The impact of the landing was heavy, but controlled, as if Strax's own colossal weight respected the ground he had just saved. His white wings slowly folded as his draconic form diminished, scales vanishing like dissolving mist, until his human figure reappeared amidst the scorched earth.

The heat still lingered in the air, slightly distorting the vision above the devastated ground, while the smell of ashes and dissipated demonic energy filled the silent forest. Not even insects dared to make a sound at that moment.

Strax ran his hand over his neck, as if he had just done something trivial, and let out a small, bored sigh as he observed the destruction ahead.

"There," he murmured, with a slight smile. "Problem solved."

Shura walked a few steps forward, his paws pressing into the still-warm earth, analyzing the scene with experienced eyes, like a predator assessing the result of a successful hunt.

"You erased everything," she commented calmly, with no real surprise in her voice, just pure realization of the absurd level of power she had just witnessed again.

Albedo crossed her arms, her black wings slowly retracting as she watched the remnants of demonic energy dissipate into the air.

"There wasn't even enough essence left for regeneration," she said analytically. "They were completely erased."

Behind them, the small silver creature didn't look at the destruction.

She stared at Strax.

Fixedly.

Her eyes shone differently now, more intensely, more… decisively, as if something inside her had been confirmed at that moment.

Strax noticed.

Of course he noticed.

He turned his face slowly, meeting the small creature's gaze, and for a brief moment just observed her in silence, as if waiting for her next move.

"Are you analyzing me now?" he asked, with a slightly amused tone. The creature tilted its head.

Slowly.

Then it began to approach.

Small, soft, almost silent steps on the scorched ground, completely ignoring the residual heat that still emanated from the earth.

Albedo immediately narrowed his eyes.

"Strax."

He raised his hand slightly, without looking back.

"I know."

The creature stopped a few steps from him.

And then did something different from everything it had done so far.

It raised both paws.

Not just one.

Both.

And held them in the air, as if it were… trying to reach for something.

Strax arched an eyebrow.

"Okay."

He tilted his head slightly, observing more closely now.

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

The creature took another small step forward.

And then touched him again.

This time it wasn't just on the chest. One of his paws rested on his heart.

The other… rose.

It rested higher up.

Near his neck.

The touch was still light.

But different.

There was intention there.

Something clearer.

More… direct.

Strax remained motionless for a few seconds.

Not out of incapacity.

But by choice.

He was feeling.

Observing.

Analyzing.

His eyes darkened slightly as his perception expanded inward, trying to capture any alteration, any interference, any kind of connection being formed.

Nothing.

No pain.

No invasion.

But…

Something was there.

Subtle.

Almost imperceptible.

Like an extremely thin line being pulled somewhere deep.

Strax narrowed his eyes slightly.

"…Interesting."

Albedo took a step forward, clearly uncomfortable now.

"What is she doing?"

Strax didn't answer immediately.

He was still observing the creature.

Sensing.

Then he spoke, without taking his eyes off her:

"Good question."

The creature kept its paws on him for a few more seconds.

Then it closed its eyes.

For a moment…

The air around them changed.

It wasn't an explosion of energy.

Nor an oppressive aura.

It was something more subtle.

Deeper.

As if something invisible had shifted slightly outside of normal perception.

Shura noticed.

His body tensed again, not from fear, but from pure instinct reacting to something he couldn't name.

Albedo felt it too.

His golden eyes narrowed even more.

"…Strax."

He answered calmly:

"I know."

The creature opened its eyes again. Then he lowered his paws.

He took a small step back.

And… he sat down again.

As if he had finished.

Silence returned.

Strax remained still for a few more seconds.

Then he moved his shoulders slightly, as if testing his own body.

Everything normal.

But still…

Not completely.

He looked at Albedo.

"Question."

She answered immediately:

"Yes."

Strax crossed his arms.

"Have you ever seen anything like this?"

Albedo hesitated.

Which, coming from her, was already an answer in itself.

She looked at the creature.

Then at Strax.

And then shook her head slowly.

"…No."

Strax raised an eyebrow.

"Not even close?"

Albedo took a deep breath, organizing her thoughts.

"No."

She crossed her arms more firmly now.

"Actually…"

She looked at the small creature again.

"…I'm not even sure if this is a demon."

Silence fell again.

Shura looked at her.

"It isn't?"

Albedo replied with rare sincerity:

"It doesn't fit." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

She began to walk slowly around the creature, analyzing it more carefully, her eyes gleaming slightly as her perception tried to dissect it.

"The energy is partially demonic," she explained. "But it doesn't follow any known structure."

Strax watched silently.

Albedo continued:

"It doesn't have a clear infernal signature." She frowned slightly.

"But it's not divine either."

Shura murmured:

"Then what is it?"

Albedo stopped.

He looked directly at the creature.

And replied:

"…Something strange."

The small creature just blinked back.

As if all that analysis meant absolutely nothing to it.

Strax chuckled softly.

"Great."

He ran a hand over his face.

"So we have an unknown creature, that writes invisible symbols, says it's connected to me…"

He looked at her again.

"…and now does things inside my body that even you can't explain."

Albedo crossed his arms.

"Basically."

Shura let out a small snort.

"Looks like you've got a problem."

Strax smiled.

"Or something interesting."

The small creature tilted its head again.

And then, slowly…

It approached him once more.

Without fear.

Without hesitation.

