Vaelrath looked toward the two remaining Holy God markers. "Ceravath and I will keep our attention on these two while you're inside."
Noctis followed his gaze. "How early can you tell me if one leaves his usual territory?"
"If he moves openly, early enough for you to react comfortably," Vaelrath said. "If he deliberately suppresses his presence, the warning becomes less reliable. Even then, disappearing from his normal sphere will eventually be noticed."
Ceravath added, "You don't need to spend your time looking for them. We will."
That division made sense.
Noctis would have enough to watch once he entered the Celestial Dawn Sect's territory. Splitting his attention across an entire planet to track two gods while trying to infiltrate an intelligence network would accomplish nothing when Vaelrath and Ceravath were already positioned to do it.
"If one moves toward me, you warn me."
Vaelrath nodded.
"If both move?"
Ceravath looked toward the regions left behind by the two markers. "Then we see what they stopped protecting."
Noctis understood.
The three-against-two advantage did not require the three of them to stand together.
If the Holy Gods remained where they were, Noctis could continue operating inside their territory.
If one moved to investigate him, Vaelrath and Ceravath could concentrate more attention on the other.
If both moved, they would create opportunities elsewhere.
The uncertainty itself was useful.
Noctis looked again at the southern route. "Then I start here. I learn the network first and decide the next target after I see how they respond."
"That is safer than choosing the entire route from this room," Vaelrath said.
Ceravath gave a low grunt of agreement. "Maps become less useful once people start reacting."
Noctis continued studying the route while Vaelrath gathered the records he intended to send with him. The Celestial Crystal deposits, Dark Obsidian Ore veins, larger fortresses, and extraction routes could all matter later, but none of them needed to be the first objective.
There was still another question Noctis had not asked.
He looked toward Vaelrath. "There is one thing I want settled before I agree to any of this."
Vaelrath stopped sorting the records. "What?"
Noctis looked once toward the resource regions the Nine Hells Sect wanted to weaken the Celestial Dawn Sect's hold over, then back at him.
"What do I gain from helping the Nine Hells Sect?"
Vaelrath did not answer immediately. The question was reasonable enough that neither he nor Ceravath appeared surprised by it. Until now, they had been discussing what the Nine Hells Sect stood to gain if Noctis entered territory aligned with the Celestial Dawn Sect and began weakening its control from within. The advantage was obvious for them. Noctis had yet to hear why that advantage should matter to him.
Ceravath remained beside the map while Vaelrath set the records in his hands back on the table. "That depends on how much you accomplish."
Noctis looked at him. "That tells me how you measure it. Not what I get."
Vaelrath gave a small nod. "Fair. The Demon Academy cannot reward you properly for this."
That answer interested Noctis more than another discussion about the resources marked across the map.
Vaelrath continued. "The Demon Academy has its own vaults, techniques, facilities, and contribution system, but all of that exists for people operating inside the Demon Academy. What we are discussing now is larger than an Academy mission."
Ceravath added, "And you are no longer fighting at the level of an Academy student."
Noctis had already reached the same conclusion. Academy points had been useful when the rewards behind them could meaningfully improve his position. Killing Aurelion and Malgoryth had changed the scale of what he could reasonably expect in return for risking himself.
"So the Nine Hells Sect recognizes the contribution directly."
"Yes," Vaelrath said. "The exact reward would depend on what you accomplish and what you ask for."
Noctis considered the distinction. "What can the Nine Hells Sect offer that the Demon Academy cannot?"
Vaelrath answered without turning the response into a catalog. "Access, more than anything."
Noctis waited.
"The Demon Academy is connected to the Nine Hells Sect, but it is still a local institution on this planet. Its libraries, training facilities, artificers, formation masters, alchemists, and cultivation resources are limited by what exists here and what the Nine Hells Sect chooses to send down."
Noctis listened.
"The Nine Hells Sect has archives containing techniques and records collected from other worlds. It has facilities designed for cultivators who have already crossed into divine levels. It has specialists working with materials and systems nobody at the Demon Academy has ever touched. It also controls routes leading to territories this planet cannot access directly."
Ceravath looked toward Noctis. "That can be worth more than whatever you take from a mine."
Noctis agreed with the principle. The Celestial Crystal he had examined was valuable because it could assist cultivation. The Dark Obsidian Ore was valuable because of its forging properties. Both were useful, but they were still individual resources.
