“But isn’t the ρ (Rhineon) particle part of the scalar group?” William asked.
“Correct, but it’s important to note: tidal rullers cause particles to behave as if they’re blinking, whereas scalar rullers do not,” Pusmoko explained.
“I still don’t understand,” William tilted his head.
“Study it yourself another time,” Pusmoko replied, then looked toward Jenggolo. “Well? Are you going to surrender?”
“You think you’ve already won!” Jenggolo laughed loudly.
“But the fact is, we have won,” Puspo Geni answered.
Jenggolo began preparing a magic circle.
Beneath his feet, a pattern formed—a circle bearing the head of a goat entwined by a snake, glowing with an obsidian-black light.
Jenggolo’s body transformed: his frame turned into that of a giant zombie, his head became the skull of a crow, and his horns resembled those of a bull.
“Still insisting on winning even after losing, huh,” Pusmoko mocked.
“I’d be surprised, but you’re just a low-level demon,” Puspo Geni sneered.
Puspo Geni considered sending Jenggolo back immediately, but he knew that if he did, Jenggolo’s plan would surely succeed.
So instead, he decided to seek advice from Sudirja. Perhaps Sudirja had a better plan.
"Sudirja, what’s the best thing to do with this Jenggolo?" Puspo Geni asked telepathically.
"Is your birthplace anywhere near Dahaluk?" Sudirja asked telepathically in return.
“Right in front of the king’s throne, actually,” Puspo Geni answered via telepathy.
"Ah, that’s a bit troublesome," Sudirja replied telepathically.
Where Sudirja stood, he was already thinking about how to prevent Jenggolo from being sent back to his birthplace. But no solution came to mind.
Arjuna, standing before him, could tell what his king was thinking, so he spoke up—perhaps he could help.
“Is Your Majesty thinking about preventing that intruding demon from returning to his original territory?” Arjuna asked.
“Yes, but I can’t think of any way to do it,” Sudirja replied.
“Arga isn’t here either. If he were, we might have come up with a good plan,” Arjuna muttered.
Hearing Arjuna’s mutter, Sudirja remembered something—Arga was still using neuropental, and he might not have deactivated it yet. So Sudirja decided to contact him telepathically.
"Arga, can you come to the palace immediately?" Sudirja ordered via telepathy.
There was no response. Sudirja didn’t give up and tried again.
"Arga, can you come to the palace immediately?" he repeated telepathically.
"Oh, Your Majesty, forgive me for not answering sooner," Arga replied via telepathy.
"Is something wrong in your territory?" Sudirja asked via telepathy.
"I’ve just been busy managing distribution documents," Arga replied via telepathy. "I’ll head there immediately, Your Majesty."
At Arga’s estate, his wife and child saw him closing his documents. His wife, knowing nothing, thought perhaps he was going to inspect the trade center in his territory.
His child thought maybe his father had some business somewhere.
“My dear, I’ll be going to the royal palace,” Arga said, asking for permission.
“But I haven’t seen any summons from the palace?” his wife asked.
Her question was reasonable, since a territorial noble was only permitted to go to the royal palace for two reasons: either after sending an arrival notice, or after receiving an official summons from the kingdom.
But since the noble of Bimajati had received no such letter, she naturally thought it was improper.
Arga, however, had a reason that made both conditions unnecessary: he had been called directly via telepathy, so he no longer needed to send a written notice to the palace.
When Arga opened the large doors, his head butler was startled.
“What is it, my lord?” the butler asked.
“I’m going to the royal palace. Idar, could you tidy up the documents I haven’t finished organizing?” Arga asked.
“Of course, my lord,” Idar replied.
Arga immediately headed to the armory, intending to take his greatsword. He was the only noble without a flying carriage—not because he couldn’t afford one, nor because he feared spending his wealth, but simply because he didn’t feel he needed it. More precisely, he hadn’t needed it yet.
This was because only he ever traveled outside; none of his family members had ever left the castle.
He also never worried about criminals breaking into his castle—not because he didn’t care about his family, but because he had already secured it using his abilities.
Arga tossed his greatsword onto the ground.
The blade floated, never touching the earth.
He stepped onto it.
The sword rose higher, then shot forward, leaving his castle behind.
After a long journey, Arga arrived at the palace gates. The guards opened the doors for him.
He did not dismount from his sword; for some reason, he felt it would be better to dismount only once he was directly before his king.
Inside the palace, as Arga flew at such a great height, he failed to notice someone directly below him—the youngest princess of Aryapanggulu, who was also his niece, since the queen of Aryapanggulu was his older sister.
“Uncle Arga!” a voice called from below.
Arga stopped his sword and looked toward the source of the voice. He saw his niece standing right beneath him.
Feeling it would be difficult to talk from that height, he lowered his sword.
“Did Father call you, Uncle?” Ruma asked.
“Yes, I think your father has some important business,” Arga replied.
“Then let me take you to him,” Ruma offered.
“Thank you very much,” Arga said, patting Ruma’s head.
“You’re welcome,” Ruma smiled happily.
“Where are you going, leaving your room like this?” Arga asked.
“I was going to the garden,” Ruma replied.
After chatting with his niece for a while, they finally arrived at the throne room doors. Arga, thinking it would be rude to stand atop his sword before his king, dismounted before the gates opened.
“Take care, young Ruma,” Arga said, patting her head again.
“I will,” Ruma smiled.
Once the gates opened, he stepped inside.
“What is it, my brother-in-law—and my king?” Arga asked.
“There’s an intruding demon in our laboratory. The demons from Jagrapati have already dealt with him, but they can’t kill him,” Sudirja said, his gaze sharp on Arga.
“What’s the demon’s name?” Arga asked.
“Jenggolo,” Sudirja answered.
Arga knew who Jenggolo was. In his eyes, Jenggolo was an easy opponent to kill—if not for one thing that made him troublesome. It wasn’t strength, but cunning.
Arga knew Jenggolo was a demon from the Dahaluk kingdom, whose core had formed directly before its king’s throne. If Jenggolo were killed, that would mean his plan had succeeded.
“That cunning demon…” Arga muttered.
He thought of a plan, though he wasn’t certain it would work: to trap Jenggolo using his wind manipulation abilities.
“Do you have a plan to deal with him?” Sudirja asked.
“I’m not sure my idea will succeed,” Arga explained. “I was thinking of sealing him with wind.”
“Very well. Let’s head to the laboratory now,” Sudirja ordered.
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