Devourer: Rise Beyond Celestial

Blood gushed from his body, forming a scarlet red sea around him. Crimson flames rose in titanic columns, engulfing the last vestiges of the creatures. The ground itself fractured under the intense heat, consuming everything in its path. The creatures, weakened by Uriel's power, offered no resistance.

Uriel, on the other hand, raised his lance towards the sky. Golden lightning bolts erupted from the tip, forming a luminous network above the battlefield. With a gesture, he lowered his lance, and the sky itself seemed to collapse.

A rain of lightning bolts fell upon the enemy ranks, pulverizing the last pockets of resistance. The liches, despite their desperate efforts, were reduced to ashes by this divine fury.

When the dust settled, Uriel and Linfer stood alone in the middle of a devastated landscape. Smoking craters and charred bones were all that remained of the army that had assailed them.

Exhausted but victorious, Uriel and Linfer exchanged a glance, observing the remaining skeletons, now distant and harmless. They collapsed on the ground, back-to-back, their bodies weary. Uriel absentmindedly wiped the blood of the monsters from his sweaty chest, while Linfer, equally breathless, struggled to stand up.

"Every day, I realize just how powerful you are. What was that technique?" Linfer asked, smiling as he smoothed his hair back.

"Ha, you're exaggerating, man. It's a technique I use as a last resort. It drains all my energy. Your law is impressive too, copying abilities is formidable. Wasn't it called Devour or something?" Uriel replied, straightening up a bit.

"Exactly, but in reality, it's not that powerful. I've noticed it has no connection to my soul, a bit weird for a law. But compared to your law, it's like facing a god, the supreme being. Affecting reality itself is not given to everyone."

Uriel shrugged, amused. "You overestimate me, really."

As they chatted to pass the time before returning to the base, a frigid aura spread around them. Linfer felt a shiver run down his spine, and his right hand became uncontrollable.

"What is this aura?" he murmured, his eyes scanning the surroundings with worry.

...

Millions of kilometers away from any civilization, in a vast desert expanse where only a sea of violet sand stretched, named *Demonic Ruins*, billions of immobile skeletons stood, frozen in silence. The landscape, tinted with a dark violet hue, exuded a sinister tranquility.

Throned atop a chair made of bones, a thin young man seemed to be dozing off. His eyes, surrounded by deep circles, betrayed an almost eternal fatigue. His skin, paler than a ghost itself, leaned towards a morbid whiteness, almost blending with his skeletal soldiers. He had the sickly appearance of a being made of nothing but bones and skin.

His long black hair fell in disorderly locks over his face. He wore only a long black silk robe, revealing his thin flanks, and purple trousers. His bare feet rested carelessly on the armrest, like a lazy cat on a cushion.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by a distant rumble. The man slowly opened his eyes, half-closed, as if emerging from a millennia-long slumber. He scratched his head nonchalantly and then sat up. Rising, he contemplated his army: billions of skeletons and millions of liches, all at least of Origin 3 or 4, mounted on monstrous creatures.

This was his true army, immortal beings, far superior to these mere mortals he considered as insects. In the violet sky above him, gargoyles, harpies, and wyverns circled menacingly.

Behind him, ten skeletal knights stood firm, draped in solid black armor, mounted on skeletal horses. They were the *Knights of Death*, each capable of defeating a being of Origin 6 in an instant.

If Linfer were there, he would mock himself at the sight of such an army compared to his pitiful wendigos.

Without a word, Belzebuth fell to the ground. His bare feet touched the cold violet sand. He bent slightly, picking up a handful of sand between his fingers. As the violet flame of his power wrapped around his palm, the sand began to vibrate and tremble. The grains disintegrated, and a myriad of tiny black dots appeared, flapping their wings frantically. In a split second, the handful of sand had transformed into a buzzing swarm of flies that rose into the air, forming a dark and humming vortex. Belzebuth's violet irises sparkled in synchronization with the insects' flight.

...

The sky, which had been clear until then, gradually filled with a violet mist that spread, darkening the horizon. This strange mist made of flies gradually concentrated, twisting and moving, eventually taking on a more defined shape.

At the center of this nebula, an immense eye appeared, shimmering with an amethyst glow. The violet iris pulsed with a sinister light, like a demonic beacon emerging from the darkness.

The globular eye, suspended in the sky, fixed its gaze on the battles raging below. Like a distant god observing insignificant creatures struggling, like insects in his palm.

Uriel raised his eyes to the sky, biting his index finger with a slight excited smile.

***

Linfer's hand became uncontrollable, a searing pain shooting up his arm as if thousands of worms were wriggling under his skin. His fingers, turning increasingly violet, twisted into impossible angles, making every movement unbearable. Although he was used to enduring pain, this was beyond anything he had ever experienced. Clenching his teeth, he plunged his claws into his arm with a stifled cry and, in a brutal gesture, tore off his own hand. Almost instantly, a new hand grew back, shaped from his blood.

"Fuck... I knew injecting myself with that poisoned blood was a bad idea," he muttered, his voice trembling with frustration and exhaustion.

When he raised his eyes, he met Uriel's gaze. The latter was staring at the sky with an odd intensity, a shadow of resignation veiling his features. Linfer had never seen his friend so defeated, so... detached.

"We have to flee, Uriel," he said, trying to hide the tremor in his voice, but a lump formed in his throat.

Uriel didn't move, his gaze fixed on the distance. "It's no use anymore, Linfer. Look around you."