Access to an organization operating across worlds was different.
Noctis looked back toward Vaelrath. "And I choose what I ask for."
"Within reason."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I cannot promise that the Nine Hells Sect will hand you anything you point at simply because you helped us here." Vaelrath rested one hand against the edge of the table. "But your contribution gives you leverage. If you cripple part of the Celestial Dawn Sect's position on this planet, seize important intelligence, interfere with their resource network, or create an opening that lets us reclaim territory, that is not a minor service."
Ceravath gave a slow nod. "Especially if you do it while we keep the two Holy Gods occupied."
Noctis looked at the holy territories again. "So the value is based on results."
"Yes," Vaelrath said. "Destroying ten unimportant fortresses may matter less than compromising one relay network the Celestial Dawn Sect depends on. Finding a hidden route may matter more than killing a thousand soldiers. Taking a position that exposes a major Celestial Crystal deposit could be worth more than burning several cities that have no strategic value."
That was closer to how Noctis preferred the operation to be judged. Destruction for its own sake did not interest him. If the Nine Hells Sect cared about outcomes rather than counting bodies or ruins, he could choose targets based on usefulness rather than appearance.
"What kind of rewards could I ask for?"
"Knowledge. Techniques. Access to restricted facilities. High-grade artifacts. Rare materials. Assistance from specialists. Entry to worlds or regions controlled by the Nine Hells Sect. Depending on the contribution, perhaps rights that ordinary disciples would need years to earn."
Noctis's attention remained on him. "Rights?"
"Access to certain archives. Permission to use certain cultivation grounds. Priority when requesting work from sect artificers or formation masters. The Nine Hells Sect has its own internal structure. Resources are not the only things it can grant."
That interested Noctis more than being handed another weapon or a pile of cultivation materials. He had enough ways to fight. What he lacked was knowledge of the world beyond this planet and access to systems that existed there.
Ceravath watched him for a moment. "There is another possibility."
Noctis turned toward him.
"The Nine Hells Sect may decide it would rather bring you inside than keep dealing with you as an outsider."
Noctis understood the meaning immediately. "As a disciple."
"Most likely," Vaelrath said. "Or something close to it."
Noctis looked toward him. "Something close?"
"I don't know what they would offer you." Vaelrath's answer remained measured. "I can tell you how the Nine Hells Sect normally handles recruitment. I cannot tell you how it will handle you."
"Why not?"
"Because you are already a god-level cultivator, you killed two divine avatars, and you did it before becoming a member of the Nine Hells Sect. That makes you different from someone recruited at the beginning of their cultivation."
Ceravath added, "It also makes you harder to place."
Noctis understood that without further explanation. A normal disciple entered beneath an established hierarchy and grew inside it. Noctis would be entering after already building his own power, followers, territory, and relationships.
"What would you expect them to offer?"
Vaelrath shook his head. "I would rather not guess and have you mistake it for a promise."
That answer was sensible.
Noctis looked toward the map again. "Would you recommend joining?"
Vaelrath did not answer immediately.
Ceravath remained silent as well.
Noctis waited.
Vaelrath finally said, "I would recommend hearing what the Nine Hells Sect offers."
"That is not the same thing."
"No." Vaelrath met his gaze. "Because I don't know what they will ask in return."
That was the answer Noctis wanted. He had no interest in hearing a recruitment speech from someone who benefited from his acceptance.
Ceravath spoke next. "The Nine Hells Sect is powerful. That does not mean every offer from the Nine Hells Sect is automatically good."
Noctis looked toward him.
"If the terms help you more than they restrict you, consider them. If they don't, refuse."
Vaelrath gave Ceravath a brief look but did not disagree.
Noctis returned his attention to Vaelrath. "What does joining normally require?"
"Following sect rules. Not acting against the Nine Hells Sect. Responding to certain summons or assignments, depending on your position. If someone enters under a particular elder or branch, there may be additional responsibilities."
"How much control does the Nine Hells Sect have over a disciple's existing holdings?"
"That depends on what the disciple brings into the sect."
Noctis's expression remained unchanged. "Then be more specific."
Vaelrath understood the concern. "If you ever accept an offer, make the status of what you already control part of the agreement before you join."
"My fortress and everyone already under me remain mine."
"If that is what you want, then make that explicit before you accept anything."
