Nocthyrael stood beneath the six captured angels when Noctis's voice reached her through the blood connection.
"Nocthyrael."
Her wings lifted slightly before she controlled the motion. The crimson veins inside the black feathers brightened for a moment, and her eyes shifted toward the open air in front of her as if Noctis had stepped into the cathedral square instead of speaking from far away. Around her, the captured angels still hung from Crimson Chains, their wings pinned open, their wrists and ankles fixed apart, their throats crossed by blood-forged links that stopped them from gathering a complete chant. Beneath them, the bishops, commanders, and high-ranking clergy remained suspended in lower rows, breathing shallowly while smoke from the southern district moved through the broken streets behind them.
"Noctis," she answered, and although her voice remained controlled, the fallen angels nearest her noticed the change. Ethan glanced toward Leon. Leon looked briefly at the angel he was guarding, then back toward Nocthyrael. She did not look at either of them. Her attention had already shifted fully into the blood connection.
At the Demonic Academy, Noctis remained inside the treasure vault with Valdred standing near the entrance, but his focus had extended across the distance. His voice entered the connection with clear pressure and no delay. "Valdred just informed me that you captured a Three-Star fortress. Report your current situation."
Nocthyrael's expression brightened for a moment before she steadied it. She had expected to report after the fortress was fully processed, after Adrian completed the barrier work, after the relics were gathered and the prisoners prepared for transport. She had not expected Noctis to contact her first. The surprise pleased her more than she allowed her face to show, but the slight lift at the corner of her mouth remained.
"The fortress is under our control," she said. "Ordinary resistance has been eliminated. The six angels who descended through the emergency summoning are alive and bound. Bishops, high clergy, commanders, and the highest surviving Church authority are also alive. They are restrained by Crimson Chains and too weak to resist. The fallen angels are searching the vaults, reliquaries, scripture archives, and command chambers. Adrian and the Prelates are below the cathedral inspecting the barrier core."
As she spoke, Marcus and Victor returned from the cathedral vault with Jason and Ryan behind them. Marcus carried a long reliquary chest under one arm, its outer surface wrapped in scripture metal that had been cut open at the locks. Victor carried a larger sealed case against his tower shield, using the shield's rim to block the residual holy heat that leaked from the container. Jason dragged two heavy vault boxes by blood-forged hooks, and Ryan carried a bundle of polearm-shaped relics wrapped together with crimson bands.
They reached the square and lowered the first recovered objects near the base of a broken statue. The boxes struck the stone with controlled weight, not thrown carelessly, and the seals carved across their surfaces continued to glow faintly beneath the blood bindings.
Nocthyrael glanced toward them and continued the report. "The first vault contents are arriving now. Relics, sealed cases, and scripture-bound containers. We are keeping everything intact if it can be used."
Claire emerged next from the western command hall with Lily and Sophia. Claire held several ledgers bound in white leather and marked with rank seals. Lily carried a small stack of narrow relic boxes, each wrapped in blood thread to keep the lids from opening. Sophia had a bundle of scroll tubes strapped across one shoulder and a scripture archive case held under her arm. Hannah followed from the reliquary tower with her blood scythe angled behind her, dragging a dangerous relic inside a cage of crimson chains. The object inside the cage released faint white sparks whenever it touched the bindings, but the sparks died before reaching the stone.
Noctis listened without interrupting. Valdred watched him from the vault entrance, his expression tight, unable to hear the full exchange but able to see that Noctis was no longer speaking only to him.
Noctis answered through the connection, "Good. The capture went better than I expected."
Nocthyrael's wings shifted again. This time she did not completely hide the movement.
Noctis expanded the blood connection.
The pressure of his voice extended outward from Nocthyrael to the fallen angels in the square, the fallen clergy under Adrian, the Prelates in the barrier chamber, the Dread Judicators moving through the fortress corridors, and the Crimson Marshals guarding outer approaches. The connection did not strike them with force. It opened like a command channel through shared blood authority, linking each member of the operation to Noctis's voice.
