The cliff above the abyss still smoked.

Wind carried the stench of ash and burned stone, mixing with the copper tang of demon blood. Fires flickered in broken cracks, glowing like embers that refused to die.

We had survived Varaxis' test. But survival came with a price.

Selena leaned on her halberd, breath ragged. Her armor hung in shards, skin blistered from fire. Rena crouched on one knee, gripping her blades while blood dripped from her arms. Nana sat with his back against a broken wall, shield lying beside him. Clarissa pressed crimson liquid against wounds, her hair wet with sweat. Malrik's rift twitched open and shut, unstable after channeling too much void.

The fire dome had nearly crushed them.

I looked at them in silence. Noa pulsed inside my gauntlet, voice calm but low.

"My Lord, your army is at thirty-eight percent capacity. Recovery time required. Suggestion: rest before further engagements."

Rest. The word felt foreign in Hell.

But they deserved it.

"Gather in the ruins," I commanded. "We recover here."

They obeyed without question. Even Selena, who usually smirked in the face of pain, bowed her head and moved to the broken altar of Crowmere.

We made camp in the cathedral's skeleton. The shattered roof left only the black sky above. Moonlight filtered through cracks, silver beams crossing the floor where holy statues once stood. Those statues lay in rubble now, their faces broken, their blessings silent.

Clarissa was the first to move. She knelt among the wounded, vials of chilled blood dangling from her belt. She opened one, pouring it over Nana's scorched arm. Steam hissed as the wound knitted together.

"Bite down," she whispered.

Nana obeyed, clenching his jaw while the blood mended flesh and nerve. His shield arm twitched once, then steadied. "Tch. Burns sting worse than blades."

Clarissa smiled faintly, though her eyes were tired. "Pain is proof you still live."

Selena chuckled, voice hoarse. "That explains why you look half-dead, Clarissa."

Clarissa didn't reply. She simply moved on to Rena, pressing another vial into her chest wounds. Rena hissed softly but didn't flinch. Her eyes remained on me.

"My Lord," she said, voice low, "they underestimated us. Varaxis thought fire could consume us. But we endured."

I nodded. "Yes. And for enduring, you'll grow stronger."

Noa spoke in my arm, louder now. "Correct. The stress endured inside the fire dome has accelerated their potential. Several are showing signs of evolution. With guidance, they may advance beyond their current forms."

Selena tilted her head, smirk forming despite her burns. "Evolution? Finally."

Rena's lips curved slightly. "Show us, My Lord. Shape us into more than weapons."

I raised my gauntlet. Shadows rippled across the floor, reaching each of them like black veins. "Then listen. Tonight, Silence strengthens you."

One by one, I placed the gauntlet on their bodies.

Selena first. The gems on Noa's surface glowed faintly as my aura sank into her. Her skin shivered, ice and shadow fusing into something harder, sharper. Her halberd rattled in her hand. Crystals formed along its shaft, darker than obsidian but colder than frost.

She exhaled a breath of mist. "I feel… heavier. But sharper. Like ice that doesn't melt."

Noa confirmed. "Selena has unlocked [Frozen Abyss Form]. Her body resists flame, her strikes carry freezing entropy. Effective against elemental foes."

Selena grinned, swinging her halberd to test the weight. The stone floor cracked with frost. "Perfect. Next time, I'll shatter their flames with one blow."

Rena came next. Her aura was already unstable, fire and shadow still licking her wounds. I pressed the gauntlet against her chest. A black surge pulsed through her veins. Her twin blades writhed with new life, their edges dripping liquid night.

She trembled once, then steadied. "My Lord… I see chains. But they break when I swing."

Noa's voice hummed. "Rena has unlocked [Abyss Reaper Form]. Twin blades that devour barriers. Duration limited, but devastating against wards and oaths."

Rena bowed deeply, both blades crossed before her. "Your will is mine. My chains break only for you."

Nana rose to his feet, shield arm steady now. He planted it before him, aura of dark steel radiating. I touched the shield with my gauntlet. Energy flared, and the metal twisted, thickening, its surface etched with runes.

Nana grunted, then slammed the shield down. The impact shook the cathedral's bones. "Solid. Stronger than before."

Noa answered, "Nana has advanced to [Titan Shield Form]. Defensive integrity improved. Can project short-range shockwaves when struck."

"Good," I said. "You will hold lines even when gods strike."

Nana smiled grimly, proud.

Malrik was next. His body shook, rift still unstable. When my gauntlet touched him, the void inside him screamed. Shadows burst open across his back, and for a moment, skeletal wings of bone extended.

He gasped. "The void… it doesn't eat me. It obeys."

Noa pulsed. "Malrik has unlocked [Rift Warden Form]. Summons skeletal wings for limited flight. Rift stability improved. Capable of opening larger gates."

Malrik bowed, chest heaving. "Thank you, My Lord. I will open paths where none exist."

Clarissa was last. She hesitated when I reached her, eyes flickering between reverence and fear. But she knelt, neck bowed.

"My Lord… I am ready."

The gauntlet pulsed against her skin. Her aura flared crimson, and her veins glowed faintly red. Her teeth sharpened further, her blood turning colder, thicker.

She shuddered. "The blood… it whispers louder."

Noa reported. "Clarissa has unlocked [Blood Shaper Form]. Control over blood manipulation increased. Can now weaponize enemy blood directly."

Clarissa stood, her hand dripping crimson threads that moved like strings. "I will weave their veins into chains."

The evolutions were complete.

But they were exhausted. Even with their new forms, their bodies trembled. Their breaths were heavy, their blood thin.

"Rest," I ordered. "You've earned it."

They obeyed, lying down among the ruins. Selena leaned back against broken stone, halberd across her knees. Rena curled her blades close, watching the shadows. Nana sat upright even while resting, shield at his side. Malrik collapsed, skeletal wings folding back into his flesh. Clarissa sat cross-legged, blood threads coiling gently around her hands.

I stood watch at the center.

Noa's voice came, softer now. "My Lord. Their loyalty deepens with each gift you give. But evolution brings more than strength. It brings hunger."

"Hunger?" I asked.

"Yes. Power demands fuel. Each of them will crave battle more fiercely now. If denied… the hunger may eat them from inside."

I glanced at them—sleeping, healing, dreaming of slaughter. They were no longer just demons. They were growing into something greater. Something dangerous.

"Then I'll feed their hunger," I said quietly. "With enemies."

The night deepened. Fires burned low. The ruins of Crowmere were silent except for the faint crackle of embers and the slow, heavy breathing of demons.

But my mind was not quiet.

Varaxis had tested us. And he had spoken through his Envoy. Other Kings were watching now. They would not sit idle. They would send more.

Noa pulsed in agreement. "The balance among Demon Kings is breaking. You, My Lord, are the fracture. War is not far."

I looked at the broken altar of the moon goddess, shattered by my fist. A single piece of her face remained, eyes staring upward.

"Let them come," I whispered to the stone. "When they do, Silence will be ready."

The ash swirled in the cold wind, rising like ghosts. But in those ashes, I saw not death—

I saw breath.

I saw demons rising again.

And I smiled.

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