In an instant, the sight went dark. It wasn’t because the fire that hadn’t even been there was extinguished, nor was it because he lost consciousness. Cadel quickly withdrew his sword and turned around. There, in front of him, were the lower legs of Sellev. Her gigantic legs, towering like statues, grew larger as they shattered the tunnel, casting a massive shadow over Cadel.

“Giantization……”

Cadel hadn’t expected Sellev to choose giantization. Of course, giantization was one of her main techniques, but this wasn’t her home base. Giantization was a technique effective for smashing enemy lines and exterminating enemies. The amount of destruction it caused when used in one’s own base was tremendous, so Cadel thought she wouldn’t use it in such an important space like this.

‘She must be trying to get the Demon King’s siblings out by any means.’

That couldn’t happen. Cadel used [Fire Chains] to lift the siblings into the air and dashed through the gap between Sellev’s legs, breaking the tunnel.

“Knight Commander, this way!”

Garuel, who was rushing toward him, quickly grabbed Cadel’s arm. This was an underground space that would take a long time to descend, even with the devices. If Sellev destroyed it, their only future would be a lonely death.

They sprinted madly toward the platform they had originally come from. However, by the time they were halfway there, Sellev, having fully completed her giantization, began targeting them in earnest.

Her heavy steps moved toward Cadel and Garuel, and the ceiling crumbled rapidly. Cadel glanced back at the enormous dust storm that was approaching from behind and clenched his teeth.

“I’ll accelerate with wind magic!”

As the two men raced madly, piles of rubble brushed past them precariously and fell. The ground trembled in time with Sellev’s footsteps, and their bodies were violently shaken.

“Kunra, activate the device!”

Barely managing to reach the platform, they called out for Kunra. The pendant glowed red, and the energy that leaked out seeped into the platform below. Cadel anxiously waited for the device to activate, staring ahead. Sellev’s giant foot and the collapsing ceiling were closing in on them.

“Hurry! Hurry!”

Without realizing it, Cadel and Garuel grabbed each other’s hands. As the dust storm swept toward them, Garuel spread his wings to protect Cadel at that moment.

Clunk.

With a short jolt, the platform shot upward at high speed.

“Hold on tight.”

Cadel tightened his grip around Garuel’s waist within his wings. The overwhelming speed made his head spin, but even amid the chaos, Sellev’s attacks continued. A massive fist cloaked in demonic energy pierced through the space where the platform had passed and where it was about to pass.

The platform rocked violently, and Garuel, clutching Cadel tightly, looked up at the sky. A hole, once tiny, was slowly widening, letting light filter through.

“It’s almost there. Just a little longer.”

“……Garuel.”

Amidst the deafening explosions, Garuel’s gaze shifted. As he lowered his head, he saw Cadel’s face looking up at him. Garuel, who had met his gaze as if asking why, was met with a confused question from Cadel.

“Why…… are your eyes like that?”

“Huh? My eyes?”

As the platform finally broke free from the tunnel, the once-dark view brightened. Following the external light, the shadow on Garuel’s face disappeared. And there, in his eyes, a perfectly symmetrical pair of reversed pupils reflected Cadel’s bewildered face.

* * *

“Damn it, this is so annoying. How far does this hallway stretch?”

No matter how much he swatted away the falling webs, they were driving him crazy. The spider webs kept brushing against his cheek, and he violently swatted them off as he grumbled. Meanwhile, Yozen, who had been moving carefully, finally spoke up.

“The hallway will end soon.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“But the end of the hallway connects to a room. To get to the stairs, we have to go through that room.”

“What kind of messed-up structure is that? Did they remodel it? It’s just like them to make it like this. I bet the owner of these damn annoying spider webs is in that room, too.”

“I don’t know.”

“What kind of bland answer is that?”

Soon, they reached the end of the hallway, where a door appeared in front of them. With a quick glance over Yozen’s shoulder, Van squinted his eyes.

“Is that it? The room you mentioned?”

