"Eztein and the others still haven’t returned... I wonder what they’re doing right now," Souta muttered.

Yuko, Kessa, and Franklin had already grown stronger. There was no doubt that the rest who survived the battle had improved as well. He wasn’t too worried about them.

Alice was different.

Every time he thought of her, unease crept into his chest. A few months ago, he had done everything he could to protect her and still, he failed. Even without the Great Demon Emperor making a move, the Heavenly Demon Palace alone had more than enough powerful experts to stop him.

Souta inhaled slowly, steadying himself.

He couldn’t hate Lucifer. He understood the consequences all too well. Only those with the power to stand against him had the right to harbor such hatred.

"Alice... I have to find a way to rescue you. As soon as possible."

After the upheaval in the Giza Continent, the Demon Lands would become the next battlefield. The Sea King, along with the other two kings, would act once they fully regained their strength. For now, they were focused on reclaiming the power that had been sealed away.

Giza Continent, Demon’s Land, and the Mars Archipelago. Its Great Barrier would soon disappear.

The three continents would descend into chaos, with gods and Monster Lords taking center stage. There would be little room left for mortals in what was coming.

If he wanted to reach that battlefield, he first had to settle matters in the Depth of Banquet.

"My strength is enough..." Souta clenched his fists.

He turned slightly and spoke, his voice firm.

"Tell Franklin and the others to prepare. I’ll personally lead the assault on the Depth of Banquet."

With his current power, he could conquer it far more quickly.

"Alice... wait for me."

...

Depths of Banquet,

Inside the dungeon, Fadu, Souta, and the rest of the Rulman Household had gathered in a single chamber. After securing a relatively safe location, they chose to remain there rather than venture deeper.

"I want to explore this dungeon," Fadu muttered, seated on the cold stone floor.

"You can’t," Souta replied from behind him. "The elders’ order was clear that we’re only here to show ourselves to the public."

Before Fadu could respond, Souta’s expression shifted.

He turned his head slightly, brows knitting together as a faint, unfamiliar sensation stirred within him.

Hmm?

A moment passed.

Then, a subtle smile curved on his lips.

’The preparations aren’t even complete... but this will do. The only variable left is the Crescent Republic,’ he thought.

His gaze returned to Fadu.

"Young master, it’s time to move. We’ve stayed here long enough."

Fadu frowned. "It’s only been two hours. The elders said we should remain here for at least five hours."

"They’re not the ones standing here right now," Souta said calmly. "I am."

He paused, his eyes sharpening.

"And my instincts are telling me that something dangerous is coming."

The shift in his tone was enough.

Fadu hesitated for only a second before nodding. Souta wasn’t someone who spoke lightly about danger.

"Everyone, prepare to move," Fadu ordered as he rose to his feet.

The members of the Rulman Household exchanged confused glances, but none of them questioned the command. One by one, they gathered their things, ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

Soon, they stepped out of the dungeon.

And walked straight into... Battlefield.

The waters outside were no longer calm, they roared and twisted like a living beast. Violent currents spiraled in every direction, churned by the sheer force of clashing energies. Explosions of power ripped through the surroundings, sending shockwaves that cracked the seabed and tore through the water like invisible blades.

Figures flashed across the battlefield, blurs of light and shadow, colliding midair with deafening force. Every impact sent tremors rippling outward, distorting the space around them. Blood clouded the water in drifting streaks, quickly swallowed by the chaos.

It was absolute carnage.

There was no order. No formation. Only destruction.

The experts of the Rulman Household stiffened, their hearts lurching at the sight. For a brief moment, they were frozen but instinct snapped them back. They surged forward, forming a defensive wall around Fadu, their auras flaring as they shielded him from the violent aftermath of every clash.

"W-What... what is this?!" Fadu’s voice shook, his face paling as another explosion thundered in the distance.

"I told you," Souta said, his voice low, steady yet edged with danger.

His eyes swept across the battlefield, cold and calculating.

"My instincts don’t lie."

Another shockwave slammed into them. The water itself seemed to scream under the pressure.

"This place is about to erupt even further," Souta continued. "If we hesitate, we die here."

He stepped forward, his presence cutting through the chaos like a blade.

"Move. Now. Stay tight, if you get separated, you won’t survive."

Without waiting for a response, Souta surged ahead, leading the group through the storm of destruction.

The dungeon entrance had become a slaughter ground.

