It happened in an instant. As they followed Yozen’s command and ducked, countless shadows swept across the entire room. A cold sensation grazed their backs. Ector, who had narrowly dodged the attack, swallowed dryly.

Within his cautiously lifted gaze, the demons still spun furiously. As if they hadn’t moved a single step from their original places, there was no visible change in their positions.

“That attack just now was definitely……”

Unable to recklessly rise, they remained crouched on the floor, watching their surroundings warily. They had no choice.

“If you stand up carelessly, you might collide with a flying demon. As you saw, if you crash into one moving at that speed, you won’t walk away unharmed.”

The countless shadows that had swept through the room were all afterimages of the demons. They had launched themselves at a speed likely twice that of their rotation, plunging into the spot directly opposite their original positions. No one knew what meaning this circular rotation held. But for the knights standing in the center of it all, it was undeniably threatening. One misstep and they could be struck by a wave of High Demons.

“We can’t move carelessly since we don’t know when they’ll launch next…… Hey, young master. Even with your dynamic vision, you can’t track their movements?”

As Van asked, crouched low with one knee on the ground, Lumen, similarly keeping his body low, furrowed his brows.

“I can see them. But it’s pointless. Every single demon forming this ring moves at the same time. There’s no gap to dodge through.”

Because he could see, he understood. There was no space anywhere on the third floor to hide from their movement. Lying flat on the floor was their only option.

As the knights let out disheartened sighs, Lydon, who had completely minimized his form and was lying in a relaxed position, adjusted himself.

“Hmm? Then how did Yozen know the demons were about to launch? He must’ve sensed some kind of sign, right? Or is it just that creepy human instinct?”

Though annoyed stares gathered on Lydon for his leisurely behavior—as if he were in his own living room—he ignored them and even warned Yozen, who was spreading dark energy, not to intrude into his lounging area.

“……All the demons’ energy had concentrated in their lower bodies. When mana shifts like that, it usually signals a leap or a charge.”

The dark energy spreading across the floor bounced violently when it touched the spinning demons’ feet. Repeated attempts had the same result. And then, in the very next moment, the demons were launched again, sweeping across the floor.

“Damn…… That’s seriously dangerous. I wish there were some kind of pattern to it.”

Shaken by the gust of wind stirred by a demon that had just passed above his head, Modeleine roughly shook his body. Mamil, who strengthened the barrier around him, groaned.

“We’ve learned at least one thing from that last attack.”

“Pardon? You’ve already figured out a pattern?”

“Didn’t you feel it? The height has lowered. The demons’ flight—no, their launch trajectory has dropped.”

Through the flowing silence, Lydon’s lazy humming drifted. If, as Mamil claimed, the launch altitude of the demons continued to decrease, then the time they could hold out was running out.

The situation was dire, yet none of them showed signs of despair. Ector, with half-lidded eyes, stared at the wall of demons that loomed like a black curtain. Their speed was so great that the trailing afterimages stretched like surfaces, making it impossible to discern their true forms.

After staring intently at the rapidly spinning demons, Ector finally spoke.

“If just two spots were left empty, it’d create a gap. Securing a safe zone should be our first priority.”

Slowly rising to his feet, he gave Van a nod.

“Let’s take them down one by one. Lend me a hand.”

* * *

「You have deviated from the course of fate.」

「Regenerating the story.」

「Please follow the changed course of fate.」

「Refusal will result in the loss of clear rewards.」

The bonus reward will disappear? Did that mean he could neither return to the original world nor remain here? Even so, it was far too late to shrink back in fear. If anything, he was starting to feel reckless enough to throw caution to the wind.

Cadel wiped the blood from his nose, pulling his hand away from the man’s chest. He had succeeded in killing the second sibling. A woman and a man—two charred bodies, void of any sign of life, lay before him.

His gaze shifted to the last man still lying intact—scarred face, the one who had first been touched by the flame sword.

‘The flow of fate has changed. So that means it worked…… but I might as well finish this properly.’

He wanted nothing more than to leave them behind and find Garuel. Not only because he was worried but also because he was nearly out of mana. The thought of facing the Demon King in this condition was downright grim.

But just as Cadel reached toward the final sibling—

“Hyaaaaaaaah!!”

With a shrieking yell, the tree concealing the figure tilted. Its roots tore free from the ground, revealing a woman through the widening light.

“Sellev……!”

