CHAPTER 246: WHEN GODS ABANDON THEIR ANGELS, WRATH TAKES THEIR PLACE.

Kael staggered through the narrow cliff and his blood was still oozing from his left arm where the arrow had struck him earlier.

He was searching for the faint trace of the shadowy figure he had seen fleeing.

Then he heard it — the sharp, echoing clash of metal.

He followed the sound through the jagged passageway and blackened soil until he reached an open plateau overlooking a lower valley.

There two figures were locked in furious combat.

Elysia stood on the left. Each breath she took made her shoulders rise and fall sharply.

Across from her was Dakin.

Kael froze where he stood, hidden behind a rock formation.

(Elysia... and Dakin? What are they doing here?) Kael thought.

"Who sent you here?" Elysia shouted.

"Was it the demons? Or someone from the outer rings?"

Dakin smirked, his lips curling back to reveal teeth faintly sharpened.

"Sent? No one sent me," he hissed. "Thanks to the Devil Contractor, I can finally feast... on all of you!"

He spread his arms wide, and black mist erupted from his back like wings made of smoke.

(Devil Contractor? Who is that?) she thought. (Another demonic title? Or... a person?)

Dakin’s eyes sharpened. He could sense Kael’s distant presence, but his focus remained on the girl before him.

Elysia raised her sword high.

"Then you leave me no choice!" she shouted.

Her sword thrummed with celestial energy. Light rippled outward, forming a circle beneath her feet etched with divine patterns.

"Judge of Titan!"

From the glowing circle, a massive female figure emerged — tall as the cliffs, formed entirely of radiant energy.

The Titan Judge raised her weapon, and the valley shook under the weight of her power.

Kael’s eyes widened.

"That’s... her divine manifestation..."

Dakin laughed.

"Do you think your holy puppet can save you?"

He flipped his daggers, shadows writhing around his arms like serpents. His form blurred.

"Umbra Fang: Second Form!"

The darkness behind him burst open, taking the shape of a monstrous wolf’s head.

Its fangs were long as spears, its body woven from black mist.

The wolf roared — a sound that shattered nearby rocks and made even the Titan Judge tremble.

Then both forces charged.

The Titan Judge swung her sword downward — a beam of pure light tearing across the valley, slicing through the mist.

Dakin blurred sideways, his body dissolving into streaks of shadow, reappearing behind Elysia in a heartbeat.

"Too slow," he whispered.

He slashed both daggers in an X-shaped pattern. Black energy tore through Elysia’s backplate, sparks flying as the divine armor absorbed part of the impact.

Elysia stumbled forward, biting her lip to stop a scream.

"defend!"

The Titan Judge turned, slamming her sword into the ground. A golden barrier erupted around her master, stopping the next blow.

Kael was still watching from far..

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath. "At this rate, she’ll be overwhelmed."

He wanted to step forward, to intervene. But (Don’t interfere with the hero’s timeline.)

"I shouldn’t get involved...."

Below, the fight raged on.

Dakin’s shadow wolf lunged at the Titan Judge, its massive fangs clashing against the giant’s blade.

Golden sparks rained like falling stars. Every impact shook the ground.

Elysia directed the Titan like a puppeteer, each swing of her blade mirrored by the colossal figure above.

But she was losing ground — her mana was running low, and Dakin’s demonic energy only grew thicker with each exchange.

"You’re tiring," Dakin sneered.

"Your light flickers weaker with every strike."

Elysia gritted her teeth. "And yet... it still burns!"

She raised her hand high, the Titan following her motion.

The divine giant lifted its sword and brought it down in a thunderous slash — a crescent of golden energy tore across the battlefield, splitting the ground apart.

The shadow wolf was cleaved in half — dissolving into smoke.

Dakin was forced backward, landing heavily on one knee.

But as the smoke cleared, Elysia’s breathing grew ragged.

Her legs wobbled. The divine giant behind her flickered — its edges unstable.

Dakin stood again, his laughter echoing across the area.

"You’re strong... but still human."

He snapped his fingers. The ground beneath Elysia erupted as black tendrils shot out, wrapping around her legs.

"Umbra Fang: Binding Claws!"

Elysia gasped, trying to slash the tendrils with her sword, but they held fast.

The Titan Judge swung her sword down again, but Dakin vanished into the shadows, reappearing right behind her.

He plunged both hands into the divine giant’s chest — the light cracked and shattered like glass.

"NO!" Elysia screamed. The divine giant exploded into shards of golden energy that rained like broken stars.

Kael stepped forward instinctively, fists clenching. "Damn it!"

He saw Elysia fall to her knees, the light in her eyes flickering. Dakin raised one dagger, its edge dripping with purple venom.

"This is where your light ends."

Elysia slammed her palm against the ground.

"Divine Star of War!"

Golden chains burst from the ground, wrapping around Dakin’s arms and torso.

He roared, shadows lashing violently to break free.

The explosion of light and darkness collided — blinding, deafening, shaking the valley like an earthquake.

Kael shielded his eyes. When the light faded, both figures were gone — only smoke and scorch marks remained at the center.

Then, faintly, Elysia stumbled out of the haze, blood running down her face. Her cloak was torn to shreds, her weapon cracked.

"Still... not enough," she murmured weakly.

Her mana was almost gone, her vision blurring.

She looked around.

"Are there more demons like him?"

Her knees gave out.

"Damn it... I failed."

She forced herself up, staggering toward the ridge. "I can’t stay here."

And without looking back, she ran into the mist — disappearing into the hollow forest beyond.

Kael finally stepped out from behind the rock.

The wind carried faint traces of burnt mana and crushed crystal.

He looked down at the battlefield — the cracked earth, the fading shimmer of divine energy.

"The battle was intense," he murmured.

He glanced toward the direction Elysia had fled.

"She’s injured... but still alive."

He turned to the opposite side, where faint footprints led deeper into the valley — Dakin’s trail.

(The Devil Contractor... Umbra Fang...)

"They weren’t supposed to appear right now"

He shook his head, suppressing the throbbing pain in his left arm.

"No. I can’t get involved," he muttered. "This is their fight. I need to find the secret area and leave before sunrise."

But when he turned to go, something made him pause — a faint glimmer near the center of the battlefield.

He stepped closer. A shard of black crystal pulsed faintly in the dust — humming with demonic energy.

He crouched, his fingers hovering over it. The Ashen Core within him reacted instantly — burning faintly gray in his chest.

Kael’s eyes narrowed. "This... isn’t an ordinary demon core."

He hesitated, then picked it up. The moment his hand touched the shard, a voice whispered faintly in his mind:

"The Devil Contractor watches..."

Kael’s eyes snapped open, but the voice was gone. The shard had dissolved into ash.