The assessment had already ended.

The Grand Formation lay shattered beyond repair, its authority dissolved into fragments of broken law.

Azriel, Aizrel, Mu Long, Princess Lainsa, and the twin subordinates fought along the outer edge of the ruins, near the Association's border. They counted kills. They measured survival. None of them realized the trial they were struggling through no longer existed.

Far beneath them, inside the dead anthill, judgment waited.

The Heart Demon stood motionless, watching.

The Yaksha Queen hovered weakly at the center of the ruined chamber. Her army no longer moved with discipline or rage. They stood with heads lowered, expressions carved with fear, humiliation, and disbelief.

They had lost.

Not to a rival species.

Not to gods.

But to what they still considered lowly humans.

Injustice and incompetence were written into every clenched jaw and trembling antenna. The Queen turned her gaze toward the countless fallen bodies scattered across the crystal floor.

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

Her voice trembled–not with fear, but regret.

"You had to die… in veins."

Her strength finally gave way.

The orbiting black crystals lost cohesion and fell lifelessly to the ground. The Yaksha Queen's body tilted, then collapsed downward into the pool of acid beneath her.

She did not scream.

She was a Beast God–early Transformation Realm–but even that could not spare her from dissolution. The process was not instant. It was deliberate. Painful. Precise.

Her body began to burn.

Extreme heat coursed through her senses as moisture was torn from flesh and bone. Poisonous fumes rose, thick and corrosive, veiling her form completely from sight.

She endured.

Only once did her restraint crack.

"Child."

The word escaped her lips barely louder than breath.

The Heart Demon heard it.

A faint smile appeared on his face–emotionless, unreadable. Whether it signaled satisfaction or hesitation was impossible to tell.

Within the acid, her skin dissolved. The black crystal garments fused to her body burned away. The fumes spread outward, rolling toward the remaining Yaksha Ants standing nearby.

They died where they stood.

She was not dead yet.

With the last of her will, the Yaksha Queen vibrated her antennae once more, issuing a final command.

Retreat.

The army did not obey.

They remained.

They chose to die with her.

Her body continued to melt, bubbling violently, until nothing remained but a thick black slurry dissolving into the acid pool.

Only then did the Heart Demon laugh.

Not loudly.

Not softly.

He laughed like someone savoring a long-awaited conclusion.

The sound echoed unnaturally through the hollowed tunnels.

The Dragon Emperors exchanged a glance.

"What is he thinking?" one asked quietly.

Outside, the Blood Moon burned–fed by unseen deaths within the sealed Re Ze Lure.

The Heart Demon inhaled deeply.

"Her scent," he said calmly, staring into the acid pool, "had the aroma of loyalty."

He smiled faintly.

"A perfect material for puppeting."

His expression darkened.

"Bad."

"She died too fast."

"No one has satisfied me like this in a long time."

He turned.

The remaining Yaksha Ants stiffened.

He drifted toward them, moving slowly through the ranks. One by one, he studied their faces–handsome, disciplined, hollowed by defeat.

Then he stopped.

Before one elite.

He hovered close.

Too close.

The elite female's body trembled violently. She could not bring herself to meet his gaze.

"What is your name?" he asked softly.

Within the protective shield, Diala watched in silence, Dragon Emperors standing rigid beside her.

"What is Kia doing?" she whispered. "This isn't him."

One of the Dragon Emperors answered quietly, "It is."

"But it's the part he never wanted to become."

The Heart Demon waited.

The elite did not answer.

"Oh?" he said lightly. "Am I that frightening?"

He tilted his head.

"Then I'll ask in a frightening way."

The words shattered her restraint.

"F–Fe–Fei!" she cried, voice breaking.

"Oh," he said. "Fei."

He leaned closer.

"Tell me, Fei."

"How was my justice?"

His gaze sharpened.

"Did you like it?"

"I've looked at every face here."

"Was it not enough?"

Or–

"Was it injustice?"

Her heart pounded violently.

If she said injustice, he might decide justice was incomplete.

If she said justice, he might punish them for their grief.

Her mind collapsed under the weight of the choice.

Her body trembled uncontrollably.

Fear overwhelmed control.

Warm liquid fell from midair to the ground below.

"Hm?"

The single sound carried menace.

Fei shut her eyes tightly.

She did not dare look up.

"You are truly terrified."

The Heart Demon's voice carried no mockery. Only observation.

He extended his hand and gently placed the sleeping hatchling into Fei's trembling arms. The infant stirred faintly, then settled again as he patted its head once–slow, deliberate.

"Keep her safe."

Fei nodded frantically, clutching the hatchling to her chest as if her own life depended on it.

The Heart Demon straightened and turned his gaze toward the army.

"Now tell me," he said calmly, "why are you all grieving?"

Silence answered him.

He tilted his head.

"Was my justice incomplete?"

"Or was it injustice?"

