It shouldn't have worked... But it did... And that's why it's a problem. Gina Martinez furrowed her brow as she adjusted the lens on the high-grade scanner.
She was alone in her lab, deep within the Skyfather dominion — a sterilized space of chrome counters, soft white lights, and glowing monitors. The hum of analysis equipment buzzed around her, but her attention was locked on the strange plant based weapon sealed inside the containment case.
Gina had the look of someone who didn't belong in a lab — or at least, not just a lab. Her beauty was casual, disarming. Chestnut hair fell in soft waves past her shoulders. Her warm, sun-kissed skin glowed under the LED lights. The fitted blue turtleneck under her lab coat hinted at curves that weren't hidden by the short black skirt hugging her thighs. Garter-style stockings ran beneath it — not lab standard, but no one dared question her. Not when she worked directly under the most dangerous family in the known worlds.
Still, she didn't dress to impress. At least, not officially.
She adjusted the scanner again and tilted her head.
"Definitely not magical..." she whispered to herself. "But it's not natural either..."
Before she could finish her thought—
"GiGi!"
The voice echoed down the hall — loud, cocky, unmistakably Damian.
She jumped, startled, turning too fast in her chair.
Clunk.
"Shit—" Her forehead slammed into the microscope lens. She winced. "Ow..."
Footsteps approached. It was Damian and Jeryko.
"You good, shawty?" Damian asked, stopping in front of her.
Gina spun in her chair, flustered, squinting. "Ugh. My glasses. I can't find them—"
She waved her hands across the table, accidentally knocking over a datapad and a metal stylus.
Jeryko let out a long sigh as Damian crouched beside her, picked up the glasses, and handed them to her with a grin.
"You sure you're qualified for this position?" he teased.
Gina flushed slightly as she slid the glasses on. "Qualified enough for you to keep calling me back." Her voice was light, but her eyes didn't meet his for long.
He smirked and looked to the plant under the scanner. "What is it?"
Jeryko moved beside him, arms crossed, already examining the readout.
Gina cleared her throat, regaining her composure. "It's an off-world species. Extremely rare. The nectar from its thorns is used on some alien planets for farming — soil enhancement. In other systems, it's processed into a drug. Not legal. You'd only find this kind of thing through the Dark Market."
Damian's expression didn't change. "You're telling me someone brought glorified space weed to try and kill me?"
Jeryko watches the plant closely. "Has the Mage Association seen it?"
"I was preparing a report for them," Gina said, tapping her screen. "I wanted to finish my own analysis first."
"Doesn't matter," Jeryko muttered. His left eye glowed gold, flickering with ancient patterns — the divine glyphs of the All-Seeing Eye: Rotetsu.
He scanned the plant with a slow tilt of his head.
"No enchantments," he said. "No divine residue. No hex coding. No soul signature."
"So what the hell did it do to my face?" Damian asked, brushing a finger across the curved scar that now ran down from his brow to his cheek.
"You're lucky that's all it did," Gina said, softer now. "Whatever this plant is, it pierced you. That alone should raise alarms."
Damian shrugged. "I'm still standing."
Gina folded her arms. "That's not the point. You don't know what else it could be doing. If someone's weaponized this thing, there might be delayed effects. Psychological. Biological. Spiritual. You should take this seriously."
"I am," Damian said, turning to her. "That's why I want every world cataloged where this plant exists. Any planet, any shop, any dealer. If it's growing, we're killing it."
Jeryko nodded. "Make a full list. Send it directly to Nova. I will delegate this task to her and her scouts directly."
Gina gave a slight nod, but her eyes lingered on Damian again — cautious, conflicted, and maybe... curious.
"They thought this would work," Damian scoffed, pacing a step. "Can you believe that?"
Gina intervened. "Maybe our enemy is smarter than we gave them credit for."
Damian laughed. A short, bitter sound. "Let 'em keep trying." He stared at the scar in the reflection of a nearby console, running a finger along it again. They got the drop on me and caught me off guard. And I'll admit — I forgot the basics of war. I've gone so long without a challenge I've gotten sloppy.
Jeryko eyed him.