Sellev should have been fighting Garuel by now. Having released her giant form, she appeared half-crazed as she yanked the tree out whole. It crashed with a resounding thud behind Cadel, and Sellev lunged at him.

“Die! Dieeeeee!”

Cadel quickly conjured a barrier around himself, though there was no need to reinforce it. Sellev’s frenzied fists pounded his face and body, but the expected impact didn’t come. Her strength far exceeded that of normal people, yet she wasn’t even using five percent of her usual destructive power.

Still, Sellev was stronger than Cadel, and his mana was just as depleted as her demonic energy. He struggled desperately to wriggle out from under her, while Sellev’s wild eyes darted about.

Then she saw them—the two corpses and the scarred man. As her gaze fell upon the man’s face, she let out a disturbing sound.

“Lord Ethan…… Lady Ophelia……”

Murmuring the names of the two dead demons, Sellev pushed herself up and, with a single motion, hurled Cadel away. His limp body bounced off a tree trunk and hit the ground with a thud. A bolt of pain raced up his spine as he clenched his teeth and scrambled to push himself up, fingers digging into the dirt.

“Damn it……!”

As he hastily raised his head, Cadel spotted Sellev flying off, carrying the last remaining High Demon. It was obvious where she was heading. Cadel quickly summoned his mana and extended [Fire Chains] to grab hold of her. But she gained altitude far too quickly—far beyond what he could reach.

Eventually, he let the spell fade and dropped to his knees. He could chase after her now, maybe even catch up. She seemed nearly out of strength; if he pressed the attack, he might be able to bring her down. But Cadel didn’t follow.

“……Garuel.”

Forcing his exhausted body upright, he glanced around. If Sellev had come looking for him, it meant she’d gotten away from Garuel. He hoped—desperately—that maybe Garuel would come trailing after her. But even as he waited, no sign of Garuel appeared.

‘No way. No way, right?’

Garuel couldn’t have lost. He wouldn’t have lost. Cadel told himself that firmly. But his body betrayed him—trembling in quiet, creeping anxiety. He gave up waiting and began moving, intent on finding Garuel himself.

He expected the trail to be hard to follow, but surprisingly, he found traces almost immediately. Not far from the tree where he had been hiding, demonic energy lingered faintly in the air. As he moved forward, it grew thicker, denser—like a breadcrumb trail left behind in a single direction.

Using that intensifying presence as a guide, Cadel dragged his weary body forward. No matter how fast he tried to run, he couldn’t pick up speed—it was maddening. He was pushing himself hard, and still Garuel remained out of sight.

Then, just as he began to panic—

“Nngh…… hhh……”

A pained, sob-like groan echoed nearby. Cadel froze, then broke into a faster stride toward the sound.

It didn’t take long before he saw a man.

“Garuel……!”

The man knelt on the ground, his face buried in both hands, trembling with sobs. Around him shimmered a dense cloud of demonic energy—so thick and heavy that, at first, Cadel didn’t believe it could be Garuel’s. It was far beyond the level of any energy Garuel had shown before.

But no—it was all Garuel’s.

As he drew closer, Cadel’s steps slowed. Garuel wasn’t alone.

Cadel’s gaze trembled as he spotted the limp corpse sprawled out in front of him.

‘That’s Lawrence. What the hell is he doing here……?’

Why Lawrence was here, how Garuel had ended up killing him—those gaping questions quickly vanished. Cadel’s eyes landed on Lawrence’s chest. A massive hole gaped in the middle, gruesomely torn. Inside the shredded cavity, only pooling blood could be seen.

Had the heart been ripped out? That would be the most surefire method—he himself had just incinerated an enemy’s heart moments ago. But even as he told himself that, a creeping sense of dread wouldn’t leave him.

And just as he stepped in closer to examine Lawrence’s corpse—

“Urgh……!”

Garuel’s body jerked violently, his hands dropping from his face as he doubled over and vomited onto the ground. His back heaved with the force of the retching, and his entire frame shook. Cadel instinctively moved to rush over—then froze.

The mess Garuel had spewed out glistened across the dirt: thick, dark-purple bile and large, fragmented lumps. Whatever had come out of him—it wasn’t just bile.

After emptying his stomach, Garuel wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and slowly raised his head.

“……Knight Commander.”

The demon-like red of his eyes still hadn’t faded. Tears welled up in the corners of those eyes, twisted in anguish.

“I think…… I ate his heart.”