Five minutes earlier, Yumeha was simply protecting civilians as her master had ordered, along with the other girls she met along the way.
"Damn, who is this guy? He just showed up and tried to kill us!"
"I don't know who he is, but from what I've heard, the appearance he's using is that of Cris, one of Enrico's old classmates."
"Someone from my master's class? Who does he think he is to use that face?"
Jago was using Cris's appearance because he wanted to stir up Enrico's memories of the dungeon and how he killed one of his friends while wearing that face.
And I'll do it again.
A large skeletal hand was summoned behind him, coming down directly toward the girls. Elaris and Seraphina created a combined magic to defend against the attack, forming an enhanced ice barrier, but it was broken easily.
"What kind of face will he make when he sees you? I can't wait to find out."
Seeing that, they couldn't even defend themselves, because it took him only one attack to put them in that condition. If it weren't for the fifth-circle guards protecting them, they would have died immediately, so they were certain they were about to die.
Master, I'm sorry.
Enrico…
I couldn't even restore my kingdom.
My Ketsumei, I—
Before they were hit, they found themselves surrounded by something that moved them a few meters away from the destruction caused by Jago's magic.
"What do we have here? Why are you vampires getting involved in this?"
Three figures stood in front of him — Nyxaria, Valen, and Ysabella — radiating a murderous aura. Behind them was the person who had used the magic that saved the four.
"Shouldn't you be hiding on a ship somewhere?"
"What are you talking about? I'd never let my beloved be sad over someone's death."
Lamia had her hand on the ground, breathing heavily because that magic drained a lot of mana. Looking at them, Lamia flipped her hair proudly, while Seraphina rolled her eyes, realizing there was yet another one trying to steal her time with Enrico.
"Besides, you'll all be my equals in the future when I become one of the wives of my beloved and dear—"
"Since when did we agree that you'd be a wife too?"
"I said in the future, not now. I've got plenty of time to convince you all — along with my lovely ladies."
"What are you talking about? My master only met you today! And why are those other girls supposed to join too?"
"As for meeting him today, that's just a minor detail. And about my ladies — of course they'll share what I have, since we all pursue the same art."
Ysabella nodded to Valen, who nodded back and surrounded the five girls in a blood dome with twenty layers of barriers. Valen communicated with the girls inside.
"Girl from another continent, prepare another spell — this time to teleport to a safe place."
"Alright. I don't know why you're helping us, but thank you for helping me protect the girls of my beloved Enrico."
"Just go somewhere safe."
While she prepared the magic inside the dome, the three looked at Jago, their eyes shifting briefly to the massive darkness in the distance that was still gathering power, as if it were about to open and release whatever was inside.
"It's beautiful and powerful, isn't it?"
"What do you mean by that, Nartheis?"
"The birth of a Ranvil Nartheis. Honestly, I'm really curious to see what level it'll reach…"
The three should have felt threatened knowing that a newborn Nartheis was releasing that much power, but for some reason, they felt rather calm — as if whatever was coming would side with them.
"In any case, I've answered one of your questions. So why don't you answer mine — why are vampires helping humans?"
"It's quite simple to answer that question, but the main reason—"
Taking a step forward, Ysabella's eyes split wider than before, filled with fury matching the two behind her.
"—is that you touched my master's friends, and that's unforgivable."
Creating a red sphere in her hand, Ysabella launched multiple blood attacks from it directly at Jago. Several skeletal hands appeared, palms open, defending against the attacks.
"Undead."
Casting his necromancy magic, Jago began transforming all the corpses in the area into zombies — both the weaker civilians and the fallen mages. Ysabella looked at them, counting on her fingers curiously to estimate how many they'd have to fight.
"Necromancy… there must be at least fifty of them. And to make matters worse, plenty are probably fifth-circle."
"Lord Valen, can you fight them properly? You just reached the fifth circle after drinking the master's blood."
"Don't worry. As you said, I drank the master's blood — I'm very eager to show him my level."
Jago watched them take their battle stances, and in moments, they were already cutting down the weaker ones at high speed while dodging the stronger ones to thin out the horde quickly.
I don't know how long he'll take to return, so I need to finish those girls off now.
Moving at a speed surpassing nearly all of them except Nyxaria, he drove his hand into the dome, managing to crack it. Nyxaria moved forward, but the nearest zombie appeared in front of her, delaying her by just a second — enough for Jago to raise his hand and summon a sphere of black energy, leaving the five girls momentarily shocked.
"Goodbye, fearless girls."
Just as he was about to fire, everything suddenly went dark — nothing could be seen except void and shadowy figures. Jago was surprised, unable to move his hand even though the girls were still there.
It's like I'm in a place of nothingness.
Looking at his arm, he saw a completely white hand gripping it with absurd strength, even for him. When he looked closer, he noticed the arm wasn't connected to a body — but as it moved forward, he realized the body was hidden within that darkness.
"Looks like the newborn woke up quickly… so what should I call you? New Nartheis?"
Golden eyes with black and gold slitted pupils appeared before him, revealing nothing else — yet somehow terrifying everyone in that place, except Jago.