With Lesley's neck firmly in his grasp, Kyle made a swift decision.

"I finally caught you" Kyle said as he felt relieved seeing Lesley in his hands.

Nonetheless, instead of proceeding with the extraction, he used a Spell to put him unconscious and carried her away to the fortified seclusion of his castle.

The air around them warped, and in a few blinks, with the help of his Presence Shift, they arrived in front of his castle

With another Presence Shift, they finally stood within the stone-cold walls of his sanctuary.

He even left his Time Manipulators and made them return with their own abilities.

The reason for his caution was twofold.

Firstly, the presence of the Dark Arts Families' Patriarchs loomed on the horizon, their formidable auras was unmistakable. They were ancient and possessed malevolent magics that he didn't want to deal with yet...

No matter what, he was still unaware of what Forbidden Magic they might use against him once they became desperate.

Kyle knew that engaging against the six Patriarchs would be unwise, especially after knowing that they were possessing Arcana.

'Right I'm not scared It's called a tactical retreat.' Kyle thought to himself

It was better to leave that place since he had also just finished fighting Halvor and the Death God's Blessed.

Secondly, an inexplicable unease gnawed at Kyle's instinctsa premonition of danger that emanated from within Lesley herself. His Danger Sense, a mystical intuition honed to Level 10 or Perfect Realm, screamed a silent warning against extracting her powers hastily.

Indeed, he didn't want to extract Lesley yet and brought her here to his castle to get a "second opinion."

In the deepest chambers of his castle, Kyle called for Orden and Ryzoir, the Dragons whose wisdom and might have long served him.

"Examine her, I felt some danger a while when I planned to extract or drain her life" Kyle explained, his voice echoing off the ancient stones.

The Dragons didn't question Kyle's commands as they were intrigued by what he said.

They couldn't help but feel curious about what made Kyle so cautious and surrounded Lesley with their Draconic Sense

Whom~

Then, their eyes glowed with eldritch light as they probed her essence.

Beyond the blessing of the Deadly Sin Pride and the potent energies of the Death God, they found no other anomaly within her.

No traps, no cursesnothing that could explain the disquiet in Kyle's soul.

Well, unless there was a problem that might occur if he extracted someone blessed by two of such powerful beings.

The two Dragons informed Kyle of what they had noticed.

"So there shouldn't be any danger from this, huh" Kyle muttered. Anyway, he already extracted the Death God before and the Deadly Sins as well. He didn't have any trouble doing that.

So the Danger Sense probably detected the dangerous Spells or Curses he might extract from Lesley

Anyway, after being reassured by their findings, Kyle's confidence surged.

He asked the two Dragons to watch over him just in case something thing happened.

As soon as he was ready, Kyle triggered his Divine Extraction System

"Extract..."

[ Living Immortal has been discovered. Would you like to start the extraction? ]

"So Lesley was already an Immortal?" Kyle was surprised as he thought that Lesley was only a Half-Immortal at least. He didn't expect that she had already reached such a level. She even surpassed the Overseer and the Patriarchs. Perhaps she only lacks experience and better set of Fusion Spells and Celestial Arts!

Shane shook her head at this, but he didn't stop his plans.

After taking a deep breath, he answered the notification.

"Yes!"

As soon as he activated his Divine Extraction System, the chamber was filled with the hum of arcane energies

Lesley, who had been lying unconscious, suddenly jolted awake.

Her eyes widened in horror as she felt her energies, her spell models, her very soul, being drawn out by an irresistible force.

"Nooooo!" she screamed, her voice a blend of rage and despair.

But Kyle remained focus.

His face was a mask of concentration and he ignored her cries. T

he extraction process continued, a maelstrom of power that he had commanded countless times. But then, a shiver ran down his spinean omen that something was amiss.

His body began to seize, an icy grip clenching his muscles.

His Divinity, Corrupted Divinity, Essences, Spell Models, and Arcane Energyall that constituted his formidable arsenal

spiraled into chaos.

'What's going on?!'

The ritual chamber, once under his absolute control, now felt like a foreign battlefield.

It was then that the dormant fragment of the Death God within Lesley stirred!

With a laugh that was both triumphant and chilling, the Death God announced his awakening.

"Hahaha! I've been waiting for this! Your body is mine!" The deity's voice boomed, resonating with the power of eons.

The Death God's essence surged through the connection forged by the Extraction, a reverse invasion that targeted Kyle's own being.

It had been waiting for Kyle to extract Lesley all this time!

Kyle staggered, his struggle could be felt by the Dragons as he fought to maintain his sovereignty against the divine usurper.

The Dragons, Orden and Ryzoir, watched in dismay, their ancient wisdom rendered useless against this unforeseen threat.

Since the battlefield was within Kyle's body, it would be difficult to help him!

They circled, frantic, their draconic aura was ineffective.

They could only call for others to help They sent a message to Faith and Constance to immediately help Kyle if they could do so!

At this time, Kyle's internal battle raged on. His Divinity clashed with the invading presence, a war of gods within the confines of his physical form.

He could feel his consciousness waning, the edges of his vision blurring as the Death God's influence expanded.

"I will not... succumb..." Kyle gasped, his voice barely a whisper as his knees buckled.

As he released his might, the shadows grew darker, the air colder, but the certainty of his dominion crumbled.

Kyle then heard the Dragons' roars of frustration and fear, mingled with the Death God's laughter. It felt like a chaotic sound that heralded his fall, the Shadow Immortal.

As Kyle's vision dimmed, the last thing he saw was the smug satisfaction in Lesley's eyesa silent witness to his greatest defeat.