A flash of blue light expanded, revealing the hidden force inside the fog. Though the number was huge, the spiderlings weren't unending.

"You lied," Tardium said, his eyes gawking at Princess.

Beside her, Angelica held a gun which was smoking. Though her aim was shaky, she rested her arms on Princess's spider legs to steady it.

"You don't appreciate my goodwill," Princess said and flicked her fingers. A swarm of tiny spiders rained from the ceiling.

Cyania cast her spell. A gust of wind blew skyward and caressed the spiders. Once touched, they immediately froze and shattered into countless pieces.

Tardium swooped down and looked for the lost cylindrical device.

"Mucia, scan for it."

"Don't worry about me," Constrien said. "I can hold on for a while."

"Canaris, help him," Cyania commanded.

Canaris rushed to protect Tardium from danger. His big build blocked the ways the spiderlings could use to ambush Tardium.

Before long, Tardium found the device. A chill caressed his spine as he looked up. The piles of spiderling corpses around him trembled. From them, the spiderlings leapt to Tardium.

As their hiding spots were inside the fog, Cyania couldn't detect their life signal. Her spell wasn't powerful enough to control and disperse the chaotic Fons in the surrounding.

"Allow me," Cyania said. She drew a circle and crushed it. The Fons quickly condensed into a pack of ice shards.

Inside the fog, Princess smiled. According to her gesture, the foreign Fons drifted into the formation. It overloaded the process and overwhelmed the limit.

As the formation exceeded its limit, it collapsed and flowed back, pushing Fons into Cyania's body. Her blood vessels tensed as her body overworked. She collapsed and gripped her head in pain, blood leaking from her mouth.

A sudden understanding drowned her. She looked at the surrounding in a daze, her eyes sweeping across the fog. Its paleness haunted her. She trembled and heavily panted.

"What did you do?" Tardium said, his bloodied hand aiming a handgun at Princess.

Just like Angelica, his trembling hand couldn't aim. The shot would likely miss if fired.

He had no idea what happened, though he guessed that Princess had done something. He had to distract her from messing with Cyania or else she might die.

"Lower your weapon in front of mistress," Angelica said and pulled the trigger. The bullet sped to Tardium, creating a spiral of wind which indicated its power.

Mucia blocked Tardium and stabbed the rapier in front of him. Its tip managed to intercept the bullet, producing a screeching sound. The impact broke it but also diverted the bullet's trajectory. It curved upwards and pierced Mucia's left shoulder.

Though she couldn't feel pain, she knew her left arm couldn't move anymore. It relaxed and dropped the broken rapier with electricity emerging from the gaping hole.

Tardium gritted his teeth and shifted his target. He shot an approaching spiderling to protect Mucia then sprinted to her and dragged her away.

Another gunshot resounded. Tardium closed his eyes, but no pain reached him. He somehow evaded it despite the distance and the speed.

"Something is wrong," he said.

The bullet went toward Constrien and punched a hole inside the flamethrower. The muffled noise echoed as the heated air ignited the material inside, creating a chain reaction. Constrien heard a strange noise, but he didn't have time to worry about it.

Before Tardium, the flamethrower inflated and exploded. Its tank popped and spewed flames shrapnels everywhere, razing the spiderlings and Constrien. The impact pushed him back. His heavy clothing couldn't save him from the agonizing pain of puncture wounds and burns.

The explosion brightened the room, revealing Princess. In that split second, Tardium saw nothing but indifferent in her eyes, though he didn't have time to be angry.

He commanded Mucia to become a vanguard before rushing to Constrien. Though he couldn't heal Constrien, he could at least apply the basic medical operation.

"Miss, please help."

Tardium turned to Cyania, but she couldn't respond, her eyes tearing up as she whispered the prayer to the God of Light.

"She's an evil," she whispered, her breathing uneven. "Gods, please save me."

Cyania peeked at Princess before she trembled and averted her gaze. In her eyes, Princess was a vast darkness, towering over her. The Fons Princess controlled was unending and suffocating.

Cyania was insignificant, inconsequential, and entirely beneath Princess.

"What did you do?" Tardium glared at Princess before shifting his attention to the approaching spiderlings. They began to overwhelm Mucia and force her back.

"Canaris, help me," Tardium shouted, but he didn't get any reply.

Canaris wouldn't follow any command unless Cyania said so. As she was so frightened, he couldn't leave her for someone else. He had to protect her.

Tardium felt angry before he shifted his attention to Constrien. He took a deep breath and applied the treatments to the burn wounds. He clenched his fist and endured the gunshot wound. It was exhausting. His hands were losing strength.

Despair loomed over him. Escaping was impossible. The fog enclosed the room with the spiderlings assaulting from all sides. It was frustrating and maddening.

"Stop right now, or I'll use it!" Tardium yelled.

"Still using the same trick." Princess waved her hand. The fog brightened and radiated a soft, azure glow. "Such is the human's fallibility."

A formation manifested in front of her, its size spanning one meter in diameter. It rotated and linked with the fog, sending a signal into it.

The fog erupted into a violent thunderstorm, creating countless bolts of lightning from the chaotic flow of Fons.

"This isn't possible," Cyania said, her face pale beyond terror. "This is the realm of divinity."

"Mucia!" Tardium shouted as an absurd thought occurred to him, but it was too late.

The lightning shot to Mucia. It stuck her chest and messed her circuit. She froze and collapsed on the floor, smoke rising from her body. She went motionless.

After witnessing the awe-inspiring formation, Tardium turned to Princess. His eyes were bloody.

"Careful!" Constrien pushed Tardium and took a bite from a spiderling.

Tardium shot the spiderling and stared at Constrien. He saw Constiren—his boss, his closed friend, his first friend, his comrade-in-arms—struggled to breathe. A huge hole on his neck was leaking blood and venom.

"You monster," Tardium said.

A blue light flashed from the fog. The lightning struck Tardium, shocking his body and gripping his heart. He shuddered from the impact and collapsed on the floor.

"This much pain," through his gritted teeth, he said, "can't stop me."

Tardium held the device in his hand and pressed the button.