Despite San's words, he was actually quite surprised, shocked even, at this turn of events. It was most likely what made his wide grin eerier.

With the way things were starting to turn out, there should be way more pain evident in his visage, and yet while he did not show it, Evian felt a lot of pain and a lot of anger that was all directed at the one who had caused this.

They were all directed at the Malevolent One.

Once Darryl and Marlon showcased abilities like those of the Malevolent One's representative, he truly wondered if one of the two or someone else of the Edgar family could be the Malevolent One.

However, he felt if that was the case, there would have been more graceful means of robbing the Confluence so he concluded that it was most likely someone who got to the brothers to get to the Confluence.

After all, once the location of the Confluence was known, half of the problem had been solved.

So he surmised as he watched the brothers get ever closer to him and the two Runemasters that if the two could have been convinced by whatever means then who could truly account for what had happened once their view was obstructed by a Dome of Astral energy.

Thinking back, the Dome had been preceded by an explosion that once down was shown to have caused numerous casualties!

San almost slapped himself across the face for not having realized it sooner. The Malevolent One -who he still believed had been there personally- had not only managed to defeat all of the Great families most trusted Men, he had also done so to those that had been sent to represent the Plebeians and seize the Confluence's riches,

And yet none of them had been killed!

At the time, all the family heads, San included, had been so relieved and happy to see their most trusted alive that they not only declined to ask themselves the most important question, they were also so complacent enough to believe the allegiance of their men was unshakable.

Of course, they could not be blamed. After all, if they could not trust their right-hand men, then who could they possibly trust.

Anyway, the revelation of the Edgar brothers caused San to -as much as he wished not to- suspect that Evian's allegiance might have shifted.

Although if he was being honest with himself, this merely confirmed what he had been suspecting long before and had been the reason he did not reveal the complete details of his plans to anyone else, Especially Evian.

"Deg, snap out of it" Called Bale to his right-hand man.

He had been the first to recover from the shock of the shroud-covered Cosmic Armament Realm Experts who instead of battling with the Edgar brothers were standing with them.

His voice jeered up the other Plebeian heads and they opened their mouth to call out to their right-hand men as well when San interrupted them with a loud yell...

"That's enough, you buffoons! If you really want to show dissatisfaction, then get down and kill them!"

The Plebeian heads whose men were among the corrupted, looked at San like he was insane. While they surely could attempt to kill their men, it was far from being something they could do immediately.

At the very least, they needed some time to adjust.

San tsked in annoyance and leaped down from the palanquin with a blast of Cosmic Attack, infused with a Cosmic Phenomenon.

*Boommmmmm*

So great was the effect that the Plebeian men dashed forward to keep away from the impact while also going deeper into the Castle courtyard to engage more Edgar men, who Karon was now directing as best he could without leaving those he was protecting defenseless.

However, he was now considering entrusting their safety to a few guards as him staying away from the battle was not doing anybody any good.

Anyway, when the blast settled, all Eight men (Six Plebeians including Evian and the two Edgar brothers) were still standing.

The shroud had completely covered their body and protected them quite nicely while it also dug into the ground to give them more footing to withstand the backward propelling force.

Evian being the strongest of the Plebeians summoned his Saber Armament and dashed at the one who he had once called Lord.

"Good. Come over here. I can see you are corrupted and the only way to cleanse you is to purge you of your perverse soul" San said with a hint of crazy in his eyes.

It was a wonder as to where he got such exorcist-sounding words but one thing was clear as he summoned his Armament as well and it was covered lightly by a Cosmic Phenomenon; The cleansing meant he would kill Evian.

*Clang*

Their sabers met and even with the Devil shroud enhancing his strength, Evian could not gain the upper hand.

The force from their swords meeting had already numbed his wrist but he gritted his teeth and pushed forward.

He had been given one order and it was to make sure the Edgar brothers stop the Plebeian Runemasters and freed the Mayor.

And until he drew his final breath, he would do just that.

*Bang!*

Evian released a Cosmic attack mixed in with dark fog from the Devil shroud and slashed it towards San who deflected the attack like it was nothing, however just as he did that and smiled complacently at Evian...

...two of the remaining Plebeians leaped up and tossed simultaneous Cosmic attacks at him and they not only were not deflected, but they also hit San point-blank before exploding.

*Bang*

*Boom*

A cloud of dust covered the Plebeian leader before he leaped out of it towards the two still in mid-air and in two incredibly fast strikes, the heads of the two Plebeians fell to the ground along with their bodies.

San looked at their bodies and thought he saw something that resembled a mark peel off their bodies and dissipate in the air. But he wasn't sure what he had seen as the Dark fog around them was dissipating in almost the same manner.

He shook it off and faced the remaining four, including Evian, while he flicked his Saber Armament at them,

"Come on" he said as he noted the Edgar brothers staying a few distances away from the fight as though to take advantage of any lapse in attention on his part.

He sneered at their naivete!

The Plebeians suddenly dashed forward, the only one who did not was Evian who hung back as those three engaged San in what was clearly a pointless struggle right from the start.

The three not only sent fully charged Cosmic attacks at San, but they also made use of the skills at their disposal but for every single attack, San had only one response which was to slash his Saber and cancel it all out.

And then he sent out his own attack and showcased that the one he had blasted at the start was merely a warning as this one did not merely attempt to toss them back, it contained the height of lethal will and killed them instantaneously.

The Plebeian leaders whose men those had been, among whom were Bale and Tod, choked as San killed them as though their lives amounted to nothing in his sights.

Which was exactly how it was, their death had no impact whatsoever, however as he faced Evian, the last of the corrupted ones, there could be seen in his eyes a barely perceptible change...

...but that did not stop him from forming a Cosmic phenomenon around himself.

...

Meanwhile, while the battle between this two, once upon a time Lord and subordinate was about to begin and the Plebeian forces still embroiled in Combat with the Edgars, no one noticed a blue-eyed young man turn visible and project a Rune at the ground before going invisible again...

...only to become visible a few distances away and do the same thing...