Kiss of the Vampire "The Girl with the Sharp sword" Volume 2
Mission 21 : The Traitor,The Devil and the Broken hero!
Luciferus vs. Dragon-Corrupted Deyviel
The sky was burning.
The storm clouds had parted—not from light, but from wrath.
Luciferus floated above the battlefield like a god made of rot and hatred. His six infernal blades—DeLucefearus—spun around him in a spiral of red light and black flame.
Beneath him, the world cracked open. The earth blistered and bled.
And from that chaos rose Deyviel.
But not the boy they once knew.
---
He was transforming.
A jagged, obsidian horn pushed out from his temple.
His once dark hair had turned pale silver, fluttering with chaotic energy.
His right arm—now a massive, scaly claw—was covered in glowing red sigils, pulsing like a heartbeat. Black veins spread from it, crawling up his neck and chest.
Behind him: a monstrous, half-formed dragonic wing—torn at the edges—spasmed and twitched.
His eyes were glowing bright red.
But behind that light, something cracked.
> "So," Luciferus hissed, grinning with rows of saw-like teeth.
"This is what the curse has made of you."
Deyviel didn't speak.
He vanished.
---
CLANG!
The Red Queen collided with DeLucefearus in midair—one of Luciferus' floating swords intercepted the blow, but the force sent the demon king spiraling back.
Deyviel landed again—hard—making a crater beneath him.
He roared.
Not like a man.
Like a dragon.
And launched himself forward.
---
The Clash
It was like watching a comet collide with a star.
Deyviel spun midair, his corrupted claw slashing through one of Luciferus' blades. It cracked, black flame bursting from the wound. The rest of the blades responded—striking together like fangs.
But Deyviel caught them—with his bare hand.
They burned through skin.
He didn't flinch.
> "You will not take anyone else," he growled, voice doubled with a demonic echo.
"I'll kill you. I'll erase you."
> Luciferus laughed, delighted. "You're breaking, boy. Let it take you."
"Let the world burn so you don't feel it anymore."
Deyviel's vision blurred.
He saw Touru—burning.
He saw Lina—crying.
He saw his father—bleeding on the floor.
He saw Momo. Motionless.
Then he heard it.
"Why weren't you there?"
His hands trembled.
---
The Curse Awakens Further
> "You couldn't save them."
"You're not strong enough."
"But I can fix that," the voice whispered.
"Just give me the rest of you."
Suddenly, Deyviel staggered.
Flashes of Elisia appeared in front of him.
> "You promised me you'd come back," she whispered.
"Why were you late?"
His grip weakened. The curse surged.
Luciferus struck.
BOOM!
A wave of miasma exploded.
Deyviel was blasted through a building—his dragon arm shielding his face.
---
Internal Collapse
Inside his mind—it was a storm.
Memories spun in a cyclone of fire and regret.
> "You're cursed."
"You're broken."
"Let go."
And in the center—
> The Curse itself. A black, dragon-like silhouette. Grinning.
> "I told you I could protect them. I told you. But you kept clinging to hope."
> "Let me take the wheel now. Let me burn this world before it burns you."
Deyviel screamed.
And in the real world—
His form mutated further.
A second wing erupted. His horns sharpened. The miasma around him turned blood-red.
Luciferus snarled.
> "Yes. That's it. Destroy yourself."
And high above them—
watching from the remains of a cathedral's spire—stood Lancer.
His silver hair fluttered in the scorched wind.
Beside him stood Balthazar, arms folded, eyes gleaming with amusement.
> "So," Lancer muttered.
"The prodigal son bleeds again."
Balthazar grinned.
> "Let's see if he survives this one."
The ground was no longer stable.
The entire city block had collapsed into a pit of flame and blood-soaked ash. Skyscrapers stood like broken teeth. Black Order hunters were scattered, most dead or unconscious. Paladins, saints, and captains lay wounded, their weapons chipped, armor melted from the miasma bleeding out of the Hell Gate.