This won't happen again, Damian thought. The old man always said strength without strategy is pointless.
***10,000 Years Ago — After the Siege of Varnos Keep***
The moon was split that night.
One half glowing over a field of corpses. The other drowned in blood-mist from the ruptured skies.
The war had ended.
A twenty year old Damian stood alone atop the blackened ruins of Varnos Keep — burned by his flame, hands dripping with blood. Around him, bodies twitched in death throes.
He had won.
But not cleanly.
Footsteps approached through the smoke.
He didn't need to turn to know who it was.
The air itself bent under the weight of his father's presence.
Dracula Skyfather. The First Fang. The Apex.
A blood-drenched cloak swirled at his feet, and in his right hand, he held a single glass of black wine, unstained despite the carnage around him. His red eyes flicked over the battlefield like a judge staring down a failed son.
"You're bleeding," Dracula said flatly.
Damian wiped his chin. "It ain't mine."
"Hmph."
Silence.
Then:
"You won." Dracula's voice was not of praise. Just observation.
"Of course I did. I tore through their ranks in six minutes."
Dracula stared at him. Unimpressed.
"Six minutes too long," he replied.
Damian looked confused.
"You ran ahead," he said. "Ignored formation. Abandoned your unit. You exposed yourself. You showed off. You spent ten percent more energy than necessary. You made yourself a target because you wanted to feel invincible."
"I ended the war—"
"No. You are vampire who knows he can't die. You're arrogant."
His voice cut sharper than any blade. He took a step closer.
"You think your power is enough? That your strength alone makes you untouchable? Then you are weak, boy. We may be immortal but I plan for everything, even the impossible. Maybe not today. But one day — when someone smarter than you decides to prove a point, you will surely die."
Damian laughs. "I ain't weak."
"Then prove it. Learn. Restrain. Your enemies already fear you — now make them respect your mind. I didn't build an empire on arrogance," he said, voice low. His eyes locked with Damian's. "I built it on blood, strategy, and restraint." Dracula turned to the broken battlefield below. "Next time you forget that," he said, swirling the wine, "you won't bleed. You'll fall. Strength without strategy is pointless. One day I'll retire and you and your brothers will take over. Or one day you'll build your own empire. Everything I'm teaching you you'll use later in life. Now find your way back home."
Next he vanished.
Damian stood there — surrounded by victory, but feeling nothing at all. "I haven't had to use my platoon in so long. I've seen countless strategies on the battlefield and all of them fell before my power. I'll show him that strategy means nothing in the face of overwhelming strength."
***Present Time***
Jeryko turned to Gina. "Leave us. And get that list to Nova. I've already texted her."
"Yes, sir," she said quickly, standing.
She hesitated at the door. "And... Damian?"
Damian looked at her, seemingly annoyed.
"You should get checked," she said. "Just in case."
"I'll live," he replied with a faint grin. "You worried about me, GiGi?"
Her eyes flicked away. "I'm worried about everyone else if you drop dead."
She left, fast, cheeks warm.
When the door closed, the lab fell silent.
Damian let out a breath and pulled a small vial from his coat pocket. He drank it quickly.
"I think I know who's behind this," he said, his voice low. "We both know this tactic of infiltration."
Jeryko turned toward him. "Underworld?"
Damian nodded. "You took the words right out of my mouth. Guess I'll go back and play king for a while."
Jeryko raised an eyebrow. "Then let's finish this. And while we're there we can check on the business. See if those demonic weapons are ready for transport."
***UNDERWORLD***
Damian tore through the layers of space and time as a massive, apocalyptic dragon—his scales were dark as coal, with streaks of gray like battle scars etched on to his body. His bat like wings stretched wide enough to block constellations, each flap displacing energy beyond dimensional concepts.
Green flames radiated from his body in arcs, dripping from his maw and trailing behind him like a comet on fire. His eyes—glowing emerald infernos—cut through the fabric of reality as he tunneled through realms. He wasn't just flying; he was ripping through the multiverse itself.
