Chapter 327: Rescue
Staring at Maria's small hand, Zolgear finally lost his patience.
He would never let those who betrayed him go free. From the very beginning, he had never intended to release any member of Sheila's family.
His original plan was to deal with Maria after securing Mio, but now he had to act sooner.
A pale purple light glowed in Zolgear's eyes. Maria, who had been on high alert all along, sensed something was wrong.
Suppressing an inexplicable panic, she tried to continue pretending to threaten Mio to buy more time, but suddenly found she couldn't move.
"What did you do?!"
Maria struggled to break free, but even with all her strength, she remained completely immobilized.
Zolgear snorted disdainfully. "A lowly succubus like you dares to threaten me? If it weren't for the fact that you still have some use… hmph."
The pale purple magical glow in Zolgear's eyes intensified. Mio was lifted by an invisible force, floating slowly toward him.
"Once I've obtained Wilbert's power and restored my body's vitality, I'll take my time to… cherish you."
His lecherous expression made his already ugly, aged face even more repulsive. Maria fought desperately against the invisible restraints, but her efforts were futile. All she could do was watch helplessly and anxiously as Mio remained unconscious.
To deceive Zolgear, Mio's unconscious state was genuine.
According to the original plan, they could at least exchange Mio for one hostage, buying considerable time in the process.
No one expected that Zolgear had never intended to release anyone. He had merely shown a glimpse of Sheila and Lucia imprisoned, hoping to take Mio away.
In a moment of quick thinking, Maria had pretended to threaten Mio, buying a little more time, but she never imagined Zolgear possessed such a bizarre ability.
In truth, even without this strange power, if Zolgear had resorted to force, Maria would never have been able to harm Mio.
Given the vast difference in their strength, the outcome would have been the same.
Unexpectedly, Maria's display of determination and urgency to save her family had dispelled Zolgear's suspicions.
He attributed the smooth progression of this coercion plan entirely to Maria's deep feelings for her mother and sister.
In his view, Maria hadn't known Mio for long, so it was only natural that she would prioritize her own family. Exchanging Mio for them was understandable.
A cold-blooded, heartless devil like Zolgear could never comprehend such bonds and emotions.
Even Zest, whom he had created based on his beloved and who had remained utterly loyal, was nothing more than a disposable pawn to be discarded at any moment.
"Lord Zolgear."
Just as Zolgear's hand was about to touch Mio, Lars appeared wearing a mask.
He bowed slightly and said, "Zest has reported discovering Underworld pursuers. Should we relocate?"
"Lars, you're still here?" Zolgear's movement stiffened, slowly withdrawing his withered hand.
"If Zest made the discovery, why are you the one reporting to me?"
Zolgear trusted Lars, but his centuries of experience told him something was wrong with Lars appearing here now.
And while trust was one thing, he felt no psychological burden about killing Lars either.
Anyone who interfered with his acquisition of power deserved death.
As Lars was still thinking of how to explain, a dark magic circle appeared above him. Zolgear, with a grim expression, launched an attack.
Lars startled, barely dodging the attack by a hair's breadth.
"Lord Zolgear, what are you doing? The Underworld pursuers are truly nearby and will find this place soon."
Zolgear's expression shifted uncertainly. Seeing Lars still insisting at this moment, he couldn't be sure if it was true.
"Nothing. I was concerned you might be an enemy in disguise."
Zolgear casually offered an excuse while using magic to contact Zest and summon her.
...
In the castle's second basement level, Haruto and Lars stood before a high-tech device in front of a giant birdcage.
Sheila and Lucia were chained hand and foot, like canaries trapped in a cage.
Haruto had already returned to his original form and was studying the lock-like device before the cage.
A tender voice spoke up as Sheila raised her delicate face, "Lars? And this is..."
"I'm Maria's friend."
Haruto quickly responded, "How do we open this thing?"
Though Sheila and Lucia had many questions, they knew now wasn't the time for explanations.
"This controls the super electromagnetic device," Sheila's voice was soft and sweet, her appearance seeming no more mature than Maria's.
