Satoshi took a slow step forward, each movement dissolving the ground beneath him. He exhaled, and even that was enough to distort space.
"You played with time," he said, his voice calm, but filled with something undeniable. "Now watch as I burn it away."
Rael's hands clenched into fists.
For the first time in the fight—he looked unsure.
And then, Satoshi struck.
The real battle had begun.
The Final Confrontation
The manor was gone. Nothing remained of it except a scorched battlefield, the ground warped and fractured under the pressure of two clashing forces. The night sky above twisted unnaturally, as if reality itself was trying to escape the devastation unfolding below.
Satoshi stood at the center, his body wreathed in golden-red flames. He no longer felt human. He no longer felt mortal. The Eyes of Wrath had fully awakened, and with them came an understanding that transcended thought. He wasn't just burning things—he was burning existence itself.
Rael stood across from him, his silver-white hair stained with blood, his pristine armor cracked and scorched. His once-calm demeanor had shifted. Gone was the amusement, the arrogance. Now, there was only cold calculation and something dangerously close to desperation.
"You're different now," Rael muttered, wiping blood from his mouth. "I can feel it. This power… it shouldn't exist."
Satoshi rolled his shoulders, flexing his fingers. The air around him warped as heat shimmered from his body. "Neither should yours. But here we are."
Rael exhaled sharply, his eyes narrowing. He flicked his wrist. Time froze.
Everything halted. The wind, the embers, the very concept of movement itself.
Except for Satoshi.
Rael's pupils dilated. "No."
Satoshi took a step forward. The very act of moving in stopped time sent cracks rippling through the frozen reality around them. The air itself combusted, the heat unraveling the fabric of space.
Rael jumped backward, time resuming the instant he disengaged. Satoshi didn't wait—he lunged, fist cocked back, his presence a burning calamity.
Rael barely had time to react. He stopped time again.
But before he could move, fire exploded outward.
The flames didn't just burn—they erased. The concept of "stopped time" itself was burning. The air distorted violently, and Rael felt something he had never experienced before—his ability, his dominion over time itself, was slipping from his grasp.
He was too late.
Satoshi was already in front of him.
A fist, wreathed in golden-red destruction, collided with Rael's face.
The impact tore through time, space, and reality. A shockwave of annihilation exploded outward, sending Rael hurtling through the battlefield at impossible speeds. His body broke through dimensions, warping through space itself before crashing into the ground so hard that the land split apart.
Rael coughed, trying to steady himself. His body was screaming—his demonic healing barely keeping up with the damage.
Satoshi appeared above him. No hesitation. No mercy.
A downward strike.
Rael stopped time—but this time, he didn't retreat.
He moved. Fast. Faster than he ever had.
Time was his domain. Even if Satoshi could resist it, even if his ability was being burned away, Rael was still faster in this frozen space.
He wove around Satoshi, delivering a devastating strike to his ribs. The moment time resumed, the impact landed—an explosion of force sending Satoshi skidding backward.
But Satoshi barely reacted. His skin, his very essence, was burning at an absolute level. Pain no longer existed for him.
Rael gritted his teeth. "Fine."
He raised both hands. Time warped. Not just stopping—compressing.
Satoshi felt it immediately. The air became impossibly dense. His own existence was being squeezed, crushed under the weight of infinite time collapsing in on itself.
But Satoshi simply exhaled.
The absolute flames surrounding him flared, and the compressed time burned away.
Rael's expression twisted in frustration. "Damn you!"
Satoshi moved.
They clashed—fast. Beyond human comprehension. Fists met fists, shockwaves splitting the sky. Every blow distorted the battlefield further, their very presence warping the world.
Rael attempted to stop time mid-combat. Satoshi burned it away mid-motion.
Rael tried to shift reality itself, pushing time forward, accelerating injuries. Satoshi burned through the future before it could happen.
Every trick, every technique Rael had spent centuries mastering—worthless.
Satoshi's flames weren't just hot. They were absolute. They burned beyond logic, beyond what should be possible. They didn't just destroy matter—they annihilated concepts.
Rael's body was failing. He could feel it. He was regenerating slower. His movements were becoming sluggish.
And then, he made one mistake.
For a split second, he hesitated.
That was all Satoshi needed.
A single step.
A single punch.
Satoshi's fist connected with Rael's chest, and the flames did the rest.