Noctis did not need to name every person individually. The principle was more important. Nocthyrael, Rengar, the fallen angels, the transformed clergy, the people occupying his fortress, and anything else already bound to him were not bargaining pieces for an outer sect.
Vaelrath continued. "The Nine Hells Sect has disciples with their own territories, families, retainers, companions, contracted beasts, and subordinate forces. Joining does not automatically erase those relationships."
"But it can change them if the terms say otherwise."
"Yes."
"Then I would read the terms carefully."
Ceravath remained silent this time.
Noctis looked toward Vaelrath. "If I joined, could my people travel with me?"
"To territories controlled by the Nine Hells Sect?"
"Yes."
"In many places, yes. Some regions remain restricted regardless of who accompanies you, but there is nothing unusual about a disciple traveling with companions or personal followers."
That was enough for now. Noctis was not accepting an offer that had not even been made. He only needed to know that joining the Nine Hells Sect would not automatically require abandoning everything he had already built on this planet.
More importantly, he wanted the current campaign separated from that future discussion before he committed to anything.
He looked toward Vaelrath again. "Helping you here does not make me a Nine Hells Sect disciple."
"No."
"And whatever contribution I earn does not depend on accepting an offer later."
"No."
Noctis kept looking at him.
Vaelrath understood the reason for the silence. "I will state that clearly when I report your participation."
Ceravath added, "So will I."
Noctis looked toward him.
Ceravath's middle head remained directed at the map. "Two of us are still here to report what happened. There is no reason to leave room for someone outside this world to misunderstand the arrangement."
That was useful.
The Nine Hells Sect would hear that Noctis had acted as an independent ally, not as a subordinate already under sect authority. Whatever happened afterward would begin from that understanding.
Noctis considered the arrangement for a moment. "What happens if the Nine Hells Sect doesn't think what I do is worth what I ask for?"
"Then you negotiate," Vaelrath said.
"And if we don't agree?"
"Then you don't take the reward."
Noctis looked at him.
Vaelrath gave a slight shrug. "There is no reason to complicate that part."
That was simple enough.
Noctis had been expecting something more complicated, but there was no reason every outer-sect interaction needed to hide a trap. If the Nine Hells Sect valued his contribution less than he did, he could refuse the proposed exchange and keep whatever leverage the contribution gave him for later.
Ceravath shifted one forepaw away from the table. "You are thinking farther ahead than the operation requires."
Noctis turned toward him.
"You haven't entered the Celestial Dawn Sect's territory yet. Nobody knows what you will find there or what you will accomplish."
"That doesn't mean I enter without knowing why I'm helping."
"No. It means the reason is settled now."
Noctis considered that and nodded once.
He would help the Nine Hells Sect exploit the current opening. In return, his contribution would be recognized directly by the Nine Hells Sect rather than filtered through the Demon Academy's ordinary student system. What that contribution eventually bought would depend on what he accomplished and what he chose to ask for.
Vaelrath moved several records closer to Noctis. "There is one thing I should make clear before you decide what kind of reward interests you."
Noctis waited.
"The Nine Hells Sect does not only possess things stronger than what exists here. It possesses things that work differently."
That caught his attention.
Vaelrath continued. "Different worlds cultivate differently. Different civilizations build artifacts differently. Some places rely heavily on formations. Others barely use them. The archives of the Nine Hells Sect contain methods gathered from worlds that have never interacted with this planet."
Noctis thought immediately of the Bloodgrave Ascension Scripture.
The cultivation method had already demonstrated the value of finding something suited to his own nature rather than simply taking whatever resource happened to be considered valuable by everyone else. Access to a larger body of knowledge could reveal systems that had never reached the Demon Academy at all.
"What about cultivation methods?"
"Of course."
"Divine-level?"
"Yes."
Noctis's gaze remained on Vaelrath.
Vaelrath understood the implication. "The Demon Academy vault does not contain everything the Nine Hells Sect possesses. Not even close."
That mattered.
Noctis had chosen the Bloodgrave Ascension Scripture as the method best suited to his current cultivation, but that did not mean he had no interest in seeing what else existed. Techniques, body refinement methods, soul cultivation, formation systems, forging knowledge, and other disciplines could still be useful without replacing his primary path.
Ceravath added, "You don't have to use everything you gain access to."
"I know."
Ceravath left it there.
Vaelrath returned to the practical point. "Archive access alone may eventually be worth more to you than the resources marked on this map."