"All of you did well," Noctis said.
The square changed visibly.
Marcus straightened beside the reliquary chests. Victor shifted his shield upright and stood at attention. Jason stopped dragging the second vault box and looked toward Nocthyrael, recognizing the expanded connection. Ryan lowered the haft of his halberd until its blade rested beside his boot. Claire held the command ledgers tighter. Lily's smile widened. Sophia lowered her bow slightly. Hannah stopped the chained relic from scraping farther and turned her head toward the sound only the team could hear.
In the lower cathedral, Adrian paused with his scepter lowered toward the barrier core. Selene's catalyst rings slowed in their rotation. Lucian lifted his eyes from the blood scripture sphere. Elias held three abyssal blood threads suspended in the air without pushing them farther into the conduit. Damien stopped cutting along a damaged scripture seam. Kael steadied his censer. Rowan's blood scripture chains remained wrapped around the cracked stabilizing pillar, holding it closed while he listened.
Outside the square, Darius rested his colossal blood halberd against one shoulder and grinned openly. Victorian stood beside a broken gate with his abyssal tower shield planted against the stone. Alaric lowered his execution greatblade and looked toward the cathedral. Cedric kept his execution spear angled downward but stopped moving through the side street he had been clearing. Matthias's suppression chain blades hung from both hands, their hooks still wet with blood. Gideon adjusted the grip on his sanctified blood rifle and turned his attention toward the connection.
Noctis continued, "Capturing a Three-Star fortress, six angels, high-ranking clergy, and the fortress command structure without losing the unit is not a small achievement. This deserves merit and rewards."
Nocthyrael's smile became clear then. She looked up at the angels hanging above her, then toward the fallen angels standing across the square, and the satisfaction in her expression deepened. The team did not cheer. They were still in an occupied fortress surrounded by prisoners and incomplete conversion work. But the effect of Noctis's praise moved through them all the same. Postures straightened. Weapons steadied. The fallen angels who had been carrying relics arranged them more carefully. The Prelates in the barrier chamber resumed their positions with sharper focus.
Noctis said, "I am on my way. Maintain the situation. Keep the fortress secured. Do not move the prisoners until I arrive."
Nocthyrael answered immediately. "Understood. The prisoners will remain suspended and separated. The relics will be gathered in the square. We will maintain perimeter control."
Adrian's voice entered the expanded connection from below the cathedral. "There is one complication."
Noctis's attention shifted toward him. "Report."
Adrian stood before the barrier core, where the third controlled infusion had left another dark stain inside the inner scripture ring. The core remained intact in its suspended frame, but the remaining holy power inside the upper crystal still clashed with every abyssal stream that entered the conduits. "The barrier core survived, and the physical structure is stable. Most of its stored holy power is depleted. However, enough holy power remains inside the core to prevent abyssal infusion from accumulating. Each controlled attempt reduces the residue, but the core cannot hold our power yet."
Noctis did not sound concerned. "Continue controlled infusions. Do not break the core. If it takes time, let it take time. I will be there soon and handle it."
Adrian bowed his head even though Noctis was not physically present. "Understood."
Noctis kept the connection open for another breath. "Nocthyrael, keep the angels alive. If any of them recover too quickly, increase restraint but do not kill them."
"Yes," she said, and there was no hesitation in her voice.
At the Academy, Noctis turned away from the table. The cultivation scroll remained open behind him, its demonic core method visible across the page but no longer holding his attention. Valdred stood near the vault entrance with his arms crossed and his face still marked by anger, though he had stopped shouting while Noctis spoke through the connection.
Noctis walked toward him. "I am leaving for the fortress."
Valdred turned toward the exit seal and placed one hand against the inner mechanism. "Then move before this becomes worse."
The vault door opened from the inside.