No one spoke.

They all understood the trap.

If they said injustice, he would kill them for questioning judgment.

If they said incomplete, he would kill more to complete it.

None wished to become the first answer.

A long sigh escaped him.

"…Uninteresting."

He placed a hand on Lei's shoulder and spoke casually.

"Lei, why not invite someone else to decide?"

His finger rose and pointed upward–toward the fractured sky barely visible through the anthill's ceiling.

Then–

He tore it open.

A rift split the air.

At the same instant, another rift tore open inside the Association's hidden chamber.

Hylisi fell through.

Still on her bed.

Her descent halted abruptly. The bed shuddered, then drifted forward as if carried by invisible hands. She floated toward the Heart Demon, stopping before him.

He smiled.

"Welcome, Examiner."

"How was your sleep?"

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"If I disturbed you, I'd like to disturb you more."

"If not, I'll finish this quickly–for your sake."

Hylisi stared.

The being before her did not resemble the Patron she knew. The monochrome white mist was gone, replaced by dense reddish-black smoke coiling like breath from an abyss.

"…Are you the Patron," she asked slowly, "or his brother?"

"How audacious."

He chuckled softly.

"But forgiven–ignorance is expected of guests."

"You're here for a simple task."

His gaze shifted.

"Fei will explain."

"Won't you, Fei?"

Fei's hands trembled violently.

"Careful," the Heart Demon said mildly. "If you shake like that, the hatchling will fall into the acid."

She froze and tightened her grip instantly.

Hylisi finally understood.

This was terror beyond authority.

She wanted to flee.

She did not dare.

An entire army surrounds him, she realized, and none dare lift a finger.

She exhaled quietly.

Whether he is Patron or not, she decided, I must complete my role.

She gestured gently.

"Fei, come here."

Fei did not move.

The Heart Demon glanced at her.

"Is this how one treats a guest?"

Fei gulped and floated forward instantly.

Hylisi gestured for her to place the hatchling on the bed and sit beside her. Fei obeyed, movements rigid with fear.

The moment Fei sat, Hylisi felt it clearly–terror, humiliation, grief, and anger twisted together.

She moved closer.

Embraced her.

Fei stiffened but did not pull away.

"It's alright," Hylisi whispered. "You're safe. Speak slowly."

It took nearly an hour.

Then Fei spoke.

She told everything–hatching grounds, shattered eggs, the massacre, the Queen's arrival, the destruction, the beasts, the boy…

And then–

"The girl."

Hylisi's body went cold.

"Stop," she said quietly.

"That's enough."

Fei fell silent.

"I already know the rest."

Hylisi straightened.

"You made three mistakes."

Her voice was calm. Clinical.

"First–you judged him as an intruder. I watched it clearly. If you had attempted communication, survival was possible."

"Second–you touched Shade."

Her gaze sharpened.

"Anyone who touches her does not survive."

A pause.

"Third–he spared you. Yet you all mourn openly."

She looked around at the army.

"Your Queen could have revived you after he left. None of your hatchlings are dead."

Fei's breath caught.

"He took them," Hylisi continued. "As his own."

"They are alive."

She turned her gaze upward.

"But your Queen acted recklessly."

Then–

"And so did he."

The chamber tensed.

"He was domineering," Hylisi said. "But newborns cannot speak, cannot judge, cannot defend. Touching them was wrong."

She exhaled.

"So justice here is both complete…"

"…and incomplete."

Silence followed.

Then laughter erupted.

The Heart Demon laughed openly–loud, unrestrained, satisfied.

"As expected of an Examiner."

"You've won my favor."

He turned to the army.

"For our guest's sake," he said lightly, "I'll offer a favor."

Fear rippled through the ants.

The Heart Demon descended toward the acid pool.

He plunged his hand into it.

Scooped up black slurry.

With his other hand, he pricked his finger.

A single drop of blood fell.

"Rise."

The slurry convulsed.

Expanded.

Duplicated.

Black crystal surged inward.

Form took shape.

The Yaksha Queen reformed–whole, alive, kneeling mid-air.

She opened her eyes.

And surrendered.

"…Why?" she whispered.

"You earned it," the Heart Demon replied.

"Your children–would you like to see them?"

He took her hand.

In an instant, they stood within Kiaria's relic.

More than ten thousand of hatchlings cultivated peacefully inside shell of spiritual spring.

Tears fell.

"Don't stain the place," he said flatly.

They returned.

"Happy?" he asked.

"I understand," she said softly. "What is the price?"

"Your bloodline," he replied. "Your army. Every generation."

She hesitated.

"What if I refuse?"

He looked at her.

"Did I ask for your opinion?"

"…Master."

She knelt.

The army followed.

"Revive your kin," he commanded. "And apologize to the boy and the girl."

The darkness receded.

The Heart Demon withdrew.

Kiaria collapsed.

Unconscious.

Alive.

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