The plaza no longer felt like a place meant for people.
It had become a wound in the world.
Broken stone stretched outward in every direction, pulverized into jagged rubble and scorched black by repeated surges of power. What once might have been a grand square—perhaps a place of ceremony, prayer, or gathering—was now nothing more than a battlefield carved by monsters wearing the shapes of men.
At its center stood Azrael.
Dark mana spiraled violently around his body, thick and suffocating, like a storm given flesh. It tugged at loose debris, pulling shards of stone into orbit around him as though gravity itself had bent to his will. His eyes glowed an unnatural blue, sharp and predatory, and his grin was wide with a confidence that bordered on insanity.
"You really think the three of you can stand against me?" Azrael asked, his voice dripping with mockery.
The pressure of his presence pressed down on the plaza, warping the air, making each breath feel heavier than the last.
Elias did not move.
He stood several meters away, feet planted firmly among the rubble, bow held steady in his hands. His posture was calm—almost unnervingly so. Around him, arrows of pure light began to form one by one, hovering beside his bowstring like patient sentinels. Their glow was clean and steady, a stark contrast to the chaotic darkness flooding the plaza.
"We don't think," Elias replied, his voice even and controlled. "We know."
Elara let out a sharp, amused breath.
She flipped a dagger in her hand, catching it effortlessly as lightning sparked along the blade and crawled up her fingers. Her stance was loose but ready, weight balanced on the balls of her feet, eyes locked onto Azrael with feral excitement.
"Besides," she said, grinning, "it'll be fun watching you fall."
Azrael's grin twitched.
Then vanished.
The air detonated.
Azrael burst forward with impossible speed, the ground beneath him shattering as he moved. A dark, clawed hand tore through the air toward Elias, shadow energy screaming as it displaced space itself. The shockwave rippled outward, flattening debris and sending smaller fragments skidding across the plaza.
Kael moved instantly.
A spear of glowing blue-white energy formed in his hands as he stepped directly into Azrael's path. The impact was deafening. Spear met shadow in an explosion of power that cracked the ground beneath them and sent a visible ripple through the air.
"Stay behind me," Kael said calmly, his voice steady despite the force hammering against him.
Azrael sneered and pushed.
Raw power surged from his arm, driving Kael backward. Kael's boots carved deep furrows through the stone as he slid several meters, muscles screaming under the strain—but he did not fall. His grip tightened, shoulders locking as he anchored himself in place.
Lightning cracked behind Azrael.
Elara appeared in a flash, her form blurring as she reappeared directly behind him. Her dagger slashed toward his back in a clean, lethal arc.
Azrael spun instantly, shadow surging to form an arm that caught the blade inches from his spine.
"Too slow, little girl," Azrael mocked.
Elara's grin sharpened.
Lightning exploded.
Electricity surged through her dagger and into Azrael's shadow arm, ripping upward in a violent chain. The shadows convulsed, fractured, and screamed as the current raced through them. Azrael hissed, muscles locking for a brief, precious instant.
"But not stupid," Elara shot back.
With a roar, Azrael forced the lightning apart. Shadows burst outward from his body, violently dispersing the current as dark tendrils lashed out, gouging deep scars into the stone.
That hesitation cost him.
Elias released his shot.
The bowstring snapped forward, and an arrow of pure light screamed through the air, aimed straight for Azrael's face. Azrael barely turned in time, throwing up a wall of shadow—but the arrow detonated on impact, erupting into a blinding flash that swallowed him whole.
"Focus on me now," Elias said coldly.
Azrael growled, swinging his arm violently to clear the light. His eyes burned with rage as he locked onto Elias.
Kael struck.
He surged forward low and fast, slamming the butt of his spear into Azrael's ribs with crushing force. The impact launched Azrael backward across the plaza, his body tearing through rubble before skidding to a halt in a cloud of dust and debris.
Elara flipped neatly beside Kael, chest rising and falling faster now. She glanced toward Elias, already drawing another arrow with unshaken precision.
"Look at us," she said, breathless but grinning. "A perfect team, huh?"
Kael allowed himself a brief, restrained smirk.
"Don't get cocky."
Azrael rose slowly.
His boots scraped against shattered stone as he straightened, dark mana flaring violently around him. The ground beneath his feet warped and cracked, pressure radiating outward as his power surged.
"Impressive," Azrael said, wiping blood from his mouth with his thumb. His grin twisted into something sharper. "But now I'm getting serious."
He slammed both hands into the ground.
The plaza screamed.
Giant shadow tendrils erupted in every direction, massive spears of darkness tearing upward from the stone, impaling the air where they struck.
"Dodge!" Kael shouted.
They scattered instantly.
Elara slid beneath a tendril, her dagger flashing as she sliced through it mid-motion. Lightning ripped along the cut, splitting the shadow clean in two as it dissolved into smoke.
