Deilon jumped from the top of the staircase to the bottom in one massive leap, the snow bursting away from the epicentre from his landing. He set fire to every building he saw with his breath, the heat melting away the icing of snow across his devastation.

  A show off, Death thought. Every battle is a puzzle, the solution to men like this is a simple one—they expect grandeur, a spectacle that millions would’ve wished to watch. He won’t go for the kill so early, no, he will gloat and claim glory for a battle yet unwon.

  Deilon raised his sword and scraped it against his own horn, then clacked his breastplate. “Puny humans, you are the one who took my brother Aleion? He was weak, he must’ve been, falling to you two is an embarrassment for the Flame blood.”

  “What’s my duty, huh?” Vera squeaked. “Mister Death, you’re the one with the tactics.”

  “Let him attack me until he gets enraged,” he whispered. “When he goes all out, so do you, constant attacks, every angle, aim for his ankles, it’s common for cocky men to forget they are such an easy place to strike.”

  “And until he gets enraged?”

  “Be annoying, speak your mind, rile him up.”

  Deilon sniffed the air. “Little brother…? Did you kill him too? I smell his flesh, how dare you.”

  “Yeah, I killed him!” Vera lied. “Tore off his cock like pulling a worm until it snaps! What’re you gonna do, big freak, gonna divorce your child-wife and try to fuck me?”

  Vera’s words made him angry. He released more fire, this time to the massive castle behind. “All must now what I have done here!” he screamed. “All must now that Deilon the Defiant scorched this city to ashes! The war on humanity begins now!”

  At this rate there won’t be a city to fight in, Death thought. This city seemed nice, I would’ve loved to explore and conquer it myself, a shame that everywhere I go fire seems to follow.

  “My mighty inferno stage! Do you hear the roar of their embers, the cries of the damned from within the homes!”

  “Those shacks are empty buddy, you’re just makin’ a big ol’ bonfire,” Vera teased. “Quakin’ in fear at the thought of all those empty homes ablaze, such a shame!”

  Deilon hellishly howled, each breath releasing smoke like a lit forge, each heavy step forward cracked the earth beneath, a red mist rising from the tiny chasms. He took his sword to a sweep, dragging it across the floor in an arc, the stone melting between them with claws of black flame poking out. It stopped short at their feet.

  He’s still boasting power… I’m starting to get bored, is he going to try and strike me, or not?

  “Is that all you’ve got to offer!” Vera yelled. “A sauna?”

  Deilon twirled his sword and aimed it at the castle spires, their snowy crowns turning molten and obey the command of his sword. They crumbled into tiny rocks, coming like arrows. Still, he did not attack them with it, it rained down around them, pebbles bonking their heads with a slight sizzle.

  “Fuck this,” Vera mumbled. “I’m bored of this demon cunt.”

  She darted forward with a spin and ducked under an arc of flame from his sword, she slipped on the slush, pretending it was a part of the act, and threw her daggers at him—he deflected both, and she summoned them back to her hands. She circled him, repeating the same move, throwing then resummoning.

  “You think such a simple knife can best me?” he boomed. “I am Deilon Flame, the mightiest of the Flame family, you cannot stand a chance against me.”

  Death used the distraction to punch Deilon in the face. With the strength of Aleion now in his body, he gave the demon a quick dark bruise on his cheek. Heh, that new strength really was good, I won’t be breaking anymore bones from my strikes unless my opponent has skin tougher than iron.

  “Don’t be such a pussy!” Vera yelled, throwing the daggers in a second round of distraction. “Only little bitches complain about a bruise from a fight!”

  He lunged for Vera with his sword, she ducked under it, leaning her back against his as he froze still, reaching her hand back and twirling one of his black curls. “What are those muscles for if you can’t catch a girl like me, hm?” she teased. “No wonder the women in Hell don’t give you any chances.”

  He bared his fangs in frustration and raised his sword with both hands. She seized this opportunity, tickling his armpits as he turned, then mounting him, wrapping her legs around his torso, jamming her tongue into the canal of his ear, waggling it with gusto.

  “What in the fuck is this?” His trap and shoulder muscles were so large he couldn’t reach behind himself to throw her off. “Get out of my ear you damned human!”

