"Down!" I roared.

The world around us warped as gravity quintupled, driving Isha to her knees. The flash of surprise in her eyes quickly morphed into irritation as she bunched up her claws and struck at my throat.

Blades of wind buffeted against the flat of Rebellion as her claws struck out, and I roared, commanding a familiar element.

"Fire."

The air exploded as a pillar of fire rose into the sky. Isha and I were at the center of it.

My mind screamed out as the weight of the techniques crushed me. I was forced to release 'Down' and hold onto 'Fire.'

I hoped that I'd done some lasting damage, but didn't even entertain the thought that Isha was dead. She was simply too strong.

And I was right.

She leaped out of the fire with a scowl on her face, her suit jacket was gone, the golden wings red hot, and her skin covered in light burns.

"You dare use your weak fire against me!" She roared. "I'll show you what real fire feels like."

She brought her claws together. Out from her palms shot a pillar of white-hot flames that ate up the distance between us impossibly fast. I didn't even try to dodge it. Instead, I stepped to the left with Burst, then circled right with Angel Evade—which I noticed bled purple flakes of energy--and let the fire phase through me.

I Burst at her with Rebellion raised and started to charge multiple Bursts in my palm.

Isha, of course, anticipated my strike, but at the very last second, I switched to a freshly upgraded Arbiter, filling it with three Burst, and brought it down on her.

The blow bent her wings and exploded in three rapid successions of demonic fire, sending her flying. I shot after her with a Burst, and she retaliated with another bar of fire she swung at me, nearly twice as fast as before.

When I materialized in front of her with an overflowing Eryx, her body suddenly sped up, avoiding the strike. She lashed out with a wind-assisted claw strike from behind that Evasion barely caught. The attack landed microseconds before my fist shot forward, leaving me with barely any time to spin around and cross my hands, tanking the blow.

The blow shredded through me, cutting through skin, and nearly made it through my abdominal walls. Even with nearly 300 stat points in Vitality, Isha cut through me like paper.

Burst threw me straight at her, this time with Osiris summoned to give me a Wind boost as I swung.

It collided with her claws in a spray of sparks, lighting up with Feed's first bonus. I switched hand placements and swung Osiris upwards, scoring a light mark on her chest. I spun forward for a scything strike that she anticipated and dodged at the very last moment.

In her wake, a wall of Pinions carrying wind rushed at me. It pushed my Parry to the limit and almost distracted me from the sneak attack from behind that nearly one-shotted me.

I quickly spun around, parrying a wind-soaked Pinion, which turned out to be another decoy.

My inflated Agility worked overtime as my senses switched on and the world slowed down.

Evasion activated just before a thick bar of wind erupted from the direction the first Pinions had come from, forcing me to turn intangible just as the hit landed.

I dashed at Isha, who'd materialized just after the attack, turning tangible at the last possible second with Rebellion in my hand, firing off several Drive blades. She dodged all four of them and charged at me. Just as I raised my blade to Parry, she spun around, surrounding herself with her wings. Hundreds of feathers lengthened and twisted, slamming into my waiting blade. It shredded through the energy of my Parry, shoving Rebellion aside, and shredding my skin. I phased through the attack before it got lethal, but I noticed the ugly pattern emerging.

She was finding ways around my most overpowered abilities. It didn't help that Angel techniques felt farther away and harder to use in Devil Trigger.

We traded blows, tens of dozens of strikes, all in five seconds. As the fight progressed, I knew she'd win if I didn't do something.

Her wind strikes caught me off-guard more often than not, and even though I managed to do serious damage with Osiris, it was becoming clear who would emerge ahead, so I leaned on the biggest advantage Devil Trigger afforded me. Ridiculous Regeneration.

With only 15 seconds on the clock, I switched up my fighting style.

I slashed downwards with one hand holding Osiris, Feed boosting my striking power considerably. It hid the heavy cross I'd been prepping with my support arm.

