The group led by Rudeus was strong.
Theoretically, even if the entirety of Fort Necross attacked them in a frenzied madness, they would still be able to come out on top due to the presence of Sándor and Rudeus—as long as they remained alert to ambushes.
And the Second North God was especially proficient at sensing traps.
That was why, the closer they got to the imposing Black Fort, the more he felt that something seemed wrong.
Until Sándor raised his hand, signaling for everyone to stop. The group immediately turned their eyes to him.
Rudeus had the Foresight Eye activated, and was observing a few seconds into the future.
But there was nothing.
And that was exactly what worried Sándor: he felt nothing.
Fort Necross seemed… empty. There was no one from Atofe's imperial guard. Nor anyone from the Iron Legion army.
No sentries, no movement. The fortress that was normally noisy and busy was far too silent.
He spoke in a serious tone:
"Something is strange. Proceed with caution. Maybe my mother is not here after all."
Saying that, he took the lead, already ready to enter combat at any moment. As he advanced, he was thinking that he really should have studied the Beast God Style more deeply.
Enhancing the senses with Battle Aura was absurdly useful.
He already did that better than any other ordinary warrior or swordsman. But Kings and Emperors of the Beast God Style still surpassed him in that regard.
After all, they trained that consciously, while Sándor had only improved it by instinct, so the difference was inevitable.
The other three grew more serious upon hearing the warning and moved forward, attentive.
Soon, Sándor's suspicions were confirmed, the gates were wide open.
And, as they approached, it was possible to see clear tracks on the ground. Many people had left the place not long ago.
The group entered Fort Necross without meeting resistance, as if they had been invited. The farther they advanced through the corridors, the stranger it became.
And even so they continued, because Sándor seemed calmer now.
Sara, curious, broke the silence:
"Huh… Lord Sándor, is there no one in the Fort?"
He replied naturally:
"Yes, there are a few people. There are at least a dozen in here. And now I'm sure my mother is in the main hall."
He could already feel her presence.
After that, he said nothing else, and no one asked. They walked through a few more corridors until they arrived before the last door.
Sándor opened it, and they were greeted by a thunderous laugh.
"Muahahahaha! Welcome, heroes! You came from af—"
"Enough, mother. It's me."
Sándor interrupted the woman's monologue, the one speaking with so much fervor.
The Immortal Demon King Atoferatofe.
Wearing black armor and carrying a massive sword, she froze for an instant at having her speech interrupted.
Then she looked at the group with open hostility.
There were only two other people in the enormous hall besides her.
On the right, Moore, her most loyal bodyguard; on the other side, a swordsman of the Beast Race.
Rudeus recognized him instantly, it was Weys Adoldia.
The one who pursued and hunted them when they were passing through the Kingdom of Milis, more than ten years ago. On the occasion when Sylphy's father was killed, he was there.
Even though he later deduced that it had probably been Hitogami's manipulation to make them fight among themselves, the rift still remained.
Rudeus suddenly felt relieved that he had not brought Sylphy, she would have attacked immediately upon seeing him.
And Rudeus knew very well that that man was dangerous. Now, he was a fearsome Sword King known as the Hunting Hound.
Atofe seemed irritated at being interrupted, she slouched carelessly on the throne and complained:
"Hmph! So what if it's you? Why did you interrupt me? Ahgrr! It's not even worth it anymore now! You ruined everything, you idiot!"
Sándor smiled and took a few steps forward. Weys immediately placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.
Sándor stopped when he saw that and cast him a curious look. Rudeus kept the Foresight Eye active the whole time.
"I came to talk, mother. I want to negotiate with you."
Atofe leaned forward, her wild smile returning.
"Aaah?! Have you already forgotten how things work, brat? You're heroes, act like it!"
Sándor kept smiling, he knew exactly how his mother worked, and that was why he was one of the only ones who could talk to her normally.
The problem was Moore. He was silent, which was unusual for him.
"I brought a hero capable of defeating you, mother. And as a condition, if you are defeated, I hope you can help us in some fights we'll have soon…"
Finally, Moore spoke:
"My lord, I believe you are aware that Gaslow Province, together with Fort Necross and its regent, are currently under the command of the Beast God. You should speak directly with him if you desire any kind of alliance."
Sándor glanced sideways at Moore, and then at his mother.
She seemed… a little bored. This was getting stranger and stranger, since normally she would already be eager to start a fight.
Why was she so restrained?
"Mother, you will follow anyone who defeats you completely, right? I hope you consider allying with Rudeus instead of the Beast God if he can defeat you. This is a personal request… but I'll understand if you're unwilling."
He abandoned any attempt at manipulation. With Moore there, deceiving his mother was impossible.
Being direct was the only option. Atofe became strangely serious.
For an instant, the hall fell silent.
"Are you telling me to break an oath, Sándor? Who taught you to be such a coward? Is life with humans doing this to you? I swore loyalty to Rygar Adoldia, the Beast God. If you wish to contest that, defeat him in battle and come see me again. Otherwise, I will follow him until the day of his death."
Rudeus and Sara exchanged confused glances.
From what Sándor had reported—and from Rudeus's own experience—Atofe was never this calm.
Never this articulate; she was impulsive and violent.
Normally she couldn't maintain a simple conversation for more than two minutes without resorting to violence.
When she was challenged to a fight, she accepted first and thought about the consequences later.
But Sándor was beginning to understand, pieces were falling into place.
There was a specific situation in which his mother could maintain rationality for longer.
A very specific one, very difficult to reproduce. It was when she was completely defeated.
A bad feeling ran through his body, he looked around. Then at his mother, then at Moore.
"How did you know we were coming…?"
