Inside the chamber beyond the red door, chaos reigned.
The vast hall was barely recognizable beneath the choking clouds of smoke and drifting dust. Cracks webbed across the stone floor, and shattered pillars lay scattered like fallen giants. Every breath tasted of burnt mana and scorched stone.
At the heart of the devastation, Draven and Yakwaru clashed like colliding disasters.
A violent gust tore through the smoke as Draven burst forward, his massive Gunbai spinning in his grip. The war fan rotated like a bladed windmill, its edges humming as condensed mana spiraled around it.
Draven stepped in and swung.
The Gunbai slammed into Yakwaru's side with a thunderous crash, the impact detonating a shockwave that rippled through the chamber. Stone shattered. The air screamed.
Yakwaru's body was launched across the hall, crashing into the far wall with enough force to embed it into solid rock. The wall cratered inward, stone exploding outward as the demon was pinned like a grotesque mural.
Thick purple blood splattered across the stone, streaking downward in viscous lines.
Draven exhaled slowly, lowering his weapon.
For a single moment, there was silence.
Then,
A deep, guttural laugh echoed through the chamber.
It wasn't loud. It didn't need to be. It crawled into the bones, heavy and endless.
Yakwaru's body twitched.
The blood that had splattered across the floor began to move.
Like living creatures, the droplets slithered back, crawling across stone and dust, flowing unnaturally toward Yakwaru's body. The blood seeped back into torn flesh, stitching wounds together as cracked bones realigned with sickening snaps.
"Human…" Yakwaru rasped, its voice grinding like rusted chains.
"You cannot kill that which feeds on your fear."
Its hands slammed against the floor.
The torches lining the chamber flickered violently, then snuffed out all at once.
Darkness swallowed everything.
A crimson circle ignited beneath Yakwaru's feet.
Intricate symbols spiraled outward, glowing red and pulsating like a living heart.
Its demonic domain activated.
The world inverted.
The floor turned liquid-black, rippling like a dark sea. The walls stretched outward endlessly, warping into impossible angles. A dozen massive red eyes opened in the void, blinking slowly as if awakening from a long slumber.
Sound dulled, everything except the slow, dragging rattle of chains echoing from nowhere and everywhere at once.
The moment the domain formed, the mana wall Sisiliya had been maintaining shattered instantly.
She screamed, clutching her head as the backlash tore through her mind.
"It's.. ngh… trying to break our minds…!" she gasped, staggering.
Hallucinations surged.
Screams of the dead echoed from unseen corners. Raiders saw twisted visions of themselves hanging from invisible nooses, blood flowing upward instead of down. The air felt heavy, oppressive, suffocating.
Draven clenched his teeth.
"Focus. It's an illusion. Don't let it in."
He shut out the false world, grounding himself. Killer's Instinct flared to life, allowing him to sense the true flow of mana beneath the deception.
Yakwaru wasn't merely creating illusions.
It was bending space itself within its domain.
The chains weren't constructs, they were extensions of Yakwaru's will.
Chains lashed out.
Draven slammed the Gunbai into the ground, bracing it like a shield. The chains crashed against it, screeching violently, sparks bursting, but none pierced through.
[Shadow Travel]
Draven vanished.
He reappeared behind Yakwaru in a blur of warped space.
Without hesitation, he drew his blade and drove it forward.
[Grave Wound]
The sword slammed into Yakwaru's spine.
The sound was horrifying, a wet, metallic crunch as bone shattered and flesh twisted unnaturally. Yakwaru howled in pure fury, spinning around as a massive wave of mana erupted outward.
Draven barely managed to evade, skidding back as the shockwave tore through the domain.
Yakwaru's rage boiled over.
Its domain thickened, the pressure multiplying.
"Let's end this, human," it snarled. "I'm going to.."
BOOM.
The chamber wall exploded.
Stone, dust, and debris blasted inward as something massive crashed through the structure.
Yakwaru turned just in time,
And was slammed head-on.
Araksha came flying through the breach like a living meteor, smashing straight into Yakwaru's body. Both demons were hurled across the chamber, crashing violently into the opposite wall.
The demonic domain shattered instantly.
The liquid-black floor evaporated. The red eyes vanished. Chains dissolved into nothingness.
Reality snapped back.
Draven staggered, staring wide-eyed.
"What… just happened?"
He looked at the massive demon sprawled nearby.
"That monster… it came out of nowhere."
Realization struck him like lightning.
"Wait. Don't tell me.. wasn't that thing supposed to be inside the black gate?"
Through the gaping hole in the wall, Ashan stepped into the chamber.
The remnants of his Susanoo faded behind him, dissolving into nothingness. No one except Araksha had been given the chance to witness it fully.
Ashan calmly surveyed the battlefield.
"I came to check what was taking so long," he said casually.
"It seems you still haven't managed to kill that one."
Yakwaru staggered to its feet, eyes widening as it saw Araksha's heavily wounded body.
Then it looked at Ashan.
'Another human…? Did he do this?'
Impossible! Araksha is stronger than me, this makes no sense.
Ashan walked toward Draven.
"What happened here?" he asked. "I thought this wouldn't be difficult for you."
Draven glanced at Yakwaru, who was attempting to steady Araksha.
"You're not wrong," Draven replied grimly. "We almost ended it. Blew its head apart. But its regeneration saved it, and things got messy."
Ashan patted Draven's shoulder.
"That's fine. That thing was never normal to begin with. I'll take it from here."
Draven nodded and retreated with the raiders.