  “I’m a hybrid!” she whispered. “Half fox, get your facts right.”

  She bit off his ear with her teeth, then summoned a dagger, he elbowed her in the side with a large growl before she could attack with the blade.

  “Mmmm, cambions are not yummy.” She spat out the portion of his ear she had chewed off. “You want it back?”

  “I see this is no place for games,” he said cockily. “Fine then, I will spare you no mercy.”

  “And neither will I.” Death clashed his sword against the blade made from the seraph’s armour, his weapon threatening to bend or shatter from the battle of strength. That twink demon was right, that sword is unyielding, I can see how thin the edge is—gods, I am not one to be found jealous, but I am angered that Snow has commanded me to forfeit such a fine weapon to her.

  He pushed himself away and went from killing blows, each parried without effort, but the sparks that came from the scrapes was beautiful when mixed with the snowfall. He saw Vera circling the battle, finally listening to Death’s strategies to not interfere until she saw Deilon was going all out.

  “You fight like a pussy!” she screamed. “I bet you offer your tight little asshole to all the stronger cambions!”

  Death took a second to chuckle at the remark before sheathing his sword and uppercutting the demon. Death followed it with the strongest headbutt he could, but Deilon had the same idea; their heads collided with a deafening smack, both staggering back from their rattled skulls. Ahh, gods, that was not my best tactic, perhaps I should not be so cocky in my own abilities yet.

  Their world was spinning, and in the disorientation, Death took the chance to grab Deilon’s sword, steal it, and stab it into his belly. Deilon screamed in pain, punching Death in the ribs. The sword slid out his wound, still in Death’s possession, he licked the blood off the sword and hummed with a moan. “I’m not the biggest fan of honey,” Death whispered. “But in this instance, it might just be my favourite flavour.”

  Deilon chuckled, raising his arm to the sky—the sword vanished from Death’s possession and returned to the demon.

  That is odd… summonable weapons can’t be recalled if another has possession of them. That devil’s contract must’ve had some clauses to loophole that, what crafty creatures, none the matter, he has a wound in his chest and will die if he doesn’t surrender soon.

  “Fools,” he muttered. “You fell into my trap.”

  Trap? Death thought. Oh, I am a fool, what was it that twink said to me? He will only return to his full power when near-death. My desire to play with my food left me vulnerable to be played like a fiddle.

  “Devil’s contract,” Deilon whispered. “Give my strength, heal my wounds, my foes must fall at my feet.”

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  The gaping wound cauterised shut, Deilon grew slightly taller, his muscles growing veins, his armour creaking as his body pushed against the inside. “I am Deilon the Defiant,” he screamed. “I will not be killed by an insignificant peasant!”

  He closed the difference between him and Death. The first strike shattered Death’s new sword in two, and the punch that followed broke his collarbone and several ribs.

  That is… significantly stronger than his previous hits… but this is his all-out… Vera should be attacking now.

  Vera attacked him pointlessly; he grabbed her by the throat and threw her into death like a god-guided arrow. He cackled, fire in his throat, then released the sea of flame upon them.

  He sighed in satisfaction of his kills, sticking his sword into the floor. “Now I must find the third,” he said. “White hair, probably hiding in the snow to hide in plain sight.”

  Deilon was shocked as his fire turned into a quick tornado, all of it sucked into a pink palm. “Hello, big brother,” Beion said. “I do apologise, my friends, I did warn you about his contract for power. I knew you would have the strength to get him to this stage, now you must trust me to keep the fire away from you while you fight.”

  “Beion?” his brother said in disbelief. “You’re alive? This is great news… wait, why are you protecting them? That little bitch told me she killed you.”

  Beion saw Death’s broken collarbone. “Hm, that is going to be hard to fight with, can you fight?”

  “I can do more than fight, I will kill that cambion and steal his powers, that was always my intention.”

  “Why brother?” Deilon squealed. “I loved you! Aleion did too! You dishonour him by siding with his killer, why? Why would you do this to me, have I ever failed to defend you? Have I ever did you wrong? Have I ever shown you contempt?”

  “For Aleirica,” he snarled. “You will never treat her the way you all treated her again, father will not dare oppose my wishes for her to be cared for when I am the only one son.”