And in the center of it all—
Deyviel, in his corrupted dragon hybrid form, roared as he clashed against Lucifearus again and again.
---
At First—He Could Keep Up
With every swing of the Red Queen, Deyviel pushed back against the hulking demon king. His blade clanged against Luciferus' infernal swords, sparks and flame bursting in every direction.
He blitzed forward—dragging the corrupted wing behind him—his massive claw swinging in an arc, ripping open one of the demon's floating blades.
> "That arm of yours is cursed," Luciferus hissed.
"Yet you hesitate. Why?"
Deyviel bared his fangs. "Because I'm still me."
> "Then you will die as 'you.'"
Luciferus slammed his palm to the earth. A wave of demonic fire shot up from the cracks, launching Deyviel into the air. His wing folded in just in time—but the impact left a nasty gash across his side.
His claws twitched. His breathing grew ragged.
---
The Resistance Is Hurting Him
In the depths of his mind, the curse screamed louder.
> "Let go. Let go. Let GO!"
"Stop holding back! Just kill him!"
Deyviel clutched his head, faltering midair.
Luciferus didn't stop.
A barrage of energy beams blasted toward him. Deyviel dodged the first, parried the second—but the third beam clipped his leg, forcing him to spiral down in smoke and rubble.
> "Gghhk—!!"
His Red Queen was knocked from his hand—embedding into a broken car nearby.
Luciferus descended, laughing, dragging his six swords behind him like wings of death.
> "You're breaking. As expected."
---
But Then—A Spark
From the smoke, Deyviel leapt up again—his corrupted claw pulsing bright crimson.
He reached behind and pulled his backup blade—a brutal short crimson broadsword, then twisted midair and plunged it into Luciferus' side.
> "GRRAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Luciferus howled—blood-black smoke pouring from the wound.
The attack struck just under the rib, close to one of his core channels.
The demon king stumbled.
And then—
---
The Air Cracked—Like Glass
A presence cut through the battlefield like a guillotine.
Above the ruins—standing atop a fallen steel cross—was Lancer.
His eyes gleamed like moonlight in blood.
And beside him, Balthazar held his massive blade lazily across his shoulder, watching like a spectator at a gladiator pit.
> "He's weakened now," Lancer muttered.
"As I thought."
Then he descended.
---
Luciferus' Eyes Widen
The demon king, still reeling from Deyviel's surprise attack, turned—
> And froze.
> "You…"
> "…You traitorous bastard."
Lancer landed gently on the stone ruin, his coat flowing behind him.
Luciferus snarled, eyes glowing hot.
> "You left us in the Gate. You sealed us! You fed lies to our followers and ran away like a coward!"
> "I evolved," Lancer replied calmly, unsheathing his black-edged glaive.
"Unlike you, I knew the old world had no place for us."
> "I SHOULD HAVE RIPPED YOUR SPINE OUT, BROTHER!!"
Luciferus charged.
Deyviel grabbed Red Queen again, barely on his feet.
Luciferus' demonic aura expanded like a firestorm.
Lancer's glaive spun in a blur of dark light, slicing the air.
The three powers collided—
And the battlefield exploded in a shockwave that shattered glass for miles.
Hunters watching from afar could only shield themselves as the ground trembled again.
Maya, bloodied and breathless, watched from a distance with Denver and Captain Ethan.
> "He's in the middle of it," Ethan muttered, eyes wide.
"Against both of them."
Denver's hands tightened around his weapon.
> "We need to move in—"
> "No," Maya whispered, almost frozen.
"He's still fighting it."
> "Fighting what?" Yumi asked.
Maya closed her eyes.
> "Himself."
And across the battlefield, as the sky bled and the land crumbled—
Deyviel stood between two monsters.
One his enemy. One his past.
And neither would let him walk away alive.
The hellscape groaned beneath the weight of giants.
Lucifearus — the Demon King, radiating malice.
Lancer — the traitor, blade drawn, cloak still.
