Arthur's fists clenched, golden-red flames licking up his arms. "Tell me, Miguel. Why are you doing this?"
Camila stepped up beside him, sword already drawn. "You said Amelia is the key to breaking the boundary between realms. But why? What do you get out of this?"
Miguel chuckled, like he'd been waiting for that. "Ah, finally. The right question." He walked forward slowly, hands behind his back. "It's simple, really. The Dark Clans—the ones your kind's been fighting for centuries—they want more high-ranking demons."
Arthur narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
Miguel's smile thinned into something colder. "Because they need them. The demon realm's crumbling. The real high-ranking demons? Most of them are dead. Killed in old wars. The rest? Too weak to matter."
He pointed at Amelia. "And that's where she comes in."
Camila's grip tightened. "She's human. She has nothing to do with the demon realm."
Miguel laughed once—sharp and cutting. "Oh, Camila. You really don't know?" He tapped the glass. "She's not just some girl. Her bloodline's special. She's got the potential to become something more—something beyond human. Maybe even beyond demon. With the right push, she'll ascend."
Arthur's fire pulsed hotter. "You're trying to turn her into a demon."
Miguel nodded, calm. "Not just any demon. A high-ranking one. If she ascends, others will follow. She's the prototype. The Dark Clans already have more lined up. Once she crosses the line, the floodgates open."
Camila's breath caught. "You're creating high-ranking demons?"
"Basically," Miguel said. "Or helping them do it."
He waved at the machinery. "This lab? It's more than a gate. It's a forge. We're not just breaking the boundary—we're rewriting the world. Humans. Spirits. Gods. All of them? Prey."
Arthur's jaw tightened. "You're sacrificing people for this."
Miguel gave a look like Arthur had missed the point. "And?"
Camila looked horrified.
Miguel sighed, like he was explaining math to toddlers. "You think you're protecting balance. But balance is fake. The world runs on power. The strong take. The weak break. That's the real rule."
He faced them fully. "The Dark Clans don't want peace. They want truth. No more lies. No more leashes. Just dominance."
Arthur took a step forward. Flames sparked underfoot. "And you're okay with that?"
Miguel didn't blink. "Inevitable. You stop me, great. But you can't stop them. And when it begins—" he smiled, "—what side are you really on?"
The lab shook. The tube glowed brighter. Amelia's body twitched. Her hair drifted. Her eyes flickered—something dark dancing behind them.
Miguel stood in the greenish glow, smug. "You still don't get it. Stopping me won't stop this. Amelia's not just going to be a high-ranking demon—"
His eyes gleamed gold. "She's going to become something worse."
Camila's voice was tight. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Miguel gestured at Amelia. "Her bloodline's rare. Ancient. She's not just capable of ascending—she's got the Eyes of Lust."
Arthur frowned. "Yeah. We know."
Miguel chuckled. "Do you? You've seen the first stage. Influence. Obsession. Desire. But that's just step one."
The air grew heavier.
Arthur stepped closer. "What's next?"
Miguel's smile sharpened. "Stage two: Mindshifting."
Camila's expression darkened.
"She'll gain total control over herself. No fear. No pain. No doubt. No guilt. She rewrites how she feels. How she thinks. No one can shake her."
Camila muttered, "That's insane."
Miguel nodded. "Stage three? Mind Control. She'll walk into your head like she owns it. Rewrite your memories. Twist you into something else."
Arthur's flames dimmed slightly.
Miguel kept going. "Stage four: Hypnosis. One word, one look—you think it was your idea. Whole armies fold."
Camila whispered, "That's… terrifying."
Miguel's voice dropped. "Final stage: Nightmare."
The lab trembled.
"She'll invade dreams. Twist them. Torture minds from the inside. Whatever happens in there? Your body feels it. Some won't wake. Others will wish they hadn't."
Silence followed.
Camila's sword trembled in her grip. Arthur stared at Amelia, jaw tight.
Miguel's voice turned soft. Almost kind. "You want to save her. But what if she's already past saving?"
Arthur's breath hitched.
Miguel stepped back, grinning. "So? What now? Gonna stop it? Or just watch?"
Arthur's fire reignited. Hotter. Brighter.
He looked at Camila. "We're ending this."
Miguel laughed. "Oh, I'd love to see you try."
And then—
Everything exploded.
Arthur's fire tore through the lab. Machines shattered. Sparks flew. The tube cracked. Alarms screamed.
Camila lunged at Miguel. Blade flashing.
Miguel didn't flinch.
A pulse.
Everything stopped.
