"How fares my old friend?" Daruel's voice rumbled, a sound like grinding stones and whistling fire. "It has been an age since we last stood face to face, hasn't it? I have truly missed you."
Saruel's face twisted, undisguised hatred and contempt etched into his features. "Spare me the pleasantries. Before you deny it—save your breath! You are a traitor. You'd best take your curs and crawl back to the abyss that spawned you. You will never lay a hand on Toram!"
Daruel threw his head back, his laughter crashing like a tidal wave, vibrating through the lungs of every soul on the battlefield. It was a sound that promised doom. Saruel, however, did not flinch; he only steeled himself, watching his adversary with lethal focus.
"And who, pray tell, is going to stop me?" Daruel sneered, a malevolent grin baring his teeth. "Ah... Hahaha! surely not you? My poor, deluded child."
Saruel raised his blade high, the steel humming with radiant energy. "Test me! Cease your empty boasting and show me your worth!"
The air grew heavy, suffocating. Daruel began to drag his massive, flaming greatsword along the ground. The dark metal melted the stone beneath it, carving a jagged, molten scar in the earth as he advanced. The tension on the battlefield snapped. The silence was louder than any scream.
Suddenly, Daruel unfurled vast wings that seemed to drip with volcanic fire. He launched himself skyward, tearing through the atmosphere like a living missile. In a heartbeat, Saruel matched him, shooting upward with unrivaled velocity.
As the two titans collided, the heavens threatened to tear asunder, and the earth below trembled in fear…
The sky became a canvas of war.
The duel between Daruel and Saruel above the cloud layer was far beyond a mere clash of swords. Their speed shattered the sound barrier, outpacing the blink of an eye. To the mortals gazing up from the chaos below, their battle appeared only as streaks of strobing light—a terrifying thunderstorm of sparks dancing across the firmament.
Daruel gripped his colossal blade with both hands, the weapon exuding a suffocating dark aura. He unleashed a barrage of lethal strikes, cleaving the air with force enough to generate sonic booms that rolled like thunder. Saruel, however, was a tempest of grace. He spun like a tornado, parrying the heavy blows with fluid precision, shifting from defense to offense in the space of a breath.
Then, a shift!
Saruel abandoned his defense. He crossed his twin blades like shears, catching Daruel's massive sword in a bind. The screech of grinding metal was deafening. Seizing the opening, Saruel used the leverage to launch himself forward, aiming a devastating blow with his wings. But Daruel's reflexes were supernatural. His own leathery, bat-like wings snapped forward, intercepting the attack and nullifying the impact.
Far below, the earth was drowning in blood and choking on dust. The carnage had shaken the land to its very foundations. Amidst the cacophony of breaking bones and wailing souls, four Dark Angels circled a lone warrior of light like starving wolves. They seized him by his limbs, tearing his form apart in a gruesome display of cruelty.
Witnessing this atrocity, Kaduel snapped.
His fury detonated, transforming his physical form into a crackling avatar of azure lightning. His eyes blazed like blue suns. The four Dark Angels, sensing the threat, abandoned their prey and synchronized their movements to intercept him. But Kaduel moved at the speed of light. He became a blur—a streak of electrical judgment passing through them.
For a second, the four enemies stood frozen. Then, as if their bodies had been overwhelmed by a surge they could not contain, they shattered like brittle clay, crumbling into dust. Kaduel didn't even break stride; he merely glanced back with cold, imperious disdain as they disintegrated.
High above, the tide of battle turned.
Daruel had outmaneuvered his opponent. He wrapped his massive wings around Saruel's, squeezing with hydraulic force until the sickening sound of snapping bone echoed through the sky. Screaming in agony, Saruel's grip faltered, and his sword plummeted from his left hand.
But the light-bearer was not finished.
As the sword fell, Saruel dove with desperate speed, catching the hilt mid-air. With a roar of defiance, he drove the blade upward, burying it deep into Daruel's abdomen.
Daruel paused. He looked down at the sword protruding from his gut, but there was no pain in his eyes—only a cold, mocking amusement.
"Did you truly believe..." Daruel's voice dripped with arrogance, "...that this trinket could kill me?"
He leaned in close, his voice dropping to a whisper that froze the blood. "You are insignificant. You never really knew me, did you?"
With a casual, brutal motion, Daruel's wing tightened around Saruel's neck. A wet snap resonated. Saruel went limp, his eyes wide with confusion and fading life, staring helplessly at his executioner.
"There is much you do not know, Saruel. You were never my equal."
Quicksilver blood began to drip from Saruel's wound. Daruel, merciless to the end, held him until the last breath was choked out, then discarded him like refuse.
Saruel's body plummeted. He fell back-first, tearing through the clouds, the air screaming around him. He struck the earth with the force of a meteor. The ground split open, and a mushroom cloud of debris swallowed the impact site.
Daruel descended slowly, his wings beating with rhythmic authority. He landed before the crater. Inside, Saruel, broken and trembling, tried to prop himself up on his swords. He tried to rise.
Daruel gave him no quarter. He drove his dark, aura-wreathed greatsword straight through Saruel, pinning him to the broken earth. Saruel coughed, spewing blood that shimmered like molten silver.
Daruel hoisted the impaled angel into the air, displaying him like a trophy. His voice boomed across the battlefield.
"Look upon your fate! This is what awaits any who stand before me!" His words struck like a physical blow. "Toram belongs to me! Is this the 'competence' you spoke of? You are nothing but trash!"
With a final, horrific tear, Saruel's body was ripped asunder. But there was no corpse; his form dissolved into brilliant particles of light, ascending into the ether. He was gone.
The soldiers of light recoiled in horror. The Knights began to waver, the death of their champion shattering their morale.
"Do not retreat!" Kaduel's voice cut through the panic. "Hold the line!"
The chaos resumed, a meat grinder of magic and steel.
Amidst the fray, the Commander of the Knights saw an opening. As Daruel turned away, the Commander galloped through the air, leaping from his steed with his sword raised, aiming to cleave Daruel's skull from behind.
Daruel didn't even turn around.
With bored indifference, he reached a hand backward, catching the Commander by the throat mid-air. The Knight kicked and thrashed, gasping for air.
"Can you insects not hear?" Daruel grumbled, annoyed. "I am beyond your comprehension."
He squeezed. The Commander's throat collapsed. Daruel tossed the lifeless body aside and began to walk toward the church, ignoring the war raging behind him.
He reached the sanctuary doors. Victory was steps away.
Suddenly, a blinding radiance erupted from the church, striking Daruel with the force of a freight train. The Dark Sovereign was blasted backward, tumbling away like a ragdoll.
Inside the church, peering through the window, Toram watched with wide, trembling eyes. Her mind scrambled to process the impossible sight.
"This... this isn't magic," she whispered, her voice shaking as she tried to cling to logic. "Magic isn't real. This has to be... advanced technology."
But as the dust and light cleared, a silhouette emerged from the radiance—an unexpected sight that defied all reason.