Rael's body erupted in golden-red fire. He screamed as the heat consumed him—not just his flesh, not just his bones—his very existence.
He tried to stop time. The flames burned the ability.
He tried to escape. The flames burned the concept of "distance" itself.
He tried to be.
The flames burned that, too.
Rael's form flickered, then distorted, then… nothing.
Nobody. No ashes. No remains.
He was gone.
Burned from existence itself.
Satoshi stood amidst the destruction, his flames slowly dying down. The battlefield was silent, the sky above still twisted from the clash of titanic forces.
He exhaled.
It was over.
Rael, the half-demon who ruled over time, was no more.
And Satoshi…
Satoshi had become something beyond mortal, beyond divine. He was no longer just a warrior.
He was an absolute force of destruction.
But deep inside, he knew.
This power wasn't just his to wield.
It was his burden to control.
And for the first time since awakening, he wondered—
What would happen if he ever lost control?
After the Battle
The battlefield was silent. The air still shimmered with residual heat, the ground warped and fractured from the sheer force of the fight. But it was over.
Rael was gone—burned from existence itself. Not even ashes remained.
Satoshi exhaled slowly, his body cooling as the golden-red flames surrounding him finally dimmed. His fists unclenched. The raw, suffocating pressure of his awakened power receded, leaving behind only an eerie calm. His body should have felt broken, exhausted—but he didn't feel pain. He didn't feel anything.
It was then he saw her.
Camila stood at the edge of the ruins, her wide, emerald eyes locked onto him. Her dark hair was windswept, her expression unreadable. She had arrived too late to
witness the fight itself, but the aftermath spoke for itself.
She took a cautious step forward. "Satoshi…?"
He turned to face her fully. The movement felt unnatural—like he was adjusting to a body that no longer functioned the way it once had.
Camila's gaze flicked to the scorched ground, the cracks in reality itself still faintly shimmering from the sheer force of the battle. She had fought demons before. She had seen destruction, chaos. But this—this was different.
Her throat tightened. "What happened here?"
Satoshi let the question hang in the air for a moment.
Then, finally, he spoke.
"Rael is gone." His voice was steady but heavy. "I burned him away. Completely."
Camila swallowed. "Burned… him away?"
Satoshi looked at his hand, flexing his fingers. Even now, the power hummed beneath his skin, waiting to be unleashed again. "This fight… something changed. I reached the second stage of the Eyes of Wrath." He closed his fist, and the air around it shimmered with residual heat. "And with it, I awakened something new. Absolute Burning."
Camila's breath caught. She knew about the Eyes of Wrath—the divine inheritance Satoshi carried. But this… this was something else. Something beyond even the power he had wielded before.
"What does that mean?" she asked carefully.
Satoshi looked past her, toward the shattered remains of what once was. "It means I can burn anything," he said. "Not just flesh. Not just matter. Concepts. Time. Existence itself." His voice was calm, but beneath it was something else—something almost hollow. "Rael stopped time. I burned through it. He tried to manipulate the future. I erased it before it could happen. He tried to exist." He exhaled. "And I burned that too."
Camila's stomach twisted. She had always believed in Satoshi, in his strength, in his ability to fight for what was right. But this… this was power on an entirely different level.
And from the way Satoshi spoke, from the way his gaze lingered on his own hands, she could tell—
It scared him, too.
She stepped closer, searching his face. "Are you okay?"
Satoshi didn't answer immediately. His eyes—those once-fiery, wrathful eyes—held something deeper now.
Finally, he said, "I don't know."
Silence settled between them.
Camila reached out, placing a hand on his arm. He was warm—warmer than before, but not in a painful way. A steady warmth, like a fire that had no intention of fading.
"You're still you," she said softly. "No matter what."
Satoshi met her gaze. For the first time since the battle ended, something inside him eased.
Maybe.
But deep down, he knew—
This power wasn't just his to wield.
It was his burden to bear.
And one day, he would have to face the consequences of what he had become.
For now, though, he still had a mission.
"Come on," he said, stepping past her. "We still have to find Amelia."
Camila nodded, falling into step beside him. The night stretched ahead, uncertain and vast. But they walked forward together—toward whatever came next.
And Satoshi, for the first time, wondered if there would ever be an opponent he couldn't burn away.
