Oraya returns to Vincent’s castle with new eyes and sees decay and blood beneath its old grandeur. Ignoring the staring soldiers in the halls, Oraya goes straight to Vincent’s office, forces Jesmine to fetch him, and confronts Vincent about Salinae after recognizing the ruined city from the fourth trial. Vincent does not deny destroying it; instead, Vincent defends the massacre as a wartime necessity and admits Oraya had no need to know the truth.

The argument turns personal when Oraya insists that the dead of Salinae were her people too because she was born human there. Vincent lashes out at the idea of Oraya claiming a human family or human identity, then drags Oraya to overlook the feast hall. There, Oraya sees Vincent’s army openly feeding on bound and discarded humans, and Vincent calls the humans livestock while insisting Oraya is above them because Vincent made her stronger and less human.

Back in the office, Oraya asks why Vincent wants her to become his Coriatae. Vincent answers that Vincent wants Oraya to reach her full power and to be Vincent’s daughter in every sense, because Vincent believes Oraya is more like Vincent than like humans. When Oraya says she is ashamed of that, Vincent’s hurt turns to fury; Vincent grabs Oraya, slams Oraya against the wall, and demands to know whether Oraya would rather be Vincent’s enemy. Only when Oraya’s fear becomes visible does Vincent stop, horrified by Vincent’s own violence, and Oraya leaves without listening to anything more.

Afterward, Oraya prowls the human districts through the night, killing vampires with mounting rage instead of relief. When Oraya kills a vampire who was about to prey on a little girl, Oraya’s fury spills over, and Oraya keeps stabbing the corpse while dwelling on Vincent’s claim that humans are merely livestock. Oraya realizes the human districts may function as breeding grounds for vampire feeding, and that revelation turns Oraya’s anger outward: instead of hating human weakness, Oraya hates vampires for building a world on that powerlessness.

Near dawn, Raihn finds Oraya in the alley and stops Oraya’s frenzy. Raihn notices the marks on Oraya’s arm, immediately suspects Vincent, and says Oraya deserves better, but Oraya rejects sympathy and tries to drive Raihn away. Their argument exposes the depth of their feelings, because Oraya knows exactly why Raihn cares and recognizes that Oraya cares just as deeply in return. Exhausted, grieving, and no longer able to deny that bond, Oraya steps forward and kisses Raihn.