The storm had barely begun to settle when Ruhamiel, the God of Wind, descended like a thunderclap from the heavens. Wind framed his arrival, painting his silver armor in streaks of fury. Beneath him, the battlefield trembled as gusts tore across stone, soil, and soul alike.
Noah, son of Fredrick the Giant Chief, stood firm, bellowing a war cry that cracked through the wind. He charged at the god, fists wreathed in raw force, but Ruhamiel barely acknowledged him. A flick of his hand, a razor-thin pressure wave—and Noah's chest burst open with a sickening rupture. The giant's heart stopped mid-beat. He collapsed like a felled mountain.
Kol took a step forward, rage simmering just beneath his skin, when Elizabeth's hand halted him. Her voice cut through the screaming wind.
"He's mine."
Ruhamiel's divine gaze narrowed as Elizabeth stepped into the open, her heels crunching against shattered stone. Her eyes glowed with the mingled power of goddess and demon. Witchlight curled at her fingertips.
"Last time, you won and left me broken," she said coldly. "This time, I'll return the favor."
Ruhamiel didn't respond with words. He launched himself forward, a blur of howling wind. But Elizabeth was ready. She side-stepped, her heel twisting into a pivot, and drove her fist into his face. The impact sounded like thunder. Ruhamiel crashed into a stone pillar, splitting it in half.
He rose, faster than expected, slicing the air with gusting blades. Elizabeth danced between them, teleporting in short flashes of black flame. She reappeared above him, hands glowing.
"Witch's Brand: Soul Burn."
"This is what the Witches meant by they removed the block on my powers" Elizabeth muttered to her self.
Fire stitched with demonic glyphs erupted from her palms, catching Ruhamiel across the chest. He stumbled, shocked by the heat.
He retaliated with a wave of compressed air that threw Elizabeth backward, tumbling across the rubble. Before she could rise, Ruhamiel was upon her, his knee slamming into her gut. She coughed blood but caught his leg and twisted, flipping him into a crater.
Kol watched, silent and tense. Elizabeth had never moved like this. calculated, savage, unrelenting.
The god climbed out of the pit, one wing hanging awkwardly.
"You've grown," he admitted.
"You've stagnated," she hissed, and vanished.
She reappeared behind him, lashing out with a roundhouse kick to his spine. The sound of bone cracking echoed. Ruhamiel spat divine ichor.
He tried to summon a cyclone, but Elizabeth's hand found his throat. Her eyes blazed red.
"No more running from what you did."
A final blast of wind threw them apart—but instead of continuing the battle, Ruhamiel floated upward. His wings beat once, twice—then stilled.
"This isn't over," he said, his voice low, unreadable.
And just like that, he vanished into the sky.
Kol stepped forward, frowning.
"That doesn't make sense," he muttered. "He could've kept going."
Elizabeth wiped blood from her chin, eyes sharp.
"He ran. Because something's wrong. Something bigger."
Behind them, Noah's body lay still. And above them, the skies remained quiet—but not at peace.