[ 11:32 AM — THE TEST BREAKS ]

The demon line was collapsing.

Not because they were weak.

Because they were being hunted.

 The Holy Kingdom didn't aim for generals.

They aimed for the young.

 The 666 demons eligible for the Test were being singled out like marked prey.

Gunshots cracked through spellfire.

Holy metal tore through flesh.

 Draxx staggered first.

The round hit deep, burning inside him like it hated being contained.

 "Krazia—!" Riku shouted—

The second shot punched into her shoulder and knocked her sideways.

 For half a heartbeat, the battlefield went silent in Riku's head.

Then everything rushed back at once.

"Drink! Hurry up—hurry!" Riku shoved an umbral vial toward Draxx.

Draxx pushed it away with shaking fingers.

 "Fiancé," he rasped. "Heal her. Don't worry about me."

"She's fine—Syrin has her now!" Riku barked. "Drink!"

 Syrin forced the vial to Krazia's lips.

"Look at me," she commanded. "Now."

 Krazia drank the whole thing.

The effect was immediate.

Holy rounds were rejected from their wounds like foreign bodies forced out by something older than medicine.

 Bullets clinked against the dirt.

Flesh sealed.

 Breath returned.

Krazia dragged Draxx back toward formation, her boots carving through dirt and blood.

 "Get up already, my love," she grunted.

A Holy soldier rushed in and tried to cave her cheek in with a kick—

Krazia caught the foot one-handed, snarled, and hurled him across the battlefield with the last of her strength.

 Then she stumbled, nearly dropping with Draxx still clutched in her grip.

"We're going to make it back," she hissed.

Syrin's eyes widened.

 "Oh no—Riku!"

"Hold your stance!" Riku barked without turning. "I'll cover them!"

Syrin broke toward them immediately.

 She dropped beside Krazia, uncorked another umbral potion, and shoved it into her hands.

"Drink," she ordered. "Now."

 But the battlefield wasn't done.

A Holy Arch Mage raised both hands.

 Spell circles layered behind him like rotating halos.

[ GRAND MAGIC — HURRICANE ]

 The wind didn't blow.

It detonated.

 Riku dug his heels in.

"Stick together! STICK TOGETHER!"

 Syrin slipped.

"AHH—RIKU!"

 He rode the wind, launched forward, and caught her wrist mid-sweep.

Krazia locked onto his legs.

 Draxx slammed into a tree and chained his gauntlet around it.

"Draxx—don't let go!" Krazia shouted.

"As if I'll let you go!"

 The wind screamed.

Then—

 BAM.

A greatsword fell from the sky and pierced the Arch Mage clean through.

 The storm collapsed instantly.

Dust settled.

 And Riku looked up.

"…No way." Riku stared through the smoke. "Why are you here?"

 Scorin's wings cut through the haze.

His presence did not flare wildly.

 It was compressed.

Focused.

He opened his mouth.

[ 11:37 AM — DRAGON BUSTER ]

 One beam.

One line of annihilation.

 It swept across the Holy formation with surgical precision.

From 2,000 soldiers mixed with low- and mid-tier heroes—

 Only 973 remained standing.

Shielded.

Lucky.

 Prepared.

Scorin did not fire again.

 His chest tightened.

His throat burned.

 Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

He wiped it away with the back of his hand and kept flying.

 [ DRAGON BUSTER ] was not something he could fire twice for free.

[ 11:38 AM — THE WITNESS ]

 Far behind the lines, an Archer Hero raised a crystal-lens artifact.

It clicked once.

 Scorin mid-beam.

Captured.

 The Archer's lips curved faintly.

"I guess the Neutral Prince chose a side…"

 Then he vanished.

[ 11:50 AM — THE CHASE ]

 Sophia was nowhere near the main formation anymore.

She was running.

 THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD.

Noxx sprinted ahead without looking back.

 "Noxx! You okay?!"

He didn't answer.

 Nira did.

"He says he's exhausted. He can't hold that form much longer."

 Fireballs rained from above.

Noxx dodged like instinct was carrying him.

Sophia summoned the Sea Horse.

