Then Pho turned to Loryn, his attention shifting like a spotlight moving away.

"The experiment. Where are we with it?"

Loryn straightened immediately, his hollow voice taking on a clinical tone. "Nearly complete, Master Pho. I need to finalize the control mechanism, the binding magic that will direct it toward specific targets rather than indiscriminate slaughter."

"How long?"

"Two days. Three at most. I'm integrating a dark orb system that will lock it onto whoever bears the corresponding marker. Plant the marker on a target, release the experiment, and it will hunt until the target is dead or the marker is removed."

Pho nodded slowly. "And it can kill the yellow-eyed demon?"

"If he's what we think he is, Nightmare-rank or perhaps low Disaster-rank, yes. The experiment was designed to counter high-tier threats. Overwhelming physical power, regeneration, resistance to most magic types. It won't stop until its target is eliminated."

"Good." Pho's voice carried satisfaction. "I want it ready. The yellow-eyed demon has cost me Kragoth. When he shows himself again, I want him torn apart before he can do anything about it."

"It will be ready, Master Pho."

"One last thing, Loryn. If this experiment doesn't work out, I will make you a statue in my garden."

"Master Pho…"

The ice began to crack in the room.

"I thought I told you to release the experiment yesterday. And now it will take a few more days. I do not accept failure. Do you understand me?"

Loryn's arm froze all the way up to his neck.

Pho's blank white eyes moved back to Jack, studying him for a long moment.

The weight of that gaze was crushing, like standing under an avalanche that hadn't decided whether to fall yet.

"You three," Pho gestured at the generals without looking at them, "have already decided how to divide this one up, I assume?"

"He's choosing," Rynath said carefully. "Shadowing each of us to determine where he fits best."

"Smart." Pho's attention remained on Jack. "Letting the weapon choose its wielder. Unconventional, but I can see the logic."

He took a step forward, closing the distance until he stood directly in front of Jack, close enough that the temperature difference between them created visible distortions in the air.

"Let me be clear about something, small demon." Pho's voice dropped lower, carrying weight that made the walls seem to press inward.

"You impressed my generals today. You killed two Dread-rank warriors and made it look easy. That's noteworthy. But impressive and threatening are different things."

He raised one hand, and frost spread across the floor in a perfect circle, crackling as it formed a perfect circle around them.

"I am threatening. I am the reason this fortress exists. I am the reason demons follow orders instead of tearing each other apart. I am the absolute power on Floor 24, and nothing, not the yellow-eyed demon, not you, not even Ren changes that."

The frost spread further, climbing the walls, covering the ceiling, until the entire room was encased in ice that pulsed with pale blue light.

"You have balls. I appreciate that. But don't confuse boldness with power, and never confuse power with mine."

Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the frost receded. The ice melted back into nothing, leaving only a faint chill in the air and the absolute certainty that Pho could have killed everyone in the room without effort.

Pho stepped back, his blank white eyes moving across the four of them one final time.

"Train him. Test him. Use him however you see fit. But remember, everything in this fortress belongs to me. Including him."

He turned and walked toward the door, each step accompanied by the sound of frost forming and melting.

At the threshold, he paused and looked back at Jack.

"When you've finished shadowing my generals and made your choice, come find me. I want to see if those balls of yours are backed by skill or just stupidity."

Then Pho was gone, the door grinding shut behind him, leaving the four of them in sudden, oppressive silence.

Kaedor released a breath he'd apparently been holding for the entire exchange. "You challenged Pho to a fight. You actually challenged him to a fight."

"That was..." Loryn had a hard time finding the words. "Extremely bold. Possibly suicidal."

Rynath's serpentine eyes studied Jack with renewed intensity. "He liked you. I've never seen him respond to anyone like that."

Jack said nothing. His red eyes remained fixed on the door where Pho had exited, his mind processing everything he'd just witnessed.

Pho was stronger than Kragoth by an order of magnitude.

That casual display of ice magic, covering the entire room in seconds, maintaining it effortlessly, dismissing it just as easily, suggested power that dwarfed anything Jack had fought so far.

Disaster-rank differed greatly between a demon and a dragon.

And Jack had just challenged him to a fight.

'Well,' Jack thought behind his emotionless mask, 'that's one way to sell the cover.'

Kaedor straightened, attempting to recover his composure. "Right. Well. Now that Master Pho has... blessed this arrangement, shall we establish the order of shadowing?"

"I'll go first," Loryn said immediately. "My operations are the most complex. Understanding them will take time."

"No," Rynath countered. "I should go first. Intelligence work requires context that…"

Jack interrupted, his flat voice cutting through their renewed argument.

"I'll start with Loryn."

Both Rynath and Kaedor stopped, turning to look at him.

"Any particular reason?" Kaedor asked, his rings clicking together.

"I want to see the experiment before it's released," Jack said simply. "Understand what it is, how it works. If I'm going to be operating in this fortress, I should know what weapons we have."

The logic was sound enough that none of them questioned it.

Loryn's hollow eyes gleamed. "Excellent. Come to the flesh factory tomorrow at dawn. I'll show you exactly what we've created."

Jack nodded once, then turned toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Rynath asked.

"Barracks. I need rest after the fight." Jack looked back at them through his helmet's visor. "Unless there's something else?"

The three generals exchanged glances, but none of them had anything else to say.

Jack walked to the door, pressed his hand against it, and the runes flared as it opened. He stepped through without looking back, leaving the three generals to their own discussions.

The door shut behind him, and Jack began walking back toward the outer sections of the fortress.

Pho was the real threat. The generals were obstacles, but Pho was the final boss in every sense.

And Jack had just looked him in the eye and challenged him to a fight.

'S is going to love this,' Jack thought as he walked through the frozen corridors.

Jack walked back to the barracks.

The sound had mostly died down to what it was before his fight with Vox and Korr.

Demons clustered in groups.

Some were cleaning weapons, maintaining armor, or simply passing time between duties.

Others sparred in designated areas, their practice bouts creating rhythmic sounds of metal on metal.

The space was enormous.

Crude sleeping areas lined the walls, nothing more than slabs with thin bedding, but sufficient for demons who needed little comfort.

Eyes tracked Jack as he walked through the chamber.

Conversations quieted as he passed, then resumed in whispered tones once he'd moved beyond earshot.

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