Stepping through the front door, Markus barely registers the sunlight before Alexia rushes toward him in a panic.

  “Markus—Ange left. Her house is gone.”

  She grabs his wrist and drags him toward the street.

  Where a house used to stand, there is nothing. Only scorched, lifeless grass.

  Markus’s heart stutters. He forces air into his lungs and steps forward.

  “Okay—she’s an interdimensional being. Maybe she just… went to a café. Lemres is always talking about that one in space.”

  Alexia stares at him flatly. “Markus. Do you really think Ange, of all people, went to a café?”

  He exhales sharply. “Right. Fair point. I’ll just use a quick teleport—he should be able to find her.”

  Markus lifts his Mahoishi—

  —and an arcane blast crashes down from the sky, exploding in front of them.

  He jumps back. “Where did that come from!?”

  “Over there,” Alexia says, pointing.

  “You two—get the kids inside,” Markus orders. “I’ve got this.”

  Mana flares as he draws the Life-Giving Blade. A familiar figure rises from the smoldering ground.

  “Hey—be more careful. You could’ve hit a child,” Markus snaps.

  “Understandable, and I’m sorry,” Lemres says quickly, raising a hand in surrender. “But it was for a good reason. You see, I need to stop you. You might start thinking about going to a fancy restaurant or something and—”

  “Lemres.” Markus’s tone slices through the rambling. “Tell me straight. What did you not want me to do?”

  Lemres holds out a tape. “Watch this.”

  He opens a portal beside him, reaches in, grabs a huge handful of marshmallows, and starts eating them like this is completely normal.

  “Lemres… I don’t have a VHS player,” Markus says flatly.

  “Oh—right. Give it back.”

  Lemres snatches the tape, flicks his wrist, and sends it spinning midair.

  It whirls faster and faster until a shimmering hologram crackles to life above it, bathing Markus and Alexia in cold blue light.

  Priest Urban appears in the projection.

  “Yes, yes—my eyes don’t deceive me. That was a demon,” he says smugly. “We now have proof that Hell is real.”

  Liddle’s grip tightens around Markus’s arm. He feels her tremble. His jaw locks.

  “Oh? That’s good,” Urban continues, voice oily with excitement. “If we kidnap the demon the Dragon Slayer is traveling with, we can force him to help us. Yes. We can even start a war between us and Hell.”

  He leans in, eyes gleaming. “And we can use that to boost church membership.”

  The hologram sputters and dies. The tape drops to the ground with a dull clack.

  Lemres exhales, all traces of humor gone. “You see… Ange and I are going to kill the priest to stop this.”

  Markus gives him a cold look. “It’s harder to trust you after you blasted me from the sky.”

  “You’re right,” Lemres admits with a wince. “The other order would’ve been better.”

  He lifts his staff, aiming it straight at Markus.

  Markus raises the Life-Giving Blade in response. “I can’t let you do that. As much as I’d love to… killing the priest won’t fix anything.”

  “I understand,” Lemres says quietly, almost solemn. “You’re duty-bound to fight me. I won’t hold it against you.”

  He glances toward the nearby houses. His voice softens, serious.

  “Come on. Let’s make sure the children don’t get hurt.”

  A swirling portal rips open behind him, wind tugging at his coat and scattering ash across the scorched grass.

  “But please understand why I can’t let you get in the way,” he says, eyes heavy with guilt.

  Markus steps into the portal—

  —and is blasted the instant he appears on the other side.

  The force slams into him, boots grinding through dust, but he plants his feet and lifts the Life-Giving Blade. The red glow steadies his stance, locking him in place.

  “Most people don’t get back up so quickly,” Lemres says. His voice carries a tired sort of respect as he raises his staff for another spell.

  Markus tries to activate his Mahoishi. The stone buzzes, sputters—he forces himself to loosen his grip on the sword, exhaling slowly the way Alexia taught him. Mana coils around his hand, forming tendrils of light that yank a nearby rock upward.

  He snaps his wrist.

  The rock launches skyward.

  Lemres fires another arcane missile.

  It misses.

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  Then another.

  And another—

  Each one carves through empty air as Markus keeps moving, the blade’s glow guiding his rhythm.

  Then Markus stops cold.

  He doesn’t dodge the next missile. He lets it streak past without flinching.

  “Wait a minute…” Markus mutters. His eyes narrow. “You’re stalling. Your aim is never this bad.”

  “Ange is on her way right now,” Lemres says quickly, already opening a swirling portal behind him. “She’ll be at the priest’s room any second and, well… you know how that ends.”

  He fires a quick arcane shot at Markus’s legs—just force, not lethal—knocking him off balance before retreating toward the portal.

  “Take this as a warning,” Lemres calls, voice tight with conflict. “Stay out of this. You’re a good kid… and I’d hate to be the one who has to kill you.”

  And with that, he vanishes into the vortex.

  Markus opens a portal of his own and drags himself through. The moment he hits the floor on the other side, pain spikes up his leg. He collapses with a grunt—

  —and Alexia is already there, kneeling over him, healing light pouring from her hands.

  “Lucky for you, it’s not too bad this time,” she says, relief softening her voice.

  “Lemres is just trying to slow me down…” Markus mutters—

  Then a realization slams into him. His breath catches. “Liddle—where is she?!”

  “She’s in the house,” Alexia says quickly. “I’ll leave you two alone. Sid called me—something about needing help at home.”

  “Okay… we’ll talk later.” Markus forces himself upright. “I need to make sure Liddle’s safe.”

  He jogs toward the house—

  —and arms wrap around him before he even sees her.

