While Sophia and Noxx—along with Nira—were running for their lives, two people were in the air watching them.

And nobody could tell.

Not because they were hiding behind clouds.

Not because they were far.

Because they weren't giving off anything.

No mana.

No demonic energy.

No pressure.

Nothing that Ragalia—or anyone else—could sense.

Except Malphas.

Bel was up there with his wings out.

And Madina was with him.

They couldn't be sensed because the Abyss was its own type of power.

It didn't shine.

It didn't leak.

It didn't announce itself.

It just covered them—like a cloak made of nothing.

Madina was in Bel's arms, her arms wrapped around his neck like she belonged there.

"Hmmm…" she hummed, watching the chaos below. "Isn't that your sister? Aren't you going to help, Bel?"

Bel's eyes tracked Sophia, the Calamity Dragon, and Ragalia's movement like he was reading a map.

"She has her own battle," Bel said calmly. "Let's go deal with an angel."

Madina leaned back just enough to stare at the target Bel meant. Her pupils narrowed—then lit.

[Wolf Deity Perception]

"Ooooo…" she whispered. "He's level 200 for a human…"

Bel clicked his tongue.

"Yeah," he said. "Humans get those stats like a game."

He looked away like it irritated him.

"For demons… it's different."

"We don't level, We temper."

"We get stronger by pressure, pain, scars, and slaughter."

"And we're supposed to weed out the weak."

Bel's gaze flicked back to Sophia again.

"But Sophia," he said flatly, "from what Father said… she's an exception."

Echo chimed in, disgusted.

"That old man also said don't ruin your sister's stepping stone—like he's playing with his kids' lives."

"It makes me sick."

Bel didn't argue.

He just stared down at the battlefield like it was a decision he had already made.

"Well," Bel said, "I can leave the dragon for her."

His eyes shifted to Ragalia.

"But not him."

Madina's pout vanished instantly. Her tail wagged.

"Weeee!" she said. "Can't wait!"

Echo sighed.

"You always go against your father's rules."

Bel reached out.

A black seam tore open in the air—silent.

An Abyss pocket.

He pulled his halberd from it midair like he was grabbing something from a closet.

He held Madina with one arm.

Halberd in the other.

For a moment, Bel looked like a fallen angel.

Then his wings snapped wide—

FWHOOOM—!

And he dove.

His aim—

Ragalia.

Below them, Ragalia was cutting across the battlefield toward Sophia's lane, ready to collapse the fight from above.

Bel's eyes narrowed.

If Ragalia broke through while the dragon kept pressing forward, Sophia would be trapped from two sides.

He wasn't letting that happen.

Ragalia heard it first.

A soft sound from above—like air splitting the wrong way.

He turned—

And Bel was suddenly so close Ragalia could've kissed him by accident.

Madina was still in Bel's arms.

Bel didn't stab Ragalia.

He speared him—fast—

—and Madina immediately tightened her arms around Bel's neck.

"Eh?!" she yelped. "No—wait—!"

Bel's wings flared as he angled down.

"Madina," Bel said, calm, like he was ordering a weapon to sheath.

Her tail stiffened.

She pouted—hard.

A full, offended pout.

"But I wanna stay—!"

"Now," Bel repeated.

Madina made a tiny angry noise.

"Hmph!"

Then she finally let go—like she was doing him a favor.

She dropped with a little twist midair, cloak fluttering—

…and landed anyway like she was born for it.

A clean flip.

A soft tap.

She hit the ground in a crouch a safe distance away, arms crossed, tail swishing like it was judging him.

Bel didn't even look back.

He dragged Ragalia down through the forest—

Trees snapped.

Branches exploded.

CRACK—CRACK—CRACK—

Bel slammed Ragalia through trunks like they were paper.

Then he tossed him onto the ground.

Ragalia coughed.

"GUAK—"

Blood hit the dirt.

He spat again, eyes cold.

"…Just another inconvenience," Ragalia rasped. "Who the hell are you now?"

Bel landed and took a stance.