 It intercepted the incoming strike automatically—silent, efficient.

But Noxx slowed.

 His body began shrinking.

His ward-form collapsed under exhaustion.

 And just like that—

Sophia wasn't running beside him anymore.

 She was carrying him.

"Come on… just a little farther… somewhere, anywhere—"

 Nowhere.

WHOOOM.

 

The Calamity Dragon descended to ground level.

Umbral frost left Sophia's mouth.

 

Nira snapped her fingers.

An Umbral Sphere encased Sophia instantly.

 "Child. Stay there."

Nira floated forward.

 Face to face with the dragon.

"LISTEN," she shouted. "You've been causing so much trouble! Why can't you relax?!"

 The dragon blinked.

Confused.

 "So you don't understand," Nira muttered. "Fine."

She began to shine.

 Sophia's body grew heavy.

Sweat beaded across her skin.

 Her breathing turned shallow.

"Oops," Nira said lightly. "Took most of your magic."

 The light grew.

Then it formed.

 An older elf-like woman.

Regal.

 Familiar.

The Ledger flashed.

 [ SIGNATURE MATCH: CONFIRMED ]

[ CALAMITY PRINCESS — INCARNATION ACTIVE ]

The dragon froze.

 Recognition came first.

Submission came second.

 Then—

he kneeled.

 Sophia slammed both fists against the sphere.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU DO THAT EARLIER?!"

 "Because I couldn't," Nira said calmly.

"The pact is a lock, not a rope. He had to recognize me. He had to submit. If I forced it while he was raging…"

 Her voice turned colder.

"…it would've snapped back through the link and cooked your body from the inside."

Sophia went still.

Nira touched the glowing mark on the dragon's chest.

 The matching mark on her hand burned once—

then vanished.

 The dragon shuddered.

The Ledger appeared again.

 [ CALAMITY DRAGON — REQUEST: REGRESSION RESET ]

[ I.E: REBIRTH PROTOCOL ]

 "Who do you wish to serve?" Nira asked.

The dragon looked at Sophia.

 Then he shook his head.

Sophia stared at him through the sphere like she'd just been slapped.

 "…Why not me?"

The dragon turned and looked at Noxx.

 The Ledger translated:

[ COMMENT: I WISH TO LIVE LIKE THE FAMILIAR. ]

Nira read the meaning behind it and exhaled.

"It wants rebirth," she said quietly. "Not as a weapon. Not as a calamity."

 Her eyes shifted toward Noxx.

"It wants a new bond with someone worthy."

 Sophia blinked.

"Then why not me?"

 Nira's mouth twitched.

"Because Noxx already claimed the place beside you."

 The dragon lowered its head once more.

A burning name began etching itself into the stone—

 but before they could read it—

[ REBIRTH PROTOCOL — STARTING: 0% ]

 Light swallowed him.

Percentages climbed.

 [ 11:58 AM — ZEPHRAN ]

Sophia stepped in front of Noxx.

 "What do you want, Prince Zephran?"

He strolled in, twirling his staff like he had all the time in the world.

 "I might as well kill you here," he said lightly. "Tell them you died during the Test."

His eyes shifted toward the rising light.

 "Since you sent that dragon into egg form… I'll take it."

[ REBIRTH PROTOCOL: 74% ]

 "YOU BRIBED MY PATIENTS OUT OF MY HOSPITAL!" Sophia shouted.

Zephran laughed.

 "You slapped my face."

His smile sharpened.

 "Move aside, lizard."

Then his eyes flicked back toward Sophia.

 "All this noise over a girl your father already offered away."

He laughed once, cruel and light.

 "You Neutral dogs are always late when it matters."

Then his voice dropped.

 "Understand this—she belongs with someone who can actually protect her."

He charged—

Staff first.

 Nira moved to intercept, but Zephran twisted around her with a burst of speed that made the air crack.

Sophia barely had time to tighten her grip around Noxx before Zephran's hand reached for her throat—

 Stopped.

BAM.

 Greatsword.

Scorin.

 The impact split the ground between them.

Zephran's arm jerked off course as Scorin forced the blade down, driving him away from Sophia by raw weight alone.