He pierced one final veil and descended into Underworld—a realm that defied dimensional definition. There, the skies were dead and hollow, and the land breathed like something still dying. Beneath him yawned The Pit, now expanded, fortified, and cursed with layered sigils carved into stone by hands long turned to ash.
The moment he touched down, the ground cracked beneath his claws. Infernal wind scattered across the pit like a living hurricane. But before the broken land could fully settle, Damian's monstrous form began to shrink, the fire cooling, the wings folding inward.
In an instant, the black dragon was gone—and in his place stood Damian.
Back in humanoid form.
He brushed some residual smoke off his shoulder, then cracked his neck with casual arrogance.
"And that's another reason why I'm better than you," Damian muttered smugly.
Jeryko walked past him, eyes steady on a sickly green river just ahead. "Your ignorance never fails to impress."
"Whatever, lil Jerry." Damian grinned, following.
A cloaked ghoul waited for them at the shore, skeletal hands gripping a twisted scythe as he stood at the helm of a decayed gondola. His face was hidden beneath shadows. Without a word, he motioned them aboard.
Damian was first in, lounging like a tourist. Jeryko stepped in silently.
The boat moved with eerie grace, the ghoul rowing with fluid, soundless strokes as they slipped into a tunnel of black bone and silent screams.
"You know Liza wasn't too happy about what we did yesterday," Damian said after a while.
"Who cares," Jeryko replied flatly.
Damian smirked. "Glad we agree. Knew you'd see it my way."
"It's not about your way. It's about what works." Jeryko sat across from him, arms crossed. "Results are the only thing that matters."
Damian leaned forward, fingers steepled. "Still don't get how she doesn't see it. After everything that happened to her people, I figured she'd do whatever it takes to protect her new family."
Jeryko's voice was colder now. "Her softness is a liability. Handle it. Or I will."
Damian's smirk didn't fade. "She'll come around."
He glanced toward the ghoul. "Aye—how much longer?"
The ghoul said nothing.
An hour later, they stepped off the boat and began walking toward the ancient gate of Tartarus. A massive temple door loomed ahead, framed by two grotesque gargoyle statues whose twisted forms looked frozen mid-scream.
Damian exhaled, then knocked twice.
The bell toll that followed was deep, primal—and soon after, demons flooded the courtyard. All wore spiked obsidian armor, some with three heads, each face bearing a single glowing eye. Weapons out. Magic brimming.
One snarled: "Meamo ki da?"
Damian looks at Jeryko. "I know he didn't just ask me why I'm at my own fortress."
Jeryko sighs. "So much for being king."
"Fuck off," Damian said. He stares down the demons. "Move aside!"
"Eltavoodo me kosa!" They all growled in unison.
"Ok." Damian lit his hands up ablaze, a furious green energy erupted. He slid one foot back focusing on the biggest one that unsheathes its sword.
Jeryko rolls his eyes. Purple energy makes his body glow. He pulls them all forward as Damian fires a ball of energy obliterating them and the gate. Next they zooms through the smoke on the other side only to see millions among millions of demons. Each conjured magic. Then their warden walks down with two of his subordinates.
"You aren't welcome here DarKai!" he growls.
"Give it a rest dawg." Damian walks in front of him. "Pack it up."
"And if I refuse?" Caterus responded as his dominantly white and black highlighted hair blowed in the congested heat of the wind.
Jeryko yawns.
"You are no longer warden." Caterus laughs. "Your status has been revoked by Mephisto for insubordination." He turns his back to them walking away. "Kill them."
Damian smirks raising his arms, eyes glowing. "Is that so?"
Jeryko steps out of his way.
"I'll let you in on a secret nobody knows. When I was first appointed warden I threw a feast for all the demons of Tartarus. Every single drink and piece of food were spiked with my blood," Damian said balling his fist. "So instead of killing everyone here, I'll just turn you all into vampires. Welcome to eternal slavery."
Caterus stops. His face drew a blank.
Jeryko, although unsurprised by his brother's tactics as he expects nothing less, he was impressed. He watched every demon painfully convert into a vampire. Incapable of dying to anyone and anything. A new strain of vampirism created right before his eyes.
Damian smiles. "Bring him to me."
