In the dimly lit underground chamber, the floor was etched with intricate lines that converged to form a Magic Circle, with special magical artifacts placed at regular intervals along its perimeter.
One by one, iron crates loaded with heavy cargo were lifted by overhead cranes and dropped from the edges of the Magic Circle with a heavy thud, instantly filling half of the empty space.
"Boom!"
The crates opened, revealing mechanical constructs with spider-like bodies. Their exteriors were covered in metal armor equipped with various weapons and boasting extremely high defenses, immediately signaling that these were war machines, the Narakviras, built solely for combat.
Among them, the most striking was the one positioned at the center of the Magic Circle. Compared to the others, it was several times larger, and although its surface weapons had been stripped after multiple modifications, its metal armor had been specialized for other purposes.
"Hahaha, old friend Dahāka, I didn't expect you to return so quickly. I thought I'd be the first to arrive."
An elderly Therianthrope in military uniform, followed by a group of Therianthropes, laughed as he greeted the massive figure before the Magic Circle, a man with three heads on his neck, cloaked in black, while stepping into the chamber.
Dahaka ignored Gardos's enthusiastic greeting, merely glancing at the burly man who had entered alongside him.
"Grendel, you truly are useless. You can't even fetch something this quickly."
"A worthless Evil Dragon with no combat ability, who only bullies the weak and fears the strong, all you do is brag day after day, hahaha!"
"Gardos, now that you've returned, let's start the ritual. I'm getting impatient. If this drags on, I might not be able to resist eating you."
The three heads spoke in turn, each taunting Grendel and Gardos.
"Dahaka, want a fight? I can give you that, hahaha. Perfect timing, sitting around here day after day is wrecking my body."
A dragon-shaped phantom appeared behind him. A bloodthirsty red gleam flashed in Grendel's eyes as a battle-crazed laugh spread across his face. He strode slowly toward Dahaka.
"Hold on, Grendel-san. I don't mind a fight between you two, but if you start here, our plan will fail. Please, just give me a break and forget what Dahaka-san said."
Striding forward to block Grendel, Gardos smiled confidently as he spoke.
"Give you a break?"
Glaring at Gardos, the murderous intent in Grendel's eyes didn't waver. The dragon-shaped phantom behind him opened its massive maw, and a huge fireball shot toward Gardos.
Unexpectedly, Grendel launched a sudden attack. Faced with a fireball arriving instantly, Gardos had no time to react.
"Boom!"
Gardos's figure was engulfed in flames. A violent explosion erupted, and thick black smoke billowed upward.
The sudden chaos stunned the Therianthropes following Gardos. Once they recovered, they assumed attack stances, targeting the two massive men.
"Wait! Guh…"
Just as they were about to strike, Gardos's voice rang out from the smoke, halting their reckless charge.
As the smoke cleared, the figure before everyone was a beast-like Therianthrope, clothes burned away and lying prostrate. It had lost all human form, with patches of black fur just beginning to grow but already charred. It coughed up mouthfuls of blood.
"Looks like you're not such a useless Beastman after all. Can you withstand a second strike?"
Seeing Gardos alive, Grendel's excitement only grew. He ordered the shadow behind him to reopen its gaping maw, flames coalescing within it.
"Are you done playing around?"
A cold voice cut in from the other side, interrupting Grendel's action.
"I don't care if you want to kill him, but if you ruin the plan we've worked so hard on, then I'll be the one to deal with you."
Activating the sliver of Magical Power granted by Cid, boundless energy surged from Zeta's body, forming a purple aura.
The forbidden art of her bloodline was primed. Zeta's pale purple irises darkened, her golden hair lengthened, and the golden halo atop her head locked onto Grendel.
With a sudden spin, Grendel's ferocious aura collided with Zeta's, causing the air in the chamber to stir without a breeze.
As the two prepared to clash, Dahaka narrowed his eyes at Grendel. Behind him, the silhouette of a three-headed black dragon appeared, casting oppressive pressure onto his opponent.
