Chapter 161: Round 2

Chapter 161: Round 2"Hello ladies, this is not time for talks, the apocalypse is here and we have to get out of this planet."

Lucifer’s voice was deep and rough, carrying exhaustion and finality in every syllable. The heat from his aura rippled across the broken street as his wings folded behind him, horns gleaming faintly in the ash-filled dawn.

Ella blinked, stunned by his appearance. His eyes burned with mixed red and gold, his skin marked with black and crimson runes that glowed softly beneath the blood and dust. Francisca swallowed, her grip on her staff tightening.

"What... happened to you?" Francisca asked quietly.

Lucifer’s eyes flicked toward her for a moment. Then he exhaled, steam curling from his lips in thin trails.

"Adam happened," he said. "He’s... beyond anything I’ve ever faced. He’s planning to take this world’s core. Destroy it. Rebuild it for himself."

Ella stepped forward, staring at him with wide, trembling eyes. "Who... who is Adam...?"

Lucifer looked at her, his gaze softening for a moment. "The Human Progenitor. The first of their kind. Stronger than any demon or vampire I’ve known. Stronger than me."

Silence fell. Wind whistled through shattered buildings around them, carrying faint sirens and dying screams in its breath.

"I tried to reach you both sooner," Lucifer continued. His voice dropped, carrying a quiet grief that made Ella’s chest tighten. "On my way here... Vladimir attacked me."

Ella blinked. Her heart stopped for a moment, her lips parting soundlessly. "My... father?"



Lucifer nodded once, eyes dark. "He came at me twisted... corrupted. He used a Blood Throne to ascend beyond his limits. Became something monstrous."

Francisca glanced at Ella, feeling her aura collapse inward with silent dread. Ella’s lips trembled as she shook her head slightly, tears gathering in her eyes.

"I didn’t want to," Lucifer said, his voice rough. "But he left me no choice. I... I killed him."

Ella’s knees buckled. Francisca caught her by the shoulders, steadying her as she sobbed silently, hands covering her mouth. The wind howled louder around them, swirling ash and embers through the broken streets like dying fireflies.

Then—

A pulse.

A ripple of black and gold light swept across the street. Lucifer’s eyes narrowed instantly. He stepped forward, wings flaring slightly as his aura ignited in a silent crimson blaze.

"No..." Ella whispered, her eyes wide, tears dripping down her cheeks. "It... it can’t be..."

The smoke ahead twisted violently, bending around a shape as it stepped forward. Heavy boots crunched against broken asphalt. Black wings unfurled behind the figure, glitching between flesh and shadow. Gold-tipped feathers flickered with unstable energy. His eyes burned crimson-gold, deeper and brighter than before. Glyphs pulsed along his arms, older than any vampire or demon script.

Vladimir smiled.

"Hello, daughter," he rasped softly.

Ella shook her head, stepping back, tears spilling freely. "Papa... what... what have you done to yourself...?"

Vladimir tilted his head slightly, his neck cracking with the motion. "I did what I had to. To survive. To become what our family deserved."

His gaze shifted to Lucifer, and his smile turned cold. "And you... you’re still alive."

Lucifer didn’t answer. His wings spread slowly, their edges glowing with silent crimson light. The runes along his arms pulsed brighter, filling the street with faint red glow.

"Ella," he said quietly, his eyes never leaving Vladimir’s. "Stay behind me."

Vladimir chuckled softly. "Always protecting them... just like a king should." He raised his hand, flexing his clawed fingers. The air around him rippled with invisible pressure, cracking nearby windows into spiderweb fractures.

"I told you before, boy," Vladimir growled. His wings twitched violently, sending shockwaves through the cracked street beneath him. "I will tear your bloodline from history."



Then he moved.

The world blurred. Vladimir lunged forward, his claws slashing across the air. Lucifer raised his forearm, blood-forged armor materialising instantly to block the strike. Sparks exploded around them as claw met armor, tearing a screech from the ruined street.

Lucifer twisted, elbowing Vladimir’s jaw with enough force to crack concrete. Vladimir barely flinched. His wings folded inward, propelling him forward as he grabbed Lucifer by the throat and slammed him backward through an overturned bus. Metal screamed as it crumpled around Lucifer’s body, glass shattering into a rain of glittering shards.

"Lucifer!" Ella screamed.

But Lucifer’s wings flared out from the wreckage, blowing the bus apart in a burst of crimson force. He shot forward like a bullet, slamming his knee into Vladimir’s chest. The impact sent a thunderclap across the street, but Vladimir’s claws were already stabbing down.

Lucifer caught his wrist mid-strike. Their eyes locked. For a moment, Vladimir saw something deeper in Lucifer’s gaze—an ancient rage. A promise older than any blood feud.

Lucifer’s horns glowed brighter. Runes ignited across his chest and arms.

"Enough," he whispered.

He thrust his hand forward, firing a beam of pure blood-shadow energy point-blank into Vladimir’s chest. The blast carved a trench through the asphalt behind him, searing the air with burning metal scent. Vladimir roared, wings flaring as he flew backward through two collapsed buildings, sending stone and steel raining down into the street.

Lucifer landed heavily, panting, blood dripping from his lip. His wings twitched, adjusting his balance. Behind him, Ella sobbed quietly into Francisca’s shoulder. Francisca kept her eyes locked on Vladimir’s smouldering impact point.

Then—

The rubble exploded outward.

Vladimir rose from the dust, chest burned through to bone, but his grin wider than ever. Golden energy flickered across his wounds, healing them in slow, pulsing waves.

"You think... that’s enough...?" he rasped. His voice was layered with static, like ten voices speaking over each other. "This is Adam’s power, boy. This is the power... to end worlds."

He raised his hand. A glyph ignited across his palm, flickering with unstable golden light.

"Watch closely, daughter," he said softly, his glowing eyes flicking toward Ella. "Watch how your father... kills a king."

Lucifer’s aura exploded. Blood magic wrapped around his fists like coiling serpents. His wings folded tight, runes burning brighter across his chest.

Vladimir lunged.

Lucifer countered.



They collided in the middle of the ruined street. The impact shattered the ground for fifty meters around them, sending chunks of asphalt and rebar flying like bullets. Vladimir slashed with his claws, tearing through Lucifer’s armor, drawing thick streams of glowing blood. Lucifer roared in pain, grabbing Vladimir’s wrist and twisting, snapping the bones with a sickening crack. Vladimir didn’t even flinch—he stabbed forward with his other hand, piercing Lucifer’s side to the ribs.

Blood exploded outward, searing the pavement where it landed.

Lucifer snarled, his horns burning brighter. He headbutted Vladimir, denting his skull inward with a sickening crunch. But Vladimir just laughed, blood spraying from his mouth as his eyes glowed with golden fire.

"Bleed for me, progenitor!" he roared.

He raised his hand, golden glyphs flickering wildly. The world itself seemed to bend inward, warping around his palm like folding glass.

Lucifer’s eyes widened.

"Ella! Francisca! RUN!"

He raised his own hand, summoning a massive spear of blood and shadow, runes burning so bright they blinded the dark street.

Then they both struck.

The world exploded in crimson and gold light, ripping through the city block, tearing the sky open above them in a silent scream of power.

And far above, Adam watched quietly from the clouds, his golden eyes reflecting the chaos below with calm amusement.

"Like father... like son..." he whispered softly. "They never die easily."