Chapter 301: Something Even Isvarn Couldn’t Ignore

"Oh, my, my..." he murmured, amusement filling every word.

"This is going to be so much fun."

Yuuta said nothing. He simply held Elena tighter against his chest while the forty members of the Shadow Corps remained in position around them, their weapons trained on Zeri as they waited for Raven’s command.

"Captain, your orders?" one of the soldiers asked quietly.

Raven remained silent.

Her sword was pointed toward Zeri, but she didn’t give the order to attack. Something about the demon bothered her. He was surrounded by forty Shadow Corps members, yet there was no tension in his body and no sign that he was preparing to defend himself.

"No. Wait."

The soldier beside her glanced toward her. "Wait?"

"I have a bad feeling about this," Raven whispered, keeping her eyes on Zeri.

"He isn’t an easy target. Something about this situation is unsettling."

Zeri seemed completely unconcerned by their quiet conversation. His attention had already returned to Yuuta, or more specifically, to Yuuta’s eyes. He stared at them for several seconds before tilting his head with visible curiosity.

"Really, Uncle... your eyes are weird."

Yuuta’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"They almost look like a vampire’s eyes," Zeri continued with a smile. "But they’re different. It almost feels like there is living blood running through your pupils."

Zeri studied him for another moment before his expression brightened as though he had finally understood something.

"Now I understand why Lord wants you." His smile widened. "You really aren’t an ordinary human."

Yuuta’s fist tightened.

Lord?

He didn’t answer Zeri, but those few words were enough to confirm something Yuuta had already begun suspecting.

I get it...

They’re after me after all.

Yuuta lowered his gaze for a moment. He still didn’t understand why. Until tonight, he hadn’t even known these demons existed, yet somehow another demon had specifically been searching for him, and apparently someone above Zeri wanted him as well.

But why?

Yuuta shook the thought away.

There was no point trying to understand it now. First, they needed to deal with the demon standing in front of them.

"Sir."

Raven’s quiet voice reached him from ahead.

Yuuta looked toward her.

"We’ll hold him here," Raven whispered without taking her eyes away from Zeri. "Use that opportunity to reach one of our armored vehicles. We’ll get you and your daughter away from this street."

Yuuta immediately frowned.

"No. I have to...."

"Sir, please understand." Raven’s voice remained quiet but firm. "I don’t think he’s an ordinary demon. My first priority is getting you and your daughter somewhere safe."

Yuuta looked toward Zeri again.

"But I can fight."

"I know."

That answer made Yuuta pause.

Raven had already seen the bodies scattered across the street. She knew now that Yuuta had fought the Poison Demons himself, so this wasn’t the same disbelief she’d shown earlier.

"But you have your daughter with you," Raven continued. "Please, sir. Let us handle this."

Yuuta clenched his teeth.

Part of him still hated the idea of leaving.

He had already shown Raven what he was capable of, yet once again he was being told to stay behind while someone else fought. His frustration rose almost instinctively, especially when Davenport and Erza were finally within his reach.

Then Yuuta felt something trembling against his chest.

He looked down.

Elena was still in his arms.

Her small hands remained tightly wrapped around his shirt, and although she was trying to stay quiet, Yuuta could feel the fear running through her body.

His expression slowly changed.

What am I doing...?

He had become so focused on proving that he could fight and reaching Erza that, for a moment, his view had narrowed again. This wasn’t only about him. Elena was still here, and unlike before, there were now people capable of fighting while he took her somewhere safe.

Yuuta released a slow breath.

"Okay," he finally said. "I’ll go."

Raven gave a small nod. "Thank you for understanding."

She touched the communicator near her ear while keeping her voice low enough that only the Shadow Corps could hear.

"On my count of three, we engage. Team C, use the opening to escort the Supreme Commander’s husband and daughter to the armored vehicle. Do not leave them unprotected."

"Yes, Captain," several voices quietly responded through the communication channel.

Raven slowly tightened her fingers around the hilt of her sword. Her eyes remained fixed on Zeri, watching every movement of his body while the communication channel inside her earpiece fell completely silent. Every member of the Shadow Corps had received the plan. There was nothing more to explain.

"Three."

The atmosphere changed immediately.