Deyviel — trembling with barely-contained corruption, his draconic form unstable and roaring with chaos.
Each movement between the three cracked the earth.
And still—no sign of victory.
---
The Overpass – Hunters Assembled
Perched above the chaos, Maya, Ethan, Denver, and Alex scanned the battlefield.
> "If we wait any longer," Denver said, jaw clenched, "he's gonna lose himself."
> "He's still holding back," Alex muttered. "Still resisting that thing eating at him."
> "Then we better give him a reason not to give in," Denver replied.
But the moment was broken by a sudden boom—
Catherine and Balthazar emerged from the smoke behind them.
Maya's instincts flared instantly. Her sword was drawn in a blink.
> "You—"
> "You think this is the time to settle old grudges?" Catherine said coolly. "I'm here for Lancer."
Maya's blade trembled in her grip.
> "You expect me to believe anything that comes out of your mouth?"
> "No. I expect you to sell the illusion. Just long enough for me to stab that bastard in the back."
Catherine's eyes gleamed with purpose.
> "Pretend we're fighting. Make it real enough. Inch by inch, we'll get close enough to gut him."
Maya's teeth clenched. "This doesn't make us allies."
> "Never said it did," Catherine whispered.
Then, without another word, Maya lunged.
Blades clashed. Sparks flew.
But neither of them was aiming to kill—yet.
---
Ethan vs. Balthazar – Blood Runs Deeper Than Power
As that began, Ethan turned his gaze toward Balthazar.
> "You shouldn't be here."
> "You're welcome, brat," Balthazar said, cracking his knuckles. "Figured you'd need help."
> "We didn't ask for your help," Ethan snapped.
> "No, but the world's ending. I figured I'd play uncle one last time."
Ethan's grip on his blade tightened.
> "You killed them."
> "I saved you," Balthazar barked. "Don't twist it."
> "You burned our house down. Killed our cousins. You left me in the ashes."
Balthazar's grin faltered.
Ethan charged.
Their blades clashed with a sound that silenced the air around them.
> "I'm going to bury you here," Ethan growled, "even if it means dying next to you."
---
Meanwhile – Denver and Alex
Denver turned to Alex as the rooftop shook.
> "Let them handle their ghosts. We have someone else to pull out of hell."
Alex nodded grimly.
> "Deyviel's dying. And no one else seems to care."
> "I do."
> "Then let's bring him back."
They bolted into the ruins, leaping over scorched stone and blood-soaked bodies—rushing to where Deyviel stood against Lucifearus and Lancer, his corrupted form howling like a cornered beast.
(The rooftop, high above the battlefield)
Swords clashed again and again—but neither landed a killing blow.
Maya moved with fury. Catherine with grace.
To any onlooker, it was a fight to the death.
But up close—every swing was guided. Controlled.
Measured chaos masking intent.
> "You really think one backstab will make up for everything?" Maya hissed mid-strike, their blades locked.
> "No," Catherine said flatly, parrying and sliding past. "But it's a start."
They circled each other. Sparks scattered between them.
> "You slit my mother's throat."
Catherine flinched.
> "I watched her die. Do you even remember what she said before you killed her?!"
> "I remember every word," Catherine said, suddenly still. Her voice was low, trembling. "I relive that night every time I sleep."
She stepped forward.
> "Your mother was everything I wasn't. I hated her for it. And I hated myself even more."
Maya's grip on her sword wavered.
> "I was jealous. Twisted. I thought if I took her out, I'd become something better." Catherine's gaze burned, voice cracking. "But all I became was a monster."
Maya's breathing shook.
> "Why now? Why turn back?"
> "Because I've lost everything already," Catherine said. "And I won't let Lancer take you, too."
Their blades clashed once more—harder this time, angrier. And yet… beneath the fury was understanding.
Not forgiveness.
But maybe…
…a start.
(Lower courtyard, amid corpses and crumbling stone)
Flesh met steel. Blood hit the dirt.
Ethan's blade sliced through Balthazar's coat, leaving a gash across his ribs.