As if, regardless of what it was…

It had already decided one thing.

It would stay.

…

Hours passed in the underworld, though the concept of time there was distorted, dragging on like thick lava descending endless slopes. Still, there was a constancy that not even that chaotic realm ignored.

The dogs should have returned.

Or, at least, some sign should have been felt.

Kharzoth stood on the same balcony of the fortress, observing the red horizon pulsating like an exposed heart. The hot wind carried ashes through the air, and the shadows of distant mountains shimmered beneath the glow of the lava flows.

Behind him, the demons remained silent.

No one dared speak.

Because everyone had already noticed.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Kharzoth slowly closed his eyes.

His perception expanded.

Not like ordinary magic.

It was something deeper, more primal—a natural bond between creator and creature, between master and tracker. Each of those dogs carried a fragment of his mark.

He should feel them.

Even from a distance.

Even across planes.

But now…

Nothing.

His eyes slowly opened.

And, for the first time since entering that fortress, something changed in his expression.

It wasn't surprise.

Not exactly.

It was… irritation.

A cold, growing irritation, like a flame being slowly fed.

"Interesting…" he murmured, his low voice echoing through the columns of bone.

One of the lesser demons swallowed hard.

"Sir…?"

Kharzoth didn't answer immediately. He slowly raised his hand.

A black flame surged in his palm again, this time more intense, more unstable. Small fragments of energy detached from it like sparks being forcibly torn away.

He closed his fingers.

The flame did not go out.

It… fragmented.

And each fragment represented a link.

A dog.

A tracker.

One of his eyes on the world.

Kharzoth watched.

One.

Two.

Three.

Fragments began to fade.

Not slowly.

Not gradually.

They simply… disappeared.

As if they had never existed.

The air around him grew heavier.

Another fragment went out.

And another.

And another.

None of them returned.

None of them fought hard enough to maintain the link.

They simply… ceased to exist. Behind him, one of the demons took an involuntary step back.

"Lord…"

Kharzoth clenched his fist tightly.

The black flame was completely crushed.

The silence that followed was absolute.

Then he spoke.

"All."

A single word.

But laden with something far worse than anger.

Certainty.

He slowly turned his face over his shoulder.

His eyes now gleamed with a dangerous intensity.

"All eliminated."

The group of demons froze.

None of them dared to answer immediately.

Why this…

This wasn't normal.

Demon dogs could die.

Yes.

But not all.

Not at the same time.

Not without leaving absolutely no trace.

One of the oldest demons, with skin marked by ancient runes, finally spoke, his voice tense.

"…That means she found something."

Kharzoth turned completely now.

His gaze pierced the group like a blade.

"No."

He began to walk slowly towards them. Each step echoed heavily on the stone floor.

"That means…"

He stopped.

"…that something found her."

Silence returned.

Heavier.

More suffocating.

One of the demons tried to maintain composure.

"Sir… perhaps it's just interference. The mortal world can—"

Kharzoth raised his hand slightly.

The demon stopped immediately.

Without daring to finish the sentence.

"No."

The word was spoken with absolute certainty.

Kharzoth closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if rearranging very old thoughts.

"I know those creatures."

He opened his eyes again.

"Even weakened… even in reduced numbers…"

His voice grew lower.

"…they don't die like that."

He looked at the emptiness ahead.

But clearly he wasn't seeing the fortress.

He was seeing beyond. Far beyond.

"No resistance."

"No escape."

"No return."

Another demon whispered:

"…annihilation."

Kharzoth smiled.

Finally.

But there was no humor there.

"Exactly."

He turned again towards the horizon of the underworld.

The distant flames reflected in his eyes like warped mirrors.

"Something in the mortal world eliminated an entire squad of demonic trackers…"

He tilted his head slightly.

"…in a few hours."

The hot wind blew stronger.

As if the underworld itself were reacting to it.

One of the demons asked hesitantly:

"Sir… could this be… a hero?"

Kharzoth let out a small sound.

Almost a laugh.

But laden with contempt.

"No."

He began to walk again.

This time towards the entrance of the fortress.

"Heroes leave traces."

He passed the demons.

"They fight."

"They resist."

"They die."

He stopped at the dark entrance of the destroyed prison.

He looked inside.

At the void from which the creature had escaped.

And then concluded:

"This…"

His voice grew lower.

"…erased everything."

The silence was total.

Then he turned his face slightly.

Just enough for his voice to reach everyone.

"Prepare a portal."

The demons exchanged glances.

One of them hesitated.

"Lord… personally?"

Kharzoth answered without hesitation.

"Yes."

He began to walk into the darkness of the prison.

As if revisiting an old mistake.

"If it's loose…"

His voice echoed off the broken stone walls.

"…then it's no longer just an underworld problem."

The broken chains on the floor began to vibrate slightly as he passed.

As if they still remembered what they had tried to contain.

Kharzoth paused for a moment.

And looked at the deep marks on the walls.

Claws.

Small.

But absurdly powerful.

He touched one of them.

The surrounding stone shattered easily.

"…And if it really is in a living body…"

His eyes gleamed again.

"…then someone has already found it."

The smile returned.

Wider.

More dangerous.

"Great."

He turned.

And walked back to the exit.

"I was getting bored." High above, in the mortal world, the forest still carried the heat of the white flames that had extinguished the demonic army.

And beside Strax…

The small silver creature remained.

In silence.

As if none of it was a coincidence.