The red walls of the domain began to thin, receding like smoke. The ground returned to its familiar texture, cold and hard. Varek's men and women blinked repeatedly. Their faces were pale, and their hands were trembling. The control their chieftain had exerted over them vanished with his death, leaving them bewildered and exposed.

Then they saw him.

Kaiden. Not the man they had known. The Great Demon of Wrath still towered over them.

"Agh!"

"Monster!"

"Run!"

Their screams tore through the quiet that followed the end of the domain, and they bolted. Every instinct screamed for flight.

Despite the destruction around him, despite Varek's death, Kaiden did not shift back to human form. His massive frame remained, the horns still curved like bone over his skull, shoulders braced with unnatural muscle.

[Until the object of your Wrath ceases to exist, this state cannot end.]

The meaning was clear. The condition had been fulfilled. Varek was gone. Yet Kaiden did not return. He should have, yet he remained, caught in the aftermath of his own rage. His body throbbed with exhaustion, every fiber of muscle burning from the toll of the transformation. His mind swirled, fragmented, caught between what he had been and what he had become.

He stood alone in a strange limbo. The anger that had fed the demon had no target now, but it did not fade. His eyes scanned the fleeing crowd, uncomprehending.

And then he saw them.

Luna, Aria, Nyx, Bastet. Eyes wide, feet hesitant, yet closing the distance despite their mounting worries.

Such was the trust the Valkyries and his felinid shown him. Even in this moment, they all firmly believed he would not harm them. The girls understood that hurting his girls was against the very being of Kaiden Grey. Despite them demanding he treat them as warriors - which he did - he still wanted to be the man to carry the greatest burden.

He wanted to bleed in their stead.

He was ready to lay his life down for them.

To harm his lovers would be something he would not do, even in such a corrupted state of mind, evidenced by how he spared them from being involved in the red domain.

He might've lost control, but he did not lose who he was on the deepest level.

That's why they came closer.

"Kai…" Luna's eyes were teary as she reached forward.

"Master, return to us!" Bastet pleaded.

Nyx hugged his waist, not caring about the consequences.

Aria followed suit, hugging him from the other angle. She attached to him with all her might, refusing to get down.

He'd have to shake her down.

Despite hearing their words, Kaiden could not interpret them.

Their worry pressed into him like a physical force, yet his mind could not parse their voices. He only felt their presence, the pull of their concern, and the touch of their skin. Confusion pressed on him from all sides. Their faces, so familiar, now felt disturbed.

That was when, from the edges of the clearing, came other figures. Tessa and Geralt led them. One after the other, the various groups undertaking the expedition came running with their eyes scanning, weapons ready. Several others followed, moving cautiously toward the source of the otherworldly roar they heard.

"We heard… something," Geralt said warily.

Tessa's eyes swept the scorched ground, the broken warriors, the blackened air, then froze. "We couldn't reach you through the comms. What happened here?"

Then she saw him.

The creature. The Great Demon of Wrath still stood, motionless, with four worried women clinging to him, begging him to return.

The size, the posture, the raw, unnatural presence… it stopped all questions before they could be asked. Every mouth closed. Every breath held. Alertness rippled through the group.

Kaiden's gaze did not move toward them. His mind still waded through confusion, the echo of his wrath washing over him. He could feel the concern of his girls, the tension of the Awakened around him, but he could not respond. The words they spoke floated through his perception without meaning.

He was still the demon. And he was lost.

The group froze, torn between curiosity and instinct. Every one of them recognized the danger. This was not a human. This was a monster. Just like the ones they've been slaying all day… Though existing on a much more primal scale.

Their hands tightened on weapons.

"Get away from that thing!" Geralt barked toward the four women clutching his body. His eyes never left Kaiden, reading the unnatural tension in every line of muscle, every subtle twitch of movement. "Now!"

Tessa, however, saw something the man did not. The woman bit her lip, and her voice came barely above a whisper. "… That's Kaiden, isn't it?"

A ripple went through the group. Gasps, murmurs, whispers of disbelief. The confusion was immediate, raw. Eyes flicked to one another, scanning for signs of trickery or illusions.

Tessa's gaze fell on Caitlyn, who hung back, frozen. Then she searched the crowd and found Vaelira. The blonde, who had caused so many problems for her and the expedition, met her gaze. Vaelira's expression faltered, disbelief clear. She nodded. She knew it was him, for she'd seen him transform.

Geralt's voice cut through the rising tension. "I don't care if it's him! If he can't return to normal on his own, we have to restrain him! We capture him and work towards bringing him back to human!"

The words hit the girls like a physical blow. Instantly, as if connected by instinct, their protective instincts flared. They understood that on a logical level, the man was not proposing something wrong. He didn't even want to kill Kaiden, just capture him so that their professionals can try to ensure he returns.

But they also understood what capturing him meant. Many people ganging up on the love of their lives. Just as Kaiden did not care about logic when Varek suggested a harem swap, so did the girls reject the mere idea of letting them hurt their man.

To that end, they released their hold on Kaiden. They turned, forming a tight wall around him, blocking anyone who might step forward.

"Go away!" Bastet hissed while her eyes blazed with a territorial threat. They were not allowed to hurt her master!

"We'll deal with this. Stay out of it," Luna demanded. Her stance mirrored Bastet's, shoulders squared, every inch of her radiating warning.

Aria and Nyx moved in sync with them, closing ranks. The air grew taut. The awakened surrounding them paused, reading the sudden shift in posture.

And then the warning came from the edge of the clearing. A scout from Geralt's group, a woman with hair the color of fresh leaves, stumbled into view.

"Boss! Demon incoming!" she shouted with a panicked voice.

Heads turned, all attention snapping to the horizon. Shadows moved fast, shapes twisting and falling over one another. The ground trembled beneath them. The tension broke into immediate fear. "What's that… This is an entire horde!"

"Hundreds…"

"And they're moving strangely!"

Many worried shouts sounded from the ranks of the awakened. Indeed, there was something strange about the monsters.

Up until now, they moved like frenzied beasts, rushing toward humans to eat them alive.

But now… They formed ranks.

Kaiden's demonic head turned in their direction.

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