1.3 million demons looked up in absolute terror as the air around them began to burn with suffocating, lethal power.
Kael's lips pulled back into a cold, psychotic smirk.
"Domain Expansion."
The dark clouds above twisted into a roaring vortex. Violent hurricane winds whipped through the sky as a thick, blood-red fluid erupted from thin air. The crimson substance wrapped tightly around the True Infinity Barrier, solidifying into a massive, opaque sphere.
Kael snapped his fingers. Inside the crimson sphere, the inner barrier shattered into specks of light. A hairline slit opened along the shell of the domain. Squeezing his massive dark wings close to his body, Kael slipped inside in the fraction of a millisecond.
The slit sealed shut behind him, locking the domain from the outside world.
Down on the ground, news crews and field reporters trembled in fear. They had arrived just in time to capture the moment on camera. Through their telephoto lenses, they caught a glimpse of Kael's glowing crimson eyes through that tiny seam—eyes that radiated pure, unadulterated cruelty.
Near the police barricades, Rexon stood guard, wearing Kael's black mask to protect his identity. A swarm of terrified reporters pushed forward, shoving microphones toward his face.
"Sir Redgrave!" a female reporter shouted, her voice shaking. "How do you know that person up there?! Is he your secret brother?!"
A male reporter shoved past her. "Are you stupid? The Redgrave family only has one son!"
The female reporter gasped, her eyes wide. "Oh..."
Rexon adjusted the black mask, glaring at the crowd with cold annoyance. "He is an unknown entity. I only recognize him because he protected our district during the last demon invasion."
A pushy news anchor leaned closer, thrusting a camera into Rexon's face. "Sir Redgrave, are all your employees safe right now?!"
Rexon's jaw tightened behind the mask. "Shut your pitiful mouths," he growled low. "You bastards don't care about human lives. You're just chasing a cheap headline."
Inside the blood-red domain, silence fell like a heavy hammer.
1.3 million demons hovered in complete confusion. The moment the domain sealed, their internal magic channels were instantly severed. They were entirely powerless, trapped like animals in a cage.
Kael hovered in the center of the domain, his crimson pupils glowing like dying stars. He extended his right arm, sweeping his hand casually across the horizon. A shockwave of pure annihilation rippled outward, turning hundreds of thousands of demons into fine gray ash in a single second.
At the far edge of the horde, David stood quietly, watching the slaughter with his hands tucked behind his back.
You can wipe out 1.3 million demons in ten seconds, David thought with a faint smirk, but you can't touch me.
Closing his eyes, David channeled a precise spatial spell. A needle-thin puncture tore through the wall of the domain. Stepping backward into the tear, David slipped out of Kael's domain unnoticed, dropping back into the open sky outside.
On the ground below, Sara stood beside Sarina, watching the glowing crimson sphere in the clouds.
Sara squeezed her fists, her voice barely a murmur. "I can't go up there to help you, Kael... Not with all these reporters around, and Sarina needs protection."
Inside the domain, Kael finished the massacre. A massive wave of dark force wiped out the final cluster of demons. The entire 1.3 million army was gone.
Exhaling a long, heavy breath, Kael's crimson eyes slowly flickered back to their natural golden hue. With a resounding glass-shattering sound, the crimson domain dissolved into dust.
As the smoke cleared, Kael found himself face-to-face with David, who was hovering in the air just a few meters away, staring at him with completely blank eyes.
Kael's brow furrowed in rage. In an instant, he vanished, reappearing right in front of David with a punch packed with enough force to level a mountain.
CLANG!
An invisible barrier repelled Kael's fist, sending shockwaves across the sky.
David raised a single eyebrow, mocking him. "Really? You can't break this barrier."
Inside Kael's mind, Azune's voice echoed urgently: Kael, watch out! He created a Void Barrier! Normal physical attacks won't work!
Then what am I supposed to do?! Kael thought back furiously.
Your legs are imbued with the Void Breaker skill! Azune reminded him. Use a kick!
Kael pushed off the air, spinning in mid-air and driving his heel straight into the invisible barrier. Spatial cracks rippled outward like breaking ice. Kael poured raw energy into his leg, forcing his way through—CRACK!
The Void Barrier shattered into glittering shards.
