The first scream reached Caelis before the rupture appeared.

  It tore through the city — raw, panicked, unfiltered — followed by another, and another, until the sound became a wave of terror rolling through the streets.

  Then the sky broke.

  Not like lightning.

  Not like fire.

  Reality split open.

  A massive tear ripped across the heavens, jagged and violent, bleeding crimson light into the world below. The air warped around it, collapsing inward as if the world itself was recoiling in fear.

  Caelis staggered, his body reacting before his mind could process it.

  “This… this isn’t pressure,” he whispered.

  It was malice.

  Something fell from the rupture.

  The impact erased an entire district.

  Buildings imploded, streets vanished, and shockwaves tore through the city like an earthquake given form. Thousands were thrown aside in an instant — crushed, burned, silenced.

  From the crater, the demon rose.

  Its body was massive, forged of dark stone and molten shadow, veins of burning crimson light pulsing across its skin. Horn-like ridges framed its skull, and its eyes glowed with savage delight.

  It inhaled deeply.

  Then it laughed.

  The sound was monstrous — broken, layered, filled with pleasure.

  “So many voices…” it growled. “Good.”

  Drones surged toward it.

  Elite defense systems activated.

  None of it mattered.

  The demon raised one hand and released a blast of raw energy.

  The air screamed as the beam tore forward, vaporizing everything in its path — buildings, machines, people — reduced to nothing in a heartbeat.

  Elite warriors arrived next.

  They charged without hesitation, weapons blazing, bodies reinforced by power and training. These were not weak soldiers. These were veterans. Commanders. Enforcers.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The demon met them head-on.

  It moved like a living catastrophe.

  One punch shattered the ground and sent a dozen warriors flying, bodies torn apart mid-air. A backhand erased an entire formation. A kick crushed a command unit into the ruins beneath them.

  It fought with brutal martial precision, each movement deliberate, each strike designed to maximize suffering.

  Blood filled the streets.

  And still — it laughed.

  Caelis felt his stomach twist.

  This wasn’t conquest.

  This wasn’t strategy.

  This was slaughter.

  Then the air bent.

  A far heavier presence descended.

  The King appeared.

  No announcement.

  No delay.

  He unleashed his power immediately, authority blazing as he struck the demon with everything he had. The impact rocked the city, tearing the demon through several collapsed structures.

  For a brief moment —

  Hope flickered.

  The King pressed the attack, his blows precise, devastating, each strike backed by decades of dominance and control. Energy clashed violently as he drove the demon backward.

  The demon staggered.

  Then it smiled.

  “Oh?” it rumbled. “You fight.”

  The King froze.

  Too late.

  The demon countered.

  Its fist crashed into the King’s chest with overwhelming force, launching him across the city and carving a canyon through the ruins. The ground split apart where he landed.

  The King rose — bloodied, furious — and attacked again.

  And again.

  Each time, the demon allowed it.

  Toyed with him.

  Let him believe.

  Then the demon stopped holding back.

  It seized the King mid-attack and slammed him into the ground, cracking the earth like glass. Energy erupted outward, obliterating everything nearby.

  The King tried to rise.

  The demon lifted him effortlessly.

  “No more,” it growled.

  With a single, brutal motion, it tore the King apart.

  The body fell.

  Lifeless.

  Silence rippled across the battlefield — not because the fighting stopped, but because something fundamental had ended.

  The King was dead.

  The elite forces faltered.

  Fear replaced discipline.

  Some fled.

  Some screamed.

  Some charged anyway — defending families, friends, everything they had left.

  The demon annihilated them all.

  Energy blasts reduced entire battalions to ash. Close-range strikes crushed bodies into the rubble. Corruption, loyalty, rank — none of it mattered.

  Everyone died the same.

  Caelis stood frozen, his fracture screaming inside him.

  The system was gone.

  The King was gone.

  The city was burning.

  The demon turned its gaze outward, surveying the world beyond the city.

  “So much left,” it murmured, raising its hand.

  The sky darkened as power gathered — enough to erase the planet.

  Caelis moved.

  He stepped forward, power surging as he placed himself between the demon and annihilation.

  The demon noticed.

  Its eyes narrowed with interest.

  “Oh,” it said softly. “You’re still standing.”

  Caelis clenched his fists, every instinct screaming at him to retreat.

  “I can hold it,” he thought.

  Just long enough.

  The demon lunged.

  Their clash shattered the ground beneath them.

  Caelis was thrown back instantly, slamming through structures as the demon followed, relentless. He blocked strikes, redirected blows, poured everything he had into surviving.

  It wasn’t enough.

  Each impact pushed him closer to collapse.

  The fracture widened.

  Pain exploded through his body.

  But he stayed standing.

  The demon laughed again.

  “Good,” it said. “Break for me.”

  Caelis realized the truth.

  Holding wasn’t enough.

  Defending wasn’t enough.

  If this continued, the world would end.

  He had to go beyond restraint.

  Beyond control.

  Beyond fear.

  As the demon raised its fist to finish everything —

  Caelis roared.

  And something inside him gave way.

  Thank you for your support.