Vampire Progenitor System-Chapter 266: Lucifer vs. Nythra.

The streets of New Earth drowned in red.

The humans came first—screaming, frothing, their eyes glowing with Adam's leash. They didn't hesitate, didn't think. They threw themselves at Lucifer with knives, pipes, even their bare hands.

He welcomed them.

Lucifer's shadow lashed out in jagged arcs, cutting through bone and steel alike. One sweep and three heads rolled into the gutter. A twist of his wrist and a dozen bodies burst like crushed fruit, their blood soaking into the sigil at his feet. Every drop fed the portal, every scream turned into fuel for his gate.

The mob didn't slow.

A boy no older than fifteen lunged at him with a broken glass bottle. Lucifer caught the boy's wrist and crushed it. The bottle fell, and Lucifer shoved him back into the crowd, their stampede trampling him to dust. A woman with runes burning across her arm swung a hammer down at his skull. Shadows speared her mid-swing, lifting her into the air before tearing her in two.

The air grew thick with iron and smoke. Windows exploded, shards raining into the street. The ground shook under the weight of thousands running into his claws, their blood slicking the pavement, filling every line of his sigil.

Lucifer grinned.

And then the sky broke.

Rifts split open above the towers, light spilling out sharp and blinding. Figures descended—winged, armored, radiant. The gods Adam had forged. Not the old myths but twisted echoes, rebuilt in his image.

Zeus fell first, wrapped in stormfire. His lightning split the sky, spears of white light stabbing down toward the street. They crashed against Lucifer's aura, sparks scattering like glass across stone.

Lucifer stepped through them, shadows stretching from his back into clawed wings. He swung one arm upward, shadows tearing through the bolts, swallowing them whole. He raised his other hand and snapped his fingers.

The ground cracked.

A pillar of crimson shadows surged upward, punching through Zeus's chest. His stormfire sputtered out as his body split open, blood raining from the sky.

Ares came next, claws burning hot as molten steel. He roared as he dove, fists like meteors slamming toward Lucifer. Lucifer caught the first blow with one hand, his body barely shifting under the force. The ground quaked, but he only smirked.

"Is that it?"

His other hand shot forward, piercing through Ares' throat. The god gurgled, blood pouring as Lucifer ripped his head free and tossed it aside.

More gods swarmed. Bastet crawling on all fours, eyes glowing like twin suns. Hades with a scythe made of bone and shadow. Hermes darting fast, blades cutting through the air.

Lucifer's grin widened. He moved through them like a storm given flesh. Bastet lunged, and he tore her in half before her claws touched him. Hades swung his scythe, but Lucifer stepped into the swing, shadows hardening into an edge that snapped the weapon in two before carving him open from shoulder to hip. Hermes flashed past, blades slashing, but shadows caught his ankles mid-stride and slammed him into the ground hard enough to shatter the street.

One by one they fell.

The sky above burned crimson with the blood of gods. Their corpses littered the cracked road, limbs torn free, eyes glassy and hollow. The humans still screamed, still rushed forward, but they were fodder. They were dust under his feet.

Lucifer stood tall, chest rising slow, his presence blotting out the light above. His shadows lashed the street, devouring blood and flesh alike. The sigil glowed brighter, the portal yawning wider behind him. Shapes were clear now—his armies waiting, armor glinting in the dark, ready to step through.

And then—

The air split.

Lucifer's head jerked up too late.

Something slammed into his back, so fast the shadows couldn't block it. His body crashed into the ground, stone splitting under the impact. The air hissed, molten cracks spreading across the pavement around him.

Lucifer rose, crimson eyes flaring.

And there she was.

Nythra.

Her scars glowed molten red, lines crawling across her body like lava veins. Her wings weren't feather or flesh but shards of broken light, jagged and pulsing. Her grin was twisted, wide, full of venom.

"I've been waiting for this," she hissed. Her voice was raw stone grinding against itself, full of rage.

Lucifer's gaze narrowed, his lips curling faint. "And you are?"

Her grin widened, molten light spilling from the cracks in her skin. "The one who buried your father's blade in his chest. The one he almost killed before the others saved me. Damaris humiliated me once. I've carried that wound for centuries. Tonight, I carve it out of you."

She lunged.

Lucifer's shadows shot up, spearing forward, but her molten aura burned through them, snapping the tendrils like dry twigs. Her fist smashed into his jaw, sending him crashing back into a ruined tower. The steel frame screamed as it bent, the building tilting before collapsing into fire and dust.

Lucifer stepped out of the rubble, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. His smirk returned, sharp and cruel. "So that's how you want to play."

Nythra's eyes burned hotter. "No games. Just blood."

She vanished and reappeared in front of him, her blade arm slashing downward. Lucifer caught it with both hands, his feet carving trenches in the stone as her strength bore down on him. Shadows surged up his arms, reinforcing him, and with a twist he broke free, driving his knee into her gut.

The impact sent a shockwave across the street, hurling bodies aside.

Nythra snarled, molten blood dripping from her lips. She twisted mid-air and landed in a crouch, cracks spreading out from her feet. Her grin returned, savage and wild. "Yes. Just like him. Just like Damaris. Strong. Too strong. That's why I'll enjoy tearing you apart."

Lucifer flexed his fingers, shadows wrapping his frame like armor. His crimson eyes glowed, his aura flaring so bright the sigil itself pulsed harder, hungrier.

"Then come try."

They collided again.

The street shattered under their clash, towers crumbling as their blows split the air. Shadows whipped and molten blood sprayed, fire and crimson colliding in sparks that lit the city sky. The humans screamed, the portal roared, and Adam watched from afar, his grin sharp as he felt the storm of their fight. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Lucifer vs. Nythra.

Damaris' son against the one who stabbed him.

And the city was the battlefield.