The ruined combat district remained active behind Noctis as he stood with the gathered students near the collapsed walkway, and the invitation he had given them had not settled into stillness because nothing in the Academy had stopped moving long enough for it to become a clean moment. Healers continued carrying wounded enforcers past broken sections of railing while maintenance crews dragged shattered suppression pillars away from the training grounds, the metal frames scraping across cracked stone and leaving pale trails of unstable mana sparks behind them. Valdred's voice still cut across the field from the direction of the elders, his reprimands mixing with the groan of damaged arena walls and the steady hum of emergency repair formations stabilizing the structures that had survived the fight. The students closest to Noctis kept looking between him, the wrecked battlefield, and the restored sky overhead, their bodies still showing the conflict between fear and interest through small physical movements: Vexia's golden tail moved in sharp restless arcs behind her while she tried to look casual beside the broken railing, Cassian Drayke adjusted his cracked spectacles with fingers that remained slightly too stiff, and the ice witch standing near him kept one hand wrapped around her opposite sleeve as frost gathered and melted along the fabric from the instability in her breathing.
Noctis had just shifted his weight away from the railing and was about to walk back toward Valdred when a dragon roar rolled across the damaged Academy district from above the outer combat towers. The sound spread through the repair smoke and broken barrier frames with enough depth that several workers instinctively crouched beside their carts, and the students gathered near Noctis looked upward as loose dust shook from the edges of nearby fractured stone arches. The roar did not carry hostility, but it carried size, age, and weight that pressed through the body before the mind could separate meaning from instinct. Farther across the battlefield, even Valdred paused mid-reprimand and turned toward the sky while one elder beside him used the interruption to lower his head and pretend he had not been the target of the Vice Principal's anger moments earlier.
Bahamut descended through the restored sky with Rengar positioned along the massive dragon's back near the base of the neck, and the air beneath the Primeval Sanguorath's wings compressed downward across the already broken field as he lowered toward an open section beyond the damaged arena boundary. Broken papers, dust, splinters of charred wood, and loose fragments of shattered barrier glass rolled outward from the landing pressure before several repair workers hurriedly grabbed unstable equipment to keep it from scattering farther across the district. Students along the elevated walkways pressed themselves against damaged walls or railings as Bahamut's shadow crossed over them, and the beastkin among Noctis's small group reacted most strongly, ears flattening, tails stiffening, and eyes tracking the dragon's claws as they settled into an open stretch of cracked stone that dipped slightly beneath his weight.
Rengar leapt down first, landing lightly beside a broken section of the arena floor while Bahamut folded his wings with a slow controlled motion that sent another gust across the field and stirred the smoke drifting from damaged pillars. The lycanthrope crossed toward Noctis with visible urgency held beneath discipline, his shoulders low and his ears angled forward while his eyes moved quickly over Noctis's body, the surrounding damage, the kneeling elders, the wounded enforcers, and the students gathered near the walkway. "Master," he said while lowering his head slightly, and the formality in his voice remained intact despite the fact that his breathing had quickened from the rush across the Academy. "We sensed your transformation from the manor."
Bahamut's enormous head lowered behind him until one crimson-black eye fixed on Noctis from above the shattered field, and his voice carried through the district with enough weight that the nearby students felt it in the damaged stone beneath their boots. "The pressure you released was unlike anything you have shown before," he said while residual wind from his wings moved through the torn banners hanging from a nearby tower. "It was not merely strength. Something in it disturbed the instinct." His eye shifted briefly toward the restored sky, then toward the broken battlefield, and the massive dragon's claws pressed lightly into the stone as if he were measuring whether another threat remained hidden nearby.
Noctis looked from Rengar to Bahamut while repair crews continued moving around them at a cautious distance, and the students behind him watched without speaking as the massive dragon and the lycanthrope both treated him with unmistakable deference. "Yeah, that transformation got a little out of hand," Noctis said while brushing a smear of dust from the front of his trench coat, and he kept the tone casual because the alternative would have drawn attention to the part he was not ready to discuss. "The Principal decided to test me, the Academy nearly lost another chunk of itself, and Valdred is probably about to develop a permanent headache because of me."