"Without the password and specific magic sequence, it's nearly impossible to unlock."
"If forcibly destroyed, it will trigger the super electromagnetic device, instantly obliterating everything in the cage."
Haruto followed Sheila's gaze upward to the top of the cage. Zolgear had lived many years but hadn't improved much in ability, though he'd researched plenty of other things.
Both the artificial creation of Zest and this magic-technology hybrid device before them represented highly valuable technical achievements.
"The power of this device..."
As Haruto was about to inquire further, Lars suddenly interrupted, "No time. My puppet can probably only buy us one more minute."
As a puppeteer, he could constantly sense the status of the puppets he controlled.
Once Zest arrived, he would be exposed. The puppet's destruction mattered little, but time was running short.
Even if Zolgear didn't suspect someone was secretly rescuing Sheila and Lucia, Mio would still be harmed.
Lars wanted to claim he'd discovered the Underworld pursuers, but that responsibility had always been Zest's.
His mission was to retrieve Mio. If he said that, Zolgear would immediately sense something wrong, and he might not even buy a minute of time.
Without the password or spell, forcing a rescue would definitely alert Zolgear. He had to create a time gap.
Thinking this, Haruto decisively materialized the Red Dragon Emperor's Gauntlet, his body enveloped in crimson dragon-shaped armor.
Using the Balance Breaker's ability, he instantly multiplied his power fivefold.
His speed might not surpass electromagnetic waves, but it only needed to outpace the device's reaction time.
After charging for three seconds, Haruto threw a punch toward the upper half of the giant birdcage.
Crimson and deep blue magical power converged, carrying a force brimming with destructive energy, forming a stream of light that instantly annihilated the upper part of the birdcage and the most critical components of the electromagnetic device.
The remaining magical power continued unabated, piercing straight through the castle from the second basement level.
Outside the castle, Yuki and Kurumi stared at the towering pillar of light, their young minds greatly shaken.
The powerful attack struck the spatial barrier of the alternate dimension, causing the entire space to tremble several times.
The magic circles surrounding Sheila and Lucia glowed brightly before dimming again.
The destruction happened too quickly; the energy provided by the device couldn't activate the magic circles in time.
Under Sheila and Lucia's stunned gazes, Haruto casually crushed the magical shackles restraining them.
"Lars, take them to meet up with Yuki and the others first."
With those words, Haruto immediately headed toward Mio and Maria's location.
At that moment, Zest had just finished communicating with Zolgear, but the puppet Lars had already learned from the main body that Haruto was on his way. Facing Zolgear's fierce glare, he remained completely unruffled.
Zolgear had no mind to deal with him now; the towering magical beam made his heart race with fear.
The newcomer's strength definitely surpassed his own. Even in his youth, he might not have been a match, let alone now, with one foot already in the grave.
"Zest, hold him off for me."
Zolgear quickly assessed the situation, ignoring even Maria's restraints as he reached out to grab Mio, intending to flee with her immediately.
He didn't care about Maria anymore, nor even his last stronghold.
As long as he could obtain the power within Mio, he could reclaim everything eventually.
Just as Zolgear was about to seize Mio, the puppet Lars abruptly stepped forward, blocking the path between him and Mio.
"Get out of the way."
Zolgear couldn't be bothered to waste time on him, launching an invisible attack to swat him aside.
The puppet Lars knew he couldn't stop Zolgear, but his only goal was to prevent Mio from being captured.
"BOOM!!!"
To Zolgear's dismay, the puppet Lars suddenly self-destructed, the resulting shockwave hurling Mio far toward Maria's location.
Although a puppeteer's puppet could perfectly mimic a real person, its strength was nowhere near the main body's. Even the power of its self-destruction was more show than substance.
This was also why the puppet Lars hadn't forcefully intervened to buy time earlier.
He could barely evade Zolgear's casual attacks; in a real fight, he'd likely be subdued instantly, just like Maria.
The rapidly changing situation left the bunny-eared Zest's mind reeling. One moment, a terrifying magical beam erupted from the castle's basement, and the next, Lars self-destructed?