In response to Kalawarner's question, the group of Youkai exchanged glances and nodded.
Mitelt's attire and features were very distinct, and she would undoubtedly have revealed her true form while on a mission. Coupled with her identity as a Fallen Angel, she would be hard to forget once seen.
"I saw her at Mitsu Lake around noon today. She seemed to be fighting someone."
"I saw her on the west side of the forest and she even played a prank on me."
"I saw her flying towards the mountaintop, carrying a box and humming a little tune."
"I was at..."
The Youkai began talking over each other, and the more Ethan listened, the more confused he became.
"Hold on, hold on," he interrupted. "Tell me the time you saw her as well."
A short while later, based on the Youkai's testimonies, Ethan managed to roughly piece together the events.
Mitelt's mission was likely successful, but for some unknown reason, she didn't return but instead headed toward the summit of Mt. Mitsu.
After contemplating for a moment, Ethan asked, "Who is the strongest person in Mt. Mitsu?"
"The strongest..." The Youkai looked at each other but failed to answer for a long time.
They were probably the strongest themselves, but they dared not say such a thing in front of these three intimidating figures.
Ethan frowned, rephrasing the question, "Who is the ruler or manager of Mt. Mitsu?"
The atmosphere was silent for a moment. Then, one bold Youkai said, "Mt. Mitsu is very chaotic. The movement of people is frequent and complex, and there are hardly any resources. There is simply no so-called manager or ruler here."
"Uh..." Ethan's mouth twitched. Fine, he had overthought it.
"Then there is no one in this area who has reached A-rank or higher?"
The Youkai answered in unison, "No."
"With that kind of strength, who would still be stuck here?" The same bold Youkai added, "As long as an A-rank is careful, there's no need to worry about being hunted down. The human world is much more interesting than the deep mountains and forests."
Ethan glanced at the speaker. If the timing weren't so critical, he would genuinely like to talk with these Youkai. Since they knew the human world was interesting, why commit crimes and become rogue Devils?
As long as they didn't act recklessly, no one would bother them for using some of their abilities.
With their strength, they could live very comfortable lives in human society.
After a quick scan, confirming they were all individuals he hadn't seen on any hunting list, Ethan calmly said, "I'll let you go this time. But if you show up in Kuoh Town, don't blame me."
As he spoke, he flashed the Gremory Family crest on the back of his hand, making the Youkai's legs tremble in fear.
They didn't know Ethan's exact strength, but he was clearly leading the trio and seemed stronger than the Fallen Angel who instantly killed the wolf Youkai earlier. He was also a member of the Gremory family, who was responsible for the security of Kuoh Town...
It wasn't until Ethan's group was out of sight that the Youkai dared to move and flee.
After hearing the explanations from the local Youkai, Ethan's group felt much calmer.
Although they still didn't know why Mitelt lost contact, she likely hadn't encountered a life-threatening situation.
The three flew toward the mountaintop. Along the way, Ethan continuously used his detection magic. Finally, just before reaching the summit, he discovered a highly suspicious area.
"Stop."
Ethan slowly landed on the ground, then walked toward the patch of chaos he sensed.
Bzz—
A sudden ringing sound echoed in their ears. The three felt dizzy, and the pitch-black night before their eyes abruptly turned bright.
"Lady Raynare! And Warnee and Uesugi!"
Ethan was shaking his head, trying to quickly clear the dizziness. Just then, a familiar voice came from nearby.
The cheerful girl's voice was full of pleasant surprise—it was Mitelt, the one Ethan's group was looking for.
"Mitelt..." Ethan, having the strongest constitution, was the first to recover. "You really are here."
When he sensed the strangeness of the area, Ethan had already guessed that Mitelt was likely inside.
"Mhm, mhm."
Mitelt nodded happily, then asked curiously, "How did all of you end up coming here too?"
"Of course, we came looking for a naughty child who was too busy playing outside to come home," Amano Yuuma said, rubbing her head, her face dark as she looked at the perfectly fine Mitelt.
Confirming that Mitelt was unharmed, her anger flared. She asked coldly, "Mitelt, why didn't you return after finishing the mission? Why were you unreachable by communication?"
"Lady Raynare, it's not that I didn't want to go back, I couldn't."
The blonde Fallen Angel girl in the maid outfit looked wronged as she explained, "After I finished the mission, I saw I had time and wanted to fly to the summit and then straight home. But when I passed this area, I was suddenly sucked in. No matter how I walked or flew, I couldn't get out."
"Can't get out?"
Amano Yuuma murmured, subconsciously surveying her surroundings. Only then did she realize the scenery before her had completely changed.
Before, the three of them were in Mt. Mitsu, and it was late at night. But now, it was daytime, and the terrain didn't look like they were still in the mountains.
Amano Yuuma asked Mitelt, "What is this place? Is it dangerous? What do you mean you can't get out?"
Mitelt blinked. "Uh... I don't know where this is. There doesn't seem to be any danger. As for not being able to get out... Lady Raynare, you should try it yourself. I don't know how to describe it."
Ethan had listened to the exchange between Amano Yuuma and Mitelt. At the same time, he tried walking back, only to find that once he walked more than three hundred meters, he was teleported back to the original spot.
The same thing happened when he tried a different direction, or when he flew toward the sky.
Looking at the solid ground, Ethan abandoned the idea of digging down three hundred meters to see what would happen.
Even with his current strength, digging down three hundred meters would not be easy.
After roaming around and combining the information Mitelt provided, Ethan had a rough idea of what was happening.
They seemed to be trapped in a large barrier that was either hemispherical or spherical, with a radius of three hundred meters.
This barrier was one-way: one could enter but not leave. Upon reaching the edge of the barrier, one would be teleported back to the center point.
Inside, the weather was mild and pleasant, it was perpetually daytime, and there was no danger, but also no food or water.
Furthermore, this barrier blocked phone signals and the transmission of Magic Power, which explained why Mitelt couldn't respond to Amano Yuuma's contact attempts.
After an unknown amount of time, their phones had died. The three girls and one man sat cross-legged in a circle at the center point where they were teleported in.
"What should we do? Should we try to break it by force?" Ethan propped his chin, giving up on thinking and opting for brute force.
They had tried all conventional methods, such as searching for the barrier's center, Magic Power nodes, or inconsistencies, but all were fruitless. They simply couldn't get out.
They couldn't even figure out the exact shape of this invisible barrier.