  Deilon attacked with arcs of fire from his sword swings. Beion cut them in half with flicks from his wrist and hand. “I cannot fight him physically, Death,” Beion whispered. “My strength is my magic and teleporting with my Hell portals, but it operates the same way that all living things must abide by—I will get exhausted from his attacks if you do not stand and fight!”

  Death summoned his Choking Chain with Vera at his side.

  “No,” Deilon snarled. “You dare steal my brother’s weapon? An insult to him! I will end you!”

  Death swung the chain as Vera threw the daggers, it wrapped around the blade and struck him in the side of the head.

  “I’m not losing my chance this time!” Vera mounted him, legs around his neck, stabbing into his skull and turning his brain into a soup. She thought she had killed him, but he grabbed her by her soft throat. “Stupid bitch,” he said. “I am not that weak of a man.”

  He threw her into one of the burning buildings. Beion acted fast on this, placing a palm into the ground and sucking away all flames from the wood and stone, exerting a large amount of energy to also stop Death from being swallowed by the inferno from Deilon’s gob.

  In an act that surprised everyone, a blade stabbed through the back of the Deilon’s throat, greeting the others through his gaping wide mouth. Snow stood shaky, holding the hilt, letting go as handle moved with the demon’s rotation.

  He grabbed the sharpness and pushed it out, the wound healing in an instant. “Do you think you could kill me?” he said, eyes wide like a predator about to pounce. “I am a god compared to you.”

  The iron chain of Death’s weapon wrapped around Deilon’s throat. He pulled the demon back, yelling for Snow to run. She did listen to Death; however, she ran towards him, hugging him as the demon pointed their sword at them.

  “You can’t be here, Snow,” he said. “If you did, I die.”

  “And if you did, I’m as good as dead,” she said. “I want to help you, I need to help you, you are my everything.”

  “Lovebirds,” Deilon snarled. “I shall enjoy ripping you apart, I will make sure one of you watches the other be torn up.”

  “I have a dagger,” she said shakily. “I can help kill him!”

  “I must kill him,” Death said. “Or I won’t get his powers.”

  “Okay,” she took one of his hands. “We will conquer the world together, Death, I love you.”

  Now is not the time for things like that, Snow, I must think of a way to take him down… the only thing I can think of is to smash his head like a melon, hope he is unable to heal from it.

  “What will you do with such a pitiful dagger?” Deilon boasted his weapon like showing it to an audience. “Do the gods not see how outmatched they are!”

  When Beion saw that Vera had survived the fire due to all of his efforts, he put the last of his stamina into wielding the heat against his brother. “Are you a fool too?” Deilon asked, blocking it with his palm. “We are from Hell, you weasel, fire doesn’t affect us.”

  “You can be immune to fire…” Beion managed. “But you have always been your own weakness—you’re a show off, blinded by your own ego.”

  Deilon raised his blade at a tower spire and began to turn the brick into deadly pebbles of lava. “It is time to end this,” he said. “I will miss you, little brother, I will tell father you were murdered by the humans.”

  Vera slid and stook a dagger in each of Deilon’s heels then rose her fist violently into his scrotum. Her hand hit metal, but he felt it in each ball, the pain, the anguish, his tendons snapped and he fell to his knees, dropping his sword.

  “Cocky men forget their ankles!” Vera yelled. “You were right, mister Death, he’s a gimp!”

  Beion collapsed in exhaustion, he smiled as he watched what was happening. Vera kicked the demon in the back of the head, Snow put her dagger in Deion’s eye and stabbed his head over and over. “I must kill him,” Death said. “Move.”

  Deilon swung his sword upward in a final effort and cut off both of Death’s hand.

  Snow cried out for him, but Death didn’t care, the chain of his weapon was summoned to his spurting wrist rather than his palm, then it connected under Deilon’s jaw, shattering all of his teeth and breaking his jaw in two.

  He chuckled as he tried to crawl away, then saw the castle of Lakevalor glowing like a target. He released a beam of judgement on the central keep and the towers, lighting it ablaze with a happy cackle. “The war on humans begins,” he snarled. “Doesn’t matter if I die, little brother, you will pick up where I left off.”