"Possibly."
Noctis did not yet know enough about either to decide. That was precisely why access mattered.
He looked toward the outer edge of the planetary map. "How difficult is it to reach territory controlled directly by the Nine Hells Sect?"
"From here?" Vaelrath asked.
"Yes."
"Not something you do by opening a portal and stepping through."
Noctis had expected that.
"The Nine Hells Sect maintains controlled routes between worlds," Vaelrath continued. "Some are permanent. Some require formations or specific transfer points. Others use intermediate worlds or secured passages. Which route you take depends on where you are going."
Ceravath added, "And whether you have permission to enter."
Noctis nodded.
Vaelrath continued. "If the Nine Hells Sect formally invites you, reaching sect territory is not the difficult part. Access is."
That was another reason formal recognition mattered more than receiving a single reward. A resource could be consumed. Access could continue producing value long afterward.
Noctis looked toward Vaelrath. "Then the current operation stays separate from anything the Nine Hells Sect offers later."
"Yes."
"If the situation changes enough that helping no longer makes sense, I decide whether I continue."
"Of course."
Noctis watched him for a moment.
Vaelrath added, "We are asking you to operate independently. It would make no sense to give you independence and then expect you to wait for permission every time circumstances change."
Ceravath gave his own version. "If you see something worth taking, take it. If something isn't worth the risk, leave it. If one of the Holy Gods appears and you don't want the fight, leave."
Noctis nodded.
"Just tell us what changed when you can," Vaelrath said. "We need enough information to know whether our own positions should change."
"That is reasonable."
The arrangement was becoming simpler the longer they stripped away assumptions.
Vaelrath and Ceravath maintained the visible divine front and watched the two surviving Holy Gods.
Noctis entered territory aligned with the Celestial Dawn Sect without revealing his new position in the balance.
He weakened their vision, disrupted what mattered, and chose targets based on what he found rather than following a predetermined list.
His contribution went directly to the Nine Hells Sect.
The Nine Hells Sect rewarded him at the level of that contribution.
Any future offer to join the Nine Hells Sect remained a separate matter.
Noctis looked toward Vaelrath. "Then we agree."
"Yes."
Ceravath nodded as well.
Vaelrath pulled the southern intelligence records closer. "Then we can finish deciding what you need before you leave."
The first map he unfolded covered the southern border in far greater detail than the larger planetary map. Roads, fortified settlements, observation stations, relay forts, and patrol routes were marked separately, with several older annotations showing positions that had either been abandoned or reassigned over the years.
Noctis leaned over the map. "How recent?"
"The main roads and fortifications were confirmed within the last year," Vaelrath said. "Patrol schedules are less reliable. Those change often enough that I would not treat any of them as fixed."
"That is fine."
Noctis was more interested in the structure than the exact timing. Patrols could change. Roads could be rerouted. What mattered was how information moved once something unusual happened.
Vaelrath pointed toward two fortified positions near the outer edge of the region. "These are the relay forts I mentioned. They receive reports from smaller stations and pass anything important farther north."
Noctis examined the distance between them. "Do they report to each other?"
"Sometimes. Their primary routes go inward, but they can exchange information if one loses contact with the surrounding stations."
Ceravath looked down at the same map. "Which means silencing one completely eventually makes the other suspicious."
Noctis nodded. "So I don't begin with either fort."
Vaelrath moved his finger toward several smaller observation stations scattered along the roads. "These would be easier."
"Too easy."
Vaelrath looked at him.
Noctis indicated three stations positioned close enough to cover the same general route. "If one disappears, the other two compensate. If I want to learn how the network reacts, I need one that matters enough to trigger a response but not enough to make them send a large force immediately."
Ceravath studied the same area for a moment before moving one claw toward a position farther west. "This one."
The station sat near a minor road connecting two Church-controlled settlements. It was not close enough to either relay fort to be protected directly, but it occupied a useful position between a patrol route and one of the roads leading farther inland.
Vaelrath nodded. "That would work. It handles local movement reports and passes anything unusual toward the western relay fort."
"How many people?"
"Usually a small detachment. Less than fifty."
Noctis looked at the roads around it. "Enough to observe. Not enough to matter."
"That is why I suggested it," Ceravath said.
Noctis continued studying the nearby positions. If he approached the station directly and destroyed it, the response would tell him very little. The Celestial Dawn Sect would simply know the station was gone.
