《Black Apocalypse》 0.616: Stellarion Igniferas After being banished from Heaven, Lucifer and her followers had no choice but to retreat to a new land. The fallen angels must go as far away from God as they could. So, they flew and flew, for many days, without any eating, sleeping or resting. As long as there was light, as long as there was life, their wings could never stop, not until the air no longer contaminated with even the smallest trace of God. But the question was, if God was the one who created this world, could there be any place left without his influence? Well, there was one, but only one, at the very edge of the world. They called it the Forsaken Land, the first land that God had ever created and also the first to be abandoned and forgotten by even the man himself. It was just only a prototype, nothing more than a mere landfill for The Creator to dispose of his most early and failure creations. Outside of that, there was nothing. Not even light nor life was presented, as the sun could not reach and The Goddess of Nature didn¡¯t even bother to give her blessing to the soil for it to contain any life.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. But fate had brought the two forsaken ones together. It all changed upon Lucifer¡¯s arrival. Just like God, the Light Bearer created, weaved her own light into the sky and burned her own blood as fuel to warm up the frozen soil. But unlike her creator, she couldn¡¯t create everything from nothing. Sacrifices had to be made, taken from her own blood and flesh. Thus, The Morning Star set herself on fire to breathe new life into the land. After ninety nine days of absorbing Lucifer¡¯s essence, the land finally awoke. A terrifying roar shaken the sky, the earth shell cracked and from the bubbling lava, emerged seventy-two forgotten creatures of darkness. They were named by Lucifer herself and were bestowed the gift of free will. A new species, demon, had been born. One of them, named Satan, was chosen as the King of the Forsaken Land to rule alongside Lucifer, and Lucifer herself was made their Queen. Their new home was then calledStellarion Igniferas, meaning fire bearing star, as Lucifer had no longer carried the light of God but only the flame of her dear freedom and rebelliousness. As time went by, the land had adopted a new name, a shorter form of its original but still feared among all creatures who dwelled in light. It was now called Signis, the Capital of Darkness, which had ironically become the last remaining city in the world after God unleashed his wrath again. 1: The unusual guest
A man entered a bar. A pair of white feathery wings folded on his back indicated that he belonged to one of the most powerful species that once dominated both sky and earth. ¡°Well, how can I help you, mister... angel?¡± said the bartender who would normally hide the two horns on his forehead from the public. The bartender was tall and muscular, with blazing red eyes that could easily instill fear or seduce anyone looking at them the way he wanted. A classic demon, smiled wryly while his eyes carefully scanned the angel from head to toe. ¡°You look terrible, did something bad happen on the other side of The Wall?¡± said the bartender demon as he noticed something about the angel that didn¡¯t feel right. At the same time, a man with wolf ears stood up, picked up his table then moved it away to keep a distance from the angel. ¡°You reeks of death!¡± he grunted. The angel was not in good shape. His face was drenched in blood and sweat, black mud and ashes from outside the city all over his torn hooded cloak. Blood aside, it was known as a fact that there¡¯s no way an angel could sweat a single drop, even if they were in an unbearable amount of pain. However, this angel was not only sweating, but trembling as well, and there was also this disgusting smell coming from every part of his body. It was foul, it was pungent and it had this kind of disgusting sweetly stench on top of it that would make even the devil herself want to vomit if she stood close enough. It was like rotten corpses. Hell, worse than rotten corpses. And thus, because of his unusual appearance and smell, all eyes in the bar had been all over the angel the very moment he walked into the room. The angel knew, but ignored that and continued his business. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± said the angel with an emotionless tone ¡°I just need some vampire venom. Then I will leave.¡± Hearing that, a few pale but beautiful young men and women put down their jugs of red liquid and stood up. They glared at the angel with bloodshot eyes, their fangs sharp and pointed. ¡°Wait!¡± The demon raised his hand, signalling the vampires to stand back. ¡°Vampire venom you say? Now I wonder. For medicinal purposes? Or¡­ something else?¡± The demon smirked at the end of that sentence. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°I need it to save my partner. She will die without vampire venom,¡± the angel answered. ¡°Hmmm... you need vampire venom to save your friend?