Death Heir’s Devouring System

The two Chosen attacked in harmony. Azrael closed in from the left, Victor from the right.

Silent as Death itself, the knight acted, right hand moving to block, leaving its left side wide open for Azrael to take advantage of.

It was two against one. There was no pride to be found in the fight.

The only thing that mattered was survival.

Positioning his scythe in front of the Death Knight's legs, Azrael pulled towards himself, making the abomination lose its footing. At the same time, Victor delivered a vertical slash, threatening to break the helmet of the monster into pieces.

Under normal circumstances the fight would have ended right then and there. However, what they were fighting wasn't a simple Savage monster; its Corruption was classified as Profane.

In a flash the knight responded; by moving to the side, it dodged Victor's double axe by a hair's breadth. Simultaneously, it freed its legs from Azrael's scythe and kicked Victor behind the knees, making him kneel.

Blacksword loomed overhead, about to behead Victor on the spot.

But the strike never met its mark.

Exploiting the gap in the Death Knight's armor left from its battle with the King, Azrael called forth Mother Needle and stabbed the kneecap of the monster.

In the same breath, Gravebloom blurred through the air, hitting the neck.

Yet the weapon's momentum vanished, unable to leave even the faintest trace of damage.

'Tough.' Azrael thought bitterly, inflicting a fatal wound was going to be harder than he thought.

Victor recovered from the shock and lunged. Attempting to use his giant frame to his advantage, he took a firm hold of the Death Knight with the intent to lift the abomination up.

But the knight wasn't having it; by swinging in a wide arc, it forced the Chosen to take a step back.

'Things aren't going as smoothly as I would have liked.' Azrael analyzed, studying the surroundings.

They were out of the cathedral but still too close to the fight happening inside. The danger of Proven breaking off the battle and ambushing them from the rear was there.

Truthfully, Azrael preferred it when he was the one doing the ambushing, not when it was being done to him.

As such, he took a glance at Victor before shouting.

"Make use of the terrain!"

Before the Death Knight could react, Azrael acted, breaking into a silent sprint as he lured the monster towards himself. Immediately after that, he ran away from the cathedral, waiting for the right moment.

With the wounded state of his foe, he figured that he would be faster; as such, he allowed himself to take a peek backwards.

Only to see the way the abomination was running towards him with a speed greater than his own.

'It's about to catch up. It's like the wounds it has accumulated aren't affecting it at all.' Azrael thought grimly.

Moving through the streets, he turned a corner, only to put his foot against a house's wall and launch himself backward.

The knight didn't expect the sudden change in behavior. Unable to defend in time, Azrael delivered a shallow wound.

Instantly, Victor—who had been pursuing the two—leapt from the high roof without a shred of hesitation. Veins bulged across his smiling face as he brought his axe down in a devastating blow, shattering the ground beneath and staggering the knight.

No matter how tough one was, when a man weighing over 200 kilograms (~440 pounds) dropped from above, there was going to be damage.

The cracks on the knight's armor began to enlarge from the force. The relentless attacks were working.

Just when victory seemed certain, a loud shriek forced both Chosen to halt momentarily.

'It can scream?' Azrael's eyes narrowed in surprise. The roar of the Death Knight was so powerful that it threatened to break his eardrums.

The abomination wasn't just going to remain idle; still producing its ear-piercing scream, it spun to face Victor.

Time seemed to slow down. A sidekick broke Victor's left shin. Simultaneously, the monster's longsword was about to behead the man on the spot.

Victor, gritting his teeth, did the only thing that came to mind. Unable to raise his axe fast enough, he used his left arm as a scapegoat.

A heartbeat later, his eyes enlarged as crimson blood seeped from the freshly severed arm like a fountain.

"You—" Victor began. Despite the pain coursing through him, his smile not only held—it widened. The greater the danger, the greater his joy.

Quite a nasty curse was his Inborn Trait.

Naturally, the knight didn't wait, delivering a kick with its other leg. A cracking sound echoed in the vicinity; Victor's skull caved inwards from the attack before being sent flying to the side like a ragdoll.

Azrael grimaced; he didn't know if Victor was alive. Still, the fact remained he was now on his own against the Death Knight.

'It's worked once, so it might as well work again.' He used Frostflare Flint to start a fire in the surrounding houses.

Making the area colder wasn't going to benefit him, but the smoke could provide him with cover at least.

It worked better than expected. As the fire spread, it began to turn against the Death Knight, halting its movements. Cold or not, fire still burned flesh—and no one wanted to risk becoming a walking torch.

Time seemed to blur; each time Azrael thought he had the advantage, the knight would move in an unexpected way, blocking his advance.

'How can you be so wounded and yet still stronger than me?' Azrael lunged again.

The blade of the knight passed across his cheek, drawing hot blood, while Azrael used the gaps in the being's armor to drive his scythe deep.

'No effect… That thing really doesn't feel pain,' Azrael cursed inwardly, taking a few steps back.

His body ached; cracks ran down Truth Devourer. The Radiant armor was indeed strong, but after facing a Profane monster for so long, it was only a matter of time until it gave way.

Azrael wasn't the only one reaching a breaking point, though. The knight's armor was barely holding itself.

Soon he would break past it and slay the abomination once and for all.

'Slow and steady.' That was the tactic Azrael had chosen, and it had worked well so far.

But his time seemed to have run out. A menacing roar passed over the skies, freezing every living being nearby.

'Shit.'

The Apex Queen was close… so close that he was beginning to feel the saturated Corruption in the monster's body.

As she closed in on them, the Calamities and their domains did as well.

If he delayed killing the Death Knight for much longer, he would be doomed.

Left with no choice, Azrael called forth Cinder. The Remembrance wasn't meant for battle, but there was no other alternative now.

His body tensed, a natural response as he used [Blood Manipulation] to close his shallow wounds.

Walking forward, he stepped over the blue flames that had been raging before him. His scythe rested on his right shoulder, bottomless eyes locked on the Death Knight. Cinder loomed behind its master, ashen feathers flicking in the wind, crimson eyes blazing with madness.

Against the Heir of Death, the Death Knight met him unfazed. Armor shattered in numerous places, with its left hand severed.

The quick-approaching Apex Queen halted momentarily and moved her gaze from the ruined cathedral to the fight that was about to begin.

Uncaring about the things around them, the two clashed.

For the last time.