Every vampire in the area screeches turning on Caterus. He was ripped apart and dragged in front of him.
Jeryko walks beside Damian. "Let's go."
"No, no. I have an idea." Damian scratches his beard leaning against a wall. He smiles listening to Caterus get devoured. "To be fair I was in the mortal realm for a long time. Figures this might've happened."
"Don't concern yourself with demon politics," Jeryko asks.
Damian bends down to a bloody Caterus. "I don't know why they put a demon in charge of a hell. You must've sucked mad dick to get here. Just like a bitch you fucked his way to the top. Bet you catered to Mephisto a lot didn't you Caterus?" He looks back at Jeryko laughing. "Fucking gay!!"
Jeryko smirks mildly amused.
"Alright everyone get off em' let him heal. I want an audience for his death. I believe a show of force is in order," Damian said. "If I'm not mistaken it should be time another Devils Round meeting."
***Purgatory Hell***
After stealthily defeating all of their security to make it into the dark temple. It turns out Damian was right. Each warden of the nine hells were all in one room having a meeting. Now they stand before huge wooden doors.
"What's the plan?" Caterus asks. "You leave hell for a thousand of years and now you suddenly take interest."
Damian drags Caterus putting him in front. "No plan. You're going to die in front of Mephisto. I'm petty like that."
"Why don't you just kill him now?" Jeryko said.
"You're so dramatic," Caterus said. "Always—"
Damian slaps the back of Caterus' head. "Speak when your spoken to. Not a second before. I let your earlier question slide but now you gotta shut the fuck up."
Jeryko glances at the door, hearing commotion.
Damian looks upwards rubbing his hands together. "Show time!"
Inside the meeting...
"So let me get this straight. Your father attacked the Skyfather's in their own home?" said Morgan, Warden of Netherworld. "You people provoked an enemy we can't even kill."
"You think so?" said Warden of The Pit, Jin. He leans back smirking. "At this moment he's testing it out on Dracula."
"You're serious?!" Morgan's eyes widened.
Boom!
"I'm back!!" Damian said kicking open the conference room door.
Morgan sighs looking the other way. "God no..."
"Fuck you Morgan, I thought we were friends," Damian said dragging Caterus along.
Morgan face palms. "Ugh."
"Speaking of," Kurosue said looking back. Warden of Frost Bite.
"Catie! What happened? I thought if DarKai returned you were going to stop him," Mephisto said. Warden of Purgatory.
"Stop me from doing what?" Damian throws Caterus onto the table.
Caterus looks to Mephisto for help.
Mephisto merely stands clapping. "No. No. No. This simply won't do!"
Everyone watches one another to see who will make the first move.
Mephisto looks to Damian. "Well c'mon, what are you waiting for? On with it."
Damian grabs Caterus' neck hurling him into the air squeezing his throat.
Caterus struggles grabbing Damian's arm realizing his fate was sealed. His body charred up turning into a black magma rock like state with glowing green flames pouring from the cracks. Caterus entire body now burst into flames exploding. When the rocks hit the floor and across the table they instantly atomized.
After incinerating Caterus, Damian scoots up a chair. "Now I'm looking for a devil. Because some idiot decided it was a good idea to attack my home."
"How would we know who did that?" Jin asks putting his hands together.
"Don't act like the most influential devils in Underworld don't know when one of your kind leaves," Damian said leaning forward. "So I'll ask once. Where are they?"
Morgan saw the look in his eyes. She knew the wrath of DarKai and did not want to face it. She trembled about to speak up.
Mephisto claps. "Morgan dear, why are you so afraid? That isn't very devilish of you. You and DarKai used to be lovers at once, yes?"
Morgan turns in disgust. "I had no idea he was a vampire. I wouldn't have done it had I known."
Kurosue laughs. "What's so wrong with vampires?"
"They're a disturbance to the natural order of the universe," Morgan said. "Such a vile creature should not ex—."
Mid sentence Morgan's body froze completely covered in ice, then shattered into pieces.
"Anyone else have a problem with my kind?" Kurosue asks.
Jin analyzes the room. Seems it worked on an alpha vampire... "What happened to your face?"
