Zero groaned, clutching their aching head as they pushed themselves up from the damp, muddy floor. Every inch of their body screamed in protest, but the lack of fatal wounds was a small mercy in this hellscape. The taste of blood mixed with dirt filled their mouth as their eyes narrowed, scanning the carnage around them. The air hung thick with death — a brutal reminder of battles past and yet to come.
Ahead, the woman who had felled them earlier now locked blades with a radiant angel. Zero's blood surged anew, a storm of rage and a deep, gnawing hunger for revenge awakening from the scars that ran far deeper than flesh. Saliva dripped from their cracked lips, eyes rolling back in a wild, almost feral way. This wasn't just fury — it was a predator's anticipation, a creature reborn in chaos, ready to strike.
Moving with unnatural silence, Zero closed the distance unnoticed.
"AMARZE!!!"
The voice cut through the tension like a knife. All three combatants whipped their heads toward the source.
Zero stood tall, but the calm was a lie — beneath it roiled a tempest of pain, hatred, and an insatiable lust for battle. Their tail flicked restlessly, claws curling sharp and deadly like blackened dragon talons. This was no mere demon; this was a remnant of all the horrors they'd endured, all the betrayals burned into memory.
"That's the Imp?" Alabendo gasped, her focus shifting abruptly from Melissa to Zero, eyes wide with something between surprise and wary respect.
Amarze laughed — a deep, rumbling sound like distant thunder, cruel and mocking. His face was hidden in shadows, but his voice dripped with bitter amusement. "Zero. I thought I'd ended you. I killed every last one of your kind during my purge of Invalia. Yet here you stand… alive and defiant."
Melissa, kneeling amidst the devastation, whispered a quiet prayer, voice trembling but resolute. "Those who carry the Guildford banner… their souls ascend to heaven…"
"Alabendo is a Saint by name, but I am judgment incarnate," Amarze declared.
Zero's gaze hardened, cold and unyielding like forged steel. The flicker of vulnerability was gone, replaced by lethal determination. "Enough words. I'll kill you first, then her." Fingers snapped, and a ruby spear burst into existence, pointed unwaveringly at Amarze and Melissa.
But Melissa was gone.
"Where's the girl?!" Zero's voice cracked with frustration and disbelief, eyes scanning the battlefield frantically.
Alabendo's lips parted in alarm. "You're right! She slipped away — we've been deceived."
Amarze rubbed his temple in annoyance, muttering, "I hate you."
Zero's voice dropped low, dangerously calm. "Who freed you?"
Amarze's grin was sardonic, eyes gleaming like cold stars. "I freed myself. Thidos was worried — worried about you, specifically. So I took matters into my own hands."
Alabendo's glare burned into Amarze, icy and full of disdain.
"I was commanded to smite you," Amarze continued, voice laced with bitter nostalgia. "When I heard you survived my purge of Invalia, I was intrigued. Curious to see if you were still worthy of death."
Zero's eyes widened, heart pounding.
"I slaughtered goblins, orcs, even the lowliest imps," Amarze said, tapping his chest with theatrical mockery — no heart beat there, only raw divine power coursing unseen. "And you... you made quite the spectacle once. So I drove a spear into what I thought was your heart. Hearing you still live? It's a delight... a challenge I relish."
Alabendo stepped forward, voice sharp with contempt, slapping Amarze hard across the face. "You disgrace me—and Thidos. Now capture the Imp."
Amarze's eyes flashed with dangerous amusement. With a flick of his hand, Zero was slammed to the ground. Ruby spears erupted, imprisoning them in an ethereal cage.
Calm and ruthless, Amarze seized the ruby spear, his expression darkening. In one swift, brutal motion, he gouged Alabendo's eyes. The angel screamed, writhing in agony before Amarze yanked her by the throat and hurled her into the earth's molten core.
Zero stared in horrified disbelief.
"You kill your own?" Zero hissed, voice trembling.
"She's no ally of mine," Amarze replied flatly, eyes gleaming with ruthless glee. "And she's not dead. Not yet."
Skipping toward the cage with almost childlike delight, Amarze grinned. "Now, let's pay Thidos a visit. Time to shake things up."