Valdred, who had already started walking toward them while still pointing two fingers toward the elders as if warning them not to leave before he finished, heard enough of that sentence to glare across the ruined ground. "Probably?" he asked while stepping around a cracked formation plate that sparked near his boot, and his armor shifted with each step as he crossed the battlefield through smoke, broken stone, and blood-streaked dust. "I have had you enrolled for only a few days, and the Academy has already suffered manor seizures, student casualties, destroyed combat fields, injured enforcers, elder suppression, a Principal manifestation, dimensional rupture, and unauthorized student recruitment."
Noctis glanced back toward the students, several of whom straightened as Valdred approached because none of them seemed sure whether their invitation to train under Noctis had just become another crime. "Unauthorized sounds harsh."
"It is accurate," Valdred said while stopping near him, and despite the exhaustion weighing down his voice, his gaze remained sharp enough that two nearby students immediately stopped whispering. Behind him, healers continued dragging the Vajra instructor's stabilized body toward a reinforced transport platform, and the ruined teacher groaned weakly when one regeneration seal tightened around a stump where an arm should have been. Valdred pointed briefly in that direction without looking away from Noctis. "That entire disaster began during what was supposed to be a basic combat class."
"Which is why basic combat class is not helping me," Noctis replied while Bahamut's head remained lowered behind him and Rengar stood at his side with hands relaxed near his blades. "The Principal already said I do not need to attend ordinary classes."
Valdred exhaled through his nose while another unstable barrier node flickered nearby and forced him to raise one hand, sending a quick stabilizing pulse into the damaged formation before it sprayed sparks toward the students. "Yes. The Principal's decision is now official. You are under his protection, you may access Academy resources, and you are exempt from ordinary classes provided you do not use that freedom to destroy more of the institution."
Noctis looked thoughtful for a moment while smoke drifted between them from the damaged arena behind Valdred, then he turned slightly so the students remained within the edge of his vision. Vexia noticed the glance immediately and tilted her head with open curiosity, her golden ears twitching, while Cassian's attention sharpened behind his spectacles. The ice witch beside him shifted her footing on a cracked stone seam, pale frost briefly spreading beneath her boot before fading. Noctis lowered his voice enough that it did not carry across the entire district, though the students closest still leaned subtly closer. "If I do not need to attend classes, I can train them instead."
Valdred's eyes moved toward the students, then back to Noctis, while a repair crew dragged a collapsed barrier frame past them with enough noise that the metal shrieked across stone and made several younger students flinch. "Them?"
"This batch can be the first," Noctis said, gesturing casually toward the fifteen students gathered near the walkway. "They are interested, and they need practical training. When I am away, Rengar and Bahamut can help."
Rengar's ears shifted once, but he did not object. Bahamut lifted his head slightly, his scales catching the light from emergency formations still flickering across the damaged district. "If you command it, I will observe their discipline," he said, and the students closest to the dragon stiffened at the thought of being trained under something large enough to cover the walkway with its shadow.
Noctis smiled faintly while Valdred stared at him with the kind of tired suspicion he had developed specifically for Noctis-related ideas. "I will create super elite demons out of them," Noctis said while workers behind him carried another wounded enforcer toward the healing line and two students exchanged quick glances at the phrase. "You keep saying the Academy exists to strengthen the Demon Realm. Let me strengthen them properly."
Valdred's mouth tightened as though he had expected the proposal to be absurd and found, to his irritation, that it was not entirely unreasonable. His gaze moved again across the students, lingering on their posture, their incomplete uniforms, their fear, their fascination, and the way they still stood near Noctis despite what they had witnessed. Beyond them, the ruined combat field continued smoking beneath the restored sky, and the difference between Academy doctrine and Noctis's practical combat understanding lay scattered everywhere in broken stone, shattered barriers, wounded enforcers, and a Vajra instructor being transported away without limbs. "A trial run," Valdred said at last while adjusting one damaged gauntlet and looking directly at Noctis. "They remain Academy students. They attend normal classes while you are away. You may train them when you return, but before the next Demon Crucible Trial they must pass a combat evaluation administered by the Academy. If they improve measurably, and if they survive your training without creating another district-wide incident, I will allow the arrangement to continue."
Noctis nodded as if the terms sounded perfectly normal while several students behind him began whispering over each other in uneven bursts, their excitement leaking through movements they tried to restrain: Vexia's tail moved faster, the ice witch's frost aura pulsed around her sleeves, Cassian adjusted his glasses twice in the span of a few seconds, and the unnamed students behind them shifted closer together as if confirming silently that they had all heard the same thing. "Works for me," Noctis said while glancing toward the Academy clock formation floating above a distant tower beyond the damaged field. "But I need to head out soon. Mission assembly is today."
