Red tapped the glowing rune on his armrest. The communication terminal expanded, projecting a crisp audio feed from the Third Continent directly into the sanctuary.

"Targets secured, Sovereign," Iron-Scale reported. The clink of star-iron chains echoed through the transmission. "They are completely incapacitated and stripped of their weapons."

[ Excellent work. ] Red replied, his voice projecting through the shattered crystal fragments scattered across the cavern floor miles below. [ Stand back from the prisoners. I am sending the extractor. ]

Red glanced down and saw Glitch practically vibrating with anticipation.

Red locked onto the exact coordinates of Iron-Scale’s mana core and tore a localized spatial rift directly above the bound Earthlings.

A glowing crimson prompt instantly materialized in front of his eyes:

[ BASE SUMMONING COST: 1,500,000 DP ]

[ SUSTAINMENT UPKEEP: 50,000 DP PER MINUTE ]

Glitch leaped off the throne room floor and vanished into the tear. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Down in the subterranean cavern, a jagged portal of absolute darkness ripped open near the ceiling. The ash-silver fox dropped gracefully onto the rocky floor, landing right between Chris and Megan.

Krax gripped his greataxe and took a cautious step backward. Gulag and Syra mirrored the retreat. They knew exactly what the Sovereign’s pet was capable of doing.

Glitch sniffed the surrounding space, its glowing blue eyes locking onto the radiant energy leaking from Megan’s scorched armor. The anomaly opened its jaws.

A terrifying vacuum effect was initiated. Threads of pure, blinding light violently ripped themselves from Megan’s chest and flowed directly into the creature’s mouth. Megan convulsed wildly against her iron chains. She shrieked as the stolen divine magic was brutally extracted from her core.

Glitch turned its attention to Chris. It bit down on the invisible spatial authority tethered to his body. Chris woke up instantly. His eyes snapped open in absolute terror as he felt his gravity magic shatter. The anomaly swallowed the hyper-dense energy whole, chewing on the raw physics before gulping it down.

The two Earthlings slumped against the dirt. Their golden armor dulled to a matte, lifeless gray. They were no longer Heralds. They were just ordinary, powerless humans.

Up in the orbital sanctuary, a surge of profound warmth flooded Red’s chest. The metaphysical cracks in his spirit stitched themselves closer together as the stolen essence returned to its rightful owner.

[ Soul Fragment Reclaimed. 2/14 Restored.]

[System Path Unlocked: Absolute Gravimetric Control.]

[Passive Ability Acquired: Spatial Anchor (Complete immunity to forced teleportation and gravitational displacement in your territory).]

’Two down,’ Red calculated. ’Twelve pairs left.’

Glitch wiped its muzzle with a paw and let out a satisfied chirp. The six-legged fox leaped straight upward, vanishing through the dark rift. It reappeared on the tiles of the orbital sanctuary and curled comfortably beside Red’s boots.

Down in the subterranean cavern, Iron-Scale looked at the two weeping humans. "Sovereign. The magic is completely gone. What are your orders regarding the captives?"

Red did not respond immediately. He leaned back against his throne and tapped a finger against the armrest.

’I want to snap their necks right now,’ Red thought, watching Chris sob into the dirt. ’I want to crush them for what they did. A quick death offers zero satisfaction. They need to see the end. They need to look up at the ’traitor’ they shoved into lockers and sacrificed for their own glory, and realize he became the god dismantling their entire world.’

Red activated the communication terminal.

"Keep them alive," Red commanded, his voice echoing from the shattered crystals scattered across the cavern floor. "Elder Syra, begin the interrogation. Extract the exact coordinates of the remaining twelve pairs and map every Aethelgard supply line on this continent. Break them down until they give you everything."

Syra smiled. She stepped forward and dragged the tip of her condensed shadow dagger across the stone floor. Chris and Megan scrambled backward against the cavern wall, their chains rattling violently against the bedrock.

"I will make this highly educational," Syra promised. Her silver scales caught the faint ambient light.

Up in the sanctuary, a secondary communication rune flared to life on the console. A new holographic window materialized next to the view of the cavern.

Two divine figures appeared in the projection. Ignisar manifested as a shifting column of crimson sand wrapped in tattered golden silks. Nyxara stood beside him, carved entirely from polished obsidian. The two native deities of the Third Continent bowed deeply.

[ System Notification: Incoming Video Transmission Request. ]

Red accepted it.

[ We watched the battle from our sanctum, Sovereign, ] Ignisar spoke. His voice crackled like burning embers. [ We harbor no more doubts. Your Vanguard dismantled the anomalies flawlessly. We are entirely convinced your empire can crush the Fourth Continent. And you did not even intervene. ]

Nyxara stepped forward, keeping her head lowered. [ We pledge our complete cooperation moving forward. Do you require anything else for your forces? Did you find the hospitality of our followers lacking in any way? Just tell us what you need and we will get it to you. ]

Red rested his hands on his lap and looked directly at the two native deities.

[ The hospitality is excellent, ] Red replied. [ I have no complaints. I appreciate you both going as far as to create a precise marching itinerary and logistical network. Coordinating that took a massive load off my head. ]

Ignisar dipped his head in relief. [ We exist to support your march, Primordial Warden. ]

[ I need fully detailed access to the map of the Third Continent, ] Red instructed. [ I want to plan the next phase of the invasion ahead of time. ]

Nyxara stepped forward slightly. [ It will be done immediately, Sovereign. We must warn you that we can only share the topographical data of the territory we still own. The other fifty percent of the landmass is already under the Fourth Continent’s control. Their divine barriers completely block our sight. ]

[ That is fine, ] Red answered. [ Send what you have to my network. ]

[ At once, ] Ignisar stated.

The transmission from the desert gods faded out, replaced by a massive influx of cartographical data downloading directly into his interface.

"I was expecting them to comment about my rank since they judged me before for being Rank 14," Red scoffed. "I guess they were too embarrassed to talk about it."