Kael's heel connected flush with David's chest. The force sent David flying downward like a shooting star. He slammed violently into the ground of a nearby garden, cratering the earth and breaking his ribs upon impact.
David dragged himself out of the dirt, holding his limp, broken left arm. "So this is... the power of a vessel holding five souls..."
Before he could recover, Kael dropped from the sky like a thunderbolt, driving a brutal right hook directly into David's jaw.
The impact blasted David across two city blocks, tumbling violently across the asphalt before sliding to a stop on the main highway.
David dragged himself back up, wiping a trail of crimson blood from his chin.
Kael landed on the street a few paces away, his eyes cold. "Let me finish this quickly."
David stood firm. Grabbing his broken left arm with his right hand, he gave it a violent, sickening twist—CRUNCH! The bones snapped back into place instantly. He stretched his fingers and tilted his neck, letting out a dry chuckle.
"Oh... someone up there is eagerly waiting for my death."
Kael crossed his index and middle fingers into a plus sign once again. A localized domain expanded, trapping both Kael and David inside an isolated spatial bubble high above the road.
David raised his hands, activating a counter-array. "This domain won't drain my magic, Kael. Master Shion taught me well."
Kael's golden eyes snapped back into a blazing crimson. Without a word, he lunged forward, driving his foot deep into David's waist.
David coughed up a spray of blood, wincing in pain. "I'm not even a full demon, you know!"
"Who cares?!" Kael roared, slamming a heavy punch into David's cheek. "You're still part of that vile syndicate!"
David grinned through his blood-stained teeth. "Then enjoy these next five seconds."
David activated a time-dilation technique. To David's perception, time stretched agonizingly. Every single second felt like an entire hour of uninterrupted beatings as Kael's relentless strikes rained down upon him without pause.
For five subjective hours—five real-world seconds—Kael pummels David's body relentlessly.
When the five seconds finally passed, Kael stepped back, breathing heavily. "Do your worst."
SNAP!
David activated his stored kinetic counter. In a span of just three seconds, the accumulated damage rebounded onto Kael with doubled force.
BOOM!
Kael was violently thrown backward, blood bursting from multiple tears across his chest and face. He dropped to his knees on the floating domain floor, clutching his chest in agony.
"Why..." Kael rasped through bloodied teeth, looking up at David. "Why did you kill my innocent employees?!"
David wiped the blood from his mouth. "I didn't care about your employees. I came here to take revenge on Mantra for what she did to my real parents."
Kael blinked, stunned. "Your parents...?"
David nodded bitterly. "She slaughtered my family and brainwashed me into hating them." He stepped closer to the battered Kael, looking down at him. "Look at you... how pitiful you look right now. I don't want to fight you, Kael. But if you keep standing in my way, I won't show any mercy next time."
David raised his hand and launched a glowing orb of high-tier restoration magic straight into Kael's chest.
Warm light washed over Kael, instantly mending his broken ribs and sealing his open wounds.
David snapped his fingers, restoring normal time flow. The domain around them began to crack and dissolve like thin glass.
"I hope the next time we meet, we are allies instead of enemies," David said softly. He leaned backward, letting himself fall into a swirling purple spatial portal opening behind him.
As David vanished, an ancient, ethereal purple magic circle materialized high above the Redgrave skyscraper—the residual restoration magic left behind by Dusk's soul!
A radiant purple beam bathed the ruined top floors of the skyscraper. Broken concrete flowed backward, shattered glass fused seamlessly together, and twisted steel girders realigned. In a matter of seconds, the destroyed building was restored to a pristine, brand-new state.
On the ground below, the reporters and spectators stared in absolute shock. Many tumbled to their knees, weeping in awe. "What... what kind of magic is this?! Please... save us!"
High in the sky, the domain fully shattered into floating golden light.
The physical and emotional exhaustion finally caught up to Kael. His dark wings vanished. His eyes grew heavy, unable to stay open any longer.
He fell freely from the sky like a falling star.
SWOOSH!
A streak of silver light cut through the air. Sara moved at impossible speed, launching off the pavement and catching Kael securely in her arms before he hit the ground.
She landed softly in the middle of the street, holding him close against her chest.
Kael's head rested against her shoulder. His golden eyes shut completely, slipping into a deep, peaceful slumber.