A low, furious roar answered Lucy. The bars rang. A massive clawed hand, black-scaled and easily the size of a man’s torso, wrapped around two of the bars and pulled. Metal groaned.
Vespera’s living eyes narrowed. "Pit-wyrm blood. Mixed with something else. It is not pure demon."
Serakel’s third eye glowed. "There is a binding under the cage floor. Old. Ugly. It keeps the creature from using its full strength."
Isha bounced once on her toes, slime already curling at her fingertips. "Can we keep it? I want to keep it."
The Reverend Mother Superior looked at her. "No."
"You are no fun," Isha said.
Levi walked closer. The golden barrier expanded just enough to make the nearest demons take another step back. He stopped directly in front of the cage and looked in.
The creature was huge, folded uncomfortably inside the space. Black scales covered thick muscle. Two curved horns swept back from a long head. Eyes like molten copper glared out at him with pure hate. Chains of the same dull red metal they had seen in the outer dark wrapped its chest and hind legs, sinking into the scales.
’Another leftover the witches never bothered to finish.’
The pit-wyrm hybrid slammed against the bars again, this time aiming for him. The golden barrier took the impact without effort. The creature snarled in frustration.
Ravka pushed through the crowd and dropped to one knee a short distance away. "Master. That one was taken from the lower trenches three cycles ago. Too strong to kill cleanly, too valuable to waste. The previous street-lords used it for pit fights and debt collections. It has killed forty-three demons and two half-bloods since it was caged."
Lucy whistled low. "Ambitious number."
Vespera’s voice was cool. "And now it is ours to deal with."
Levi studied the red chains. The same metal the Bound Remnants had worn. Old authority. Incomplete.
He raised one hand. Gold light gathered in his palm.
[Expending 3,500 Aether]
[Sovereign Domain: Chain Override]
The gold light sank into the dull red chains. They shuddered, blackened, and cracked. The pit-wyrm hybrid’s copper eyes widened as the bindings that had held it for cycles suddenly failed. With a sound like breaking bone the chains fell away in pieces.
The cage was now the only thing keeping it contained.
The creature went still for half a heartbeat. Then it threw its full strength against the bars. One thick iron rod bent outward with a scream of metal.
Demons scattered. Someone shouted. Someone else started taking bets.
Lucy’s blade cleared its sheath. "Here we go."
The bars gave way.
The pit-wyrm hybrid exploded out of the ruined cage in a surge of black scales and fury. It landed on four powerful limbs, claws gouging deep furrows in the ash, and roared loud enough to shake dust from the nearby towers. Copper eyes locked on Levi.
It charged.
Levi did not move. The golden barrier flared bright. The hybrid hit it at full speed and bounced. The impact sent a shockwave across the square. Stalls rattled. A few of the more fragile demons fell over.
’Still predictable.’
The creature recovered fast and lunged again, jaws open wide enough to bite a horse in half. Levi stepped aside at the last moment, planted one hand on the side of its long neck, and let the Sovereign Domain flow.
[Expending 5,000 Aether]
[Direct Claim Attempt]
Gold light flooded into the black scales. The pit-wyrm hybrid thrashed, tail whipping hard enough to shatter a stone pillar. It tried to turn its head and bite the hand that marked it. Levi held on.
Lucy flashed in from the side and cut a deep line across one of its hind legs to keep it from pivoting. Vespera sent a spike of pure cold into its opposite shoulder, slowing the muscle. Serakel’s force struck the base of its skull with surgical precision, disrupting its balance. Isha’s slime wrapped around its muzzle and held the jaws shut for three critical seconds. The Reverend Mother Superior simply stood ready, light gathered in both palms in case something needed erasing.
The hybrid crashed to the ash, thrashing. Gold light continued to spread under its scales in branching veins. The furious copper eyes flickered.
[Target: Pit-Wyrm Hybrid]
[Desire Level: 0% → 100%]
[Claim Complete]
The thrashing stopped. The great body shuddered once and then went still except for heavy breathing. The copper eyes, now rimmed with gold, focused on Levi with clear recognition.
Levi removed his hand from its neck and stepped back.
"Up."
The pit-wyrm hybrid rose slowly to its full height. It was even larger outside the cage, easily the size of a heavy wagon with limbs. Black scales still smoked faintly where the gold mark had burned in. It lowered its long head until one massive horn nearly touched the ash in front of Levi’s boots.
A deep, rumbling sound came from its chest. Not a roar. Something closer to acknowledgment.
Lucy lowered her blade, impressed. "You just claimed a war-beast in the middle of the street. The bazaar is going to talk about this for cycles."
Vespera nodded once. "They are already talking."
Around the square, demons stared. Some had dropped to their knees. Others were rapidly revising every plan they had made for the day.
Isha clapped her hands, delighted. "Can it fly? Please tell me it can fly."
The hybrid turned its gold-rimmed copper eyes toward her and made a low negative sound.
"Tragic," Isha said.
The Reverend Mother Superior looked at the destroyed cage, the shattered pillar, and the general wreckage of the square. "We have been here less than an hour."
Serakel’s third eye dimmed with quiet satisfaction. "Efficient."
Levi rested one hand on the hybrid’s scaled neck for a moment, sealing the claim. Then he turned to Ravka, who still waited on one knee.
"The beast is mine. The square is mine. Clear the wreckage. Spread the word further. I want every corner of the Ashen Bazaar to know the new order before the next dark cycle turns."
Ravka bowed until her forehead nearly touched the ash. "At once, Master."
Levi looked at the five women and the newly claimed war-beast standing quiet under the gold mark.
’Engaging enough. The bazaar is folding. Next we take the towers and whoever thinks they still run them.’
He started walking toward the tallest of the bone-and-metal towers that overlooked the square. The pit-wyrm hybrid fell in behind him like a massive scaled shadow. The five women matched his pace, already trading low comments about which tower looked the most insulting and therefore needed to be visited first.
The Ashen Bazaar watched them go and decided, with remarkable speed, that loyalty to the Sovereign was the healthiest business decision available.