Prophecy

Chapter 75: Fight

*Xavia's POV*

The infernal realm roared with darkness.

The Devil towered over the molten landscape of the cracked dome; his form wreathed in a wicked halo of Hell flames. I knew what was coming; I could feel his sheer anticipation and malevolent energy. His smirk grew in size as he prepared to unleash his true form. Before becoming Nephalem, I could never hold my own against this daunting form of his...

In my soul, I know I can now.

For hundreds of meters, the ground and surrounding area trembled beneath us. Deep cracks from his feet, and the air grew heavier with the stench of sulfur. His body began to convulse, twisting unnaturally. His legs, which were once muscular and humanoid, elongated and bent backward, morphing grotesquely into a single, massive serpentine tail. It coiled and writhed with an unnatural fluidity, shimmering with a dark, oily sheen. The twisted length seemed endless and looked to be covered in scales that glinted like rusted, blackened steel.

A pair of gargoyle-like wings erupted from his back, each as wide as a tower's spire. They literally tore through his flesh with a sickening crunch, their leathery membranes stretching taut against the bones, veins throbbing with dark blood. The wings beat the air with a force that sent a deafening roar across Hell. Each flap scattered tiny embers and ash into a violent storm around us, clouding the area.

As I stared, a new horror unfolded.

The once worm entity in his chest was no more. Instead, as it bulged and split open, and a second demonic face emerged, grotesque and twisted. Its eyes glowed a sickly, malevolent yellow, and its mouth stretched into a vast, horrifying grin, revealing silky, razor-sharp teeth. It was as if the worm-like Archdemon had a second form from the depth of itself, their combined darkness emerging with my father, taking form.

I could feel the void, thirsting to devour everything in its wake.

Two long, decaying horns sprouted from his forehead, curling upward in a sinister arc toward the blood-darkened skies. They were crumbling, yet they emanated a primal power that spoke of ancient chaos. His fingers elongated into talons, each tipped with a claw that could rend flesh and soul alike, their edges glinting in the Hellfire. He was a monstrous colossus of evil, a twisted parody of life, standing before me in all his unholy glory.

"Now, your turn, dear child," he growled, his voice dripping with disdain.

I took a breath.

I knew once he witnessed my new, proper form... my father would be absolutely livid.

But I couldn't care less.

I felt my own power surge in response.

I let it swell, allowing it to wash over me, an electrifying wave that consumed every fiber of my being. My Nephalem form broke free, and I could feel my wings tear through the fabric of reality around us—feathered yet edged with celestial fire. Following those appendages came everything else: my tail, multiple long horns, and my muscular dragon and werewolf-like limbs.

Light and dark intertwined, dancing along the edges of my entire form as my eyes ignited with a white-hot intensity; no longer were they black. I could feel it—feel Grace's God-like divine power surging through me. My body, my very essence, brimming with the combined power of Heaven and Hell.

The divine and the damned converged in a perfect, seamless harmony that defied the world's natural order.

His reaction was immediate—a flash of rage contorted his demonic visage.

"Nephalem," he spat, his voice a venomous hiss. "You sick, fucking cunt. You really mated and spread your legs open for that freak of nature chained up over there?" His eyes flicked to Grace, bound and watching with desperate intensity. "She's powerless; she's watching you fail. She will watch you lose to me, and I will consume her soul."