Angels are spiritual beings of light wrapped in narratives. Each carried a soul that wasn’t just symbolic but a shielded pocket dimension that protected the heart of their story. To harm an angel, you have to strike that narrative so hard it erases in one shot. Anything less would leave no damage.

  Samael understood this better than most.

  Attacks passed through the soul’s pocket dimension first, then through layered spirit-barriers; the force is greatly reduced until only the faintest shred reaches the core. Even then, the spirit reflexively redirected damage back into the soul to balance healing time. Since it's easier to heal the soul than the spirit. Harming an angel was an equation: brutal, delicate, exact.

  But Samael had rewritten the equation.

  A series of Heavenly Pacts ensured every wound Adamas received was routed exclusively to his spirit, while every strike Adamas landed on Samael struck only Samael’s soul instead of his spirit. And because Samael disabled Adamas’s natural damage-reflection, Adamas took the full force of every attack.

  It was a surgical manipulation of angelic mechanics.

  That was why Samael aimed for Adamas’s midsection and sternum, which were close to the spirit’s location. But now that Adamas had adapted, the heart and the brain were the only remaining leverage points.

  And Adamas had more hearts than expected.

  Samael noticed the anomaly immediately. Adamas fought with no dip in performance even after his heart was damaged. A glance with his omniscience confirmed it.

  I’ll have to break them all.

  Samael shifted stance, expression sharpening. He sacrificed all physical strength with Leviticus: Offering, converting it into pure mana. He used Amplification to increase his output, and then another Pact multiplied his output even more until even a basic Genesis: Creation—Light Beam could kill.

  He lifted a single finger. A narrow beam of light seared out—silent, lethal. It struck Adamas’s soul, burning it.

  From Heaven, Ariel murmured, “That’s my style.”

  Michael’s hand found its way to his chin. “He perfected your style, too. When did he learn all this?”

  “By watching us,” Uriel answered softly. “He learns fast.”

  Michael and Ariel quickly realised that if Samael had perfected both their styles, copying his approach could elevate them to a new level.

  Adamas felt the burn echo through his core and staggered, blinking in disbelief. What just happened?

  Samael didn’t wait.

  He flipped his build again, this time converting all mana back into physical power. He blurred forward, fists crashing into Adamas’s skull. Adamas raised a hand to block, but Samael redirected mid-strike, crashing a blow into his ribs.

  Bones cracked, and Adamas retaliated instantly, releasing a white hole blast.

  Samael was already moving, his mana surging, and he activated Chronicles: Divine Counter. The blast curved and slammed back towards Adamas, magnified.

  Adamas barely managed to deflect it, creating just enough of a window for Samael to close the distance, aiming for his heart. Adamas blocked and unleashed a wave of blue fire in the same motion.

  Samael slid back, retreating from the roaring flames while rebuilding his mana stance. He condensed Genesis: Divine Flood in front of him, and with a clap, he launched a needle-thin jet of hyper-pressurised water forward, slicing through Adamas’s flame and piercing straight through his chest.

  Adamas stumbled, clasping his hands together.

  Samael did the same, and the two Territories collided like clashing worlds.

  Inside the merged Territory, Adamas suffered without help from the Adaptation Stone. Samael pressed his advantage, overwhelming Adamas’s Territory inch by inch. His decisive blow was only a heartbeat away, but his Territory’s outer shell shattered.

  Foreign objects shattered his Territory from the outside, and Adamas charged through the falling debris.

  Samael’s eyes widened. He prepared a failsafe? Rigging chaos weapons to destroy my Territory if I started winning was genius. I might have to steal that.

  Uriel watched from Heaven, worry on his face. If Adamas hits him now, he’ll…

  Samael exhaled heat through his palm, the burnt-out energy venting sharply enough to stall Adamas for an instant. Enough to raise a shield.

  Adamas’s punch connected with a blast of force, sending Samael skidding back. Samael twisted mid-flight, absorbing the shock through his arms, shifting into Michael’s fighting style.

  Adamas laughed. “And what do you think that will—?”

  A flicker jab grazed his cheek, silencing him.

  Samael accelerated in a blur. A clean hit landed against Adamas’s nose. Adamas swung back, but Samael slipped past him and drove a sidekick into his spine.

  Lightning slashed across the field—Agares’s miracle, but Samael rolled under it and darted forward again.

  Adamas launched a roundhouse kick, but Samael vaulted over it and smashed his knee into Adamas’s face. Adamas reeled, and Samael’s fist struck like a comet, dazing Adamas with a superman punch.

