The suppression field snapped into place.
A dull hum filled the alley.
Kael felt it immediately — like invisible chains tightening around his ribs. The War fragment inside him recoiled violently.
Authority suppressed by external divine seal.Output reduced: 63%
"Annoying," he muttered.
The Inquisitors advanced in perfect formation.
Four in front. Two behind.
No wasted motion.
No shouting.
Professionals.
Their leader drew a long, narrow blade inscribed with rotating golden scripture.
"By order of the Throne," he said calmly, "the Heretic will be dismantled."
Nyx leaned slightly toward Kael.
"Do not try to overpower the field," she said quietly. "You'll rupture something important."
"Define important."
"Your heart."
Fair enough.
The first Inquisitor moved.
Not fast.
Precise.
A thrust aimed at Kael's throat.
Kael twisted aside — slower than before. The suppression field dragged at his limbs like deep water.
The second attacker came low, blade sweeping for his legs.
Nyx moved.
She didn't clash.
She slipped.
Her body flowed between strikes, one blade hooking a wrist, the other cutting across exposed joints in the armor.
No glowing impact.
No explosion.
Just clean violence.
An Inquisitor dropped.
Not dead.
Disabled.
"They're channeling through the field anchors," she called.
Kael's eyes flicked to the alley walls.
Four glowing sigils pulsed faintly — feeding the suppression net.
So that's the spine.
An Inquisitor slammed into him before he could move.
The impact drove Kael into the brick wall hard enough to crack it.
A gauntleted hand locked around his throat.
"Your resistance is noted," the masked soldier said flatly. "It changes nothing."
Golden light surged from his palm.
It burned.
Not like the War spear.
Colder.
Sharper.
Designed to erase.
Divine purge effect detected.
Kael grabbed the man's wrist.
The hunger inside him stirred again.
But weaker.
Suppressed.
Consumption possible.Risk: backlash.
He hesitated.
Nyx saw it.
"Not him!" she snapped, deflecting another blade. "Break the anchors!"
Right.
Think.
Not rage.
Kael slammed his heel down onto the Inquisitor's knee. The joint buckled just enough.
He twisted, broke free, and sprinted for the nearest sigil.
A blade pierced his side mid-stride.
White-hot pain exploded through him.
He didn't stop.
He grabbed the glowing script etched into the wall.
It seared his palm.
The suppression field intensified instantly.
His vision blurred.
Structural divine construct detected.Devour possible.
He grinned despite the blood in his mouth.
"Then let's eat."
He forced the authority outward.
Not at a person.
At the structure.
The sigil flickered.
Then cracked.
Crimson veins crawled across the golden script.
The alley shook.
The Inquisitors faltered.
"Anchor destabilizing!" one shouted.
The sigil shattered.
The suppression field weakened instantly.
Authority surged back into Kael's veins like wildfire.
The Inquisitor who had stabbed him tried to pull his blade free.
Too slow.
Kael turned, grabbed the man's armored chest—
and activated.
Devour Initiated.
Not fully.
Not like before.
A controlled pull.
A fragment.
The divine energy ripped out in a violent stream.
The Inquisitor convulsed and collapsed, armor dimming.
Kael staggered back, breathing hard.
Authority: 0.38%War Domain resistance stabilized.
Nyx had already destroyed the second anchor.
The field collapsed completely.
Now the balance shifted.
The leader assessed the situation instantly.
"Retreat."
No ego.
No dramatic last stand.
The remaining Inquisitors disengaged with mechanical precision, vanishing across rooftops in seconds.
Silence returned to the alley.
Kael leaned against the wall, sliding down slowly.
Blood pooled beneath him.
Nyx approached, wiping her blades clean on a fallen cloak.
"You disobeyed," she said calmly.
"You said don't consume them."
"I said not to overpower the field."
He looked up at her.
"Semantics."
For a moment, she simply studied him again.
Then she crouched.
Her hand hovered over the wound in his side. A faint ripple of dark energy sealed it partially — not healing, stabilizing.
"You adapt quickly," she said.
"I prefer not dying."
"That will complicate things."
Bootsteps echoed faintly in the distance again — more units converging.
Nyx stood.
"We leave. Now."
Kael forced himself upright.
"Where?"
She met his gaze fully this time.
"Somewhere the Gods can't see clearly."
He raised an eyebrow.
"That exists?"
"Barely."
She pulled her hood up.
"Stay close. And don't devour anything unless I tell you."
He gave a faint, tired smirk.
"No promises."
For the first time—
Her expression almost looked amused.
They slipped into the deeper shadows of the lower district, disappearing before the next patrol turned the corner.
Above the capital, the burning sigil of the War God still glowed across the clouds.
Watching.
Waiting.
And far beyond mortal sight—
The other Eleven had begun to pay attention.
End of Chapter 5