Zauric's ragged face tilted, his voice low and even.

"Nonetheless… I know you will not cease. You will gnaw and scrape at me until your purpose is fulfilled. So I will bring silence. The royals will understand when I send your marks back to them."

His hook rose slowly, black iron glinting in the mountain's half-light. The point leveled at Ammy. "The stronger one first. The weaker is not worth my time. The woman is the real threat."

Ammy's lips curved into a sharp grin, venom in her eyes. But before she could retort, Kev's jaw flexed, his nostrils flaring.

"You wanna see a real threat? Aight, bet."

The dark markings around his eyes pulsed, then spread, crawling like living veins across his skin. They ignited, glowing molten orange, searing through the thin fabric of his shirt. His muscles surged, swelling with unnatural density, his limbs stretching longer, more jagged. With a tearing sound, the cloth split down his chest and arms as his body expanded into something monstrous.

A guttural roar ripped from his throat.

Renny froze, eyes widening. His pulse skipped. What… what is this? He had never seen Kev like this, never witnessed such a manifestation. "This… is this what Grade Two really is? The first step into demonic form?" The aura blasting off Kev was suffocating, the air rippling like heat waves around him.

In his hand, the axe answered the change, its metal burning with the same molten glow, lines of fire tracing its edge, each breath of it promising devastation.

Zauric tilted his ragged face, hollow eyes narrowing as if weighing him. Yet there was no awe in his gaze, only the cold indifference of a beast not impressed.

The look chilled Renny even more than Kev's transformation.

Kev smirked, confidence sharpened by the monstrous aura that cloaked him. "It's over for you, beast."

With explosive force, Kev bolted forward, the ground shattering beneath his step. His speed blurred him into a streak of orange, the axe a comet in his hands.

The impact rang like thunder as his glowing blade clashed with Zauric's iron hook. The shockwave cracked the stone around them, dust and pebbles spraying in violent bursts.

Kev twisted, bringing the axe down in a sweeping arc meant to crush through Zauric's defense.

But Zauric's reptilian left hand rose, shell-like scales forming in an instant, catching the blade's edge. His hook deflected, his shell braced. Kev's teeth bared in frustration as sparks and molten streaks flew from the grinding clash.

Renny leaned forward, eyes narrowing at the clash of force and fluidity. "You're not going to join him? He's fired up now." He asked, voice edged with curiosity.

Ammy's smirk was razor-thin. "No need. This will be over in minutes. Watch, Ezraphor... this is true power. Power born from royal lineage. Something you could never grasp."

Baro rolled his eyes at her arrogance, muttering something under his breath. Renny ignored them both, his gaze fixed on Kev. The man was transformed, every strike crashing down with brutal force, his wrath made flesh.

But Zauric was unshaken. He moved like a lone leaf before a storm, gliding through each blow. The more savage Kev became, the calmer Zauric appeared, his ragged form swaying, deflecting, turning aside every strike.

Kev's flurry came fast, axe carving arcs of firelight, feet pounding the stone as he chained his fury into a brutal three-piece. His leg whipped into a twisting kick that crashed against Zauric's side. The shell-arm sprang up just in time, cracking beneath the force, shards scattering as the beast was shoved, screeching across the stone floor.

Kev didn't pause. In the next instant, he was already beside him, both hands gripping the glowing axe as he raised it for the killing blow, no, not the axe. His fist, glowing molten, came down like a hammer to smash Zauric's skull into the earth.

The beast dropped low, the shell-arm again rising to brace. The impact thundered down, stone shattering beneath them, dust clouding the air. Zauric knelt beneath the weight, defensive, pinned.

Kev's arm stretched down, his chest leaning forward, the molten glow surging through his body… leaving his abdomen exposed.

Zauric didn't hesitate. His iron hook drove forward, burying itself deep into Kev's abdomen.

Kev's roar broke into a choking groan. The orange glow sputtered, then faded, retreating into the lines around his eyes before vanishing altogether. His body shuddered, the monstrous form collapsing in an instant, leaving only the demon, breath ragged, blood spilling down the hook that skewered him.

Renny's eyes widened, heart thundering in his chest. Impossible…

Kev staggered, teeth clenched, hands still gripping his weapon as if refusing to believe he'd been pierced.

Zauric rose slowly, dragging Kev off his hook with a grotesque grace, and for the first time, the beast's ragged form stood taller than Kev's wrath had reached.

Ammy was behind Kev in an instant, dragging him back toward where Renny and Old Man Baro stood watching. Kev staggered, blood spilling down his front. His eyes rolled upward, body trembling like he was being electrocuted from the inside out, unable to steady himself.

"What did you do to him?" Ammy snapped, her voice sharp with fury.

Zauric's ragged head tilted. But before he could answer, one of the bound souls croaked, "The same thing… the same thing he did to us before he brought us here. Soul paralysis. It'll pass, but not at once. He'll wake from the shock, but he won't move for some time."

Baro let out a low laugh, shaking his head. "So much for the true power of a royal, eh?"

"Shut your mouth, fossil!" Ammy snapped, her demon eyes flaring to life. The dark markings crawled across her skin, her fury spilling into the air around her.

Baro only smirked, tapping his stick. "Ahh, so now it's your turn, eh? Go on then. Show him who's boss." His words dripped mockery.

Ammy knelt, steadying Kev as his breath evened, his body twitching as he slowly began to recover. Then she rose, eyes hard with fury as she turned back to Zauric.

"Playtime's over," she said, voice low and venomous. "Now I will not just subdue you, Zauric. I will slay you, as the beast you are."

Zauric's voice rumbled like stone splitting in the mountain. "I welcome the attempt."

Without another word wasted, Ammy unfurled her weapon, the barbed lash writhing like a serpent in her grip. Her demon eyes burned brighter, scanning for a weakness, yet none revealed themselves, no pain left behind by Kev. If she wanted an opening, she would have to make one herself.

She widened the distance between them. She'd seen what the hook had done to Kev; she wouldn't let it touch her. This fight would have to be hers, on her own terms.

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