  Taking advantage, Samael threw a left hook to Adamas’ heart and a right cross. Just in time, Adamas managed to block the cross to his heart and launched a counterattack.

  Samael deflected with his shoulder and landed a cross between the eyes. Then he unleashed a rapid series of flicker jabs, winding up a final cross, but Adamas’s eyes flashed red.

  Adamas slipped the punch and countered.

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  Samael anticipated the shift, sliding his right hand under his armpit and firing Exodus: Light of Chaos point-blank.

  The blast hurled Adamas across the battlefield. He regained his composure, unscathed but pale.

  “That was close,” he muttered, the spear of chaos motionless on his chest. “Another inch and I’d have lost my second heart.”

  << Choose your strikes carefully; he’s absorbing your kinetic energy. >>

  I know. I’m sticking to ranged attacks.

  Adamas hurled the chaos-tinged attack back. Samael pivoted, redirecting it with a sharp twist.

  Chaos absorption is such a nuisance. Any non-chaotic attack loses all its energy upon contact.

  His aura flared. Violently enough that Adamas instinctively stepped back.

  Fine. I’ll have to be rougher then.

  Samael interlocked his fingers, combining Genesis: Creation with Genesis Reversal: Destruction Wave. The two contradicting forces formed a chaotic surge, and he flicked it at Adamas.

  Adamas barely had time to raise an arm.

  High above, Michael whispered, “He…he can wield Chaos?”

  Uriel nodded. “Yes. Not as strong as Adamas’s, but strong enough.”

  In Duadel, Azazel slammed both fists down. “How is he doing this?! Angels can’t wield Chaos.”

  The generals reeled back in their seats. Azazel composed himself, breathing hard.

  “He must die. No matter what.”

  Despite Chaos Absorption, Adamas took significant damage and was thrown back. His eyes blurred, and he stood on unsteady legs. Samael pressed forward, circling like a predator, unleashing Acts X Acts Reversal: Chaos Flames. The flames tore into Adamas’s heart, drawing blood from his mouth and chest.

  Adamas countered, but Samael caught his arm and drove two strikes, one to the ribs, one to the skull.

  Samael yanked Adamas forward and drove an oblique kick into his leg, breaking it and threw him, head-first, towards a spike.

  Adamas destroyed it at the nick of time, but his back was turned towards Samael, causing him to grin.

  Exodus 9th Commandment: Punishment for Piety activated. Stone crawled across Adamas’s head. Samael closed the distance and destroyed it with a Divine Flash.

  “One heart and a brain down. Two to go.”

  He wound up a punch towards Adamas’s injured heart, but Adamas countered first. The blow launched Samael across the battlefield. Samael righted himself, breathing hard. He healed his injured nose and wiped the blood from under it.

  Stars, small but impossibly dense, rained down on him.

  Babaquijal’s miracle. Great.

  He wove through them, deflecting one into another, detonating them in controlled bursts. As the last dimmed, Adamas was already on him with a Divine Flash.

  Samael absorbed it with Chaos Absorption and began to shove him back.

  “This was your plan?” Samael scoffed. “Not very smart.”

  Adamas’s eyes flashed scarlet. “I should be telling you that.”

  The sparks changed colour—black-gold to crimson—and he pushed past Samael’s arms with impossible force.

  Both of Samael’s hands disintegrated, and Adamas’s fist blew a hole through his chest.

  Every angel froze, wondering what had struck Samael.

  Azazel clapped slowly.

  “That,” he said, “Was a Chaos Flash.”

  The room fell silent.

  “What is that?” Dagon asked.

  “The fusion of Chaos and Divine Flash. Creating a wave of unstoppable destruction.”

  So, it is possible. Azazel smirked, pleased.

  The generals watched in awe of Adamas’ power, eagerly anticipating his impending victory.

  Samael lay unconscious for a blink. Upon regaining awareness, he saw Adamas charging another attack. Samael flung Genesis: Chains of Heaven, halting him just long enough to heal.

  But even healed, Samael dropped to his knees, coughing blood. Pain scorched through his chest.

  Adamas’s voice dripped venom. “Feel that? A part of your spirit is gone. Now you know the agony.”

  His eyes glowed red. The chains shattered, and he continued his advance.

  The archangels turned away, except Uriel, who watched with trembling lips. At the last moment, Samael slipped the punch and thrust a palm forward. A Chaos Flash detonated against Adamas’s sternum, pushing him back.