Red light spread outward across the threshold, washing over the sealed shelves, the black table, the scroll cases, and Valdred's boots. The entrance did not lead into an ordinary hallway. The treasure vault's outer access had been hidden beneath layers of spatial folding and academy warding, and the physical exit opened into a location that Valdred still considered secure, despite how often it created misunderstandings. He stepped through first, his robes crossing the red glow as the space folded around him.
Noctis followed.
Outside, the door of a small outhouse opened.
Valdred stepped out first into the side path behind one of the Academy's lesser administrative gardens. The outhouse stood beside a low stone wall and a row of black-leaf shrubs that had been trimmed into neat shapes by servants who clearly knew the structure was important but had been instructed never to ask why. The afternoon air was cooler than the vault interior, and several demonic students were walking along the nearby path carrying books, training weapons, scroll cases, and food trays from the outer dining hall.
Noctis stepped out behind Valdred.
The students froze.
One horned student stopped mid-step with a stack of tablets pressed to his chest. A pair of demonic girls who had been speaking near the path went silent at the same time and turned their heads slowly. A broad-shouldered student with a practice axe looked from Valdred to Noctis, then to the outhouse, then back to Valdred again. Another student's tail stiffened behind him. Someone near the back of the path lowered a half-eaten skewer and stopped chewing.
For one breath, no one moved.
A bead of sweat rolled down Valdred's forehead.
A bead of sweat rolled down Noctis's forehead.
Valdred coughed once into his fist.
"Continue walking," he said. "You saw nothing worth discussing."
The students turned away too quickly. The horned student almost dropped one of his tablets and caught it against his knee before hurrying down the path. The two demonic girls began talking again in voices that were much louder than before and clearly about something else. The broad-shouldered student with the practice axe walked straight ahead without blinking. Within a few seconds, the path had movement again, but every student was trying too hard not to look back.
Valdred adjusted his sleeve and spoke without meeting Noctis's eyes. "Do not pay it any mind. This happens whenever I bring someone into the treasure vault."
Noctis looked at him.
Valdred kept his gaze on the path. "The entrance is secure."
Noctis sighed. "You should move the entrance."
"I have considered it."
Noctis did not continue the subject. The fortress mattered more than the Academy's questionable spatial design. He looked past the students and toward the direction of the outer transit grounds. "I will depart for the fortress and take command of the situation."
Valdred nodded. "Go. Rein them in before more reports spread."
Noctis did not move.
Valdred noticed the pause and turned back toward him. "Why are you still standing here?"
Noctis smirked. "Before I go, I have a proposition."
Valdred's expression tightened again. "What proposition?"
"I want to keep the fortress."
"No."
Noctis continued as if Valdred had not answered. "The fortress is already captured. It has a barrier core, vault infrastructure, scripture archives, summoning records, and a defensible position. The Demonic Realm can build a gate portal connected to it. A Three-Star Church fortress under our control would become a major strategic point in the war against the Holy Church."
Valdred stared at him. "You are not listening. I said no."
"I heard you," Noctis said. "I disagree."
"The Academy may want to help," Valdred said, his voice lowering because several students were still within hearing distance, "but the royal demons will not allow you to keep a fortress like that. The moment they confirm it is secure, they will send their own forces and claim it for the realm."
Noctis scoffed. "The royal demons have been arrogant since I arrived."
"They are still royal demons."
"That has not impressed me."
Valdred's gaze sharpened. "It should at least make you cautious. They have a demonic god behind them."
Noctis looked at him without lowering his eyes. "I am not afraid of a demonic god. The Academy has one as well."
Valdred exhaled through his nose. "Yes. The Academy has one. Their demonic god is stronger."
Noctis rubbed the back of his head and looked toward the path for a moment. He did not look frightened. He looked annoyed by a political complication that had arrived before he had inspected the battlefield. "Fine. For now, arrange the gate portal. Ownership can be discussed after I see the fortress myself."
Valdred watched him carefully. "You are saying that as if you intend to argue this again."
"I do."
"That is not reassuring."
"It was not meant to be."
