Sylva sat bound against the trunk of a gnarled tree at the edge of the city outskirts, silver moonlight cutting across her hood and sharp features. The rope around her wrists wasn't elaborate—just practical. Tight enough to remind her she wasn't leaving. Loose enough to suggest confidence.
Reider sat a few feet away on a broken stone slab, posture relaxed, elbows resting loosely on his knees. Eryndra lounged beside him, one leg stretched out, the other bent, chin resting on her palm as she studied him like he was a puzzle she hadn't solved yet.
Sylva watched them both carefully.
They weren't acting like captors.
They weren't acting like heroes either.
They were… talking.
And that unsettled her more than threats would have.
Eryndra finally broke the silence.
"Okay," she said, leaning forward with sudden intensity. "I have to ask—how the hell do you move so fast without turning everything around you into rubble?"
Reider glanced at her, tilting his head slightly.
"You mean," he replied evenly, "why the ground doesn't explode when I step on it?"
"Yes!" Eryndra threw her hands up dramatically. "The wind pressure alone should be tearing through walls! Every time you disappear, it's like you were never even there. No cracks. No shockwaves. Nothing."
Sylva blinked.
She hadn't considered that.
When he had grabbed her in the hideout, it hadn't felt violent. It had felt… clean. Like reality had simply misplaced her.
Reider looked up toward the sky, as though weighing how much explanation he felt like giving.
"…It's not just about moving fast," he said. "It's about controlling how I move."
Eryndra raised an eyebrow.
"Explain, genius."
He lifted his hand and traced a simple line in the air.
"Most people who move at high speeds rely on raw power. They push against the ground and let their force carry them forward."
As he spoke, Sylva could almost picture it—mages flaring their cores, warriors channeling mana through their legs—
Reider continued.
"That's why you see cracks in stone when they accelerate. They brute-force momentum. They overwhelm the surface beneath them."
A faint memory surfaced in Sylva's mind—demon elites launching themselves across battlefields, stone shattering beneath their boots.
He tapped his temple.
"I don't do that. I control where my force is applied."
Eryndra crossed her arms.
"…Still sounds like magic."
Reider shook his head.
"No core, remember? It's not magic."
His voice remained flat.
"It's efficiency."
He reached down and picked up a small rock from the dirt.
"Think of movement like throwing this."
He flicked his wrist.
The rock shot forward in a straight line and struck a nearby tree with a sharp thunk.
"If you throw it in a straight line with all your strength, it hits hard."
He retrieved another small stone.
This time, he tossed it in a gentle arc. It curved smoothly and landed softly in the grass.
"But if you adjust how it moves—change the angle, shift the weight—you control the impact."
Eryndra stared at him.
"So… you're just throwing yourself in a controlled way?"
Reider nodded once.
"Exactly. Instead of pushing against the ground like a normal person, I shift my momentum through the air before I even make contact."
Sylva's eyes drifted to his boots.
She remembered.
When he had moved—when he had dragged her across the city—she hadn't felt crushing force. She hadn't heard thunder beneath his steps.
She had felt… displacement.
Reider's voice continued calmly.
"I only step when I need to. The rest is redirection."
Eryndra blinked.
"…So you're telling me you're air-stepping your way through reality like some kind of ghost?"
He shrugged slightly.
"I move between forces. Not through them."
Sylva's brow furrowed.
Between forces?
Eryndra ran a hand through her hair.
"Alright, fine. But what about air resistance? You're fast enough to tear through walls. Shouldn't you be making sonic booms every time you take off?"
Reider lifted a finger.
"That's where it gets trickier."
He leaned back slightly.
"Speed isn't just about movement. It's about timing."
"Timing?" Eryndra repeated skeptically.
"If I accelerate too quickly, I break the air," he explained. "If I apply force in a single burst, resistance reacts violently."
He paused.
"But if I distribute acceleration across micro-adjustments—small corrections layered over each other—I slip through resistance instead of fighting it."
Sylva stared.
He was describing something no demon scholar had ever articulated that way.
Not magic.
Not brute strength.
Control.
Eryndra stared at him for a long moment before shaking her head.
"…You realize none of this makes sense, right?"
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"To you."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Oh, you're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"A little."
Eryndra groaned and leaned back dramatically.
"Great. The guy with no core is breaking physics and enjoying making me feel dumb."
Sylva finally spoke.
"…What are you?"
Her voice came out sharper than intended.
Reider turned his gaze to her.
Expression unreadable.
"Someone who doesn't need a core to fight demons."
There was no pride in his tone.
No arrogance.
Just fact.
Eryndra waved a hand dismissively.
"Whatever. Point is, you move stupid fast and you're not a walking catastrophe while doing it."
She leaned closer to him with a slow grin.
"But if you can control all that force… tell me."
Her eyes gleamed.
"What would happen if you didn't hold back?"