Arthur froze. Camila hung mid-swing.
Miguel smiled. "Flames need bodies. And all living things? They're mine."
Arthur felt it. His heart stalled. His limbs locked.
Then—
"No," he growled.
His fire burned brighter. It tore through Miguel's hold. Time shattered.
He lunged.
His fist slammed into Miguel's face.
BOOM.
Miguel went flying.
Before he could get up—Camila struck. Her blade cut the air.
Miguel barely dodged.
Then—he grabbed her wrist.
Camila gasped. Twitched.
And stabbed herself.
Blood soaked her side.
Arthur roared.
Miguel raised a hand. "Die."
Arthur felt the command.
He pushed back.
"NO!"
His fire surged. The control shattered.
He vanished—reappeared behind Miguel.
"Burn."
BOOM.
Fire swallowed everything.
Miguel stood in it. Healing. Smirking.
"You burn," he said. "I heal. You destroy. I restore. You fight life? I own it."
Arthur dropped to a knee. Vision dark.
Camila bled on the floor.
Miguel waved. "Stay down."
She froze.
Arthur's rage boiled.
No.
No.
NO.
Something deeper woke up inside him.
Not fire.
Not wrath.
Something worse.
Reality rippled.
Miguel blinked. "What—
Arthur stood. The flames around him weren't just fire anymore. They were something else. Something pure. Something final. They burned like the end of everything.
Miguel's golden eyes narrowed, his smirk faltering for just a second. Arthur raised his hand.
"You command life?" he said, voice calm—too calm. The fire around him twisted, becoming serpents of light and oblivion.
"Then let's see how you do without it."
And with a single gesture—
The battle truly began.
The ground cracked. The world groaned.
Miguel smiled, but it wasn't amusement anymore. It was something sharp. Dangerous.
He raised his hand slowly, golden energy pulsing with a heartbeat that didn't belong to anything mortal.
"Let's see how this goes," he murmured, and his body shimmered, evolved. His voice was casual, but there was an edge to it. "I wonder... what happens if I desire... absolute immunity to your flames?"
The fire died instantly. Arthur's eyes widened.
Miguel smirked. "That's better."
Arthur didn't even blink. He moved.
The world cracked under the weight of his acceleration. His fist, blazing with divine fire, smashed into Miguel's jaw.
BOOOOOOM!
The heavens split. Mountains in the distance crumbled. Tectonic plates shifted.
Miguel was flung like a comet through the atmosphere.
But Arthur's eyes narrowed. "No way it's that easy."
His instincts screamed—Behind you!
He twisted, arms raising just as Miguel reappeared with a finger to his forehead.
"Vector Reversal," Miguel whispered.
Arthur flew back at breakneck speed, launched by his own power. He crashed through dimensions, through reality itself, until space buckled beneath him.
He stopped himself midair. Flames reignited. Eyes of Wrath blazed.
Miguel floated nearby, completely untouched.
"See? This is the difference," Miguel said, casually rolling his shoulders. "You fight with fire. I fight with want. You want me gone? I simply want to stay."
Arthur stayed silent. His fists clenched tighter.
"You're not scared yet?" Miguel tilted his head. "Let's push it."
And they moved.
They vanished from sight. To the world, they were gone. But the world still trembled.
Arthur's fist met Miguel's palm— And the universe screamed.
Miguel laughed. "Faster." He desired infinite speed. And then he had it.
He appeared behind Arthur. "Force Negation." Arthur's movement vanished. His punch never landed.
Miguel placed a hand on his chest. "Spatial Rupture." Arthur's torso tore open, not from a strike—but because Miguel simply decided that space no longer worked there.
Arthur gasped but didn't falter.
"Restore," he muttered. Flames surged. Wounds closed.
Miguel raised an eyebrow. "You're resisting my will?"
Arthur grabbed Miguel's wrist. "I'm not resisting." His flames twisted into something deeper. "I'm erasing."
Miguel's arm disintegrated. Not burned. Just—gone.
"What the—?" Miguel's eyes widened. Arthur didn't stop.
He punched Miguel through the chest. His heart vanished.
Miguel coughed—and then laughed.
"You think that matters?" he grinned, body rebuilding itself instantly. "I desire immortality. I desire regeneration that mocks your flames."
Arthur stared at him. Then he... smiled.
Miguel frowned. "Why are you smiling?"
Arthur's flames dimmed. His presence didn't. It shifted. Became something else.
"Because I desire something too."
The air cracked. Miguel staggered.
The power Arthur summoned wasn't heat. It wasn't destruction. It was... wrong. Unfathomable.
