Zorg looked at the three youths below with confusion on his face before lowering his head toward Sairao. The curse beast's eyes narrowed as it noticed the evil god breathing with difficulty.
"Seriously, Sairao? Summoning me against children when you haven't even reached your peak?"
"Don't underestimate these brats, Zorg."
"…if you're saying that, then this is interesting."
Zorg was not a Nartheis, creature, or monster. He existed before them, having been created by the Evil God of Beasts. He was considered one of the strongest beasts of the ancient world when gods still walked the earth. In truth, the form he had now was still a weakened one compared to his true power, since Sairao could only summon him like this.
"I have to say, seeing the god who defeated me in this state is honestly devastating to my pride."
"If I recover my power, it won't be so devastating for your pride anymore."
Sairao's breathing gradually returned to normal. He had defeated Zorg specifically to make him his servant, since their magic shared the same nature—both being curse-based. After defeating him, Sairao sealed him within a dimension filled with curses.
Before Zorg could continue speaking, Enrico appeared in front of him with his fist raised. Zorg couldn't deny he was surprised by the boy's courage to attack a giant monster, but even so, his finger was already raised in front of Enrico. With a flick, the brave boy was sent flying beyond the continent.
"I like the kid. It's a shame he's going to die."
"Damn it—Victoria, let's go after Enrico."
"Wait, idiot—damn it, he's already gone."
Victoria watched Kai run toward where Enrico had been thrown. Looking at the summoned monster, she knew that continuing alone would be suicide, so she followed Kai to pursue her rival. Sairao immediately chased after them alongside Zorg, whose every step made the entire continent tremble. Neither of them would let them escape—especially Sairao, who couldn't allow them to grow any further.
Kai used his light magic to focus entirely on his speed, reaching the level of a seventh circle, while using ocean magic to form shell-like scales and heal himself. Victoria clenched her teeth and vanished into space, reappearing beside Kai and even surpassing him, forcing him to accelerate further.
Behind them, the sound of Zorg's footsteps was like the end itself—each impact shaking the air and splitting the ground. Sairao followed close behind, ignoring his own worn body as he unleashed curse blasts that tore everything in their path.
"Victoria, I'm going to increase my speed."
Kai accelerated even more, light enveloping his body as blood streamed from his wounds. Victoria responded by opening multiple teleport points in sequence. Even so, a massive claw tore through space and nearly crushed them, grazing Kai's arm and tearing part of it away.
'Don't slow down. If you die here, how will you have your rematch?'
On the verge of collapsing, Kai heard his own thoughts and pushed forward, increasing his speed even further. Both he and Victoria were evolving their domains within their magic as they focused on speed, becoming faster than before. Even so, another impact from Zorg sent a shockwave that caught them, throwing both into a rocky formation. Coughing blood, Kai rose trembling, while Victoria forced herself to remain focused despite her fading vision. They were running… but each second only seemed to bring death closer.
"Finish them, Zorg."
"I hate it when you give me orders."
Zorg raised his arm to end them, but both were suddenly pulled upward by an arm of ice. A dark elf—whom Victoria recognized—had saved them. The elf released a burst of mana from her back to increase her speed and barely dodged Zorg's attack while carrying them, then dropped them and ran ahead.
"Ocirne, as I thought—you couldn't resist going where the prodigies are."
"You could say Enrico convinced me."
"He managed to talk to you? I knew he'd take interest in a prodigy like you."
Ocirne merely glanced aside without responding. In truth, Enrico had told her to wait until the attack began and retrieve something Kaedryn had hidden. After that, she was supposed to pretend to side with the cult and Elithia until she found the perfect moment to join their side. But things hadn't gone as planned, and she had been forced to save them.
'Damn it, why did he have to tell me to rescue them if I saw them?'
Sairao noticed Ocirne, confused as to why one of the cult's sacrifices had betrayed him. It seemed he would have to torture her before sacrificing her. The three continued running until they reached the midpoint of the continent. They had gone beyond their limits, and Ocirne—who wasn't even a true prodigy like Victoria believed—was barely holding on, despite barely fighting in the war.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it… those two are too fast."
She looked back and saw the giant still pursuing them with ease. Ocirne realized she would be the first to be caught and almost regretted choosing this side—until flames struck Zorg's eyes and a wave of ice hit Sairao's back.
Kai and Victoria turned and stopped, letting Ocirne pass before halting themselves with difficulty. Looking back, she saw Valença flying atop Incandis, her staff aimed forward, and Elaris with wings of ice. Both were sweating, exhausted from chasing after them after seeing Enrico get hit.
"Great, now more rats appear."
An irritated Sairao floated in the air, shattering the ice on his back with crimson magic. He was about to speak again when a kick struck his head, sending him crashing into the ground.
"Oh, you survived."
Zorg whistled as he saw a wounded Enrico standing in the air, staring at where Sairao had been sent. His eyes were no longer dull—instead, they were black, with golden pupils.
"Now that he'll take a while to come back, I'll complete our plan."
Saul's alter ego had emerged—and now the plan to completely eliminate the evil god Sairao would begin, using everything he had to offer at this moment.