The fortress gradually settled after the final Phoenix Formation drill beneath the frontier night while drifting crimson mist continued moving through the open courtyards, elevated battlements, and fractured training grounds scarred by two continuous hours of movement synchronization and blood pistol practice. Bullet impacts covered portions of the walls while shattered stone remained scattered across pathways and pillars throughout the fortress, and faint traces of blood aura still lingered in the air whenever the moving wind passed through the structure beneath the moonlight overhead.
The academy students returned from the inner sections of the fortress one group at a time while echoes of their footsteps carried through abandoned halls and stairways leading toward the central courtyard. Several had expected the fortress to remain relatively quiet after their search, yet the farther they approached the center of the stronghold, the more the atmosphere changed around them beneath the drifting frontier wind.
They first heard the gunfire.
Then movement bursts.
Then overlapping aura fluctuations spreading through the courtyard.
By the time they finally emerged from the inner hallways and stepped into the open training grounds, most of them slowed instinctively beneath the pressure radiating through the fortress.
The transformed hierarchy occupied the courtyard with organized precision.
The earlier disorder had disappeared completely.
Fallen angels moved throughout the battlements and open training areas while traces of Phantom Dash streaks occasionally crossed through the moonlit air above the fortress. Blood pistols rotated through gloved hands beneath drifting crimson mist while moving target constructs dissolved one after another beneath synchronized fire, and farther toward the western courtyard, the Crimson Marshals continued formation advance drills while massive blood-forged weapons shook portions of the stone pathways beneath repeated impact pressure.
The academy students stood quietly for several moments afterward.
This no longer looked like a collection of strange demons gathered around Noctis.
It looked like an organized military force.
And somehow, within only two hours, the entire atmosphere surrounding them had changed.
Several students exchanged uneasy glances afterward while their eyes shifted repeatedly toward the transformed hierarchy occupying the fortress beneath the moonlight. Even the way they stood felt disciplined now. The fallen angels naturally maintained spacing throughout the courtyard while the transformed clergy positioned themselves instinctively around Adrian beneath layered suppression pressure.
Noctis eventually noticed the academy students returning and raised one hand slightly.
The training immediately stopped.
Blood constructs dissolved back into drifting crimson mist while the fallen angels lowered their pistols and movement streaks vanished throughout the battlements overhead. The Crimson Marshals ended their formation advance simultaneously while the Dread Judicators emerged silently from surrounding pathways and repositioned themselves naturally toward the rear sections of the courtyard.
The discipline itself unsettled the academy students more than the power.
Every command from Noctis was obeyed instantly.
Without hesitation.
Without question.
The group leader eventually stepped farther into the courtyard beneath the moving night wind while his gaze swept slowly across the transformed hierarchy.
"You organized all of this in only a few hours?"
Noctis shrugged lightly beneath the drifting crimson mist curling around his trench coat. "They adapt quickly."
That honestly felt like a ridiculous understatement.
Several students quietly observed the fallen angels standing throughout the fortress afterward while portions of discomfort remained visible across their expressions. The male fallen angels especially radiated oppressive battlefield presence beneath the moonlight while blood-metal armor reflected faint crimson light from surrounding wards. Marcus alone looked capable of tearing apart entire formations through brute force, and Victor's towering frame beside the massive shield resting against the stone resembled a moving fortress wall more than an individual fighter.
The seven vampiric women meanwhile drew attention in an entirely different way.
The synchronized clicking of heels against the fortress stone echoed softly throughout the courtyard whenever they moved beneath the drifting frontier wind. Claire stood near the upper battlements while dark violet hair shifted gently through the moving night air and the blood-forged rapier hanging beside her waist reflected pale moonlight. Sophia leaned calmly near one of the shattered pillars beneath flowing silver-black hair while Hannah rotated one compact blood pistol lazily through her fingers farther nearby.
Eva openly enjoyed the attention.
Several male students had already looked toward her too long before quickly turning away awkwardly once she noticed and smiled faintly in response.
Nocthyrael remained beside Noctis throughout everything.
