Time had passed, and Mei's body, once mutilated, now stood tall again—reconstructed by the golden flames dancing over her skin like living scars. She took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the blood still pulsing in her veins, but she was firm, whole.
Dante, on the other hand, remained motionless in the same spot. A statue of darkness, still, his eyes fixed on nothing.
Then, the earth groaned.
A tremor ran through the destroyed city, cracking already condemned walls, scattering dust and debris into the air. Mei lifted her head, her golden eyes sparking with alertness.
— What… is happening? — she whispered to herself.
She cast a glance at Dante. He still hadn't moved. His silence, however, spoke louder than any threat. Mei narrowed her eyes, understanding: the portal. It was growing. The flow of energy pulsed like a giant heart, and Dante, even without acting, was growing stronger.
The enemy, in turn, allowed a slow smile to escape. His thoughts were clear: Mei was far more dangerous than he had calculated… but it no longer mattered.
The portal had reached the critical point. Enough.
Enough for coexistence.
From the abyss, black vegetation began to explode in a sickly life, like maddened roots trying to break through the earth. Twisted branches shot towards Mei, cracking in the air like whips. Some stretched out like hungry arms, trying to grab her.
She dodged, spinning in the air, and her fists ignited in golden flames. The flames consumed the vegetation, reducing it to ashes in seconds. The smell of burnt wood and sulfur spread, but the branches didn't stop growing, as if the abyss were thirsty to swallow her.
With a final roar, Mei swept everything around her with a circle of fire, creating space to breathe. The ground smoldered, black.
When she looked up, she realized Dante had disappeared.
— Tsk… coward. — she murmured, narrowing her eyes.
She ran through the rubble, leaping over shattered buildings and broken columns, her body a trail of light amidst the destruction. It was then that she saw him.
In the center of an avenue devastated by their previous combat, Dante was kneeling. His figure seemed darker than ever, and his lips moved in murmurs. Words that belonged to no human language, distorted echoes that resonated like a forbidden chant.
Mei's heart raced. She remembered.
The last time he had chanted those words, a crown from the abyss had emerged… and had almost crushed her.
— Ah, I won't allow that. — Mei clenched her fists, her flaming aura exploding around her.
And then she charged.
At maximum speed.
A bolt of fire and fury.
Dante continued murmuring, and the sound of his voice seemed to distort the air, as if each word were a crack in reality. At his feet, a black liquid spread, viscous and thick, forming two dark puddles that pulsed like hearts of darkness.
Mei charged headlong, but suddenly felt the weight.
It wasn't just spiritual energy—it was something denser, older.
A crushing pressure fell upon her body, slowing her movements. Every muscle seemed dragged by invisible currents.
It was an energy that couldn't be described as negative… it was prior to the very concept of "negativity."
The opposite of the opposite.
The raw principle of void.
Primordial.
Her vision blurred, and for an instant everything darkened. The world around her disappeared.
She was certain she had crossed into the Veil, and that she would be swallowed by that nothingness.
Because this time she was caught completely off guard, and there would be no salvation.
But then… light.
Small dots shone in the darkness. Entire constellations opened before her eyes, ancient stars twinkling like the eyes of slumbering giants.
The soft glow caressed her face, and for a moment, against all the logic of battle, Mei sighed:
— …Beautiful…
It was like floating in the womb of the cosmos. An eternal and silent place.
In the distance, she could still hear Dante murmuring, his profane chant echoing among the stars. But suddenly, the voice ceased.
The weight on her body dissipated, and she felt her limbs grow light again. Opportunity. Mei shot forward, flames erupting from her fists, ready to crush him before he completed the ritual.
But her blow struck nothing.
Something blocked it.
Her fist was stopped with absurd ease, as if it had collided with solidified air itself.
The impact reverberated up her arm, nullifying all the force of the attack.
— How…? — she widened her eyes. — Who…?
Dante hadn't moved. He stood still, motionless, as if nothing had happened. He hadn't even blinked.
What had stopped her wasn't him.
Mei took a step back, and then she realized.
Around the black puddles, silhouettes began to form. They were diffuse shapes, like dense shadows condensing matter little by little. The darkness was molding itself into flesh. Bones, skin, the contours of bodies.
Mei narrowed her eyes. Confusion. But also instinct: whatever that was, it was strong.
So strong that the flame in her aura trembled, as if recognizing predators older than existence itself.
She smiled. A light, nervous smile, with a glint of challenge in her golden eyes.
— So this is it, Dante…
He slowly turned his face toward her, a smile of pure confidence stamped on his lips.
— As always… — Mei's voice dripped with irony — the king couldn't win alone. Had to call daddy and mommy… right, little Dante?
The silhouettes completed their metamorphosis.
A man and a woman.
Human, at first glance. But only at first glance.
The man had long black hair that flowed like fresh ink, his eyes were shimmering abysses, too black to reflect light, but within them moved small, shifting constellations. His skin seemed human, but in certain places, like the veins on his neck and arms, ran an ethereal glow, like stellar magma trapped beneath the flesh.
