While he was hesitating, Ethan suddenly thought of a method.
Success wasn't guaranteed, but it was worth trying, and even if it failed, there would be no significant consequence.
He quietly moved away from the Naruse house and quickly returned to the spot where he had separated from Naruse Mio.
"Akira! Did you succeed?"
Seeing Ethan return so quickly, Naruse Mio's heart lifted, but she looked around and saw no sign of her parents.
"Where are Dad and Mom? Where are they?"
"I haven't acted yet."
Ethan shook his head and explained what he had observed. "I'll have absolute certainty in safely rescuing them as soon as the enemy lets down their guard a little."
"For this, I need you and Maria to cooperate..."
Naruse Mio immediately said, "No problem. What do you need me to do?"
"Simple. You and Maria just need to create some commotion and leak some magic power," Ethan said.
"Okay, when do we start?"
"In about five minutes. Be careful yourselves when you act."
Ethan calculated the time and said, "It doesn't need to last long, just a minute or two. Too long might make the enemy too vigilant."
After confirming the time and exchanging contact information with Naruse Mio, he rushed back to the Naruse house, quietly awaiting his opportunity.
If the enemy hadn't completely refused to answer the phone, allowing Naruse Mio to call them with a simple excuse, such as confirming the hostages' survival, the operation would have been much simpler.
Just as Ethan was lamenting this, the agreed-upon time arrived quickly.
"Boom..."
The sound of an explosion was accompanied by two familiar magic power fluctuations. The people inside the house didn't know the Naruse sisters' magic power signature, but that didn't prevent them from detecting the power.
One of the male Devils in the living room frowned, whispered a few words to his companion, and then went upstairs to report the situation.
Indeed, the person on the second floor is the leader of this group.
Although they were all Low-Class Devils, the one on the second floor was clearly stronger than the other two.
A moment later, he came downstairs, said a few more words to his companion, and then called over the wolf-shaped demon beast near Naruse Mio's father.
The wolf-shaped demon beast lazily floated over to him...
Ethan, who was fully concealing his aura and hadn't even attempted to eavesdrop on their conversation, was waiting for precisely this opportunity.
Before the other demon beast nearby could fill the gap, his magic power instantly erupted, transforming him into a black lightning bolt that shattered the window.
As he landed, he punched the demon beast guarding Naruse Mio's mother, sending it flying.
Then, without hesitation, he scooped up the woman, rushing to Naruse Mio's father and placing him behind himself.
Everything happened in a flash. Less than a second had passed since Ethan began his move.
By the time he stopped, the nearest wolf-shaped demon beast had barely reacted.
Its instinctively swung claws brought forth a howl, but they were blocked by a faint membrane of light ten centimeters in front of Ethan, unable to advance further.
"Phew—"
Confirming both of Naruse Mio's parents were alive, Ethan let out a breath.
He had overestimated these guys. Now it seemed they wouldn't have reacted even without this brief opportunity.
He smiled wryly and shook his head, but he didn't feel there was anything wrong with his earlier internal struggle against thin air.
It was best if the enemy was weak, preferably just ants that could be crushed with a single slap.
But caution was always necessary. There was no cure for regret in this world.
"Who are you?"
The Devils looked at him with hostility. They glanced at the wolf-shaped demon beast not far away, its bones shattered and its aura gone, and they became secretly wary.
These few demon beasts were brought along to search for Naruse Mio. Their combat power wasn't strong, but it wasn't weak either.
Even though it was a sneak attack, to kill it with a single punch...
If that attack had been directed at them, they would likely have suffered the same fate.
Ethan ignored the Devils and demon beasts that were forming a circle around him. He took out his phone and sent a LINE message to Naruse Mio.
[Plan successful. Your parents are safe.]
As he put away his phone, the Devil from the second floor and the demon beasts from the yard also joined the circle.
He scanned the surroundings and chuckled, "Are you all here? That saves me the trouble."
From the moment he decided to help Naruse Mio, Ethan had decided how to handle the aftermath.
With the Phenex family issue unresolved and the Three Factions Conference approaching, it was not the time to create further complications. So, the only option was to make all of this completely disappear in flames.