Ashan turned. His gaze locked onto the two demons.
Araksha finally regained clarity. Fear crept into its eyes.
Ashan released his cursed energy fully.
The pressure was overwhelming.
Then, killing intent.
Both forces fused into a crushing presence that slammed into the chamber like gravity itself had increased tenfold. Even S-rankers felt its pressure.
He stood before the two monsters, his scarlet eyes fixed on the demonic mage.
"I heard you're an annoying opponent," Ashan said calmly. "Why don't you fight me too?"
Yakwaru clenched its teeth, forcing the fear clawing at its core back into the depths of its mind.
"You damn human," it snarled. "Do you think I, the great Yakwaru, would ever fear you? I'll tear you into pieces."
Ashan stared at the demon in silence for a moment.
Then, with a faint sigh, he scratched the back of his head.
"Ah… forget it," he muttered. "Your friend lying on the floor said the same kind of thing. You'll probably waste my time too."
His gaze sharpened. "It's better to kill one of you and let the other absorb that power."
He didn't hesitate.
"Amaterasu."
Black flames ignited instantly.
Yakwaru's head was swallowed whole by writhing, pitch-black fire.
"KEEKK—AAARGHHHH!!"
The demon's scream tore through the chamber, shaking the walls themselves. Yakwaru thrashed wildly, crashing into pillars and clawing at its own skull, desperately trying to extinguish the flames.
It summoned wind, slammed its head into stone, tore at its own flesh, but the fire only spread further, crawling like a living curse.
Its regeneration activated relentlessly, burned flesh restoring itself again and again. But the pain never faded. Each renewal only gave the flames more to consume.
Ashan's gaze followed every movement with cold indifference.
The black fire spread from Yakwaru's head down its neck, across its shoulders, and into its torso. The demon's screams grew louder, more desperate, more broken.
From a distance, Rowan watched in silence, his expression dark.
"To think he'd use those flames on that monster…" he muttered. "He's worse than a monster himself."
Those nearby turned toward him.
"What do you mean?" Magnar asked tensely. "Explain."
Rowan swallowed. "I've seen those flames before. He used them to kill a stage monster once. That thing struggled just like this, tried everything to put them out."
His voice hardened. "It failed. In the end, it turned to ashes. Back then, he didn't explain much… but now I understand."
He clenched his fist.
"Those flames really can't be extinguished."
"A flame that can't be extinguished…?" someone whispered.
Shock rippled through the onlookers.
Sisiliya stood frozen, her breath shallow.
'In my entire life… she thought, I've never seen a monster scream so helplessly.'
'Why aren't those flames disappearing?'
At that moment, Araksha roared.
"You hellish human!"
It grabbed its remaining swords and launched itself forward, ignoring its injuries, its body screaming in protest as it poured everything into the attack.
"What have you done to him?!"
Before it could reach him, Ashan stepped forward and threw a punch.
The blow detonated against Araksha's face like thunder. The demon was smashed into the floor, stone shattering beneath it. Ashan followed through, stepping down on Araksha's chest and pinning it there with crushing force.
"Curious?" Ashan said coldly. "Your friend is burning in hellfire. Those flames won't disappear until nothing remains."
He pressed harder.
"He'll burn until his regeneration finally gives up."
Araksha's eyes widened in horror.
"What have we done to humans?!" it shouted. "You invaded our place first! You're trying to steal an artifact that doesn't belong to you!"
The moment those words left its mouth, Ashan slammed his foot down.
The floor cracked violently, spiderwebbing outward as Araksha coughed violently.
"You dare speak like an innocent?" Ashan growled. "Should I remind you of the Marakayawa Era of the demon realm?"
Araksha froze.
"When your kind invaded Earth in secret, before mana even existed,"
Ashan continued, his voice dripping with restrained fury. "When you kidnapped countless humans, bred them like livestock, devoured them alive."
The demon's expression changed instantly.
"You…" Araksha whispered. "Who are you? How do you know about the Marakayawa Era? That knowledge should be impossible for a human."
Ashan laughed.
It was low, mocking, and overlapped with Yakwaru's agonized screams.
"You know nothing," Ashan said. "I know the truth behind this place, its purpose, its origin." His eyes darkened. "And I won't let it happen again."
He lifted his foot and turned away.
Yakwaru collapsed to the ground, its movements slowing as the black flames consumed what little strength it had left. Ashan crouched before the writhing demon and stared directly into its burning eyes.
"Do you feel pain?" he asked quietly. "This is repayment for one out of fifty of your sins."
He straightened.
"I'd like to give you more," he said. "But this will do."
Whoosh.
A dismantling slash flashed.
Yakwaru's head was severed instantly.
Another slash followed, carving through its chest and obliterating the mana core within.
The screams stopped.
The chamber fell into a suffocating silence.
Ash drifted through the air.
Araksha stared in disbelief as Yakwaru's body crumbled into nothingness.
Rage flooded its mind.
Then it happened.
The deceased demon's power surged outward and rushed into Araksha's body. Wounds sealed instantly. Lost strength returned in a violent tide. Araksha's grip on Veyra and Solen tightened as its body began to change.
Its frame expanded.
Writhing black smoke enveloped it, violet veins pulsing like molten magma beneath cracked, obsidian-like flesh. Its nails elongated into jagged claws. A heavy, oppressive presence flooded the chamber.
The awakened Araksha raised its head.
Its blood-red eyes locked onto Ashan.
Ashan grinned.
"Oho… looks like you got stronger."
He rolled his shoulders.
"Good. Now we can fight for real."