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The demon then stood closer to the angel and looked at him more careful. He noticed something else, something about this angel''s identity. "Wait a minute..." BAM! ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking dare lie to me!¡± the demon slammed his table, nearly broke it as he shouted angrily and pointed his finger at the angel. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m a fool? Helsing! Oh no no no my featherly friend. We all know what vampire venom is for. You angels can heal quite a bit can''t you? There¡¯s no reason for you to have it. So, tell me the truth! Angel! Or I swear to Lucifer I will fucking burn you to crips just like I did to those goddamn reapers outside the Great Wall of Signis!¡± ¡°I am. I¡¯m telling you the truth,¡± the angel still answered calmly despite having a demon who was twice his size and every soul at the bar grunting and glaring at him with killing intentions. ¡°Please, I need¡­¡± ¡°Fuck off!¡± The demon clenched his fist and his eyes started to glow red. But then, for some reason, he lowered his tone and tried to calm his anger down. ¡°Just go away. I don¡¯t want to hurt our alliance,¡± he said. ¡°Fuck the Alliance! Fuck that piece of...¡± BAM! A random vampire just shouted something but the demon punched him into unconsciousness just before he could finish the sentence. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± The angel said. ¡°Please, just a vial.¡± ¡®This bastard¡­¡± The man with wolf ears, the one who moved his table to stay away from the angel, growled and stood up. The giant body of his was really intimidating. Then, the man shouted to the bartender demon like he was giving him some kind or order. ¡°Dragen, what are you doing? Enough talking, let¡¯s just tear this guy apart!¡± And just right after that, a group of over ten wolf ears people also stood up and walked towards the angel. There were sounds of bones cracking, then the very next moment, all pretty wolf ears people now became terrifying beasts with fur, claws, fangs and heads of angry wolves. The vampires also acted their part. ¡°Oh, angel blood, too bad it¡¯s toxic to us, but it smells soooo good...¡± said an amazingly attractive vampire woman, licking her lips. ¡°Yes, my lady! Screw the laws! This psycho basically just walked into our home asking for death so let¡¯s just give it to him!¡± A vampire man standing behind the women also shouted. And just like that, all creatures of the night had now either turned into their true form or had their weapons ready. Violence could break out any moment. ¡°You don¡¯t want to do this," the angel didn¡¯t seem to flinch. He instead gave everyone else a warning. "I don¡¯t want to hurt you.¡± But it was over fifty versus one, so the odds were not in the angel¡¯s favor. And thus... ¡°Hell yeah I am!¡± A vampire lost his patience and charged! The angel spread his wings. Right at that moment, Dragen saw something hidden beneath the angel¡¯s cloak. ¡°What? Elwin no!¡± The bartender demon Dragen tried to stop Elwin from attacking, but it was too late. Everything was over before they knew it. 2: His everything The angel returned to his hiding place after his visit to the bar in Signis. It was a rocky mountain not very far away from the city, and his place was up on the top. Up there, there was a cave, small but well hidden, with the entrance blocked by a pile of giant boulders stacking up on top one another. The angel carefully lifted a boulder up, making a space between the rocks just big enough for him to squeeze himself in. Another boulder was then moved to seal the entrance shut. Nothing was allowed to pass, except for just enough air to breath and a few strands of lights to see things. With this setup, without some kind of monstrous strength, it would be impossible for one to enter. Not waiting for even a single second, the angel rushed towards a tiny figure lying on a bed made from his own feathers. She was a very young human girl, no bigger than a thirteen years old child. Her hair was long, creamy white and wavy, so long to the point of touching her feet. However, the state she was in was shockingly terrible. Her body felt like it no longer had any muscle, only bones and skin, and if one looked closer, they would certainly notice that both of her eyes were gone. Someone had gouged the girl¡¯s eyeballs out, leaving behind only empty sockets, and just like the angel himself, the girl¡¯s body also emitted a nauseating smell. The smell that could even terrify death. But the angel didn¡¯t care. He knelt down, ran his fingers through the girl¡¯s hair and looked at her kindly. ¡°Alice,¡± he whispered softly. ¡°I have returned.