The demon merely tilted Hellcat's head, watching with amusement as both men stood, ready for action.
The tear behind her sizzled with more dark energy, and the forest answered.
Vines whipped out of the dirt and caught Zeke across the ribs, flinging him sideways with bruising force. He smashed into a trunk, snarling, then rebounded fast, faster than before Sylas's blood.
Sylas stepped forward slowly, and shadows crawled up his arms like cold smoke responding to breath. The Hallow pressed against him immediately. The mist thickened and the soil shifted under his boots, like the ground itself wanted to swallow him.
He stood anyway, and the demon smirked.
"Your shadows don't rule here, Erebos. You are trespassing here,"