The moment Isha banked to the left mid-air, I Burst forward, Osiris morphing to Eryx, and popped her in the face. Disoriented, I managed an uppercut that sent her flying before she could gather herself.

With a bloodied nose, Isha swiped at me, and a massive net made from Windblades materialized inches from my face. I powered through using Angel Evade.

My jacket, arms, and face were still sliced open, despite my quick thinking, and I was on her in an instant, swinging.

For her part, Isha practically teleported behind me with her absurd speed, putting her right where I wanted her to be. Eryx turned to Ophion, and I fired a sneaky demon-infused shot straight into her gut as wind blades tore open my chest and back.

The impact knocked her back, shoving her a fair distance away, and I pulled back while I spun mid-air, transforming us into an explosive disk of energy and desperation, hurtling for the ground at increasingly frightening speeds. Our fight had carried us far from the ground, but nor far enough to reach terminal velocity. To make sure neither of us could shrug off the damage, I shifted the density on her end, making her body heavier. The Density shift was something I figured out pretty early on with Demon Pull. It was how the ability worked. It half relied on Dante's strength and temporarily reducing the density of the target. All I had to do was slide the toggle the other way, and Boom!

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

The sheer force we generated did not allow her to channel wind properly on her claws or flap her wings. Instead, she set her body on fire and wrapped her wings around herself as she hit the floor, creating a sizable crater.

I hit the ground a second later, creating a crater beside her. It was substantially smaller, but the impact hurt worse than anything I'd ever experienced. My entire body spasmed in pain as my ridiculous regeneration worked its magic, mending bone, producing new blood, and repairing muscle. My vision was spotty, my ears rang, and I was sure some of my ribs were on the outside, but that was the least of my concerns.

Congratulations: Pain Resistance (Basic) has reached Adept Tier

30% pain nullification.

Congratulations: Wind Resistance (Basic) has reached Adept Tier

30% Nullification.

Isha slowly stumbled to her feet, her wings bent and twisted in several places. She looked down at them, and I saw her face warp in real-time. Her irises glowed so bright they hurt to look at.

In that moment, I realized that this had been the only thing since the fight started that upset her.

"You animal!" she roared as her skin crackled with heat. Whatever she was about to try. I knew I was cooked if I let her get it off.

"Down, Down," I roared. Something deep within me tore on the second command, and blood gushed out of my nose and mouth. Still, the mental wound, alongside my many others, healed at impossible speeds thanks to Devil Trigger.

Isha's fire was instantly snuffed as she sunk into the ground, this time on her hands and knees. She glared at me with hate even as I fired out my first Arbiter axe head projectile and my second and third ones. The first mangled her already broken wings, clearing a path for the second and third Flush. They hit in a conflagration of fire, and I dashed forward as the Axe head regrew, ready to end the fight, once and for all.

As I cleared the edge of my crater, fire billowed out from Isha' body in all directions. It flash fried my enhanced skin and sent me skidding back. Just as suddenly as it came, it disappeared, and I winked away the confusion to find Isha standing in front of me. Hair white, transformed by the fire, wings spread out, burning, and clothes burned away, replaced entirely by white fire.

She grabbed me by the throat faster than I could react, and I gasped as Devil Trigger guttered out.

No!

Fear gripped me, more visceral than I could put into words. She was death, and I was powerless to stop her.

Skin turned to char, and muscles hissed with steam and fat.

"I can't believe you forced me to use this form," she spat. "For something entirely too weak, you've been a thorn in my side for far too long, Dante Sparda. Die knowing that you've failed."

"Fuck You!" I croaked out. She snorted at my defiance and raised her claws.

I channeled Angel Energy and willed her claws to stop.

I knew that trying to Evade her would land me back in the same place I started, so, I gambled it on one of my many unawakened abilities.

There had to be something.