One arm wrapped tightly around his while her body stayed pressed naturally against him beneath the moonlight. Silver hair drifted softly around her shoulders while the Eye of Veinheart pulsed faintly beneath the fitted black armor hugging her body, and every time another female fallen angel unconsciously drifted slightly too close toward Noctis during the regrouping, Nocthyrael's crimson gaze immediately shifted toward them afterward.
Claire ignored the territorial pressure entirely.
She simply walked near Noctis naturally beneath the drifting frontier wind without touching him.
That alone visibly bothered Nocthyrael.
The academy girls noticed all of this immediately.
Several glanced repeatedly between Nocthyrael and the seven vampiric women afterward while traces of jealousy spread openly across portions of their expressions. The visual contrast felt overwhelming. The seven women walking together beneath fitted blood-metal armor, flowing hair, calm predatory expressions, and synchronized heel clicks created social pressure unlike anything most academy students had ever witnessed before.
Eventually the group leader cleared his throat awkwardly before speaking again.
"We should return to the academy."
Noctis nodded once afterward.
The formation reorganized almost instinctively.
Marcus, Victor, Ryan, and Jason moved naturally toward the front while the remaining fallen angels spread toward the flanks beneath the moving frontier wind. The transformed clergy positioned themselves farther toward the rear while Adrian occupied the center of the formation beneath drifting abyssal scripture.
Noctis and Nocthyrael remained near the center.
Claire naturally positioned herself nearby again.
Nocthyrael noticed instantly.
The academy students eventually regrouped among the moving formation afterward while the fortress gates slowly disappeared behind them beneath the frontier night.
The journey back through the frontier felt completely different from before.
Earlier, the academy group had moved cautiously through dangerous territory while remaining alert toward possible demon attacks, wandering beasts, and frontier ambushes hidden throughout the wasteland paths between strongholds.
Now the frontier itself reacted to them.
The pressure radiating from the transformed hierarchy spread continuously through the surrounding landscape while drifting blood mist occasionally moved across the roads beneath the moonlight overhead. Lesser demons avoided the formation entirely. Some creatures fled the moment they sensed the overlapping aura fluctuations spreading through the night air while others hid silently among ruined structures and rocky terrain rather than risk approaching.
Even the academy students gradually realized something unsettling afterward.
Nothing dared attack them anymore.
The road itself had become unnaturally safe.
The journey stretched quietly beneath the frontier night while footsteps echoed across broken stone roads and loose gravel pathways cutting through the wasteland terrain. The synchronized clicking of seven sets of heels repeatedly mixed with the heavier sounds of armored boots moving across the frontier roads while drifting crimson mist followed portions of the formation through the darkness.
Several male academy students eventually attempted conversation with the female fallen angels.
Mostly unsuccessfully.
Sophia ignored nearly everyone who approached her while calmly continuing forward beneath flowing silver-black hair. Claire answered politely when spoken to but remained emotionally distant afterward, causing several students to retreat awkwardly beneath her composed crimson gaze.
Eva meanwhile enjoyed the attention completely.
One student spent nearly ten minutes trying to impress her by describing his academy combat ranking before Eva smiled faintly and asked whether he truly believed he could survive three seconds fighting Marcus. The poor student visibly lost confidence almost immediately afterward while nearby fallen angels quietly suppressed amusement.
Hannah occasionally responded to conversation simply because she found the reactions entertaining.
Elena looked visibly irritated whenever someone attempted flirting.
Alice unsettled most people without even trying because she stared too long without blinking whenever spoken to directly.
No one approached Nocthyrael.
Not once.
The way she remained attached to Noctis made the relationship between them unmistakably obvious beneath the drifting frontier wind, and although many academy students occasionally glanced toward her beauty beneath the moonlight, nobody dared interfere with the possessive intimacy surrounding the pair.
The female academy students meanwhile became increasingly jealous the longer the journey continued.
Especially after noticing Claire walking near Noctis almost constantly.
Not touching him.
But always nearby.
