After Riemannmitted suicide, Aquido left Nils, who was weeping over the body, to Kai and Roze, and went to Lucia to ask what had happened.


    Lucia had been filing documents when she heard that Grey had been captured, she ignored the orders to retreat to Arkroy and immediately began looking into things.


    She went directly to the castle floating above Silke where she was abducted by a demon and brought to this prison.


    There she saw Grey, who had a red thread wrapped around his neck. Riemann Chardonnay forcefully fed her a monster''s egg when Grey used a barrier spell and was blown back.


    Aquido and the rest hade soon after.


    After Lucia finished, Sylphy massaged her eyes while sighing and then snapped her fingers.


    The barrier protecting Lucia immediately shattered like ss.


    "You said your name was Lucia, refrain from acting on your own," Sylphy gently warned and patted her on the head a few times.


    "Yeess" Tears began to pool out of her eyes as she nodded and ran towards Grey, who still hadn''t regained consciousness.


    "Since we''ve saved Master, let''s go back to Fort Silke for now," said Sylphy.


    "Sylphy-dono, there''s a female prisoner in the room further inside." Theo reported after having scouted this bottom-mostyer. There were two doors on this floor.


    The first led to the stone corridor Aquido and the others hade from. The other was located on the opposite side, it was a giant door connected to a long stone pathway inside.


    "A woman?" Sylphy asked.


    "A young woman with ck hair."


    Sylphy knit her brows and ced a hand on her jaw in thought. "Leave her to me, you guys should prepare to leave......"


    However, before she could finish, a thunderous earthquake shook the building, it gradually kept strengthening until they could no longer stand.


    "This shaking....... the space itself is cracking, probably because of that......" Sylphy looked towards the room Theo had juste out of and saw a pair of eyes glinting from inside.


    A thick, purple fog poured out of its gaze, and---


    Tap! Tap!


    Sound of footsteps came from the stone path and gradually approached the room.


    "What is that!?" Aquido thought, although instinctually he already knew.


    He felt an intense pressure descend upon him like his entire body was being squeezed by a giant hand. Even if he had received that abnormal power from Grey, he certainly couldn''t beat that!


    Sylphy picked Grey up, snapped her fingers and calmly ordered, "Take Grey and get out of here!"


    In an instant, a bluish membrane appeared just like the one when they had first raided the castle, enveloped them.


    "You can''t, you just can''t. I won''t let you." a female voice dered. The next moment, the blue membrane popped like a bubble.


    "So that''s no good......" Sylphy muttered with resignation. It wasn''t funny, only Sylphy or Grey would be able to stand up against that.


    Aquido asked for his next orders. "Sylphy---!" His mouth mmed up. She was so strong, but still looked horrified as she stared past the door.


    "Stop spacing out! This domain is going to copse soon. Hachi, do you have any flying spells?"


    There were cracks forming on the ground, walls, and even the ceiling. And with each sessive rumble, they were deepening.


    "I do"


    "Then take Grey down and get away from here!" Aquidomanded, handing off Grey.


    "What about Sylphy-san?"


    "I''ll buy some time. I''m not confident, but Master''s life is at stake here, so I''ll go all out." Sylphy pointed her sword towards the door.


    The burning pressure that apanied the footsteps gradually increased, and then, the door opened.


    "Ugh......"


    The person who stepped out of the room looked like a teenager, and she had long ck hair that extended down to her knees.


    She hadrge eyes and a small stature. Aquido didn''t find her to be that strong at first nce.


    However, the red haze that wrapped around her like mes, turned the stone walls, ceiling, and even the metal door into sand.


    Aquido felt like he had been thrown into the same cage as a starving beast.


    "......"


    He frantically tried to say something, but words got caught in his throat and could only gasp.


    "There seems to be some human livestock that''s worth eating." The girl looked at them and bit her lip. "Hmm!? Something strange seems to be mixed in."


    She narrowed her crimson eyes and began inspecting Sylphy, Hachi, and Kama.


    "Your vessels aren''t human, but something very simr. Inside is---Ahaha!"


    Her face morphed into pure ecstasy asughter escaped from her mouth.