But the vampire only grinned.
> "Still fast," Balthazar said, spitting blood. "Guess rage is good fuel."
> "You murdered our family!" Ethan roared.
> "I saved us," Balthazar snapped. "The order was compromised. Our house was already marked. I just made it quick."
> "YOU THINK THAT'S MERCY?!"
Ethan's blade screamed through the air—and Balthazar caught it bare-handed.
> "You still don't get it, kid," Balthazar growled, fangs showing. "I turned so I could fight the real monsters. I had to do it."
> "Then why didn't you take me with you?"
Silence.
Ethan shoved him back and landed a brutal punch to his jaw.
> "I was ten!" he shouted. "I waited for you every night!"
Balthazar stumbled, finally faltering.
> "You left me with corpses and memories," Ethan said, voice raw. "Now all I want is to make sure you never haunt anyone else again."
Lightning surged along Ethan's blade.
Balthazar steadied himself, eyes softer now.
> "Then come on, boy… show me that anger."
They clashed again—uncle and nephew, both broken, both too proud to admit they were still family.
Lucifearus roared, the hellgate cracking wider behind him.
Ash and lightning tore the sky apart.
The corrupted Demon King laughed, massive wings unfurling as Deyviel reeled—his corrupted form twitching, trembling, resisting the curse's hold.
Denver and Alex approached from opposite flanks—watching, waiting.
> "He's still fighting it," Alex muttered.
> "Yeah," Denver said, tightening his grip. "But he won't hold much longer…"
Now kneeling behind cover, catching their breath after their "battle,"
Catherine looked out over the hellgate—and saw Lancer.
He was watching.
His blade gleamed.
> "Almost time," she muttered.
> "You sure you can kill him?" Maya asked, no kindness in her tone.
> "No," Catherine admitted. "But I'll die trying."
Maya didn't look at her.
> "Good."
They both stood again, swords drawn, and moved toward the edge—
toward the chaos below.
The sky cracked like glass under pressure.
Lucifearus, the Demon King of Destruction, hovered above the battlefield—his six blades orbiting like haloed guillotines, each one pulsing with infernal energy. His miasma seeped into the air, corrupting the dead and whispering madness into the minds of the living.
Below him, Lancer twirled his obsidian glaive and smirked.
> "Haven't aged a day, brother," Lancer said.
> "You left us to burn," Lucifearus replied, voice like an earthquake laced with betrayal. "Now I burn everything."
The clash was monstrous.
Lancer moved like a god of death, each swing of his glaive cutting apart the red-glowing swords around Lucifearus. But the Demon King endured—regenerating, laughing, overwhelming.
Then—
A streak of red lightning ripped through them both.
Deyviel.
But… not Deyviel.
Not anymore.
---
Corrupted Deyviel – Dragonic Hybrid Form Unleashed
His scales shimmered black and crimson, muscles twisted and veined with curse-ridden markings. One eye glowed red. The other, completely black. His draconic arm dragged behind him, glowing with the remnants of the Demon King's curse. His sword, Red Queen, was twisted—now alive with black flame, pulsing violently.
> "Rrrrghhh… stop talking… all of you… SHUT UP!!" Deyviel roared.
His wings snapped open—
Then he attacked them both.
A tail whip slammed Lucifearus into a cathedral tower. His claw raked across Lancer's side, drawing blood. He wasn't fighting with strategy now—just raw power and desperation. The curse was in control.
> "Everyone… everyone dies because I'm not strong enough!"
> "I'll kill you first before you take them again!!!"
---
Cut To – Ground Level
Alex and Denver sprinted through the destruction, dodging collapsed buildings and fleeing civilians. They arrived at the edge of the crater just in time to see the chaos above.
Alex's eyes widened.
> "He's… already too far gone," he whispered.
Deyviel whipped around.
He saw them.
And without hesitation—
He attacked.
He landed with a roar, wings folding in, black mist leaking from his mouth. He didn't recognize them.
