The demon's instincts screamed—a primeval alarm blaring through whatever consciousness remained in its corrupted mind. With a grinding roar, it rose from the ashen sand, towering into the sky like a metal god dragged from a dying world. It was enormous, as large as a house, casting a monstrous shadow that swallowed the ashen terrain beneath it.
Its eight segmented legs slammed into the ground like massive columns, each one layered with a polished, metallic shell that shimmered beneath the burning sun. The structure of its body bore eerie similarities to both the scavenger beasts and the centurions—its lower half was protected by a gleaming crab-like carapace, while its upper torso jutted outward in a grotesque mimicry of humanoid anatomy. But that's where the resemblance ended.
This thing was something far worse.
Its shell wasn't chitin or bone or plated hide—it looked as though it had been forged in the heart of a dying star, dipped in a crucible of molten steel, and then cooled in blood. Chrome armor coated every inch of its body, reflecting light in harsh, unnatural brilliance. Spikes erupted from the plating, long and jagged, each one looking capable of skewering a horse whole. It wasn't just armored—it was a walking executioner's altar.
The humanoid torso bulged with muscle and metal, inhumanly large and horrifyingly elegant. Four arms protruded from it: two ending in jagged, scissor-like pincers that clicked with deadly rhythm, and two more shaped like massive, wicked scythes—long, curved, and made for carving through battalions.
Its head was a warped parody of humanity—shaped almost like a man's, but stretched and twisted into something bestial and cruel. Several tall, serrated horns jutted upward from its crown like a throne of blades. The face beneath was a mask of polished terror, sculpted metal forming a permanent expression of disdain and malice.
And its eyes—if they could even be called that—were pits of smoldering hate.
Ares and Nephis landed before the monstrosity in a cloud of dust and shadow. The demon's head turned slowly, its gaze settling on them like a judge preparing a sentence. Ares stood up with calculated calm, brushing dust from his armor, stretching his arms as if he had just woken from a nap.
The demon's gaze lingered on him, cold and demeaning.
Ares tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing. Crimson rings spun slowly in his irises, glowing faintly.
"I don't like that look of yours," he said, voice quiet—too quiet.
And then the world changed.
The air shifted like fabric tearing. The wind stopped. The battlefield was no longer merely scorched—it was cursed.
Dead leaves curled into ash beneath Ares's feet. The massive tree that loomed over them began to burn—not with orange fire, but a deep crimson flame that hissed and screamed, as if the tree itself was aware of its immolation. Its bark peeled like flesh, and the sound it made was that of a tortured soul being split open.
The demon faltered.
From the sand around its towering legs, skeletal hands erupted—dozens of them—grasping at its armor. The ghosts of its victims clawed toward their murderer, dragging themselves from the dirt with cracked jaws and hollow eyes. Some of them were barely more than bone and rage, others had scraps of armor or melted faces—but all of them hungered for revenge.
The demon froze, its senses buckling beneath the weight of the illusion.
That was all the opening they needed.
Nephis struck first, a blaze trailing her steps as her sword ignited. She moved like a comet—her blade engulfed in roaring flames, the heat alone warping the air around her. She darted to the demon's flank and, without a shred of hesitation, brought her weapon down in a devastating arc.
The blade cut through one of its legs with a scream of metal and fire. Flesh and alloy parted like melted wax. Sparks exploded, molten fluid sprayed out like blood, and the leg—so massive, so mighty—crashed to the earth with the sound of a falling building.
The demon roared in pain, the sudden shock breaking the illusion's hold. Its eyes widened in fury and confusion, rage consuming its mind as its balance faltered. It crashed sideways, hitting the sand hard enough to create a shockwave.
Its jaw opened wide, preparing to let loose a deafening, hateful bellow—
Ares didn't give it the chance.
With a single step, he blurred forward and stomped its head into the sand with monstrous force. The sound of bone and steel breaking echoed like a war drum. The creature's lower jaw snapped in half under the pressure, fragments of its iron mask flying in all directions. A crater formed beneath its skull, flames erupting beneath Ares's foot and blasting the air outward in a thunderclap.
He vanished instantly—flames licking the ground where he once stood—only to reappear a few meters away, eyes blazing.
The demon thrashed in agony and hatred. Its pincers snapped wildly, carving gashes into the sand, but it was swinging at ghosts. Ares had already moved.
The demon planted one scythe-arm into the sand, using it to launch its colossal body like a railgun—metal groaning, anger boiling inside its frame—as it charged straight at Ares in a blur of chrome and fury.
But it never made it.
A wall of flame surged from the side as Nephis intercepted once more. Her blade struck one of its pincers with pinpoint fury, and the flames that accompanied her attack weren't merely fire—they were punishment. The blade pierced deep, slicing through inner joints, igniting the soft tissue beneath the armor. Fire burst from within the limb, lighting it from the inside out like a furnace detonating.
The demon staggered again, its massive frame twisting as it fell, screaming in pain. The ruined pincer dragged behind it like a melted chain.
It didn't get back up this time.
Ares approached calmly, flames and shadow now coiling around his body like loyal beasts. They clung to his limbs, his chest, even his hair—shifting and flickering like they were alive. His eyes were not just glowing—they were radiant, like lanterns dipped in blood and lightning.
He stopped before the downed demon, who barely managed to lift its ruined head. One eye remained intact, staring up in trembling hatred.
"Break for me," Ares said.
His voice was honeyed poison—soft, but laced with such absolute command that the world itself paused to listen.
