The silence that had settled around the small stream was abruptly broken, not by a natural sound from the forest, but by a distortion in space itself, as if reality had been forced open, tearing itself apart for an instant.

The air vibrated.

A heavy pressure fell upon the surroundings, dense enough to compress the leaves against the ground, while the temperature rose suddenly, carrying a smell of sulfur and burnt iron that did not belong to that world.

Strax did not move immediately.

But his eyes changed.

Albedo reacted first, his body tensing the instant his demonic perception triggered like an internal alarm, recognizing something that was not only demonic, but profoundly wrong, ancient, and laden with authority.

Shura stepped forward, positioning herself slightly between the creature and the source of that distortion, her muscles contracting as if ready to tear apart anything that dared to advance.

Then space gave way. It wasn't a clean or elegant opening.

It was a rupture.

Like an irregular tear in the fabric of the world, from which something slowly emerged, pushing reality itself aside as it took shape before them.

First came the shadows.

Then the heat.

And then, finally, the figure.

Tall.

Imposing.

With a presence that needed no movement to dominate the surrounding space, as if the environment itself recognized it as something not to be confronted lightly.

Its skin was dark, almost black, marked by old scars that seemed to pulse with their own energy, while its intense yellow eyes shone with a cold, calculating awareness that immediately fixed on the center of the group.

On the creature.

But it didn't move immediately.

It only observed.

Like someone who had finally found something they had been searching for for a long time.

"So…" his voice came out deep, drawn out, like the sound of stones being slowly crushed under constant pressure, carrying a distortion that made even the air vibrate around each word. "This is where you decided to hide."

The small creature stiffened for the first time since they had met.

It wasn't fear.

But it was reaction.

And that was enough.

In a movement that couldn't even be fully followed by the naked eye, the figure disappeared from where it was and reappeared directly in the center of the group, completely ignoring the distance that separated them as if it didn't matter at all.

Strax didn't even have time to finish a reaction.

The impact came first.

A brutal force struck his body head-on, throwing him backward with enough violence to tear the ground beneath his feet, opening a deep furrow in the earth as he was dragged several meters until he collided with the trunk of a thick tree, which split in two on impact.

Shura growled immediately, lunging with absurd speed toward the invader, her fangs bared and her claws ready to tear demonic flesh, but she stopped abruptly when she noticed something.

The creature was no longer there.

The demon held it.

In a single hand.

As if it weighed nothing.

The small creature was suspended in the air, held by the neck, its eyes now fixed on that figure with a different intensity, not of panic, but of recognition.

Albedo partially opened her wings, her demonic energy expanding around her body as her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Release her," she said, her voice laden with direct threat, without any attempt at diplomacy.

The demon didn't look at her.

Nor at Shura.

Only at the creature.

And then she smiled.

It wasn't a human smile.

It was something colder.

More cruel.

More ancient.

"You've caused quite a problem," he continued, observing the small creature as if he were analyzing a defective part that had escaped his control. "Escaping the underworld, traversing planes, destroying my trackers…" He tilted his head slightly. "…and still ending up here."

He finally looked up.

Directly at Strax.

Who was already standing again.

Unhurried.

Without any sign of real damage.

Just adjusting his neck slightly, like someone who had been inconveniently interrupted.

"And you…" the demon continued, now looking at the group as a whole, but clearly assessing only one of them. "I have to thank you."

Albedo narrowed his eyes even more.

"Do you think this is some kind of joke?"

The demon completely ignored her tone.

"You kept her safe." He slightly lifted the creature in his hand, as if demonstrating something. "Contained, distracted… protected."

He smiled again.

"That saved a lot of work."

Strax let out a low sigh.

Long.

Tired.

Not from effort.

But from patience.

"You talk too much," he said, his voice now completely different from before, lower, heavier, carrying something that hadn't been present in the previous moments.

The demon raised an eyebrow slightly, as if finally acknowledging that there was something there that deserved more attention.

"And you…" he replied, observing Strax more carefully now. "…are interesting."

He took a small step forward, still holding the creature.

"But irrelevant."

It was at that moment that it happened.

There was no explosion.

No scream.

No transformation.

Just… leakage.

Energy began to escape Strax's body slowly, almost lazily, like smoke rising from something extremely hot, but dense enough to completely alter the surrounding environment.

The air became heavy.

Not like before.

Different.

Deeper.

Ancient.

The surrounding leaves began to bend.

The ground creaked slightly.

And, for the first time since he appeared…

The demon stopped speaking.

His eyes narrowed.

Not out of arrogance.

But out of perception.

"…this is…" he began, his voice now less confident than before, as his attention fixed completely on Strax, ignoring everything else around him.

Strax slowly raised his gaze.

His eyes were different.

Darker.

Deeper.

