It didn't take long for news of Chae Hyung-Seok declaring a state of emergency to reach Baroque’s ears. “What’s going on, Hyungseokius?” Baroque summoned him and demanded an explanation for the sudden increase in guards patrolling the castle. “That cursed bastard is coming, Your Majesty,” Chae Hyung-Seok replied, his voice sounding grave. “Who is this cursed bastard you speak of, Hyungseokius?” “Han Tae–no, Siegfried van Proa is on his way here, Your Majesty.” Baroque grimaced at Chae Hyung-Seok’s response. It was truly an absurd claim, as in Baroque’s mind, the idea of an Adventurer like Siegfried making it all the way to the Seventh Domain of the Demon Realm was preposterous. He ought to be hiding somewhere in the world the humans live in rather than foolishly marching into the Demon Realm of his own accord. No matter how strong he was, his strength was only valid in the world of humans. In the Demon Realm, even ordinary demons that reached above average levels possessed enough power to match the human Masters. Even the mighty dragons, considered to be the most powerful creatures, were no match against the high-ranking demons if they battled in the Demon Realm. And yet a mere Adventurer was actually making his way here? To the Demon Lord’s Castle? “Are you feeling unwell by any chance, Hyungseokius?” Baroque asked with concern. “Pardon me... Your Majesty?” Chae Hyung-Seok replied, dumbfounded by the sudden question. “Why are you spouting nonsense all of a sudden? Have I overworked you lately that you are—” “No, Your Majesty. I can feel it. Siegfried van Proa has without a doubt entered the Demon Realm.” “You can feel him...?” “How is that even possible...?” “Whenever that accursed bastard gets close, my body reacts before my mind can even process it.” “What in the world are you even saying, Hyungseokius...?” Baroque asked, utterly baffled. Then, he furrowed a brow and further questioned, “Are you telling me that without any solid evidence or warning signs, your body just... reacts to his presence? Do you seriously believe that makes any sense, Hyungseokius?” “Your Majesty! That wretched bastard and I have been locked in conflict for nearly five years now!” “Do you have any idea how many times we have clashed in those five years? How many times have we battled? I know it instinctively! My body can sense that bastard’s presence!” The sheer absurdity of it all was already hard for Baroque to believe, but seeing how Chae Hyung-Seok spoke with absolute certainty made him stammer. “That bastard is coming to infiltrate the castle to rescue Metatron.” “Are you certain, Hyungseokius? This castle is nothing short of his grave if he steps even a foot in here. Do you truly believe that Siegfried van Proa would willingly come into such a trap?” “Yes, Your Majesty! I am absolutely certain!” Chae Hyung-Seok replied immediately and with unwavering certainty. Then, he added, “That bastard is the most reckless fool I have ever known! The thrill of a challenge only drives him forward, and I am absolutely certain that he will come waltzing in here only for the sake of his own amusement.” “Your Majesty, this might just be the perfect opportunity to capture him. We have nothing to lose even if he does not show up,” Chae Hyung-Seok said. Then, he continued with his tone filled with determination, “All we have to do is set a trap in advance and wait. If we do that, Siegfried van Proa will fall right into our hands.” “I am certain that Your Majesty knows this already. The Avenger is currently in his possession. By capturing him, Your Majesty will be securing the Avenger as well.” “Oh-ho!” Baroque exclaimed, his expression lighting up with excitement. If Siegfried truly was coming to the castle, then this was like luck falling right into Baroque’s lap. Killing Siegfried, seizing the Avenger, and eliminating Metatron all in one single trap? For Baroque, this was the opportunity of a lifetime to wield absolute power in the Seventh Domain. “Very well, Hyungseokius. If Siegfried van Proa dares to step into my castle, then I shall finally ascend as the true demon lord,” Baroque said with a smile. “Certainly, Your Majesty,” Chae Hyung-Seok replied with a bow. “You will take charge of the operation, Hyungseokius.” The reason Baroque entrusted the task to him was simple. Badump! Badump! Badump! He could feel his heart throbbing once again, causing severe chest pains. He was still struggling to fully control the immense power he had absorbed from his father, Vernas, so his heart was constantly under tremendous strain. In other words, he was unable to directly engage in combat. “Leave it to me, Your Majesty. This time, I will drag that damned bastard into the depths of hell,” Chae Hyung-Seok declared with unwavering resolve. With those words, he clenched his fists tightly as he burned with determination. Meanwhile, Siegfried and his party ventured through the underground sewers of the Demon Lord’s Castle, making their way toward the underground prison where Metatron was supposedly being held. “Hold up,” Siegfried signaled after sensing that they had ventured deep enough. He activated Inzaghi’s Clairvoyance and scanned the entire castle. And the results were... “Oh, come on... Why the hell are there so many of them?” he clicked his tongue in frustration after seeing that the entire place was absolutely swarming with demons. To make matters worse, the demons inside the castle were patrolling in whole squadrons and not merely pairs. “Kyuuu! Isn’t the security a bit too tight?!” “Y-Yeah, no kidding...” “Kyuuu! It’s a suicide mission if we go in now!” Hamchi had a point. If they entered now, they would be surrounded in an instant, which meant certain death. ‘What about the prison?’ Siegfried shifted his scan to the underground prison where Metatron was most likely being held. ‘Tsk... Not even a needle can slip past that.’ Siegfried clicked his tongue at the sheer number of guards stationed around the dungeon. At this point, sneaking in was entirely out of the question, and the only option left was to fight their way in. Even worse, the cell where Metatron was being held was completely surrounded by demons. In other words, there was no way to get anywhere near Metatron without being spotted. “How does it look? Are there any openings we can exploit?” Shakiro asked. “There are none, Master. Rescuing Metatron without getting caught seems... impossible,” Siegfried replied, shaking his head. “Unless we could somehow tunnel up from underneath the...” Siegfried trailed his words. An idea suddenly struck him like a bolt of lightning. They were currently on what could be considered the third underground level. The castle was on the ground floor, while the facilities beneath it made up the first underground level, and the prison was on the second underground level. What about the sewers? It was in the third underground level. ‘That’s it! We can dig up from below!’ Siegfried realized that the best approach was to tunnel directly into Metatron’s cell from beneath. With the overwhelming number of guards patrolling the corridors, infiltrating the castle was impossible. A frontal assault would be nothing short of a suicide mission, and there was no guarantee that they would make it out alive even if they somehow reached Metatron’s cell. Thus, the only viable option was to dig through the ground and rescue Metatron from right under their noses. Having made his decision, Siegfried quickly walked over to the spot directly beneath Metatron’s cell. Then, he transformed his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a field shovel and started digging into the ceiling above. His comrades could only watch in stunned silence as Siegfried actually started digging through the ceiling. Pshwook... Pshwook... He did not care what others thought of him, as digging a hole large enough for them to use was what mattered right now. Meanwhile, Metatron was still bound tightly and hanging when he suddenly reminisced of Vernas. “I’m embarrassed that you’re my son!” “Why are you so incompetent?! You worthless fool!” The only memories he had of Vernas consisted only of scoldings and harsh words. As the firstborn son of the Demon Lord of Vengeance, Metatron received immense expectations from Vernas, which led to the stern treatment he received from a young age. “I miss you, Father...” Even so, Metatron found himself longing for even those harsh moments. But what could he do? Vernas had long since perished, and now, even his fury-ladened words were gone forever. “I wanted to proudly show you the demon I had become... How could you leave like that, Father...?” Tears streamed down Metatron’s face like raindrops. “Father... this worthless, incompetent son of yours... is still a failure to the end. I never even once fulfilled my filial duty to you, and I couldn’t even avenge you...” Metatron spent his days in agony and longing for his father while waiting for the day of his execution. Yet, for some reason, Chaos, who was without a doubt going to be captured, had still not been brought before him. Also, it had been days since Baroque last came to see him, too. Thud... Thud... Thud... Metatron turned his gaze to the faint thumping sound. ‘What is that? Is it a rat?’ It sounded like something was hitting or scraping against something, but he couldn’t quite discern what it was. The sound continued for a few more minutes. Thud... Thud... Thud... Metatron suddenly noticed that the floor beneath him was cracking in a circular shape. The hole grew larger and larger. ‘What in the world is this?’ Metatron wondered. About five minutes later... A head covered in dirt and sand popped up. “Y-Your Majesty?!” Metatron stammered after seeing Siegfried emerge from the floor. “Hey, can you shut up?” Siegfried glared at him. “Are you trying to announce it to the whole castle or something?” “I-I apologize, sire...” Metatron quickly glanced around. Fortunately, the guards were nowhere near his cell, as they seemed to be patrolling the corridors. “But why are you here, sire...?” Metatron asked, dumbfounded. “Isn’t it obvious? I came to rescue you,” Siegfried replied. “Y-Your Majesty...” Metatron muttered, tears welling up in his eyes. His own younger brother, Baroque, killed their father and was now trying to kill him as well. And yet, a human, Siegfried, had come all the way to the Demon Realm just to save him. “Aww~ Are you touched?” Siegfried asked with a grin. “Yes... I am, sire...” “You little punk,” Siegfried smirked. Then, he warned, “I understand how you feel right now, but you better sit tight and put on your best acting.” “I need to get those cuffs off your wrists and the shackles off your ankles. So just act the same as you always did for now. Following Siegfried’s instructions, Metatron remained still and acted just as he always did. Meanwhile, Siegfried discreetly went in and out of the cell to remove the cuffs and shackles binding Metatron whenever the guards were away. After approximately three hours... “All done. Let’s go.” The moment the guards left to switch shifts, Siegfried and Metatron swiftly crawled down into the hole. They did not forget to close the hole behind them with a makeshift cover. It was a flimsy cover that would be discovered soon enough, but every second earned increased their chances of escaping the castle. Chaos was overjoyed upon seeing Metatron again. “Ah! I cannot believe I am seeing you again, my lord!” “Chaos... You truly are...” However, Siegfried was not about to let them get all sentimental. “Save it for later. Do you wanna die here after all that trouble we went through?” He reminded them that they were technically still inside the Demon Lord’s Castle, and the clock was ticking fast. “Talk later and get moving. We will be discovered any minute now.” Without wasting another second, Siegfried led the way toward the exit. He had to rush, as the moment the guards noticed that Metatron was missing, the entire place would become crawling with demons looking for them. “Move faster! We have to get away before they realize what’s going on!” With urgency in his voice, Siegfried pushed the group forward. Thus, the party ran at almost breakneck speed, heading for the exit.