Morning light slowly crept through the broken roof of the chapel.
But inside, darkness still ruled.
Gabriel sat against a cracked pillar, his body covered in dried blood.
The night had been long.
Every time Alex fought, Gabriel suffered.
Broken ribs.
Burning wounds.
Stabbing pain.
Yet something strange had changed.
Gabriel slowly raised his hand.
The shadow beneath him moved instantly.
Like a loyal servant.
"So it listens now…"
The shadow stretched forward across the floor.
Gabriel focused his mind.
"Rise."
At first, nothing happened.
Then the shadow suddenly thickened.
The darkness gathered together like black smoke.
Gabriel's eyes narrowed.
"Interesting…"
The shadow twisted violently before rising from the ground.
Slowly.
Unnaturally.
Until a small creature formed.
A black wolf made entirely of shadow.
Its glowing silver eyes opened.
The creature looked at Gabriel.
Then slowly bowed its head.
Gabriel stared in disbelief.
"I… created that?"
The shadow wolf walked toward him silently.
Its body had no sound.
No weight.
Only darkness.
Gabriel slowly reached out his hand.
The wolf touched it gently.
Cold.
Like touching night itself.
Gabriel felt a strange connection between them.
Like their existence was tied together.
"Are you part of me?"
The wolf wagged its tail slightly.
Gabriel smirked faintly.
"Well… at least I'm not alone anymore."
But suddenly—
Pain struck again.
Sharp.
Violent.
Gabriel fell forward as agony exploded through his chest.
The wolf instantly turned toward the chapel door, growling quietly.
Gabriel clenched his teeth.
"This one's bad…"
Alex was in another serious fight.
Gabriel forced himself to stay conscious.
If he passed out, he wouldn't be able to control the shadows.
And if he couldn't control them…
He wouldn't grow stronger.
The shadow wolf stayed beside him like a guard.
Meanwhile — Hell
Alex stood on the edge of a massive canyon.
The black wind of Hell howled around him.
His body still carried wounds from his fight with Beltran.
But he didn't stop moving.
Demons surrounded him.
Dozens of them.
Low-class soldiers under Beltran's command.
One demon stepped forward nervously.
"You… you should retreat."
"This territory belongs to Prince Beltran."
Alex looked bored.
"Didn't I already beat him?"
The demons hesitated.
That was true.
Beltran had disappeared after the explosion yesterday.
But none of them believed Alex could truly defeat a War Prince.
The demon raised his spear.
"You're injured."
"This is your last chance to leave."
Alex sighed.
"Why does everyone talk so much before dying?"
Before the demon could react—
Alex moved.
A blur.
His sword flashed once.
The demon's head rolled across the ground.
The others froze.
Then chaos erupted.
"Kill him!"
Dozens of demons charged at once.
Alex's crimson eyes glowed.
"Perfect."
He rushed forward.
The battlefield exploded into violence.
Back on Earth
Gabriel screamed as the pain returned again.
His back burned like it had been sliced open.
The shadow wolf growled louder.
The darkness around Gabriel grew heavier.
More shadows gathered.
The wolf's body suddenly grew larger.
Its claws sharpened.
Its form became more solid.
Gabriel noticed immediately.
"So the shadow evolves with pain…"
He wiped blood from his mouth.
"Good."
The more Alex fought…
The stronger Gabriel became.
Gabriel slowly stood up.
Despite the pain shaking his body.
The shadow wolf stood beside him like a loyal guardian.
Gabriel looked down at it.
"You need a name."
The wolf looked up.
Gabriel thought for a moment.
Then spoke.
"Nyx."
The wolf wagged its tail slightly.
Gabriel smiled faintly.
"From now on, you fight with me."
He looked toward the sky.
Where the sun was beginning to rise.
But Gabriel's voice was cold.
"One day…"
"…I'll end this curse."
The shadows around him twisted violently.
"And when that day comes…"
His silver eyes darkened.
"Lucifer will learn something."
The shadow wolf growled quietly.
Gabriel whispered the final words.
"Pain creates monsters."
And Gabriel was slowly becoming one.