"Happen a few hundred years ago. Instead of healing all the way I thought this looked bad ass," Damian said. "But get back on topic or I'll kill everyone here."
Kurosue chimes in. "The only devil who leaves often is Balphomet of Calamity. He's been causing mischief in the mortal realms lately. It's what this meeting was about."
Damian bangs the table. Next pointing at her with a smirk. "That's what I like to hear. Call me later shorty."
Kurosue smiles blushing.
Damian stands up looking at Mephisto. "Keep your people in line. My beef is with Balphomet. Should any of you try and aid him I will consider it an act of war."
"You're not going to ask where he is?" Mephisto asks.
"Nah. That'd be to easy," Damian said walking away. "All I needed was a name? I'll do the hunting myself."
The Skyfather's begin to leave and the tension was at an all-time high. Mephisto props his chin on his hand. "A former leader of Scripture having nothing to say?"
Scripture, Jin thought to himself.
Mephisto continues. "Where are your pals? I'm sure they miss—"
Jeryko glances at him menacingly. The alpha vampire issuing a chilling warning.
"Shutting the fuck up now," Mephisto says jokingly.
***PLANET GIA***
Every founder linked up after hearing news of a possible demonic invasion from the notorious demonic entity known as Balphomet.
Jeryko sighs. "With a pending attack on our empire from one of the nine hells we've took back control of Tartarus. Our funnel of dark weapons can continue being sold on the market. One less annoyance."
"So who are we gonna put down there to watch over them?" Liza asks. "With no warden couldn't the same thing just happen."
"Damian turned the Tartarus demons into vampires," Jeryko said. "Since they're sired now they no longer need one. They'll work without question and eliminate any threat that comes their way. They've already begun forging new demonic weapons that'll be sent to Oro for clearing."
"Well in other news—," Nova says looking at her nails. "I'm going to planet Vatnus. They've come up short their last few drops. I just received word a rival is fighting to take over their territory."
***PLANET VATNUS***
Neon rain hissed off the landing pad as Nova stepped out of the shuttle, trench coat flaring behind her blowing in the wind. Duskhaven stretched below in all its chaotic glory — neon tendrils wrapping cracked towers, holograms screaming ads in alien tongues, smog slicing the skyline like static interference.
The landing pad was attached to the side of a sleek monolith — Reese's mansion, the Hollow Apex. From above, it looked like a dormant god's weapon. Up close? It looked ready to wake up and kill.
From the staircase, Reese emerged in a white tank top, tennis diamond chain hanging from his neck, designer shorts swaying as he moved with a natural confidence. His arms were sleeved in black tattoos. Despite the relaxed fit, he carried himself like a boss.
"Yo," Reese called, his voice deep and steady. "Wasn't expectin' y'all till later."
Nova didn't slow her pace. Finally making it up to him.
"What's with the shortage, Reese?" she asked.
Reese rubbed his jaw, exhaling as if he'd been waiting for this conversation all day.
"We might have a rival gang moving in. They call themselves the Stryx." He turned, motioning for her to follow into the mansion. "They're built different I won't lie. I've never seen no shit like this. They're fast, quiet, and surgical. While me and my lil bro been holdin' up, my soldiers are gettin' killed across multiple zones."
They walked into the Hollow Apex — its polished black floors reflecting infernal glyphs, walls shifting transparently to show the electric hellscape outside.
Nova glanced around. "You're rich and supplied. You also have Babylon's backing. Why isn't the problem taken care of?"
Reese led her to a hidden stairwell descending into the mansion's core. Down here, the air felt heavier — soaked in the mix of demonic heat and death.
"We spun back a few times," Reese muttered. "But their numbers aren't dwindling. Like they got clones or some shit."
He approached a sealed chamber. It hissed open, revealing a slab surrounded by flickering red runes. Laid out on it... was a dead vampire.
Clean kill. Eyes burned out. Chest hollowed like someone had siphoned its soul. And it's skin grey with its veins dark purple.
"I didn't think this was even possible," Reese said grimly. "So I pulled my people back."
Nova froze.