Didn't see them.
To him—they were more enemies trying to take away what little he had left.
Alex raised his blade, barely parrying the incoming slash.
> "Deyviel, it's us!! Damn it! Denver—watch out!"
Denver rolled away, but Deyviel's corrupted roar knocked him back through a wall.
Alex gritted his teeth, then closed his eyes.
> "Fine… If you won't listen—then I'll dive in."
He touched Deyviel's corrupted dragon arm—
And forced himself into his mind.
---
Inside the Storm – Deyviel's Mindscape
It was hell.
Screams echoed. Ash and blood rained from a sky that didn't exist. Hallucinations appeared around every corner:
Elisia, reaching out with a bleeding smile.
Ghellee, laughing, then burning.
Touru and Lina, crying, "Why weren't you there?"
His father, shaking his head, whispering, "You should've died with us."
Alex clutched his head.
> "This… This is what he sees? Every second?"
And then—he saw the curse. A massive, shadowy dragon coiled around Deyviel's subconscious, whispering:
> "Let me protect them. Let me destroy everything so no one can hurt you again."
Alex's eyes widened.
He looked at Deyviel's right arm—the source of the curse.
> "If I… take this…" he muttered. "I might be able to free him."
The curse-dragon snarled, coiled around Deyviel's broken self like a possessive lover. Its voice echoed in the void:
> "They all died because of you.
Elisia. Ghellee. The kids.
You failed them.
Again and again."
And there Deyviel knelt—no armor, no blade, just a boy with blood on his hands. His eyes hollow. His voice barely a whisper.
> "If only I was faster…"
> "If only I was stronger…"
> "She'd still be here."
Alex stepped forward, and suddenly—
He saw it.
---
Elisia – Through Deyviel's Eyes
A memory opened like a wound.
Deyviel holding Elisia's hand, brushing snowflakes from her hair.
> "You're the only calm in my storm," he told her, smiling.
Then—
Her body in his arms.
Cold.
Bloodied.
Eyes fading.
And his voice—a desperate scream:
> "TAKE ME INSTEAD!"
The memory shifted. Scene after scene. Deyviel sitting in the ruins of a home. Staring at photos. At her necklace. Writing letters he never sent.
Crying silently—because the world expected him not to break.
---
Alex Finally Understands
Alex's breath caught.
He felt Deyviel's pain.
The guilt. The rage. The loneliness.
How every smile was a mask.
How every mission was a way to punish himself.
How even Ghellee's laughter haunted him.
How he never stopped loving Elisia.
> "You never moved on," Alex whispered.
And finally, the truth settled in his heart:
> "You didn't forget her. You just learned to keep breathing without her."
He knelt beside Deyviel, brushing away the blood and ash coating his friend's shoulders.
> "You don't have to carry this alone anymore, idiot."
Deyviel blinked. His eyes trembled.
> "Alex…?"
Alex smiled, even through the sting behind his own eyes.
> "You've got friends now. Real ones."
> "So let us help ease the pain. Even just a little."
He touched Deyviel's cursed arm.
The curse hissed—but it was weakening.
Deyviel's eyes widened. "Don't—!"
> "You gave everything to protect us," Alex said. "So now…"
> "…let me carry it, too."
---
He grinned faintly.
And said the words Elisia once whispered into Deyviel's ear during the snow, long ago—
> "Go get them, hero."
Then—
Alex pulled the curse into himself.
---
The Real World – Hell Gate Battlefield
A blinding flash.
The ground cracked beneath Deyviel as the curse lifted.
His scales peeled back. His wings retracted. His draconic arm disintegrated—replaced by glowing veins of raw power, but free of corruption.
Alex staggered back—eyes flickering, skin burning black where the curse was taking hold.
> "Still breathing…" he muttered.
Deyviel looked up.
Eyes clearer.
Pain still there—but not alone anymore.
> "Alex…"
Alex chuckled weakly.
> "Don't waste it. While I'm still me…"
He pointed at Lucifearus and Lancer, still locked in battle.
