The ruined chapel was silent again.
Broken weapons lay scattered across the stone floor.
The hunters who had entered earlier were now unconscious—or worse.
Dark shadow spikes pinned two of them against the walls.
The leader lay on the ground, barely breathing.
Gabriel stood in the center of the destruction.
Blood dripped slowly from his fingers.
Nyx stood beside him, its shadow body now larger and more solid than before.
The wolf's glowing eyes scanned the fallen hunters carefully.
Gabriel looked down at the leader.
"You people came to test immortality."
The man coughed weakly.
"Monster…"
Gabriel crouched beside him.
His silver eyes were calm.
Cold.
"Maybe."
He grabbed the man's collar and lifted him slightly.
"But you attacked first."
The hunter weakly laughed.
"You don't understand…"
Gabriel frowned.
"What?"
The hunter's voice trembled.
"You're not the only thing we hunt."
Gabriel's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Explain."
But before the man could answer—
Pain exploded through Gabriel's entire body.
His spine felt like it had snapped.
His lungs burned.
His ribs cracked again.
Gabriel collapsed instantly.
Nyx growled loudly and stepped in front of him.
The hunter leader stared in confusion.
"What… just happened?"
Gabriel clenched his teeth, barely breathing.
This pain was different.
Heavier.
Darker.
"Alex…"
Something big was happening in Hell.
Hell — Battlefield of Princes
The sky above Hell burned crimson.
Alex and Azrael stood facing each other in a massive crater.
The air around them trembled under the pressure of their demonic energy.
Azrael spun his massive scythe slowly.
"Last chance to walk away."
Alex wiped blood from his lip.
"I already told you."
He raised his sword again.
"I'm taking the throne."
Azrael sighed.
"Then you'll die here."
Suddenly—
Azrael disappeared.
Alex barely reacted in time.
CLANG!
The scythe collided with his sword.
The shockwave cracked the ground for hundreds of meters.
Azrael moved again.
Too fast for normal demons to see.
His scythe slashed across Alex's chest.
Blood sprayed into the air.
Alex stumbled back.
But instead of fear—
He smiled.
"Finally."
Azrael frowned.
"What?"
Alex's crimson eyes began glowing brighter.
"You're strong."
He cracked his neck slowly.
"That means this fight won't be boring."
Azrael's expression darkened.
"You're insane."
Then he raised his scythe.
"SOUL DOMAIN."
The battlefield changed instantly.
Chains made of ghostly energy rose from the ground.
Thousands of trapped souls screamed from beneath the earth.
Inside this domain—
Azrael controlled death itself.
Alex felt the pressure immediately.
His knees almost buckled.
Azrael pointed the scythe toward him.
"Let's see how long your pride lasts."
Back on Earth
Gabriel slammed against the chapel wall as pain tore through his body again.
It felt like his soul itself was being crushed.
Nyx growled anxiously beside him.
Gabriel struggled to breathe.
"This… is different…"
Alex wasn't just injured.
He was inside someone's domain.
Gabriel's shadow power began reacting violently.
Darkness flooded the entire chapel again.
The shadows twisted and gathered around him.
Nyx's body suddenly expanded.
The wolf was now twice its previous size.
Its claws became longer.
Its fangs sharper.
Gabriel slowly pushed himself up.
His breathing was heavy.
"So when Alex faces stronger enemies…"
The shadows around him roared like a storm.
"…my power grows even faster."
Gabriel looked at his shaking hands.
For the first time…
He felt something new inside his body.
Not just shadow.
Something deeper.
Something born directly from suffering.
A new power.
Gabriel whispered quietly.
"Pain energy…"
The shadows around him bent toward him like loyal soldiers.
Gabriel slowly stood upright.
His silver eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
"Good."
If Alex kept fighting monsters in Hell…
Gabriel would become a monster on Earth.
Nyx walked beside him proudly.
Gabriel looked toward the broken doorway of the chapel.
His voice was calm.
Cold.
"Lucifer wanted me to suffer."
The shadows twisted around his feet.
"But suffering…"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"…is making me stronger."
And somewhere far away in Hell—
Alex continued fighting Azrael inside the deadly Soul Domain.
Neither brother knew it yet.
But their cursed bond was slowly creating something terrifying.
A power that even Lucifer had not predicted.