Infinity - Chapter: Storm Before the Chains
Kael vs. Baelgor Vrax - Part 2
Location: The Iron Crucible, Subspace Arena
The metallic winds of the Iron Crucible howled like tortured wolves. The air shimmered with heat and malice. Kael stood in the center, his chest rising and falling, eyes locked on the smirking figure of Baelgor Vrax.
The air shuddered with pressure as Kael stepped forward, Tenebris gleaming in his grasp. The devil, Baelgor Vrax, tilted his head, eyes narrowing at the weapon.
Kael exhaled.
Wind gathered around him in spirals, whipping at his jacket, bending the spires of molten iron in the arena. The floor groaned beneath his boots, responding to his rising aura. For the first time since being thrust into this twisted realm, Kael didn't just survive.
He thrived.
Baelgor raised an arm lazily, fingers curled like a conductor summoning a symphony of fire. "A sword... forged in silence. I didn't think you'd bring that into my Crucible."
"You summoned your blade... impressive," Baelgor mused, his voice echoing through the steel arena, half-curious and half-contemptuous.
Kael didn't answer. He simply raised Tenebris to shoulder height.
A sudden pulse of wind spiraled outward from Kael's body—sharp, cold, and deliberate. His aura flared like a slicing cyclone, centered on his core and trailing faint, ominous streaks of black.
Baelgor tilted his head. "Your spirit... it's awake. But you're still hiding something, aren't you?"
Kael narrowed his eyes. "I don't need to show you everything."
In a blur, he vanished.
CLANG!
The first strike came like lightning.
Tenebris lashed out in a clean diagonal arc. Baelgor barely blocked, skidding back against the iron floor as Kael followed up with a spinning slash, then a backwards wind-assisted leap that created a razor shockwave.
WHHHHRRRRRRRR-BOOM!
The wave slammed into Baelgor's legs, slicing through his greaves.
Kael didn't stop. Gale Step. He vanished again and reappeared behind Baelgor with Pressure Wind Arc, sending a sweeping horizontal cut toward the devil's waist.
Baelgor snarled and leapt upward. His eyes widened slightly.
"You're... fast."
Kael crouched, one hand on the ground, Tenebris buzzing faintly with energy.
"I'm not done."
With another burst, Kael surged forward, his wind aura now spiraling around his sword like a vortex.
Baelgor tried to strike with his clawed arm, but Kael parried and pushed inside his guard, slashing across the devil's shoulder with such precision that black blood hissed into the air.
"Tch—!" Baelgor staggered, snarling.
Kael stood tall, aura glowing brighter. The ground beneath him responded—a storm of dust kicked into the air, and metallic debris swirled around his body. His wind aura was fully unleashed now, wrapping him in a living storm. And at its center, Tenebris pulsed, calm but deadly.
"You were laughing before," Kael said flatly. "Laugh now."
Baelgor's face darkened. The chains on his arms began to twitch.
"Enough."
The devil raised both hands.
The air changed.
A heatwave erupted as the metal walls around them trembled.
Kael stepped back, Tenebris raised.
BOOM.
Baelgor's body convulsed. Flames erupted from his back as molten chains burst forth. His horns grew longer. His muscles bulged. His eyes now glowed like lava pits.
"You want to see real power, human? Then let me show you what despair FEELS LIKE!"
Demonic Form: Activated — Baelgor, Chain-Tyrant of the Ash Vault.
Kael's eyes widened as the entire battlefield changed.
The once-flat arena warped. Spikes of twisted iron surged from the floor, some draped in chains, others spewing lava mist. The ceiling cracked open, releasing a constant rain of molten sparks. Baelgor stood at the center like a king of chaos.
Kael gritted his teeth. "He was holding back..."
Baelgor moved.
BOOM!
The first strike came like a meteor. Kael blocked with Tenebris, the impact launching him across the arena. He hit a pillar, coughed blood, and barely rolled aside as a flaming chain crashed down.
Baelgor advanced. Chains lashed from his arms and shoulders like vipers.
Kael tried to slash through one—but it caught Tenebris and yanked.
He resisted. His wind aura surged in defiance.
Aura Clash:
Kael: Wind spiraling faster, forming a shield.
Baelgor: Flame and chains crushing inward.
Kael screamed, spinning Tenebris in a wide arc to repel the aura pressure. The storm hissed. The flames roared.
Baelgor appeared through the smoke and punched Kael in the ribs with a molten fist.
CRACK!
Kael flew.
He rolled, barely stopping himself, panting, body smoking. Tenebris lay buried in the floor beside him.
Baelgor walked forward, chains dragging behind him.
"You're strong, little warrior. But you forgot what it means to face a devil."
Kael gripped Tenebris and stood slowly.
Bruised. Bleeding. But not done.
"You're wrong," he muttered. "This is just the beginning."
He reached for the band around Tenebris' hilt—a black cloth, wrapped tight since the day he received it.
He tore it off.
The moment it unraveled—
A pulse of energy burst outward. The winds howled.
Darkness poured from Kael's back like wings of ink. His aura shifted, deepened. It was no longer just wind.
It was Wind, laced with Darkness.
Baelgor stopped, snarling. "Dual affinity?!"
Kael rose. Hair tousled, eyes glowing faint violet beneath the storm.
Tenebris pulsed.
Kael vanished.
The assault began.
He was faster.
Sharper.
Every strike with Tenebris now left a dark afterimage—phantom slashes that echoed a second later, cutting from impossible angles.
Kael spun, dark aura channeling through his blade, parrying chains and slicing them apart. His movements became unpredictable—one moment a breeze, the next a shadow.
He reached Baelgor.
SLASH.
Across the chest.
SLASH.
Behind the knee.
SLASH.
Across both horns.
Baelgor roared, staggering back, steam pouring from his wounds.
Kael stood, Tenebris resting across his shoulder, his aura flickering like a violent storm.
"This is my strength. Wind and Shadow."
Baelgor growled, rage building. Then, his eyes narrowed.
And he smiled.
"Then let's see if that strength survives your own memories."
He extended a claw.
A circle of runes formed around Kael.
Chains wrapped in flame shot up from the ground, not physical—mental.
Kael's breath hitched. Visions surged forward—unspoken traumas, battles lost, friends fallen, helpless screams—
the faces of those he couldn't save.
Pain.
Shame.
He almost faltered.
Almost.
But through the smoke and fear, one face held.
Liora.
The memory of her voice.
Her trust. Her belief.
Kael's aura pulsed.
The chains cracked.
His grip tightened on Tenebris.
He raised his head—eyes fierce, the storm reigniting.
"You're not the only one with darkness. But mine doesn't control me."
To Be Continued...