The air changed.
Subtle.
But undeniable.
Reider's gaze darkened.
For just a fraction of a second, something ancient flickered behind his eyes.
"…The world would break before I do."
Silence fell.
Even Eryndra didn't joke.
Sylva felt her throat tighten.
He hadn't bragged.
He hadn't threatened.
He had simply stated a conclusion.
Eryndra cleared her throat and shook her head lightly.
"Well," she muttered, forcing a grin, "remind me never to piss you off."
Reider's faint smirk returned.
"Too late."
She clutched her chest dramatically.
"My heart! You've already crushed it!"
Sylva stared at them.
They joked about destruction like it was a passing inconvenience.
That scared her more than open hostility would have.
Reider's attention shifted fully back to her.
The atmosphere sharpened.
"Alright," he said calmly. "Enough stalling."
His eyes locked onto hers.
"Why have the demons taken over Eldross?"
Sylva scoffed and tilted her head, forcing a smug expression.
"You think I'd just tell you? What kind of idiot do you take me for?"
Reider leaned forward slightly.
His presence grew heavier—not physically oppressive, but mentally anchoring.
"The kind who already knows she's trapped," he replied quietly. "The only choice left is whether you make this easy or difficult."
Her fingers tightened against the rope.
"I don't care what you do to me."
Eryndra leaned casually against a nearby stone wall, arms folded.
"Oh, sweetie," she said with a grin. "You should care. He doesn't have to do anything."
Sylva frowned.
"…What?"
Reider's voice remained steady.
"You see, I already know some of the plan."
Her heart skipped.
"I just need the details."
Sylva narrowed her eyes.
"Oh really? Enlighten me."
Reider leaned back slightly, arms crossing.
"The demons didn't take Eldross just for conquest."
Her expression didn't change.
But her pulse did.
"That wouldn't require keeping the queen alive."
Her eye twitched.
He continued.
"You needed Eldross for something more. A reason to control the population instead of slaughtering them."
Eryndra grinned.
"Damn, he's good."
Reider raised one finger.
"One: the queen remains alive. That makes her valuable. Either as leverage or as a key."
He raised a second finger.
"Two: you demons are efficient. You eliminate resistance immediately. Yet you allowed Leona to escape."
Sylva's breath caught.
"That wasn't an accident."
He raised a third finger.
"And three… Orion sent me here."
The name landed like a stone dropped in still water.
Sylva's composure cracked for a fraction of a second.
Reider noticed.
"Which means your kind did something that caught his attention."
"…Tch."
A small, involuntary reaction.
Reider's faint smirk returned.
"Bingo."
Sylva grit her teeth.
"…You don't need me to talk, do you?"
"No," he admitted calmly. "But I prefer confirmation."
Eryndra chuckled.
"So? You gonna spill, or are we just gonna let him keep terrifying you with logic?"
Sylva exhaled sharply.
Fine.
"…You're right," she said bitterly. "We needed Eldross for something specific."
Reider didn't react.
He simply waited.
"The land of Eldross," she continued, "is built atop ancient ruins. Beneath the capital lies the remains of something old."
Her voice lowered.
"Something divine."
Reider's eyes sharpened slightly.
"Go on."
Sylva swallowed.
"There are remnants there. A fragment of a god's power."
Eryndra straightened.
"A god?"
Sylva nodded.
"Long before demon kings and human empires, there was an old deity worshipped in this region. The temple was buried. Forgotten."
Her gaze hardened.
"But not erased."
Reider nodded slightly.
"So you weren't after the kingdom."
"…No."
"You were after what lies beneath it."
"Yes."
Eryndra let out a low whistle.
"Well damn."
Reider's tone remained neutral.
"What is the fragment capable of?"
Sylva hesitated.
Then answered.
"The records say it's not a weapon."
"Then what?"
"It's a catalyst."
Silence deepened.
"It amplifies whatever power binds with it," she said quietly. "Mana. Demonic energy. Divine energy."
Eryndra's smile faded.
"And your demon king wants it."
Sylva nodded.
"To change the world."
Reider closed his eyes briefly.
Processing.
Calculating.
When he opened them again, they were clear.
"We're going underground."
Sylva blinked.
"…What?"
"If that's where their plan originates," he said evenly, "that's where we go next."
Eryndra grinned slowly, cracking her knuckles.
"Oh, now this is getting interesting."
Reider stepped closer to Sylva.
"You're coming with us."
Her eyes widened.
"You can't be serious."
"I am."
"You think I'll guide you?"
"I think," he replied calmly, "you prefer staying alive."
Sylva swallowed.
He wasn't wrong.
And that terrified her most of all.
Because for the first time since joining the demon ranks—
She wasn't sure which side was more dangerous.
The night wind moved softly through the trees.
And beneath the distant city of Eldross—
Something ancient waited.