The heavens dimmed.
Two demonic titans stood across from each other—one a sovereign of this era, the other a fossil of a forgotten age whose steps made the world remember what fear was.
Azrael Noctis Vael gritted his teeth, his hair whipping in the storm of black flames that roared around him.
Vorgath only smiled wider.
“Good,” Vorgath murmured. “Now show me the strength of your bloodline.”
Azrael’s aura surged, cracking the sky open like glass.
“HEAVENLY DEMON ASCENSION—THIRD ANATHEMA!”
A pillar of obsidian light erupted from Azrael’s body, spiraling into the heavens and warping gravity around him. His muscles tightened, his veins burned black, and demonic sigils carved themselves across his skin.
The ground beneath him melted into lava.
Vorgath rolled his neck.
“Hmmm… The Third Anathema already? Impressive for someone your age.”
He smiled cruelly.
“Leon unlocked that before he grew his first tooth.”
Azrael roared, rushing in with speed far beyond anything he had used before.
Azrael struck.
A blow strong enough to rip apart a mountain range.
Vorgath caught it with two fingers.
Azrael’s eyes widened, but he immediately twisted, flipping over Vorgath and slashing downward.
This time Vorgath moved.
A single sidestep.
The blade barely grazed his cheek.
But the air screamed as if reality itself had been cut.
Azrael landed, panting. “You’re fast—”
Vorgath was behind him.
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“You’re slow.”
He kicked Azrael so hard the Demon Lord ricocheted off the valley wall, pulverizing it into dust.
Azrael staggered out, coughing blood, aura flickering. But his eyes… they held something new. Something primal.
Hatred.
Fear.
Pride.
“Don’t mock me,” Azrael spat. “I AM the Heavenly Demon Lord. This era bows to—”
Vorgath appeared before him.
“Nobody bows to a child.”
He grabbed Azrael by the throat.
“You carry Leon’s legacy but wield none of his will.”
Azrael snarled and slashed at Vorgath’s arm—
The blade shattered.
Azrael froze.
Vorgath tightened his grip.
Azrael’s vision blurred.
And then—
Vorgath let go.
“Stand up,” he ordered.
Azrael gasped for breath, falling to his knees.
“I’m not done testing you.”
Jin lay on his back, chest rising weakly, eyes locked on the battle he couldn’t even dream of interrupting.
Every shockwave rattled his bones.
Every clash sent ripples through his soul.
His system interface flickered like lightning:
> [SYSTEM: PATH OF A DEMON GOD — PHASE I INITIATED]
> ? Hell Resonance Unlocked
Allows the host to hear echoes of past Demon Gods through battle.
? Abyssal Nerve Awakening
Increases reaction speed, perception, and pain tolerance by 1200%.
? Demonic Constitution (Proto-Form)
Your body begins adapting to demonic physiology.
Jin’s breathing slowed, stabilizing.
Not healed.
But no longer fading.
Another notification sprang to life:
> [WARNING]
Vorgath has begun revealing Demon God-level techniques. Witnessing these may alter the host’s destiny.
Jin laughed weakly. “Alter my destiny? I already lost it the moment this guy moved in.”
Inside his consciousness, Vorgath’s voice echoed faintly, as if multitasking between toying with a Demon Lord and lecturing a child:
“Watch closely, boy. This fight is a gift. Few mortals ever glimpse the truth of demonic battle.”
Jin smirked.
“Then don’t hold back.”
Azrael stood again.
Barely.
His aura flickering like a broken candle.
“Why…” he hissed. “Why do you know his techniques?”
Vorgath’s smile softened—for the first time showing a hint of memory.
“Because I trained him.”
Azrael froze.
Silence devoured the battlefield.
“What… what did you say?”
Vorgath stepped forward.
“He was my disciple.”
The world went still.
“He forged the Esdeath lineage based on my teachings. Your Heavenly Demon Sect exists because I allowed him to survive his first trial.”
Azrael trembled.
Vorgath raised a hand.
Chains exploded from behind him—blazing, divine, demonic, ancient.
“Azrael Noctis Vael.”
The Grim Warden’s voice deepened, shaking the realm.
“You carry the name of Esdeath… yet you lack the will. You inherited the throne… yet you lack the spine.”
Vorgath’s eyes glowed like twin furnaces.
“So today, I will judge you.”
Azrael screamed and unleashed his strongest technique—
“HEAVEN-SUNDering DEMON STAR!”
A colossal black star formed above them, its gravity crushing the battlefield into craters.
It fell—
A demon meteor of extinction.
Vorgath raised one finger.
Tapped the star.
The entire technique unraveled like sand blown from a child’s hand.
Azrael collapsed in disbelief.
“...What… what are you?”
Vorgath crouched down so they were eye to eye.
“I am Vorgath.”
He smiled.
“The one your sect calls the Grim Warden.”
Azrael’s breath hitched.
“The Demon God who judges Demon Gods.”
Then Vorgath placed a single finger on Azrael’s forehead.
A spark of helllight pulsed.
Azrael’s eyes widened—
Not in fear.
But in recognition.
“Those eyes…” he whispered. “Leon had those eyes too…”
Vorgath leaned close.
“Let’s see how much of him lives in you.”
Azrael screamed—
A scream that shook the valley—
As Vorgath released a fraction of his judgment.
The demon lord crumpled, aura nearly extinguished.
And Vorgath finally said:
“Good. You didn’t die. That means you have at least one drop of Leon’s spirit.”
He stood, brushing dust off his sleeve.
“Now then…”
His gaze turned toward Jin.
“…it’s your turn.”
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he began walking toward the boy.
Azrael lifted his head weakly, shouting:
“DON’T—TOUCH—HIM!”
Vorgath didn’t even look back.
“Oh hush. If I wanted him dead, he wouldn’t have lasted the first second.”
Jin’s breath caught.
His heart pounded.
Vorgath stepped before him.
Smiling.
“Your path begins now, boy.”
And behind him—
Azrael, on his knees, eyes full of fury and desperation, whispered:
“This war… isn’t over…”
Dark clouds swirled overhead.
A storm of destiny forming.