A chill slipped down her spine. She stepped closer to the body, kneeling beside it, studying the wound. Then she frowned. "This kill style... it's precise. Efficient. This isn't a street hit. You did the right thing pulling back."
Her eyes darkened, brain flashing back to Damian's scar, — his regenerative power slowed for the first time ever in ten millennia.
Could the Stryx be the same ones who attacked us? she thought.
But this was a normal vampire, not an Alpha. Still...
It was enough to raise concern.
"How many people know about this?" she asked.
Reese stood back, arms folded. "Just me, and Shogi's crew who this guy was apart of. I figured nobody else should know about this. Especially with y'all involved."
"Bring them here," Nova ordered.
Reese shook his head. "They aren't in the city. They're picking' up a weapons shipment from you guys. Said it was a last-minute resupply."
Nova's eyes narrowed. "We didn't authorize a drop."
The room fell silent.
Reese's expression hardened. "Aight... so whoever's out there moving like Babylon, either got high-level clearance... or they're faking y'all signals. It's not like you guys to have a security breach. Anything I should know about?"
Nova's jaw clenched. She pulled her comm but paused, eyes looking toward Reese. "This is bigger than a turf issue."
Reese nodded. "Yeah. I got that feeling."
Without another word, Reese turned and called into a voice-command node built into the wall.
"Rell! Gear up. Now."
A few seconds later, a door slid open upstairs, and a younger voice echoed back, half-laughing:
"I was already dressed. You're moving too slow."
Reese smirked, just for a second. "Been along time since you've seen him. Bro's grown now."
Nova raised an eyebrow. She liked Rell — he had a lot of potential and if he keeps on his current path he could be worthy scout of Babylon one day.
Reese opened a wall panel, revealing a sleek armory of jet-black weapons with glowing infernal cores. He tossed Nova a plasma pistol with a built-in spell chamber. She caught it mid-air, checking its balance without looking.
"Crafted this myself," Reese said, already slipping on his own combat gear. "Demon-core battery, Babylon circuit board, and a little love on the side. Kills gods on a budget."
Nova's lip twitched — not quite a smile. "I like it. Now hurry up mother fucker."
"I'm done now," he fired back.
The three of them boarded a small, sleek spacecraft docked beneath the mansion — its body matte black, lined with red circuitry like veins on a serpent.
The loading docks weren't far, just a few miles out across the upper-city grid. But as they flew, something was watching them.
From the shadows of a nearby spire, a figure crouched — metallic limbs folded, eyes glowing a dull silver.
It whispered into a cracked comm device:
"They're moving. Reese, Nova, and the boy. Confirm intercept point at Dock 7. Package is en route. Begin blackout in three minutes."
The Stryx were already there.
Watching.
Waiting.
And they didn't miss twice.
***
The drop ship screeched to a halt above Dock 7.
Below, chaos.
Reese's soldiers were being butchered.
Bodies were flung off loading crates like broken toys. Sparks flew. Gunfire echoed between silos. A freight hover-truck spun midair and slammed into a tower, igniting like a fuel bomb.
Nova dropped first.
She hit the dock with a shockwave of golden pressure, eyes scanning the carnage. Her voice crackled through comms.
"We're late."
Reese landed behind her, his arms lit up with infernal sigils, demon blood igniting like liquid flame across his forearms. Beside him, Rell summoned twin spell-blades with rotating cores, already moving.
Below them?
The Stryx were here.
Black-clad, six total—humanoid in shape, but unnaturally quiet. Their movements flickered through time, faces concealed by angular chrome masks. Their blades were bone-white and left no blood—only void burns.
"Stryx agents confirmed," Rell snapped. "They're executing the drop team."
"Not anymore," Reese growled.
He leapt from the platform, slamming down with a shockwave of demonic energy — molten cracks spiderwebbed outward, sending two Stryx agents flying.
The ground beneath them warped.
Reese's tattoos flared as horns cracked from his skin, crawling up his arms. His eyes turned bloodshot, and his voice deepened to a demonic hue. He charged, his arms transforming into infernal claws of molten energy and ember bone. He tore one Stryx member clean in half — its body disintegrating into fractal data. Another lunged from behind, only for Reese to teleport through shadows and snap its spine with one hand.
