Azazel stood at the center of the now cracked grounds, red molten magma coursing through the ground beneath him. His wings were half spread, his breath slow and controlled despite the chaos surrounding him. Heat shimred around his form, horns curved back from his temples, eyes glowing like open flas. He rolled his shoulders once, loosening muscle and bone.
Across from him, Asmodeus laughed.
The sound was wrong far too layered, as though several throats spoke at once. He stepped forward through the smoke, talons scraping against stone, now fully transford into his demon form. His fra was larger, his wings torn and jagged, scars webbing his darkened flesh, yet power radiated from him in crushing waves.
"You always seed powerful while standing in your true form," Asmodeus said, tilting his head. "It’s rather unfortunate that I can see through your façade. I see clearly how pathetic you are, brother."
Azazel’s lips curved faintly. "You are the pathetic one, Asmodeus. It’s sad to know you’ll never be as powerful as I am."
Asmodeus’s nose flared as he lunged.
The impact was imdiate and violent. Stone exploded as his fist connected with Azazel’s chest, sending him flying backward through jagged rock. Azazel slamd into the wall with enough force to make the ground tremble. He barely had ti to brace before Asmodeus was on him again, claws slashing in a brutal arc.
Azazel twisted, wings snapping open. One claw tore through the mbrane, searing pain ripping through him, but he used the montum to drive his knee upward into Asmodeus’s ribs with cause him to snarl before staggering back a step.
They circled.
Lava bled through fissures in the ground, casting light across their forms.
"You’re slower," Asmodeus taunted. "That bastard child of yours surely made you weak. It’s a pity I don’t have the will to rip his heart out of his chest."
Azrael wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, eyes never leaving his opponent. "Funny how you talk more when you’re afraid."
Asmodeus roared and slamd his palm into the ground.
Spikes of rock erupted upward, racing toward Azazel like blades. He leapt, wings beating hard, but one spike caught his leg, tearing through muscle and sending white-hot pain flaring through him. He crashed back down, rolling to avoid another strike, breath tearing from his lungs.
Asmodeus was waiting.
He grabbed Azazel by the throat and lifted him effortlessly, claws tightening until bone creaked. Their faces were inches apart, Asmodeus’s grin wide and savage.
"Look at you," he murmured. "Still pretending to be a god."
Azrael’s vision blurred. Heat flooded his veins, sothing darker stirring beneath the surface. He smiled slowly.
"Pretend?" he rasped. "No. I am YOUR god, and you shall bow to ."
Infernal sigils flared across his skin, markings burning bright as blood-red light exploded outward. The force sent Asmodeus flying, his grip breaking as he was hurled through the air.
Azazel dropped to one knee, gasping, smoke curling from his skin. The ground around him had turned to ice.
Asmodeus rose from the rubble monts later, laughter bubbling up again, though now edged with irritation. "You’re still not giving up already," he said. "Give your head, and I shall spare you a humiliating death."
Azazel stood slowly. His wings unfurled fully now, shadows writhing along their edges. "You should worry about yourself, my dear brother."
They collided midair.
Claws t claws, wings beat violently, each strike echoing like thunder. Asmodeus slamd his forehead into Azazel’s face, cracking bone. Azazel responded by driving an elbow into Asmodeus’s throat, then twisting and dragging him downward.
They hit the ground hard, the trees almost losing their footings from the impact of their fall.
Azazel mounted him, fists slamming into the demon’s face again and again. Blood sprayed, black and steaming. Asmodeus laughed through it, teeth stained dark, as he wrapped his legs around Azazel’s waist and flipped them both, reversing their positions.
Asmodeus’s claws plunged into Azazel’s side, ripping deep which caused him to scream and slam his head against Asmodeus, the sound echoing as he reeled but, Azazel didn’t stop.
He leaned forward and grabbed Asmodeus’s wing before tearing it.
The scream that followed shook the woods.
Asmodeus thrashed, howling, but Azazel held on, ripping through sinew and bone until the wing ca free in a spray of blood and fire. He hurled it aside without a second glance.
The demon collapsed to one knee, his breath ragged now, pain finally breaking through his bravadery and confidence. His regeneration tried to knit the damage together, but Azazel didn’t give it ti.
He stalked forward.
"You have and will always continue to be beneath , you fucking bastard," Azazel said quietly.
He seized Asmodeus by the horns and slamd his head into the ground once, twice, three tis until the ground cratered beneath them.
Asmodeus went still and for a mont, only the crackle of fire and the sound of Azazel’s harsh breathing filled the air.
Then groaning in excruciating pain, Asmodeus let out a shaky sigh and laughed weakly. "You think... this ends it?"
Azazel leaned closer, eyes blazing at the sight in front of him. "No. This is where it begins."
He drove his claw straight through Asmodeus’s chest, fingers closing around his heart. The demon convulsed, a strangled sound tearing from his throat as infernal energy flared violently around them.
Azazel didn’t pull it free, instead, he squeezed, prolonging the demon’s pain and suffering as long as he could.
Overwhelming power surged through him as Asmodeus scread, his strength bleeding away, his form flickering, destabilizing. Cracks of light split his skin as his essence fractured.
Finally, Azazel released him.
Asmodeus collapsed face-first into the ash, his body twitching from the utter defeat.
Azazel stood over him, wings folding slowly, blood dripping from his claws. He looked down at the demon who was once his friend, brother, and companion and felt nothing.
The fire dimd. The ground stilled as the cracks slowly closed.
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