"Ha, this is pointless. You're just darting around like an annoying mosquito. Fine, fine, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."
With both of them targeting him, Grendel narrowed his eyes slightly, gave a hearty laugh as if he didn't care, and dispelled the phantom behind him.
"Hmph, a worthless coward who only bullies the weak."
"A vermin that has disgraced the name of the Evil Dragon."
"Weak and good for nothing but making a fool of yourself."
Seeing Grendel back down, Dahaka also dispelled the phantom behind him, and the three heads began to taunt him.
Grendel's expression froze at the taunts, his fists clenched, and his breathing grew heavier.
He knew he might not even be able to defeat Dahaka one-on-one, let alone with the agile Zeta standing nearby. If these two joined forces, he wouldn't even land a single blow—he'd be completely at their mercy.
He craved a brawl with a true powerhouse, but facing these two was a risk he didn't want to take. One had defense stronger than his own, whose magic shield he couldn't even break, and the other was astonishingly fast, impossible to land a strike against.
"Hmph!"
"The item."
"I need to inspect it."
With a cold snort, knowing Grendel wouldn't provoke him anytime soon, Dahaka walked straight to Gardos and held out his hand, demanding something.
A glance from him was enough. His subordinate behind promptly produced a black crystal and placed it in Dahaka's hand.
With the item in hand, Dahaka ignored Gardos, unfurled his dragon wings, and flew toward the very center of the Magic Circle.
Once there, Dahaka raised the black crystal before him, released it, and used his Magical Power to make it hover in midair.
The Magic Circle on the ground and the black crystal both began to emit light, resonating with each other.
Seeing the circle activate, the Therianthropes dragged out the unconscious Kojou Akatsuki and placed him opposite Nalakuvera, in the position corresponding to the largest machine.
Black magical tentacles shot up from the ground, piercing straight into Kojou Akatsuki's body, frantically draining the immense Magical Power of the Fourth Primogenitor.
Fueled by this influx of energy, the glow from the circle intensified, and the heads of Nalakuvera's mechanical horde began to flash red.
Just as Gardos thought everything was going smoothly, an unexpected incident occurred. The circle's light flickered erratically, and Magical Power within the ground runes began to clash.
"Crack… hum… boom!"
Strange sounds echoed from the Magic Circle, and finally, with a deafening roar, it halted completely.
"Dahaka, is there a problem with the Magic Circle?"
Seeing Dahaka descend, face twisted with rage, Gardos ignored his injuries and hurried forward to ask.
Before he could reach him, a Magic Circle materialized out of thin air in front of Dahaka. Lightning bolts shot from it, striking the unsuspecting Gardos and slamming him into the wall.
"There's a problem with the spells inside. Many key spells were deliberately scrambled."
"Useless good-for-nothings who can't even get things done—what a waste of all these days."
"We might as well just kill him. As long as we have Rizevim's chalice, we're immortal. I don't believe Shiva can keep defeating us forever."
Gardos, slammed against the wall, overheard the conversation and sensed Dahaka's murderous intent. Realizing that without a reasonable explanation he would certainly be killed, he hurriedly spoke up.
"Dahaka-san, wait, wait! I know where the problem lies. It's that bitch—she didn't input all the spells. Give me a moment, and I'll have her fix it immediately."
"I've lost all patience."
"It won't take long. I brought her here. Just a little time, and I'll give you a satisfactory answer right away."
Dahaka's movements stopped. The three heads exchanged glances, then turned together to look at Gardos. The black crystal in his hand flew straight at Gardos's face.
Meanwhile, Zeta, her purple eyes glowing darker and her golden hair flowing, readied herself, her body radiating the immense Magical Power granted by Cid, prepared to intervene if the chaos escalated.
"This is the last chance."
"If we fail again this time, we won't wait any longer."
"We'll just do what we have to do, and you'll be our first target."
"Don't worry, Dahaka-san, this time it'll definitely work out."
Picking up the black crystal from the ground and calling the Therianthropes behind him, Gardos hurried toward the cell where Asagi Aiba was being held.