What interested him was what happened if the station remained intact but stopped sending the information its superiors expected.
"Do we know how often they report?"
Vaelrath searched through one of the accompanying records. "Routine reports twice a day unless there is unusual movement. Immediate transmission if they detect a large demonic force or anything they consider a significant threat."
Noctis looked toward the relay fort. "Then I let them complete a routine report before I interfere."
Vaelrath understood. "You want to see the system working normally first."
"Yes."
Ceravath shifted his attention toward the surrounding terrain. "The road runs through low forest here. There are several hills farther south."
Noctis looked at the markings. "Good."
The terrain gave him places to observe the patrols without approaching the station immediately. He could learn which roads were actually being used, how many people entered and left, and whether reports were carried physically or through formation transmission.
Vaelrath placed another record beside the map. "The Demon Academy has one older description of the formation inside that station. I would not trust the exact configuration, but the general purpose should still be the same."
Noctis glanced through it.
The relay structure was not complicated by the standards of what he had seen elsewhere, but it contained enough verification layers that replacing a transmitted message might be more difficult than altering a physical report. That was useful information, though he would not know how much of it remained accurate until he saw the actual formation.
"I'll decide after I get inside."
Vaelrath nodded. "That is what I expected."
Noctis moved his attention farther north. "What happens if the station misses a report?"
"The relay fort attempts contact first. If that fails, a patrol is sent."
"How large?"
"Usually small."
"And if that patrol disappears?"
Ceravath answered. "Then they stop treating it as a broken relay."
Noctis gave a slight nod. "So I don't make the patrol disappear."
That was the kind of progression he wanted. The first objective was not to destroy everything the Celestial Dawn Sect sent toward him. It was to understand how quickly its response changed from routine maintenance to suspicion.
If the first patrol returned with a plausible explanation, the relay fort might continue treating the failure as local.
If the station resumed reporting afterward, the problem might disappear from higher attention entirely.
That gave Noctis more room to work.
Vaelrath watched him examine the map. "You are planning to keep the station."
"For a while."
"If you can control it."
"If I cannot, I use something else."
Noctis did not need the entire operation to depend on one relay. The first station was a test. If the formation proved impossible to manipulate without alerting the Celestial Dawn Sect, he could move on and change the method.
Ceravath looked toward the larger road running north. "Once you understand the outer stations, this road becomes more useful."
Noctis followed it with his eyes.
The road eventually connected several fortified settlements before reaching one of the larger relay forts. Farther north, it joined a broader route leading toward the interior regions where the Celestial Crystal deposits and more important military positions began appearing.
"I won't use the road unless I need to."
"You probably shouldn't," Ceravath replied. "Knowing where everyone else uses it matters more."
Noctis agreed.
Vaelrath pulled another map from beneath the first. "This one shows the known detection formations."
The coverage was uneven. Several were built around major roads and fortresses, while large stretches of forest and rough terrain relied mostly on patrols and observation stations.
Noctis studied the pattern. "They are not watching the wilderness as closely."
"There is less reason to," Vaelrath said. "Armies use roads unless they have a reason not to. Supply caravans use roads. Church forces move between settlements. Most large demonic incursions are detected long before they reach this region."
"And one person doesn't need any of that."
"No."
That was the advantage he intended to preserve.
Noctis could move between the established routes without producing the pattern the surveillance network had been built to identify. He did not need to bring an army, a large demonic force, or even the companions who had traveled with him to the Demon Academy.
The fewer people involved, the less information the Celestial Dawn Sect had to notice.
Vaelrath looked toward him. "You are still planning to go alone."
"Yes."
Ceravath did not object.
Noctis had already considered the alternatives. Nocthyrael was powerful, Rengar was useful, and the rest of the group could contribute in a direct fight, but this operation was not beginning as a direct fight. Every additional person created another presence that had to be concealed and another source of movement the observation network could notice.
If he later needed them, that could change.
For the beginning, one person was better.
Vaelrath moved another set of records across the table. "These are the last confirmed movements of the Holy Gods."
Noctis looked over them briefly. One remained concentrated around the northern Church territories. The other had spent most of its recent time farther east near several important spiritual routes and fortified positions.
Neither had moved significantly since the disappearance of Aurelion.
"They're waiting."
"That is my interpretation."