Across the ruined street, the Shadow Corps tightened their grips around their weapons. The soldiers positioned closest to Zeri lowered their bodies slightly, preparing to rush him the instant Raven gave the command, while those stationed on the surrounding rooftops adjusted their aim. The weapons in their hands resembled rifles, but they were far from ordinary firearms. Faint energy gathered through their mechanisms as several barrels simultaneously locked onto Zeri from different directions.

Nobody fired.

Not yet.

Zeri remained exactly where he was.

The young demon simply watched them with that same smile, his hands hanging loosely beside him as though the dozens of weapons pointed toward his body were of absolutely no concern.

"Two."

Behind the main formation, Team C began preparing as well.

They didn’t suddenly grab Yuuta or make any obvious movement toward the armored vehicle. Instead, the soldiers surrounding him quietly changed their positions one by one, creating an opening that would allow them to retreat the moment the assault began. Two moved closer to Yuuta while the others positioned themselves between him and Zeri, ready to cover his escape.

Yuuta noticed immediately.

His attention briefly moved toward the armored vehicle waiting farther behind them before returning to Zeri. He still hated the idea of leaving while everyone else remained here to fight, but the trembling little girl against his chest reminded him why he had agreed.

He adjusted Elena carefully in his arms.

"Hold onto Papa."

Elena immediately wrapped her arms tighter around him.

"Mm."

Yuuta leaned forward slightly and prepared himself. His body protested almost immediately, pain running through his shoulders and exhausted muscles, but he ignored it. He didn’t need to fight right now. He only needed enough strength to carry Elena to the vehicle.

Raven drew in a slow breath.

"One."

Every member of the Shadow Corps prepared to move.

Raven’s foot shifted against the broken pavement as her sword lowered into position. The soldiers on the rooftops placed their fingers against their triggers, while Team C moved half a step closer to Yuuta.

Yuuta tightened his grip around Elena.

The moment Raven gave the final command, he would run.

Raven opened her mouth.

Then....

BOOM!

A tremendous explosion erupted behind them.

The sudden blast caught everyone off guard.

Yuuta instinctively turned his body away from the explosion, shielding Elena as a wave of heat swept across his back. Raven spun around at almost the same moment, while several members of the Shadow Corps immediately changed their positions, believing another enemy had attacked them from behind.

Flames rose into the night.

The armored vehicle they had intended to use was burning.

It had already suffered damage during the invasion, but until moments ago it had remained functional enough to carry Yuuta and Elena away from the area. Now the entire front section had been torn apart. Pieces of metal crashed across the street while smoke poured upward from the ruined vehicle.

Raven stared at it.

"What...?"

That was the vehicle.

The exact vehicle she had just ordered Team C to use.

For a moment, even the Shadow Corps didn’t know where to look. Several soldiers searched the nearby rooftops, assuming another demon had somehow approached without being noticed, while Team C immediately closed their formation around Yuuta and Elena again.

Then a familiar voice came from the opposite direction.

"Oh, no, no, no!"

Everyone turned.

Zeri was still standing in exactly the same place.

Except now both of his hands were raised in front of him.

"I’m sorry! Sorry!"

The young demon looked almost genuinely apologetic. His black eyes moved from the burning vehicle toward Raven as he hurriedly waved both hands, behaving like someone who had accidentally broken something valuable.

"Captain, I’m sorry," Zeri said. "I was going to follow the plan. Really."

Raven didn’t respond.

Zeri pointed toward the burning vehicle behind them.

"I didn’t mean to ruin it."

Silence spread across the street.

Raven slowly looked from Zeri toward the destroyed vehicle and then back at him.

Her expression changed.

He knew.

There was no other explanation.

He hadn’t randomly attacked something behind them. He had destroyed the exact vehicle Team C was supposed to use, and he had done it at the exact moment Raven’s countdown was about to end.

But that shouldn’t have been possible.

Raven had given the instructions through their communication channel in a whisper. Even Yuuta had barely been able to hear what she was saying while standing close to her, yet Zeri had been several meters away.

Still, judging by the amusement slowly returning to his face, he hadn’t missed a single word.

He heard the entire plan...

Raven felt her grip tighten around her sword.

Yuuta understood it too.

His crimson eyes moved toward Zeri while he kept Elena protected against his chest. The demon hadn’t simply been standing there patiently while they prepared.

He had been listening to them.

And he had allowed them to continue.

Zeri’s supposedly apologetic expression lasted another few seconds before the corners of his mouth began rising again.

"Give me another chance, Captain."

Raven’s eyes narrowed.

