The two remaining transcendent demons moved the moment Dravon fell, their bodies blurring as they appeared on either side of Aurora. They didn’t attack, just hovered there, muscles tensed, expressions cold and cautious.
Aurora didn’t even spare them a glance. She simply floated where she was, hands behind her back, humming lightly as if surrounded by friendly neighbors rather than two hostile demons.
A few thick, tense seconds passed.
Then the crater below glowed red.
BOOM.
Dravon erupted from the pit in a pillar of fire, landing on the shattered ground with a heavy thud. His entire body steamed, scorched skin peeling off in flakes, only for fresh flesh to form underneath as the flames around him intensified.
He rolled his shoulders once. Bones cracked.
Then he smiled.
A wide, excited smile.
"I see..." he said slowly, voice still rough from the lightning burns. "So you’re an elemental. A demon friends with an elemental, now that’s a rare combination. You’re powerful. I’ll give you that."
Aurora waved a hand dismissively.
"No need to feel upset, dear. Life is full of ups and downs." She leaned closer with a sweet tone. "I’m just glad you managed to control your temper."
One of the other transcendents actually took a deep breath.
Dravon didn’t get angry this time. He laughed softly, as if talking to an old acquaintance instead of someone who just flattened him.
"How come an elemental like you is here? In a small world like Armus?" he asked.
Aurora pointed casually toward Primus, who was still floating nearby watching.
"He needed help. And my boss told me to assist," she answered lightly.
Dravon’s eyes narrowed with curiosity.
"Your boss, huh? Then maybe you can tell me your true identity."
Aurora tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Well... that’s complicated." A bright smile formed under her hood. "But if you insist, my position would be the vice leader of our group."
Across the battlefield, a mental curse exploded in my head.
’This fat bitch.’ Lyrate’s voice.
Ragnar added immediately, offended, ’Hold on. Who made her vice leader? When was this decided? And why was I not invited?’
Knight snorted quietly beside me. Even Aurora’s shoulders shook like she was trying not to laugh.
Dravon raised an eyebrow. "Vice leader of... what, exactly?"
Aurora pointed upward dramatically.
"You should ask that to my boss."
A pause.
Dravon scanned the sky, then the ground, then turned back with a blank face.
"And where is this boss of yours?"
Aurora answered completely straight:
"He’s here. But he’s too strong, so you can’t see him."
Dravon’s expression went flat.
"...Are you messing with me?"
"No! I swear!" Aurora said, raising one hand like taking an oath. "He’s really here. Just hiding. And he refuses to tell us the name of our organization. He’s terrible with names. His own name is like... alcohol, you only start liking it after you develop a taste for it."
I closed my eyes for a second. Knight was laughing silently beside me.
Dravon rubbed his forehead tiredly.
"So let me summarize," he said slowly. "You belong to an unnamed organization. Your leader has a terrible name. He is supposedly hiding right here but refuses to show himself. You are an elemental with unknown rank and unknown history. And despite everything, I’m expected to believe you’re not working with the Eternals."
Aurora nodded cheerfully.
"Exactly!"
Dravon closed his eyes for a moment as if praying for patience.
Then he looked at Primus again.
"You still need to prove your innocence," he said. "Because right now? Nothing you’ve shown convinces me otherwise."
Aurora tilted her head. ’Boss,’ her voice rang in my mind, amused, ’I think he wants you to come out.’
Ragnar grumbled, ’Tell her she’s not vice leader.’
Lyrate hissed, ’She absolutely is NOT.’
’I don’t want to show myself,’ I replied lazily. ’Just beat him until he agrees that Primus is innocent. And Lyrate, didn’t you say you were going to show us the effects of your torture on the envoy? Go ahead. We’re all eager to see.’
Aurora let out a dramatic sigh across the mind link.
’Why are you being shy now, of all times? I just gave you a perfect stage for entry.’
I ignored her completely.
Aurora giggled softly from beneath her hood, amused at my silence. Then she spread her fingers apart. Lightning danced through the air.
And she vanished.
A heartbeat later, three thunderclaps shattered the valley.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
Aurora appeared in front of Dravon, Korvath, and Mazikeen simultaneously. Three flashes of blue tore through the battlefield as she struck all three at once.
Dravon was blasted backward, skidding across cracked stone. Korvath spun through the air, smashing into an overturned chunk of mountain. Mazikeen spiraled downward, carving a trench with her impact.
The thousand-strong regiment behind them instantly shifted, weapons raised, formation tightening like a single organism preparing to counterattack.
But Dravon’s voice thundered across the valley:
"STOP."
Every armored grandmaster froze in place, not daring to disobey.
Aurora floated back a few meters, hands behind her back again, humming as if nothing happened.
That was the cue for Lyrate. She snapped her fingers lazily.
A sharp crack tore through the earth behind the Del Rey remnants. The ground split open, a narrow trench of darkness appearing beneath the envoy.
From inside it... something climbed out.
A wooden puppet, small, humanoid, made entirely of twisted roots and bark. Green light glowed from hollow eye sockets. Leaves sprouted along its shoulders. And instead of hands, two long vine-whips extended from its upper arms, twitching like hungry snakes.
The puppet crouched low.
Then—
CRACK!
It launched like a bullet and appeared directly in front of Gyros.
Before the envoy could even gasp, the puppet’s right whip lashed out, coiling around his neck with brutal precision.
Gyros’s eyes bulged. He clawed at the binding vine, but the puppet jerked its arm and slammed him into the ground.
BOOM!
A plume of dust shot upward as the envoy’s body rattled inside a freshly made crater.
Lyrate’s cheerful voice rang in the mind link:
’See? I told you I left him a surprise.’
Lyrate wasn’t done.
The puppet yanked Gyros upward again, dangling him like a trophy.
Knight clicked his tongue, half amused.
’What is your plan here?’ he asked.
I shrugged inside the hidden space.
’Nothing much. These guys don’t seem involved in Lana’s little scheme, so... I just want us to bond through beating.’