  Death smashed Deilon’s head to mush with the weapon. He kept slamming, even when the cambion was clearly dead. His hands grew back slow, but still he pounded, eventually he was hitting concrete and not bone. His hands were shaking, not from cold, he didn’t know why he was so jittery.

  He felt no power absorbed, barely any strength coming from his defeated opponent. No… his deal with a devil must have a clause to prevent power draining, his strength has went to someplace else. My hands still healed, so something was given to me. He raised his hand to the sky and summoned the sword to his hand. The sword… I got the sword… my fighting wasn’t for nothing… but my command, where is the rest of them? I told them I needed to kill him, not that they should flee. This blizzard is picking up even more; the mist is flooding in from the heat of Deilon’s skin subsiding.

  He released a scream of victory and closed his eyes. The spell Beion put on me is fading too, this blizzard feels nice and cold, this fog of frost isolates me from the world, just me, just my thoughts, no annoying fox or soul-bound women or cambions, who am I? My memories suggest a conqueror and in my soul I know I am, so why do I find myself doubting the trust of my own my mind—I was filled with hate when Snow released me from that tomb, I still am, why does this spite come with guilt I cannot shake? Each kill makes me feel pure, but why? Each punch makes me feel free, but why? I don’t wish to love, but why can’t I? The only thing that arouses me is the thought of every nation submitting, but why? What did I do to that scarred man and succubus, what did I do to that girl I saw in my memories… and why has it made me feel so trapped? I am clawing at a version of myself that just isn’t there, that’s what it feels like, waiting at a door that may never open… why am I having such a crisis at a moment of triumph? My heart is booming out of my chest like a desperate animal in a cage, my legs feel like jelly, I hear a ring in my ears that is only getting louder; what am I? Who am I?

  Snow hugged him as tight as she could, all bad thoughts went away, all he saw was her smile.

  “There we go,” she whispered soothingly. “Your heart is calm. Your hands were shaking, warm them up under my armpits… there you go, just like that, hold me tighter, focus on the mists from my breaths, match yours with mine.”

  “What is happening to me?” Death said. “What is this?”

  “Your body still wants to fight,” she guessed. “No fighting, just empty your head and look at me, you won, we won.”

  My thoughts are so empty and clear, I have nothing to think. Things changed when I saw that girl, it felt like I was never supposed to see her face again. It was like all my hidden memories of joy and wonder hit me at the same moment, every emotion my body could express exploded in my soul in one moment… now it lingers like a cancer, bubbling like a plague rotting my brain, and soothed by Snow’s touch… her presence is calming but there is no logic in it

  “Let me know if I’m hugging too tight, okay?” Snow said lovingly. “I’m not going anywhere, that’s good, nice and calm, my strong conqueror.”

  “Is this witchcraft?”

  “Just my love, all of me, trying my best.”

  “Thank you, Snow.”

  “It’s okay, I love you. You don’t have to say it back, I know you don’t feel the same way yet, I just want to remind you that my mind will never change.”

  Beion wobbled to his brother’s corpse, he fell onto Vera for a supporting hand, weak and exhausted. “Doomed is the man who can’t seek help even from himself—rest eternal in flame, Deilon.”

  “I thought you hated him,” Vera said.

  “Hate yet respect. I saw he wished to avenge me when you told him you killed me. I often believe that one’s true thoughts of each other only comes out in death, ‘tis comforting knowing he did think of me as a brother.”

  The fires were beginning to disappear under the weight of the falling snow. “We should seek refuge for the night, people will still be in their cellars, whoever was in that keep is surely dead—if they are not, they will send message to Killian Entrail. We will have the night to rest, we deserve this.”

  Beion opened a portal to Hell under his brother, removing the corpse.

  “Give me your hand, Snow,” Death said. “Close your eyes and stay calm. As per your command, I give this sword to you, the gift is now yours.”

  She felt no different. “How do I summon it?”

  “I’ll teach you!” Vera exclaimed. “When the snow clears, I’ll show you how to summon it!”

  Snow got on her tiptoes and hugged his neck. “I want to be just as strong as you one day,” she said. “We will rule this world.”