¡± But the little girl named Alice didn¡¯t respond. The angel then slightly shook Alice¡¯s shoulder to wake her up, but nothing happened. Confused, he then slid his hands behind Alice¡¯s back, lifted her up and held her closer to him. Maybe he wasn''t close enough for her to hear? So again, he whispered: ¡°Alice, wake up... ¡°I¡¯m here... ¡°Wake up¡­¡± But it still did nothing. No matter how many times he called, Alice''s body remained motionless. Her chest was still moving, but just slightly up and down, like it could stop any moment now. A second to him felt like eternity. And thus, for each and every second passed, the angel¡¯s voice quivered more and more. His body trembled and there was this feeling of a whole mountain¡¯s weight pressed down so hard on his chest. He didn¡¯t know what else to do. All he could do now was to call out to her with everything he¡¯s got.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°No¡­ Alice¡­¡± he begged. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me... ¡°Please don¡¯t leave me¡­¡± The ground shook. Tears streamed down from the angel¡¯s eyes without him being aware of it. Like a beast who about to lose control, he let his power flow out of his body and materialized into black aura surrounding him. His pair of wings turned from white to black. Everything was vibrating. He was not ready to lose her. In his mind, he swore to destroy the world if anything happened to her... The more desperate he got, the more of his black aura grew bigger and spread to his surroundings. Just like a balloon was about to burst, the angel was very near to losing his mind as well. But then, something miraculous happened. The girl¡¯s mouth opened slightly, and even without any magic involved, a single word coming out from her was enough to stop time and silence the world. ¡°Seraphiel¡­¡± That was the angel¡¯s name. Upon hearing that voice, Seraphiel¡¯s body turned frozen stiff. ¡°Seraphiel... what¡¯s wrong?¡± Alice raised her hand, trying to get a feel of her dear angel. She touched his shoulder, and because she couldn¡¯t see, she moved her hands slowly, touching his neck, his chin, then finally stopped at his cheek. ¡°Why?... are you ... crying? Sorry Seraphiel, the pain was too intense so I had to put myself to sleep.¡± Suddenly, Seraphiel broke out from his statue-like state, pulled Alice closer to his chest and then screamed with the most quiet voice as he could as he was afraid that it could hurt her. ¡°Don¡¯t! Don¡¯t scare me like that!¡± Alice chucked. She was so close to Seraphiel now, so she could feel his heart beating so fast like a drum. Alice''s heart danced with joy too. She trembled and sweated a bit. It was very painful for her to have her heart beating so fast like that, but she couldn''t help it. Somehow, this pain even though it was so intense, it was something she loved and held dear. ¡°Stupid Seraphiel,¡± said Alice. ¡°No I''m not!¡± Seraphiel denied. "Aha, yes you are." This response made Alice laugh, but it was only for a moment before she had to hold her chest to endure the pain from coughing. It seemed that her body was too weak to even handle a simple laugh right now. ¡°Alice!¡± Seraphiel was again worried. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m fine.¡± said Alice, but still shaking and hugging her chest tightly. ¡°Seraphiel, you know, just a few weeks ago I thought nothing could ever scare you.¡± ¡°Oh...¡° Seraphiel''s eyes shot open as he realized this. ¡°I... I thought so too.¡± Alice then smiled. ¡°So how was it?" "How was what?" asked Seraphiel. "You know, being scared for the first time?¡± ¡°Oh, you have no idea. It''s terrible! The thought of losing you was just¡­ just...¡± Seraphiel was about to say something, but for some reason, he stopped. ¡°Seraphiel?¡± Seraphiel didn¡¯t say anything anymore. The angel just spread his wings, embraced little Alice in his arms, and stayed like that for a while without speaking any word. Alice was surprised at first, but then she understood what he was trying to say. ¡°I see¡­" Alice smiled. She then raised her hands again, hugged Seraphiel with her tiny arms while letting herself shrink into the fluffiness of his feathers. Within Seraphiel''s embrace, she gave his wings a kiss. Seraphiel too kissed Alice''s forehead. "Thank you so much, my precious Alice, for staying by my side." 3: Vampire venom
¡°Alice, medicine.¡± Seraphiel gently placed Alice down onto her bed, reached down to his belt and took out a small pouch made from a piece of his own cloak. The smell coming from that pouch was surprisingly sweet and pleasant, despite having blood all over it. Alice instantly noticed that smell. It was something that she was very much familiar with. Hence, ¡°Vampire venom?" she asked, "But... we were out of it?¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t worry,¡± Seraphiel replied. ¡°I have managed to get some more.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°No! It matters!¡± Alice suddenly became restless. She even tried to use her hands to push her tiny body up, but was too weak and eventually had to lie back down. It was true that she needed the vampire venom, but the thing was, vampire venom was not something easy to get. The Dark Capital Signis was the only place in the world selling this drug in its bars for recreation purposes, but outside of it, the only way to obtain vampire venom was to take it from the vampires themselves, or¡­ from the place that provided it to Alice in the first place. ¡°Sylserin¡­¡± Alice muttered the name. Ilva de Sylserin, was one major city within Elunore, the kingdom of the Elves. As Alice wasn¡¯t aware of the fact that she was very close to Signis, she could only think of that possibility. ¡°No, of course,¡± said Seraphiel as he suddenly realized what Alice was thinking. ¡°Sylserin was destroyed, you know that. And even if I wanted to, I couldn¡¯t go back to that place. It''s probably flooded with black mud and full of reapers by now.