And for a time, I thought there was. The moment of my beheading stretched out into forever. The claw carved through the air in slow motion, and I reached for my neck, trying to wrestle myself free.

But, it was all for naught. Just as I was about to accept the futility of it all, the world froze completely, and a system screen popped up.

Shin's former offer appeared in front of me, bearing notable changes.

Redeem Class Token for:

Gluttonous Nephilim Weaponsmith—Craft weapons and armor using fragments of power stolen from enemies and other artifacts that you can get your hands on. Grants 1AGI, 1STR, 2END, and 2DE per Level.

Skills

(R)Blacksmithing Basic-- Craft and alter powerful weapons and armor using the fundamentals of smithing distilled from a dozen cultures

(E) Claim--Distill the fundamental aspect of your opponent into a powerful orb you can use for crafting powerful weapons. You cannot receive Red Orbs for any target that has been claimed.

(E) Enchant-- Create powerful new weapons using the essence of a deceased fee, a weapon of your choosing, and lots of demon and angel energy.

Minor Seed of Gluttony:

Race Suffix—Become the Nephilim of Hunger

Essence Reaper –Gain a silver of strength from every foe you've felled. (Retroactive gain essence from the last 48 hours.)

Avaricious Gaze—Will replace your current identification skill and allow you to see the estimated power level, top skills, and weaknesses of your opponents.

Shin's note:

Look, I get it. You don't trust me, and you think I am the devil himself, but you have to quit being so stubborn, or you'll fucking die.

I gritted my teeth as my mind spun.

"So be it," I answered. "You might've brute forced your way into my head, but there's no way in hell I'm letting you in willingly. You said it yourself, I'm your only link to the Phoenix, if I die, so does any chance of you getting your precious fire."

Nothing changed on the screen for a long moment before a fresh text appeared, replacing the previous one.

I could just reach down there and force you to accept my gifts. Why are you choosing to handicap yourself? You know you'll only hurt yourself in the long run?

I snorted.

"You would've forced me if you could. You're afraid to piss off the Phoenix by letting me die, and you should rightfully be. What happens to those generous rules of engagement if her host's guardian dies and she finds out you could've prevented it?"

Do you really think you're that important? She'll replace you before the day is over.

"Maybe," I conceded. "But Jean will want revenge, and the Phoenix listens to her now."

There was a long stretch of silence before the message came. Depending on his next reply, I was hoping to push for the Nephilim Blacksmith class. As I'd said, I was his only link to the Phoenix, and it was in his best interest to keep me safe. If that meant stripping the class of all of its corrupting influence, I'd wager it would've been worth the tradeoff.

Shin's reply, however, killed those dreams.

My terms won't be so generous the next time you see them, Axel.

The system interface disappeared, and reality abruptly resumed. I almost yelled in panic, but then Isha stumbled forward, her hand suddenly losing its strength.

Her fire winked out, and where her heart was supposed to be, I saw a massive slowly bleeding hole, covered in blue wispy energy.

I wrenched her hand off my neck and backpedaled. I saw the surprise and pain in her eyes as she clawed for me briefly, before dropping to her knees.

Several hundred paces behind her, I saw Clint hefting the RX-29. The barrel was smoking, and an outrageous laugh bubbled from my throat.

Isha leveled a glare at me, however, as she coughed up blood.

She was still alive and kicking, and from the furtive gaze she leveled at everyone present, I knew it would take some fighting to put her down.

With a nervous breath, I summoned Rebellion, filling her with Angel energy as I inched towards Isha. Clint switched to his bow and arrow, and Natasha readied her guns.

Just as we were about to attack, Isha waved her hand, and a tornado of white fire erupted from beneath her. It superheated the air and generated so much pressure it sent me and the SHIELD agents rolling.

When the heat abated, I looked up to find the Tornado was gone. We were back in reality, lying down in an abandoned lot a few paces away from the car we took here.

In the corner laid the charred remains of Senator Kelly.