Ethan’s eyes caught the antique cigarette lighter near his feet. It had fallen from Xylo when he was tossed out of Bella’s darkness.

Rust covered most of its surface, which was a normal wear from several months of constant use, and as such had become a personal item. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

With a smile, Ethan picked it up.

Xylo’s gaze darted around the room frantically. He spotted Ishtar, their target, but also saw the swordsman they had nearly killed the other day.

And his stomach dropped.

This meant that the demon crouched in front of them, undeniably the high-ranking presence they had sensed earlier, was not aligned with their cause at all.

They were caught in the worst possible situation.

Zurin had her teeth gritted as she stared at the swordsman, a significant part of her wishing she had killed him when she had the chance.

Ethan let the demons recuperate for a moment, watching them carefully. Then he began. "We know you’re sent by House Tisseus. How many more of you are there?"

House Tisseus, according to Rayleigh, was the family he infiltrated during this last expedition and it was from their cells that he rescued Ishtar from.

Xylo turned back to Ethan, his body still trembling from whatever hell he had just experienced.

He glanced at Isabella, who glared at him with dangerous intent, and the memory of those few minutes trapped in her darkness came rushing back.

"It’s... it’s K-Krygon," Xylo stammered, his voice shaking. "We’re... we’re working under House Krygon."

Rayleigh’s eyes widened. That couldn’t be possible.

A loud gasp fell from Ishtar’s mouth and her entire body went rigid at the name.

Ethan turned toward Ishtar, noting both of their responses. And that reaction told him they knew a lot more about this name.

Without saying anything, he turned back to the demon. He couldn’t tell if Xylo was lying or not because his heart rate had been abnormally fast from fear ever since he stumbled out of Bella’s darkness. "How many?"

"I... I don’t know," Xylo said, his voice still unsteady. "But whatever she is... she’s important to them. They’ll send as many as it takes to retrieve her."

"Hm." Ethan muttered. "Where does House Tisseus fall in all of this?"

Xylo swallowed hard. "All I know is that Lord Krygon set House Tisseus against the girl’s family."

"I see," Ethan muttered.

A few more questions followed, each one peeling back another layer of the situation. The group learned how the demons had been able to continuously track Ishtar through the markings on their arms, markings that came with painful side effects. There wasn’t much more they could offer in terms of useful knowledge, but Ethan had one final question.

"Earlier, when you both approached here, you stopped and turned away. Why?"

He was genuinely curious. According to Rayleigh, he had been with Ishtar the night they attacked him first. They obviously would have sensed him before approaching, yet they still attacked.

So it couldn’t have been because they sensed she had protection, then why did they stop this time?

"Because we could perceive the presence of a high-ranking demon. You," Xylo replied straightforwardly.

"Hm." Ethan nodded, finally standing. Then a sudden realization hit him. "Hold on. How are you exactly able to perceive that?"

Now this really got him wondering. That wasn’t something just anybody could do. Even Bella hadn’t realized he was a demon.

Rayleigh only knew because he had a peculiar sense of smell that was borderline supernatural.

And unless Ethan was making something about his demon side particularly obvious, that wasn’t supposed to be perceivable at all.

Xylo looked confused for a moment but answered anyway. "We can because we are part demons."

"So you’re saying anyone who’s a demon would immediately tell I am one too?" Ethan asked.

Xylo nodded. "Yes. Especially given your status."

Ethan immediately glanced at Bella, who had reached the same level of realization.

"Kieran," she said.

Kieran. His former teacher from when he was at the academy, who also furnished the King with relevant information, especially about the demon race and continent.

Ethan clicked his tongue and sighed, then took a step back.

Xylo immediately saw an opportunity and began. "I... I have answered every question you’ve asked. If you let us go, we could be of more use to you."

Ethan smiled for a second. "You’re pragmatic, I’ll give you that much. I can tell you’re more human than demon." He then raised the lighter. "But this ensures any further use I might have for you."

He slipped the lighter into his pocket and turned, nodding toward Isabella. "Do your thing, love."

She stepped toward them, stretching out her hand.

Both their eyes widened with fear again. They were about to react aggressively, but Bella flicked her fingers.

And the darkness that had seeped inside them when they were thrown into her void quickly reacted within their bodies, jerking their muscles with agonizing force. They convulsed, gasping in pain.

She raised her hand, and they were both lifted into midair. Then, the vast amounts of dark energy within their bodies began seeping out, enveloping every part of them.

"No one will ever harm those I care about and go free," Isabella said as the darkness wrapped around them completely.

Their bodies were now totally caught in the darkness, silhouetted by it until they were nothing but shadowy shapes suspended in the air.

"No one."

With another flick of her fingers, they burst into dark particles and dispersed into nothing.

Ethan stared at the empty space, genuinely amazed.

Bella stood there for a moment, looking at where they had been. Then she reached into her pocket and slipped the suppression bracelet back on.

She then turned to Ethan, who nodded at her.

A notification screen materialized in front of him.

[Self-Imposed Objectives Complete:]

[Setting Up the Plan: +4,000 XP]

[Retrieving Information from the Demons: +5,000 XP]

[Bonus Reward: +4,000 XP]

[Total Experience Points: 174,250]

The current balance included the XP he had gained over the almost two weeks that had passed since the ambush at the B-rank breach.

Ethan dismissed the notifications and turned to Rayleigh. "Now, Who is this Krygon?"

—

About two hours later..