> "Go show them why you're the damn Chosen One."
---
Deyviel stood. His cloak fluttered behind him. Red Queen pulsed in his hand—lighter now. More focused.
He looked out at the battlefield.
At the bodies. At the chaos.
And then—
He looked up.
At Lucifearus, still laughing.
And Lancer, smiling like a man with nothing left to lose.
---
> "Alright then…"
> "Let's finish this."
Ash rained down like snow.
Blood and screams blurred into smoke.
Lucifearus and Lancer circled like predators—but now their attention shifted. Because something had changed.
Deyviel stood taller.
Eyes clear.
Hair white, but calm.
The seething black miasma that once clung to him was gone—burned out from his body like smoke leaving a lung. The mark of the curse had vanished. The burden he'd carried all his life…
Gone.
---
At the cost of another.
Just a few meters behind him—
Alex lay on his side, curled up, gasping, his skin twitching and veins glowing a deep infernal red. His body writhed as if a thousand worms were crawling under it.
The curse.
The thing Deyviel couldn't handle… now festered inside Alex.
> "Grrk—" Alex choked, blood bubbling from his lips. "D-Denver…"
> "Don't… don't help me."
Denver dropped beside him, panic in his voice.
> "You idiot—! We can still get it out of you—!"
But Alex grabbed his collar, snarling through the pain.
> "No! Listen to me—GO! Help Deyviel. He's clean now. He can win this. He has to."
> "This thing—this curse—I'll hold it."
His voice broke.
> "Tell him… he doesn't have to suffer alone anymore."
---
Denver hesitated—eyes darting between Alex and Deyviel.
Then—
He stood.
Gritted his teeth.
And ran forward, straight toward the chaos.
---
Deyviel didn't speak.
He didn't need to.
He looked back once—just once—at Alex, who now glowed faintly with cursed flames.
His expression twisted—not in pity.
But in understanding.
A nod passed between them.
---
Deyviel turned back to face Lucifearus and Lancer.
He rolled his neck once.
Flexed his now-purified dragon arm, the scales glinting with clean silver-blue flame instead of rot. His strength no longer whispered madness—but resolve.
He planted his foot.
Unsheathed Red Queen.
> "Alright then…"
> "Let's finish what we started."
Alex's body trembled.
The world around him blurred.
Searing heat pulsed through every nerve—like his blood had been replaced with molten iron.
His breaths were ragged. Shallow. It felt like he was breathing through a shattered ribcage.
> "Agh—damn it…!"
His fingers curled into the dirt, clawing like he could tear the pain out of his body. The cursed energy inside him twisted like a living thing—growling, pushing, biting.
But this wasn't just pain.
This was memory.
Not his own—
> But Deyviel's.
---
Alex fell into it.
---
He stood in a place that wasn't real.
A church.
Ruined. Burned. Echoing.
Blood on the floor.
And in the center—her.
Elisia.
Her eyes wide.
Her body limp in Deyviel's arms.
> "Elisia…?" Alex whispered. "No—wait…"
He felt it.
Deyviel's heartbreak.
That crushing, suffocating guilt.
The sound of her last breath.
The stench of fire.
Her fingers going limp around Deyviel's collar as he screamed, begged—tried to give his life to bring hers back.
It didn't work.
It never did.
---
Then—another memory hit.
Ghellee.
Laughing in the sun.
Piggyback rides. Water fights. That stray cat she tried to save.
And then—
Her final moments.
Blood in the snow.
Screaming for Deyviel to run.
She smiled before she died.
> "So you don't have to cry anymore…"
The exact words.
Alex saw them.
Felt them crush Deyviel from the inside.
---
More came.
Touru. Lina.
The chocolate pudding.
The drawing.
The old man's final words—"Promise me… you'll keep your heart."
And through it all—
One repeating thought in Deyviel's mind:
> "I wasn't fast enough."
"I wasn't strong enough."
"I let them die."
"It's all my fault."