"For information."
"Probably. Or confirmation that whatever happened at the 3-Star Fortress is finished."
Ceravath gave a low sound. "They lost one of their own and still don't know why. Moving blindly would be stupid."
Noctis agreed.
That caution helped him.
If the surviving Holy Gods were already reluctant to move without better information, then weakening that information further could make them even slower to respond. The goal was not simply to hide Noctis. It was to make every decision they made more expensive because none of their reports could be trusted completely.
Noctis looked toward Vaelrath. "If either of them moves, don't assume it is because of me."
"We won't."
"They may react to something else."
"Of course."
Ceravath shifted one head toward the northern marker. "That one has responsibilities beyond the border. He won't leave them lightly."
Noctis looked at the eastern marker. "And this one?"
"More mobile," Ceravath said. "If one of them comes looking first, I would expect him."
That was useful.
Noctis did not need a detailed history of either Holy God yet. He only needed to know which one was more likely to appear if the disturbances inside Celestial Dawn Sect territory became serious enough.
Vaelrath gathered the maps into a smaller stack and separated several records that were no longer relevant. "I'll have copies prepared for you."
"No need."
Vaelrath looked toward him.
Noctis touched the top map. "I'll store these."
Vaelrath considered that for a moment before sliding the entire stack closer.
Noctis placed the maps and intelligence records into his storage one after another. There was no reason to carry physical documents through territory controlled by the Celestial Dawn Sect where they could be discovered if something unexpected happened.
Once the last record disappeared, the table was left with only the larger planetary map.
Ceravath looked toward the southern region again. "The first station is enough for now."
Noctis agreed. "I decide the second target after I see the response."
"That will make the route harder for the Celestial Dawn Sect to predict."
"It also keeps me from following a plan that stops making sense."
Vaelrath nodded. "Then we leave the later targets open."
Noctis looked over the larger map one final time. The Celestial Crystal deposits and Dark Obsidian Ore veins still marked the regions the Nine Hells Sect cared about most, but none of them were immediate objectives. The first operation would take place far enough from those resources that the Celestial Dawn Sect had little reason to connect the disruption to a larger attempt to weaken its holdings.
The Bloodgrave Ascension Scripture remained in the back of Noctis's mind as well.
He had chosen the method, but he had not yet used it.
That would come later.
If the infiltration turned violent, the dead would give him an opportunity to see how efficiently the Bloodgrave Ascension Scripture could gather blood essence and life essence and condense them into Blood Crystals. Until then, there was no reason to force the matter.
Vaelrath looked toward him. "Anything else you need from us?"
"No."
Ceravath stepped away from the table. "Then there is nothing else to decide here."
Noctis looked toward him. "There is one thing."
Ceravath stopped.
"If one of the Holy Gods disappears from your sight, tell me immediately. Don't wait until you know where he went."
Ceravath nodded. "That was already the plan."
Noctis looked toward Vaelrath.
"You'll know as soon as we do," Vaelrath said.
That settled the meeting.
Noctis had come to the Demon Academy expecting an explanation for why two gods from opposing sides had appeared on the same battlefield and why both had been willing to fight over a planet that seemed insignificant from the outside. Instead, he had learned that the Demon Academy, the Church, the Royal Demons, and the holy kingdoms represented only the local surface of a much larger conflict between the Nine Hells Sect and the Celestial Dawn Sect.
Aurelion and Malgoryth had been avatars rather than the true bodies of the beings behind them.
The original three-against-three balance had been maintained because neither outer sect wanted to turn a useful planet into the center of a larger escalation.
By killing Aurelion and Malgoryth, Noctis had changed that balance without either outer sect planning for it.
The Celestial Dawn Sect believed the planetary balance had fallen to two gods against two.
The Nine Hells Sect knew there was a third.
Vaelrath began closing the map compartments built into the table. "I assume you want to leave soon."
"Yes."
"You should at least tell the others what you're doing."
Noctis looked toward him.
Vaelrath continued. "They came here with you. If you disappear from the Demon Academy without saying anything, I suspect I will be the one they ask."
Noctis considered that. "Probably."
Vaelrath waited.
Noctis turned toward the door. "Then I should tell them."
Ceravath's middle head followed him. "That may save Vaelrath some trouble."
Vaelrath looked toward Ceravath but said nothing.