Zeri placed one hand against his chest as though making a sincere promise.

"Let’s do it again." His smile widened. "This time I’ll follow your plan."

Nobody answered.

"Promise."

That single word finally erased whatever hesitation remained in Raven.

He was playing with them.

He had allowed her to arrange the Shadow Corps, allowed Team C to prepare Yuuta’s escape and even waited patiently through her countdown simply because he wanted to see what they would do. Then, just before they could execute the plan, he had destroyed their escape route and asked them to try again.

Raven clenched her teeth.

"Shadow Corps!"

Every soldier immediately focused on her command.

Raven raised her sword toward Zeri.

"Assault Division, attack!"

The response was immediate.

The Shadow Corps positioned on the street launched themselves forward together, their figures rushing toward Zeri from several directions while the soldiers stationed above finally pulled their triggers. Team C remained behind instead of joining the assault, immediately tightening their defensive formation around Yuuta and Elena.

Yuuta held Elena close as he watched the attack begin.

And at the center of it all, Zeri didn’t retreat.

He didn’t raise his hands to defend himself either.

The young demon simply watched the Shadow Corps rushing toward him from every direction, his black eyes moving between them with growing excitement.

Then Zeri smiled.

___________

Location: Yuno City

Place: Yuuta’s Apartment Garden

The garden was strangely silent.

The only voices came from beyond the apartment grounds, where Agency soldiers were forcing the remaining civilians to evacuate. Orders echoed between the buildings, followed by frightened voices and hurried footsteps as families were directed toward secured routes.

Isvarn watched from beneath one of the surviving trees.

His hands rested calmly behind his back as he surveyed the garden. It barely resembled the peaceful place he remembered. Broken branches and debris covered the ground, while the quiet training area where he had spent so many mornings teaching Yuuta had become another casualty of the invasion.

Isvarn slowly raised his gaze toward the night sky.

"So... it has started."

His eyes shifted toward another part of Yuno City.

Yuuta was far too distant for Isvarn to see, but he didn’t need to. The disturbances spreading through the city and the movement of demonic presences were enough to tell him that another confrontation had begun.

The demons had finally made their move.

Isvarn had remained an observer throughout most of the invasion, refusing to interfere unless he believed it truly necessary. Even so, tonight had surprised him more than once. Earth was supposed to be an ordinary human world, yet demons of this level were appearing one after another as though something had drawn their attention here.

"Truly fascinating..." Isvarn murmured.

For someone who had lived as long as he had, very few things still managed to intrigue him.

His thoughts returned to Yuuta.

"I wonder how that boy will handle it."

Isvarn looked toward the damaged training ground.

He remembered standing there with Yuuta. More importantly, he remembered the moment that enormous aura had appeared, the pressure descending so suddenly that even Isvarn had been forced to reconsider what kind of man had been standing before him.

Then there was the dog.

Yuuta hadn’t touched it.

He hadn’t needed to.

A single command had been enough.

The memory remained unusually clear, not because killing such a creature was impressive, but because of what Isvarn had sensed behind Yuuta’s words. That brief display hadn’t felt like an ordinary human accidentally releasing power.

There had been something else behind it.

Something even Isvarn couldn’t identify.

His expression grew thoughtful as he stared toward the distant part of Yuno City.

Ever since that day, a strange suspicion had remained with him.

Tonight, it had only grown stronger.

Then, without warning, Isvarn’s eyes narrowed.

Something had changed.

It wasn’t a sound, nor was it an aura he recognized. It was simply an inexplicable sensation that crawled through his body and refused to be ignored. Isvarn slowly turned toward the distant part of Yuno City, his previously indifferent expression becoming serious.

"What... is this feeling?"

He remained completely still.

Screams continued in the distance. Explosions occasionally illuminated the night sky, and demonic presences remained scattered throughout the city.

But none of them had caused this.

Isvarn slowly unfolded his hands from behind his back.

"This isn’t something I should ignore..."

He took a single step forward.

Then stopped.

His eyes widened ever so slightly.

For just a fraction of a second, he felt it again.

That presence.

But before he could grasp what it was—

it vanished.

Isvarn remained motionless.

His eyes stayed fixed upon the distance long after the sensation had disappeared.

"...Interesting."

And somewhere far beyond his sight, completely unaware that he had just attracted the attention of an ancient being who rarely found anything worthy of notice...

someone smiled.

To be Coniuned...