Gaius watched on as the teachers of the phrontistery continued to fight as a single entity, their attacks making use of some odd principle to mutually strengthen each other. Each of their attacks were slamming into Paragon Shizo with the force of a Lord’s full strike, scattering the clouds whenever qi met barrier.

But they were doing nothing much, compared to Headmaster Gerhardt, who was now engaging in close combat. Gaius watched through the Custodian’s scope as the headmaster stabbed out over a hundred times within a few seconds, the deadly glint of his rapier forcing Paragon Shizo to block his lethal strikes over and over.

Within moments, the traitorous Paragon had been forced onto the defensive, and Gaius narrowed his eyes somewhat. The intelligence he’d obtained at the Information Brokers was correct after all, but it was still reassuring to see that someone fighting an opponent with a higher realm and winning.

With a stab that sent Paragon Shizo reeling, Headmaster Gerhardt’s figure faded away. Paragon Shizo looked around, discomfited to the point that he wasn’t paying attention to the other teachers battering away at his passive defences.

“I expected more of a Paragon from the East!” A voice rolled around the skies. “But this is utterly disappointing!”

Paragon Shizo slashed out to his right, and sparks flew. Shizo reeled backwards, blood flowing down his nostrils, with a set of thunderclaps entering Gaius’ ears a few seconds later.

“You, a Paragon?! Don’t make me laugh!” Uproarious laughter filled the skies, a strident might behind these words.

Shizo whirled, bringing down his blade onto an area behind him, and even more sparks flew, lighting up the overcast sky. The familiar spirit forty-odd metres away from the Paragon watched quietly as Shizo was blasted away, but to Gaius’, and probably everyone else’s, relief, he didn’t act.

Silver flashed out, over and over, each clash forcing the Paragon further and further away. The old headmaster had stopped concealing himself to chase down the Paragon relentlessly, the rapier in his hand drawing blood and tearing cloth with every stab. Within moments, the two had left the combat zone entirely, leaving only an emotionless familiar spirit and a bunch of worried teachers.

Their figures had turned into small dots at this point, and it was only then that Gaius came to. He stared at the Custodian in his hand, remembered the impressive sight of the headmaster overpowering a Paragon, and then cursed himself for being too arrogant in looking down on the phrontistery’s teachers.

At this moment, an orange sphere expanded, somewhere beyond the horizon, and a twisted voice shouted, “Now! Capture the Unity!”

Gaius, along with the other teachers, blanched. On instinct, the boy called on his Blink ability, and he vanished from the scene immediately. Reappearing back on the ship, Gaius peered through the scope, only to see the other teachers restrained by some malevolent will. The Demigod was now closing in on the Unity, and the boy turned his sights over to the incoming familiar spirit. His right index finger touched a smooth surface, and his heart, which had been thumping wildly, calmed down at the familiar sensation.

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In this moment of stilled time, the boy understood that the Paragon Shizo was wary of the phrontistery’s headmaster, afraid that the old man had some trump cards up his sleeve to crush the familiar spirit if it acted. His one-sided beatdown, though unintended, had reinforced that very notion, which was why he decided to draw Headmaster Gerhardt away and then trap him in a Dominion once they were far enough.

It was a plan that accounted for almost everyone and every factor. Gaius was fairly certain that even if the headmaster was here, he couldn’t have stopped the Demigod from bringing the Unity and the students onboard away, but Paragon Shizo was still incredibly cautious.

And now, with Paragon Shizo out of reach, Gaius couldn’t help but feel some regret.

But there was nothing he could do about it.

The pseudo-Divine Kingdom that all Demigods had was already catching up. Once it enveloped the Unity, the ship would be stopped dead in its tracks…which might kill everyone on board. Gaius couldn’t let that happen.

For a moment, a thread of scintillating, blinding light popped into existence, drawing a complete thread that connected Gaius to the familiar spirit and to the skies beyond. It vanished a moment later, leaving a hole in the Demigod’s torso.

The Demigod lurched, and its speed began to drop. Gaius pulled the trigger a few more times, but now that the familiar spirit was prepared, the next few shots just served to shatter its countless defences.

A terrifying amount of energy began to surge around the familiar spirit. Even at such a distance, Gaius could feel an incredible danger brewing up. His instincts were telling him to get out of the way, but the boy knew that the Demigod’s target was the Unity.

He glanced at the teachers, then at the ship, where Nakama and Isabelle were probably worried sick, and then smiled lightly. Gaius’ hand, which had been anchoring him to the Unity, opened up, and the boy began to split off from the ship. There was still something he could do.

The silver ring on his hand flashed, and the Terminus appeared in his right hand.

“Hey, you.” Gaius’ voice was quiet, but it was more than enough to make the familiar spirit look at him. The boy leered, raising the Terminus in his hand. “Does this look familiar?”

The Demigod trembled, and the light that surrounded it dissipated to reveal a golden-haired young man. At the same time, the mighty attack it was preparing wound down, and the young man turned to look at Gaius.

“Did I wake you up from your robotic mode?” Gaius taunted. “Or were you a puppet to begin with? Did someone else just take the strings?”

Out of the corner of his eyes, the boy could see the Unity chugging away, putting out as much distance as possible. The teachers of the phrontistery were quite a distance away too, but none of them would be of any use in the battle to come.

The familiar spirit touched its chest. “The former. You did this?”

“What of it?”

“Impressive. You’re wanted, you know that?” the young man asked. “Surrender, and you will be unharmed.”

“That’s what one of your kind said the previous time,” Gaius replied. “He was blown up a moment later.”

“You’re in my Divine Territory already.” The Demigod smiled gently. “You cannot win. If you give up, you will be unharmed.”

“Thank you for the offer.” Gaius returned the Custodian to its ring form and pointed the Terminus at him. “But I must stop you here.”