 Zephran slid back and snarled.

"So you finally made it."

 Scorin didn't answer.

[ 11:59 AM — OWNERSHIP ]

 The Rebirth hit 100%.

Light compressed.

 A purple and black egg formed.

Zephran reached for it.

 Scorin slapped his hand away.

"You aren't a dragon."

 Scorin read the ash-written name.

"…Belzagus."

 Nira's eyes narrowed.

"It chose him," she said. "That's the name it submitted to."

 Sophia stared.

"That's my brother."

 Zephran snapped.

"That dragon belongs to me!"

 Scorin ignored him.

A serpent-maid dragon descended.

 "Take this home. It needs to grow."

It bowed and flew away with the egg.

 Scorin unfurled a sealed scroll.

"You've been trafficking demon slaves to the Holy Kingdom," he said evenly. "For relic testing."

 Zephran's smile cracked.

"That's false!"

 "The court has already read it."

Scorin stepped forward.

 "You're coming with me."

Zephran dropped his staff.

 Took a few steps back.

Held his head.

 Then he started laughing.

Scorin moved in front of Sophia.

 "Is Noxx ready?"

"No. His legs are sore."

 Scorin's eyes never left Zephran.

"Then prepare for battle."

His voice was quiet.

 [ 12:00 PM — HE WON'T GO QUIETLY ]

Zephran dashed toward Scorin with a lethal downward strike.

 "DIE, LIZARD!"

Scorin surged forward and caught the blow with his Draconic Greatsword.

 The impact screamed through the ground.

"I'll cast your judgment here."

 Zephran twisted his staff and drove into Scorin again, chaining one strike into the next, trying to force him back through raw aggression.

"You think being prince of some Neutral land makes you higher than me?!"

 Scorin blocked every blow while his boots carved through the dirt.

"My family brought balance to this world before you were born."

 Scorin shifted to the side, and Zephran's heavy downward strike smashed into the earth.

Scorin looked at him like he was something beneath his boot.

 "Don't look down on me!"

Scorin drove his shoulder into Zephran so hard it threw him to the ground.

 "You lost the right to call yourself a prince the moment you committed those crimes."

Zephran flipped back to his feet and brought his staff down toward Scorin.

 Demonic energy surged through the weapon, forcing the descending tip to swell in size.

"Try dodging this, lizard!"

 Scorin turned his Draconic Greatsword sideways and caught the blow on the flat.

The enlarged head of Zephran's staff shrieked against the blade, slid down its length, and smashed into the ground.

 "I'd rather die than go to the Neutral Grounds in chains."

Zephran spat in Scorin's face, blinding him for half a second.

 Scorin stumbled back, wiping at his eyes with his sleeve.

"Why do you have to be this desperate, Zephran?"

 "I AM DESPERATE!"

Zephran dropped low and swept Scorin's legs out from under him with the end of his staff.

 WHUMP.

Scorin hit the ground on his back hard.

 The impact folded his body for a split second—

"—ghk—"

 I got up and tried to run to Scorin, but Nira stopped me.

"You need to stay right there."

 I tried to shove her out of the way, but she grabbed me by the hair.

"Hey! Let go!"

 Nira didn't have much energy left.

Neither did I.

 She still shouted with everything she had.

"HE'S GOING TO BE FINE!"

 Noxx grabbed Nira by the wings with his mouth and yanked both of us back down.

I shouted at Noxx.

 "HEY! WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?!"

I looked at Scorin and saw that he was back on his feet.

 I guess he actually managed to make some distance.

Nira chimed into my ear.

 "Worried for nothing."

I shot her an ugly look.

"Get out of my face already."

 Nira laughed as she landed on Noxx's head.

"That lizard is not your protector."

 She took a deep breath and looked toward Scorin.

"His mother's training is no walk in the park."

 I rolled my eyes and looked back at Scorin as he started forcing Zephran back.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

 "It's over, Zephran. I've had enough of your games."

Zephran was driven back by the weight behind Scorin's swings.

 "Then here is my answer."

Zephran caught Scorin's downward strike.

 "I'd rather die here than be dragged back to the Neutral Kingdom."