Nova didn't stop to admire.
She was already a blur.
A golden afterimage of her streaked through three Stryx simultaneously — and for a moment, it looked like nothing had happened.
Then they fell apart — carved in four directions at once.
"She's slicing spacetime," Rell whispered in awe.
A sniper atop a distant crane tried to line up a shot — but without looking Nova reached back summoning, the custom plasma pistol shooting with extreme accuracy. It tore the crane in half and erased the sniper's upper body and soul.
Reese, panting, watched her dance through the chaos. His demon claws shredded another Stryx, pinning it mid-air, then incinerating it from the inside out.
"Goddamn..." he muttered, eyes gleaming. "It's been so long since I've seen her fight."
Another Stryx agent shifted behind Reese, phasing out of reality — only for Nova to appear between frames of time and roundhouse-kick their skull into the next dimension.
Reese blinked. "...You saw that?"
Rell, slack-jawed: "I think she just kicked that dude out of existence."
Nova hovered now — weapons phasing in and out of her hands as her pocket dimension blurred behind her like a golden inferno. She raised one palm.
Reese's solders were resurrected from the dead, now glowing with red eyes and seething rage. They descended upon the last of the Stryx like a tidal wave.
Reese stepped forward, teeth bared. "Yo. That was my squad."
Nova shrugs her shoulders. "They volunteered for overtime."
She vanished again, this time reappearing mid-air above the last remaining Stryx elite, who had just initiated a self-destruct compression spell.
Too slow.
Nova summoned her triple-bladed spear mid-air and threw it through a dimensional rift—it reappeared inside the Stryx's body from a completely different angle.
The elite exploded before the spell could complete. Only a crater remained.
Silence...
Dock 7 burned beneath flickering security lights. Stryx bodies glitched, faded, and collapsed.
Rell dropped to a knee, catching his breath. "That wasn't a strike team. That was an execution squad."
Reese stood over a smoldering pile of Stryx armor, muscles steaming, demonic sigils still glowing across his arms.
"Yeah," he said. "And we just flipped their kill order upside down."
He looked at Nova — hovering calmly above the carnage, unfazed.
Her eyes scanned the remaining smoke, searching for something none of them could see yet.
"They're not done," she finally said. "This wasn't the main hit. It was a test. A warning."
Reese crossed his arms. "You always get tested like this?"
Nova laughs. "Only on Tuesdays."
Rell looked between them. "So... what now?"
Nova turned her gaze toward the northeast skyline. She moves Rell out of the way and deflects several laser fire with her sword.
The air ripped open — a vertical line of pure light split the space in front of them.
From that radiant wound stepped a towering figure — tall, sleek, and armored in obsidian plate work etched with starfire. A long tattered cape fluttered behind him, stitched with cursed runes. His helm was knight-like, but faceless — only a deep violet slit of glowing light served as his eye.
In his right hand, he held a divine sword almost his height — thick and wide, forged from a collapsed star in the Holy Kingdom. The blade bent gravity, rippling space around it.
"So... you are the infamous Nova Shangfire," came a voice like ancient static. "You fight well."
Reese instantly bristled. "Who the hell is that?"
Nova moved slowly, eyes locked on the new arrival. "That," she muttered, "is Knight-Shadow."
Rell's jaw dropped. "The Knight-Shadow? He's real?"
"Yea," Nova replied.
Knight-Shadow raised his blade. "Your reputation has bred complacency. Let me correct that."
He moved.
FWOOM.
One blink and he was already mid-swing, his sword a light-years-fast arc of spatial fracture. Nova's glaive clashed with it in a concussive BOOM that split the air like an orbital strike. Energy exploded from the point of contact — turning the entire dock into a crater.
They blurred — vanishing from sight.
The duel began.
They reappeared mid-air, swords locked, Nova's arm trembling against the pressure of his divine blade.
Knight-Shadow's sword — Seraphgrave — left gravity scars with every swing. One its five abilities?
"Damage Loop" —inflicts a reversal curse that repels damage back on the opponent
Nova felt it. She blocked a horizontal slash — but her body jerked back a second later, her chest cut from the impact of the same strike she avoided.
