A haunting silence followed the thunderous collapse of Jobul's first two sons. Smoke curled from the scorched earth where their bodies had fallen, still twitching with residual demonic energy. The battlefield was marred with glowing cracks, ash swirling like black snow, and in the middle of it all stood Jobul—eyes gleaming with unspeakable wrath.
His voice was not a roar but a curse, ancient and venomous.
"You both," he hissed, his voice vibrating with bitterness, "now be cursed with my Rage."
His remaining two sons stepped forward, tall and imposing, faces shrouded in shadows. But before another word could be spoken, the two began to glow with crimson and violet flames. Their bodies crackled with demonic energy. Runes pulsed violently across their chests, and from their mouths came the screams of not just men, but infernal beasts.
Suddenly, they collided into each other.
There was no blood—only light, fury, and magic. Flesh and energy merged. Bones cracked and reformed. Screams twisted into laughter. In seconds, what stood before Kar'Thael and Arslan was a grotesque fusion of man and demon—a four-headed monster with towering muscle, four arms, and an aura so thick it pressed the air into a choking weight.
Two heads were once Jobul's sons. Two were the demons they had bargained with.
Kar'Thael narrowed his eyes.
"So this," he growled, fire curling around his fists, "is the power you bought from demons in place of Arcana?"
Jobul chuckled bitterly from behind his monstrous creation. "This is only the beginning."
Before another breath could be drawn, the fusion creature lunged. A burst of air exploded around it as it launched forward, the ground shattering beneath its feet.
CLANG!
A vicious claw met Kar'Thael's fiery blade. Sparks and molten energy flew. Arslan flipped backward, avoiding a bone-crushing punch that cratered the ground. Kar'Thael slashed at one of the heads, but the creature twisted like liquid, its second head biting at his shoulder.
Arslan summoned a black-energy shield just in time.
BOOM!
The entire plain rippled with force. Trees bent. Hills crumbled. The battle had begun.
---
For an hour, the war waged.
Arslan dashed in and out of range, casting shadow spikes and dark lashes, but the fusion creature was tireless.
Kar'Thael ignited the air with firestorms, lava bursts, and arcane destruction. Still, the beast stood, untouched by exhaustion.
It didn't slow. It didn't pant. It didn't bleed.
Every attack the two launched was met with equal or greater force. Four heads, four arms, and a core of demonic rage that only grew hotter.
Kar'Thael began to show strain. Arslan's breath came harder.
Even the clouds seemed to darken in fear.
---
Arslan stumbled back.
His hands trembled. His clothes were torn, his body bruised and bloody. Blood dripped from his mouth. His shield flickered weakly around his arm.
Kar'Thael landed beside him, breathing heavier than usual. "We can't keep this up."
Arslan turned to him, face pale but burning with resolve. "We have to bind now..."
Kar'Thael's eyes widened. "No! You can't bear it. Your body isn't prepared. You may die."
Arslan's reply was raw, desperate, honest.
"We have no time. We have to end this fight. I've already used everything. I'm nearly done. Just... just bind, please."
Kar'Thael hesitated. For the first time, something like sorrow flickered in his fiery eyes.
"So be it."
---
The Binding
The air grew still. The creature across the field halted, sensing something... different.
Kar'Thael reached out and pressed his burning hand to Arslan's chest.
Flames circled them. Wind surged outward. Light bent around their bodies.
Then a violent blast of red and black light exploded.
Arslan screamed—but not in pain.
The scream was power.
The transformation began.
Horns curled from his forehead. His skin darkened with runes, his muscles strengthening, his spine straightening. Glowing red and black eyes opened with fury and clarity. His fingers grew into long, clawed talons, and dark wings erupted from his back in jagged bursts.
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he stepped forward, now silent, now... changed.
Kar'Thael's voice whispered inside him:
"Your body is totally bound... but you still stand. Do you feel anything strange?"
Arslan's voice was calm.
"No. I am... normal."
But there was nothing normal about what stood there now. He was no longer just human. He was no longer just Kar'Thael.
He was something new.
---
The Final Battle
The demon-sons roared and charged again.
Arslan didn't move until the last moment.
FLASH!
He vanished.
In a blink, he reappeared above them, summoning a black vortex from his palm. The winds screamed as it devoured the air. One of the creature's heads tried to counter, but Arslan thrust his claw through its face.
BOOM!
Explosive black flame ruptured through its skull.
A second punch shattered one arm.
A spin-kick ripped into the fusion core, sending ripples of fire and energy outward.
The creature howled.
It tried to counter with twin-fire breaths from its demon heads, but Arslan held up both arms. From his palms, two runic circles burst open—absorbing the flames, then reflecting them back tenfold.
Kar'Thael's energy whispered inside him, "Use Infernal Chain Surge."
Arslan growled.
"INFERNAL CHAIN SURGE!"
Chains of fire, shadow, and magic exploded from his chest. They pierced through the monster, wrapping around its limbs, heads, and core.
The fusion creature writhed.
Arslan soared upward. His wings glowed. He summoned all remaining power, compressing a final orb of chaotic energy in his clawed hand.
"BROKEN FATE STRIKE!"
He descended like a comet. The orb collided with the creature.
Time seemed to pause.
Then—
CRRRRAAAAKKBOOOOOOOM!
An eruption like a dying star consumed the field. Trees vaporized. Rocks melted. Even Jobul was thrown backward.
The ground was gouged into a massive crater.
Smoke lingered for minutes.
When it cleared...
The fusion creature lay in pieces. Its heads were split, demonic cores shattered. Their bodies twitched—then disintegrated into ash.
---
Aftermath
Arslan stood, panting softly, demonic form still glowing. His body trembled slightly, but he remained upright.
Kar'Thael's voice murmured, proud and surprised.
"You did not fall. You survived the full bind."
Arslan wiped blood from his chin and whispered, "We survived."
Jobul, on his knees, watched his final sons fall.
His curse had failed.
And now... the true war had only just begun.