Death Heir’s Devouring System

"It was all for naught; all your efforts were meaningless. Finally your mother evolved. Nothing can stop us now! We would lay waste to the corrupted gods that have been tormenting us for millennia!" The King laughed dryly, hollow gaze locked on the wounded Death Knight.

'Delusional till the end, it seems.' Azrael thought, silently watching the exchange. He had seen the Calamities and felt their power from afar. No matter how powerful the Queen could have gotten, she was still just an Apex monster; before the Calamities, she would be powerless.

It was only a matter of time until the clash of the three monsters happened. The kingdom was going to be completely obliterated, not even leaving any traces of it behind. The Queen was going to perish along with her deluded husband.

If the two Calamity abominations were going to fight one another after that was unknown. And truthfully, Azrael couldn't give less of a crap about the state of the world after he left it.

The most important thing was getting out alive; everything else was secondary.

Loud sounds resounded behind him; some of the Proven had begun to climb the tall walls of the cathedral.

Unlike him, they didn't have a way to fly. However, since they were Proven, it was certain they weren't going to take long to reach the top.

Others seemed to prefer going around the building and entering from the entrance itself. Now with the guards slain, it wasn't going to be as hard as before.

'Good.' Azrael mused, all of the things he had done up until now were for this moment. The Proven were going to keep the King busy while he would wait for Seraphina to come with reinforcements and get rid of the Death Knight once and for all.

That was his intent at least, until a chill ran down his spine. By pure instinct he spun, raising Gravebloom in a defensive stance.

For a brief second he saw Thandor and his furious expression. The Radiant Proven wasn't to be underestimated. In the span of a few seconds he had managed to scale the cathedral walls, eluding Azrael's senses and successfully ambushing him.

'Troublesome.' Cursing inwards, Azrael felt a shockwave pass over his entire being. His armor held, but his footing didn't.

The edges of his vision blurred. He was sent falling over the inner balcony, straight into the center of the cathedral.

His bones ached, and his muscles threatened to snap. But by successfully executing a safe landing by rolling, he fell without any major injuries.

Thandor, having his judgment clouded by rage or simply uncaring about the monsters at the bottom, descended as well.

Between the conflict of the King and the Death Knight, a new duo appeared. Azrael to the left, Thandor to the right.

The Scalded Crown sensed the humans. Leading it to stop its dry laughter, hollow gaze settling on them.

'This is beyond my expectations. The plan was for the Proven to face the King at the same time. Not for Thandor to do so alone; he will not live long enough!'

Azrael had assumed the King would target Thandor. After all, he was Proven while Azrael was still just Marked. It was a matter of killing the biggest nuisance first.

But to his horror, the King's gaze shifted from the Death Knight to him.

'From bad to worse. If that thing attacks, I am done for.' Since he knew that should it happen, he wouldn't have time to react, he did the only thing that came to mind.

Calling forth Heartroot, he showed it to the monster.

"You wanted for the Queen to evolve, right?" He shouted, betting that there was some form of intelligence in the cursed being. Intelligence that he hoped he could exploit.

"I am the one that pricked the thing that held her back. I am the one that allowed her to evolve to the next level. Had it not been for me, she would have remained idle for infinity!"

Reasoning with a monster was quite a stupid thing to do; after all, they only wanted to bring death to the human race. Still, being raised by a Skinwalker, if there was anyone who could strike a deal and outwit a corrupted creation… It would be the Heir of Death.

In slow motion, the King tilted its head to the side, hollow gaze lingering on the Heartroot with curiosity. It slowly came to the conclusion that killing Azrael so soon was going to be a waste. It could take its time to interrogate the human.

Thandor didn't seem keen on waiting. Breaking the ground beneath his feet, he shot forward, spinning his giant twinblade in a tornado motion, ready to carve Azrael into pieces.

Azrael grimaced; it seemed that he would have to hold on somehow.

He was no fool; he knew fighting the Proven in a fair battle would mean death. Just when he saw his life flashing before his eyes, a loud shockwave resounded through the entire cathedral.

The Scalded Crown had moved from its initial position. Faster than the eye could see, it was now next to Thandor.

"I can't let you kill somebody useful." The King smiled, halting Thandor's spinning attack with ease.

Not a second later it kicked him square in the chest, sending him flying like a ragdoll before colliding with the battered walls of the cathedral.

"Thandor!" The Proven, a few steps behind their leader, finally entered the building, deep rage blazing in their eyes. Without hesitation they attacked in harmony, starting their assault at the Scalded Crown.

"The bet paid off." Azrael muttered, regaining part of the color on his face.

Only to have it drain once again, as a violent, corrupted aura assaulted him.

Snapping his head to the source, he saw the Death Knight and the way it was staring at the Heartroot.

With each second that passed, the air became tenser.

Slowly the Death Knight moved its gaze, right at Azrael. Unlike its father, it was unable to talk, yet what it wanted to say was more than obvious.

"You caused this mess?"

With a sly smile, Azrael gritted his teeth and dropped into a battle stance. While the Proven had arrived to assist their leader, Seraphina hadn't.

That meant he would be forced to fight the wounded abomination until help arrived his way.

"Come then." Azrael spoke coldly. Staring right at the monster, unfazed.

"Let me show you who your real master is."