    She barely paid any attention to Aquido and the others as she ced her hand on her chin and continued tough.


    "Splendid, I wonder how your body and soul will taste. First let me get a taste of the body."


    She licked her lips and moved the object in her hand to her mouth.


    "Kuh!?" Sylphy kneeled down on one knee as fresh blood began bursting out.


    "Mama!"


    "Onee-sama!"


    Little Dora and Roze ran towards Sylphy.


    Rip! Crunch!


    Although it looked way too small, was the arm the girl chewing on Sylphy''s?


    "Deeelicious!!" the girl howled at the sky with blood all over her mouth. "Magnificent. You guys are the most---"


    A blue me stormed out from Sylphy and swallowed up the ck-haired girl.


    "Woah!"


    The hot winds rushing towards everyone else were suddenly restrained.


    Then, amidst the blue mes appeared a blue-haired girl, who seemed to be around the same age as Grey. She wore short pants and a simrly short jacket. She was showing so much skin that Aquido didn''t even know where to look and was ring at the other girl like a hawk.


    "Is that you......Sylphy-san!?"


    It couldn''t have been anyone else. But her appearance, height, and build were all starkly different. She used to be a woman in her prime, but now she was a child no older than Grey.


    "Can''t you tell!" the blue-haired girl spat out, seemingly in a bad mood.


    "I can''t, that''s why I asked......" Aquido eximed. Everyone else nodded in agreement.


    "That''s Mama''s original form. She wanted to look like an older sister with an attractive figure, so she created that form through an illusion" Little Dora exined.


    "Why go so far?" Judo asked.


    The human-eating monster continued to chew on Sylphy''s left arm. It was a maddening situation. Indeed, Kai and Roze were shaking so much that they couldn''t even stand.


    Judo''s calmness probably stemmed from having lived alongside the abnormality that was Grey for so long and thus having built up a resistance towards these kinds of things.


    "Ummm, so you see, Mama doesn''t like that form. It''s because---"


    "Little Dora" Sylphy red at her, who shrugged and dived back into Roze''s chest. "It''s an unfamiliar spell, but now I can go all out in this form. I''ll be an Enlightened One and draw out everyst bit of my power to cut you down."


    Sylphy grit her teeth, then lowered her body and readied her sword.


    The girl whispered, "What a cheerful piece of meat, your left arm was so thick with magic that it just melted in my mouth."


    "Well thank you."


    "Yep, Now let''s see. It looks like you can regenerate, so I''ll let you live as my bento."


    "I''ll return once I''ve had my fill. You guys go ahead and retreat for now," Sylphy said, ignoring the ck-haired girl. She pointed her hand at them and they were once again enveloped in a blue membrane.


    "Idiot, you think I''d let my precious feast get away?" The ck-haired girl casually stuck out her right hand and slowly made a grabbing gesture.


    The blue membrane creaked as it distorted, but this time, it didn''t break.


    "Ho, what a tenacious barrier. To think that even I can''t break it. Alright, fine. You''ve piqued my [1] interest now!!"


    Her and Sylphy''s figures disappeared, and a strong wind burst out which threatened to topple everyone over.


    "Get away from here and follow Master''s orders!! Only he can destroy this person!" Sylphymanded from amidst the raging winds. The blue membrane prated through the ground and descended.


    ◇◆◇◆◇◆


    Aquido and the others sted through the ground and continued to go deeper and deeper until they finally escaped from the foreign-looking castle.


    Goosebumps appeared all over as they soon fell down from the sky.


    They didn''t even have time to scream as the blue membrane rapidly descended before graduallying to a halt.


    Hachi''s veins were bulging all over and he was sweating profusely, probably because he was the one who had slowed them down.


    "Hurry, teleport!" Hachi shouted, his voice cracking. Judo quickly began to teleport.


    The foreign-looking castle high in the skies burst into dust and was blown away.


    The strong winds opened up his view.


    "Mamaaaa!!" Little Dora shouted impatiently. There in the sky, Sylphy was covered in blood and her throat was tightly gripped by the ck-haired girl.


    [1] First time she''s referred to herself, and she uses ''Ore'', a masculine way to refer to oneself like ''I''.