Armageddon 2

The Battle Against the Devourer

Linfer emerged from the shell, his red eyes pulsing with an unwholesome glow. His fair, pale face was partially deformed by black and bloody veins. His long hair, a mix of olive green and black, fell in cascades around his face. On his forehead, three horns curved backward, while the Omega symbol shone. His torso was covered by an organic armor, made of a black and filamentous matter that seemed to move, like a living network of dark roots. In the middle of his chest, an inverted cross seemed to be melted into his flesh, as if the old necklace he wore had fused with his body.

His long, slender arms ended in sharp claws, each adorned with crystalline red spikes that seemed carved from the same material as the bony outgrowths emerging from his shoulders and forearms.

His abdomen was covered with black bands, intertwined like thorns, protecting his organs while giving him a formidable yet elegant appearance. Under his pelvis, his legs were also covered by this organic armor, but his feet ended in slender talons, more suited for hunting than walking.

Four immense wings, resembling those of a bat, burst forth from his back, dark and bristling with blood-soaked veins. Organic blades, like living serpents, undulated along his spine, twisting and hissing like autonomous creatures.

The silence, already oppressive, became absolute. All the angels present, even the most powerful among them, hesitated. Only Linfer's breath resonated, calm, while a carnivorous smile formed on his pale lips, revealing his sharp teeth.

"All this beautiful company. To face a single man... You overestimate me, guys ~ He he." Even in such a situation, and with his appearance radically changed, he still retained his mischievous nature.

Uriel extended his hand into the void as a golden lightning bolt condensed into his lance.

"Attack!"

Immediately, the celestial soldiers surged forward, their wings spread, lances and swords ready to unleash divine wrath upon this abominable being.

"Good news: I haven't mastered all my power yet. Bad news: I'm in a good mood."

Linfer tilted his neck to the side, cracking it slightly.

The heavens trembled under the terror of the angels, their faces contorted with fear. Linfer beat his wings with brutal force, leaving behind a residual image, an echo of his speed. He emerged in front of an angel, seizing its face with an implacable hand. The bones cracked under his grip like simple clay. With a fluid movement, he pivoted to dodge three other assailants, while the blades emerging from his back unfurled, 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 grabbed it effortlessly, breaking the blade as if it were a mere toy. He then leaped, his sharp talons crushing the skulls of the angels beneath him before they could react.

In an instant, he disappeared, reappearing in the midst of the melee with inhuman speed. His movements were a whirlwind of violence. He tore off the wings of two angels with one blow, before turning on himself, his blades slicing the heads of those within reach. Hundreds of angels were decapitated in a few wingbeats.

Suddenly, an intense heat was felt behind him. A gigantic ball of fire, enhanced by wind magic, charged toward him. Linfer, without losing a moment, sketched a mocking smile.

"Be more inventive, I'm only at one percent, guys."

With a swift gesture, he seized the air to his left. At the same time, hundreds of angels exploded in a spray of blood, pulverized by an invisible force. Linfer manipulated the flow of blood with a terrifying ease, raising it into an impenetrable barrier that absorbed the fiery attack without difficulty.

"Form a circle!" one of the angels shouted, trying 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 imprison him.

Linfer looked at them, a scornful smile on his lips. "War formations are only effective... against the weak."

[Mist]

Linfer's body suddenly dissipated into a dense and cold mist, sweeping across the battlefield. With each passage of the mist, the blood of the angels slowly flowed from their bodies, leaving them screaming in pain and terror. In a matter of 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 shreds. The battle had lasted less than ten minutes, but over a million of the army had perished.

Linfer rushed toward the ranks of the celestial army at a blinding speed, his red eyes sparkling with a calm predator's gleam. The angels saw only a shadow as he plunged into the heart of their formation, dodging their lances and striking with devastatingly powerful punches and kicks. An angel tried to attack him, but Linfer, with a fluid gesture, delivered a blow so powerful that it tore him from top to bottom, sending fragments of flesh and bone flying into the air.

In a single fluid motion, his sharp claws slit an enemy's throat, while at the same time eviscerating another, their entrails scattering in the air. A dozen adversaries, seized with horror, tried to surround him. But before they could react, his organic blades pierced them from end to end, turning them into bloody sieves.

*Whistle*

Time seemed to stop. Linfer twisted abnormally, like a serpent, narrowly avoiding Uriel's lance that was headed straight for him. Their gazes crossed for an instant, and a carnivorous smile stretched across Linfer's face. "Missed!" he cried, sticking out his tongue, savoring the archangel's failure. But at that precise moment, behind him, Raphaël seized the air.