In the blink of an eye, Druvash vanished from where he stood, reappearing a breath later, right before Renny.

The air cracked. Then came the swing.

Renny moved just as fast, sidestepping the blow and countering with one of his own. Druvash twisted aside, his claw grazing Renny's side before he drove a strike that landed square on Renny's ribs. The hit was clean but lacked enough force to topple him.

Renny straightened instantly and retaliated, his fist connecting hard with Druvash's jaw. The beast reeled, not expecting that. Renny followed with another hook.

Druvash caught it midair, yanked Renny forward, and smashed his forehead into him. Renny's head snapped back, but he came right back with a brutal nod of his own — skull to skull — followed by a sharp blow to Druvash's chest. Then another. And another.

Druvash roared, slapping Renny's arm aside, catching his wrist, and yanking him forward before slamming him down, his forearm pressing across Renny's neck. Renny's back hit the ground with a thud.

He didn't stay down. Using the momentum, he swept Druvash's legs clean from under him and rolled back to his feet.

Renny lunged, his fist already cocked, but Druvash kicked out, boots slamming into Renny's chest and shoving him backward before the beast rose again, staggering a step.

"Thou hast grown since our last meeting," he said. "It seems thy brush with death forged thee sharper."

Renny exhaled through his nose, eyes locked on him. "You've got no idea," he said quietly. "I've trained for this… fought, bled, and learned everything I could just to stand here again. So if anyone's going down today, Druvash... It's you."

The beast's grin widened. "Then I shall face thee properly."

His body began to change. Skin cracked and flaked away, shedding like brittle bark. Beneath, scales surfaced, dark, reptilian, split with molten seams.Renny froze for a moment. It was the same form. The same nightmare that had hunted him down and left him broken, barely alive. The image that haunted him every night in that hospital bed.

The spikes formed next, two jagged, wooden spears bursting from Druvash's wrists, one on each arm. His eyes glowed a deep, burning brown as he snarled, low and guttural, the sound shaking the air.

Renny drew his Fracture Dagger, its edge pulsing faintly in the dim light, and activated his Demon Eyes.

Now, there was no turning back. His fate would be decided here.

***

The battle between Renny and Druvash raged on for days, perhaps weeks. Neither seemed to tire, neither willing to fall. Each strike echoed through the Timber Forest, splintering trees and shaking the earth. Spike met dagger, dagger met wood. Every move was mirrored, every blow answered.

They were evenly matched, or at least, that's how it seemed. But Druvash was faster. More experienced. Every motion of his carried the weight of centuries of combat. It was only through Renny's cunning, and the arsenal of demonic spells at his command that the fight hadn't already ended.

Whenever Druvash's spikes came close to impaling him, Renny would create a fracture at the perfect point of tension, triggering Kraveth Shyrr—his explosive fracture spell. The single crack would spread violently, bursting outward like a detonation. The force threw Druvash back, splinters flying, giving Renny a heartbeat to breathe.

But each time Renny shattered those wooden spikes, they grew back, slowly, groaning like living branches reforming. Still, the delay was enough.

When Druvash charged again, Renny turned the terrain against him. He cast Dreznar Volh, his shatterfall spell, targeting the ground beneath Druvash's steps.The moment the beast landed, the earth fractured and collapsed into cascading shards, dragging him down.

Renny lunged. He stomped down hard, driving his heel into Druvash's head before plunging his dagger deep into the beast's shoulder. Black ichor spilled as Druvash roared, thrashing, before bursting free of the broken ground.

He leapt high, massive and furious, and came crashing down like a meteor. The impact sent a shockwave ripping through the clearing, throwing Renny off balance.

And then, without pause, Druvash charged again.

They went on and on like this.

The forest around them had become a ruin, trees uprooted, soil split open, air thick with heat and dust.

At one point, Druvash tore an entire tree from the ground and swung it like a club, roaring as it came crashing down toward Renny. But before it could make contact, Renny cast a spell — shatterfall.

The massive trunk fractured mid-swing, collapsing into splinters that exploded outward, a storm of wooden shards battering Druvash himself.

It had become a pattern.

Every time the beast used the environment against him, rocks, timber, debris. Renny would turn it into a weapon of his own. Anything Druvash picked up would either crumble or detonate before it could reach him.

Weapons were useless against the demon now, and Druvash knew it.

Snarling, he abandoned all tools and returned to what he did best, brutal, close combat. His movements became faster, more primal, claws and spikes slashing through the air like blades of molten wood.

Renny adapted in turn, forcing Druvash to chase him into wider, open ground whenever he could. He preferred distance, long enough to read the beast's movement, to spot the next fracture waiting to be born. Only when he saw it, an existing crack or one he'd created himself during Druvash's frenzied attacks, would he close in.

Then, with perfect precision, he'd strike.

A flash of his dagger.

A whispered spell.

And another fracture bloomed.

***

Druvash exhaled, a low rumble escaping his chest as he straightened. "Thou hast grown, Demon," he said, his molten eyes narrowing with something that almost resembled respect. "Truly, this hath been a fight worth remembering."

Renny, still catching his breath, gave a short, tired laugh. "Glad to hear I entertained you."

The beast's lips curled into a faint grin. "Aye… but I believe it is time we stepped things up a notch."

Renny's smirk faltered. He could feel his lungs burning, his limbs heavy. He hadn't even realized how long they'd been fighting until now, the hours, maybe days, all blending into one endless blur of motion and blood. Demon stamina or not, his strength was fading, every breath heavier than the last.

And Druvash…

The beast didn't look tired at all. In fact, there was a frightening stillness to him now.

Step things up, Renny thought, grimacing.

What more could he possibly offer?

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