Two weeks after Arcadia, Traq awakens on war-torn Bateria with nightmares. Vivian directs brutal battle between Imperial and Union forces. Traq leads unauthorized mission to destroy Union communications outpost with soldiers Morty, Cecil, and Dina.

At the fourth site - the southern anchor in eastern Kentucky - Niccolo experiments deliberately with different prayers and discovers each produces specific, calibrated effects: the Psalms disrupt general wards, exorcism prayers target demonic possession, and a medieval Aramaic invocation he...

Haatim works through his theory that his Gift can dampen the corruption by filling the gaps in its frequency. After failed projective attempts he discovers the key: stop trying, start listening.

During a supply run, Petrillo and Dominick witness a coordinated mass possession of civilians in a commercial district—a deliberate demonstration by Belphegor.

Branded Sergeant Volsk publicly confronts Ren in the mess tent over his report recommending study rather than immediate purging of passive host settlements, and reveals his thief background to soldiers present. Ren stands firm on factual arguments about tactical intelligence.

Marwen's Point battle - full Operation Deluge assault against third Void Walker. Maximum-force doctrine established. Mina nearly dies casting solo binding spell. 1,523 dead. Tactical doctrine codified for future battles.

At a priority council session, Damien presents twenty-two years of seal degradation data with clear visual charts. Daven challenges the diagnosis as single-source interpretation lacking independent verification and proposes a formal six-month study instead of emergency measures.

Six hours into the descent, Sword-Prior Thune's brands begin flickering as concentrated boneglass absorbs their divine power. His suppressed humanity surfaces in oscillating intervals: he was a farmer with a daughter who smelled of rosemary, a wife who painted their door green.

Simultaneous demonic eruptions from below collapse all three eastern front positions in a coordinated gestation attack planted weeks earlier. Ren uses smoke and flash compounds to save retreating soldiers from a flanking ambush but cannot save two of his own scouts: Fennick and Tersen die at...