In another location,
Isaac lay back against the rubble, Alice still in his arms. He patted her back gently.
"Alice, go to the Cradle and rest."
She tensed. "Isaac—"
"Rest," he said softly but firmly. "You’ve been healing nonstop and using attack skills too. Even with your regeneration and potions, it still puts strain on your body."
"I can still help. I can fight," she insisted.
He shook his head.
"Alice. The Red Rain will last a full day. Monster hordes will keep coming for an entire day. We need to pace ourselves if we want to survive," he said, meeting her eyes.
She pulled back slightly, looking conflicted.
"If you push yourself too hard now," he continued, "you won’t be able to do much when you’re really needed."
Alice thought about his words.
Then, slowly, she nodded.
"...Alright," she said quietly.
She understood that Isaac was right.
The two of them moved toward the corpse of the Crimson Sky Wyrm, where the others had gathered.
The massive remains lay sprawled across the broken ground, scorched and torn apart, yet still radiating an oppressive presence even in death.
Celia stood near the body, holding the Soulbind Pendant tightly in her hand.
Isaac walked past her and casually patted her head. "Good work."
Her face lit up instantly. "Hehe."
Alice shot him a cold look.
Isaac coughed lightly and looked away, pretending not to notice.
He took in the scene properly now.
Emily and her summons were handling the remaining imps without difficulty. Most of the lesser monsters had already been wiped out, and the few still struggling were being crushed mercilessly.
Emily stood out the most.
While her Abyssal monsters tore through the imps, she was crouched near the Crimson Sky Wyrm’s corpse.
In her hands was the Phantom Core Extractor relic, faint spiritual patterns glowing as she focused.
Isaac raised an eyebrow.
"So she’s trying anyway," he muttered to himself.
He knew the odds.
The extraction chance dropped by ten percent for every rank the target was above the summoner.
Emily was only Adept rank. The Crimson Sky Wyrm had been an Overlord.
The gap was ridiculous.
She didn’t have had any chance at all.
Isaac wasn’t naïve enough to think otherwise—
He froze.
The air above the corpse twisted.
A faint, distorted outline began to form, writhing with unstable spiritual energy.
"...No way," Isaac murmured.
The spirit of the Crimson Sky Wyrm was materializing.
He stared at it in disbelief.
"It actually succeeded? Even if she’s a demigod, isn’t this too much luck?" he muttered.
He had seen Emily extract spirits successful countless times, even though it was supposed to work only occasionally. This was far beyond normal probability.
As we watched the spirit of Crimson Sky Wyrm, his thoughts remained calm.
This was only a spirit.
And more importantly, it was a spirit summoned by Emily.
Against her Spirit Element, the Crimson Sky Wyrm’s spirit was fundamentally disadvantaged.
Isaac remembered the N’theris Serpent clearly.
Back then, Emily had been only Initiate rank, and she had beaten that thing — which had taken the entire city and nagas working together to fight — with her bare fists.
And her Spirit Element had been far weaker then.
Now, it had grown significantly.
This Crimson Sky Wyrm’s spirit didn’t stand a chance.
After all, Emily could boost her summons with Spirit Element. It meant her Abyssal Summons also had Spirit element advantage against Crimson Sky Wyrm’s spirit.
Even so, Isaac didn’t lower his guard.
"Emily. Let me help you," he called out, walking closer.
"No, I can do it by myself... so..."
Her voice trailed off.
She lowered her head. Her fingers fidgeted with the relic, and her cheeks slowly turned red.
Then she took a breath and blurted out, "C-can you praise me like you did for Celia if I tame it myself?"
Isaac blinked.
He hadn’t expected that.
A smile appeared on his lips.
He stepped closer and leaned down slightly, lowering his voice so only she could hear him.
"I’ll praise you. and I’ll ’punish’ you thoroughly if you tame it on your own," he whispered.
Emily’s eyes widened, her blush increasing.
"In exchange," he continued calmly, "if it gets even a little dangerous, you call for my help immediately."
He was confident she would win.
The Crimson Sky Wyrm’s spirit simply wasn’t enough to threaten her. Summoners always had advantage against Spirits they had summoned.
Still, caution came first.
"O-Okay!" Emily said, pumping her fist.
Her face was completely red now.
Isaac straightened up with a chuckle.
He glanced to the side.
Aeralis and Lume were already at work.
The Abyssal Shark circled the battlefield, generating pressure with its presence alone, while the Abyssal Jester danced around the Crimson Sky Wyrm’s spirit, warping its senses and mocking it relentlessly.