The frontier roads gradually widened beneath the drifting night wind while torchfires and crimson lanterns illuminated the outer pathways leading toward the demon gate stronghold ahead. Even from a distance, the stronghold radiated noise and movement beneath the frontier sky. Merchants shouted across crowded stalls while drunken mercenaries laughed outside taverns overflowing with smoke and alcohol, and farther within the district, gambling halls, blood houses, blacksmith forges, and gentleman's clubs spilled light and music into the streets beneath drifting demonic aura.
The academy students had passed through the stronghold many times before.
Normally the place barely reacted to travelers.
Tonight, however, the atmosphere began changing the moment the formation approached the outer gates.
People noticed them immediately.
At first it was only scattered glances from merchants standing beside weapon stalls and wandering demons leaning near tavern entrances beneath the lantern glow. Then conversations gradually slowed while more eyes shifted toward the approaching group moving through the crowded frontier roads.
The transformed hierarchy naturally drew attention.
The male fallen angels looked less like ordinary demons and more like predatory nobles walking through the district beneath fitted blood-metal armor and long dark coats moving softly through the night wind. Crimson eyes reflected torchlight while composed military posture radiated overwhelming pressure naturally into the surrounding streets.
Marcus alone drew attention almost immediately.
"Gods…" one female worker whispered while grabbing her friend's arm beneath the lantern glow outside a gentleman's club. "Look at the size of him."
Another openly stared toward Victor walking beside the massive blood-metal shield resting against his back. "Forget the big one. Look at that one with the shield."
"He looks like he could split me in half."
"You sound excited about that."
"I might be."
The surrounding workers burst into laughter afterward while continuing to stare openly toward the approaching formation.
Then the seven vampiric women entered the lantern light.
The synchronized clicking of seven sets of heels against the stone roads echoed continuously beneath the crowded nightlife atmosphere while flowing hair shifted softly through the moving night air and fitted blood-metal armor hugged elegant predatory figures walking calmly through the district.
Conversations stopped completely nearby.
Several wandering mercenaries visibly forgot what they were saying.
One drunken demon standing outside a gambling hall nearly dropped his drink after seeing Claire and Sophia walking side by side beneath the drifting lantern glow.
"…Holy shit."
Claire's dark violet hair reflected crimson light softly while Sophia's silver-black hair flowed behind her beneath the moving frontier wind. Hannah rotated one compact blood pistol casually through her fingers while Eva openly observed the crowd with faint amusement already visible across her expression.
The reactions intensified instantly.
"Hey sweetheart!" a drunken mercenary shouted toward Eva while leaning against the entrance of a tavern. "You looking for company tonight?"
Eva turned her head slightly beneath the lantern light before letting her crimson eyes move slowly across him.
"You couldn't afford me."
The surrounding street erupted into laughter immediately while the mercenary stood frozen with his mouth slightly open.
"Damn…"
"She killed him."
Even Hannah laughed quietly afterward.
Another wandering demon whistled openly toward Elena beneath the crowded street atmosphere. "Beautiful! Come drink with us!"
Elena looked toward him once.
The demon immediately shut his mouth.
"…Never mind."
Sophia ignored nearly everyone completely.
Alice unsettled people without even trying.
One worker attempted smiling flirtatiously toward her only for Alice to stare silently at the woman for nearly five uninterrupted seconds beneath the lantern glow.
The worker slowly backed away afterward.
"…Why was that scarier than the armored ones?"
Meanwhile the academy students walking among the formation gradually became more uncomfortable the deeper they entered the district.
"This is insane," one male student muttered while watching nearly half the street openly stare at the group.
"Can you blame them?" another whispered back while glancing toward the seven women walking through the stronghold beneath synchronized heel clicks.
The female academy students looked no less disturbed.
Especially whenever they glanced toward Nocthyrael.
She remained attached to Noctis's arm almost the entire time while silver hair drifted softly around her shoulders beneath the moving night wind. Her body stayed pressed naturally against him while the Eye of Veinheart pulsed faintly beneath the fitted black armor accentuating her overwhelming figure.
No one approached her.
Not once.
The possessive intimacy between her and Noctis was impossible to misunderstand.
People stared.
Whispered.
Admired from distance.
But nobody dared interfere.