Valdred followed his glance and looked even more exhausted when he remembered the fortress assault assignment. "Try to complete the mission without creating another institutional crisis."
"No promises if the Church is annoying."
"That is not reassuring."
Noctis turned toward the students while Valdred rubbed the bridge of his nose, and Bahamut lowered his head again as the group's attention shifted between the dragon, the mansion invitation, and the mission deadline. "Do you all want to come to the mansion first?" Noctis asked while repair crews continued pulling debris from the field behind him and Valdred turned back toward an elder who had tried to quietly move away. "I have to leave soon, but we can talk there before I go."
The answer did not come as a single shout because the group reacted through movement first. Several students looked at one another, one boy stepped forward too quickly and nearly tripped over a broken piece of barrier glass, Vexia grinned while pretending she had not already decided, and Cassian looked toward Valdred as if waiting to see whether permission would be revoked. When the Vice Principal merely waved one hand without looking back, the students' hesitation loosened. "We'll come," Vexia said while stepping around the broken railing, and her voice drew several immediate nods from the others.
Noctis looked toward Bahamut. "Can you bring them back to the mansion?"
Bahamut's nostrils released a slow breath that pushed dust across the cracked stones in front of him, and his eyes moved over the gathered students with the measured patience of an ancient predator being asked to carry fledglings. "Of course," he replied, and the weight of the answer carried enough pride that several students straightened unconsciously. He lowered his body carefully toward the broken ground, folding one wing partially to create a safer path along his side while scales shifted beneath the movement and claws dug shallow grooves into stone already weakened by the earlier battle. "Climb carefully. Hold to the dorsal spines when I rise. Do not grab the wing joints."
The students approached cautiously while Rengar moved first, ascending Bahamut's side with practiced ease and settling near the base of the neck before turning to guide them with short gestures. Vexia climbed lightly despite the trembling edge in her tail, her hands finding stable scale ridges quickly, while the ice witch moved slower to avoid letting frost gather under her palms. Cassian helped one shorter student find footing along a lower scale before climbing after him, and several others whispered nervously as they reached Bahamut's broad back and realized the dragon was not merely large from a distance; he was a living terrain of black scale, heat, pressure, and slow breathing beneath them.
Noctis remained on the ground while the last students climbed onto Bahamut's back, and Rengar looked down toward him with a slight tilt of the head. "You are not riding with us, Master?"
"I will meet you there," Noctis said while adjusting his coat and checking the mission token at his waist. "Need to move faster."
Genesis pressure gathered beneath his feet with a subtle shift that disturbed dust around his boots, and before the students could ask what he meant, the space around him folded through the familiar layered displacement of Genesis Step. He did not leave behind a flash or ripple for the students to follow properly. One moment he stood on the cracked Academy field below Bahamut's lowered head, and the next the pressure where he had been thinned into empty air while loose dust settled back across the stone.
Bahamut spread his wings after the students adjusted their grip along his spines, and Rengar's voice carried low but firm near the front. "Hold tightly." The first wingbeat pushed wind across the ruined combat district hard enough that several repair workers shouted and covered exposed formation plates, and the dragon lifted from the ground with a controlled rise that pressed the students downward against his scales. Vexia's golden hair whipped behind her while she gripped a spine with both hands, Cassian's spectacles nearly slipped down his nose before he caught them with one finger, and one student behind him muttered something about never insulting dragons again.
The flight to the mansion lasted only a minute, but the students experienced enough in that minute to understand the scale of the Academy differently. From above, the damaged combat district looked worse than it had from the ground, with shattered arenas, broken walkways, and clusters of emergency formations glowing amid smoke. Farther beyond the damage, the instructional towers continued functioning under the restored sky while students gathered in courtyards and on balconies to look toward the flying dragon. Bahamut's wings moved in slow powerful beats that made the air buck around his body, and the students clung tightly to his dorsal spines as the Academy's roads, lecture halls, military fields, and sovereign residences passed beneath them in compressed motion.
