"—ARRRRGHHHH!"
Azazel roared, fury vibrating stronger by the second as more of his essence fused into the Giant Dark Tree. Though Cain's gravitational suppression held his body pinned, the True Depravita's will was far from shackled. The tree groaned in response, its colossal branches snapping outward like spears, each one carrying force enough to pierce moons. They streaked toward the Scarlet King, intending to skewer him where he stood.
Cain answered with his own roar, louder, deeper—an avalanche of defiance. He burned through vast oceans of life force, his entire body trembling from the strain. The branches closed in, the air splitting under their power, until they reached him—only to be shredded the instant they drew near.
It was as if an invisible field surrounded his flesh, a barrier grinding everything that touched it down to dust at the molecular level. Branch after branch disintegrated into motes of ash.
