He closed his fist around Bonras’s ring. A faint pulse of energy rippled outward as he scanned the contents internally. His expression remained calm, nothing unusual. Orobas flicked his wrist and returned the ring to Bonras.
"See?" he said. "That was simple. Now, you two. Your rings."
Luo swallowed hard. His hands trembled slightly.
"Ancestor... I truly don’t think...."
Orobas’s expression darkened.
"If you don’t hand them over," he said coldly, "we can take them by force."
The words hit them harder than any strike. Luo’s flames burst out in panic. And so did Revie’s. They turned around and shot into the air, trying to flee.
They didn’t get far.
Primus flashed behind Luo, fire exploding from his body as he struck the side of Luo’s head. The grandmaster went limp instantly, his flames snuffed out.
Steve appeared behind Revie the same moment, lightning snapping across his blade. He struck the back of Revie’s neck with the blunt side of his sword. Revie dropped like a stone.
Both bodies slammed onto the cracked courtyard stones and lay still, unconscious.
Orobas stared at the two defeated grandmasters, his expression tightening. His voice came out low and heavy.
"So they betrayed the family."
Dorian stepped beside him, jaw clenched and shoulders stiff. "What do you want me to do?"
Orobas didn’t look away from the fallen demons.
"Capture them. Summon everyone related to them, siblings, parents, cousins, all of them. Check their rings, check their homes. I am certain they were working with the Del Reys."
His eyes darkened, flames flickering faintly around him.
"And send a few more grandmasters to the capital. Things will not calm down easily now. For two Bloodreavers to betray their own bloodline... the Del Reys must have offered them something powerful. Something worth risking death for."
Dorian nodded sharply and signaled two nearby grandmasters. They moved quickly, binding Luo and Revie before carrying them away.
Orobas released a long exhale. It wasn’t weakness, just fatigue mixed with anger.
"I will need to rest," he said. "Today has taken too much out of me. Dorian, take charge of everything from here."
He turned to Primus then, his tone softening slightly.
"Primus, come with me."
Primus nodded once. He exchanged a quick glance with Steve then followed his grandfather into the sky.
With the elder generation now handling the aftermath, the tension in the air slowly faded. Demons continued putting out the remaining fires, lifting debris, guiding healers, gathering wounded. The chaotic battlefield finally began to settle.
Seeing that things were under control, I slipped away quietly. No one noticed as space folded around me. I teleported directly out of the city.
A moment later, I stood in front of a mountain deep in the forest beyond the city, far enough that no one would sense anything unusual from here.
A wide cave mouth opened before me. I stepped inside, walking slowly through the narrow tunnel. The air was cool and heavy, untouched by the chaos outside.
This place had been prepared yesterday night.
A hidden prison. The perfect place to hold the Phantom.
I reached the small stone chamber at the end of the cave, the faint light flickering off the walls, and felt a quiet pulse of deathmist inside. Knight had already delivered our captive.
The Phantom hung from the ceiling, wrapped tightly in a cocoon of shadows. The darkness pulsed faintly. Knight had already gone with the Envoy to keep tabs on him.
I stepped closer and placed a palm on the cocoon.
The reason I wanted this Phantom alive was simple: I wanted another summon.
I had managed to turn Lyrate into a summon using only a partial Phantom fragment. But the last time I fought a Transcendent Phantom, it had died too quickly. It left behind nothing usable, no core, no essence, no way to bind it. At the time I didn’t understand the reason.
I placed my hand on the shadow cocoon. The surface was cold and rough, like stone wrapped in darkness. A slow pulse vibrated under my palm, the unmistakable throb of deathmist. The Phantom was still alive, still a well of dark energy waiting to be shaped.
I reached inward and willed the summon-binding chains to activate.
The response came instantly.
A tug. A pull. A whisper from the chains inside my soul space, telling me they had found a suitable target.
A small smile formed across my lips. So it was possible. This Phantom could become my summon.
That meant my hypothesis was right: I failed with the previous Transcendent Phantom because I was still at the grandmaster level. My soul hadn’t awakened deeply enough to absorb a Transcendent being. Now that I had crossed the threshold, the chains finally recognized the prey.
I stepped back and snapped my fingers.
The shadows twisted for a moment, then unraveled. The cocoon broke apart like melting ink, releasing the Phantom. Its limp body dropped from the ceiling and slammed onto the stone floor with a dull thud.
It lay there in a sprawled heap, unmoving but breathing, its chest rising and falling slowly, deathmist leaking out in thin wisps.
I raised my hand, and the creature’s limp form lifted smoothly into the air, suspended by my will alone. I turned it slowly, observing every inch.
This one was far weaker than the Transcendent Phantom I had fought before. Its body lacked the dense deathmist patterns, lacked the pressure, lacked the terrifying weight. Nothing about it stood out.
If I had to guess, it wasn’t even level 310 in overall strength.
I clicked my tongue and scoffed under my breath.
"Useless."
Still floating above me, the Phantom twitched weakly. I ignored it and summoned Ragnar.
A red circle formed beside me. Ragnar stepped out of the circle with a grin already stretching across his face. The moment he saw the Phantom hovering in front of him, his eyes widened in amusement.
"Hoooo? Now what do we have here?" he said, voice tinged with excitement.
"A Phantom," I replied. "But far too weak to be useful. You can absorb him. It should help boost your strength a little."
"Really?" His grin widened even more. He slapped my back with enough force to crack the stone beneath my feet. "Now that’s what a brother should do. Helping other brothers out."
I shook my head. "Don’t get used to it."
He laughed, stepping toward the floating Phantom.
"I’ll wait outside," I said, turning away. "Finish it quickly. I have somewhere else to be."
Ragnar nodded eagerly, already letting tendrils of his Crimson mist flare out.
I didn’t stay to watch. I flashed out of the chamber, leaving Ragnar to his meal.