As if something much deeper was looking through them now.

"You came looking for something," he said, his voice low, almost quiet, but carrying a pressure that made the air vibrate around each word. "And you interrupted my time."

He took a step forward.

The energy around him intensified slightly.

It didn't explode.

But it deepened.

Like an abyss being revealed little by little.

The demon—Kharzoth—finally recognized him.

And that became evident.

His body didn't recoil.

But his posture changed.

Subtly.

Instinctively.

"…what are you?" he asked, this time without any trace of superiority in his voice, but with something far rarer among demons of that level.

Caution.

Strax tilted his head slightly.

"Funny," he replied, still walking slowly toward him. "I was about to ask the same question."

The small creature, still held in Kharzoth's hand, looked between the two.

And then…

Something within her reacted.

The same invisible lines that had connected her to Strax before reappeared, stronger now, more visible even to those without refined perception.

The connection intensified.

And Kharzoth felt it.

His eyes widened slightly.

Not from fear.

But from genuine surprise.

"…no…" he murmured, glancing quickly from the creature to Strax, as if piecing together things that shouldn't fit. "…this doesn't make sense."

Strax stopped a few feet from him.

His gaze briefly dropped to the creature.

Then returned to Kharzoth.

"Let go," he said simply.

No direct threat.

No raising of his voice.

But the weight of those words was enough to make the ground beneath the demon's feet crack slightly.

Kharzoth tightened his hand slightly around the creature.

Not enough to hurt.

But enough to assert control.

"This…" he began, now with a smaller, more controlled smile. "…doesn't belong to you."

Strax didn't respond immediately.

But the energy around him shifted.

It didn't increase.

But… it concentrated.

As if it were all being compressed into a specific point.

"…last chance," he said.

And, for the first time since he had emerged from the underworld…

Kharzoth hesitated.

Not out of weakness.

But because, for the first time…

He really wasn't sure he was in control of the situation.

The silence that followed that hesitation wasn't empty, but charged with a dense, almost palpable tension, as if the very space around him were awaiting the decision that would define what would happen next.

Kharzoth was not a creature accustomed to doubt.

In the underworld, his presence was law, his strength was undeniable, and what he decided, happened. Creatures like him didn't survive for ages being reckless, but neither did they back down from common uncertainties.

But that…

That wasn't normal.

His yellow eyes remained fixed on Strax, analyzing not only the body before him, but that which subtly, almost invisibly, yet absurdly heavy, seeped out, as if he were looking at an open fissure in something much larger.

And what bothered him most…

Was the bond.

He glanced quickly at the small creature in his hand, clearly feeling that connection pulsing between it and Strax, like an invisible thread that shouldn't exist, not in that form, not with that nature.

"This isn't possible," he murmured, more to himself than to anyone else, his mind rapidly racing through everything he knew about rituals, seals, invocations, and underworld anomalies. "That wasn't created for this…"

Strax didn't answer.

But he took another step.

Slow.

Controlled.

And the ground responded.

A small fissure opened beneath his foot, not from impact, but from sheer pressure, as if reality were being forced to yield minimally to his presence.

Albedo watched everything with absolute attention, her body ready to react to any sudden movement, but there was something different now, something she rarely experienced.

She had no control over the situation.

And that bothered her deeply.

Shura, on the other hand, wasn't thinking in such complex terms at that moment. Her instincts were clear: the enemy was ahead, holding something it shouldn't, and Strax had given an order.

That was enough.

Kharzoth breathed slowly.

Once.

Twice.

Then he spoke again, now with a firmer voice, as if he had made a decision, even if it wasn't the most comfortable one.

"You don't understand what you're asking," he said, lightly tightening his fingers around the creature, keeping it still, but without crushing it. "This here…" he lifted the small silvery body slightly, "…isn't a lost animal, nor a curiosity you found in the forest."

Strax tilted his head, his eyes still fixed on him.

"I figured."

Kharzoth narrowed his eyes.

"She's a mistake," he continued, now with a heavier tone, closer to something personal than just a cold explanation. "An unstable fragment of something that should never have taken form. She was sealed for a reason."

The small creature remained silent, but its eyes were fixed on Strax.

Always on Strax.

The connection between the two pulsed again.

Stronger.

Clearer.

And this caused Kharzoth's expression to change more visibly this time.

"…this…" he murmured, now staring directly at that connection, his mind finally reaching a conclusion he clearly didn't like. "…this isn't just a coincidence."

Strax smiled.

Not a broad smile.

But a slight arch of the lips.

"It took you long enough."

Kharzoth ignored the comment, but his attention was completely focused now.

"You…" he began, analyzing more deeply, not just with his eyes, but with demonic perception. "…you are not human."

Strax didn't answer.

"Nor are you an ordinary demon."