Valdred closed his eyes for a brief moment, then opened them again. "I will arrange the request for a gate connection. Do not make this worse before I finish."
Noctis gave a faint smile. "I will handle the fortress."
Valdred opened his mouth as if to say more, but Noctis had already shifted his stance.
He stepped forward.
Space bent around his body in a narrow fold, and his figure vanished from the path without sound. A faint afterimage remained for less than a breath before it thinned and disappeared. The stones beneath his feet did not crack. The shrubs did not move. The air did not push outward. One moment he stood beside Valdred near the outhouse, and the next moment the space in front of Valdred was empty.
Valdred remained still.
Farther down the path, several students who had pretended not to look stopped pretending. They stared at the empty place where Noctis had been standing.
Valdred turned his head toward them.
Every student immediately resumed walking.
Noctis appeared in the back courtyard of the mansion without sound.
The air folded open for less than a breath, then settled behind him as his boots touched the stone path beside the rear garden. The mansion stood quiet under the Academy sky, its dark rooflines and black-framed windows facing the inner grounds while servants moved between the rear storage rooms and the kitchen wing. A few of them stopped when they noticed him, lowering their heads immediately. Noctis did not remain still long enough for them to approach. His attention moved across the courtyard, past the trimmed hedges and the low wall, toward the two presences that had already reacted to his arrival.
Bahamut stepped from the shade near the outer pavilion first. His body carried the pressure of a primordial dragon compressed into a form suitable for the mansion grounds, crimson-gold markings faintly visible along his scales and horns. Rengar emerged beside him a moment later, upright and controlled, his sanguine frost-lightning aura held close to his body so it did not disturb the servants. Both lowered their heads at the same time.
"Master," Bahamut said.
"Master," Rengar followed.
Noctis nodded once. "Both of you enter the pet space. You are coming with me for a special trip."
Neither asked where they were going. Bahamut's body compressed first, scales, horns, claws, and draconic pressure folding inward until he became a crimson-gold orb marked by faint dragon-scale patterns. Rengar followed a breath later. His lycanthropic form collapsed into a blood-red sphere threaded with frost-blue lines and red lightning traces. The two orbs crossed the courtyard and entered Noctis's forehead one after the other. A small runic mark appeared at the center of his brow, brightened once, then settled beneath the skin until only a faint trace remained.
The servants nearby lowered their heads further. Noctis turned away from them and looked down at his own shadow.
"Come out."
The shadow beneath his feet widened across the courtyard stones.
Five large wolves emerged from it one after another. They did not climb from the darkness like wild beasts. They came out in a controlled sequence, each body forming from blood-dark fur, black vapor, and crimson eyes before their paws struck the ground. These were the Bloodbound Shadow Alpha Wolves, the former alpha wolves of Rengar's pack, now bound under Noctis's authority. Each one carried a different physical weight in its shoulders, scar patterns, and muzzle shape, but they moved with the same discipline. None of them snarled at the servants. None turned toward the house without permission. They lined up before Noctis and lowered their heads together.
Noctis looked across the five of them. "Remain here. Protect the mansion, the servants, and anyone under my authority. Do not leave this area unless I call you. If anything hostile enters the grounds, kill it before it reaches the main hall."
The five wolves barked once.
The sound was short, low, and controlled. Then they moved. One entered the shadow beneath the rear wall, disappearing between the stones and the garden hedge. A second crossed the courtyard in a blur and vanished beneath the servants' quarter roofline. A third passed into the garden trees near the left side of the estate. A fourth moved toward the front gate, its body dissolving into the shade cast by the outer pillars. The fifth sank into the shadow beside the mansion's central hall. Within seconds, their presences settled into position around the estate in a five-point formation.
Noctis watched the formation complete and sighed.
"At least some of my subordinates make things simple."
No servant answered. Several looked as if they wanted to pretend they had not heard the remark. Noctis did not wait for a response. He stepped forward, and Genesis Step folded the courtyard away.
