The Temple Council Chamber was quiet.
A dangerous kind of quiet.
A pulse of red rune-light flickered from the center console, projecting a hazy image of a black landscape fractured with infernal roads. Glowing runes marked known movements of powerful entities, most of them terminated abruptly, in smears of obliterated essence.
Only one path remained.
Lisa stood in the center of the projection, hands clasped behind her back. "He's now confirmed to have eliminated Valac, Raum, and the Three Thrones."
"He consumed them?" Leo asked grimly.
"Completely," Nicolaus confirmed. "One by one. And with every kill, his power is escalating beyond projected tolerance models. He's reshaping the Pit itself with raw essence."
Mr. Johns sat in silence, arms folded. "What's more worrying is the pattern. He's following a trail that leads somewhere."
Lisa's jaw tightened. "He's looking for Hecate. And if these reports are accurate, she's already taken the next step."
Johns gestured to a scroll on the table. "Olympian scouts found evidence that the last divine relic, Apollo's mirrored shard was taken. A ritual was seen, then all magical detection went dead."
Lisa nodded, voice cold. "That means they're at the gate. Tartarus."
There was a heavy pause.
Nicolaus glanced around the room. "And Henry?"
"Dead," Lisa answered. "Decapitated."
Mr. Johns shifted slightly. "Do we know who did it?"
Leo snorted. "Who do you think? It wasn't subtle. Essence saturation at the scene was full-dragon. Only one being carries Bahamut's signature like that."
"Did Mike leave a message?" Nicolaus asked.
Lisa hesitated. "Not with words. But the ash, the damage… Henry's head rolled down the hillside. That was the message."
No one objected.
"Then the bastard deserved it," Mr. Johns muttered. "He played both sides too long."
"That's not all," Lisa said. She tapped another rune and a housing schematic flared to life.
The apartments behind the temple. Mike's parents' unit flashed red.
"Gone?" Nicolaus asked, already knowing the answer.
"The door was unlocked. No signs of forced entry, no trail. But the steward says Hamza came to the unit the morning after Henry's death. Spoke with them privately. An hour later, they walked out with him. They haven't been seen since."
"They left willingly," Leo said, almost to himself.
"He's hiding them," Lisa replied. "Keeping them away from whatever he sees coming."
Mr. Johns narrowed his eyes. "Then let him. They'll be safer with him than anywhere else. If Mike turns on us and right now, we don't know that he won't, it's the only smart move."
Lisa looked toward the glowing projection. "He's not turning on us. He's making his choice."
At Southern Edge of the Throat of Ash
Red sand curled in spirals as wind howled across the chasm. Mike stood beside Dina, both scorched and ragged after their battle at Raum's fortress. The black stone ruin behind them still smoked, heat bleeding from the wreckage.
Dina stared ahead at the space Thanatos had described, an area of shimmering distortion, shaped like a veil of oil in the air.
"That's the exit?" she asked quietly.
"It's the path out of here," Mike confirmed. "You'll be pulled out. Safely."
"And you?"
"I stay."
She studied his face. "You saved me. You didn't have to."
"I did," he said flatly. "That was the deal."
She looked down at the black sand.
Dina reached toward the veil, then stopped. "You really think you can find her? Your wife?"
Mike's claws curled at his sides. "I'll find Hecate. One way or another."
She nodded once and stepped through the shimmering air. Her form blurred into silver light and vanished.
Mike turned away and as he did, he felt it. A sudden shift in the air. His senses screamed at him.
They came from above and below, four demons. One with wings made of molten bone, another riding a wave of spectral worms, a third covered in jagged metal plates fused into its skin, and the last cloaked in living shadows.
Mike barely moved before the first one struck. The bone-winged Duke raked his claws across Mike's chest, sparks and blood flying. The ground shattered beneath their impact. "I am Dantalion. Duke of hell." He said with a sharp tone.
Mike snarled and retaliated with a tail whip, cracking the air and throwing the metal-plated demon back into a ridge of sulfuric rock.
The sky was chaos.
Two of them took to the air, and Mike followed, he spiraled upward and collided with the shadowed demon in midair. Their forms blurred as they clashed mid-flight, black-red essence bursting like superheated oil.
Below, the sand boiled.
Dina had made it through.
But they'd planned this. Waited until she left.
Which meant Hecate knew.
Mike roared.
He drove one claw straight through the chest of the cloaked demon and threw the body into the others. Another charged, blade in hand. Mike blasted him with red-black fire, but it wasn't enough.
He took a hit, deep across his ribs.
Pain exploded in his side.
One of the demons lunged again, but this time, Mike was ready. He caught the beast by the throat, flew straight upward, then drove them both into the ground with enough force to crack the red earth wide open.
The body pulsed with infernal energy.
Mike opened his jaws and devoured him.
Power surged through his body. Wounds closed. His back straightened. His breath deepened.
Another came at him with a screech but before it reached him…
Clap.
A slow, deliberate clap.
From the ridge above them stood a familiar figure in a crimson suit.
Mike's breath hissed through his teeth. "You again!"
The figure gave a dramatic bow. "Mephistopheles, not you. And my, what a mess you've made letting that chosen leave the pit."
With a wave of his top hat, the remaining demons vanished into smoke. He strolled toward Mike as chains shot out from the haze, pinning him to the ground. Caught off guard, Mike struggled, but no matter how hard he fought, the chains held fast. He was slammed into the red sand as Mephistopheles approached.
"Hmm... you intrigue me. I must discover how you've materialized in this realm." He leaned forward and poked Mike's side with one finger. "How has your soul not been devoured by the Pit?"
"The only dragon that..."
A deep guttural growl came from Bahamut.
"Oh, this just got better." A sinister smile spread across his face.
Still grinning, Mephistopheles waved his hand, and a black chair materialized behind him. He took a seat and crossed one leg over the other.
"To answer the burning question of your current plight, I shall bring that which you seek, to you." With a tip of his top hat, a portal of flame opened beside him, and an old woman tumbled onto the red sand.
"I give you Hecate," Mephistopheles announced with a flourish.
The old woman shot him a glare before turning her attention to the chained dragon. A warm, grotesque smile curled on her lips. "Oh, my love! Is this tantrum about that awful friend I removed for you?"
She laughed mockingly. "You're not allowed friends I don't approve of. That's bad for our relationship."
Mike pushed against the chains with all his might and roared, "That is not my wife! Where the fuck is Kelsey!?"
Mephistopheles chuckled. "You should be more careful with your requests. Good thing you don't have a monkey's paw." He rose slowly, still chuckling. "I've brought you exactly what you asked for. Now it's time for your payment."
The Crone turned to him in sheer terror. Taking a step back, she looked again at Mike just as Mephistopheles added with a grin, "You'd better not bore me like you did in the alley when we first met."
With a snap of his fingers, the chains evaporated into smoke.