Kol walked forward without armor, cloak billowing behind him, fists clenched at his sides.
There was no bell. No formal signal. Just a blur of movement as Leo lunged with a roar, the Demon Slayer Sword cleaving through the air toward Kol's head.
Kol didn't flinch.
He ducked beneath the arc, his body weaving like smoke, and drove a clean punch into Leo's gut. The impact echoed like a war drum, sending Leo skidding back a dozen feet.
Leo steadied himself, blood trailing from his mouth. He grinned. "Still holding back, King of Ruin?"
Kol didn't answer. He stepped forward—and vanished.
In a blink, he was above Leo, dropping down with a brutal axe kick. Leo raised his sword to block, but Kol's heel shattered the blade mid-guard, driving Leo into the floor with a deafening crash.
The marble buckled.
The pillars cracked.
The Demon King growled, punching up with a flame-wreathed fist. Kol twisted midair, barely dodging. The punch hit a support beam behind him and melted it to ash.
Kol landed, sweeping low. Leo jumped over the leg sweep, flipped midair, and slammed down with a knee that cracked Kol's shoulder.
Kol grunted. Not in pain—but irritation.
They clashed again, fists against fists, body against body. Every blow from Kol sounded like thunder. Every strike from Leo sparked with hellfire. The walls collapsed under the force of their movement. The ceiling gave way in sections.
Leo unleashed a barrage of high-speed punches, each one cloaked in demonic flame. Kol blocked with forearms and elbows, deflecting most—but one caught his cheek and drew blood.
"You bleed," Leo growled.
Kol smiled, blood dripping from his chin. "So do you."
He struck. A left hook to the ribs. A knee to the stomach. An uppercut that launched Leo through the palace walls and into the outer courtyard. Kol followed like a meteor, slamming into the earth as Leo struggled to rise.
Dust clouded the air.
Leo's regeneration activated—flesh stitching itself slowly, painfully.
Kol walked through the dust. "You're not fast enough."
"I don't need speed," Leo snarled. "I endure."
He slammed his fists together and summoned a wave of volcanic flame. It roared toward Kol like a tide of molten fury.
Kol walked through it.
The flames parted around him, sizzling against his skin but failing to stop him. His eyes burned brighter.
Leo's smile faded.
Kol drove a punch straight into Leo's sternum, cracking the demon king's armor. He grabbed Leo by the horned helm and slammed his face into the obsidian floor. Once. Twice. A third time. Blood splattered.
The courtyard shook.
Leo rolled away and roared, wings of crimson unfurling. He lunged, claws extended, teeth bared.
Kol met him midair.
Fist to face.
Leo was thrown back through a statue, reducing it to rubble. He landed hard, coughing blood, bones breaking, slowly knitting back together.
"You bastard," Leo growled. "You're toying with me."
Kol stepped forward, cracks forming under his feet with every step. "This is restraint."
He reached down, picked up a chunk of the Demon King's shattered throne, and hurled it at Leo.
Leo sliced it in half midair with the broken hilt of the Demon Slayer sword.
Then he vanished.
He reappeared behind Kol, the remnants of the blade reforged with demonic energy—just enough to pierce.
He drove it into Kol's back.
Kol froze.
The blade exited through Kol's chest, black blood gushing out.
Elizabeth screamed. "NO!"
Kol staggered slightly, but didn't fall.
His head tilted down, blood dripping from his lips.
Leo leaned in. "Now you die, Vaelros."
The air changed.
The ground cracked beneath Kol's feet in a perfect circle.
His body tensed. Muscles flexed. Power—raw, endless—began to leak out in waves. The sky turned black.
His eyes glowed crimson.
Demonic runes swirled around his fists and shoulders.
The ground beneath him disintegrated.
Elizabeth flew in, divine light blazing. She appeared between them in an instant, arms wide, wings flared.
"Kol, stop!" she shouted. "You'll destroy everything!"
He blinked, blood trailing down his brow. His breathing slowed. The runes faded.
Leo gasped, stepping back. His body trembled—not from pain, but from the overwhelming pressure.
Kol exhaled deeply.
Elizabeth turned to Leo, voice sharp. "He could have killed you. At any time. This fight is over."
Leo's hand trembled around the broken sword. His chest heaved.
Kol slowly pulled the blade from his body and dropped it. His wound was already healing.
"I came for unity," he said quietly. "Not vengeance."
Leo fell to one knee.
The palace was gone—shattered ruins around them, pillars broken, floor cracked, sky exposed.
Elizabeth looked at Kol. " Good?"
Kol wiped the blood from his mouth and stared at the rising sun. " Pointless."
Leo rose, with pride in his eyes.
"I'll fight with you, Vaelros. But don't expect me to bow."
Kol nodded. "Then fight beside me."
As the winds swept through the ruined palace, the war for the realms had truly begun.