Even his own girls looked alarmed now.

Luna's stormy eyes - which were filled with similar amounts of fury a moment ago - widened; her instincts screamed of danger, not from any external threat, but from him.

Bastet, usually fearless, found herself unable to breathe. Her lips parted, trembling. "Master…"

And Aria… Aria reached for him. "Kai-" she whispered hoarsely with her hand outstretched, desperately trying to reach the love of her life.

She and the others pulled him back from the edge before and during the times when he felt enraged.

But this time, the distance between them felt infinite. Something was very, very wrong.

Her fingertips stopped just shy of his back, as if some unseen force barred her from touching him.

The aura around Kaiden was no longer just crimson; it deepened into something darker, heavier.

His rage wasn't consuming him; it was manifesting outside him.

The air warped. The fire guttered out.

A vibration filled the hall, deep and resonant, shaking the bones of everyone present. Dust fell from the ceiling beams. The torches bent away from Kaiden as if repelled by his very presence.

And then, it happened.

A pulse burst from him, as if it were a heartbeat made of flame and hatred.

Crimson light bled from his body like molten metal pouring from cracks in his very soul.

It flowed over his skin, pooling, spiraling, and compressing until it changed his shape.

A silhouette.

Man-shaped, yet monstrous, an echo of Kaiden's wrath given true form. A literal demon, not merely eyes that shifted color.

It radiated pure, unfiltered emotion. Rage, disgust, and judgment, all twisted together to make this dreadful, oppressive sight.

Nyx's voice broke the silence. The pink-haired girl was pleading. "Kai… return to us!"

She was ignored.

The being moved.

It threw its head back and screamed. The sound wasn't heard so much as felt, vibrating through marrow and stone.

In that instant, the roof of the longhouse detonated.

Wood, iron, and enchanted wards alike shattered apart, leaving behind a spiraling column of crimson energy that split the clouds above.

Outside, the night was torn open.

The crimson flare erupted high into the heavens, exploding into a storm of light that painted the world in hues of scarlet and gold. For a heartbeat, even the moon hid behind that light, as if unwilling to witness the sin of man in its truest form.

And far beyond the settlement… in the wilderness, among the shadowed forests and broken ruins…

They stirred.

The demons.

The twisted remnants, feral and chaotic, had roamed the wilds aimlessly, looking for human life to snuff out. But now… they stopped.

One by one, they lifted their heads, their glowing eyes turning toward the distant light.

Some whimpered. Others fell to their knees.

And a few… smiled, letting their jagged teeth glint in the dark.

For they felt it.

A presence vast and suffocating. A primal authority that reached into the fabric of mana itself and commanded it to acknowledge.

They didn't sense Kaiden Grey, the man.

They sensed the Paragon of Sin.

The Heavenly Demon's mark upon a woman many, many galaxies away pulsed to life. After thousands of years, it was no longer dormant, no longer hidden.

She hurriedly reached for the mark left behind by her beloved, not able to believe it was real. But no matter how many times she blinked, it did not go away. It was real.

Tears began to form in the woman's eyes.

"You finally found your successor… my love."

Kaiden stood amidst the wreckage with his chest rising and falling in a slow, monstrous rhythm.

The last remnants of the shattered roof still rained down around him in glowing embers.

Where once stood a man, now towered something far more primal. Nearly doubled in size with horns curved back from his temples and veins that burned like rivers of magma beneath darkened flesh. His eyes - two burning brands - shone with unrelenting fury.

Every breath he drew came out as smoke and cinder.

His mere existence made the air tremble with the sound of cracking reality.

Kaiden exhaled.

The breath that left his lungs wasn't air. It was fire from the abyss.

A stream of black and crimson flame erupted from his mouth, scorching the ground before him, twisting the very mana in the air until it screamed. The infernal blaze devoured sound, light, and hope alike.

Varek stumbled back, his instincts finally catching up to the horror before him. His warriors, who had stood frozen moments ago, now cried out in terror, clutching at charms and amulets that instantly crumbled to ash.

And yet Varek proudly roared over the chaos.

"Do not falter! You think this outsider's rage can burn us? We are sons of flame and war! I am the Chieftain! Hear me! [Infernal Mandate]!"

His body was covered with the red tattoos that were painted all over him. His power leaped to his faltering warriors, burning into their flesh, granting them strength through his bond.

They screamed as the power filled them.

"Burn him alive!" Varek howled. "For the tribe!"

Dozens surged forward, empowered by their chieftain's spell.

A flicker of light flashed in the corner of Kaiden's vision, but he was too far gone to read.

[Ding!]

[Sin Resonance Triggered.]

[Entering Great Demon of Wrath Mode.]

[Vitality, Strength, Agility, Magic, Mana Stats: ×3]

[Damage Reduction: 50%]

[Mental Fortitude Override: Active.]

[Until the object of your Wrath ceases to exist, this state cannot end.]

A new line appeared, burning like scripture in his mind.

["And the Paragon of Sin shall not tire, until justice is carved into ash."]

[Endurance Stat: x1000000000000!]

Kaiden's right arm extended. Then his hand slammed against his chest, creating a thunderous, explosive sound. He roared.

To those who heard it, the sound wasn't human. It wasn't an animal. It wasn't even those of the demonic creatures they knew.

It was cosmic.

The roar tore through the night sky and split the horizon itself, shaking the earth beneath the settlement. Every ember, every spark, every ounce of mana within miles bent toward him as if the world itself knelt before its rightful sovereign of Wrath.

The heavens dimmed. The crimson pillar still rising from the ruined longhouse twisted in on itself, collapsing back down into Kaiden like a storm returning to its eye. His demonic body exploded outward with a force unimaginable.

A domain bloomed from him.

It was not mere magic. It was a law, a judgment, a proclamation of challenge itself.

Flames of deep scarlet and black spiraled out from his feet, racing across the ground in streaks that formed a massive sigil, an infernal crest that burned through stone and soil alike. The world beyond it seemed to vanish, swallowed by a haze of molten dusk and roaring shadows.

Varek and his warriors were enveloped in the domain, stuck with the Great Demon of Wrath.

Only one party would get to leave.

And yet the innocent were untouched.

The girls stumbled back, wide-eyed, as the fire swept past harmlessly.

Even in this state, even as Wrath incarnate, the Paragon of Sin refused to let harm touch those he loved.

Within the circle of his fury, only enemies remained.

Varek stood at its heart, trembling, with the tattoos across his flesh flickering like dying candles.

The Great Demon of Wrath took his first step forward.

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