The moment Daemon raised his blade, the garden erupted.
A flash of golden light—followed by steel.
Lilac's chains exploded from beneath her robes, spiraling through the air like coiling serpents. They gleamed with divine script, each link sharpened to the edge of a scalpel.
Daemon barely ducked the first strike.
The second tore across his shoulder—a clean, precise gash that burned as though his soul had been branded.
Fast, he thought, gritting his teeth. Too fast.
Lilac's feet didn't touch the ground. She moved with unnatural grace, the chains dancing around her like wings of judgment.
"I didn't want this," she said, her voice echoing unnaturally, carried by divine amplification. "But you forced my hand."
With a flick of her wrist, a dozen glowing crosses formed in the air behind her—each one shaped like a spear tipped with silver blades.
Daemon's eyes widened. "You call this mercy?"
The crosses shot toward him like lightning.
He jumped left—two barely missed him.
The third carved through his thigh.
Blood sprayed across the white flowers.
Daemon landed hard, skidding across the stones.
She descended slowly, floating inches above the ground.
"You're bleeding already," she said, voice calm. "You're only a Fourth Star, aren't you?"
Daemon forced himself to stand.
His hands trembled. His knees buckled.
Lilac lifted her staff—more crosses spun into formation.
"This is your last warning, Daemon."
He laughed.
Low. Raspy. Bloody.
"Then I guess I'm already dead."
The shadows behind him trembled.
"Eclipse Claw."
A dark ripple tore across the garden floor. Daemon's shadow stretched and broke, rising into the air like smoke, curling around him—and then burst into monstrous talons, three meters long, each one pulsing with corrupted power.
Lilac's eyes widened.
Daemon moved.
The claws lashed forward, hissing with soul-rending force.
Two crosses shattered on impact. A chain was severed mid-swing. For a split second—Daemon had the upper hand.
But the cost hit instantly.
His real hands split open.
Blood gushed from every fingertip, skin peeling like burned parchment. The claws writhed, and Daemon almost screamed—but he didn't.
He only smiled wider.
Lilac lunged again—her chains wrapped around his torso and yanked him toward her. He twisted midair, claws striking one of her barriers. It cracked, but didn't shatter.
She snapped the chains again.
One curved toward his neck.
Another buried itself in his palm.
Daemon hit the ground hard, coughing up blood as the divine chain burned into his muscle.
She stepped closer, golden light rippling off her like heat off flame.
"Stay down, Daemon. I'm giving you a chance."
He didn't answer.
He just whispered something.
And his blood began to glow.
"Inverse Divinity."
Red light pulsed from his core. The gash in his palm closed. His burned fingers knitted back together—imperfectly, messily, but healed.
Lilac stepped back, stunned.
"That's—impossible."
Daemon rose slowly, his skin still steaming.
"I learned it from you," he said with a grin. "In your little white torture chamber."
Lilac's face twisted in disbelief. "You...master the divine healing?"
Daemon rolled his shoulder, still panting.
"Yes," he said.
"I corrupted it."
Lilac coughed, her breath sharp and shallow. Her robes were scorched, one sleeve torn, blood running down her forearm where the Eclipse Claw had grazed her barrier.
Daemon stood, hands trembling, a thin trail of blood running from the corner of his mouth.
He could barely hold the sword anymore.
I'm spent. Can't cast again. My core's burning.
But he still grinned.
"I've seen enough," he rasped.
Lilac blinked, golden chains spinning around her, ready to strike again. "What?"
"I said..." He dragged the blade behind him with one hand, limping forward. "We stop here."
She narrowed her eyes, confused. "You're retreating?"
Daemon nodded. "For now."
He looked her straight in the eye—and suddenly, the grin was gone. His expression turned cold. Hollow.
"But listen carefully," he said. "You have four days."
"Four...?"
"Return the Book of the Demon King. Or I'll take something from you."
Her chains flared again. "You're threatening me?"
"I'm promising you."
She scoffed. "You can barely stand."
Daemon's body trembled, his aura flickering like a dying flame—but his eyes...
His eyes were black now. Veined with red. Ancient.dangerous.
"Attack me," he whispered. "Try."
She hesitated. For the first time, her chains didn't move.
"You're bluffing."
"Maybe," he said, stepping back into the shadow of the garden's archway. "Maybe not."
"But if you gamble and lose, Saintess..."
"...you won't get a second ear back this time."
Lilac's breath hitched.
She took a step forward—
And stopped.
Daemon turned and walked away, dragging the ruined sword behind him like it was weightless.
The wind howled.
Then—a burst of divine pressure from the other side of the temple.
Guards. Priests. Maids.
They rushed into the garden, weapons drawn, protective glyphs already lighting up.
"S-Saintess?! Are you hurt?!"
Lilac didn't answer.
She stood frozen, eyes still locked on the archway where Daemon had vanished.
The chains around her hands flickered once—then dissolved into dust.