Devourer: Rise Beyond Celestial

Tzakiel, unable to react in time, was pierced through the chest. The ensuing explosion pulverized the upper half of his body, reducing it to an unrecognizable mass of flesh and shattered bones, incapable of regenerating.

"Shit, he's too powerful." Raphaël tried to grab him.

Transforming into mist, he took a step back, narrowly avoiding the explosion of golden flames.

The remaining angels watched the scene in horror. Their sacred formation was disintegrating under Linfer's brute force. They tried to gather their strength for a coordinated attack, but fear paralyzed them.

Linfer, with a look of disdain, slowly raised a finger towards the sky. "I had forgotten about you."

[Blade]

The sky seemed to collapse upon them. The blood falling from the heavens began to pulse, each drop becoming a deadly weapon. In a split second, the rain transformed into an infernal storm, each drop turning into a liquid blade.

Before they could react, every raindrop sliced through their bodies, turning them into millions of bloody shreds.

Celest tried to protect them, sweeping the projectiles away with his sword.

*He he he*

Linfer rushed forward at a blinding speed. He was so fast that he saw their attack in slow motion and was able to anticipate the movements of his opponents.

He reached the first group of angels, fists clenched. Without slowing down, he delivered a straight punch to one of their chests. The sound of cracking bones echoed through the air as the angel was thrown backward, exploding into a dozen pieces. With a swift movement, Linfer pivoted and struck another angel in the face, his fist tearing off the opponent's jaw with brutal force.

His claws emerged from his fingers as he plunged into the enemy mass. He slashed mercilessly, each blow tearing through flesh and armor with disconcerting ease.

Linfer grabbed one of them by the throat and threw the body like a ragdoll, colliding with three others, which exploded upon impact. Without losing a second, Linfer delivered a circular kick. The impact shattered the ribs of ten other enemies, their cries of pain cut short by the bursting of their internal organs.

He never slowed down. His fists struck, his feet crushed, his claws tore. Linfer grabbed an angel by the nape of the neck, sinking his claws into its skull. He immediately followed up by projecting his blades through the throats of five other enemies who were trying to surround him. Their blood splattered his face. He leaped with his wings, his blades describing a circle around him, slicing three of them in mid-air. The bodies fell back into the bloody sea in pieces. He dodged an incoming sword aimed at his throat at the last moment.

"Seriously?" He raised his eyebrows, as he tore out the angel's heart with a brutal gesture and took a bite out of it like an apple.

Around him, the angels fell by the hundreds of thousands, powerless, like flies, unable to retaliate. Screams of agony echoed, a distant echo of their despair.

Linfer raised both hands to the sky, triumphant, with entrails hanging around his neck like necklaces. Blood continued to splatter his face, and he opened his mouth, letting each red drop slide across his tongue with delight.

[Spatial Seal]

Suddenly, Linfer felt frozen, the space around him closing in like a trap. Before he could react, a blue residual image appeared suddenly before him, and Ezekiel materialized at an impossible speed. His palm aimed for Linfer's chest.

Linfer tried to move, but veins bulged on his arm, distorting the reality around it.

Raphaël, in the background, panted, his face pale, concentrating all his energy to keep The Devourer under control. His internal organs were grinding under the effort, each moment increasing his agony. But Linfer, in a burst of rage, finally broke the chains of space, grabbing Ezekiel's wrist just a few millimeters from his chest.

Ezekiel clenched his teeth, dislocating his own wrist to finally touch Linfer's chest. The latter raised an eyebrow, unable to understand why his opponent was exerting so much effort for a simple contact.

[Anima Extract]

A rainbow-colored energy explosion erupted from Ezekiel's palm, propelling Linfer backward. He floated for a moment, his body frozen in mid-air. 'I'm floating?' he thought for a moment. Looking at the cracks on his spiritual form, he realized it wasn't him floating, it was his soul, torn from his body, rendering him unable to move his physical body.

"Now!" Ezekiel shouted.

[Inverse Causality] Uriel pronounced, reversing Linfer's senses, gaining a few seconds before he could regain his body.

Linfer looked up, and in the sky, the storm crackled. Golden lightning snaked around Uriel, who was slowly transforming into a trail of pure mana mixed with law. By his side, Luciel summoned a whirlwind of flames, her flaming sword ready to strike. Both of them rushed towards Linfer, Uriel seeming to turn into a golden lightning bolt and Luciel into a white trail.

Linfer struggled to regain control of his body, his spirit battling against the invisible chains. Finally, he managed to reintegrate his physical form, but Celest, already in motion, attacked with a series of rapid and powerful strikes. Linfer, barely back to himself, ignored Celest, a mere Origin 5, and with a disdainful backhand, he slapped him violently, sending him flying into the air. Celest's silhouette collided with Ezekiel on its way down.

Without a backward glance, Linfer gently descended onto the sea of blood that spread beneath him. With a flap of his wings, he leaped, transforming into an almost imperceptible red line. His claws extended, he lunged towards Uriel and Luciel, ready to tear them apart. But at the last moment, their bodies faded into a blue glow.

[Permutation]!

"Damn it!" Linfer growled, realizing he had been tricked.

An intense light then erupted from his back. The swirling golden flame that Luciel had summoned took shape, becoming a gigantic six-winged bird, surrounded by crackling golden lightning. A piercing scream rang out, tearing through the atmosphere.

*Keeeeek!*

Uriel, now transformed into a golden lightning bolt, launched his lance with all his strength, while Luciel drew her sword, plunging it into the heavens. The two of them rushed towards Linfer.

[MorningStar]!

Linfer, for the first time, felt the imminent danger, having no time to react.

A maelstrom of divine light, flames, and lightning engulfed him, shaking the earth and the sky. The impact made the air vibrate, and a shockwave radiated in all directions, annihilating everything in its path.