Claire walking near Noctis meanwhile only made things worse.
Not because she touched him.
She didn't.
But she intentionally remained close enough that the visual alone generated pressure.
The academy girls noticed immediately.
"So she's trying too?"
"She's definitely trying."
"And the silver-haired one notices every time."
Nocthyrael absolutely did notice.
Claire herself remained completely calm beneath the drifting lantern light while continuing beside the formation naturally.
The group eventually entered one of the busiest entertainment streets within the stronghold while music, laughter, alcohol, and drifting smoke filled the crowded pathways beneath rows of crimson lanterns overhead.
This time the gentleman's club workers reacted openly.
"Oh gods…"
One woman grabbed the edge of the doorway while staring toward Daniel and Ethan walking beside the formation.
"They're gorgeous."
"No," another corrected beneath the lantern glow while openly staring toward Nathan. "They're dangerous."
"That makes it better."
Before long several workers had already left the club entrance and moved directly toward the formation with practiced seductive smiles.
"Well now," one woman purred while approaching Ryan beneath the moving night air. "You boys look far too handsome to spend the night walking around."
Another stepped toward Ethan while tracing her eyes openly across the fitted armor covering his body.
"We have private rooms upstairs if you're interested."
"You can even bring your friends."
Several nearby workers laughed while moving closer toward Marcus, Nathan, and Victor beneath the crowded nightlife atmosphere.
The male fallen angels barely reacted.
Their expressions remained calm and emotionally detached while they continued walking through the district beneath the drifting frontier wind.
Which somehow made them even more attractive.
One particularly bold worker eventually stepped directly toward Daniel beneath the lantern glow while smiling lazily.
"You boys are way too tense," she purred while placing one hand lightly against his chest. "Relax a little—"
She screamed instantly.
"AHH—!"
Holy flames burst across her palm while smoke rose sharply into the night air and the woman stumbled backward clutching her burned hand in shock.
The surrounding street immediately fell silent.
Several nearby demons stepped backward instinctively while staring toward Daniel beneath the lantern glow.
"What the hell?!"
"She's burning!"
Daniel himself barely reacted.
Faint traces of sanctified aura lingered momentarily beneath his skin before fading again into drifting blood mist.
Noctis quietly chuckled inwardly while continuing through the crowded district beneath the moving frontier wind.
These were still fallen angels.
Even after corruption through Genesis blood and abyssal evolution, traces of holy authority remained deeply embedded within them. Ordinary demons touching them directly without protection was naturally dangerous.
The transformed clergy created an even stranger reaction afterward.
Unlike the fallen angels, they initially drew far less attention because their appearances felt colder and far more oppressive beneath drifting abyssal pressure. The Crimson Marshals resembled battlefield executioners while the Dread Judicators radiated suffocating suppression aura beneath black coats reinforced with abyssal armor.
One worker eventually glanced nervously toward a Dread Judicator.
"These ones are creepy…"
Another shrugged. "Creepy can still be fun."
"You go first."
The worker rolled her eyes before stepping toward the Judicator beneath the lantern glow.
"Hey handsome—"
The Dread Judicator began praying softly.
Low scripture spread through the street.
Golden-crimson holy aura erupted outward instantly.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
Several surrounding demons screamed while holy pressure blasted through the entertainment district and forced nearby workers backward across the stone roads. Smoke rose sharply from exposed demon skin while multiple tavern patrons stumbled away in panic beneath the expanding sanctified aura.
The entire street became silent afterward.
Completely silent.
The surrounding demons stared toward the transformed clergy in disbelief.
Because what they had just witnessed was unmistakably holy power.
From demons.
"…What the fuck are these people?" one mercenary whispered beneath the lantern glow.
Even the gentleman's club workers looked horrified now.
Noctis observed the reactions calmly while drifting crimson mist moved softly around the formation beneath the night air.
The transformed clergy had retained far more instinctive doctrinal behavior than expected. Even after corruption, prayer still remained deeply embedded within them.
Then several workers suddenly recognized Noctis.
"Oh?"
One demon woman near a tavern entrance smiled immediately afterward while stepping toward him coquettishly beneath the lantern light.
