Sometime later.
"...the demon vanished before we could even move. It was as if he was preparing to leave long before he saw us."
"Squeak!"
"Nibbles says that he can't stay here for long. This place reeks of demonic mana."
"Siris is now stable. Mostly."
"...She's literally duct-taped to a boulder."
"Well, she tried to cut the head off a half-burnt demon."
"I wanted to get at least one head, and that one seemed most normal to me!"
The voices blended like a static hum at first. Raven stirred.
Pain.
It was like every bone in his body had filed a complaint and unionized overnight.
His muscles screamed, his veins itched, and his core felt like it had been through three incompatible software updates.
But he could move.
Barely.
He clenched his right hand—and the tattoo on his skin pulsed.
"Ugh..."
He groaned.
The moment he did, the background went quiet.
"...is he waking up?"
There was a whisper.
'Selena?' Raven thought, shifting on the softness under his head.