---
Alex gasped.
His knees buckled inside the illusion.
> "This… this is what he carries… every day?"
No wonder Deyviel had lost himself.
No wonder he resisted comfort.
Because he thought he didn't deserve it.
---
And standing beyond the memory—
He saw the curse itself.
A beast, coiled like a serpent, feeding off Deyviel's self-hate.
It laughed at Alex.
> "You took me in, fool. You think you're strong enough?"
Alex didn't flinch.
He stood tall.
> "I don't care."
> "If this is what it takes to set him free…"
> "Then give me everything."
---
And in that moment—
The beast lunged.
Wrapped around him.
Crushed him.
Sank its teeth in his soul.
Alex's body in the real world convulsed, cursed flame spilling from his mouth, eyes glowing with dark runes.
But he held on.
---
> "Deyviel…" he muttered, tears sliding down his cheeks as he lay on the ground. "You don't have to carry this alone anymore."
> "I saw it."
> "I saw her."
> "I get it now."
His vision faded in and out—but he smiled through it.
> "She'd be proud of you, idiot."
> "Go get them…"
His voice weakened.
A whisper.
> "…Hero."
BOOM!
Deyviel hit the ground hard, sliding across the rubble-strewn street, sparks flying from his boots.
> "Tch—damn it…!" he growled, flipping back upright, sword dragging behind him.
He didn't even have time to breathe—
Because Lucifearus was already airborne.
Six wings spread wide.
Five floating swords circling him like predators.
The sixth—DeLucefearus, his main blade—hummed with red hunger in his right hand.
---
Deyviel barely raised Red Queen before a sword shot toward him like a railgun. He parried—but just as he spun to counter—
CLANG!
A second blade crashed down from above—
Lancer, grinning, caught Lucifearus' thrown sword mid-air and used it against Deyviel.
> "Too slow," Lancer smirked.
> "Too predictable," Lucifearus laughed.
---
But before the blade could sink into Deyviel's ribs—
> "HEY!!!"
Denver slammed into Lancer, twin flame daggers spinning in his hands like whirling comets.
He landed a solid kick to Lancer's gut—flames burst from the point of impact.
> "You good, Deyviel?!"
> "Barely—! But I'll take 'barely' over dead!"
Deyviel spun, his dragon arm extending like a whip, wrapping around one of Lucifearus' floating swords and yanking it midair—
> "Thanks for the gift!"
He hurled it straight back at the Demon King.
Lucifearus caught it—barehanded—but as he did—
Denver vaulted over Deyviel's back, kicked off his shoulder, and slashed both daggers downward in an X-shaped blaze across Lucifearus' face.
> "You're wide open!"
Lucifearus roared—reeling, not in pain—but in amusement.
> "This is fun."
---
Lancer lunged in from the side—Artemis and Agni & Rudra in hand. Spinning like a storm, he locked blades with Deyviel.
> CLANG! SPARK!
Their swords screamed.
But then—
Lucifearus suddenly tossed his own sword—
Lancer stepped aside—
And let the blade whip past him—
Right toward Denver.
---
> "DENVER, MOVE!!"
But the sword was too fast.
Until—
FWOOOSH!!
Denver twisted mid-air and crossed his flame daggers.
> "SOUL SHIELD!!"
A wall of orange fire burst from his blades, slowing the massive cursed blade just enough—
Deyviel's dragon arm snatched the blade from behind, flipping it—
> "Mind if I borrow this again?!"
He hurled it back at Lucifearus—
But Lancer intercepted it with Artemis, spinning and hurling it back at Lucifearus, who caught it in reverse grip—
Then uppercut Denver so hard he flew through a brick wall.
> "Grahhhk!"
---
> "DENVER!!"
Deyviel dashed in fury.
He swung Red Queen in a wide arc at Lucifearus—but Lancer grabbed his collar and yanked him to the side just before Lucifearus' clawed hand would've split him in half.
> "No you don't," Lancer whispered.
