9 grades of hell

Avradren was furious. The impact still rang through his jaw as he pushed himself up, spitting blood. Renny walked toward him slowly, eyes cold and fixed.

"You're not leaving with that key," he said.

Avradren wiped the blood from his lip and smirked, though the anger beneath it was clear. "Didn't expect that, Ezraphor. Tell me… how the hell did you break free? No one below my grade has ever escaped that spell."

Renny stopped a few paces away. "I'm an Ezraphor. Remember that."

Avradren's smile widened, ugly and promising violence. "Right. Then I'll make sure you remember what that name's worth when I'm done with you."

He extended both arms, summoning his demonic weapons—twin chakrams, one in each hand, their edges serrated and glowing with orange sparks like burning metal.

"You know," Avradren said, almost laughing, "using my weapons on a Grade Two demon is pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. But you pissed me off, so consider this a lesson in respect."

Renny exhaled, steadying his stance. He knew this was about to get ugly. The fracture dagger wasn't going to cut it this time, so he called forth his Ashrann.

"Lesson goes both ways," Renny muttered.

Avradren lunged. The chakrams spun in his hands, whistling through the air like blazing wheels. Renny raised his Ashrann, blocking one and twisting away from the other. When the next strike came within reach, he triggered his Shatter spell.

The impact cracked the nearest chakram, not enough to destroy it, but enough to fracture its edge. Avradren snarled, forcing the weapon through the air again. Renny countered, shattering the ground beneath them, the shockwave pushing them apart before closing in once more.

Each time the chakrams came close, he hit them with another Shatter, splitting hairline fractures across their surface. Sparks flew. The clang of metal filled the clearing.

Finally, when Renny saw both weapons webbed with cracks, he whispered, "Arvoth Shen."

The word pulsed through the air. A sharp crack split the silence, then both chakrams shattered mid-flight, bursting into molten fragments that evaporated before they hit the ground.

Renny straightened, hammer resting on his shoulder.

Avradren was seething. He couldn't believe Renny was holding his ground this well. The frustration showed in the way his jaw clenched and his movements grew sharper. Snarling, he summoned his chakrams again, the fiery blades spinning to life as he lunged forward.

Renny didn't falter. He kept his distance, maintaining his defensive rhythm, shattering the ground to create space, redirecting attacks with his Ashrann, and using well-timed spells to weaken Avradren's weapons mid-swing. Each time a chakram collided with his hammer, it cracked a little more until one shattered completely on impact.

The moment it broke, Renny moved. He followed through with a clean, heavy strike to Avradren's head. The Grade Three demon went tumbling across the dirt, skidding to a stop several meters away.

It was almost unbelievable, a Grade Two demon forcing a superior back.

Avradren rose slowly, growling deep in his throat. "Playtime's over," he hissed. His demonic markings began to spread, dark lines searing outward from his eyes, crawling down his neck and across his arms. Power pulsed off him in waves.

Renny's expression hardened. He knew what that meant. When a Demon fully invoked their mark, it meant an overwhelming boost in physical strength and durability. Avradren wasn't going to rely on weapons anymore, he was switching to pure, close combat.

That was bad news. Renny's edge came from weapon play and technique; stripped of that advantage, the odds turned fast. But if Avradren was going all in, so would he.

Renny exhaled, and the mark of Ezra spread across his right side, veins of dark energy branching like lightning from his temple to his arm. The air rippled with the pressure of two demonic forces colliding.

Avradren cracked his neck once and grinned.

Renny shifted his stance, Ashrann gripped tight in his right hand.

Then they both charged.

The ground split beneath their feet at takeoff. When they met, the impact boomed through the clearing like thunder.

***

The battle had clearly taken a drastic turn for Renny. His fears had come to pass. Avradren had regained dominance, meeting him with the most malicious strikes he could muster. One after another, the blows came without pause, giving Renny no room to breathe, no chance to even utter a word.

Avradren pinned him to the ground, pounding his skull against the floor again and again. Mid-strike, he summoned his chakram, slicing Renny clean across the face. All that remained was to finish him off and claim his victory.

But Renny wasn't done yet. He activated his Royal Eye, and with a surge of strength, he shoved Avradren off him. His wounds began knitting back together, his skin sealing fast, but the pain was unbearable. The healing itself was torture. It forced him to his knees, his breath ragged, his body trembling under the cost of recovery.

Avradren rose, dusting his body, staring in confusion. "How the hell…?" he muttered, watching the Grade 2 demon recover from what should've ended him. Whatever Ezraphor trick Renny had pulled, it looked like it was eating him alive from the inside.

Renny's thoughts raced. Even with the Royal Eye active, he couldn't cast any spell strong enough to end the fight in one blow like he had against Druvash. Avradren had no inner cracks to exploit, and there had been no chance to plant a corruption seed mid-fight. If he was going to win now, it would have to be through raw physical domination, and that was nearly impossible. The Royal Eye gave him power, but it came with agony. Holding it for even a few seconds was devastating. Minutes could kill him.

Avradren roared, "No matter what little trick you've pulled, Ezraphor, I'll still win! I'm your superior, greater in every aspect!" His voice echoed with fury. "This battle's dragged on long enough. I've let you play your games, but now, I end this!" The ground beneath him cracked as he lunged forward.

Before Avradren's fist could land, Renny's Royal Eye flared again. In a blur, he sidestepped the blow, the air splitting from the force of the miss. Avradren froze mid-motion, stunned.

That speed… even his grade-mates would've been caught by that strike if their marks weren't active. Yet this Grade 2 had evaded it at the last second, how?

But as Renny moved, his knee hit the ground hard. The pain came surging back, twisting his face in agony. He could barely breathe, barely keep his balance.

Avradren sneered. "No matter. You're pulling this off by sheer luck."

He charged again, faster, yet Renny's Royal Eye flared once more. He slipped past the attack again, almost impossibly, before deactivating it just as quickly, panting heavily as blood trickled down from his nose.