The three remaining demons tightened their chain around the battlefield, while Lucan opened the cut beneath his throat where the old report line still lived.
A black strip emerged from the material wound, carrying layered marks that shifted whenever the Royal Collector's attention crossed the crater.
Cessy watched the strip leave his chest without reaching toward it, and Vella kept one gold hand beneath her damaged ribs.
"That is the report," Lucan said. "The one I changed before sending it below."
Hajin stood beside Juna with six Rings open, though the returned clone damage still burned beneath the tattoo across his shoulder.
"The report could clear your name if it survives long enough to reach the court," Hajin said.
"It could clear me by placing Cessy alone beneath the order," Lucan replied.
Cessy looked at him through Vella's gold, and the anger in her face remained quieter than the pain beneath the route.