“Yes. And…… I can feel the presence of others inside. It’s faint, but it’s there.”

“Faint, huh? Is the room really that big?”

“It’s not that big, but……”

“Alright, whatever. We’ll find out once we go in.”

With a casual shove, Van turned the doorknob and forcefully opened the door. What they saw inside was……

“Ugh, disgusting.”

The spacious room was covered in spider webs. These webs were much thicker and denser than the ones that had blocked the hallway. The transparent webs were intricately woven like a work of art, and white cocoons were hanging from them.

“One, two, three……”

Van quietly counted the cocoons, then fell silent. There were exactly six—matching the number of knights who had come up with them.

“Can you feel it from those lumps? The faint energy you mentioned?”

“Yes. They’re crushed under a heavy demonic energy.”

“……Where’s the enemy?”

Up until now, the dense energy that covered the large floor had made it difficult to pinpoint the enemy’s position. But now that they had reached the end of the hallway, Yozen confidently pinpointed the enemy’s location.

“Here.”

A dagger was quickly thrown, shooting through the air like an arrow, and lodged into a spot. As Van followed the trajectory of the dagger, his face shifted to one of shock.

“What the hell are you doing……!”

Yozen’s dagger had lodged right in the center of the cocoon. It was one of their comrades. Van, startled, rushed towards the spider webs, but—

“Hiyah, how did you guess that? I almost died!”

The cocoon, which they had thought was holding a human, tore open, and a woman emerged. She ripped through the spider webs with sharp claws, her long white hair flowing down smoothly. She lightly curved her long eyes as she landed gracefully.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Forti.”

Forti waved her hand playfully, glancing at Van and Yozen in turn. Van immediately adopted a combat stance, his eyes flashing fiercely. The number of cocoons was exactly six. But from one of them, a High Demon had emerged.

‘Were the people trapped in these cocoons? Yozen had said he felt a human presence inside……’

Perhaps Forti was using some special method to create a decoy. As though sensing Van’s suspicion, Yozen whispered quietly.

“I’m sure the other five are human.”

“……Then where’s the other one?”

“I don’t know. They might already be dead.”

Yozen casually made such a despairing comment as if it were nothing. Van clicked his tongue and kept his eyes locked on Forti.

‘They couldn’t have been caught, but if others have died, it’s troublesome. Especially Mamil. He can’t be harmed, no matter what.’

If something happened to Cadel’s precious teacher, Van knew he wouldn’t be able to handle the sorrow Cadel would undoubtedly feel.

“Let’s kill her, and we’ll have answers.”

“Yeah.”

Van unleashed his aura, quickly intensifying his energy as he charged toward Forti. His aggressive charge was meant to draw her attention for even a moment.

The heavy sword cut through the air, and a red, aura-wrapped sword slashed at Forti.

Screech!

But the next moment, Forti’s body floated upward as she reached toward the ceiling, dodging the sword slash. The sword’s force, which struck the wall, slowed and sluggishly penetrated the spider webs, neutralizing both the shock and the energy of the attack, perfectly nullifying it.

Van shifted his gaze upward to where Forti hung, dangling from the ceiling.

‘……Spider webs.’

A single thread of spider silk was supporting her body.

‘This room is completely covered in spider webs. It’s nothing more than her nest. If we recklessly move, we’ll only increase the number of cocoons.’

It was a bad idea to engage her recklessly. If he came into contact with the webs she emitted, his movements would be severely restricted. However, staying at a distance wasn’t an option either. Not only because he fought best in close-quarters, but also because keeping his distance would give her a wide field of view.

“Yozen!”

His loud call received no answer. Yozen’s presence, now hidden, could not be felt anywhere in the room.

“You won’t last long! Handle it in there!”

Still no response, but Van didn’t wait. [Blood Flow Sword 1st Form – Thorns]. From his greatsword, long, sharp aura extended toward the ceiling, chasing after Forti’s agile evasion, the aura thrashing violently.