He repeated it like he was mocking him.

"Just another inconvenience."

Madina watched from her crouch like it was pay-per-view fight night in the Neutral Kingdom.

Ragalia wiped his mouth with his sleeve and rose.

"Listen," he said, dusting himself off. "I don't know how you did that—either you're hiding your power or using magic—but it's clear you can't handle me."

Bel didn't answer right away.

He just stared.

Then—

"Alright," Bel said.

He lifted his hand and pulled his hood back.

His horns showed and his face showed.

Ragalia's expression changed.

"…So it was true."

He laughed once, bitter.

"That bastard had another child with a low-born demon woman."

He shook his head like the world was annoying him.

"That's amazing. Just great."

Ragalia rolled his shoulders.

"Go back to your mom, kid," he said. "I don't need to hurt—"

 

Bel threw his halberd.

Ragalia dodged it clean.

The halberd slammed into the earth behind him with a heavy—

THUNK.

Ragalia's eyes narrowed.

"…I guess you aren't just here to delay me."

Bel's voice sharpened.

"Silence."

He pointed, calm and cruel.

"Take your stance, Hero."

Ragalia's jaw clenched.

He drew his sword properly this time.

"I can tell you're the same as me," he said. "Ready to die for what they love."

He spread his hands slightly, like he was trying to talk Bel down.

"Come on—think straight, man!"

Ragalia's jaw flexed.

"If you're this strong… why not overthrow your father?"

Bel caught both blades on the shaft of his halberd.

Steel screamed against black metal.

SKRREEEE—!

"Hmmm…"

He tilted his head slightly.

"I'm not trying to replace him," Bel said.

His grip tightened—then he shoved Ragalia back a step.

"I just hate that he thinks he can sort us like livestock."

Bel laughed under his breath.

"Besides…"

He rolled his shoulders.

"Why are you chasing my sister?"

Ragalia's face hardened.

Bel's eyes sharpened.

"Did she say something rude?"

A small grin.

"Do I need to scold her?"

Madina's tail wagged like she approved of every word.

Echo made a disgusted sound somewhere in the air.

"You are your father's child after all," Echo muttered.

Bel ignored him.

His smile faded just a little.

"Sophia's got enough on her plate already."

He spun the halberd once, lazy and smooth.

"So let me be a good little brother… and lighten the load."

For one ugly second, Ragalia didn't see Belzagus.

He saw Malphas.

Younger. Sharper. Hungrier.

And somehow that was worse.

Ragalia's stomach turned.

"That monster really is spreading his seed everywhere," he said, voice low with disgust. "How many children did Malphas make just to keep from letting his blood die?"

Bel's eyes didn't move.

"Probably too many," he said flatly.

Then he smiled again.

"And he still acts surprised when we don't behave."

Ragalia's grip on his swords tightened.

"You joke too much for someone standing in front of me."

Bel's grin widened.

"And you talk too much for someone chasing a little girl."

Ragalia lunged first.

Fast.

Too fast for a normal demon.

His left blade came for Bel's throat while the right swept low for his knee.

Bel twisted his torso just enough for the first strike to miss, then dropped the butt of his halberd to catch the second.

CLANG—KRAK!

The ground beneath them split.

Madina leaned forward in her crouch, eyes bright.

"Ooooooo…"

Bel shoved upward and forced Ragalia's low blade off-line.

Then he stepped in close.

Too close for a halberd, which made Ragalia grin—

until Bel slammed his elbow into his jaw.

BAM.

Ragalia staggered.

Bel laughed.

"There we go."

Ragalia spat blood and reset his footing.

"You fight like a thug."

Bel rolled one shoulder.

"And you fight like somebody who got used to killing people weaker than him."

That made Ragalia's face twist.

He disappeared.

Not fully.

Just fast enough to blur through the trees and reappear at Bel's flank.

Steel flashed.

Bel pivoted.

The first sword scraped across his halberd shaft.

The second cut through one of his feathers instead of his ribs.

Madina's ears flicked.

