Demonic energy clashed against demonic energy, causing the cave ceiling to tremble. Though it was a battle of fists and swords, the sounds ringing through the air were as sharp as the screeching friction of metal against metal.

A single wing, formed from demonic energy, shielded Garuel and disrupted Sellev’s line of sight. With each opening the wing created, Garuel gathered his strength and steadied his breath.

‘Was she always this strong?’

Garuel had known of Sellev’s existence, but he had never fought her directly before. Still, he had not underestimated her. She was a High Demon who had left the empire’s gates in ruins, a formidable opponent who had driven Lydon to the brink of death. Yet, she was even stronger than he had anticipated. Not just strong—so excessively powerful that it felt as if something was terribly wrong.

And in truth, Sellev’s current strength was nearly three times greater than what she originally possessed.

‘This bracelet Emilia gave me is devouring my energy like crazy…… But it’s making me just as powerful!’

Before sending her off, Emilia had gifted Sellev a pair of bracelets—magical artifacts that temporarily drew out the wearer’s energy to enhance their physical abilities. The power boost was explosive, but the duration was limited.

Emilia had told her to use them only in a ‘truly dangerous moment.’ But Sellev had activated them at the very start of the battle. The reason was simple—she wanted to eliminate her enemies as quickly as possible and bring Emilia’s siblings back to her. To make Emilia happy.

“Get out of my way! You’re no match for me!”

“Isn’t that something we’ll only know for sure after we’ve fought to the end? The gap doesn’t seem that big to me.”

“Don’t be arrogant, you filthy half-blooded fraud of a demon!”

“Oh dear, if you meant to hurt my feelings, I’m afraid I hear that insult from my own allies all the time. Doesn’t really faze me.”

Garuel deliberately sneered, feigning composure. If Sellev realized he was cornered, she would press her attack even harder. That couldn’t be allowed to happen. He had to buy enough time—long enough for Cadel to figure out a way to break through the barrier behind them.

“……Garuel, will he be alright?”

[If we break through the barrier quickly and kill her, he’ll be fine. Focus, halfling.]

Because he trusted Garuel, Cadel hadn’t wasted time guarding against an ambush. But amid the trembling cave and the sharp sounds of battle, he couldn’t help but worry for Garuel’s safety.

‘He’ll be fine. Garuel has regeneration. With that ability and his combat prowess, he can hold Sellev off. Besides, she must have already used up a lot of stamina fighting Lydon.’

It seemed Emilia trusted Sellev greatly, considering she had sent her here despite her already exhausted state.

‘Not that it’s any of my business.’

Steadying himself, Cadel tightened his grip on the barrier. Since Kunra still needed to conserve energy, Cadel had to use only a small fraction of his power to pinpoint the barrier’s weak spot. The rest of the destruction was up to him.

[Here. Pour your mana into this spot. It’ll require quite a lot, so be mindful of the flow.]

A single red mark appeared on the barrier. Cadel moved his hand over it and began to release his mana in earnest. But—

Boom!

An explosive noise, loud enough to make him flinch, rocked the cave. Instinctively, Cadel turned his head toward the source of the sound. His gaze landed on the two figures filling his vision.

“Garuel!”

Garuel was pinned against the upper wall of the cave, Sellev’s grip tightening around his throat. She was pressing him against the rock with full force, strangling him relentlessly. He gasped for air, clutching at her arm in a desperate attempt to loosen her hold. Cadel immediately moved to intervene—

“G-Garuel……!”

Garuel, struggling for breath, raised a trembling hand, pointing his sword toward Cadel. His flushed face barely moved, but his violet eyes locked onto Cadel’s with firm resolution. He couldn’t speak through the chokehold, yet his message was clear: Stay back.

[He’s telling you he can handle it. Don’t get distracted. This barrier isn’t weak enough to break if you’re unfocused.]

“…….”

[Cadel.]

“……Alright.”

