Ava lay motionless in the shadow of a crumbled statue, her golden aura flickering faintly beneath the protective dome Asher had cast. Blood still oozed from her wound, darkening the soil beneath her. The poison inside her was working fast, draining even her divine energy. Asher had placed her there—far from the heart of the battlefield—because if the creatures saw her vulnerable, they'd tear her apart.
He hoped the dome would hold.
But nothing held for long tonight.
The monstrous behemoth, the death beast, stood in the center of the battlefield, its six bladed arms slicing the air with deadly force. Its hollow mouth opened again, releasing that horrid, screeching wail—like a thousand tortured souls crying out all at once.
Jeremy met the beast head-on, sword blazing with holy fire. He jumped high, slashing through one of its arms—but it didn't flinch. Instead, it reached out with another limb and snatched him mid-air, claws crushing his ribs before hurling him like a ragdoll. Jeremy crashed into a jagged iron stake protruding from the ruins, and it pierced through his side with a sickening crunch.
He screamed in agony, coughing blood, his body barely hanging on.
"JEREMY!" Asher yelled, voice cracking.
Emily turned to help—but pain tore through her hand as a creature lunged and bit off her index finger. Blood sprayed across her robes. She screamed, dropping to one knee.
She tried to summon magic again, but the pain blurred her focus. Her hands trembled. Her aura sputtered like a dying flame. Still, she kept trying.
But she was slowing down.
Asher noticed—he always noticed.
Not because he was her protector, or her friend.
But because she was the key.
The key to Asmodues.
And Asher needed answers. A lot of answers.
He knew she wouldn't survive much longer—not like this. And when he saw a horned, skeletal creature with massive claws leap toward her, aiming straight for her face—
He snapped.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
He raised his hand and summoned a spear of judgment—a blinding bolt of divine force that tore through the air. It split the creature in half, its limbs flying in opposite directions. Its insides burned and hissed as it let out a distorted cry of rage.
But that wasn't the end.
The death beast roared again, furious at the death of its kin. Its chest-eyes opened wide, glowing red, and the ground beneath their feet began to crack and sink. Tremors surged across the battlefield as if the earth itself feared what was coming.
Dozens more creatures began pouring from the cracks—winged ones with skulls for faces, crawling ones that hissed curses in forgotten tongues, serpents made of smoke and bone.
All of them charged.
But Asher had had enough.
He closed his eyes, breathing deep.
The air changed around him. A low hum vibrated from the earth. Sparks of gold and crimson swirled around his body. His eyes opened again—glowing like burning suns.
"I don't have time for this," he whispered.
He raised both hands. Fire exploded from his palms, forming into a massive burning sigil—a forbidden seal of the gods. The air twisted and howled. Thunder cracked above. And then—
FWOOM!
A flaming sword formed in his hand, long and jagged, carved from divine flame itself. It pulsed with raw power, its edge singing with heat.
The creatures paused, sensing the change.
But it was already too late.
Asher slammed the sword into the ground.
A blastwave of divine energy erupted from him, sweeping out in all directions like a storm made of wrath and light. The ground shattered, the sky trembled, and every creature caught in the blast let out a final, soul-rending scream before being burned to ash.
The death beast reeled back, shrieking as the fire seared its patchwork flesh. One of its legs melted clean off. It staggered, smoke billowing from its open wounds.
The entire battlefield glowed with golden fire. Screams of torment echoed as the supernatural storm cleansed the school grounds, incinerating everything impure.
Even the clouds parted. For a brief moment, the stars returned.
And then silence.
Smoke curled through the air. The ruins of the battlefield glowed with embers.
Asher stood in the middle, panting, his sword flickering.
His nose bled heavily.
Then his knees buckled.
He collapsed.
Emily crawled toward him, tears mixing with blood on her face. "Asher…!"
He looked up at her, smile faint.
"They'll be back," he whispered. "I just bought us a moment."
" A moment to find Lamia and stop him, also to find my sister because only her can control the dragons."
Behind them, the dome protecting Ava flickered but still held.
Jeremy groaned, still skewered but breathing, eyes open and glowing weakly with the light of the divine.
Emily looked out across the battlefield—scorched, broken, and eerily quiet.
But they were alive.
For now.
She looked at Asher again, her voice trembling. "Why… Why save me like that after what I did?"
Asher's eyes narrowed, his breath shallow.
"Because you're hiding something," he rasped. "Something about him."
Her heart skipped.
"You knew Asmodues before this, didn't you?"
Emily's lips parted, but no words came.
He chuckled bitterly.
"Didn't think I noticed?"
And then he passed out, the light in his hands fading.
Above them, the sky rumbled once more.
The war wasn't over.
But tonight... they had survived.
And soon, the truth would have to come out.