Within the city, hundreds of thousands of citizens came out of their homes, rushing along the designated route and heading toward the various safe zones that were strategically stationed across the metropolitan area.
At each safe zone was a stadium-size shelter built out of the realm's sturdiest magical steel. These zones, too, were further surrounded by yet another layer of high-tier protective barrier to ensure that if the worst disaster were to strike, the lives of the citizens would not be at risk.
Throughout the evacuation procedure, the alarm continued with the high alert warning, reminding everyone to be cautious.
The emergency volunteers—in their bright glowing jackets—were already out along the streets and in action, knocking on doors, alerting those who were still in their homes, and assisting those who needed help, such as the elderly and disabled, along with young children. The rescue trucks were also roaming about the streets, picking up those who needed to be picked up and heading toward the safe zones.
Back at the palace, the soldiers' magic spells finally reached their peak, with the signs—massive, red, and glowing—floating above in the air as the soldiers continued to release their qi, feeding them.
Lord Geoffrey, who had been closely overseeing the soldiers performing the spells, unleashed his power from within his core, a burst of dark qi surging out of his chest and piercing the sky.
He commanded loudly, "High Sage Protective Barrier. Level seven. On!" A loud hum echoed throughout the palace, and the red glowing light spread. Within seconds, the hue of the red shield formed over the palace, and then another one formed over the whole city of Acaedien.
Only then did the soldiers stop releasing their qi, and Michael turn to Geoffrey. "My lord."
Geoffrey said, as he started moving away, "Make sure the citizens are safely evacuated. Dispatch the special unit troops to investigate the disaster beasts in the mountain and see if they're a threat."
The four soldiers saluted in understanding as Geoffrey used Silent Move, disappearing into black dust and smoke. A split second later, he reappeared once again on the ground, right in front of the bathhouse where all the commotion was still happening.
The lord immediately noticed that Noah had already erected a dark sage barrier to prevent the others from escaping the site and spilling their raging powers and battle elsewhere, which would undoubtedly be a danger to the citizens.
Geoffrey rushed in, and the moment he was inside the crumbling building, he saw that Noah and Victor were on the verge of collapse. They had used so much of their qi to form the barrier and subdue the berserk Felix, Caleb, Ethan, and Aaron that they were nearly done for.
The moment Noah saw Geoffrey, he shouted, "We can't hold on much longer. We need to perform the three formation now!"
Inside the forcefield, Caleb and Felix were attacking each other like wild beasts, while Ethan and Aaron formed another combatting pair. The demon lords were already on their level-three power.
Felix's previously shoulder-length crimson red hair was now flowing down his back, and his claws were out, as were his fangs, which were larger and longer than they had initially been. The demon horns on his head had grown larger and longer, too.
Caleb's hair was long and dark, glowing with nefarious qi, while his claws were also out, as were his fangs and horns, large and long.
The two were at each other's throats, with Caleb smashing his fists into Felix's masked face, and then it was Felix's turn to smash Caleb's face. They hit and bashed each other, their dark qi unleashed from within their beings with each blow they delivered.
Aaron, in his wild demonic form with long, pale-blond hair and sharp claws, was kicking and bashing Ethan.
Ethan—in his own demonic form with long golden mane, sharp claws, and fangs—growled and roared as he, in turn, smashed his fists repeatedly into Aaron.
Geoffrey rushed over to his position. The three–Geoffrey, Noah, and Victor—immediately started chanting a high-tier magic spell, releasing their dark qi at the same time. Instantly, a circle appeared from above in midair, in the form of dark energy, with ancient signs, symbols, and script. The formation expanded to form a triangle shape with the circle within. All three lords then said in unison, "Dark Sage Controlling Barrier. Level seven. On."
A loud hum followed, and a burst of black smoke spread. A black shield formed, trapping the four demon lords who had gone mad.
Instantly, Aaron collapsed and became unconscious, followed by Ethan. Meanwhile, Felix and Caleb had ceased their fighting, though they were still roaring as if in deep pain.
Lord Geoffrey, Noah, and Victor continued to chant the demonic suppression spell, which had the ability to subdue the wrath within any magical beast who had gone berserk.
Felix fell to his knees and started screaming his head off, while Caleb collapsed onto his back, his body twisting and turning in agony.
In the end, it took the three lords two hours of continuous chanting and releasing of their dark qi to see any positive effect on their comrades. Finally, both Ethan and Aaron had been completely subdued, and their aura returned to normal, as did their power, sense, and sanity.
Ethan sat up, rubbing his sore head as he swore, "Fuck! I feel like shit."
Aaron said, looking a little lost, "What happened?"
Lord Victor said, "Stop complaining and start helping us with Felix and Caleb already, for God's sake."
It was only then that both Ethan and Aaron looked around and saw the disaster they'd had a hand in creating.
The bathhouse had crumbled and completely collapsed, with pieces of the stone building and unidentifiable materials and debris everywhere. Farther out from the dark sage barrier, however, everything else was still intact.
"Holy fuck!" Ethan uttered in disbelief.
Aaron stood and started chanting as well, releasing his dark qi, incorporating his into the core of the spell. Ethan did the same, and it took five demon lords and another hour to completely suppress both Felix and Caleb, thus returning them to normal. But of course, they knew it wasn't over yet.
Sometime later, the lords—now haphazardly dressed in clothing that they had managed to retrieve from amongst the disaster zone—headed toward the military department. Lord Ethan was piggybacking Felix, and Aaron did the same with Caleb.
At the military department, they took the lift and headed down to level B9, the lowest floor, upon which resided an advanced and highly powerful magical barrier of a prison that they used to incarcerate high-level disaster beasts.
Without a by-your-leave, they threw Caleb and Felix each into a secured room. Then they chained them up with high-level magic restraints around the two lords' neck, wrists, and ankles.
Done, Victor wiped his forehead as he said, "I wonder if the new barrier is sturdy enough."
Geoffrey said, "We've increased the strength, and it's one of the strongest in the realm. I'm pretty hopeful."
Ethan said, "I'm sure they won't be able to break out of here. Noah spent years perfecting it, after all."
Lord Noah nodded in agreement. "However, if they were to break out, I will have to spend another year or so to figure out an even stronger form of barrier."
Aaron said, "Then let's hope that doesn't happen."
Ethan turned to Geoffrey then and said darkly, "You'd damn well better explain what the hell is going on here. I'm fucking confused."
Geoffrey nodded. "First, though, we need to make sure the city and palace are safe for the citizens. It's still unknown if the disaster beasts are reacting to Alfie's qi."