Noctis left the chamber and returned through the Demon Academy grounds toward the place where the others had been waiting. The campus remained active around him, with students moving between buildings and instructors continuing their normal routines despite the presence of two Demon Gods nearby. Whatever the higher powers were discussing, the Demon Academy itself had not stopped functioning.
Nocthyrael noticed him first.
She left the others and came toward him while Rengar remained nearby with Shirayuki, Fuyumi, Lilithra, and Gorath. Bahamut was absent from the group, having already returned to the pet world rather than remain awake through a meeting that did not involve him.
Nocthyrael stopped beside Noctis. "You were gone longer than I expected."
"There was more to discuss."
She studied his face briefly. "Something happened?"
"Not here."
That was enough for her to leave the question alone in front of everyone else.
Rengar looked toward Noctis. "Are we leaving?"
"Yes."
Gorath straightened from where he had been sitting. "Back to the fortress?"
"No."
That drew more attention.
Shirayuki looked toward him. "Then where?"
"I'm going into territory controlled by the Celestial Dawn Sect."
The response around him was immediate but restrained. Nobody treated the statement itself as impossible. They had traveled with Noctis long enough to know that asking why was more useful than reacting to the danger first.
Lilithra spoke before anyone else. "For the Demon Academy?"
"For the Nine Hells Sect."
Fuyumi looked toward the Demon Academy buildings behind him. "Are we going with you?"
"No."
Nocthyrael's expression changed slightly, but Noctis continued before she could speak.
"The Celestial Dawn Sect does not know how Aurelion and Malgoryth died. More importantly, the two remaining Holy Gods do not know I am part of the current divine balance. Vaelrath and Ceravath will stay where the Celestial Dawn Sect expects them and keep watch over the two Holy Gods while I move through their territory."
Rengar listened without interrupting.
Noctis explained the rest only as far as necessary. The first objective was not a fortress or a resource deposit. He intended to examine the observation and relay network, determine how information moved through the region, and begin reducing the reliability of what reached the surviving Holy Gods.
Shirayuki looked thoughtful by the time he finished. "So taking all of us would make the movement easier to notice."
"Yes."
Gorath nodded. "Then staying behind makes sense."
Lilithra looked toward Nocthyrael, who still had not said anything.
Noctis did not need to guess why.
He looked toward her. "I am not going there to fight the Holy Gods."
Nocthyrael folded her arms. "That doesn't mean you won't."
Noctis considered the statement.
It was not inaccurate.
Rengar looked away.
Noctis noticed. "You agree with her."
Rengar remained silent for a moment. "I didn't say anything."
"You didn't need to."
Nocthyrael's expression softened slightly, though the concern did not disappear.
Noctis continued. "Vaelrath and Ceravath will be watching both Holy Gods. If either one starts moving toward the region I'm in, I will know."
"And if you decide not to leave?" Nocthyrael asked.
"Then I had a reason."
She clearly did not find that reassuring.
Noctis did not attempt to make it sound safer than it was. He was entering territory controlled by the Celestial Dawn Sect specifically because the enemy did not know what he had become. Pretending the operation carried no risk would be meaningless.
"The first target is an observation station," he said. "I am going there to learn how their relay network works, not to start another divine battle."
Nocthyrael watched him for several seconds. "Alone."
"Yes."
She exhaled quietly but did not argue further.
Noctis looked toward the others. "Return to the fortress."
Shirayuki nodded first. Fuyumi followed, while Gorath and Lilithra accepted the instruction without unnecessary questions.
Rengar remained where he was.
Noctis looked toward him. "You too."
Rengar's ears shifted slightly. "I know."
Nocthyrael still stood closest to Noctis.
He looked toward her.
"I heard you," she said before he repeated himself. "I'll go back."
Noctis nodded.
There was nothing else that needed to be settled in front of everyone.
The others began preparing to leave the Demon Academy while Noctis remained with them long enough to make sure they understood the arrangement. He had no reason to bring anyone into the first stage of the operation when concealment mattered more than additional strength.
The first observation station sat far enough inside territory aligned with the Celestial Dawn Sect that reaching it would require more than crossing an invisible border. He would need to pass through settlements, patrol areas, road networks, and regions where holy influence had been established for generations.
That suited him.
He did not need the beginning of the operation to be fast.
He needed enough time to learn how the Celestial Dawn Sect saw its own territory before he began deciding which parts of that vision should disappear.