This conveniently aligned with the original Testament of Sister New Devil storyline.
Because he had to protect Naruse Mio's parents, Ethan couldn't use his best close combat skills.
Fortunately, thanks to his Dual Cultivation talent, he was still a 'Magic Genius'. Dealing with this level of enemy didn't even require him to chant spells.
A bright yellow magic circle enveloped the living room, and massive electric arcs constantly jumped.
To ensure no enemy escaped, Ethan used his best-mastered Lightning magic.
After acquiring the complete Thunder Wrath talent, this was his first time using such an area-of-effect spell, and the effect was very satisfying.
With every bolt of lightning as thick as an arm that struck, one demon beast perished.
Sensing mortal danger, the three Devils hastily put up magic shields to defend themselves, but the strongest among them only managed to last three more seconds.
After acquiring the complete Thunder Wrath talent, Ethan's Lightning magic, like Akeno Himejima's, also contained the power of Light.
This power specialized against Devils. The moment their shields shattered, the three Devils let out cries of agony, and their life force rapidly plummeted.
When Naruse Mio and Maria arrived, they saw a floor littered with scorched bodies.
Ethan was busy casting healing magic, trying to stabilize the injuries of the Naruse couple.
He was skilled in destruction and combat, but when it came to healing, he was a novice.
Ethan had never acquired any decent healing-type talent.
Asia likely possessed one, but since the blonde little nun hadn't been 'tasted' yet, he hadn't acquired it.
"Naruse-san, gather all necessary belongings."
Ethan didn't want to delay any further, unsure when the events here would be discovered.
"We need to leave immediately. Before we go, you need to use your magic to destroy this house."
Originally, Naruse Mio's magic power would have gone berserk after seeing her parents killed in her defense, slaying all the attacking Devils and simultaneously burning down the home she had lived in for over a decade.
Ethan wasn't aiming to completely replicate the plot, but this was the most convenient way to cover their tracks.
With Naruse Mio having a rudimentary grasp of Fire magic, the interference of her magic aura would make it even harder for Zolgear to detect the intervention of a third party.
Completely masking the intervention was unrealistic; he only needed to delay detection.
Therefore, there was no need to go out of his way to find two Devil corpses to pass off as Naruse Mio's parents.
Naruse Mio felt a pang of sadness about destroying the home she had lived in for over a decade, but she knew this place had been exposed and she could never return.
Half an hour later, Naruse Mio and Maria returned to the living room, each dragging a suitcase.
"I'm ready."
"That was quick."
"I only packed things with sentimental value."
Naruse Mio looked worriedly at her still-unconscious parents. "When are we leaving?"
"Immediately."
Ethan stopped the healing magic and said, "I'm contacting Akeno-senpai now. Don't worry too much. Asia can heal them when we get back."
Things went much smoother than expected. Only half the originally agreed-upon three hours had passed.
Akeno Himejima was in class, so they waited five minutes before the red-glowing teleportation gate appeared.
Maria took Naruse Mio's parents through first, followed by Naruse Mio, who surged her magic power to turn the house into an inferno, then grabbed her suitcase and followed.
Ethan waited for a moment, making sure the fire was irreversible, and then stepped into the teleportation gate.
"Hmm?"
Just as he was about to fully step through, he suddenly felt a prickling sensation on his back, as if being watched. But upon carefully checking, he found nothing.
Ethan always trusted his instincts. He simply put up a shield, concentrated, and cast his perception magic within the blazing inferno.
Invisible fluctuations radiated out from him, only slowing down gradually after reaching ten kilometers.
"Just a mistake..."
A ten-kilometer radius was the limit of his current perception range.
He detected some presence of supernatural powers, but the prickling sensation on his back never reappeared.
"Akira?"
Not seeing Ethan return for a long time, Akeno Himejima couldn't resist coming to check.
She was startled by the intense heat upon arrival. The fire had already spread, engulfing the entire house.
The sound of fire trucks was clearly audible.
"I'm fine. Let's go."
Ethan didn't believe it was a mistake, but without finding the cause, he could only set it aside for now.
The fact that he hadn't detected any malicious intent from the fleeting sensation was another reason he chose not to investigate further.