Echo sighed.

"…He's actually trying now."

Bel's wings snapped out hard, knocking dust and leaves into the air.

He used the opening to drive the heel of his foot into Ragalia's stomach.

BOOM.

Ragalia went backward three full steps.

Not far.

But enough.

Bel planted the halberd and stared.

"You know," he said, "for a legendary hero, you're really obsessed with my sister."

Ragalia wiped his mouth again.

"And for a prince, you're really obsessed with defending someone else's stepping stone."

Bel's expression did not change.

"That's where you're wrong."

The halberd tilted slightly.

"She's my sister before she's Father's anything."

Madina's tail stopped wagging for just a second.

Even Echo went quiet.

Ragalia noticed it too.

Then his smile came back—thin, ugly, probing.

"So that's it," Ragalia said. "You're not here because of duty."

He raised both blades.

"You're here because you want to prove you belong."

Bel's eyes narrowed.

"No," he said.

Then he rushed him.

The first strike came overhead like a falling gate.

Ragalia crossed both swords and barely held it.

KRAAAAAANG!

His knees dipped.

The second strike came from the side.

He twisted, redirected, and still got launched through a tree.

Wood exploded around him.

Madina clapped once, delighted.

Bel didn't let up.

He was on Ragalia before the bark finished falling.

Halberd. Knee. Wing-slam.

A brutal chain of pressure.

No elegance.

No pause.

A prince built on force and resentment.

Ragalia blocked high, then low, then inside—

and finally slipped one blade past the halberd just enough to carve across Bel's side.

Blood sprayed.

Madina stood up instantly.

Her claws slid out.

Bel held up one finger without looking back.

Madina froze, pouting but obedient.

Ragalia breathed harder now.

Bel looked down at the cut on his side.

Then up.

Then he laughed.

Actually laughed.

That sound made Ragalia's skin crawl.

"…There you are," Bel said softly.

Ragalia frowned.

"What?"

Bel's grin showed teeth.

"You were boring me."

Then he rushed again.

This time Ragalia met him head-on.

Sword and halberd slammed together.

CLANG!

Ragalia twisted, caught the shaft, and shoved with both blades.

"If you hate your father so much," he snarled, "why not kill him and take his throne?"

Bel held both swords in place with the halberd and tilted his head.

"Hmmm…"

He smiled.

"Nah."

He shoved Ragalia backward so hard dirt ripped out under his boots.

"That's boring."

Ragalia dug in and stopped himself.

Bel kept walking toward him.

Slow now.

Confidence.

"Father's throne is his problem," Bel said. "My problem is that he keeps separating me from my siblings like I'm some disease."

His wings flexed once behind him.

"And I'm tired of it."

Ragalia's eyes narrowed.

"So this is rebellion?"

Bel shrugged.

"This?"

He lifted the halberd and pointed it straight at Ragalia's face.

"This is me being helpful."

Madina giggled.

Echo groaned.

"That line was awful."

Bel ignored him.

Ragalia's lips peeled back.

"You really are his son."

Bel's smile flattened.

"And you really are stupid."

Then he vanished forward.

Not magic.

Not a trick.

Just monstrous acceleration.

Ragalia barely got both swords up in time.

CLANG—!

The impact bent one of his knees.

Bel leaned in, face inches away now.

"Tell me something, Hero."

Ragalia glared back.

Bel's voice dropped lower.

"Why were you so desperate to get to Sophia?"

Ragalia tried to shove him off.

Bel did not move.

"Did she scare you?" Bel asked.

A grin again.

"Did she hurt your pride?"

Ragalia's eyes flashed.

Bel saw it and laughed.

"Ohhh. There it is."

He twisted the halberd and knocked one of the swords wide.

Then headbutted him again.

BAM.

Ragalia stumbled back, blood running from his nose now.

Madina clapped both hands this time.

Bel stepped forward, wings flexing once behind him.

"Again," he said.

Ragalia wiped blood from his mouth and smiled—thin, dangerous.

"…Now you're starting to interest me."