Rudeus and Sara tensed when they heard that. Atofe broke into a broad smile.
Several scenarios flashed through Sándor's mind in an instant. Then one thought arose, the teleportation circle.
Moore spoke:
"A clever man. But it is too late for that."
A terrible omen rang inside Sándor, he recognized that feeling.
Five years earlier, when facing such an ability, he hesitated, and because of that, he was forced into a passive position.
This time… he would not make the same mistake. He closed his helmet with a metallic click, and initiated the battle himself without asking any more questions.
His body shot across the hall in an instant.
"It's Reida Lia!"
At the exact same moment he dashed forward, a blazing explosion erupted from one of the entrances to the hall.
It surged toward the group like a dragon's breath, but Rudeus had already foreseen it. He pulled a scroll from his pocket and activated it that very instant.
The flames engulfed them completely.
Sándor moved like a golden blur and appeared before another entrance. Without wasting time, he struck a woman who had just come out.
Short black hair, and a short sword. An excited smile on her face.
"Hah! You got me this time, brat! This is going to be fun!"
Without time to activate the Deprivation Field, Reida executed another Secret Technique. Sándor's golden staff struck the black floor of the fortress with a deafening crash.
The entire hall trembled.
Then another voice echoed:
"OH? What is this thing?!"
Zanoba was scorched, but incredibly intact, despite having been hit directly by the explosion.
In front of him, floating amid the flames that still crackled around them, was a Spirit made of magma and lava.
The Spirit had hands shaped from pure fire, and magma ran through his body like incandescent veins. Around him, the air became an immolating hell, the black floor began to crack from the absurd heat emanating from him.
His face was serious and he was staring directly at Zanoba, a look full of surprise in his flaming eyes upon seeing him intact.
His voice echoed deep and resonant:
"My name is Ifreet, the fourth Spirit subordinate to the Disaster Witch, Verdia Adoldia. Who are you?"
Zanoba's eyes lit up immediately, he wanted to answer and start a conversation. He wanted to discuss spiritual nature, magical composition, and how he was formed.
But Rudeus's voice cut him off:
"Zanoba! Take this guy down, we're retreating now!"
The flames began to dissipate, Sara was no longer in sight. In Rudeus's place, a huge camouflaged Armor dominated the hall.
A blade extended from the tip of his arm when he swung it; on the other side, a machine gun began to spin.
Zanoba nodded, already charging forward with a shout:
"HAAAAAAAH!"
His star mace came down brutally against the Spirit.
Meanwhile—
"HAHAHAHA!"
Seeing that scene, Atoferatofe finally stood up, more excited than ever. Her warrior spirit, which had gone dim in the past few hours, reignited.
Not many hours earlier, a small human woman had invaded her Fort. She demanded that Atofe follow her orders and said she was her superior.
Atoferatofe was furious, obviously, and started a fierce fight.
Or at least, on her side it was fierce. The small woman cut her to pieces with ease.
Time after time.
Her body was torn apart repeatedly. And, little by little, Atofe's spirit temporarily dimmed.
A melancholic feeling took hold of her. And in the end, she had no choice.
She had to follow that arrogant human's instructions. But now, seeing the boy in the Armor, upon feeling this pressure, her drive surged again.
It was that simple.
Without hesitation, she shot toward Rudeus, laughing maniacally. Weys dashed almost at the same speed.
With the Foresight Eye active, Rudeus anticipated the attack, and swung his own blade against the Demon King.
The swords collided with a deafening metallic clang. The impact made even the resilient Fort Necross crack.
At the same instant, a bursting sound echoed through the hall.
Atofe's left arm was hit by a projectile at extremely high speed.
The limb exploded, black blood gushed violently.
Behind a black marble pillar, Sara had just fired her Magic Rifle.
She was shocked, because she had aimed at the head, but Atofe dodged somehow at the last instant.
But hitting the arm was already enough for an opening, Rudeus was right in front of her and would not lose that chance.
The machine gun was already being lined up against the Demon King, who still smiled wildly, even with her arm shattered.
But the Foresight Eye showed something different, Rudeus gave up the attack and turned his body to defend against a blade coming straight for the Armor's joints.
Weys passed like lightning, too fast to be grabbed.
Rudeus clearly felt that his Armor would not withstand Weys's sword if he did not reinforce it even more with mana.
Sara was already preparing another shot, but saw a gigantic Fireball coming toward her.
She threw herself back behind the pillar. The explosion swallowed the surrounding area.
Moore did not remain still, he aimed at Sara as soon as he realized the danger that strange weapon represented.
In an instant, the conversation had become chaos.
The fight was spreading rapidly through Fort Necross.
Meanwhile, farther from there, Sándor pursued Reida through the Fort's corridors at speed, attacking with implacability.
The two moved like blurs, devastating strikes cut through the air. But no matter how fast or powerful Sándor's attacks were, the small woman always dodged.
Her body seemed small and fragile, but nothing touched her. And, on the contrary, it was Sándor who suffered the Water God's counterattacks.
Even so, it was Reida who was on the defensive, from the start.
She retreated and sought space, trying to buy time. Her objective was to execute her signature technique, the Deprivation Field.
If she managed to activate it, the battle would be decided.
On the other hand, if she could not, Sándor had the advantage.
She had rejuvenated and recovered her stamina, but even so she still could not compete against someone with immortal demon blood.
Superficial counterattacks would not be enough to stop him, and Sándor knew that. That was why he attacked without stopping, without hesitation, betting everything on this constant pressure.
When Reida's endurance began to fail, everything would change.
But until then, both displayed a battle worthy of their titles. Two God-level warriors in their prime.
While Fort Necross suffered the consequences of the clash between them.
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