Experts from every faction had cast aside all restraint. Techniques tore through the battlefield without care, striking anything in their path. No one held back. No one showed mercy.

Only the strong endured.

Souta’s eyes narrowed as he felt it, pressures so immense they weighed down on his very bones.

Five.

Five auras, each one towering above the rest like raging storms.

Seventh Shackle Realm.

Their clashes alone warped the battlefield, their power spilling out uncontrollably, crushing everything caught too close.

And this... was only the beginning.

There were more, far more, waiting in the depths of their factions.

The Depths of Banquet wasn’t just dangerous.

It was a nest of powerhouses.

Souta exhaled slowly, his gaze sharpening.

Fortunately...

They were tearing each other apart.

Shockwave after shockwave tore through the battlefield.

Boom! Boom!

Souta’s eyes narrowed as layers of barriers snapped into existence around them, each one trembling under the pressure of the surrounding chaos.

’My strength has limits... I can’t withstand direct hits from multiple Seventh Shackle Realm experts.’

He raised a hand.

Gravity bent.

Fadu and the others were yanked upward, their bodies suddenly weightless as an invisible force dragged them through the water. At the same time, Souta conjured barrier after barrier, weaving them together in rapid succession to block the stray blasts tearing through the battlefield.

Then,

His gaze dropped.

Below them, the seabed bulged... and split apart.

An enormous volcano erupted into existence, surging upward with terrifying speed. Within seconds, it towered a kilometer high, its massive crater stretching hundreds of meters wide like a gaping maw.

The next instant,

It exploded.

Molten magma burst forth in a violent surge, flooding the surrounding waters. The ocean screamed as it boiled, bubbles detonating in rapid succession. The magma didn’t simply flow, it writhed, twisting like a living entity as it devoured everything in its path.

People didn’t even have time to react.

They were swallowed whole.

Boom!!

The explosion that followed shook the entire battlefield.

In just a few breaths, hundreds were gone, erased without a trace.

Above it all, the five Seventh Shackle Realm experts continued their clash, utterly indifferent. Their attacks collided again and again, each impact unleashing catastrophic force that spilled across the battlefield without restraint.

The scale of their battle was high.

Their battle was annihilating everything around them.

Whoosh!!

Souta pushed forward, forcing his body to its limits as he dragged the group through the chaos. His barriers cracked and reformed repeatedly under the strain, barely holding against the relentless aftershocks.

Only when the pressure finally lessened did he slow.

The violent ripples weakened... the air no longer felt like it would crush them at any second.

Souta stopped.

"We’re safe... for now," he said, his voice tight. "The aftershocks here aren’t as strong."

"Huff... huff..." Fadu’s breathing was ragged, his entire body trembling. "W-What... is happening...?"

He turned, almost mechanically, and looked back at the battlefield.

The scene below was a nightmare.

The experts of the Rulman Household stood frozen, their faces pale. None of them had expected this... this scale of destruction, this level of power.

Several Seventh Shackle Realm experts...fighting all at once.

It was beyond anything they were prepared for.

Souta didn’t look back for long.

"Move," he said coldly. "We don’t belong in a battlefield like that."

Behind them, the war raged on.

The battlefield stretched for over twenty kilometers, with the dungeon entrance at its heart. Hundreds of experts clashed in a chaotic storm, each faction tearing into the others without restraint.

And at the center of it all, the monsters at the Seventh Shackle Realm continued to reshape the battlefield with every strike.

The group tore through the water, fleeing the battlefield as fast as they could, their bodies cutting through the currents like fleeing prey escaping a predator’s jaws.

Behind them, the chaos still raged.

Dull explosions echoed through the depths, each one sending faint tremors that chased after them like the afterbeats of a dying storm. The water remained unstable, rippling and twisting from the distant clash of overwhelming forces.

No one spoke.

Not a single one of them dared to look back.

Souta led from the front, his senses stretched to their limits, constantly scanning for any stray attack or lingering shockwave that might reach them even this far out.

Only when the pressure in the water finally eased, when the crushing presence of those monstrous auras faded into the distance, did their speed begin to drop.

Even then, no one relaxed.

They continued onward.

Straight toward Wave Bond City, the stronghold of the Rulman Household.

Because they all understood one thing.

This wasn’t just a battle.

It was the beginning of something far worse. The entire nation would soon be dragged into the storm.