A deep voice echoed through the mist.
Calm. Heavy.
As if it resonated from the shadows themselves.
"Greetings."
The tall figure stepped forward, the wind tugging at his dark cloak.
"The name is Vorgath."
A pause.
"The Shadow General."
Kaera narrowed her eyes.
Her stance shifted, katana rising slightly as she prepared to strike at any moment.
Vorgath tilted his head.
"There is no need for pointless violence," he said calmly.
"My task is simple."
"To bring you home."
Kaera let out a dry laugh.
"Heh."
"You really think I'd follow you just like that?"
"Why not?" Vorgath replied casually.
A faint red glow flickered behind the eye sockets of his skull mask.
"Even your father gave in eventually."
"Now it's your turn."
Kaera's expression hardened instantly.
Her grip on the katana tightened.
"He didn't give in."
Her voice dropped.
"He lost because there were too many of you."
A cold glare.
"And I'm not him."
She vanished from her stance.
The ground cracked under her step as she lunged forward.
SHING!
Her katana sliced through the mist in a clean horizontal strike—
but the blade cut through nothing.
The figure dissolved into shadows.
"Too slow."
A voice whispered behind her.
Kaera spun instantly.
Vorgath stood a few steps behind her, arms relaxed, as if the attack meant nothing.
Then he chuckled.
"Astaroth… is not an ordinary demon."
His voice carried amusement.
"It took several of us working together to bring him down."
"Per 'his' own orders, of course."
Kaera didn't reply.
She stepped forward again.
TRING!
Her blade came down in a sharp vertical strike.
Vorgath caught it with one hand.
Barehanded.
The sound of metal rang through the mist.
He stared at the blade resting in his palm.
"Seriously?"
"You intend to fight me with something like this?"
Kaera clicked her tongue and jumped back, creating distance.
Her left arm still carried a shallow wound from the earlier battle.
Blood dripped slowly down her fingers.
Good enough.
She raised her hand.
The blood lifted into the air.
It trembled.
Then compressed violently.
The liquid twisted and wrapped itself around her katana, hardening into a long, crimson extension.
The blade grew longer.
Sharper.
A scarlet katana of hardened blood.
Crimson Blade.
Vorgath watched with interest.
"Hmm."
"Curse magic?"
A pause.
Then he shook his head slowly.
"No."
"Still incomplete."
Kaera frowned.
She had no idea what he was talking about.
And she didn't care.
She dashed forward again.
Her Crimson Blade flashed through the mist.
SHING!
The strike passed straight through him. Another shadow.
Vorgath appeared several meters away.
The crimson blade carved through the air—
But once again.
Nothing.
The figure vanished like smoke.
Another shadow.
Kaera spun.
Another strike.
Another miss.
Vorgath flickered across the battlefield like a phantom, appearing and disappearing between every heartbeat.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Kaera's breathing grew heavier.
Her eyes slowly began to glow red.
"Stop…"
Her voice trembled with irritation.
"Running!"
Vorgath finally stopped moving.
A low laugh escaped his mask.
"Very well."
"If you wish to play…"
He raised one hand.
The shadows beneath his feet twisted violently.
From the darkness, a massive cleaver-shaped blade rose into his grip.
He lifted it casually with one hand.
"…who am I to refuse?"
Vorgath stepped forward.
The air trembled.
CLANG!
The two figures collided.
Steel clashed against shadow-forged metal.
CLANG!CLANG!
Kaera swung with relentless speed, her crimson blade carving arcs through the mist.
Vorgath blocked every strike with one hand.
One. Hand.
Kaera twisted her body mid-swing.
Her free hand snapped forward.
Scarlet droplets burst from her wound—
Then hardened instantly.
"Crimson Shard"
The blood bullets ripped through the air.
Vorgath tilted his head slightly.
The projectiles tore past him, shredding the mist behind.
"Creative."
He countered with a single swing of the cleaver.
Kaera barely dodged, the cleaver slamming into the ground with enough force to split the earth.
BOOM!
The battle escalated rapidly.
Slash.
Clang.
Blood projectiles screamed through the air.
Steel met shadow again and again.
Kaera kept pushing harder.
More blood flowed from her wound.
Her breathing grew heavier.
Anger began to mix with something darker.
Then it happened.
Rage phase.
Dark purple demon marks slowly spread across her arm.
Her strength surged.
Her movements became faster.
More violent.
Each strike carried raw fury.
The blood around her began trembling as if responding to her rage.
Vorgath watched quietly.
Amused.
"Ah."
"So the bloodline still carries Chaos."
Kaera didn't hear him.
Her eyes had turned fully red now.
She attacked again with feral intensity.
But even with the surge of power—
She still couldn't reach him.
Vorgath parried another strike effortlessly.
Then he swung the cleaver in a heavy horizontal arc.
Kaera barely threw herself backward to dodge it.
The shockwave still clipped her, sending her stumbling across the cracked ground.
She struggled to regain her balance—
but her boots lost traction.
She slid several meters before finally dropping to one knee, her katana stabbing into the ground to stop herself.
Her breathing was heavy now.
Blood dripped steadily from her fingers.
Her vision flickered.
The dark purple demon marks crawling across her arm pulsed faintly—burning beneath her skin.
Rage Mode was consuming her stamina.
Her strength had surged…yet her body was reaching its limit.
Vorgath rested the massive cleaver on his shoulder.
A quiet chuckle slipped from beneath the skull mask.
"Is that all?"
He sighed.
Then began walking toward her.
Each step calm.
Unhurried.
"I suppose we should end this little game."
He extended a hand toward her.
"Come."
"Let's go home."
For a brief moment—
Kaera remained motionless.
Head lowered.
Breathing ragged.
She moved.
Then—
ZAAS!
From her kneeling stance, Kaera burst forward.
The katana flashed upward in a brutal arc.
Vorgath's eyes widened slightly.
Too late.
The blade sliced clean through his outstretched arm—
—and continued upward.
CRACK.
A deep fracture spread across the skull mask.
Kaera twisted mid-air, spinning away before landing several steps before him.
She skidded across the ground, crouched low, blade ready.
"Huh…"
She exhaled.
"Got you."
For the first time since the battle began—
Vorgath stood completely still.
A thin line split across the skull mask.
His severed arm dropped from the stump—
But before it even touched the ground—
The limb dissolved into black dust, scattering into the mist.
At the same time—
The wound just below his elbow pulsed.
Flesh twisted violently.
Bone pushed outward through the blood.
Muscle knitted itself together in seconds.
A new forearm began to grow from the bleeding stump.
Within moments—
A fully formed hand flexed slowly, fresh blood dripping down his fingers before the skin sealed itself shut.
Then—
CLACK.
The mask broke apart.
Fragments dropped to the ground.
Revealing his face.
It looked… almost human.
Sharp features.
Pale skin.
Calm red eyes.
Only a single small horn protruded from his forehead—
The unmistakable trait of a High Rank Demon.
Vorgath smiled.
"Clever."
He flexed his newly regenerated fingers casually.
His smile widened.
"As expected…"
"You really are Astaroth's child."
The mist around them stirred.
And for the first time—
Kaera realized something.
Vorgath had not moved seriously even once during the fight.
The real battle…
Had not started yet.
----