Kunra was right. The way to help Garuel now wasn’t by joining the fight but by breaking through the barrier and killing the Demon King’s siblings. Biting his lip, Cadel turned his back to the scene and refocused his mana on the barrier.

He had to trust Garuel. But in reality, Garuel was in no condition to escape this crisis so easily.

‘I can’t break free……! The strength is unreal!’

Even for a demon, was such brute force even possible? The grip around his throat was so mercilessly tight that it felt absurd. If this continued, not even he would survive.

Sellev flapped her wings lazily, gazing at Garuel’s contorted face.

“Starting to understand now? I’m in a hurry. It’d be great if you could just hurry up and die.”

The time limit on the bracelet’s power was running out. Before that happened, she needed to finish off Garuel, get rid of Cadel—who had obtained the Scarlet Dragon’s power—and rescue Emilia’s siblings. With her growing urgency, she tightened her grip. Garuel was moments away from losing consciousness when an idea struck him.

‘I was hoping I wouldn’t have to use this……’

But collapsing here and putting Cadel in danger was far worse. Lowering the hand that had been prying at Sellev’s arm, Garuel reached into his coat.

“No matter what tricks you try—”

Sellev’s voice cut off with a frown. Garuel had pulled out a small vial, bringing it close to his nose.

“You…… That’s……!”

She was too far away to smell it, but she recognized it instantly. A stimulant in development within the Demon Realm. It wasn’t meant to heal Emilia’s siblings but to awaken their original power once their treatment was complete.

Why was such a substance in the hands of this half-blood demon?

Panic flickered in Sellev’s eyes as she instinctively reached to snatch the vial away.

“Tch……!”

Garuel twisted her arm sharply before she could react. The unnatural angle of her limb made her fingers slacken, and he seized the opening to break free. Tucking the vial back into his coat, he rubbed his nose with a smirk.

“I should figure out exactly what this thing does. I’ll be counting on you for that.”

* * *

Following Yozen’s guidance, they avoided the dangerous traps and ascended the stairs to the second floor. However, what awaited them was not the typical interior of a castle.

“……What the hell is this place? Why does it look like this?”

Had it always been this way, or had the castle’s interior changed along with its separation? The entire second floor was covered in a thick layer of white dust.

Lydon covered his nose and mouth, wary of inhaling the dust, while Modeleine summoned a ball of light to illuminate the dark space.

“Yozen, where are the enemies?”

At Lumen’s question, Yozen frowned slightly. He hesitated, choosing his words carefully before replying in an uncertain voice.

“I noticed it from the beginning, but this entire floor is filled with the same energy. There are clusters of it gathered like living creatures, but there’s no real movement…… The floor is huge. It’ll take time to pinpoint the demons.”

“The same energy is spread across the entire floor…… You mean demonic energy is dispersed in the air?”

It was not Yozen who answered but Mamil.

“No. Look closely at this dust.”

Mamil ran his fingers lightly across a nearby window frame. What had seemed like clumps of dust unraveled into strands that clung to his fingertips. With a small burst of flame, Mamil burned the strands to ashes and dusted off his hands.

“It’s spider silk. If the entire floor is covered in it, then this is effectively the enemy’s nest. Be careful. We’ve already walked into a trap.”

Escaping one trap only to fall into another—frustration flickered across everyone’s faces.

“Huh…… Well, I wasn’t expecting the dust to be spiderwebs, but this is still a closed space. If we keep walking, we’ll run into the demons eventually, won’t we?”

Lydon lowered the hand covering his nose and boldly strode forward down the corridor. If the webs burned easily with mana, a little bit of it sticking to him wasn’t much of a threat.

Perhaps the others had the same thought as they found themselves following Lydon, plunging ahead through the floor. The stairs leading to the upper floors didn’t form a straight line, so they had to circle around the floor and make their way to the opposite side.

After a few minutes of crossing the corridor, which was entirely filled with spider webs—

“……I said it was too easy.”

In front of them, a wall of spider webs appeared, blocking the corridor.