The storm began at dawn.
Red clouds swirled above the last standing stronghold—Sanctum Gate—casting a bloody hue over the stone towers. Inside its walls, warriors rushed, weapons drawn, armor half-buckled, and breaths heavy with the weight of the final stand.
Aira stood in front of the broken chapel mirror, tracing the sharp angles of her face. Her eyes—half-human, half-something else—held a quiet fury. Behind her, Ezrah adjusted his blade holster, his reflection calmer but no less burdened.
"They're moving faster than we thought," he said, voice low.
"Let them come," she whispered, tying her hair back with a bloodstained cloth. "They've taken enough."
Their fingers touched briefly as they turned to leave—no promises, no kisses. Just that gentle press of skin. A warrior's version of "I'll come back to you."
Outside, Shino, Hirata, and what was left of the slayer unit waited. Scarred faces. Tired eyes. A single shared purpose: protect the last line.
"They're surrounding us from the north and west walls," Hirata said, holding the new map soaked in rain. "It's not just Hollowborn anymore. Something darker is with them. Something… ancient."
Ezrah's jaw clenched. "Then we hold the center. Make them come to us."
They marched to the heart of the battlefield—an abandoned courtyard littered with broken statues and skeletal remains. Thunder cracked above. And then… silence.
Until the screaming started.
The Hollowborn descended like a plague, dozens of them clawing and screeching, their eyes a sickly yellow. Among them was a new one—massive, bone-winged, its body stitched with fire. Aira's monster eyes widened.
"That's not a Hollowborn," she muttered. "That's a Devourer."
"A what?" Shino yelled, already stabbing through the air with his double blades.
"A failed experiment. It consumes other demons. Grows with their rage. If it reaches the core, we're done."
Ezrah moved first—blades spinning in arcs of blue. Aira followed, no longer human, her claws tearing into shadows. They fought side by side, backs pressed, like poetry in chaos.
At one point, a Devourer tail struck Ezrah across the chest, sending him flying.
"EZRAH!"
Aira lost control.
Her scream cracked the air as her body lit with glowing veins, a blast of energy tearing through the sky. She leapt, stabbing her bare hand into the Devourer's chest, pulling out its burning heart with a roar that echoed for miles.
When the dust settled, Ezrah was barely breathing. Blood trickled down his chin, but his eyes stayed on her.
"You came back," he rasped.
"I said I'd stay beside you," she whispered, holding him close. "Even if I have to kill the sky."
From the edges of the battlefield, more shadows gathered. The war wasn't over.
But something had changed.
The monster in her had burned… for him.