  Adamas stood unscathed, grinning as he finally healed his injured heart. Samael fell, blood streaming from his eyes, clutching his chest.

  “It’s over,” Adamas declared, hands clasping. His whites turned scarlet.

  Samael tried to cast his Territory, but he couldn’t. The pain crippled him.

  Adamas’s Territory swallowed him whole for the first time in the fight.

  Within it, Samael’s Ultimate Domain shattered instantly.

  Adamas’s mana had ascended to Tier Four, and Samael was subjected to Adamas’s sure hit, Chaos Lightning.

  He screamed as Chaos burned his spirit, erasing chunks of his soul and essence. Adamas lunged with another Chaos Flash.

  Samael screamed at him, not in pain but as a weapon. A perfect frequency that not only destroyed Adamas’s Territory but ruptured his eardrums.

  Just like his telekinesis, his voice also evolved his output to match Adamas’s.

  Samael collapsed, charred, limbless, unrecognisable. Even the angels recoiled. But his golden eyes still glowed. He began to rebuild himself—skin, limbs, soul.

  Adamas struggled to steady himself in the air, balance ruined. The opening was enough for Samael to heal his skin and fully regrow his right hand.

  Azazel pushed more of the Power Stones’ power into the Adaptation Stone to hasten Adamas’s recovery.

  Samael noticed Adamas’s slow recovery and lunged. Exodus 1st Commandment: Light of The Lord ignited around him, amplifying his speed, and he slammed a Divine Flash into Adamas’s chest, sending him flying.

  The explosion of the divine light amplified Samael’s output, allowing him to instantly heal his soul. But dread seeped into him.

  Only ten per cent of my spirit remains. One more Territory or Chaos Flash, and I die. His adaptation is still too fast, and his regeneration is increasing. If I keep aiming for his head and heart without a plan, I’ll lose.

  He sank to one knee, blood dripping freely. I can’t let him reset.

  He rose with renewed vigour. “I’m going to kill you, Adriel.”

  The name struck a nerve.

  “Don’t call me that!” he roared, then froze at the glare Samael levelled at him.

  What was that? Adamas thought, unnerved.

  << Be careful, I can feel it too, keep your distance >>

  Samael spoke calmly.

  “I can’t let you run or regenerate.”

  His aura spiked—violent, oppressive.

  Adamas charged to stop him, but he was too late.

  “Samael: Venom of The Lord.” He declared.

  Blue gas burst from Samael’s soul, filling the battlefield. Adamas staggered back, veins bulging, blood streaming from his nose, ears, and eyes. He screamed, scratching his neck in pain.

  Samael advanced.

  He struck pressure points—angelic mana nodes—each hit detonated a node with Genesis Reversal: Corruption, cracking through anchors like heart, brain, spine.

  Adamas’s eyes flashed red. He closed the pores of his skin, preventing more gas from entering, and he managed to block Samael’s next hit, barely.

  But Samael’s venom had a second form, a liquid he injected through strikes to Adamas’s mana nodes. Adamas coughed more blood, and Samael kneed him in the skull, staggering him.

  Adamas raised his guard, this time catching every attack. His adaptation pushed him faster, which Samael predicted.

  In an instant, Samael changed his rhythm.

  He feigned a strike to Adamas’s chest, forcing a reaction, then Samael grabbed his right hand, pulled it and struck the back of his upper hand. The mana node detonated, nullifying the entire arm.

  Adamas’s eyes widened.

  He feinted another attack towards his heart. Adamas dropped his guard, and Samael struck under his nose. The mana node then detonated, blowing teeth through the back of Adamas’s head.

  Adamas clutched his mouth, reeling.

  A switch kick to the liver dropped him to one knee.

  Samael exhaled, impressed.

  “This style is fun. I should use it more often.”

  Adamas clasped his fingers; this time, Samael matched him.

  Two Territories erupted, gold and scarlet clashing once again.

  The watching angels relaxed, wondering whose style Samael was using just now.

  Uriel and Michael had no idea, but then Azrael spoke up.

  “That looks like my style...or what it’s supposed to be.”

  The angels all look at him, flabbergasted.

  “Seriously?” Jophiel asked.

  “Yes.”

  “That is impressive, your style is the strongest one he has used,” Uriel remarked.

  “Agreed. What a terrifying style.” Michael added.

  Their discussion was cut short when they realised something was wrong. The colour of the outer shell was more scarlet than gold. It was clear Samael wasn’t dominating anymore but was struggling inside the Territory.

  However, the battle was far from over, and Samael still had more cards up his sleeve.