The notification had appeared in his vision minutes ago, triggered by the thunder strikes he'd been calling down on the fortress.

Each bolt was precise, targeting clusters of demons with ruthless efficiency.

Guards on the walls.

Patrols in the courtyards.

Anyone, whether they were important or not, was struck at random.

Twenty-five deaths in ninety seconds wasn't difficult when you could call lightning from the sky.

{Jack? Your eyes are... they're glowing. Like, really glowing. What's happening? Is this another Soul Warden thing? Because it's kind of terrifying and I'm on YOUR side!}

Jack ignored Oscar's commentary, his attention fixed on Rynath.

The serpentine general was still on her knees, her wounded shoulder bleeding through the makeshift bandage she'd managed to apply.

Her eyes tracked his movements with a mixture of fear and fascination.

"Hurry up," Jack said, his flat voice somehow carrying more menace with the red glow illuminating his features. "I have things to do."

His tone left no room for argument or delay.

The blood contracts needed to be signed. All 5,732 demons in these cells needed to be bound to him before he could move to the next phase.

And with the fortress now in chaos from his thunder strikes, time was critical.

Rynath nodded quickly, pushing herself to her feet despite the pain in her shoulder.

"Yes, Master. I'll begin immediately. But the sheer number… it will take time to…"

"Then work faster," Jack interrupted. He turned toward the exit, his red eyes leaving trails of light in the dim chamber.

"Get them all signed. Every single demon. I don't care how long it takes or what you have to do. When I return, I expect this army to be ready."

{Where are we going? Please tell me we're going somewhere less creepy than this prison. Though given your current state, I'm not sure anywhere is going to be less creepy when your eyes are glowing like demon stop lights!}

Jack didn't answer, already moving through the corridor that led back toward the fortress.

His enhanced speed from Blood Frenzy made the journey faster, his boots barely seeming to touch the ground as he navigated the passages.

The thunder continued above, each strike sending tremors through the structure.

Jack could feel each impact, could sense the demons dying as his lightning found its targets.

The kill count was climbing steadily, feeding into his enhanced state, making him stronger with each death.

{Okay, seriously, what is happening to you? This is different from the Demonic Frenzy thing. Your eyes weren't glowing like this before. Is this a new ability? Did you level up? TALK TO ME!}

'Blood Frenzy,' Jack thought, finally responding to Oscar's increasingly frantic questions.

'Triggers when I kill enough enemies quickly enough. Temporary power boost.'

{Oh. Oh! That's actually pretty useful! Though the glowing eyes thing is definitely going to blow your cover if anyone sees… wait, you don't CARE about your cover anymore, do you? You're done hiding. That's what the thunder strikes are about. You're announcing yourself!}

'Exactly. The only down side to this state is without this Frenzy Crystal, I can't control myself and then there is the HP drain from being in this state.'

{WHAT!!! You mean you could die from being like this???}

'Yes technically, but eating a demon heart when it's over will make the side effect go away. Not to mention my bracelet and ring will continuously heal me as long as I kill something. And considering how many forces Pho has. I could keep this Frenzy up for hours, maybe a day if I kill every demon I plan on contracting.'

Jack emerged from the stairwell into the main fortress corridors.

The chaos was getting worse by the second.

Demons running in every direction, some toward defensive positions, others simply fleeing.

Guards shouted orders that no one followed.

The carefully maintained structure of Pho's operation was crumbling under the assault of lightning from above.

He moved through the confusion like a ghost, his red eyes tracking movement but his path never deviating.

The vaults. That was his next target.

Kaedor's treasury, where Pho stored his wealth that funded his entire operation.

The corridor opened out into the open, and Jack slowed his pace as he approached the massive reinforced doors that led to the vault section.

The security here was different from the rest of the fortress.

Multiple layers of enchantments, physical barriers, and guards posted everywhere despite the chaos going on.

But Jack wasn't looking at the defenses.

His red eyes fixed on a figure standing perhaps a hundred feet from the vault entrance.

A demon, skeletal and gaunt, his stitched-together face caught Jack's gaze that tracked Jack's approach with obvious interest.

Loryn.

{Oh. OH NO. That's Loryn. The mad scientist general. The one who's been looking for the yellow-eyed demon.}

Jack's hand tightened on Oscar, his enhanced strength from Blood Frenzy making the spear feel almost weightless. His red eyes glowed brighter as he locked gazes with the general who stood between him and his objective.

The thunder continued to echo above them, each strike a reminder of the power Jack had already displayed. But Loryn didn't look afraid. He didn't look concerned.

He looked fascinated.

As Jack got closer the thunder died out.

Jack approached the skeletal general slowly, his red eyes glowing brighter with each step.

Loryn watched him come, tracking Jack's movement with obvious fascination.

The destruction the thunder had caused left smoke rising from multiple areas, demons shouting in the distance, the fortress itself groaning from structural damage.

When Jack was perhaps ten feet away, Loryn dropped to one knee.

The motion was fluid despite his skeletal frame.

His stitched-together face tilted downward, his eyes closed in submission, so much so that it looked almost reverent.

"Soul Warden," Loryn said, his voice sounding in awe. "I offer you my life, my knowledge, and everything I am is yours to command as you see fit."

Jack stopped, Oscar held loosely in his grip, his red eyes boring into the kneeling general.

He said nothing, simply waited, evaluating the demon who claimed sudden loyalty after being one of Pho's most trusted commanders.

{Wait, he's... kneeling? He KNOWS you're the Soul Warden? How does he know? And why is he surrendering? This seems... suspicious? Or am I just paranoid?}

Loryn's head remained bowed, his skeletal hands pressed against the frozen ground in a gesture of complete submission.

The silence stretched, growing heavier with each passing second.

Finally, Jack spoke.

"Cut yourself."

The command was delivered in the same flat tone Jack always used, carrying no emotion.

Just two words that would prove whether this display was genuine or performance.

Loryn's bone-thin hand moved immediately to the blade at his belt. He drew it and without hesitation, without even a moment of pause, he pressed the blade against his left palm.

The wound was deep, far deeper than necessary to prove a point.

Dark blood welled from the slash, spilling over his skeletal fingers to drip onto the frozen ground.

Loryn's eyes never left the ground, his expression showing no pain, no discomfort, just absolute obedience to the command he'd been given.

"As you command, Soul Warden," Loryn said, his voice steady despite the blood now pooling at his feet. "My flesh, my blood, my very existence, all of it belongs to you now."

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