The woman was slender, with silver hair that floated lightly as if gravity dared not touch it. Her eyes were a deep, almost liquid blue, and in her irises moved fragments of ancient symbols, changing with every blink. Her pale skin seemed made of living marble, but beneath it were subtle cracks, as if it were merely a facade holding back something much larger.
Both radiated a frightening calm. Too human to be monsters. Too inhuman to be people.
Dante opened his arms, positioning himself between the two, like a conductor presenting his masterpiece.
— Allow me, Mei Nuhay… — his voice echoed, solemn and triumphant. — To present to you… the Princes of the Abyss.
The air shuddered around them. And, for the first time in a long while, Mei felt the fire in her chest burn not just with rage—but with pure survival instinct.
Mei stood firm before the two newly formed presences. Her golden eyes scanned every detail of those bodies—human only in appearance, but with an aura so ancient it made the fire within her tremble.
The figures glanced at each other before breaking the silence.
— The time has finally come to subjugate your existence, Mei Nuhay — declared the man, his voice reverberating like distant thunder.
The woman nodded, her gaze fixed and glacial. — You are an error. A body that should not carry such a flame.
Mei arched an eyebrow, an ironic smile appearing on her bloodied lips. — So… you know me.
She closed her eyes for a moment, connecting memories. The echo of ancient voices, the whispers that came from the crown Dante had invoked on another occasion… That was it. It was them. The Princes of the Abyss. Dante had always had a connection to these entities, but until now he hadn't been able to bring them forth.
She took a deep breath, the reasoning clicking into place like pieces on a board.
Without the portal, they couldn't have crossed. If they had to be summoned, it means the Abyss still hasn't reached enough power to subjugate our world on its own.
A spark of hope burned in her chest.
Which means… we still have a chance.
Dante watched her in silence. His black eyes shone with something close to excitement. Seeing Mei like this, bleeding, but smiling before the impossible, only reinforced his obsession with her.
The Princes waited no longer.
They advanced together, sliding across the cosmic ground as if there were no gravity, their movements fluid and perfect. In the blink of an eye, they were upon her.
Mei raised her guard, but had no time to react. The blows came heavy, brutal, capable of tearing her body to pieces. However, before they could touch her, flames exploded around her, creating a fiery barrier that threw the two back.
Smoke spread through the starry void. Dante sighed, as if he already knew what had happened.
"So… she activated that barrier."
Dante thought.
A defense made to disorient and gain distance. But it won't be enough forever.
Mei used the smoke screen to move. In an instant, she reappeared behind the two, initiating the offensive. The blows followed in absurd speed, punches and kicks opening golden flashes in the darkness. But the Princes reacted in perfect synchrony, like two arms of the same body. Their coordination was surreal—while one attacked from the front, the other was already preparing the defense or the counterattack.
The clash was brutal, rapid exchanges that destroyed stars and tore the very fabric of space.
In a coordinated advance, the two struck Mei squarely, throwing her back. Before she could regain her balance, they attacked in parallel: the man from the front, the woman from behind. Simultaneous blows that would breach her barrier and strike her lethally.
The impact happened… but only from one side.
The man's attack exploded against an invisible defense, while the woman's followed through.
Mei, bloodied, laughed. A wide, bloody smile, carved onto her face.
She looked into the eyes of the Princess of the Abyss—and for the first time, that entity trembled.
"This woman… seems like a monster."
Mei grabbed the princess's hand with condensed flames, burning it with deep cuts that spread up the entire arm, about to carbonize the whole body. The entity, however, reacted quickly: she amputated her own limb, preventing the technique from advancing.
Mei wasted no time. She charged the princess with a barrage of relentless blows. Her flames pierced the darkness in golden lines, aiming for the points of spiritual rupture in her structure.
The same technique she had used against Vernasha.
"I need to be fast. I need to deal with them and find a way out of this abyssal plane before Dante can use the Veil."
"They are strong and coordinate well together… but individually, they are weaker than me. I've already understood that."
Her fists moved faster and faster, the heat distorting the very vision.
"Faster. More. More. MORE! MORE!"
The cosmos exploded in flashes.
157 blows in just 7 seconds.
A personal record.
— Done — murmured Mei, panting.
But behind her, the male prince appeared again, swift as lightning. The blade of his hand cut through space, aiming for Mei's back.
She turned in time. The flames collided with the attack, and the two exchanged blows in a devastating sequence. However, in a fraction of carelessness, the prince found an opening.
A cut, a blow.
Mei's legs were amputated.
Mei's body split in half.
But then… it disappeared in flames.
A clone.
The real Mei appeared just above, flames compressed to the maximum in her hands.
— Planetary Nebula! — she roared.
Before she could release the technique, dark lances tore through the void toward her. The darkness pierced her defense and nearly impaled her.
Dante had entered the fight.
Mei retreated, dodging at the last instant. Her body throbbed with pain, but her eyes shone with an almost joyful fury.
Now it was three against one.
And even so, she smiled.
— Hah… perfect. — she said, spitting blood.
But inside her, the thought was cold, almost cruel.
"If this battle continues at this pace… if I don't find a way out of here… I will have to kill you, Akira."
The weight of the decision approached.
And in the depths of the abyssal vastness, Mei Nuhay's fire burned even brighter.
To be continued…