The spirit roared in frustration, its movements clumsy and unfocused.
Lume, the Abyssal Jester, had already deployed its concealment skill.
To anyone else, the area looked completely empty.
They could not see the spirit or the ongoing battle.
Isaac activated the Celestial Truth-Seeking Fox Eyes he shared from Professor Catherine.
The illusions peeled away instantly, revealing the ongoing fight in full clarity.
Everything was under control.
He turned just as Althea approached.
The Floarthi Princess walked with measured steps, her expression calm, but Isaac noticed the subtle tension in her posture.
Using his Celestial Truth-Seeking Fox Eyes, he spotted the hidden camera floating near Charlotta, her ever-present bodyguard.
He had noticed it earlier and chosen to ignore it.
Catherine had already explained that the footage was likely being transmitted to Seventh Queen.
Given the help Seventh Queen had given them and the sincerity she had shown, Isaac decided to let them record this fight.
Still, Isaac observed them carefully.
Eye movements. Body posture. Breathing.
Only after he confirmed they couldn’t see the concealed spiritual battle did he relax.
Even if they saw his skills, he did not want them to know he would soon have Crimson Sky Wyrm at his command.
This was best saved as a hidden trump card.
Althea’s gaze lingered on the Crimson Sky Wyrm’s corpse.
It wasn’t subtle.
Her eyes practically sparkled with greed.
Isaac smirked internally.
Rather than greed, it was more like a puppy staring at a massive steak, trying very hard to look dignified while failing miserably.
She wanted a portion.
And honestly, she deserved one.
"You were a great help in this battle. Don’t worry. I’m not going to shortchange you," Isaac said, walking up beside her.
Her ears twitched slightly.
"As we agreed before the fight," he continued, "you can have one eye."
She didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she looked at the corpse of the Crimson Sky Wyrm again, her gaze lingering on the ruined head.
Isaac could almost see the calculations running through her mind.
She had mentioned it before, back when they were still planning—how the artificers of the Floarthi Kingdom could turn monster parts into relics.
Not just any relics.
Powerful ones.
Normally, materials from Catastrophe were nearly impossible to process.
Their internal energies were unstable, and their corruption was too high.
Most artificers would either fail outright or create something dangerously flawed.
Floarthi was different.
Their entire kingdom was powerful and they had advanced artifact crafting. They had specialists who existed solely to handle materials that others wouldn’t even touch.
Althea finally looked at him.
"Isaac," she said calmly, "can I have two eyes instead of one?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I’m guessing you want the Fifth Eye too?"
She nodded without hesitation. "Yes."
There was no attempt to soften the request.
He had expected her to ask for Fifth Eye when she revealed she wanted one more Eye.
After all, only the Fifth Eye had a different ability than what they knew.
"Although it would be difficult to perfectly replicate a complete skill lockdown like the Crimson Sky Wyrm demonstrated, an artifact made from the Fifth Eye would still be extremely powerful."
She paused briefly, then added,
"Of course, I’ll compensate you fairly."
Isaac hummed.
"Hmmm."
He folded his arms and let his expression shift into one of mild reluctance, his brows knitting slightly as if the suggestion genuinely bothered him.
"That’s a pretty big ask," he said slowly.
Outwardly, he looked hesitant.
Inwardly, he was already nodding.
The Fifth Eye was valuable, no doubt about that.
Its ability to suppress skills had nearly turned the battle on its head.
Even a degraded artifact version would be terrifying in the hands of the right person.
But Isaac wasn’t worried.
First, Emily was in the process of taming the Crimson Sky Wyrm’s spirit.
Once that succeeded—and Isaac had confidence it would—the Catastrophe would become Emily’s servant.
Isaac could share the Catastrophe.
That meant he would have two Crimson Sky Wyrms under his control.
Two.
Both with authentic Fifth Eyes.
An artifact version made by Florathi would not compare to the real deal.
Second, even if he kept the Fifth Eye, he didn’t have anyone in the city who could properly process it.
He would need to transport it to another powerful city, negotiate with high-level artificers, and pay an absurd fee just to get something decent.
That was time-consuming and expensive.
Althea, on the other hand, had immediate access to Florathi’s best.
Giving her the Fifth Eye in exchange for the right compensation was simply efficient.
Of course, he wasn’t going to say any of that.
He was going to suck her dry, which was why he acted like he did not want to part with Fifth Eye.
He would only give it to her after she had made the best offer possible.