Kaeltharion's former mansion appeared quickly beyond the forested walls of the sovereign residential district, its large courtyard and surrounding trees visible between the stone boundaries isolating the property from neighboring estates. Bahamut descended toward the rear grounds, and as they came lower the students saw Noctis already in the back courtyard with Bloodfang Reaper Scythe in hand, clearing sections of forest near the far side of the estate. He moved through the trees with efficient strokes rather than wild cutting, each swing severing trunks cleanly before the scythe rotated through another angle to divide fallen wood into manageable lengths. Logs already lay arranged in rough groups across the cleared ground, separated by size and thickness, while servants and escorts watched from a cautious distance near the mansion steps.
Bahamut landed in the courtyard with enough care that the students only jolted forward slightly, and his claws settled into the earth beside freshly cut logs while leaves and sawdust rolled outward from the landing pressure. The students climbed down more awkwardly than they had mounted, boots sliding briefly over smooth scales before Rengar helped the last two reach the ground. Bahamut folded his wings afterward, turned his enormous body toward the side of the courtyard where the forest still offered shade, and lowered himself with a slow rumble that shook nearby leaves from damaged branches. He rested his head near one foreclaw and watched the students for a moment before closing one eye. The other remained half-open because ancient dignity apparently did not prevent a dragon from preparing to sleep immediately after completing transportation.
Rengar approached Noctis while the students gathered near the edge of the cleared area and looked across the cut trees, stacked logs, and widened courtyard with growing curiosity. "What are you planning, Master?" he asked while stepping around a freshly severed trunk that still leaked sap onto the grass.
Noctis lifted Bloodfang Reaper Scythe and cut another fallen tree into three sections before answering, the curved blade passing through the wood with almost no resistance while sawdust scattered across his boots. "Training course," he said while turning the scythe once and letting the blade rest at an angle beside him. "When I get back, this area needs space. Logs can become movement obstacles, strike posts, weight drills, balance beams, or whatever else we need."
Vexia stepped closer to one of the cut logs and ran her fingers along the clean edge while her ears angled forward. "You cut this smoother than most saw formations."
"Scythes work fine if you know where to cut," Noctis said, and several students immediately looked toward the Bloodfang Reaper Scythe with renewed interest before he dissolved it into blood particles that flowed back into his coat. "Come inside. We will talk before I leave."
The mansion remained in transition when the group entered. Servants moved through halls carrying crates of Kaeltharion's confiscated belongings toward storage rooms, while escorts removed the last faction banners from upper walls and replaced broken furniture in side chambers that had been left damaged by the previous occupants. The students entered more quietly than they had spoken outside, their eyes tracking the large corridors, dark wood pillars, open balconies, and lingering signs of a noble faction territory being stripped and reshaped into something else. Several servants paused when fifteen students followed Noctis through the main hall, then bowed quickly and adjusted their routes around the group while the scent of tea, polished stone, and old blood wards drifted through the manor.
Noctis brought them into a large reception room overlooking the rear courtyard where Bahamut's body was visible through the open windows beneath the trees. Servants moved quickly once the group settled around the long tables, bringing tea for most of the students and carefully prepared blood for the vampire students after one escort whispered instructions to the household staff. Cassian accepted a glass of blood with a formal nod, though his eyes immediately shifted toward Noctis when a servant placed tea in front of him instead. Several other vampire students noticed the same thing, and the room's noise lowered slightly while cups clinked against trays and servants withdrew toward the side walls.
Noctis lifted the tea without hesitation and took a drink while leaning back in his chair. Cassian watched him over the rim of his own glass, spectacles catching the afternoon light from the windows. "You drink tea?" he asked while trying to keep the question polite, and another vampire student beside him looked equally confused while the servants continued distributing cups around the table.
Noctis glanced at the blood served to the vampires, then at his own tea. "Once you get strong enough, you do not need to rely on feeding the same way," he said while setting the cup down and adjusting the mission token near his waist. "Blood still has value depending on what you are extracting from it, but hunger should not be controlling you forever."
Cassian's fingers tightened slightly around his glass, not from fear but from interest, and the other vampire students leaned subtly closer while pretending to drink. Rengar stood near the wall rather than sitting, posture respectful and alert, while Vexia noticed the vampire reactions and smiled faintly over her tea. Velrisa Thorn, seated with one leg crossed and dark crimson hair resting over one shoulder, watched Noctis with a different kind of interest, her crimson eyes half-lidded as she traced one finger lightly along the rim of her cup.