"Boring."
Watching all this, Zeta curled her lip in disdain and turned to leave. The two burly men left behind exchanged a thoughtful glance.
...
Leaning against the wall, Asagi Aiba gazed across the bars at Yukina Himeragi, exchanging glances.
"So you were trying to save your friend, but by accident, your friend escaped, and you ended up getting captured to take your friend's place. Am I understanding that right?"
"Pretty much."
"Huh, that's really bad luck."
Yukina Himeragi nodded, and Asagi Aiba responded with a look that was part mockery, part resignation, and part sympathy.
"It's not so bad. At least Sayaka got away. I'm sure she'll find someone soon to rescue me."
"You're being a bit too optimistic."
"?"
Looking up at the ceiling, a hint of despair crept into Asagi Aiba's voice.
"Judging by their ability to trigger massive explosions simultaneously in the city center and that meticulously planned escape route, these terrorists haven't been on Itogami Island for just a day or two. If they were going to be discovered, it would've happened long ago."
"Ah, well…"
Yukina Himeragi fell silent. Asagi Aiba's reasoning made sense, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say. She could only stay put, quickly restoring her physical and Spiritual Energy to prepare to save herself.
"Hey, I have a question for you."
After a long pause, Asagi Aiba spoke.
"Why did they kidnap your friend?"
"…It must be for my pass. It seems they're planning to transport some dangerous goods to Itogami Island."
Recalling Dahaka's words at the time, Yukina Himeragi replied uncertainly.
"Then why did they capture you? If they simply wanted something from you, they should have killed you to silence you once they got it, not go to the trouble of capturing you."
Sensing the flaw in that reasoning, Asagi Aiba's eyes lit up.
"That… I don't know."
"…I've actually figured something out. You said they wanted to capture you while causing as little harm as possible. With such strict conditions, they must have sworn an oath to the Magic Network."
"…"
"So it wasn't that they wanted to capture you—someone else ordered them to do it."
Recalling that several Therianthropes had indeed mentioned the "Lion King Organization," Yukina Himeragi's expression darkened.
"If I'm not mistaken, the scope of their leader's oath likely extends beyond just capturing you—it probably includes not harming you after capture, unless absolutely necessary."
Unaware of Yukina Himeragi's grim expression, Asagi Aiba grew more excited as she spoke.
"What do you mean?"
"Hey!"
With a confident smile, Asagi Aiba pushed her glasses up.
"Let's work together."
"Work together?"
"Yes, work together."
"...How exactly?"
...
The cell door swung open, and Gardos entered with a grim expression.
"Miss Weaver, I came with sincere intentions to cooperate with you, yet you've withheld something from our deal. This truly breaks my heart."
In response to these brazen words, Asagi Aiba offered only a forced smile.
"Of course, I'm still willing to trust you, Miss Weaver, so I'll give you another chance. As long as you can repair this, my previous promise still stands."
Asagi Aiba maintained her initial expression and said nothing.
After a moment of silence, Gardos sighed and placed a photograph in front of her.
"It seems you're unwilling, Miss Weaver. That's fine; we won't force you. However, regarding the building in this photograph, we can't guarantee it won't become the target of our next attack."
Asagi Aiba, who had remained calm, suddenly paled upon seeing the photograph. Her eyes flashed with fury, and she slammed her arm against the railing with a loud bang.
"If you dare harm her, I will slaughter every last one of you."
Facing the enraged Asagi Aiba, Gardos merely maintained his smile.
After calming herself, Asagi Aiba sighed, realizing she was at their mercy, and extended her hands.
"I need to go somewhere else. There are no tools here; I can't cast spells."
"Alright."
"Take off the handcuffs too. I can't cast spells without Spiritual Energy."
"…Alright."
Gardos hesitated briefly at the request, but finally nodded. His men stepped forward, removed the magic-suppressing handcuffs, and led Asagi Aiba away.
After she left, Yukina Himeragi—previously ignored—shifted her foot with a strange expression. When she saw a key appear at her feet, her eyes widened in surprise.