Chapter 176: Black Maw
By the time they regrouped and reached the outer section, the great iron gates were closed and the walls lined with armed demons.
Levi did not slow when a horn sounded once across the crater.
The five women matched his pace, ready and almost cheerful about the coming trouble. The pit-wyrm hybrid’s low growl rolled across the volcanic glass like distant thunder.
They had taken the time they needed on the ridges. Lucy still carried a quieter satisfaction in her step. Isha’s slime moved with a softer, more contented rhythm.
The others had watched the perimeter without complaint. Now the private hours were finished, and the Black Maw stood in front of them.
Lucy rolled one shoulder, blade already loose in its sheath. "They look nervous. I like nervous."
Vespera’s living eyes scanned the upper ridges. "Siege weapons are manned. The chained thing near the gate is awake. Four strong signatures still present inside the walls."
Serakel’s third eye glowed. "One of them is coming out to speak. The other three are preparing to strike if the words fail."
Isha smiled, bright and sharp again. "I hope the words fail."
The Reverend Mother Superior adjusted her sleeves. "They usually do."
Levi kept walking until he stood within easy shouting distance of the closed gates. Gold light from the Sovereign Domain spread across the volcanic glass in a low, visible tide. Demons on the walls shifted uneasily. The enormous chained shape near the gatehouse yanked against its bindings hard enough to make the iron posts scream.
A section of the gate opened just wide enough for a single figure to step through. She was tall, broad-shouldered, and covered in overlapping plates of blackened bone. A heavy glaive rested across her shoulders. Her eyes burned a dull orange.
"I am Captain Reth of the Black Maw," she called. "You approach with a claimed war-beast, five marked women, and the stink of the Ashen Bazaar’s fall on you. State your purpose before we decide you are not worth the conversation."
Levi stopped. The golden barrier expanded just enough to make the air shimmer.
"I am the Sovereign of Neverland," he said. "The Ashen Bazaar answers to me. The witches answer to me. The origin layer answers to me. The Black Maw will do the same. Open the gates and kneel, or I will open them myself and the kneeling will still happen."
Captain Reth’s orange eyes narrowed. "Arrogant. The Maw has stood since before the Mother of Chains took her first city. We do not kneel to surface-marked upstarts."
Lucy laughed, short and delighted. "She called you an upstart. I want her."
Vespera’s voice was cool. "She will change her mind shortly."
Serakel tilted her head. "The three inside are moving into position. They intend to use the captain as a distraction."
Isha’s slime rose in eager coils. "Rude of them."
Levi’s internal voice was calm.
’They always try the speech first. Then the ambush. Then the regret.’
He raised one hand. Gold light flared.
"Last chance," he said.
Captain Reth spun the glaive off her shoulders and planted the butt against the glass. "Fire."
The siege weapons on the upper ridges roared. Balls of compressed sulfur-fire and barbed iron chains screamed down toward the group. At the same moment the enormous chained creature near the gatehouse tore free of its weakened bindings with a sound like breaking mountains and charged.
Levi did not move.
The golden barrier of the Sovereign Domain expanded in a hard dome. Sulfur-fire exploded against it and washed away harmlessly.
The barbed chains struck and blackened, falling to the glass in pieces. The charging beast—a massive, four-horned siege-drake covered in scarred plates—hit the barrier at full speed and bounced, stunned.
Lucy was already sprinting. She hit the dazed siege-drake from the side, ran up its shoulder, and drove her blade into the gap behind one horn with perfect precision. The creature roared and thrashed. Lucy rode the motion, twisting the blade until the roar turned into a wet gurgle.
Vespera lifted both hands. Northern cold flooded outward in a wide arc, freezing the nearest siege crews to their weapons. Ice locked gears and throats alike.
Serakel’s third eye blazed. Precise lines of force snapped the support struts on two of the larger engines. They collapsed inward with satisfying crunches of metal and bone.
Isha’s slime shot up the crater wall like living ropes, wrapped three demons who had been preparing a second volley, and flung them screaming into the open air of the crater. She watched them fall with open pleasure.
"I finally got to throw someone," she said happily.
The Reverend Mother Superior simply raised one hand. Holy-gold light flared across the remaining active siege line. Demons dropped their weapons and fell to their knees as the light burned the will to fight out of them.
Captain Reth stared at the ruin of her carefully prepared defense. The siege-drake was down. The walls were in chaos. The golden barrier still stood untouched.
Levi walked forward. The barrier moved with him.
"Open the gates," he said again, quieter this time.
Captain Reth’s orange eyes flicked from the fallen drake to the five women and back to Levi. Whatever calculation she made ended the same way. She drove the glaive point-first into the volcanic glass and dropped to one knee.
"The gates will open," she said. "The Black Maw yields."
Behind her the great iron gates began to grind apart. Demons on the walls lowered their weapons. Some knelt where they stood. Others simply watched in stunned silence.
Levi stopped in front of the kneeling captain. Gold light gathered in his palm.
[Expending 3,000 Aether]
[Sovereign Domain: Direct Claim]
The mark sank into her without resistance. Captain Reth shuddered once and bowed her head fully.
[Target: Captain Reth of the Black Maw]
[Desire Level: 0% → 100%]
[Claim Complete]
"Master," she said.
Levi looked past her into the open crater city, where red forges burned and more demons were already beginning to gather in uncertain clusters.
’One gate. One captain. The rest of the Maw will follow the same pattern. They always do.’
He glanced at the five women. Lucy was cleaning her blade with a satisfied expression. Vespera watched the upper ridges for any remaining threats.
Serakel’s third eye had already moved on to the power signatures deeper inside. Isha looked extremely pleased with herself. The Reverend Mother Superior simply waited, composed.
"We go in," Levi said.
The group walked through the open gates of the Black Maw together. The pit-wyrm hybrid followed, stepping over the fallen siege-drake without interest. Gold light spread ahead of them into the crater city, quiet and absolute.