The moment Yela slipped out of the room, she headed straight for the basement.Most of the guards had already rushed outside to reinforce the others against Sleeping Garden’s assault.That left the lower levels almost completely deserted.She moved through the corridor without making a sound before quietly opening the basement door.A foul stench greeted her immediately.“…Ugh.”She instinctively covered her nose.The smell was enough to drag painful memories out of the darkest corners of her mind.Even so, she forced herself to continue.The basement was much larger than she had expected.Rows of prison cells stretched into the distance, disappearing into the dim light.Yela approached the nearest cell and cautiously peered through the bars.“…!”Her pupils contracted.Three young women sat huddled together inside.Their eyes were completely vacant.There wasn’t a trace of awareness in them.It was as though their souls had already been hollowed out.Their lips continued moving mecha

The giant ox charged straight at Rhys, trampling everything in its path.Walls cracked apart.Broken furniture exploded into splinters.Nothing inside the corridor could slow it down.The woman’s remaining Familiars followed closely behind, while she herself stayed farther back, making sure she remained within their summoning range without exposing herself unnecessarily.From her position, she was well protected.Rhys, meanwhile, couldn’t summon his Divine Beasts. Doing so would immediately expose his identity.On paper, he was the weaker side.Anyone looking at the battle would assume he should be the one desperately struggling to survive.Unfortunately for the old woman…She had chosen to fight a devil inside his own playground.Rhys dashed through the winding corridors, using the footwork Wyndia had taught him.His movements were light and efficient.He ran just fast enough to stay ahead of the ox.Not too fast.Never too fast.He wanted the Familiar to believe it could still catch

“Kill him!”The old woman’s command echoed through the lobby.Every Familiar moved at once.Only the lion remained beside its Beast Tamer to protect her. The ox, the leopard, and the panther rushed toward Rhys from different directions, closing off every obvious escape route.“Tch.”Rhys sidestepped to his left, refusing to meet them head-on.The panther reacted instantly.It exploded forward with frightening speed and drove a kick toward his ribs.The acceleration was impressive, but it came at a price. Moving that quickly left the panther with far less control over its body.Rhys caught that weakness.He twisted away at the last possible moment. As he slipped past the kick, a Mana Bullet formed in his palm.He drove his hand into the leopard’s chest.Boom!The explosion threw the leopard backward.Even so, the attack had achieved exactly what it was meant to do.The brief delay allowed the ox and the panther to close the remaining distance.The giant hammer came crashing down.Rhys

“You bastard…”The panther glared at Rhys with bloodshot eyes.Before it could recover, several Mana Bullets pierced through its body.“Gah!”It coughed up a mouthful of blood and dropped to one knee.The wounds were far more serious than they looked.If the battle dragged on much longer, it wouldn’t survive.Rhys saw the opening immediately.Without wasting a second, he lunged forward.Mana gathered rapidly around his right hand as another compressed bullet formed before his palm.One clean hit would finish the panther.The ox reacted instantly.It stepped between them and swung its hammer sideways with everything it had.If Rhys insisted on killing the panther, there would be no room left to dodge.Unfortunately for the ox…That was exactly what Rhys had been counting on.The panther had never been his true objective.It was bait.Just before the hammer reached him, Rhys vanished from its path.Boom!The hammer crashed into the stone wall instead, reducing it to rubble.“…!”The ox

The lion froze.He stared at the two newly summoned Familiars that had just thrown themselves in front of their Beast Tamer.They never had a chance.Rhys’ Mana Bullets tore through their bodies without slowing down.“…”His grip around his sword tightened.Those two might not have been as powerful as the original four, but they had still fought beside their Beast Tamer for years. They had followed her into battle, protected her through countless dangers, and placed their lives in her hands.In the end…She had repaid that loyalty by using them as disposable shields.The realization struck the lion harder than any attack Rhys had landed.An uncomfortable thought surfaced in his mind.If I were standing there…Would she sacrifice me just as easily?Until now, he had believed the bond between Beast Tamer and Familiar was one of trust.Partners.Comrades.Family.But perhaps…He had never been anything more than a servant.Or worse…A tool.His thoughts drifted toward Rhys.Throughout th