Then punched Deyviel in the spine—
But Deyviel kicked off the ground, flipped mid-air, and blasted Lancer with a dragon-charged punch to the chest.
BOOM!
The shockwave shattered the ground beneath.
---
Denver emerged, bruised and bleeding, but still burning with soul-fire.
> "We're not winning this, Dey…"
> "Tch—I know."
Lucifearus stood with two of his swords floating behind him like a crown.
Lancer stood beside him—smirking—primordial blades in hand.
They looked at each other.
And nodded.
Then charged in unison.
---
Deyviel and Denver mirrored them.
Blades met in a blinding crash of steel, fire, and cursed lightning.
> This was no longer just a battle.
> It was a survival dance.
Steel clashed with flame.
Cursed wings tore through the sky.
And as Deyviel and Denver struggled to hold their ground, the battle waged on across shattered London.
But in the shadowed flank of the battlefield, where fallen buildings offered temporary cover from Lucifearus' miasma and Lancer's sweeping assaults—
Catherine and Maya advanced.
Their weapons clashed—swords flashing in arcs that deliberately missed vital points. The battle was a dance. A performance. A game of proximity.
> "You're holding back," Maya growled, blade barely grazing Catherine's side.
> "So are you," Catherine shot back, parrying with ease. "Just stall me a little more, dear niece."
Their feet echoed across broken tiles as they fought their way across the rooftop ruins—slowly closing the distance to where Lancer and Lucifearus ravaged the frontlines.
Maya gritted her teeth.
> "We get close enough… you better do it."
"I will," Catherine said. Her voice, despite everything, wavered—just a bit.
They were less than fifty meters now.
The plan was nearly in place.
And then—
A sound like breaking bones tore through the air.
---
Behind them—
A ripple of black mist.
The wind howled in reverse.
And then came the scream. Not loud—but guttural. Twisted.
"Ghh—GRAAAHHHHH!!"
Maya turned her head—eyes wide.
> "Alex…?"
The holy knight—curled near the outskirts, barely clinging to consciousness after taking in Deyviel's curse—was now convulsing.
His eyes were rolling. His veins—blackened and pulsing. Skin blistering. Wings of pure white—turning ashen gray, bones cracking through the feathers.
> "N-No… not now—!" Maya said, backing away.
Catherine narrowed her eyes, the chill in her breath freezing mist around her lips.
> "He took the curse into himself… but his body isn't like Deyviel's."
> "Then what's happening to him?!"
> "He's turning into something else."
---
Alex stood.
But it wasn't really him anymore.
His body twitched unnaturally, head hanging sideways.
The holy sigils on his armor—burned away. His sword, now fused to his arm like bone.
> "They didn't save her…"
> "They didn't save anyone…"
He spoke like a broken record.
Dark feathers spiraled in the air. His white cloak torn, now soaked in black.
He looked up—and locked eyes with Maya and Catherine.
> "You… all of you…"
He moved.
Faster than before.
Too fast.
---
SLASH—!!
Maya raised her sword just in time—steel shrieking as it blocked his cursed blade.
> "ALEX, STOP—!"
But he didn't hear her.
Didn't see her.
Only saw his pain reflected in Deyviel's memory. His sorrow. His curse.
> "YOU LET HER DIE TOO!"
He roared—and swung again.
Catherine stepped between them, ice bursting outward as she pushed Maya back, taking the brunt of the hit.
BOOM!
Ice shattered. Catherine skidded back.
> "Tch… dammit," she hissed. "This is bad."
---
And from afar—
Lancer turned his head.
His eyes gleamed.
> "Heh. This is getting interesting."
Beside him, Balthazar smirked—watching as everything spiraled out of control.
> "Ah… chaos. I've missed this."
---
Meanwhile—
Deyviel and Denver clashed again with Lancer and Lucifearus, not yet knowing—
That behind them—
Alex had become something else.
And now?
He was about to bring hell to everyone around him.
--- Glitch
[TO BE CONTINUED]