As the smoke began to disappear, Vergel looked around, searching for Enrico among the rubble. Despite the destruction caused by the Obliteration Slash, he didn't believe the human had been defeated. After all, he had seen how Enrico used Charged Impulse to its limit to escape the attack, even after already being struck. Immediately afterward, he resorted to Fire Steps to move in several directions through the smoke, making any attempt to pursue him difficult.
Vergel lowered his eyes when he noticed the lines of fire still binding his feet to the ground. They had been left behind by Enrico during his escape and had prevented him from immediately pursuing any of the images he had seen moving among the rubble.
With a displeased expression, Vergel concentrated his strength in his legs and broke the fiery restraints. The lines disintegrated under the pressure, allowing him to move freely again.
'He's amusing. I hope he hasn't gone too far.'
One of his subordinates approached, cautiously observing the prince.
"Prince, did you manage to...?"
"No. He's not dead. I'm certain of that."
The four subordinates had returned to the place where they had been before the explosion. Although they had been caught off guard by the destruction that occurred so close to them, they didn't appear to have suffered any serious injuries.
Vergel observed them for a few moments, reflecting on Enrico's behavior during the battle.
'For some reason, I feel like that boy wanted me to hit these four. He ran in exactly the direction they were in.'
His subordinates were obsessed with power, but aside from that, they behaved exactly as they always did. There was nothing particularly strange about their behavior that could explain why Enrico would have tried to lead him toward them.
Even so, Vergel began to suspect that his opponent had planned something.
'It seems he wanted me to eliminate my own subordinates.'
And he was right. At that moment, Enrico intended to use the escape route he had planned and take advantage of Vergel's attack to eliminate some of the enemies standing in his way. However, upon realizing the prince's speed and power, he had to abandon his original plan and quickly adapt to the situation. In the end, this change of strategy ended up providing him with an even better opportunity.
'It's a good thing I know this subordinate's behavior so well.'
Now transformed into one of the four servants of the Broken Crown, Enrico walked right behind Vergel, faithfully maintaining the posture the real subordinate usually displayed in the original story. Among the four, this one had survived the longest precisely because he was quiet, cold, and unlikely to attract attention.
[Your attack was quite cowardly. I didn't think you were like that.]
'If I hadn't done that, it would have taken much longer. And thank you for the compliment.'
Thanks to his transformation, Enrico could explore the castle with much greater freedom. He could observe the corridors and search for items without constantly worrying about the possibility of being attacked by its inhabitants. As long as he continued acting like the Nartheis he had killed, it would be difficult for anyone to notice the difference.
As they walked, one of the subordinates spoke to Vergel again.
"Prince, why do you believe he survived?"
Vergel replied quite calmly.
"Because he wasn't using all his power during our battle."
"How do you know?"
"Because I felt it."
Enrico almost let out a snort of surprise. Apparently, his prodigy-like appearance worked even against the Nartheis. Although, now that he thought about it, that Nartheis he had encountered in the magical zone probably wouldn't have been fooled so easily.
"What do you mean, you felt it? I thought most of us couldn't perceive other people's power."
"I didn't sense magic in him. What I sensed was Nartheis power."
Upon hearing those words, Enrico almost lost his composure. For a moment, he had to restrain himself to avoid showing surprise in front of the others. Fortunately, he managed to maintain the cold expression of the subordinate whose appearance he had stolen.
Even so, he raised an eyebrow slightly. Even someone so reserved could show a little interest in the face of such unexpected information.
"What do you mean, sir? Was that human actually a Nartheis?"
Vergel continued walking and answering his subordinates without showing any irritation at the questions.
"I don't know. It was a small energy, but it possessed great power potential for when it was born."
"So that's why only you managed to sense it. It's still a Nartheis waiting to be born."
Vergel possessed the natural ability to sense the presence of other Nartheis, even without resorting to magic. He usually used this ability to find individuals with great potential and, from time to time, amused himself by fighting them to the death. For someone like him, discovering a possible unborn Nartheis hidden inside a human was a rather interesting surprise.
'Nartheis power inside me?'
[I told you that I had noticed three presences inside you, but I didn't sense any Nartheis power.]
'When was the last time you performed a complete examination of my body?'
[The last time you asked me to do it.]
That meant some time had passed since the last analysis. Therefore, it was possible that this presence had only begun to manifest recently, growing without Enrico or the System noticing.
'It must have been that Ranvil-rank Nartheis from the magical zone.'
[If that's the case, wait a moment while I ask for help with a deep analysis.]
'All right. Just find out something this time.'
As if responding to his request, the System went on pause, and the word Analysis appeared on the screen. Enrico felt his body being examined thoroughly, both in terms of his physical constitution and his soul.
'They're really performing a deep analysis. I can even feel it.'
In any case, he decided to leave that matter in the System's hands while reflecting on what had happened. His mind returned to the day he had fought desperately to survive, and a possibility began to take shape.
If that thing that seemed to be growing inside him was the same one responsible for the power he had used when facing Tilios, what should he do?
If the presence could grant him more power, perhaps it wouldn't be wise to reject it immediately. However, he also couldn't ignore the risks involved.
'From what they said, it's a Nartheis that's still being born... If I have to die for that thing to come into the world, that'll be a huge problem.'
That possibility bothered him especially because someone had already taken control of his body once. Enrico couldn't rule out that the same presence had been responsible for his victory against Sakura during his period of unconsciousness.
'Damn it. That Nartheis must have done something to my body.'
Despite his concerns, there was something curious about the whole situation: Enrico felt strangely satisfied to have discovered the existence of that presence. Now, at least, he had a clue about what was happening to him and could begin formulating a plan.
'For some reason, I feel satisfied that I've discovered this... I need to make some plans. No, wait. Could this thing see what I'm thinking?'
The possibility made Enrico become alert. If that presence had access to all his thoughts, it would know every plan he tried to devise. And if it possessed sufficient intelligence, it could use that information against him before he even had the chance to act.
Before he could delve any further into his concerns, the System finally completed the analysis.
[The analysis is complete. This presence began growing stronger two days ago, and I also discovered that it was somehow preventing me from knowing of its existence before. From what I found, the Nartheis energy, besides still being very small, really does belong to that Nartheis from the magical zone.]
Enrico fell into thought for a moment.
'From what I heard, most of the Nartheis in that magical zone were eliminated by that guy, while some managed to escape. That's why I thought she might have been one of the ones who escaped.'
If that presence really belonged to the Ranvil-rank Nartheis, then Enrico had been used as a kind of contingency plan. She had shown considerable interest in discovering whether his potential was low, although she also seemed to harbor a small hope that he might develop.
'So that's why I managed to survive that fight.'
[Now that I know one of these presences is a Nartheis, we need to find a way to get this thing out of you.]
'Actually, I'd like to wait a little. If things happen the same way they did with Kaela, perhaps this could be something good.'
[This doesn't seem to be the same as her case.]
The System was right to point out the difference, but Enrico wasn't willing to dismiss that possibility so quickly.
After all, it was precisely because of this characteristic that he was so interested in training Kaela. She had been the first person he had encountered with that kind of peculiarity, something that didn't even exist in the original story.
'And now I have something similar. It's not the same, but it's similar.'
[I hope you're right, because I had to pay a price to perform this deep analysis.]
Enrico noticed that the System seemed a little sad for some reason. Therefore, he decided to thank it mentally, acknowledging the effort it had made to help him. However, as soon as it heard his thanks, the System immediately regained its usual arrogance.
[That's right! Thank me more, human!]