Jeanny and the others ran up the stairs from the basement. Master was leading the way.
"Hey! Do we still have to put these ropes on?" Red Death asked.
"F*ck that. There is no time for that anymore. We just have to sneak our way out," Master answered. He took out a magic scroll and used it. It contained the Group Invisibility spell. They turned invisible.
"Then you don't need that disguise anymore… You are Spring Crown, aren't you?" Jeanny said to Master.
"Oh? I'm touched that a beauty such as you recognize me even when I look completely different. You might have a feeling for me, but sorry, lady, I'm taken," Master said, he ended his disguise and became Spring Crown.
"She is also taken, you narcissistic freak," Leavemealone said.
Red Death didn't say anything. Did they forget that Spring Crown was also an enemy? She continued to pay attention to the man closely.
"I recognize you from the stolen martial arts you displayed," Jeanny said.
"Stolen?! I'm hurt! Is that how you speak to your savior? Those martial arts weren't stolen. They were learned… without permission."
They came out to a large hall. Spring Crown led them to one of the many hallways.
"Are we really sure we want to follow him? He could be leading us to a trap," Red Death said.
"Lady, come on!! You were trapped before I broke you out. Why would I bother to lead you to a trap when you are already captured in the first place…?!" Spring Crown yelled. "We don't have the time to second-guess each other. Almost all the members are out in the war in Hydrurond. I've also sent the native guards out of this headquarters before I save you, people. So, our path should be clear, but we still need to get out of here before he catches us."
"He? Who do you mean?" Jeanny asked. They had come out of the hallways into another large hall. It seemed to be the headquarters' lobby. The main entrance was just ahead.
"Who do you think?" Spring Crown returned.
As they were running, they heard flapping sounds from the hallway they had just come out from.
"Oh, shit!" Spring Crown cursed.
A shadow shot past them. At the same time, several energy balls spread around the lobby. They detonated and hit almost every space. Jeanny and the others defended themselves but were unable to dodge the blast. Their invisibility ended. Spring Crown recognized the spell as Magic Bombs.
Their attacker landed in between them and the main exit. It was a humanoid figure in demon form. The face resembled an ethereal face more than a human's.
"It is truly you…," The demonic ethereal said. The demon's voice was slightly heavier but everyone recognized the voice. The demon was Master.
"Ugh, boss. Don't you have somewhere to be? Like winning the war in Hydrurond?" Spring Crown asked with a forced chuckle.
"Why? Is it because of the native massacres in Hydrurond?" Master asked.
"Massacre…?" Jeanny and the others didn't know about what happened.
"I might be a man of my word, but I still have my limits. You've just gone way too far, boss."
"You, fool! Those natives are not real people. They were generated by computer codes!"
"They look real enough to me," Spring Crown shrugged.
"Hmph, you have truly cost me big this time… I will make you regret ever turning back on me," Master threatened. The situation of Messephyria's siege might have been in his favor before he left. Even if he was not there, the probability of his force winning was still big. But like in any other war, anything can happen. If something that turned the tide happened when he was not there, then it would be a disaster.
"How do you find us? The invisibility spell should also erase us from your monocle's radar," Spring Crown asked.
"… If you wish to escape this place, the fastest exit is this main entrance," Master answered.
"Aw… Shoot! Should have climbed to the balcony upstairs and fled from there," Spring Crown regretted his haste.
"You will regret more than…"
One of them wasn't interested in this conversation. Leavemealone sent his Fire God Barrage before Master finished speaking.
Master acted fast. He cast Ice Wall before the twenty fireballs were even halfway. Ice Walls wouldn't normally be able to defend against the divine skill, even if Master's intelligence stat was abnormal, but it was also powered by strong mana manipulation. Despite Leavemealone having a good degree of control over mana manipulation, he was more accustomed to using it in martial arts. He didn't spend much time training mana manipulation on game skills, while Master wholly focused on training mana manipulation on game skills.
The ice wall broke but it still managed to stop the twenty fireballs. Thick vapor resulted from the collision of the two opposing elements. Something fast dashed out of the vapor.
It was Leavemealone. He was in his White Tiger Emperor form. He arrived before demon-form Master in a beat and sent a kick right to the side of Master's head.
Master lightly lifted one hand with a magic shield to stop that kick. The collision caused a loud impact, but the powerful kick was unable to make Master budge.
Despite the kick failing to land a hit, Leavemealone didn't stop. His body spun at high speed and his other leg delivered a spin kick. This time, it hit Master's face. Yet, all it did was cause Master to turn his head by a little. The resulting damage was also very little.
Leavemealone couldn't believe he was fighting a spellcaster. The pressure he felt was as if he was fighting against a strong melee opponent. This was even after his power was multiplied by his beast form. It was still not enough to compare against Master in his demon form.
Leavemealone didn't stop moving despite his surprise. His two fingers stabbed out as he landed. Violent cold energy swirled following his fingers. But before he carried out the attack using Nine Yin Abyssal Finger. Master had cast a spell. He turned into several images. It was the Mirror Image spell. Each image had the same mana signature. Even with his mana sense, Leavemealone couldn't tell which one was the real one.
In his confusion, he was hit by Force Impact. He was sent flying across the hall. Master cast Repeating Magic Bind. Several energy rings accurately locked Leavemealone's body parts while he was still in the air. He hit the far wall and fell to the ground. He didn't get up. He was unable to move due to the magic bind.
In a short instant after Leavemealone carried out his sudden attack, he had been incapacitated.
