The demon shot itself up into the air and Marcus found himself staring up at him, catching his breath for what felt like the first time in hours. The quiet lasted maybe two seconds before arrows came whistling through the air and slammed into the bastard mid-flight, sending him spinning until he crashed into that glowing barrier around the bastions.
Vera stepped out from behind the rubble, already pulling another arrow from her quiver, and Marcus could see her hands shaking but it wasn't fear making them tremble like that.
"That's for Elena," she called out, her voice raw.
Blood Lust yanked the arrows out of his chest while laughing, and unlike what they'd seen with Rex before, these wounds stayed open and kept bleeding dark streaks down his shirt, though he didn't seem to give a damn about any of it.
"Oh look, the teacher finally shows up," he said, examining the arrow tips like they were some kind of interesting trinket. "Tell me, did your little student call out for you when I was tearing her throat open? Did she cry your name?"
The color drained from Vera's face before flooding back twice as red, and Marcus could practically feel the rage radiating off her from across the battlefield.
"You're going to pay for what you did to her, you bastard!"
"Mmm, I do love that hatred in your eyes," Blood Lust purred, tilting his head like he was savoring the moment. "Makes you sloppy though, doesn't it? All that anger clouding your judgment?"
She was already drawing back another shot because he'd gotten exactly what he wanted - her losing control and Marcus could see it happening but couldn't do anything to stop it.
Arrow after arrow came flying at the demon who just swayed between them like he was dancing, each shot missing by inches while he kept that infuriating smile plastered on his face.
"Predictable," he tsked just as fire roared across the battlefield.
Torch came charging out with that custom flamethrower of his, the timing perfect with Vera's barrage, and for the first time Blood Lust actually looked like he was paying attention to the fight.
"Now that's more interesting!"
The Crane twins started up their chanting from across the field, their voices carrying over the chaos:
"By earth's foundation and wind's embrace, let the elements answer to our call!"
"That's still not the right words, you idiot!"
"Just focus on the magic!"
Lightning crackled between Crane's fingers while his brother's hands glowed with earthen power, and their combined attack sent a wave of electrified stone shards flying at the demon who managed to deflect most of them but not all, some finding their mark and actually making him stumble back a step.
The ground suddenly split open with a sound like thunder, and Titan straightened up from where he'd just punched a hole in the earth itself, the display of raw strength making even Blood Lust's eyes widen for a moment.
Before the demon could recover his footing, something invisible slammed him down toward the jagged crack that Titan had made, and Luna stepped into view with both hands raised and sweat already beading on her forehead from the effort of manipulating gravity itself.
Blood Lust disappeared into the pit and everything went quiet except for everyone's heavy breathing, until low laughter started drifting up from the hole.
"Did we actually get him?" Torch whispered, but they all knew the answer before the demon climbed back out looking completely unruffled.
He held up his hand and something dark and viscous began forming in his palm, pulsing like a living heart, and Marcus felt his stomach turn at the sight of it.
"What the hell is that thing?"
Blood Lust smiled and hurled the blood-sphere at the ground where it struck and spread outward like spilled wine, turning everything crimson - the dirt, the rocks, everything taking on that hungry red color that made Marcus's skin crawl.
The demon stepped onto the blood-soaked earth and raised his fist, and the ground responded instantly with a massive punch made of coagulated blood erupting right under their feet and sending everyone flying except Kael who'd jumped at precisely the right moment.
Without missing a beat, Kael hurled both his cleavers in a spinning arc that Blood Lust swatted away like annoying flies, but that's when Marcus came charging in from the side with his shield raised and slammed it into the demon's torso hard enough to make the impact echo across the battlefield.
"Seems like you're still on your knees, brother," Kael said to Marcus with that cocky tone of his.
Marcus spat out a mouthful of soil and grinned. "Just catching my breath."
"You insignificant pieces of shit!" Blood Lust's voice cracked with real anger now, his amusement finally giving way to genuine rage. "I'll kill every last one of you! What do you think you are compared to me?"
The twins started another chant while raising their hands to create a barrier of stone that rose up just as Blood Lust opened cuts along his own arms, blood pouring from the self-inflicted wounds in a way that made Marcus want to look away but couldn't.
The demon launched himself at Kael with inhuman speed, and Kael barely got his cleavers crossed in time to catch the impact that sent shockwaves up his arms and made him grimace.
Isabelle's war hammer caught Blood Lust in the head twice - blows that should have demolished a building - but he didn't even glance in her direction because his attention was completely fixed on Kael, and there was something different in his expression now, something hungrier and more primal than before.
