Minor earthquakes no longer occurred, but that didn't stop the investigation team from tracing even to the top floors. It only took them no more than three minutes to arrive at the source of the commotion earlier.
A girl with long, messy black hair was slumped on the ground with wounds all over her body. A short man clad in half-shattered armor was standing in front of that girl. The long black blade was aimed at that girl's head.
Elysia's eyes widened when she saw that scene using her sacred vision. She was sure it wasn't an illusion, but the injured girl was someone she could recognize with just a glance!
'Why is Sylvia here!?' Elysia's eyes instantly became sharp, and she darted ahead of everyone when she saw the armored man about to touch her friend's head.
"Sylvi!" Elysia exclaimed and used gravity magic to send the armored man flying far away.
*Bam!*
"Ugh!" The black-purple demon crashed into the wall. But, he stood back on the ground as if that magic attack didn't do any damage to him.
"E-Ely?" Sylvia opened her eyes and muttered with sobs. Even so, she smiled pitifully to look at the approaching girl.
Elena and the others immediately went to Elysia's side, out of invisibility. Neither of them expected that someone would follow them here. And again, that armored man reeked curse energy!
"E, Ely, I- I'm-" Sylvia stuttered between sobs. She wanted to apologize and beg for forgiveness.
However, Elysia only cut it off because the current situation was unfavorable. "Sylvi, you are injured from the curse energy. Please don't talk yet." Elysia immediately crouched down next to Sylvia and applied her special healing magic.
She carefully burned all the curse energy that messed up Sylvia's blood flow, then she helped heal the wounds.
"Hoho~ So, you guys are the one the little prey talked about? It's a little weird, an Apprentice-level girl can make me bounce with just magic alone?" The black-purple demon glanced at the girl who was healing the injured girl.
"So, it's you. Looks like your strength has dropped too much than it should be. Emperor-level accursed monster that isn't stronger than Saint-level." Rhea scanned the black-purple demon and spoke in a cold tone.
"Yeah, that's surprising. You can figure that out? Who are you really? You're just a little girl, I bet you're not that bastard God." The black-purple demon narrowed his eyes. He tried to remember whether he could recognize that turquoise-haired little girl or not.
"Who I am is not important to you. One thing you need to know, this is your last moment because we will end you here." Rhea didn't change her expression.
She didn't expect them to miss a forbidden room on the upper floor. This maze was actually a sealed area for accursed monsters!
"No, no, the truth is the opposite of that. This is your last moment instead of me. Our almighty lord will awaken soon, and that will be the end of this world's era too. Leading to our era of greatness, keke..." The black-purple demon chuckled as if he was the winner regardless of the outcome.
"Hmph! Are you sure about that? You are nothing more than an ignorant accursed monster." Nell then exchanged glances with her big sister and Onceanid. She wanted to interrogate this accursed monster, and Oceanid agreed to help.
'I'll be on guard here. Please let me know if you need some help. Also, please make sure not to kill that accrsed monster.' Rhea reminded her little sister via shared connection telepathy.
'Understood.' Nell nodded in understanding.
"Accursed monster? Is that the nickname you gave to our superior race? What a terrible and disgusting name." The black-purple demon tilted his head slightly.
"A vile being like you is part of the Ruvoid Race. Because of your traits, you deserve to live under the name of a monster." Elena stood behind Elysia so the armored monster wouldn't glance at Elysia or Sylvia.
"You also know about our race's true name? Did history and the erased era leave enough information to that extent for the current generation?" The black-purple demon felt a little strange, but he just put that thought aside.
"Hmm." Oceanid suddenly emerged from water mist, right beside the black-purple demon. He then launched the water shackles.
"Weak element." The black-purple demon just spread his arms, and the magic shackles were torn apart.
"Pathetic." Oceanid muttered and raised his hand up. The spherical water barrier immediately enveloped his opponent.
He then punched that barrier and made the black-purple demon dart into a large empty room. An epic battle should be done in a vast space, not in this narrow passage.
After that, Nell and Oceanid entered the room and sealed the exit with sky stone debris.
*Boom!* *Bang!* *Bam*
The commotion and small earthquake happened again and again. A battle was taking place within there, between two divine beings against the weakened Emperor-level accursed monster.
