Suddenly Primus unsummoned his sword. The flames burning across his body faded, leaving only the raw pressure of his presence. He crossed his arms and floated there, staring down at Gyros as if the envoy were a child throwing a tantrum.
"Gyros," Primus said calmly, "I’ll wait for you right here. If you can even touch me, I’ll call this my loss."
Gyros’ eyes widened, then burned with rage and humiliation. His jaw clenched. His aura trembled violently.
Finally, he snapped.
"Domain!" he roared.
Red fire particles rushed outward, buzzing like insects. A ripple shot across the ground, and magma erupted upward as a huge orange-red domain blossomed around them. It encapsulated Primus and Gyros, heat twisting the air.
But before Gyros could act, Primus spoke one word.
"Explode."
The entire domain froze for a breath then cracked like shattering glass.
BOOM!
The lava, the pressure, the fiery seals everything blew apart.
Gyros stumbled back, coughing blood, shock etched into his face.
I smiled to myself.
That was Ragnar interfering, crushing the domain without revealing himself. Gyros had no idea. For him and everyone else it appeared as if Primus was the one acting.
"Come again, Gyros," Primus taunted.
The envoy finally broke.
"AHHHHHHH!!"
He let go of all composure and threw himself forward, flames erupting from his feet as he shot toward Primus like a burning arrow.
He never even got close.
Before he reached five feet from Primus, his body froze mid-air. A heartbeat later, he was slammed straight down.
BOOM!!
Gyros hit the ground so hard the earth cracked open, dust spraying everywhere. He groaned, shaky arms struggling to lift his body. Blood trickled from his forehead. His eyes were glassy, confused, and terrified.
Primus’ voice rolled across the battlefield, cold and unhurried.
"I’m giving you one more chance, Gyros," Primus said. "This will be your last chance to reclaim even a shred of the dignity you lost today."
Gyros gasped for breath, shaking violently as he forced himself up. Blood dripped from his chin. He tried to rise into the air again, but the moment he pushed his aura outward, his body trembled harder, like invisible chains were crushing him.
Then the pressure on him suddenly tripled.
His knees buckled, and—
BOOM!
His body slammed back into the ground, deepening the crater around him. Dust and broken stone flew upward as he lay there, groaning helplessly.
Primus let out a long, tired sigh.
"You’re useless," he said. "Get lost."
He raised his hand. Gyros’ broken body lifted helplessly into the air like a rag doll. Then Primus flicked his wrist.
Gyros shot across the battlefield so fast he vanished beyond the horizon, completely gone from the Valley of Warriors.
Primus didn’t even look in his direction. He turned instead toward the gathered armies. His aura surged, his voice booming across the valley like rolling thunder.
"The Del Rey leadership, Romothese, Herald, and Lana Del Rey colluded with Eternals and outside forces to take Armus for themselves," Primus declared. "From this moment onward, Armus belongs to the Bloodreaver family."
The valley vibrated with the weight of his words.
"We will defend this world," Primus continued, "and we will be the vengeance of Armus from this day forward."
He swept his gaze across the thousands of demons, Ronics, Bloodreavers, survivors of the Del Reys, his presence so heavy that even Grandmasters bowed their heads.
"Does anyone," Primus asked, his voice dark with promise, "have an objection?"
His gaze swept over the battlefield but everyone could tell who he was truly watching.
Platius.
Primus’ eyes locked onto him, unblinking, waiting for his answer.
Platius held the stare. His jaw tightened, his throat moved once as he swallowed, and silence stretched... until the tree Lyrate had summoned groaned loudly in the middle of the Del Rey corpses. Its roots twitched, scraping against stone.
Every demon around flinched, as though death itself had whispered in their ear.
The message was clear: choose wisely.
Finally, Platius inhaled sharply and lifted his chin.
"The Ronics have no objection," he declared, his voice booming across the valley.
Primus gave a single nod, almost casual as if he had expected nothing else.
Then his eyes shifted toward Orobas.
Orobas was already grinning. His aura crackled with excitement, and he burst into roaring laughter.
"Of course the Bloodreavers have no objection!" he shouted.
A thunderous cheer erupted from the Bloodreaver army, shaking the cracked ground beneath our feet. Their voices rolled across the scorched land like a victory drum.
Primus waited until the sound settled, then raised his hand for silence.
When he spoke again, his voice carried absolute authority.
"Every Del Rey Grandmaster will be taken prisoner," Primus commanded. "All remaining soldiers will report to the Bloodreaver commanders."
He paused, letting the words settle.
"All cities under the Del Rey family will be locked down and investigated for ties to the Eternals." His tone sharpened. "No one leaves those cities without permission. And finally the capital of Armus will become the capital of Bloodreavers."
Another beat of silence.
"Start moving out."
His command rolled across the battlefield like a final verdict. Demons everywhere straightened. Formations shifted. War banners unfurled again, this time in red, rising over the broken blue of the fallen Del Reys.
The Bloodreaver commanders were the first to move. They began rounding up the remaining Del Rey Grandmasters first, those who were still conscious enough to stand were bound in red chains, while the injured were dragged without ceremony.
The Del Rey masters were pushed together into a tight cluster, surrounded by layers of guards. They didn’t resist. Most of them looked too shocked or too terrified to even try.
Lyrate’s giant tree still towered behind them, its roots coiling and uncoiling like snakes made of wood. Even without moving, it radiated danger. Every Del Rey demon kept glancing at it, as if one wrong breath would trigger another massacre.
Out of the million soldiers who had marched here... maybe a hundred thousand remained alive. The rest had been wiped out in the wide-scale destruction. More than ninety percent of their Grandmasters were gone.
A crack of blue lightning shot across the torn battlefield.
Steve appeared beside Primus, his body still humming with leftover electricity. North arrived a second later, wind flickering around her blades. And finally Silver lowered the massive wind barrier he’d created. As it faded, thousands of shredded bodies hit the ground like broken leaves.
I felt a tug in my mind.
’I got him,’ Knight’s calm voice echoed across our link.
I smiled faintly.
’Good. Torture him a little. Make sure he never wants anything to do with Armus again.’
He had Gyros. The envoy had been plucked right out of the war zone without anyone noticing.