"Well look who finally came back."
Another laughed softly while approaching beside her. "You disappeared for a while, handsome."
"We missed you."
Before either could move closer—
Nocthyrael looked at them.
Claire looked too.
The atmosphere instantly changed.
Nocthyrael's crimson eyes became openly possessive while Claire's calm gaze carried cold predatory warning beneath the drifting lantern light.
The two workers stopped moving immediately.
"…On second thought," one muttered awkwardly while backing away.
The other nodded quickly. "We'll survive without dying tonight."
Several nearby demons quietly looked away afterward.
Noctis only sighed softly while continuing through the stronghold beneath the synchronized clicking of seven sets of heels echoing through the crowded frontier streets.
The atmosphere throughout the demon gate stronghold remained unsettled long after the formation passed through the entertainment district beneath the drifting frontier night. Even after the group moved farther into the outer streets leading toward the academy roads, whispers still spread behind them while wandering demons continued staring openly toward the transformed hierarchy disappearing through the lantern-lit pathways.
"They used holy power…"
"No, that's impossible."
"You saw it too."
"What kind of monsters are they?"
The academy students walking among the formation heard the whispers clearly.
Unfortunately, they had no answers either.
The journey toward the academy continued beneath the late-night sky while the crowded streets of the stronghold gradually gave way to quieter roads lined with ward towers, checkpoint walls, and academy patrol routes extending toward the massive fortress-like structure visible farther ahead beneath the moonlight.
The farther they traveled from the stronghold, the more the atmosphere shifted again.
The noisy chaos of the entertainment district faded behind them while only the sounds of organized movement remained beneath the drifting night wind.
Armored footsteps echoed steadily across the stone roads.
Seven sets of heels clicked rhythmically through the silence.
Blood-metal armor shifted softly beneath flowing coats.
The transformed hierarchy moved with increasingly natural synchronization now, and even while simply traveling, the Phoenix Formation instinctively maintained partial structure without anyone needing to issue commands.
Marcus, Victor, Ryan, and Jason naturally occupied the front advance positions while the remaining fallen angels spread subtly toward the flanks. The transformed clergy maintained rear positioning beneath drifting abyssal pressure while Adrian walked calmly near the center beneath faint traces of floating scripture.
Noctis remained beside Nocthyrael throughout the journey.
Or rather—
Nocthyrael remained attached to him.
One arm wrapped tightly around his while her body stayed pressed naturally against his side beneath the moonlight. The movement had become so constant now that even the academy students stopped reacting to it directly, though several female students still occasionally glanced toward her with poorly hidden jealousy.
Claire continued walking near Noctis too.
Not close enough to touch him.
But close enough for Nocthyrael to notice every few minutes.
Eventually Hannah quietly moved closer toward Claire beneath the drifting night wind while compact blood pistols rested against her hips.
"You enjoy provoking her."
Claire didn't even look at her. "I'm walking."
"You're walking very specifically."
A faint smile almost appeared across Claire's face before disappearing again beneath her composed expression.
Farther behind them, several male academy students still occasionally attempted conversation with the female fallen angels despite repeatedly failing throughout the journey.
One finally gathered enough courage to approach Sophia beneath the moonlight.
"So… uh… where exactly are all of you from?"
Sophia didn't even turn her head.
"The frontier."
The student waited several seconds afterward.
"That's it?"
"Yes."
"…Right."
Nearby academy students quietly suppressed laughter while the poor boy retreated awkwardly toward the rear of the group.
Eva meanwhile continued enjoying herself completely.
A different student eventually tried speaking with her while the formation crossed one of the outer academy bridges beneath drifting wardlight.
"So, are you always this… intimidating?"
Eva glanced toward him lazily beneath the moonlight.
"Are you always this nervous?"
The student nearly choked.
Several nearby fallen angels quietly smirked afterward while Eva looked entirely pleased with herself.
The academy girls walking farther behind looked increasingly irritated the longer the journey continued.
"This is ridiculous…"
"They're literally surrounding him."
"And he's just letting it happen."
