Arriving at the base.

The helicopter's rotors slowed, the vibrations settling as they touched down at the military base.

Noah stepped out first, his boots hitting the ground with a firm thud. His expression was unreadable, his gaze distant.

But his mind?

His mind was elsewhere.

As his team disembarked behind him, he was already listening—his earpiece filtering through the signal coming from the tracking chip inside Riner's body.

Crackling radio static. Then—voices.

"Riner. What happened? You guys were meant to eliminate the target. You had already cleared all the guards that were on the property."

A pause. Then, Riner's voice—weaker than before, strained, yet steady.

"I'm not sure. But it was definitely the doing of that demon."

Noah's lips curled slightly.

Demon, huh?

A deep voice scoffed through the radio.