"Cheating-ass sword," she growled, kicking off a crate mid-clash.
She bent sideways through reality, cleaving a dimensional rift downward — but Knight-Shadow caught it with the flat of Seraphgrave, twisting into a reverse roundhouse, blade trailing starlight.
They moved faster than light — colliding, parrying, teleporting across the dock like gods. Every impact shattered the air.
Nova's pocket dimension leaked weapons — switching from glaive to sickle chain, to energy bow, to solar cleaver. She was adapting fast.
But Knight-Shadow was keeping up.
Nova gritted her teeth, smiled. "Okay. You're actually fun."
She blinked into his shadow, and sliced upward with a sword of compressed reality. He blocked—barely—but his helmet cracked from the pressure.
Knight-Shadow launched into the sky.
Nova followed, blade burning with anti-energy.
They clashed again — this time above the docks, spinning mid-air, the force of their movements warping clouds into spirals.
***
As their duel raged above, the ground cracked open behind Reese and Rell. Arcane symbols exploded outward in a spinning vortex.
From the void rose a twenty-foot demonic juggernaut — plated in molten armor, eyes like twin furnaces, and tusks dripping black venom.
Hovering behind it was a slim thick figure in a midnight bodysuit laced with demonic silk and living shadows. It forms to her figure perfectly, accented with dark feathers and gold trim. Her hair was a fiery red, hands laced with glyphs, and eyes full of venomous intent.
Servana, the Stryx witch.
"I brought a toy," she smiled.
The demon roared — and charged.
Reese flared with heat. His horns burst fully from his skull, claws crackling. His skin now red transforming into his full demon form. "You get the legs."
Rell braced himself. "I was gonna say the same thing."
They launched in sync.
Reese teleported behind the demon's head, digging both claws into its skull — molten runes lighting up as he drained its infernal energy. The demon howled, flailing.
Rell phased underneath it, igniting black lightning over his blade slicing through both tendons in its legs. Then he backflipped onto its back and jammed an inkurūdo-oni-akumu, a soul based energy bomb into its body.
BOOM.
The beast staggered — Reese leapt off and punched straight through its sternum, ripping out its cursed heart.
The demon collapsed.
But Servana was already vanishing into a mirror-like portal.
Nova sensed it — even mid-duel — and warped instantly.
Her blade missed Servana's neck by inches.
The witch twisted mid-air, eyes wide, blood flicking from a near-slice across her cheek as she escaped.
Nova landed hard, turning around throwing an explosive shuriken into the portal blowing it up.
"If she comes back don't let her escape," she muttered.
Knight-Shadow stood atop a collapsed crane, his armor cracked, sword humming with unstable light.
"You truly live up to your name," he said. She's more dangerous than the archives said... Servana had the right idea. She's out of her league here.
Nova walked forward, slowly. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you like me. But I'm not into guys with small dicks."
Knight-Shadow ignores her raising Seraphgrave and rushed forward.
They clashed — spear against divine sword — and for a full three seconds, the entire dock bent inward, sucked into a miniature gravity well.
Then—
Nova impales Knight-Shadow through his chest.
He froze. Next coughing up blood. Her spear electrocutes him, knocking him unconscious.
Reese stood, panting, near the demon's body. Rell sat on a shipping crate, exhaling sharp.
Nova walked past them, blood dripping from her arm, still calm. "I'm taking him for questioning. Considering what just happened I'll be stopping any further product. I'm cutting your water off."
Reese stops her. "You can't be serious. My guys have to eat."
"Well I hope they're not dumb and have a savings account." Nova wipes blood from her cheek. "It definitely seems like we have a security breach on the inside. Until the situation is handled no more product will be moved. If anyone comes and tells you otherwise kill them. So if you do not here from Damian or Jeryko directly, you are not to move anything anymore. I'll be confiscating the body of that vampire too."
"He has a girlfriend," Reese said. "And a family. What am I supposed to tell them? What are you going to do with his body?"
"That's for Jeryko to decide. Find your way back," Nova says before she teleports away.