plainly, "Not the three of us, but me alone. You two only need to guide the way."
The succubus LOLI was able to escape the pursuit, which clearly indicated the enemy's strength wasn't formidable. He was more than enough alone; too many people would only lead to confusion.
Maria knew Ethan was very strong, though she didn't know exactly how strong, but at this point, she could only comply.
Because the teleportation circle had already been activated.
After the three disappeared, Asia looked worriedly. "Akeno-senpai, is Akira-san going alone okay? Why aren't we all going together?"
"Don't worry."
Akeno Himejima narrowed her beautiful eyes and said, "Akira's strength is completely sufficient. As for why we aren't going together, it's better not to attract unnecessary attention at this critical moment."
She didn't know which backwoods Devil noble Zolgear was, but if the entire group mobilized, it would clearly signal a declaration of war.
The marriage contract issue between the Gremory family and the Phenex family, tied to the lineage of Pure-Blooded Devils, hadn't been resolved yet.
Starting an internal conflict with another Devil noble now would only put the Gremory family at a greater disadvantage in public opinion.
They might even be accused of being 'Demon Traitors'.
Apart from this issue, their confidence in Ethan's strength was the key.
It was no exaggeration to say that, short of a Devil King personally taking action, practically no one could pose a threat to Ethan.
If he was willing to go all out, even a Devil King would face serious consequences.
The Azazel incident had not passed long ago. It was likely no Devil King-class powerhouse would seek trouble at this time.
As for the backwoods Duke mentioned by the succubus LOLI, he clearly didn't possess Devil King-class strength; otherwise, he wouldn't have waited until now to target Naruse Mio.
If the mastermind lacked Devil King-class strength, how strong could his subordinates be?
Akeno Himejima estimated they were, at most, High-Class Devils. Otherwise, someone with Maria's strength couldn't have escaped from Ehime Prefecture in Shikoku all the way to Tokyo.
On the other side, a flash of red light appeared in a dark alley. Ethan and the two sisters materialized in a city on the very edge of Ehime Prefecture.