Elias vaulted over another tendril, twisting mid-air as he loosed arrows in rapid succession. Each shot forced Azrael to shift, preventing him from concentrating his assault.
Kael charged straight through the chaos.
His spear glowed brighter with every step, smashing tendrils aside as he closed the distance. Azrael responded by summoning a massive dark blade, the two weapons colliding in a violent explosion of black and blue energy.
Elara struck again.
She appeared behind Azrael mid-clash, lightning detonating from her dagger as she slashed into his side. The force sent Azrael stumbling forward—straight into Kael's next thrust.
The spear pierced his shadow armor and bit into flesh.
Azrael hissed sharply, muscles tensing as pain finally registered.
"I see…" he growled, dark blood dripping from the wound. "You're stronger than I thought."
Elias landed nearby, bow blazing with radiant light as he charged another arrow—this one aimed squarely at Azrael's heart.
"Now," Kael said.
Azrael twisted to dodge.
Too late.
Elara appeared directly in his path, driving her heel into his chest with a crack of thunder, sending him spinning back into the arrow's trajectory.
The arrow tore through his shoulder.
For a moment, Azrael's form flickered. Shadows destabilized as radiant energy exploded outward. He dropped to one knee, one hand braced against the ground, breath ragged.
Then he laughed.
"Hah… you're going to make this fun, I see."
"Oh, we're just getting started," Elara replied, flicking her dagger.
Kael leveled his spear at Azrael, voice cold and unwavering.
"Stand down before it gets worse."
Azrael looked up.
Blood ran freely now, streaking down his chin—but his smile only widened.
"Worse?" he whispered. "You haven't seen worse yet."
The air tore apart.
Shadow erupted from his back as massive wings burst free, ripping through the darkness. His body twisted and expanded, limbs elongating, fingers stretching into jagged claws. His grin split wider, teeth sharpening into a monstrous smile.
"Let's see if you can handle me now…"
Kael stepped forward without hesitation, positioning himself slightly ahead of the others.
"Stay sharp."
Azrael lunged.
Faster. Heavier.
Kael barely blocked in time, spear crashing against claw as shockwaves blasted outward, cracking the ground beneath them. Kael skidded backward, teeth clenched as the force threatened to tear the weapon from his hands.
Azrael followed through, swinging a massive claw at Elara.
She flipped over him in a crack of lightning, blade raking across his back.
"You think just growing wings makes you scary?"
Azrael roared, shadow magic surging violently as a tail of darkness lashed out. Elara blocked, but the impact sent her tumbling across the ground, sparks flickering weakly around her.
Elias didn't hesitate.
He fired.
A concentrated arrow of light tore into Azrael's path, forcing him to halt and block with crossed arms. The explosion blinded him momentarily, light flooding the plaza.
Kael burst through the flash, spear driving forward.
Azrael deflected—but Kael pivoted, slashing across his ribs in a clean, brutal arc. Blood and shadow sprayed as Azrael staggered back, fury blazing in his eyes.
"You insects!" Azrael snarled. "I'll crush you!"
Elias appeared on a ledge above, firing three arrows in rapid succession. Azrael leapt back, wings flaring as he dodged.
Elara wiped blood from her lip, lightning reigniting around her body.
"Still alive?" she grinned. "Guess we need to hit harder."
"Stick to the plan," Kael said calmly. "Wear him down. Then finish it."
Azrael charged again.
This time, shadows split from his form, creating multiple clones that rushed outward in different directions.
Elias fired. Light arrows tore through several—others slipped through.
Kael cut two down instantly. Elara dissolved another in a burst of lightning.
The real Azrael appeared behind Elias, blade raised.
"Too predictable," Elias said calmly.
His arrow fired backward, curving impossibly through the air and slamming into Azrael's side, knocking him away.
Azrael recovered quickly, wings slashing out waves of darkness.
Kael spun his spear, blue energy forming a barrier that absorbed the assault.
Elara ran along the edge of the barrier, electricity roaring around her as she accelerated.
"When I give the signal," Kael said, "hit him hard."
"Got it."
Kael charged.
Spear and claw collided again and again, energy detonating with every strike. Azrael snarled, blood dripping freely now.
"You're persistent."
"And you're tired," Kael replied.
Azrael shoved him back—just as Elias fired.
Azrael blocked.
Kael whispered, "Now."
Lightning split the sky.
Elara hit at blinding speed, dagger charged beyond its limit, aimed straight for Azrael's chest.
Azrael turned, eyes widening.
"Didn't expect me to be this fast, huh?"
The dagger struck.
Lightning and shadow exploded together, shockwaves tearing outward as the plaza vanished in blinding light—
—and the world held its breath.