The torrential flame was still spewing downwards like a waterfall; a relentless cascade of crimson fury that seemed to consume everything in its path.
The heat was immense, a physical weight that pressed down on the battlefield, warping the air and melting the ground.
But then, suddenly, a black and red light slashed violently through the flames.
It was a blade of pure, concentrated demonic fury that cut through the inferno like a hot knife through butter.
The attacker, their torrent of flames parted like the Red Sea, was forced to give up their assault; their flames dissipating into the swirling miasma.
The flames died down, revealing Kaelgor's body.
Smoking and glowing red from the extreme heat, his armor still radiating the residual energy of the blast. His breaths were labored, and his shoulders slouched slightly.
There was no rest for the wicked.
The very next instant, just as the flame attack was withdrawn, a scythe and a pointed hand strike came from both his sides. It was a coordinated assault designed to catch him off guard!
But Kaelgor had long expected these attacks, this chain of assault after assault.
"HAHA!"
He was a devil of rage, a being who thrived on chaos, and he met their attacks with a laugh: a laugh sound of pure, unadulterated fury.
He saw how multiple devils were trying their best to kill him, their attacks relentless, their determination unwavering.
Although he was stronger than all of these foes, his strength was limited by realm.
He only surpassed them through techniques, control, and mastery over his sin path and elemental affinity.
Plus, what had truly given him the edge was his superior armor and weapons, which he had meticulously forged over decades of careful work.
Without the armor, he wouldn't have been able to withstand the onslaught from these foes.
In a realm where everyone's power is capped, only external means can give one the edge.
His mastery of forging magical armaments, with all the extra time that he had, gave him that edge that solidified his position as the strongest.
Now, that armor had dents and chips, its sturdy surface simmering and smoking from the constant demonic mana infusion and the superheated blast he had endured.
It was a testament to his resilience, to his defensive strength, but also a reminder that even the strongest armor could be broken.
Seeing the two-pronged attack incoming, he surged with his rage-fused aura, manifesting and controlling his sin of wrath.
His body moved in a flash, his halberd rising in an upwards slashing motion towards the female devil.
The attack was swift, brutal, and aimed to kill.
Seeing the powerful attack incoming, she quickly put up her shield once again, its surface glowing with defensive energy.
But Kaelgor shifted his weight mid-slash, using the momentum to hit her shield and launch her towards the new devil that had just arrived.
The female devil was slightly shocked as her body was launched, her momentum uncontrollable as she hurtled through the air.
Having just touched the ground after launching a full-force attack, the black-cloaked devil was shocked to see another devil flying towards her at high speeds.
At that moment, instinct took over.
She took a step forward and punched out with an open palm, blending her demonic fire elements with a heavy strike.
No hesitation or concern crossed her mind in attacking this deviless who was in a pseudo-alliance.
Attack first, question later!
Either she lives and moves on, or she dies and someone replaces her.
Luckily for the airborne female devil, she reacted quickly and put up her shield to block the incoming attack, being flung to the side instead.
"Bang!"
Her body landed with a thud as she violently coughed blood, her internal organs rattled by the impact.
She quickly struggled to her feet, less some opportunistic devil sought to kill her off.
Her shield relic, which had been used twice in a short span, had taken some negative feedback as a result. Its surface cracked and glowed as if overheated, its power diminished, its reliability compromised.
The dual attack had injured her more than she would have liked, and her anger rose as the thought that she could no longer compete for the law fragment rose in her mind.
But she quickly pushed those thoughts away, forcing herself to move, to survive. She dashed into the swirling dust and miasma, disappearing from view.
Instantly cutting her loses and retreating without hesitation.
The cloaked devil ignored her and looked up to see the beast-kin striking Kaelgor's unprotected back with his bone scythe.
"Screeeech~"
But Kaelgor defended last second!
Sparks and screeching rang out loudly as the scythe ground against Kaelgor's armored tail!
The strike had almost forced Kaelgor to the ground on all fours, but he quickly shifted his posture and pushed back against the devil fast and hard, repelling the strike while getting into a stance to face the onslaught.
Still, the armor on the tail section was thinner, unlike the heavier parts on the core of his body. The attack had cut past the thin armor and deep into Kaelgor's tail.
He was lucky that it wasn't severed, thanks to the impressive craftsmanship of his armor.
Still, a devil's tail was a main magical artery. The pain was immense, and the nausea brought by the blood and mana loss started to hit immediately.
Blood trickled from the wound, and his breaths were heavy. His head was buzzing, and every inch of his body was stinging from pain.
The demonic-infused flame torrent had strained his demonic mana, pushing him to his limits.
Even though fiends were highly resistant to flames, that was only to normal fire. The demonic mana infusion gave it a surge of power and contamination that could injure fellow fiends.
The roaring of his berserker demons was still heard in the surrounding chaos.
They were fighting the demons of the surrounding devils and the remnants of Malgrim's army. Through his branding connections, he could feel that more than half had already died.
His forces were being decimated, his army reduced to a fraction of its former strength.
His breaths were becoming more laborious, but the fire in his eyes only grew more intense.
Such was the outcome of a devil played by a devil far stronger than them.
"RAHHHH!"
Taking in the sounds, the sensations, the circumstances he was in, he stood straight and roared.
Letting that sin of rage cloud his mind, to push his body back to the limits and beyond.
He no longer cared to restrain himself.
He could no longer care.
He could already see it: his demise, the loss of everything that he had built and everything yet to fall into his hands.
Like a wild beast driven to a corner, his form manifested once more.
But this time, it was more twisted, more feral, roaring and laughing in a psychotic rage. It distorted and crackled with unstable demonic mana, aura, and sin.
It looked less like a devil and more like a monster, a creature of pure, unfiltered wrath.
The surrounding demons, especially those closest, felt as if their backs suddenly had a heavy weight strapped onto them.
The pressure was immense, a manifestation of Kaelgor's fury that bore down on them like a physical force.
He no longer cared to seek a way out.
He charged recklessly into the observing demons, his halberd swinging in wide, devastating arcs.
The battle had become a slaughter.
A desperate stand against the encroaching darkness.