West Side Base, 1 November
“Thank you for agreeing to see me a little sooner than usual, Prince Zylas,” Dee said as he entered the room. As much as he wanted to affect the easier tone he had gotten used to using with the greater demon, he could sense the gravity had shifted his tone.

“I wish we could just speak of your latest literary discovery, but I have the results in from the experiments I told you about. Mimi: please project samples Z, L, and N on the screen here.

“As you can see, two of the samples match, which confirms it was the ichor taken from you that fueled the Nova production here in the city. The third sample, the one from the hybrid, does not.

“Harbinger sensed all three samples to confirm my guesses. The other sample is from your brother.

“I believe he is under contract to Rin Mochizuki, an Asian woman who has been introducing herself as the heir to the Magatsuhi Empire. Harbinger saw a vision of him attending her as she spoke with the greater demon we are currently fighting—the one from the House that toppled yours. My guess is that she is the one who summoned you.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” Dee told him sincerely. The betrayal could not be easy to accept.