Noctis spoke before the room could drift too far into speculation. "Valdred approved a trial arrangement," he said while servants continued removing empty trays and the students gradually turned their focus back toward him. "You stay Academy students, attend your normal classes while I am away, and when I return from this mission, you come here for training. Before the next Demon Crucible Trial, you will take a combat evaluation. If you pass, you can continue training under me permanently."
The room became active in small movements rather than a single reaction. Vexia's tail swept once behind her chair before she caught it against the seat. The ice witch's pale fingers tightened around her teacup until frost spread along the porcelain and she quickly loosened her grip. Cassian looked down at the table as if already calculating the timeframe before the evaluation. Rovan Drakar, the oni with dark red skin and one broken horn, leaned forward with both elbows near his knees while a grin pulled at the corner of his mouth. Several students whispered over each other until Rengar's gaze moved toward them and they lowered their voices immediately.
Noctis looked around the table as the overlapping murmurs settled into attention. "Before I leave, introduce yourselves properly. Not like roll call. Tell me what you are good at, what you think you are good at, and what you are probably lying to yourself about."
That forced several students to glance at one another with visible uncertainty.
Cassian stood first because his noble upbringing made hesitation look worse than risk. He set his glass down, adjusted his spectacles, and inclined his head with controlled formality while the light from the window moved across his black hair and pale features. "Cassian Drayke, noble vampire descendant. I specialize in swordsmanship directed at weak points, pressure gaps, and anatomical openings. My affinities are blood and water. I usually support combat lines through analysis and precision rather than brute force."
Noctis looked at his hands, then the posture of his shoulders, then the way Cassian had placed himself where he could observe the entire room without appearing guarded. "You think before you move," he said while picking up his tea again. "You also watch who everyone else watches. That means leadership habits are already forming whether you admit it or not. Weak point fighting fits you, but if you overanalyze, someone like Rengar will remove your head before your second conclusion."
Cassian's mouth tightened slightly, though the comment struck him more as instruction than insult. "Understood."
Vexia stood next, one dagger already turning lazily between her fingers in a way that drew attention without threatening anyone in the room. Her golden hair fell over one shoulder, matching the golden fur of her fox ears and tail, and the athletic line of her body carried enough confidence that several male students looked toward her before quickly looking away when Velrisa's gaze slid over them from across the table. "Vexia Runeflare," she said while the dagger disappeared behind her hand and reappeared reversed between her fingers. "Fox demon. Illusion, agility combat, twin daggers, stealth, sabotage, ambush, espionage. Future nine-tailed fox demon, if the world is generous and I do not die before earning it."
Noctis watched the dagger movement, then the way her tail shifted opposite her shoulder balance. "You hide footwork with your upper body well," he said while a servant passing behind him slowed slightly to avoid interrupting. "Your tail gives away more than you think. Good for deception if you control it. Bad if an enemy knows how to read you."
Vexia glanced at her own tail, then narrowed her eyes slightly with a smile that showed she was more pleased than offended. "I will fix that."
Velrisa rose before anyone else could follow, and the room changed because she knew exactly how to occupy it. She did not rush the movement. She let one hand rest against the table as she stood, dark crimson hair sliding over her shoulder while her voice entered the space with a smooth warmth that made several male students unconsciously straighten. "Velrisa Thorn," she said, and the natural charm threaded through her tone subtly enough that weaker minds might not notice the magic beneath the voice. "Succubus. Mental interference, emotional manipulation, aura charm, and battlefield disruption through attention control."
She leaned closer toward Noctis while saying the last part, close enough that the scent of dark floral perfume and charm magic drifted faintly across the table, and several students nearby forgot to look away from her until Vexia gave a soft laugh into her teacup. Noctis merely took another drink of tea and looked at Velrisa over the rim as Omni Eyes traced the charm pressure trying to touch his focus. "Your control is clean," he said after setting the cup down. "But you push the same direction too often. Anyone who can see the influence will know exactly when you are testing them."
Velrisa's smile did not break, but one finger stopped moving along the table surface for half a breath. "And you can see it?"
"Yes."
"Does it bother you?"
"No."
Vexia's ears lifted with open amusement while several male students looked between Velrisa and Noctis as if they had just witnessed the impossible. Velrisa sat slowly, eyes still on him, and the charm around her withdrew like silk being pulled back into a sleeve.