Then his fist came down like a meteor.
Flame and shadow exploded outward as his blow struck the demon's skull. The sound was sickening—metal cracked, shattered, and crumpled under the force. The demon's horned mask burst into fragments like broken glass, blood and dark oily matter spewing from the ruined cavity beneath. The ground cratered violently, and a shockwave burst from the impact, scattering sand in a massive radius.
Still, the demon clung to life, twitching. A raspy breath leaked from the hole where its mouth had once been.
Ares didn't move.
A final flash of steel—clean, brutal.
Nephis's longsword plunged into the demon's head like a divine spear. Fire roared from the blade's core, incinerating what remained of the monster's brain and turning everything around it into a molten mess of gore and liquefied armor.
The demon shuddered once.
And then, silence.
It slumped with a final, heavy thud, its corrupted body going still—forever.
"You got a memory?" Ares asked nephis with a hidden bitter tone, the spell was really stingy for taking away his memory rights.
His hand reached towards the dead demon, red lightning flashing as its body was devoured by him, his armor glinting at the power boost.
Nephis slowly nodded, but before she could talk another voice interjected.
"Aaaareeesss!"
The familiar, exasperated voice echoed from above. A shadowed figure plummeted down like a thunderbolt from the sky.
Thud.
A cloud of ashen sand erupted as Ares hit the ground with a grunt, buried beneath the chaotic force that landed atop him. Straddling him like a rider on a stubborn beast was none other than Sunny, her hands already tugging mercilessly at his cheeks.
"You bastard! You went and had fun without me?! What about my precious shadow fragments?!" she cried in dramatic anguish, dragging his face left and right.
"Shudup," Ares muttered, his words slurred from her grip. In retaliation, he leaned forward and gave her hand a lazy bite—tongue flicking briefly against her pale fingers.
The sensation startled her enough to yank her hands back.
But before she could counterattack, a calm, cold hand seized the nape of her neck and lifted her clean off him—effortless, like picking up a misbehaving cat.
"Off. Now," Nephis said. Her voice was smooth, too calm... unnervingly so.
Sunny dangled midair, arms crossed with a pout. "Tch. I'll never forgive you two." Her tone was all gloom, dark clouds practically swirling above her head. "You robbed me of my fight…"
"You sure?" Ares asked with a sly grin, winking at Nephis.
Nephis understood immediately. With a faint nod, she reached out and gifted Sunny the freshly earned memory—transferring it even as Sunny still hung in her grasp. Only once the transfer was complete did she gently lower her to the ground.
"…On second thought," Sunny muttered, quickly scanning the memory, "I can't stay mad at my friends, now can I?"
Her eyes shimmered faintly—golden, curious—as she read the gift's details:
Memory: [Midnight Shard].
Memory Rank: Awakened.
Memory Type: Weapon.
Memory Description: [Forged from the shard of a fallen star, this stalwart blade is firm and unyielding. It favors those who are willing to fight to the last drop of blood and knows no surrender.]
Memory Enchantments: [Unbroken].
Enchantment Description: [This blade refuses to be broken, and thus is durable beyond reason. It will greatly enhance the power of its wielder when they are close to death, however only if the wielder is unwilling to surrender.]
As soon as her hand touched the Midnight Shard, Sunny felt that this sword possessed an unbreakable will. Its blade was strong enough to withstand devastating blows without suffering any damage. With this sword in her hand, nothing would be able to leave Sunny unarmed again.
More than that, there was a strange new sensation somewhere deep in her heart. When Sunny held the Midnight Shard, she could feel a subtle presence, as though there was a deep well of power hiding inside of her, just beyond reach, and thanks to the ichor that did something to her eyes, she could understand how to reach that said power, yet reaching a near dead state to grasp it put a bitter taste in her mouth.
"Well?" Ares asked, a familiar smirk tugging at his lips. "How do you like our gift?"
Sunny blinked. "It was definitely… something. Painful as hell, too. Wait—what do you mean our?"
"You're my Follower, remember?" Ares replied, smug. "Every power-up you get, I share. That Weaver guy's ichor? My lineage devoured it. The same lineage flowing in your veins. It enhanced us both. That new sight? Not just yours, sweetheart."
"Tch… can't have anything to myself," Sunny grumbled, her gloom returning with flair.
Ares couldn't help but laugh. He glanced toward Cassie, who approached with quiet strength. She could do alot now without their help, thanks to his blessing.
Then his smile faded.
His tone dropped, chilled like a blade drawn in silence. "Alright. Joking aside… it's time."
His gaze swept across them—Nephis, Sunny, Cassie. Each bore the weight of trials, and the fire of something stronger in their eyes.
"I've felt it pulling at me for a while now," he said, voice low, grave. "Another world, reaching out. It's calling for us."
He stepped forward, clawed hand rising slowly. His fingers gripped at the air itself—and found resistance. The atmosphere around his hand trembled. Then with a crushing force, he clenched his fist—and reality tore open.
A jagged rift spread wide, a swirling vortex of light, ash, and stars.
The others stood in awe, the unknown reflected in their eyes. Fear. Curiosity. Resolve.
Ares stood tall at the edge of the tear, crimson eyes burning with purpose. "Follow me," he said, without looking back.
And he stepped through.
One by one, without hesitation, they followed their king—into the unknown.
###########
How did you like the fight?
And what do you think the first world will be? It's a popular anime and near Ares's range of power, it will also help the group strengthen their battle techniques.
With all these clues gimme your guesses.