His body appeared before the Demon Realm gate.
The gate structure rose above him in black stone and red metal, its inner surface filled with layered portal light. Demon guards stood on both sides of the threshold, their spears angled upright. One guard began to straighten when he recognized Noctis, but Noctis had already crossed the approach. He did not stop to explain his destination. He stepped into the portal, and red-black light closed around his body.
The passage lasted only a moment.
He emerged at the demon portal stronghold, where the same townlike bustle filled the area around the gate. Demon merchants shouted prices from stalls built against reinforced walls. Beast carts moved between storage yards. Portal workers carried marked crates toward inspection tables. Soldiers passed through the main road in groups of three and five, their armor plates clicking as they walked. Abyssal lanterns burned in metal cages along the streets, and smoke from cooking fires mixed with the smell of iron, leather, roasted meat, and portal residue.
Noctis paid no attention to any of it.
He fully emerged from the gate, placed one foot onto the stone platform, and used Genesis Step again.
A merchant near the gate turned his head at the exact moment Noctis appeared. His mouth opened as if to speak, but the space where Noctis had been standing emptied before the first word left him. Another demon, carrying a bundle of chain hooks over one shoulder, stopped and stared at the platform. A gate attendant looked down at the arrival marker, then at the empty space above it. One nearby guard blinked twice and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Was someone there?" the merchant asked.
The gate attendant checked the portal register and frowned. "Someone arrived."
The guard looked at the empty stone. "Then where did he go?"
No answer came because Noctis was already gone.
He reappeared in the barren fields beyond the stronghold, standing on dry ground beneath a wide, open sky. The land stretched in uneven ridges, with cracked soil, low scrub, and distant rock formations that broke the horizon into jagged lines. He opened his Omni Eyes. The world separated into layered detail. Distance, terrain, aura residue, heat traces, and movement patterns became visible across the field. Genesis Step did not require roads. It did not require a prepared marker. If his Omni Eyes could reach a place and his body could sustain the displacement, he could cross the distance.
He scanned once.
Then he felt them.
Nocthyrael's blood connection lay ahead, steady and bright. Around her, the signatures of the fallen angels, Adrian, the Prelates, the Dread Judicators, and the Crimson Marshals gathered inside the captured fortress like blood marks arranged within a broken shell. He smiled faintly.
"There."
He stepped.
The field changed to a ridge.
He stepped again.
The ridge changed to a dry valley cut by old military tracks.
He stepped a third time.
The valley changed to a ruined border road where a broken Church marker lay split beside the path.
He stepped again.
Smoke appeared on the horizon.
He opened his Omni Eyes wider and fixed the fortress through the distance. The outer walls were damaged, the southern district burned, and a layered pressure field still clung around the structure from the Crimson Barrier and the incomplete remains of the holy barrier system. He did not need another route. He stepped one final time.
Less than two minutes after leaving the Academy grounds, Noctis appeared inside the captured fortress.
He arrived in the cathedral square directly before Nocthyrael.
She was standing beneath the prisoners when he appeared. Six angels hung above her in Crimson Chains, their wings spread and pinned open. Bishops, high-ranking clergy, commanders, and the robed senior authority remained suspended beneath them, their bodies near death but alive. Relic crates, scripture cases, sealed containers, and recovered holy weapons had been arranged in ordered rows along the broken statue base. Fallen angels stood at different points across the square, guarding prisoners, carrying supplies, or watching the surrounding streets. Smoke moved through the ruined avenues, and the southern district still burned behind the broken skyline.
For half a breath, Nocthyrael only looked at him.
Then her wings lifted.
She crossed the distance at once and wrapped both arms around him, holding him tightly against her. Her face pressed against his chest, and the crimson veins in her wings brightened as she drew in the confirmation that he was physically there. Noctis smiled and returned the embrace, placing one arm around her back and the other along her waist.
"You did well," he said.
Her arms tightened. "I wanted to bring you something worthy."
"You did."
