The abyss winds howled across the First Layer of Hell.

From the cliffs, I could see the molten rivers far below, glowing red like veins of a burning world. My gauntlet pulsed faintly, Noa's voice whispering inside it.

"My Lord, the abyss is restless. Something approaches."

I didn't need the warning. I already felt it. The air was thicker tonight, heavy with heat that didn't belong to this layer.

Selena stepped up beside me, her halberd dragging sparks on the stone. "The temperature rises. This is no accident."

Rena appeared from the shadows, blades dripping black aura. "I smell fire. Varaxis."

I smiled thinly. "So he couldn't wait."

Behind me, the other demons stirred uneasily. Nana tightened his grip on his shield, Clarissa whispered blood prayers, Malrik's rift twitched open and shut like an anxious wound. Even Nysha, usually calm, stayed close to the darkness at my feet.

The silence broke with a hiss.

From the abyss below, fire surged upward. A pillar of flame cut the night, splitting stone and turning the cliff into a furnace. From the fire, shapes walked.

Five of them.

Clad in armor black as coal, runes of fire carved across their bodies. Their faces hidden by masks shaped like screaming mouths. Each step they took melted the stone beneath their feet.

Noa vibrated inside my arm. "Detection complete. They are not mere demons. They are Flame Envoys—direct servants of Demon King Varaxis. Power level… significant. Be cautious, My Lord."

The leader raised a flaming spear, its tip dripping molten light. His voice was like an oven exhaling.

"Neil. The Silent Crown. Our King sends his regards and his test."

I chuckled. "Test? He could have come himself."

The Envoy's mask twisted in a grin. "Why waste effort on a corpse?"

They moved.

The first spear came at me like a meteor.

[BLACK MOON DRIVE]

I stepped forward, gauntlet glowing rainbow-black. My fist clashed with the flaming spear. Heat exploded across the cliff, stone cracking under our feet. Sparks of fire and void clashed like stars colliding.

The other four spread wide. One went for Selena, another for Rena, two more aimed straight for the ranks of my demons below.

Selena laughed, halberd spinning. "Finally, prey worth killing!" She met the Envoy head on, ice and fire shrieking as they collided.

Rena crossed her blades, aura swelling into black chains. "[HELL GATE]!" The chains snapped at her foe, pulling flames down into the abyss.

Nana slammed his shield into the ground. "[RADIANT WALL]!" A dome of dark steel blocked the firestorm descending on the demon ranks. Clarissa poured blood over the barrier, reinforcing it. Malrik's rift swallowed stray flames, coughing out bones charred black.

The battlefield erupted.

My duel with the leader raged across the cliff. His spear burned like the sun, every strike a furnace meant to incinerate me. My gauntlet drank the heat, but the pain was real. Noa whispered updates with calm precision.

"Gauntlet temperature rising. Integrity at eighty-one percent. Warning: prolonged exposure may destabilize core."

"Then let's end it fast."

I ducked under a blazing sweep, driving my knee into the Envoy's ribs. Armor cracked, fire spilling like blood. He snarled, swinging his spear down.

[MOON VEIL – FIRE VARIANT]

The blade of fire curved like a crescent moon, cutting deep across my shoulder. Flesh burned, the stench of charred skin filling the air.

I roared, catching the spear with my gauntlet. My grip crushed through molten steel. "Not bad."

Then I twisted.

[VOID REVERSE]

The fire was pulled inward, swallowed by the gauntlet. The Envoy's eyes widened behind his mask. "Impossible—"

I slammed my fist into his chest. The fire he had unleashed detonated inside him. His armor shattered outward, his scream drowned by the explosion.

BOOOOOOM!

Flames painted the cliff red.

The other battles raged on. Selena skewered her Envoy through the throat, ice freezing fire from the inside until the body shattered into shards of glass.

Rena danced between strikes, her twin blades carving black arcs. She dismembered her foe piece by piece, laughing as the flames sputtered.

Below, Nana and Malrik held the line while Clarissa revived the fallen. Blood sprayed, chains rattled, shields burned, but the demons endured.

Still, the Envoys would not die easily. Even broken, they reformed from flame, their bodies stitching themselves together with fire.

Noa hissed in my arm. "Warning: Envoys contain a shard of Varaxis' essence. Unless extinguished completely, they will resurrect."

I narrowed my eyes. "Then we burn the fire itself."

The leader, half his body gone, dragged himself back up. His mask melted, revealing a mouthless face glowing like magma. He roared, and the other Envoys rejoined him, forming a circle of fire around us.

Together, they chanted in a voice that was not theirs.

"Through flame we are eternal. Through fire our King watches. Through heat we erase the silence."

The circle erupted. Pillars of flame rose, creating a dome of fire that sealed us inside. The air became suffocating, stone melting into rivers. My demons gasped, their skin blistering.

Noa's voice strained. "Temperature critical. My Lord, act now or your army will perish."

I clenched my gauntlet. Rainbow-black energy pulsed, warping the air. "So this is your test, Varaxis? Then here's my answer."

I spread my wings. Darkness unfurled, cutting into the flames. My voice thundered.

[ANNIHILATOR]

The gauntlet exploded with void. A shockwave of black fire surged outward, devouring heat, eating light, swallowing sound. The dome of fire cracked, then collapsed, consumed by silence.

The Envoys screamed, their bodies unraveling. One by one, they dissolved into ash. Only the leader remained, his face half-gone, molten eyes burning hate.

He staggered forward, dropping his broken spear. His voice was no longer his own.

It was Varaxis'.

"Well done, Neil."

The voice was fire given sound—deep, proud, and mocking. "You killed my Envoys. You swallowed my flame. Impressive."

I raised my gauntlet, still glowing faintly. "Why hide behind them, Varaxis? Afraid of Silence?"

A laugh rumbled from the broken body. "Afraid? No. Amused. You rise too quickly. You make too much noise. The other Kings whisper of you already."

"Let them whisper," I growled. "When they come, I'll silence them too."

The voice darkened. "Be careful, little King. Silence can smother. But fire consumes."

The body crumbled, flames scattering into sparks. Only ash remained.

The battlefield was quiet again, except for the ragged breathing of my demons. Selena leaned on her halberd, smiling despite her burns. "So that was the Flame King's envoy? Pathetic."

Rena wiped blood from her mouth. "If that's all he can send, he'll be next."

But Nana shook his head, his face grim. "No. That was only a probe. The true battle has yet to come."

I looked at the ash, then at the abyss beyond. Varaxis had tested me. He had seen me. And now… the others would too.

Noa's voice whispered in my mind. "My Lord, war between Kings is no longer a question. It is a certainty."

I smiled faintly, the ash drifting around me. "Good. Let them come. Let Hell itself burn. Silence will devour even fire."

And so, the first blade between Kings was drawn.

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