  “Welcome home,” Liddle whispers, placing a gentle hand on his cheek. Markus touches her horn without thinking, needing the solidness of it under his fingers.

  “You’re okay…” he breathes, pulling her into a tight hug.

  “Um—yeah. You’re the one who went out fighting,” Liddle says, nudging the door shut with her foot. Her smile crumples the moment she sees his face. “Markus… what’s wrong? Oh—what happened to your leg?”

  “It’s fine,” Markus says quickly. Too quickly. “But listen—there’s something you need to know. They’re going to try to kidnap you, so we have to—

  He doesn’t get to finish—

  because there’s a knock at the door.

  Markus freezes.

  Liddle’s hand tightens around his sleeve.

  He opens the door slowly.

  A church member stands on the porch, wearing a smile that looks stapled there.

  “Nice to meet you today,” he says brightly. “Would you like to talk about our Lord and Savior?”

  He lifts a small book labeled Bible.

  “No thank you,” Markus says, already pushing the door closed.

  But the man wedges his foot between the frame and the door.

  Before Markus can react, the man flips open the Bible—

  revealing a gun nestled inside the hollowed pages.

  The man raises the gun and points it straight at Markus’s chest.

  “Give me the demon,” he growls.

  Markus doesn’t blink.

  “I’ll never give up my wife.”

  His arm snaps forward.

  A mana-whip lashes out, cracking against the man’s wrist. The gun clatters across the porch.

  Before the attacker can recover, Markus snatches the hollowed Bible-frame from his grip—

  and smacks him across the face with it.

  The man stumbles, collapsing onto the porch steps.

  Markus steps toward him, the gentle daylight behind him swallowed by shadow. The man’s breath catches; he sees death in Markus’s eyes.

  “I— I was told you had a n-no-kill rule…” the man stammers, shaking so hard the words break apart.

  Markus leans in close, voice low and cold.

  “If you or anyone else comes after my family again,” he says, each syllable carved from steel,

  “you’re going to wish you were dead.”

  The man doesn’t even glance at the fallen gun.

  He scrambles to his feet, trips, then sprints toward his car. The engine shrieks as he peels out of the driveway, tires screaming down the street.

  The moment Markus is sure the attacker is gone, he spins and bolts back inside.

  “Liddle—where’s Sally?!”

  Silence.

  Markus freezes in the middle of the living room. His chest tightens like a fist closing around his heart. Every nightmare crashes through him at once—Sally taken, Liddle hurt. Kidnapped.

  Gone.

  His breath stumbles. His fingers tremble as he grips the doorway, throat too tight to speak.

  “We’re up here!”

  Liddle’s voice finally echoes from the top of the stairs — shaky, but steady enough to reach him.

  Markus takes the stairs two at a time, nearly tripping in his rush.

  “Hi, Daddy…” Sally whispers.

  Markus sweeps her into a tight hug, arms trembling around her. “I’m so glad you two are okay,” he breathes, holding her like he’ll never let go.

  He finally pulls back just enough to look at her. “They might come back. Do you remember the plan we talked about, Sally?”

  “Yeah.” She nods quickly. “There’s a bunker under the orphanage. Grab all the kids and get everyone down there.”

  Markus pats her head, pride and fear warring in his eyes.

  “Am I lucky, Dad?” she asks softly.

  Markus swallows. “I’ll try to make this pass as quickly as possible. Now go. Lead them.”

  Sally darts down the stairs, calling for the other kids. Together they rush outside to the deck. Markus unlocks the hidden latch beneath it, revealing a reinforced metal hatch. Sally enters the code, and the heavy bunker door hisses open. The children vanish down the staircase to safety.

  “Markus.”

  Liddle grabs his hand, eyes blazing. “I know what you’re thinking — and no. I won’t allow it.”

  “I didn’t say anything yet.”

  “But I’m saying it now.”

  She steps close, wraps her arms around him, and kisses the tip of his nose. “I’m coming with you. We’re strong as long as we stay together.”

  Markus lifts her off the ground, holding her tight, almost desperately so.

  “It’s you they’re after,” he whispers into her hair. “I need you to stay with the kids so… so if I don’t come back, Sally will still have a mother.”

  Liddle shoves lightly at his chest. “No.”

  “Liddle—”

  Markus drops to one knee in front of her, voice cracking at the edges. “Come on, I—”

  “I’m not going to lose you again!” Liddle snaps, her voice cracking under the pressure. “The last time you went out there, you were kidnapped. I thought you were dead and… and…”

  Markus pulls her into a tight embrace, one hand brushing her horns, grounding her.

  “I understand how you feel,” he whispers. “But they’re after you, not me. Please. I promise I’ll come back.”

  Her voice shrinks to something fragile. “Promise?”

  “Yes.” He cups her face gently. “I’m looking forward to the day we can put all of this behind us.”

  He kisses her — soft, lingering — then glances toward his Mahoishi.

  Before he can turn away, he moves back and pulls her into another hug, crushing her against him like he’s afraid she might vanish.

  “I needed a moment,” Markus murmurs, poking her tail gently and watching the instinctive twitch. “I just… I want to be with you.”

  “Be quick,” Liddle says, wiping her eyes and forcing a shaky smile. “And when you’re done, we can get dinner together. Anywhere you want.”

  “I love you so much,” Markus breathes.

  “I know,” she whispers. “I love you too.”

  Markus opens a swirling portal and steps through, entering Ange’s house.

  Only one thought burns in his chest—sharper than fear, louder than pain:

  No one is dying today.