Whispers filled the room, breaths low and careful.

  (Master is incredible.) Eden spoke softly, her mouth agape.

  (She sure is…) Alice followed, though her eyes showed more restraint.

  Both felt their Master's connection distant. Her presence was faint, her mind absent.

  In the distance, Yivern stood frozen in place, eyes empty.

  Olivia stood beside it, her eyes closed. She held her sword’s hilt at eye level, the jewels embedded within it glowing a vivid purple.

  Both figures looked eerily still, their minds entirely secluded from the world around them.

  Keleanos glanced at the ground for a moment, deep in thought.

  The amount of energy and mastery required to pull a monster like Yivern into her field had to be tremendous.

  No wonder no one had moved or spoken aloud. Breaking her focus could mean hindering her attempt to cull its destructive power.

  Doing so would help in learning what Yivern could—and would—do.

  His eyes drifted upward, and unable to contain his thoughts, he took a step forward.

  Can I do something? Can I find a weakness while it is in this state?

  The maids eyed him from the side, carefully watching his next move.

  Yet they did nothing. They trusted the man as much as their Master did, simply observing in silence without questioning.

  Zara, Noelle, Alisa, and Martha exchanged glances. The same thought passed through them, and they nodded to one another.

  They lifted their hands, channeling the power of the void forward.

  Keleanos’ steps gradually softened until not a single sound could be heard. Even accidentally kicking a piece of debris was muted, as if the ground itself had become a massive cushion.

  The pure silence that filled the room was uneasy.

  As he approached Yivern and Olivia, Keleanos slowly entered a field of energy that hummed dangerously.

  The brief instant he walked in, he felt a faint pressure sensation that resembled being underwater. His breath turned shallow, as if the breathable air had turned thin.

  The hairs on his arms stood on end as dark magic fumes slowly rose upward.

  He ignored everything and kept moving.

  When he reached Yivern’s back, he stopped.

  His eyes scanned the Devourer, searching for even the faintest muscle twitch. But Rakia’s figure remained unmoving, sealed by Olivia’s illusions.

  With its psyche locked away, I might have a chance to study this ability.

  His gaze shifted to Olivia, whose chest rose and fell rhythmically between held breaths of air. Like Yivern, her mind was no longer within her body.

  I should focus. This is not the time to dwindle.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Snapping his attention back to his mother’s form, he grimaced.

  Those wings… They don’t look good on you, Mother.

  His hand reached for the right wing as disgust filled his head.

  Slowly, he brought a finger toward the feathers, careful not to cut himself on their edges.

  To his surprise, his hand phased straight through, as if the wing were nothing more than a projection.

  Strange…

  Keleanos brought his free hand to his chin.

  He tried several times to grab a feather, hoping one of them would be tangible, but failed each attempt.

  Is it the body that’s intangible, or only the wings?

  His hand reached toward the center of Rakia’s back, where the wings met.

  Strangely enough, his entire arm passed through Rakia’s body and clothing, rippling away like a drop of water in a filled glass.

  The maids stared in shock as Keleanos slowly pulled his arm free from the Devourer’s body.

  Some gasped under their breaths, others twitched instinctively, while a few clenched their hands tight in concern.

  But Keleanos continued probing the monster, his thoughts assembling into a larger picture as answers slowly surfaced.

  This doesn’t make sense in a general context.

  His fingers pierced Rakia’s shoulder, with the same result as before.

  Is Yivern able to affect reality? Is that even possible?

  Pondering something that felt estranged from reality itself, his brow lifted unconsciously.

  This isn’t Olivia’s doing.

  Even without touching her, he could tell her body was there—real. Her hair flowed from the magic she was continuously releasing, while Yivern remained stiff and unmoving.

  We’ve injured it multiple times. I did so myself, and I felt the resistance. Yivern truly exists… or so I thought.

  The blood trickling from its nose was real too. Not an illusion.

  Keleanos recalled the situation Yivern had been in only minutes ago.

  Its body can be… solid. That’s the only way I can describe it. And it can also become intangible. Most likely at will.

  Rubbing his chin, he leaned forward and tried to grasp the wing again.

  Even with its mind absent, the rules still apply. This feels more like an external or automatic defense.

  Of course, it’s outside its control in this state—but normally, it can manipulate this property.

  Alisa’s dark threat came back to him, along with the memory of the void maids’ weapons phasing through Yivern.

  So…

  A chilling idea crept in as his eyes widened.

  Is this the Devourer’s true nature? Does its body exist partially outside reality, choosing when to interact with the world?

  The thought opened an entirely new set of problems.

  If Yivern can become impermeable to all damage… how do we kill it if it decides to—

  His thoughts halted as another realization surfaced.

  No. I’m not thinking correctly.

  He stepped in front of Rakia, one arm folded, his elbow resting in his palm.

  These rules aren’t one-sided. There’s a constraint. I just can’t see it yet.

  His gaze shifted to the maids. The four void maids remained focused on dampening sound, while the others watched with visible concern.

  !

  Suddenly, his eyes locked onto Helen and Helena.

  How did I miss something so obvious?

  Shock crossed his face—followed immediately by exhilaration as the rules behind the Devourer’s power began to crystallize.

  Helen injured Yivern. She slashed across Mother’s chest and dealt real damage—at the same time it tried to strike her.

  Then Helena attacked… and her blade phased through.

  A bead of sweat formed at his temple as he smiled.

  Yivern… you can’t affect reality while shifting.

  As the thought settled, his gaze drifted to his mother’s face—an expression unfamiliar, alien.

  He remembered her last breath.

  The moment the world froze, and his own world shattered.

  Was it here?

  Reaching for her collarbone, he placed his hand where Yivern’s final blow had taken her life.

  —!

  Suddenly, his mind was pulled into darkness.

  For a fleeting instant, he saw the chained body of a woman he knew all too well.

  “M-Mother?!”

  As the word left his mouth and his hand reached for her, reality snapped back.

  What… just happened?

  Staggering, he took a step back. His fingers trembled as his mind tried to process the vision he had seen.

  “Keleanos!”

  At the sound of his name, he looked up.

  Rakia’s face twisted, her teeth gnashing as her muscles tensed. Olivia slowly lowered her blade, signaling the illusion’s collapse.

  Alisa and Martha warped to his sides, each grabbing an arm before warping him back to the others as the field around Olivia and Yivern cracked, spilling violet mist.

  The stillness in the room vanished as the sounds of movement returned.

  “You wretched…” Yivern growled as its body tightened.

  “…” Olivia opened her eyes, releasing a short, exhausted breath.

  Within the fading mist, their gazes met.

  One filled with fury.

  The other sharpened by resolve.

  Both Olivia and Yivern had returned from the illusion—ready to escalate the battle.