Miguel's breath caught in his throat. "What are you doing?"
Arthur looked him dead in the eye. "Something you can't wish away."
He raised his hand— And Miguel felt the impossible. A force that didn't belong to any law of existence. Not desire. Not divinity. Something... beyond.
"I... I don't understand," Miguel whispered.
And then—
The world collapsed.
Everything was gone.
The stars. The planets. The sky.
Only Miguel and Arthur remained, locked in a battle that had broken the rules of logic itself.
Arthur moved, and entire galaxies blinked out. Miguel countered, and time rewound.
But Arthur slowed. His flames, while absolute, weren't endless.
Miguel smiled, breath steady. "You're fading."
Arthur's final punch carried the weight of oblivion. Miguel simply said, "Rewind."
The attack vanished.
Arthur fell. His flames flickered out.
Miguel stood over him. "You fought well. But I win."
He reached for Arthur's chest— And Arthur began to fade.
A soft voice echoed.
"Why fight so hard, little ember?"
Arthur's eyes opened. He wasn't on the battlefield anymore. He floated in a void, weightless. Before him, a massive entity slept. Its form was formless. Eyes heavy with eternal drowsiness.
The King of Sloth.
"You burn so brightly," the being murmured. "But even flames need rest."
Arthur struggled. "I don't have time to—"
"Shhh. Breathe."
Arthur stilled. He breathed. He let go.
And then he understood.
Power wasn't always loud. Sometimes, it came with stillness.
The King of Sloth smiled. "You get it. I'll grant you the third stage."
The world shattered— And Arthur woke up.
Miguel's hand was inches from Arthur's heart— When Arthur's eyes changed.
Blue.
Lazy.
Unbothered.
Miguel blinked. "What the—"
The battlefield shifted.
Suddenly, they weren't in a void. They were at a carnival.
Neon lights. Floating platforms. Cotton candy clouds.
Arthur stretched. "Ahhh. That nap hit different."
Miguel looked around. "Where... what is this?!"
Arthur snapped his fingers. Miguel's clothes turned into a clown suit. His regal aura became sparkles.
"WHAT?!"
Arthur giggled. "New rules. This is my world now."
Miguel growled. "You can't just—"
Arthur waved. "Oh, and I gave you plot-induced stupidity."
Miguel opened his mouth. Nothing came out. His powers wouldn't activate.
Arthur floated upside-down, sipping an imaginary drink. "Try harder, clown king."
Miguel screamed. The carnival screamed with him.
And Arthur laughed. Because this? This was fun.
The battlefield shifted. One moment, Miguel was standing on solid ground. The next, he was on a giant unicycle, wobbling over an endless pit of rubber chickens.
Arthur popped up beside him, now dressed like a full-blown ringmaster. He had a top hat, a velvet coat, even a ridiculous little cane he twirled between his fingers.
"Ooooh, careful there, Miguel!" Arthur grinned, voice full of mocking cheer. "One wrong move and you're stuck in eternal slapstick."
Miguel growled. His eye twitched violently as he clenched his fists. "This is ridiculous. I desire—"
But the moment he wished for solid footing— The unicycle didn't disappear. It just… grew. Ten feet taller. Miguel swayed, arms flailing. "You've gotta be kidding me!"
Arthur gasped dramatically. "Whoa! Ten points for style, Clown God!"
Miguel hissed through gritted teeth. "Stop calling me that!"
Arthur spun and pointed to the sky. "What do we think, folks? Should we give him a fighting chance?"
A thunderous wave of boos echoed from nowhere. Miguel froze. "Who the hell was that?!"
Arthur leaned in close, grinning. "Oh yeah, I added a live studio audience."
Miguel looked around wildly. Shadows in the shape of floating audience seats flickered above them, filled with translucent spectators clapping, laughing, jeering.
"ENOUGH!" Miguel screamed. Divine energy burst from his body like a tidal wave. "I desire full control over this realm!"
The air turned gold. Power exploded from him like a nova. The carnival froze.
Miguel stood in the center of it all, breathing heavily, golden aura crackling. "Finally. Now—now I end this."
Arthur blinked. "Wow. Big speech. Very dramatic."
Miguel snarled. "You've lost. This circus, this chaos, this game—"
"Nah, buddy," Arthur said casually, floating upside-down. "You just triggered the boss phase."
Miguel's heart sank. "What?"
The carnival lights dimmed. The rubber chickens fell silent.
Arthur's eyes glowed deep blue. A bell tolled. And the final round of fun began.