The introductions continued while servants refilled cups, the mansion creaked softly under movement from workers in nearby halls, and Bahamut's slow breathing remained visible through the rear windows. Seraphina Glacielle, the ice witch, introduced herself with quiet precision, explaining her affinity for ice magic and battlefield control while frost formed along her cup despite her attempt to restrain it; Noctis noted her control was strong when stationary but would probably fracture under aggressive movement. Rovan Drakar named himself as an oni demon specializing in heavy melee and shock-force combat, and Noctis pointed out that the way he leaned forward made his charge predictable before Rovan laughed and admitted he preferred when enemies knew he was coming. Draven Mordrys, the bronze-scaled dragonkin, introduced fire breath and close combat with disciplined pride, and Noctis told him not to mistake bloodline confidence for combat readiness, causing Draven to lower his head slightly in reluctant acceptance.
Vaelor Nighthand spoke from the edge of the group, his gray-black skin blending too easily with the shaded wall behind him, and his introduction was short enough that several students almost missed it: shadow demon, stealth, assassination, positional killing. Noctis looked toward him without needing to search and told him his footsteps were good but his breathing changed before movement, making Vaelor's eyes narrow with interest. Elyssara Mourningstar introduced herself with noble elegance, long white hair arranged perfectly despite the earlier battlefield chaos, and her dark magic and demonic formation specialty earned a brief comment from Noctis that formations were useful only if she could deploy them under pressure rather than in calm classrooms. Garruk Stonehide, the massive ogre-demon hybrid, spoke slowly and named defense and brute force as his strengths, and Noctis told him dependable walls mattered as long as they learned when to move.
Sylvi Crescent, the bat beastkin, introduced reconnaissance and sonic attacks so quickly that Cassian had to ask her to slow down, and Noctis noted that her hearing would make her excellent at battlefield awareness if she learned not to react to every sound emotionally. Orion Graves, the abyssal demon, spoke with little expression and named curses and pressure magic; Noctis observed that his aura control was stable but too rigid. Neria Hollowveil, the ghost witch hybrid, introduced soul manipulation and spirit magic in a soft voice while her translucent aura drifted faintly around her shoulders, and several students avoided looking directly at her until Noctis asked whether she could track lingering intent after death, causing her pale eyes to brighten subtly. Zareth Bloodclaw, the vampire-beastkin hybrid, named tracking and berserker combat while flexing clawed fingers against the table edge, and Noctis told him rage was useful only until it started making decisions for him. Isolde Veilfang, the night demon, introduced night magic and movement techniques with cool restraint, and Noctis approved of the way she kept her weight distributed evenly even while seated. Theron Blackwake, the dread demon with rune-marked hands, finished with weapon enchantment and destructive magic, his dry voice carrying faint amusement as he admitted he preferred making other people's weapons more dangerous before entering danger himself.
By the time the introductions ended, the room no longer felt like a cluster of frightened students gathered after a disaster. It felt like the first outline of a unit, still uneven and untested, but aware of its own shape beginning to form. Noctis looked across them while servants moved quietly along the walls and Rengar remained near the doorway watching with a predator's stillness. "Good," Noctis said while standing and adjusting his coat. "Attend classes for now. Watch what your instructors teach, but do not accept everything as useful just because someone older says it. When I return, training begins here, and I will be much harsher than the Academy."
Rovan grinned. Vexia's tail moved again. Cassian looked as if he had already begun organizing notes. Velrisa watched Noctis with renewed interest rather than wounded pride. The others shifted in small ways that showed readiness more than confidence, and Noctis glanced toward the mission token as it pulsed softly at his waist.
"I have to go," he said while moving toward the open space near the reception room entrance. "Head back after finishing your drinks. Do not wander into the rear forest unless you want Bahamut deciding whether you are trespassing."
Through the window, Bahamut opened one eye as if he heard his name, then closed it again.
Noctis used Genesis Step before the students could ask anything else, the space around him folding through pressure and motion while the curtains near the doorway stirred from the displacement. The mansion reception room remained filled with students, tea, blood, servants, and the first uneasy excitement of something new taking root inside Kaeltharion's former territory, while Noctis emerged near the Academy gates where the mission assembly grounds were already filling with armored demons, beast mounts, cargo transports, shouting commanders, and the heavy movement of a strike force preparing to leave for the Holy Church border.