Vera put ten stun arrows into his back while Luna poured more power into her gravity manipulation until cracks spider-webbed outward from the demon's feet, and Torch kept his flames roaring hotter than ever, but with each drop of blood that Blood Lust shed and each wound he took, that terrible hunger in his eyes just kept growing brighter.
They were making him stronger, and Marcus realized with growing horror that the demon had been playing with them this whole time, letting them think they had a chance when really he was just working up an appetite.
Blood Lust's hand shot out faster than Marcus could track and wrapped around Kael's throat, lifting him off his feet like he weighed nothing before hurling him across the battlefield where he hit the ground hard and didn't get back up right away.
"You fools still don't understand, do you?" Blood Lust whispered, his voice somehow carrying over all the chaos. "This is what I live for."
They fought for hours.
The sun moved across the sky as the battle raged, its light gradually shifting from afternoon gold to evening amber. The Ethereal Knights were skilled, experienced, and working together perfectly. But they were also human, and humans got tired.
Blood Lust did not.
As the day wore on, the Knights' movements became slightly slower, their reactions a fraction less sharp. It was barely noticeable at first—a missed parry here, a delayed counter there. But Blood Lust noticed everything.
The end came when Marcus stumbled.
Just for a moment, just a half-step as his exhausted legs betrayed him. But that was enough. Blood Lust was on him instantly, those terrible claws piercing his throat before he could raise his shield.
The demon didn't just kill him—he drained him dry right there in front of his comrades, drawing strength from both blood and despair.
Kael saw his opportunity in that moment of distraction. He hurled one of his cleavers with perfect accuracy, the chain attached to his wrist allowing him to yank Blood Lust toward him even as the blade struck home.
"SHIELD CAGE—INITIATE!" he roared.
The Bastions responded instantly, their blue shields reshaping into something new—not just a barrier, but a prison. Each soldier pulled out a metallic ring from their wrist, devices that pulsed with magical energy, and aimed them at the trapped demon.
The cage that formed was beautiful and terrible to behold—a geometric prison of pure energy that condensed around Blood Lust like a second skin. The cost was enormous; ten Bastions collapsed as their power rings crumbled to dust, their life force spent in the casting.
Inside the cage, Blood Lust began to change.
His already massive frame started to swell, muscles bulging until they looked ready to burst. Bone spikes erupted from his shoulders and back. The blood that constantly wept from his veins began to glow with demonic power.
He threw himself against the walls of his prison, and cracks appeared in the energy matrix.
"No," Kael breathed. "It won't hold."
BOOM.
The cage exploded in a shower of blue sparks and screaming energy. Blood Lust emerged more powerful than before, his body now wreathed in a crimson aura that made the air itself seem to bleed.
Sarah Brightblade tried to strike while he was still disoriented from the explosion. She never had a chance. Blood Lust caught her mid-leap, sank his fangs into her neck, and drained her completely in seconds.
Now it was just Kael.
The two warriors faced each other across the ruined battlefield, surrounded by the bodies of fallen heroes. Kael raised his cleavers, the chains singing as he spun them in complex patterns. Blood Lust simply smiled and extended his claws.
They clashed with the sound of thunder.
Kael's blades were everywhere at once, cutting and slashing with inhuman speed. But Blood Lust was faster, dodging between the strikes and leaving shallow cuts across Kael's massive frame. Each wound was precise, calculated to weaken rather than kill.
"You're strong," Blood Lust admitted as he raked his claws across Kael's cheek, leaving four parallel gashes. "Stronger than most. But strength alone won't save you."
The demon's hands began to glow with malevolent energy, dark red power coalescing into a sphere of pure destruction. He pulled back like a pitcher winding up for a fastball.
Kael responded with his own power, silver light that now started gathering around his cleavers. For a moment, the two energies faced each other—demonic corruption against righteous fury.
They struck simultaneously.
The explosion lit up the evening sky like a second sun, the shockwave shattering windows for miles around. When the light faded, only one figure remained standing.
Blood Lust brushed dust from his shoulders and looked down at the smoking crater where Kael Draven had been. There wasn't even ash left—just a blackened circle on the ground and the lingering smell of ozone.
The surviving Ethereal Knights—those few who remained conscious—cried out in anguish. Their leader, their symbol of hope, was gone.
But Blood Lust was no longer paying attention to them. His head tilted, nostrils flaring as he caught a scent on the wind. Something had changed. Something... interesting.
There was new prey nearby. Something stronger, more challenging than these soldiers and their predictable fighting styles.
Without another word, Blood Lust walked away from the carnage, leaving behind a field of the dead and the broken. His footsteps left bloody prints in the earth, and the survivors would later swear they could still see them glowing in the dark long after he'd vanished into the night.
The real hunt was just beginning.