The three devils appeared—
And in the same breath, an attack was already moving.
Kion stepped forward before anyone else could react, placing himself between the strike and Aurelia. The impact met his arm and dissolved against him, the force dispersing just enough to avoid spilling beyond.
"…Not here," he said quietly. "No humans are getting involved."
He lowered himself to the ground.
Closed his eyes.
And began to meditate.
For a moment, no one understood.
"…He's… meditating?" his brother whispered.
Then it happened.
A barrier formed—perfect, seamless, absolute—locking the entire battlefield away from the outside world. The air stilled. Sound dulled. Even the pressure of power felt contained, as if reality itself had been instructed to behave.
"…He isolated it…" Ino murmured.
Kion stood again and walked forward, calm as ever.
"…Hello."
The devils answered with movement.
The clash began instantly—fast, precise, relentless. Kion met every strike with exact control, redirecting force, absorbing impact, guiding the flow of battle like it was something he had done countless times before.
Yet he didn't avoid everything.
Some hits landed.
Small. Controlled.
"…Why are you letting that hit you?" one devil asked mid-strike.
Kion deflected the next blow and replied, just as calmly,
"…If you know… you know."
The calmest among them narrowed his eyes.
"…He's balancing the output. If he avoids everything, the shockwaves escape the barrier."
Another devil observed more closely.
"…He's using both states… the Watcher… and the human."
Behind him, his siblings, Ino, and Suka watched with growing tension.
"…He's holding back too much…" his sister whispered.
Then the rhythm broke.
One devil vanished from the exchange and reappeared behind Kion's siblings.
"MOVE!" his sister shouted—
But Aurelia was already locked in her own fight, too far to intercept.
Kion turned—
Too late—
A blur cut across the space.
Another devil appeared.
And destroyed the attacker instantly.
Silence followed.
Kion blinked once, then stepped forward and extended a hand.
"…Thanks."
He pulled the fallen devil up.
"…Old friend."
Aurelia froze where she stood.
Because the devil she had defeated earlier…
Was still alive.
Protected.
By Kion's barrier.
"…You… saved them too?" she whispered.
The calm devil stepped forward, gaze steady.
"…You're still the same… Sir Orunomi."
Aurelia turned sharply.
"…Kion… why are they calling you that?"
Kion exhaled slowly.
"…Some devils rebelled. Not against me… against their own kind."
He gestured lightly toward the one who had intervened.
"…He's their commander. Chief of those who chose differently."
The commander inclined his head.
"…We are not your enemies."
Ino and Suka stepped forward without hesitation.
"…We knew," Ino said.
"…You were always connected to them," Suka added.
Vel's voice cut through the moment.
"…Training ends here."
Kion's gaze flicked toward him, then to Serin. Something unspoken passed between them.
"…Come to my room tonight," Kion said quietly.
They both nodded.
Then—
A sound split the air.
A crack.
Thin at first—
Then spreading.
Aurelia turned.
"…Kion—"
And she was gone.
Pulled into a collapsing void.
"AURELIA!"
Purple energy bled into the sky.
A figure stepped out of it.
"…Took you long enough," he said.
Kion's voice dropped instantly.
"…Lume."
A faint smile curved the figure's lips.
"…Still attached."
"…You always arrive early," Kion replied coldly. "…Obsessed."
"…And you're still predictable," Lume said. "Don't worry. She's safe."
A pause.
"…Sealed."
Kion's aura flickered.
"…You dared take her."
Lume tilted his head.
"…Then earn her back."
The sky didn't just crack—
It collapsed.
Dark energy gathered, condensing with terrifying precision before slamming into the earth.
And then—
They rose.
Massive black castles tore out of the ground, their jagged spires piercing the sky like broken blades. Each one pulsed with corrupted aura, alive in a way that made the air feel heavy.
"…What is that…" his brother whispered.
"…Not constructs," Ino said immediately. "…Functions."
"…He's building a system," Suka added.
Kion's gaze sharpened.
"…Three anchors."
The first castle hovered slightly, reality bending around it.
"…Space distortion," Vel muttered. "Movement's unstable there."
The second pulsed violently as its gates opened.
Devils poured out.
Endlessly.
"…Amplifying them…" Suka whispered.
"…No—generating strength through them," Ino corrected.
The third—
Was silent.
But heavier than the others.
Kion went still.
"…That one…"
His voice lowered.
"…I remember it."
The air around it trembled with something deeper than power.
Memory.
Lume stepped forward slightly.
"You always fought best when the world obeyed you."
He raised a hand.
"…So I made one that obeys me."
The castles pulsed together.
"This isn't an attack," Serin said quietly.
"…It's a domain."
Kion didn't move.
"…You rebuilt it," he said.
"…I never forgot," Lume replied.
For a brief second—
A battlefield flashed in Kion's mind.
Him.
Lume.
Opposite sides.
Then the gates burst open.
Devils flooded the field—thousands, then tens of thousands, filling every inch of space within the barrier.
"…This isn't survivable…" his brother whispered.
"…It is," Kion replied. "…If I stop holding back."
He stepped forward.
The devils were asked by the brother to help
But the devils leader while smoking said that man when leading the revolution he distroyed 1 million devil normal solders at once and the thing is our population was higher than trillion losing people is nothing but the technique he used was at that moment...….his aura rose—black, white, gold—perfectly controlled despite its sheer scale.
"…You shouldn't have done this."
He vanished.
Not speed—
Distance itself ceased to matter.
He appeared before the second castle.
"…Too many."
His hand lifted.
"…Collapse."
The structure trembled, cracked, and imploded inward, its existence erased rather than destroyed.
Every devil connected to it dropped instantly.
"…He removed the source…" Suka whispered.
"…He removed the rule," Ino corrected.
The remaining castles pulsed harder.
The memory-bound one glowed brighter.
Kion turned toward it.
"…That one stays."
"…Why?" Aurelia's voice echoed faintly from nowhere.
"…Because that's not his power," Kion said quietly.
"…That's mine."
Lume smiled.
"…Correct."
"That castle… is your past."
"…Reopened."
Silence pressed in.
"…Everything happened there," Kion said.
Then he raised his hand.
"…Aura Override."
The battlefield froze.
Every devil's aura stopped.
Shifted.
Turned.
Neutralized.
They collapsed in waves.
Silence fell.
The memory castle remained.
Lume stepped back.
"…Come find me there."
"…If you want her back."
And he vanished.
Kion looked up—
Then reached out.
"…Dispel."
Reality cracked.
The illusion shattered.
Aurelia fell from the void.
Kion caught her instantly.
"…I've got you."
The sky opened again.
Watchers descended—
Hundreds—
Kneeling.
"…Our Lord."
Devils followed.
Also kneeling.
"…Command us."
Ino and Suka stepped forward.
"…We're sorry."
Kion placed a hand on their heads.
"…Don't make me worry like that again."
They nodded.
Toma spoke quietly.
"…Shall we erase the humans' memories?"
Kion shook his head.
"…No."
"…I'm not taking command yet."
"…I'm still learning."
He looked at everyone.
"…Lume is a corrupted Watcher."
A pause.
"…My first disciple."
"…My closest friend."
Silence spread.
"…And the one who fell the furthest."
The barrier faded.
The sky returned to orange as the sun dipped toward the horizon.
Kion stood there—
Aurelia beside him.
His family behind him.
Watchers and devils waiting in silence.
Far away—
Lume watched.
Smiling.
"…This isn't over," Kion said quietly.
The wind carried the last light of the day across the broken field.
And somewhere beyond the horizon—
The past waited.