One moment he's in front of me, the next he's gone. But he doesn't go into hiding.

"He's here!" Thea cries out from the back.

My eyes widen in shock, and without a thought for my own safety, I step out of the circle, dashing off the stage. Cer and Ze are already there when I reach the museum, the two of them circling the demon while Thea is nestled behind Cer.

"He's evolving. We don't have much longer before he reaches the next level."

"Then we'll have to end him quickly," Ze responds in that calm, unruffled tone of his. He takes a step toward the demon, but Cer's voice rings out in warning.

"We need to check the status of the souls first."

Ze doesn't give a verbal answer, but his features tense, his eyes on the demon just as his hand is on the top of the scabbard of his sword.

"He's ascending, Cerenios," he grits out.

"My guess is that he needs one more soul for the process to be complete," Cer adds.

When I step inside the small enclosure, the demon turns toward me, his eyes gleaming with greed as he licks his lips.

"Lora Re," he whispers again, a semblance of a smile appearing on his face.

The others are completely forgotten as he focuses his attention on me.

Before I can blink, though, Ze is in front of me, his broad back filling my field of vision. His sword is in his right hand, and he rotates it once in the air before he drives it straight into the demon, severing his head from his body.

Yet just as I think the demon's dead and the entire ordeal is over, the head that just fell to the ground dissolves into a caustic mist—like his arm did before. The demon sways lightly on his feet as the flesh at his neck starts melding together, muscles and skin knitting right as bone lengthens from his spine. In less than a minute, his head is back on his body. But this time, his features are even more humanoid-like than before.

"What the hell is happening?" I mutter in shock.

"He's ascended," Ze adds quietly. "We were too late."

"What do you mean too late?"

"He's consumed the energy of the souls and now he's on a different level. Stay behind me, human," he says tensely.

It's on the tip of my tongue to tell him that my name is Luce, not human, but maybe now's not the time. Not when his words create even more panic in my breast. If the demon has already consumed all the souls, then is this all in vain? Is the trial already lost?

Ze's right hand holds his sword, and with his left one, he reaches behind, holding on to me.

"When I move, you move. Understand? I'm your only cover," he instructs.

"All right," I whisper.