Elena glanced at Rhea, then at Elysia. She crouched down to check Sylvia's condition and frowned when she saw a few pieces of silver metal and blood on the ground.
"Phew... Now you'll be fine." Elysia wiped her non-existent sweat with some relief.
Then, she looked into Sylvia's red eyes with concern. "Sylvi, why are you here? Did the others also come here and not heed my request? They are also in danger..."
"I'm sorry, please forgive me for being a naughty girl. It was just me insisting on sneaking off to follow you guys without the others knowing it." Sylvia admitted it frankly with a slight sob, but she kept her voice evident.
Hearing that, Elysia both felt relieved and somewhat angry. Her words were ignored by this devil girl even though she was thinking about the common good.
"Sigh... Don't my words have any weight on you, Sylvi? You consider my benevolence request as trivial thing and can be violated at will?" Elysia stood up and sighed. She felt that she needed to teach this devil girl some life lessons.
"..." Elena and Rhea looked at each other in silence. They distanced themselves a bit as if they agreed to let Elysia give a little lecture to Sylvia.
"No, no... Your words mean a lot to me, but I feel left out. I also want to be on the investigative team. I can take care of myself and I have some state-of-the-art weaponry." Sylvia shook her head and crawled to hold Elysia's legs. Elysia's sigh of disappointment scared her for so many reasons.
"It's not a matter of you being able to take care of yourself with what you possibly can and have. It's about self-kindness and trust--" Elysia started to give a little lecture.
She didn't budge at all, even though the devil girl sobbed and apologized repeatedly. Everything she wanted to do just so this devil girl could understand the meaning behind her request was for the good of all.
After five minutes of a meaningful and somewhat scathing lecture, Sylvia could only apologize and sob. "I'm sorry. Please don't hate me, bro... I won't do it again. I've learned my lesson. I'll do whatever you say, but please don't leave me behind."
Elysia heaved a subtle sigh. Maybe, she was a little overboard in giving the lecture? Then, she crouched down in front of Sylvia. "You have learned a lesson. Do you understand the weight behind every decision you make and the meaning behind the kindness request from others? Don't you care when other people worry about you?"
"En, I care..." Sylvia wiped her tears and nodded pitifully.
"It's good that you understand." Elysia nodded once and gave Sylvia a hug. "You know, my heart stopped for a moment and my body went cold when I saw that the armored man was going to behead you? I was so worried for your safety, so please listen to me. Thank goodness you're safe... We're on time, thank goodness."
Hearing those gentle words of love and care, Sylvia trembled slightly. She realized that she was so selfish and only took advantage of Elysia's kindness. Maybe, all this time, she was only thinking about herself? Could that be what happened to her father too?
Whatever it was, something warm seemed to flow into her entire being. One that she never got in her life with her father, a warm impression.
Sylvia didn't know what to say, but she shed tears once again. Not because she was sad or anything, but because her heart was thrilled. Her hands seemed to move on their own to hug Elysia.
After a few seconds, Elysia realized what she had just done despite the emotional impulse. She blushed a little because she hugged a beautiful girl and the latter just hugged her back.
Then, the long silver objects next to her caught her attention. However, a strange incident occurred shortly after. The blood splattered on the ground seemed to evaporate. It instantly went to Sylvia's body and was absorbed.
"Wha-" Elysia gaped in surprise.
"Uhm?" Sylvia loosened her arms to see what surprised her friend. She then looked closely at her friend's face and leaked out some information. "It's the Disintegrator Cannon, but it's broken. It's one of my father's ultimate weapons that was made with some help and enlightenment from the Evil God. Weapons like these are the ones that will help the Devil Race exterminate the accursed monsters."
"Ah, so it's like that... Is this silver weapon the one that helps you to fight that armored man? He is an accursed monster with high intelligence?" Elysia nodded understandingly. It reminded her of the preparations the Human Race had.
"En, this weapon is very effective against that black-purple demon. But-" A worry crossed Sylvia's mind all of a sudden.
"But?" Elysia tilted her head slightly and looked at Sylvia's face.
"But, I have unsealed my magic energy. Perhaps, my angry father has found out about my whereabouts. What should I do now...." Sylvia muttered under her breath and pursed her lips.