A crimson glow bled across the ruins.
Concrete towers stood fractured and hollow, their broken silhouettes clawing at a sky that no longer seemed to belong to the living. The wind howled through shattered streets, carrying ash, dust, and something heavier… something that felt like regret.
The air vibrated.
Each breath tasted like iron.
At the center of the devastation, Seven and Adonis faced each other.
One stood wounded, barely holding his ground.
The other… had become something else entirely.
Black flames crawled along Adonis's body, devouring the light around him. Horns had pierced through his skull, his veins pulsing with an infernal red glow. His very presence bent the atmosphere, warping it under sheer malice.
— Tremble, anomaly… I am Adonis. Devourer of Saints.
Seven exhaled slowly. His lungs burned. His vision flickered.
But his eyes—cold, sharp, unyielding—remained locked.
He's stronger than before…
And I'm already running dry…
Far behind him, something moved.
A weak sound.
A child.
Seven's gaze shifted for a fraction of a second.
A little girl lay collapsed against broken concrete, her body trembling, blood spreading beneath her. Her eyes—wide, wet, terrified—searched blindly for something… someone.
Hope.
Seven froze.
…No.
His fingers tightened.
Don't look.
Adonis noticed.
A slow, twisted grin spread across his face.
— You hesitate…? In the middle of this?
Seven turned away.
His chains trembled.
— Shut up.
Adonis laughed.
— I ask again… are you really an angel?
The words hit deeper than they should have.
Seven said nothing.
Instead, he raised his hand slightly.
The air folded.
— Arcane: Silent Fold — Boundary of the Damned.
A pressure spread instantly.
Invisible.
Absolute.
Space itself bent inward, sealing the battlefield. Sound collapsed into a muted vacuum. The outside world… vanished.
No one would see.
No one would know.
Seven lowered his arm slowly.
A sharp pain pierced through his chest.
This alone… cost me too much…
Inside the barrier…
The ones who hadn't escaped…
Were already condemned.
A scream echoed behind him.
Seven didn't turn.
Adonis watched everything.
— You sealed them in… with us.
A pause.
— So this is your justice?
Seven's jaw tightened.
— If I drop it… more die.
A beat.
— If I keep it… they die anyway.
Silence.
— So I choose.
His voice was cold.
Empty.
— The world outside lives.
Adonis chuckled.
— Disgusting.
Then—
He moved.
The ground shattered beneath him as he lunged forward. His claw tore through the air, forcing Seven to twist aside. Blood sprayed as the attack grazed his face.
Seven countered instantly.
Chains erupted.
They wrapped around Adonis's arm and yanked him forward—Seven's knee slammed into his ribs with explosive force.
The impact cracked the street.
Shockwaves burst outward—
A nearby structure collapsed.
Debris rained down.
A man was crushed instantly.
Another was thrown violently against a wall, his body folding unnaturally before sliding to the ground.
Kael covered her mouth in horror.
Seven didn't react.
— You're strong… he muttered. But not enough.
Adonis's smile widened.
— Then watch closely.
His body tensed.
Iron began to emerge from his pores—dark, jagged, alive. It spread across his skin, forming a grotesque, organic armor lined with sharp protrusions.
— Calamity Armor.
The air grew heavier.
His presence doubled.
But his stance shifted.
Slower.
Heavier.
Seven's eyes narrowed.
Power increased… mobility reduced.
That's the trade.
Adonis charged again.
This time, the impact was devastating.
Seven blocked—but the force alone sent him crashing across the ground, tearing through concrete before stopping violently.
He coughed blood.
His arms trembled.
I can't outlast him like this…
His chains spread outward.
Dark.
Alive.
Carving symbols into the ground.
A circle formed.
— Arcane: Abode of the Dead.
The world changed.
Sound distorted.
Light faded.
A gray, suffocating dimension replaced reality.
Figures emerged.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Shadows of the dead.
Their hollow eyes locked onto Adonis.
Then—
They moved.
They grabbed.
They clawed.
They screamed.
Not with voices—
But with memory.
Adonis roared as they latched onto him, burning into his very existence. His armor cracked under invisible pressure.
— GET OFF ME!
But they didn't stop.
They couldn't.
They weren't alive.
They were judgment.
Seven stood at the center, trembling.
His breath shattered.
His body screamed.
Each soul brushed against him—
Flooding him with pain that wasn't his.
Too many…
I can't… hold this…
Behind him—
The little girl.
Still breathing.
Barely.
Her eyes met his.
Weak.
Fading.
Seven walked toward her.
Slowly.
He knelt.
His hand reached her forehead.
Her trembling stopped.
Her breathing softened.
— …Rest.
A faint glow.
Then silence.
Her body went limp.
Gone.
Adonis watched.
Even through agony—
He laughed.
— You kill them yourself… and call yourself a savior?
Seven didn't answer.
His eyes darkened.
— I don't let them die alone.
The Abode of the Dead trembled.
Cracks spread.
Seven's knees buckled.
The arcane collapsed.
Reality snapped back.
Silence.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Adonis stood—damaged, smoking—but alive.
Breathing.
Smiling.
— That was close.
Seven inhaled sharply.
His hands shook.
Now…
This is the only chance.
He raised his arm.
Light gathered.
Not soft.
Not pure.
Violent.
Condensed.
— Arcane: Mors Luminis.
The world split.
A beam of compressed divine energy erupted forward—cutting through space itself. The light wasn't just destructive—
It revealed.
It judged.
It burned through Adonis's armor, exploiting the fractures left by the souls.
For a brief instant—
A perfect opening.
Adonis screamed.
His body was torn apart by light that ignored defense and struck essence.
Seven pushed further.
Everything he had—
Into that single attack.
End it… NOW.
The explosion of light swallowed everything.
Then—
Silence.
Smoke drifted.
Adonis stood on one knee.
Burned.
Broken.
But not gone.
He lifted his head slowly.
And smiled.
— In the end…
His voice cracked.
— You're just like him.
Seven froze.
The light vanished.
His mind echoed.
Like… who?
No answer came.
Only wind.
Only ash.
Adonis collapsed.
His body reduced to a charred, smoking shell.
Still.
At last.
Seven remained standing.
Barely.
His wings trembled violently.
His breathing was uneven.
His eyes… empty.
No victory.
No relief.
Only weight.
He reached into his pocket.
A cigarette.
Lit it.
His hand shook.
He took a drag.
Exhaled slowly.
Smoke blended with the ruins.
His gaze drifted.
Far away.
…How many?
No answer.
Only silence.
A long one.
Then, under his breath—
— "Alike… huh…"
The wind rose.
Ash scattered.
And somewhere…
Beyond the barrier…
Something was watching.