The words moved through her more deeply than any formal reward. She remained against him for several breaths, not caring that the fallen angels could see or that the captured angels hung above them. Her joy did not break her composure completely, but it softened the sharpness in her expression and made the pressure around her wings pulse with visible satisfaction.
Across the fortress, the rest of the team felt his arrival.
In the lower cathedral, Adrian lifted his head from the barrier core. Selene's catalyst rings slowed and then steadied. Lucian looked up from the blood scripture sphere. Elias paused with abyssal blood threads extended into the cracked conduits. Damien held his ritual blade still against a damaged scripture seam. Kael's censer continued to release dark red vapor, and Rowan's blood scripture chains tightened around the cracked support frame without further movement.
At the outer gate, Darius stopped beside a line of recovered reliquary containers. Victorian turned his tower shield toward the square. Alaric rested his greatblade across his shoulder and looked in the direction of the cathedral. Cedric halted in the street he had been clearing. Matthias lowered his suppression chain blades. Gideon adjusted the rifle across his chest and shifted toward the square.
Among the fallen angels, Marcus, Victor, Ryan, Jason, Daniel, Nathan, Isaac, Julian, Aaron, Lucas, Ethan, Leon, Claire, Sophia, Elena, Eva, Lily, and Hannah all felt the same shift through the blood-bound formation.
Master had arrived.
Nocthyrael lifted her head after a few moments. Her eyes remained on Noctis, bright with satisfaction and anticipation. Noctis looked down at her, and when he lowered his face, she met him without hesitation. They kissed beneath the suspended angels and broken cathedral, surrounded by prisoners, relic crates, smoke, and blood-forged chains.
The kiss lasted until someone nearby cleared her throat.
Claire had approached with several sealed command ledgers in her arms. She stopped a respectful distance away and coughed once, just loud enough to interrupt without sounding careless.
Nocthyrael separated from Noctis slowly and looked toward Claire. She did not appear embarrassed. If anything, the faint smile on her face carried a possessive satisfaction that made Claire lower her eyes quickly.
"Master," Claire said. "The command ledgers have been recovered. Several rank seals are intact."
Noctis nodded, then looked across the square at the gathered team. The fallen angels stood among relic crates, sealed scripture cases, captured holy weapons, and bound prisoners. The Dread Judicators and Crimson Marshals held the perimeter while fallen clergy continued moving between the cathedral and the barrier chamber. They had taken the fortress, captured angels, preserved high-value prisoners, and begun securing the site before he arrived.
He gave them a single nod.
"Good job," Noctis said. "All of you performed well."
The gathered team lowered their heads at once.
"Master," they answered.
Noctis let the acknowledgment settle for a moment before his gaze moved past them to the figures suspended by Crimson Chains. The six angels hung highest, their wings forced open and fixed by chains stabbed through wing joints and limbs. Their halos remained visible but dim, their breathing shallow. Beneath them, bishops and high clergy hung with their wrists spread, throats restricted, and robes torn. Commanders hung lower, armor damaged, weapons removed, and bodies drained nearly to collapse. The highest surviving Church authority remained raised above the bishops, his robes marked by heavier scripture and his body held by multiple chains.
Noctis wrapped one arm around Nocthyrael's waist.
"Introduce me to what you captured."
Nocthyrael's smile widened immediately. She turned toward the prisoners with visible pride, placing one hand lightly over the arm he had wrapped around her. To her, the suspended angels, bishops, commanders, and relics were not only spoils of war. They were proof that she had acted well in his name. She had brought him living angels, high-ranking clergy, a fortress full of holy infrastructure, and enough Church records to justify the operation several times over.
"This way," she said.
She guided him beneath the suspended angels. Above them, the divine prisoners strained weakly against the Crimson Chains, but none had strength enough to resist. The bishops and commanders hung below with their heads lowered, breathing in shallow intervals. Noctis walked beside Nocthyrael with one arm around her waist, looking up at the captured prizes she had secured for him.