Only two undead didn't go after the other demons.

Spartan.

And Fade.

Spartan did not even glance at the chaos around him.

The instant Michael was struck, he moved.

Space warped as he crossed dozens of meters in a straight line, black flames roaring around his body like a living mantle. The Rank Three assassin who had delivered the blow barely had time to widen his eyes before Spartan was on him.

There was no spell or skill cast.

Just a fist wrapped in devouring fire.

The punch landed squarely in the assassin's guard.

The law protecting him screamed.

Black flames surged inward, bypassing defense, consuming the reinforcement itself. The assassin was blasted backward, body spinning uncontrollably as chunks of energy peeled away from him like ash.

Spartan followed relentlessly.

A magic circle formed mid stride, snapping into place with brutal precision.

Black fire erupted again.

The assassin barely managed to twist aside, losing an arm in the process as the flames tore through empty space where his torso had been a heartbeat earlier. He screamed in disbelief.

"This thing!"

Spartan did not let him finish.

---

On the other side of the battlefield, Fade finally revealed his true form. Fade's humanoid form split apart like shedding skin, dissolving into shadow and bone as something enormous emerged from within. A massive black praying mantis, taller than a building, unfolded into the air.

Its body was jagged and sleek, layered with natural armor that absorbed light instead of reflecting it. Multiple eyes glowed faintly along its triangular head, each one locking onto the assassin with terrifying focus.

Scythes longer than spears unfolded from its forelimbs.

The assassin's breath caught.

"Aren't you supposed to go and protect your master…"

"What kind of creature are you?"

Fade did not answer.

It vanished, its presence disappearing along with it.

The mantis reappeared behind the assassin instantly, scythes slashing down in a cross that tore space itself. The assassin barely dodged, rolling away as the attack carved a rift through the air where he had been standing.

Fade pressed forward.

The assassin activated his law fully now, shadows thickening around his body, blades of condensed darkness forming and launching outward in rapid succession.

Fade cut through them and continued pressing forward.

---

Back at the crater, dust and debris were still settling.

A hand pushed against shattered stone.

Michael rose slowly.

His body ached.

His arms trembled faintly.

Blood ran freely now down his forearm.

Unlike his undead that had not only been blessed by extraordinary materials to strengthen their foundation but also fused with his blood, which made them stronger than their level would suggest, no matter how strong he was, Michael was still just a rank 2 awakener.

But his eyes were clear.

Michael looked up and saw Spartan tearing into the second assassin without restraint.

Saw Fade's massive form dominating the shadows.

Saw his undead legion continuing to grind the demonic forces down exactly as ordered.

Michael exhaled.

"…Good."

Having time to himself before others focused on him again, Michael left the battlefield with earth escape.

Spartan advanced without hesitation.

The assassin staggered through the air, one arm already gone, blood spilling freely. He tried to retreat into the void, forcing his law outward in a desperate surge, but Spartan followed straight through the distortion.

Black flames clung to Spartan's body as he stepped into the warped space, his form flickering but never slowing.

The assassin lashed out blindly.

A blade of compressed force tore across Spartan's side.

It landed.

The strike ripped through flesh and bone alike, carving a deep line across Spartan's torso and exposing the darkened structure beneath. Black flames guttered violently for a brief instant.

But Spartan did not stop.

He did not even react.

He seized the assassin by the throat with one hand and drove him downward.

They smashed into the ground hard enough to crater it again, shockwaves tearing outward. The assassin coughed blood, his law flickering wildly as Spartan's flames burned through his defenses from the inside.

The assassin screamed.

Spartan raised his other hand.

Spartan's raised hand came down.

It was a punch.

The fist crashed into the assassin's face with a sound like stone shattering. The ground beneath them ruptured, cracks racing outward as the assassin's head snapped back unnaturally. Before the body could even fall, Spartan punched again.

And again.

Each blow landed with absolute precision, black flames detonating inward instead of outward, forcing their way past the assassin's outer body.

The assassin tried to scream.

The fourth punch caved in his chest.

The fifth erased what remained of his head.

By the sixth, there was nothing left.

Only then did he stop.

He released his hand, and ash drifted downward.

Spartan stood upright, his damaged torso still smoldering, black flames stabilizing around the wound as his body began its slow regeneration. His expression never changed.

"Master's blood is truly something," he said with something that sounded akin to awe but flat.

He turned his head.

Across the battlefield, Fade's massive mantis form was locked in combat with the remaining assassin. Shadow and steel collided repeatedly, scythes flashing as blades of darkness were torn apart mid flight.

Spartan stepped forward.

The ground cracked beneath his foot.

Fade sensed him immediately.

The mantis shifted its stance, herding the assassin backward without words. The assassin realized it at the same time.

His breathing hitched.

Two.

Two monsters.

He tried to retreat into the void again.

Spartan vanished.

The assassin reappeared a heartbeat later and Spartan was already there.

A single punch landed in the assassin's abdomen, black flames erupting inward and detonating his body from the inside out. Fade's scythes came down a fraction of a second later, cleaving through what remained.

The body split.

Then dissolved.

Silence followed.

Spartan straightened and turned away without a glance at the remains. Fade's massive form folded inward, shadows collapsing as it returned to concealment, its task complete.

Both undead turned back toward the battlefield.

A/N: Happy Seasonal Greetings Everyone!!!

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