The Demon of Hatred watched as Arkanis raised his staff.
The sky above them split open.
Reality tore apart in a widening rift, revealing something that looked like a night sky beyond the world itself—countless tiny constellations flickering within, cold and distant. Dark violet light spilled downward, washing over the city and casting long, warped shadows across the park.
"So this is your real power, huh, bastard?" the Demon of Hatred snarled.
His blue horn ignited with light, and with a sharp motion of his arm he unleashed hundreds of thin blue slashes upward, the air shrieking as they streaked toward Arkanis. The Demon Lord raised a single hand. The slashes halted midair as if they had struck an invisible wall, suspended by crushing gravity magic—then collapsed inward and shattered, crushed into nothing.
"Die," Arkanis declared.
From the rift above, a massive beam of astral energy lanced downward.
The Demon of Hatred hurled himself aside just as it struck, the impact obliterating the park floor like an orbital weapon. Stone, soil, and debris vanished instantly, reduced to glowing vapor as the beam carved a molten trench through the ground—and then moved.
It tracked him.
Despite his injuries, the Demon of Hatred sprinted, boots hammering against what little solid ground remained. Torn chunks of flesh along his body visibly knit themselves back together as he ran, regeneration fighting to keep pace. He clicked his tongue in irritation as the beam gouged after him, erasing trees, benches, and pathways in its wake, leaving behind nothing but scorched glass and smoking craters.
Then the beam split.
Smaller lances of astral energy snapped outward from the main column, thinner but far faster, jerking violently through the air at sharp, unnatural angles. One sliced past his shoulder, carving a glowing line through the air and taking a chunk out of a nearby stone planter. Another cut across the ground at ankle height, forcing him to leap as it detonated the earth beneath him.
"So damn annoying!" he snapped.
He twisted midair, ducking under one beam as another skimmed over his horns. He landed hard, rolled, and sprang back up as the ground behind him detonated, debris blasting past his head. Trees vanished mid-trunk as the beams sheared through them, their upper halves collapsing into ash before they could even fall.
Then he changed direction.
He sprinted straight at Arkanis.
As he crossed the path of the main beam, he thrust his left hand into it—just for an instant. His red horn flared violently as he let out a guttural grunt of pain. His forearm was vaporized instantly, erased up to the elbow.
But when he tore his arm free, his eyes were blazing.
Astral energy crawled over the stump, condensing, shaping, solidifying. A transparent arm formed in its place, forged entirely from astral magic, crackling with the same power as the beam itself. He leveled it at Arkanis and fired, releasing a beam of his own.
Arkanis clicked his tongue.
He slammed the butt of his staff against the tree trunk he was standing on.
The tree was vaporized on contact—and Arkanis vanished.
He reappeared directly in front of the Demon of Hatred and drove his palm into the demon's chest. A shockwave erupted outward, the air detonating as the force sent the Demon of Hatred flying backward toward the descending beam.
Twisting in midair, the Demon of Hatred barely managed to turn his body. The beam caught only his right leg, erasing it from the knee down in a flash of astral light. He hit the ground hard, skidding across scorched earth.
His red horn glowed again.
Astral energy surged, rebuilding the lost limb just as it had his arm. He planted the newly formed leg and kicked forward, driving power into the ground. A spiral of astral energy ripped through the earth, the terrain erupting outward like a liquid explosion as it surged toward Arkanis.
Arkanis raised a barrier of astral flames, vaporizing the attack on contact.
But doing so left his side open.
The Demon of Hatred appeared beside him—faster now, propelled by the newly forged leg—and unleashed an uppercut with his astral arm.
Arkanis was launched skyward, the uppercut carrying him high into the air and leaving him briefly disoriented. His concentration shattered, and with it the massive beam of astral energy vanished mid-descent. He crashed back down moments later, hitting the ground hard and rolling several times before twisting his body and flipping back onto his feet.
The Demon of Hatred was already there.
His face was twisted with Demonic Hatred, left arm pulled back, muscles coiled for another strike.
"You're like a barbarian!" Arkanis snapped.
He stepped into the attack and threw a punch of his own, earth magic surging as his knuckles hardened and became coated in tungsten carbide. The two fists closed in on each other at the same time.
At the last instant, Arkanis slipped under the Demon of Hatred's punch.
His strike connected cleanly with the demon's jaw.
The impact was devastating—bone and flesh tore away as the lower half of the Demon of Hatred's jaw was ripped off entirely. Blood sprayed outward as the demon staggered—
—but Arkanis was already paying for his focus.
He felt a sudden, searing pain explode through his right foot.
The Demon of Hatred had stomped down on it with his astral leg, pinning it in place as astral flames erupted from the contact point. Arkanis let out a sharp grunt of pain as the magic burned through him.
Snarling, he retaliated immediately.
Ice magic condensed in his hand, forming into a solid spear in an instant, and he drove it forward with all his strength, impaling the Demon of Hatred straight through the heart.
The demon choked, blood pouring from the remains of his jaw—
—but he was not finished.
With everything he had left, he drove his astral fist into Arkanis's chest. All the remaining astral magic he could muster detonated through the blow, sending Arkanis flying backward, crashing through the trees and vanishing from sight before finally hitting the ground.
The astral arm and leg dissolved into nothing.
*That's all I can do, kid,* the Demon of Hatred said inside his head to Xain. *Sorry it wasn't much.*
He was moments from death.
*It's fine. You did more than enough. I'm the one who's sorry for making you do this when I'm too weak to do it myself,* Xain replied.
The Demon of Hatred smiled faintly.
*Too damn nice for this curse of ours…*
And then he died.
Xain appeared where he fell.
He pushed himself upright, steadying his breathing. "Can't stick around here for long," he muttered, before turning and running, disappearing from the area before the Demon Lord could recover.