Page 95 of Eclipse Born

The demon prince's eyes widened fractionally, the first sign of genuine emotion I'd seen from him. Not fear—but interest. Recognition. As if I'd finally done something that met his expectations.

We attacked as one, a coordinated assault born from countless hunts together. I struck first, the Heavenly Lash singing through the air like a serpent of light. Asmodeus dodged with inhuman speed, but the tip of the lash caught his sleeve, burning through fabric to score the flesh beneath. Black blood welled from the wound, hissing as it contacted the celestial energy.

Sean followed immediately, no longer hampered by his dislocated shoulder—Cassiel must have healed it while I was focused on Asmodeus. He wielded twin silver blades, each inscribed with sigils of banishment that glowed faintly in the darkness. He moved with the fluid grace of a lifetime hunter, each strike precisely aimed at vital points.

Cassiel engaged from the other side, his movements a blur of supernatural speed. His angel blade flashed like lightning in the dim light, leaving trails of brightness that lingered on my retinas. His angelic strength matched Asmodeus blow for blow, force against force in a battle that cracked the stone beneath their feet.

But for all our coordinated fury, Asmodeus was merely playing with us. His laughter echoed through the ancient stones as he parried Cassiel's thrust, ducked beneath my lash, and deflected Sean's blades with contemptuous ease. He moved like water, flowing around our attacks rather than meeting them directly.

“Is this all you have?” he taunted, not even breathing hard while we were already gasping from exertion. “The marked one, the angel, and the Nephilim? I expected more.”

I changed tactics, cracking the lash toward his feet to disrupt his perfect balance. For a moment it worked—Asmodeus had to leap backward, directly into the path of Sean's attack. One of the silver blades sliced across his chest, cutting through his immaculate suit to the flesh beneath.

Asmodeus hissed, more in annoyance than pain. His hand shot out faster than human eyes could track, catching Sean by the throat and lifting him off the ground with terrifying ease.

“Bothersome insect,” he growled, all pretense of civility vanishing. His fingers tightened, and Sean's face began to redden as his air was cut off.

I didn't think. The Heavenly Lash responded to my panic, extending impossibly far to wrap around Asmodeus's wrist. Celestial fire burned where it contacted demonic flesh, and Asmodeus dropped Sean with a snarl of pain. Sean fell to his knees, gasping for breath, but already reaching for the silver knife he'd dropped.

Cassiel took advantage of the distraction, driving his angel blade toward Asmodeus's heart. The demon twisted at the last second, taking the strike in his shoulder instead of his chest. Light blazed from the wound, celestial energy burning demonic flesh from within.

For a moment, Asmodeus's perfect mask slipped, revealing something ancient and monstrous beneath. His eyes flared with golden fire, and the air around him distorted with waves of heat. With a roar that shook the foundations of the temple ruins, he released a pulse of power that sent us all flying backward.

I slammed into one of the standing stones, the impact driving the air from my lungs. Pain blossomed across my back and ribs, sharp enough to make my vision blur momentarily. I struggledto my feet, using the stone for support as I tried to catch my breath.

Across the circle, Sean was picking himself up, blood streaming from a fresh cut along his hairline. Cassiel had landed in a crouch, his wings flared for balance, but even he looked shaken by the display of raw power.

Asmodeus stood at the center of the ritual circle, the Heart pulsing in sync with the golden sigils beneath his feet. His wounds were already healing, black blood retracting back into closing flesh. His perfect suit was ruined, torn and burned in several places, but his confidence remained intact.

“You cannot stop what has been set in motion,” he said, voice resonating with unnatural harmonics that made my teeth vibrate. “The seal breaks tonight. The First Nephilim rises. And this world ends.”

The fight dragged on, becoming a brutal war of attrition. We attacked in waves, two engaging while the third recovered, then rotating. Slowly, incrementally, we managed to wear Asmodeus down. His movements became fractionally slower, his counterattacks less precise. Black blood stained what remained of his suit from a dozen minor wounds.

But we were losing faster than he was. Blood slicked our bodies, exhaustion dragging at our limbs. Sean's lip was split, blood streaming down his chin. My ribs ached where Asmodeus had landed a direct hit, each breath sending sharp pain through my chest. Cassiel's breathing was heavy, his wings visibly singed from the dark energy crackling through the air.

Asmodeus dodged another strike from Cassiel and laughed, the sound empty of genuine amusement. “You think you can stop this?” His voice was silk laced with mockery.

He turned his golden gaze on me, something almost like pity crossing his perfect features. “You don't even know what you are, boy. You're a walking tragedy waiting to happen.”

“Shut up,” Sean snarled, lunging forward with renewed fury. Asmodeus backhanded him casually, sending him sprawling across the stone circle. “Don't listen to him, Cade,” Cassiel warned, struggling back to his feet. “He's trying to distract you.”

But Asmodeus's words had hooked into something deep inside me, tugging at threads of memory that threatened to unravel the fragile wall protecting me from the truth.

Asmodeus lunged suddenly, his claws aimed for my throat—but in that moment, the world shifted. A voice whispered in my mind, dark and familiar and ancient.

Let go.

The mark on my chest burned like a hot coal pressed to my skin. My vision flooded with crimson, a red haze that transformed the world around me. My blood turned electric, power surging through every vein, every cell. I didn't fight it. For once, I surrendered to the darkness that had always lingered at the edges of my consciousness.

I let go.

And power erupted.

The moment I released control, embracing the mark's power instead of fighting it, everything changed. Time seemed to slow, each second stretching like taffy. My senses sharpened to painful clarity—I could hear Asmodeus's heart beating, smell the sulfur in his blood, see the minute shifts in his expression as he registered the change in me.

For the first time, Asmodeus faltered, uncertainty flashing across his perfect features.

I moved faster than I ever had before, my body responding to commands I didn't consciously give. The Heavenly Lash became an extension of my will, striking with precision that shouldn't have been possible. The whip wrapped around Asmodeus's ankle, and with strength that wasn't entirely my own, I yanked him off balance.

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