In the dimly lit chamber of the castle, Denise's frown deepened as the communication crystal in her hand pulsed with an urgent glow.

"The androids have detected an anomaly within the castle's barriers." She explained to Faith, her voice laced with concern. "It's a subtle energy signature, one that managed to evade our initial layers of detection."

She explained, referring to the three other layers of defense in their territory. She also didn't expect that only their final line of defense, or the one that Vale and Magnus created together, would detect this energy. After all, she thought that the last line of defense mostly worked against outside forces

It was very confusing for Denise.

Nonetheless, Faith's brow furrowed at the revelation. "Could it be some sort of disease that has breached our defenses?" She inquired, the possibility sent a chill through her.

Denise shook her head, her eyes fixed on the pulsing crystal. "No, this is different. The androids are certain that we have an intruder among us. If it's just a disease, the other three barriers would take care of it. It wouldn't reach the central area at all. The only problem in our detection is the fact that we can't locate our target in a very specific way unless we change our method of detection."

Faith nodded after hearing this, and she also recalled the incredible capabilities of the other barriers.

"That's true."

The gravity of the situation settled over them like a shroud.

The castle, a stronghold of safety and power, was now compromised by an unknown entity.

With swift efficiency, Denise and Faith initiated a silent investigation. Denise deployed the androids to discreetly scan every individual within the castle's walls.

Faith, as a half-immortal and half-spirit, also senses the surrounding spiritual energy to find the intruder. They checked everyone in the castle without

The staff, the guards, even the visitors and Lisa's summoned creaturesall were subject to the androids' meticulous scrutiny.

Their sensors, fine-tuned to detect the slightest aberration, swept over the castle's inhabitants in search of the source of the foreign energy.

Meanwhile, Chad, the half-dragon guardian of the castle, received the alert.

"Intruder? Under my watch?" Chad frowned at this since he had been guarding the gates all the time. His draconic sense should've warned him if he met someone who shouldn't be here!

Because of this, he realized that he must increase the amount of draconic energy he was mustering to ensure his Draconic Senses were keen and precise.

He the moved around the castle to find anything suspicious without catching too much attention. His eyes searched swiftly, while being empowered by his Dragon Sense.

As the time passed, the castle remained calm and no one could tell that tension was brewing.

The androids, their forms shifting and changing to adapt to their investigative roles, left no stone unturned.

Yet, the elusive energy signature remained just out of reach, a ghostly presence that danced on the edge of perception.

Denise, with her unmatched expertise with the androids, coordinated the search from her command center or her laboratory.

She used their communication crystals to provide various commands to the androids to expand their search.

"We must find the intruder before they have a chance to act" She murmured, her determination to find this intruder could be felt since Vale was not in the castle right now.

She didn't want Vale to see that they were having trouble while he was gone for less than a day! She wanted to appear

Faith, her white hair a stark contrast against the shadows, stood beside Denise, while her own powers were also continuously searching for the intruder.

"We will find them." She assured as she knew that there were still four other immortals in this castle. Even if the Demon Saints entered the castle, she believed that there wouldn't be any problem at all.

"This castle is under our protection, and we will not let it fall."

At this time, Chad, upon receiving updates from Denise, intensified his search. His half-dragon blood granted him abilities beyond the ordinary, and he used them to their fullest extent.

His nostrils flared, testing the air for the scent of the intruder, while his ears picked up the faintest of sounds, any clue that might lead him to the source of the disturbance.

***

Time passed and they were still searching for the intruder.

It was at this time, in the grand halls of the castle, Aiden, now a vessel for the Deadly Sin of Pride, stalked the corridors with a target in his mind.

His eyes, now glinted with a malevolent sheen, targeted a half-immortal that he believed he could control forcefully...

He just needed a surprise attack on her soul and he had to prepare it for a few seconds

He was close, so very close to seizing control of Faith, whose half-immortal, half-spirit essence promised untold power.

But fate, it seemed, had other plans.

Without warning, the air grew heavy and it was filled with a sense of ancient might.

"This"

Two Immortal Beings appeared behind his target, their presence was definitely an unassailable wall. Pride's ambitions was quickly destroyed.

"I didn't sense their presence at all! There are two True Immortals in this castle?! How did this happen?!"

Pride, taken aback by the sudden appearance of such formidable adversaries, felt a surge of panic. With his current power, he had no issues dealing with Half-Immortals but True Immortals were on a different level.

It was something that his current Avatar could never deal with! He must exert more effort to deal with them!

As expected, Pride's disguise wasn't effective against True Immortals.

The Immortals, their eyes piercing through the deception, cornered Pride with an ease that spoke of their timeless experience.

"So it's one of the Deadly Sin No wonder you managed to sneak past through those incredible barriers. Unfortunately for you, you cannot hide from us, creature of arrogance" One of the Immortals declared, his voice laced with calmness as if Pride, the one they just caught, wasn't a powerful being that even the Demon Lord had to be careful with.

Pride considered for a moment whether he would just let this part of his soul be destroyed or fight seriously. After all, this soul was also too precious for him and he didn't want it to disappear just like that.

However, he also knew that even if he fights seriously, he would never win against two True Immortals.

Pride, trapped and desperate, knew that subtlety was no longer an option.

"Fine Let's see what can you do against me."

With a rasping incantation that seemed to have destroyed Aiden's throat, Pride cast a Soul Descent spell, channeling a vast portion of its soul into Aiden's form!

Faith, who was surprised by everything that was happening stepped back and allowed the two Immortals to deal with the problem.

It was a great thing that they had already returned! After all, Vale would normally order these Immortals to disguise themselves as normal Arcanists and help various areas that needed assistance to fight against the Demons.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Faith's eyes widened as she actually saw Aiden's gruesome transformation. She had even forgotten to inform Chad and Denise about this situation. Luckily, the enemy emitted a strong aura of death, so the others should've sensed this as well.

Anyway, the transformation was immediate and grotesque; Aiden's body swelled and twisted, his features distorting into a monstrous visage that was both terrifying and pitiable.

"Ahahaha! Now! Immortals of this Human Realm Fight me! You have probably never met another strong opponent in this realm where you can unleash your full power I am here now to assist you! Come at me, both of you!" Aiden, or perhaps Pride, taunted the two Immortals.

However, the two Immortals didn't seem to notice his taunt and remained smiling.

Pride, the embodiment of arrogance, didn't take this lightly as he decided to attack first.

"Fine!"

Aiden, now a grotesque avatar of Pride, unleashed a barrage of deathly spells and vicious strikes against the Immortals.

Faith was worried about the castle's defense so she obviously reminded the two Immortals to take the battle outside!

She could only hope that the two Immortals would take her advice seriously!

Boom! Boom!

The castle's ancient stones shook with the force of their confrontation as Arcane Energies and Immortal Essence clashed in a maelstrom of destruction.

The Immortals, undeterred by Pride's ferocity, fought against the entity with controlled strength as they heard Faith's warning...

One of Vale's instructions to them was actually to listen to Pearl and Faith's instructions while he wasn't in the castle!

They moved carefully to protect the castle and maneuvered in a way that would force Aiden out of the castle!

The two Immortals dissolved all the explosive energy that the Pride emitted and slowly, they calculated to disarm and disable the Deadly Sin with their combined strength!

Boom!

After just a few moments, the two Immortals threw the Deadly Sin outside the castle by only destroying the windows of the corridor!