Or worse—if there was anything left that could stop him.
The Truth in the Shadows
The ruins of the manor stretched behind them, swallowed by the night. The air was thick with the scent of scorched earth, the remnants of battle still lingering in the air. But Satoshi and Camila pressed forward. There was no time to stop.
They had come this far.
And now, they would find Amelia.
The underground passage beneath the manor led them through a labyrinth of stone corridors, dimly lit by flickering lanterns. The deeper they went, the more unnatural the air became—like something wrong had taken root here.
Finally, they reached it.
A massive chamber, lined with arcane machinery. Wires pulsed with energy, connecting to the centerpiece of the room—a large containment tube, filled with a thick, translucent fluid. And inside it, suspended as if in deep sleep—
Amelia.
Her long silver hair floated weightlessly, her eyes shut, her body motionless. Wires ran from the base of the tube into her back, feeding something into her—or maybe draining something from her.
Camila gasped, stepping forward. "Amelia!"
She placed a hand against the glass, her breath shaky. "She's alive… but what is this? Why would—"
A slow, deliberate clap echoed through the chamber.
Both Satoshi and Camila spun toward the sound.
A lone figure stood at the edge of the room, near the control panel. Dressed in a dark coat, his short, slicked-back black hair flowed under the dim lights. His sharp, golden eyes gleamed with amusement.
"Congratulations," he said, voice smooth, mocking. "You finally made it."
Satoshi's jaw clenched. "Miguel."
Miguel smirked. "It took you guys so long, didn't it?"
Camila's expression darkened. "Why are you doing this?"
Miguel spread his arms. "Oh, don't look so surprised. Everything has been leading up to this moment. Amelia, Rael, even your little transformation upstairs." His gaze flicked to Satoshi, eyes narrowing slightly. "That was quite the spectacle, by the way. I didn't expect you to awaken that level of power. But I suppose I should have known. You sins are something else"
Satoshi stepped forward, his fists tightening. "What are you doing to Amelia?"
Miguel sighed. " so direct. No patience for the grand reveal?" He turned to the control panel, running a hand along its surface. "Fine. Since you came all this way, I'll be generous."
A flick of his wrist, and the screens behind him flickered to life. Data streamed across them—brainwave readings, magical signatures, demonic energy fluctuations. And at the center of it all—Amelia's vitals.
Camila's breath hitched. "What is this?"
Miguel smiled. "The culmination of years of work. You see, Amelia isn't just any girl. She's special. She's the key."
Satoshi's eyes narrowed. "Key to what?"
Miguel tapped the glass of the tube lightly. "To break the boundary between realms."
Silence.
Camila took a step back, shaking her head. "No. No, that's impossible. The veil between this world and the demon realm is—"
"Fragile," Miguel interrupted. "Weakened by every battle. By every war. And Amelia—" He gestured toward her suspended form. "She has the bloodline necessary to shatter it completely."
Satoshi felt the weight of his words sink in. "You're trying to tear open a path."
Miguel grinned. "Exactly. And with Rael gone, I no longer need to waste time dealing with distractions. I can finally finish what I started."
Camila clenched her fists. "You used Rael? He thought he was in control."
Miguel chuckled. "Of course he did. Half-demons are so predictable. Always thinking strength alone is enough. He played his role, but he was never the true mastermind." His gaze turned sharp, predatory. "I was."
Satoshi's body tensed, the air around him heating up. "Let her go. Now."
Miguel raised an eyebrow. "Or what?"
The air exploded with heat. The ground beneath Satoshi blackened as golden-red flames flickered to life around him. His newly awakened power surged, the very air distorting under the force of it.
Miguel let out a slow whistle. "Ah, there it is. That absolute fire of yours." His expression didn't waver, but there was a new glint in his eyes—one of intrigue.
Camila drew her weapon, standing at Satoshi's side. "We're not letting you use her."
Miguel sighed dramatically. "And here I thought you'd see the bigger picture."
The Dark Truth
The room trembled as Amelia's containment tube pulsed with unnatural energy. The glow in her eyes flickered, neither fully awake nor fully unconscious. The air was thick with tension, the hum of machinery drowning out the heavy silence between them.
Miguel stood near the control panel, arms crossed, a smirk playing at his lips. He watched Satoshi and Camila with a calm, almost casual amusement, as if he had already won.