One girl glanced toward Nocthyrael pressing herself openly against Noctis's arm before sighing bitterly beneath the night wind.
"She's way too beautiful…"
Another female student looked toward Claire afterward.
"That purple-haired one is trying too."
"She definitely is."
Nocthyrael heard every word.
Claire probably did too.
Neither reacted.
The academy itself gradually became visible ahead beneath the drifting frontier sky while massive outer walls rose beyond the checkpoint roads lined with ward towers and fortified gates glowing faintly through the night.
Several academy guards stationed along the outer checkpoint eventually noticed the approaching formation.
At first they only recognized the returning students.
Then they saw the transformed hierarchy walking behind them.
The guards immediately straightened.
Hands instinctively moved toward weapons.
Because what approached the academy no longer resembled a normal student expedition group.
The transformed hierarchy radiated overwhelming pressure beneath the moonlight while blood-metal armor reflected traces of wardlight across the roads leading toward the academy gates. The male fallen angels resembled battlefield predators walking calmly through the night while the seven vampiric women moving among them created social pressure intense enough that several younger guards visibly lost focus for brief moments after seeing them approach.
The synchronized clicking of seven sets of heels echoed sharply against the stone checkpoint roads while flowing hair shifted beneath the moving night wind and calm crimson eyes swept naturally across the surroundings.
One younger academy guard accidentally stared too long toward Eva.
Eva noticed immediately.
She smiled faintly.
The guard nearly snapped his neck looking away afterward.
Hannah quietly laughed beside her.
The checkpoint commander eventually stepped forward beneath the glowing wardlight while trying very hard not to appear intimidated.
"…Report."
The academy group leader cleared his throat awkwardly before gesturing toward Noctis and the transformed hierarchy behind him.
"Mission completed successfully. We encountered… additional allied forces within the frontier."
The commander stared silently for several moments afterward.
"Allied forces."
His eyes slowly moved across the transformed clergy before lingering toward Adrian beneath the floating scripture drifting around him.
"…Right."
He clearly did not believe that explanation at all.
Noctis simply stood calmly beneath the moonlight while drifting crimson mist moved softly around his trench coat.
The commander's instincts screamed at him that the people standing before the academy gates were extremely dangerous.
But they were also clearly following Noctis.
And worse—
they obeyed him completely.
Eventually the commander stepped aside.
"…You may enter."
The academy gates slowly opened beneath the night sky.
The moment the formation entered the academy grounds, the atmosphere changed immediately.
Students walking through the outer districts gradually slowed beneath the drifting wardlights while conversations stopped one after another across the surrounding academy pathways.
People stared.
Then kept staring.
The transformed hierarchy moved through the academy with composed synchronized discipline beneath the moonlight while seven sets of heels echoed continuously against the academy stone pathways. Blood-metal armor reflected silver wardlight while oppressive aura pressure spread naturally through the surrounding grounds.
No wings visible.
No monstrous transformations.
Which somehow made them even more unsettling.
Because they looked human.
Yet radiated overwhelming inhuman pressure.
More students gradually stopped moving as the formation advanced deeper into the academy grounds beneath the drifting night air.
"…Who are they?"
"Are those demons?"
"No… no way…"
"Look at their eyes…"
"Gods…"
The academy boys quickly became distracted for entirely different reasons.
The seven vampiric women moving through the academy pathways beneath synchronized heel clicks generated overwhelming social pressure almost instantly. Students openly stared while several nearly walked directly into others after losing focus watching Claire, Sophia, Eva, Hannah, Elena, Alice, and Nocthyrael moving through the academy beside Noctis.
The female students looked no less shaken.
Especially after noticing Nocthyrael openly attached to Noctis's arm while Claire walked calmly nearby beneath flowing violet hair.
"This has to be a joke…"
"How does he even know women like that?"
"They're terrifying…"
"And unfairly beautiful."
Noctis ignored the reactions completely while continuing through the academy beneath the drifting wardlight.
Around him, the transformed hierarchy moved with calm military precision.
And slowly—
the entire academy began realizing something deeply unsettling.
Noctis had not returned from the frontier alone.
He had returned with an army.