Linfer emerged from the shell, his red eyes pulsating with an unhealthy glow. His pale, handsome face was partially distorted by black, bloody veins. His long hair, a mix of olive green and black, cascaded around his face. On his forehead, three horns curved backward, while the Omega symbol glowed. His torso was covered in organic armor, made of a black, filamentous material that seemed to move, like a living network of dark roots. In the center of his chest, an inverted cross appeared fused into his flesh.
His long, slender arms ended in sharp claws, each adorned with crystalline red spikes that seemed carved from the same material as the bony growths emerging from his shoulders and forearms. His abdomen was covered in black bands, intertwined like thorns, protecting his organs while giving him a formidable yet elegant appearance. Below his pelvis, his legs were also covered in this organic armor, but his feet ended in sharp talons, more suited for hunting than walking.
Four immense bat-like wings sprouted from his back, dark and bristling with bloody veins. Organic blades, resembling living serpents, undulated on his back, twisting and hissing like autonomous creatures.
Luciel pressed her lips together: "He’s no longer... That’s not the man I knew."
The already oppressive silence became absolute. All the angels present, even the most powerful among them, hesitated. Only Linfer’s breath resonated, calm, as a carnivorous smile stretched across his pale lips, revealing his sharp teeth.
Uriel looked at Luciel with disdain. "He was always the same. You were just too obsessed with changing him that you didn’t notice."
"All this crowd. To face just one man... You’re overestimating me, guys~ He he." Even in such a situation, and despite his radically changed appearance, he retained his mischievous nature.
Uriel extended his hand into the void as a golden flash condensed into his lance.
"Attack!"
Immediately, the celestial soldiers surged forward, wings spread, lances and swords ready to unleash divine wrath upon this abominable being.
"Good news: I still don’t fully control my new power.
Bad news: I’m in a good mood."
Linfer tilted his neck to the side, cracking it slightly.
The heavens trembled with the angels’ terror, their faces contorted in fear. Linfer flapped his wings with brutal force, leaving behind an afterimage, an echo of his speed. He appeared before an angel, seizing his face with an implacable hand. Bones cracked under his grip like mere clay. With a fluid motion, he pivoted to dodge three other attackers, while the blades emerging from his back deployed, striking mercilessly. The celestial soldiers collapsed, impaled by the autonomous blades, without even having time to understand what hit them.
An angel, gathering all his strength, brandished his sword ferociously. But Linfer caught him effortlessly, breaking the blade as if it were a toy. He then leaped, his sharp talons crushing the skulls of angels beneath him before they could react.
In an instant, he disappeared, reappearing in the midst of the fray with inhuman speed. His movements were a whirlwind of violence. He tore the wings from two angels with a single strike, then spun around, his blades slicing the heads of those within reach. Hundreds of angels were decapitated in a few wingbeats.
Suddenly, intense heat was felt behind him. A gigantic fireball, reinforced by wind magic, hurtled toward him. Linfer, without hesitation, sketched a mocking smile.
"Be more creative, I’m only at one percent, guys."
With a swift gesture, he grasped the air to his left. At the same moment, hundreds of angels exploded in a spray of blood, pulverized by an invisible force. Linfer manipulated the flow of blood with terrifying ease, raising it into an impenetrable barrier that absorbed the fiery attack without difficulty.
"Circle formation!" shouted one of the angels, attempting to rally the troops in the chaos.
The angels regrouped, forming a tight circle around Linfer, their shields closing in on him, advancing slowly, determined to trap him.
Linfer looked at them, a contemptuous smile on his lips. "War formations are only effective... against the weak."
*[Mist]*
Linfer’s body suddenly dissipated into a dense, cold mist, sweeping across the battlefield. With each pass of the mist, the blood of the angels slowly drained from their bodies, leaving them screaming in pain and terror. Within seconds, the celestial soldiers collapsed like flies, their blood completely drained.
The mist condensed again, reforming Linfer’s silhouette, a cruel smile stretching his lips. His sharp claws tore through flesh and armor with disconcerting ease, turning the soldiers into bloody rags. The battle had lasted less than ten minutes, yet over a million of the army had perished.
Linfer rushed toward the ranks of the celestial army at lightning speed, his red eyes gleaming with calm predatory intent. The angels saw only a shadow as he plunged into the heart of their formation, dodging their lances and striking with punches and kicks of devastating power. An angel attempted to attack him, but Linfer, with a fluid motion, delivered a blow so powerful it tore him from top to bottom, sending shards of flesh and bone flying into the air.
With a single fluid motion, his sharp claws sliced an enemy’s throat, while gutting another, its entrails scattering in the air. A dozen opponents, seized with horror, attempted to surround him. But before they could react, his organic blades pierced them through and through, turning them into bloody sieves.
*Hiss*
Time seemed to stop. Linfer twisted unnaturally like a serpent, narrowly avoiding Uriel’s lance aimed straight at him. Their eyes met for a moment, and a carnivorous smile stretched across Linfer’s face. "Missed!" he shouted, sticking out his tongue, savoring the archangel’s failure. But at that precise moment, behind him, Raphael seized the air.
*[Spatial Vortex]*
Linfer felt his body violently pulled backward, momentarily losing control of his movements. Before he could react, Tzakiel and Morael appeared simultaneously beside him, teleporting with deadly precision. Their lances flashed in a burst of light, but they rebounded harmlessly off Linfer’s sturdy wings, as if their attack were nothing more than a gentle breeze.
Uriel, seizing the opportunity, quickly pivoted and aimed his lance at Linfer’s torso. Linfer then felt intense heat beneath him. Looking down, he saw Luciel, her sword coated in golden flames, ready to slice him in two. He was surrounded on all sides.
"You finally decided to attack me? Traitor!"
"..."
A sadistic smile formed on his face. With a swift motion, he twisted his body to the left, dodging Tzakiel’s new attack, which inadvertently severely wounded Morael. At the same time, he grabbed Uriel’s wrist with his right hand and deflected his lance, forcing it to counter Luciel’s flaming sword rising to cut him.
*Boom*