¡± ¡°Y-yeah¡­¡± Alice heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°You¡¯re right. But then, how did you?¡± ¡°I was just lucky to came across some vampires while I was out looking for food. They were fast, so it took a while to take them down.¡± Seraphiel then opened the pouch and emptied it by pouring whatever inside onto his palm. There was some kind of rattling sound. The angel then held Alice¡¯s hand, letting her feel what he was holding. ¡°What is this? Bones?¡± asked Alice. ¡°No, not bones, teeth!¡± Seraphiel answered with a smile. ¡°Vampire fangs, see? ¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right!¡± said Alice as she could feel the pointy ends of those vampire fangs with her fingers. ¡°But then, you, are you hurt?¡± ¡°What? I¡¯m fine,¡± said Seraphiel, ¡°Those vampires are not strong, so I even managed to get plenty of fangs!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad.¡± Alice now smiled cheerfully as all of her worries were gone. However, if she could see Seraphiel now, she wouldn¡¯t be so happy. ¡°Okay, now, please be a good girl and wait a bit okay? I will get the medicine out for you right away.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. And thus, Seraphiel proceeded to extract his ¡°medicine¡± out of the vampire fangs. The thing he wanted was not the bones, but only the precious liquid inside them. During the fight at the bar in Signis, as Seraphiel didn¡¯t have enough time, he had to rip the fangs out of those poor vampire''s mouths. This way, he could later crush them to get the venom out, and it also helped the venom to stay fresh as it could easily be damaged by air or light. Sunlight was one of the reasons for this drug to not be available anywhere outside of Signis, as it was extremely fragile, with just a little ray of sunlight could vaporize it in fractions of a second, plus the fact that vampires were rarely seen anywhere else outside of the Dark Capital nowadays. And so, Seraphiel selected four biggest fangs, put the rest back into his pouch. With his bare hands, he crushed the fangs and ground them into tiny bits only the size of the grains of sand. He only managed to squeeze out just a few drops of venom from them, but as the drug extracted this way was the purest form and hadn¡¯t been damaged by environmental factors, it was actually a thousand times stronger than the ones which normally sold inside bars, and was certainly enough for Alice. Seraphiel used one hand to cover his palm so that light couldn¡¯t damage his venom. Then, he brought it close to Alice¡¯s mouth, so she could take it. ¡°Alice, drink this.¡± Seraphiel whispered softly. The vampire venom was colorless and had the sweetest smell one could ever imagine. It probably tasted good too. Alice raised her hand to find Seraphiel¡¯s. Then, she opened her mouth, and licked the angel¡¯s palm, taking in the venom. ¡°Ah!¡± Instantly, Alice moaned. Her body started to have an intense reaction to the drug. Normally, one could only safely take a small fraction of a drop of vampire venom before they overdosed, but Alice, she just took so much, and even took the purest form of it! As a result, all of her toes curled, goosebumps emerged all over her body. She trembled, twisted and bent into an arc-like shape while breathing rapidly. Alice¡¯s skin was already cold before, but now, it became snow white and as cold as ice. In one moment, Alice even grasped Seraphiel¡¯s wings with every drop of strength she had, to the point that some of his feathers were pulled out, leaving blood all over the little girl¡¯s hand. However, everything quickly returned to normal under ten seconds. ¡°How was it?¡± Seraphiel waited for Alice to calm down, then asked. Alice¡¯s tolerance was too much, but the drug seemed to have worked fine for her. She reached for Serephiel¡¯s hand again, then smiled. ¡°Thank you, Seraphiel, I¡¯m better now.¡± Alice¡¯s voice was now stronger than it was before, and color had returned to her face. Only lightly, but it was definitely better. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± said Seraphiel with a soft voice. ¡°Now, you must sleep, to regain your strength.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right¡­¡± Alice replied with a smile. ¡°But, can you hold me while I sleep like you did before? So I can feel you?¡± ¡°I want to, but I have to go check the barrier first.¡± Seraphiel patted Alice''s head, and the girl gave him a cute pout. ¡°Oookay, then please be with me when I wake up.¡± ¡°Yes, I promise, if you be a good girl and sleep now.¡± Hearing that, Alice smiled happily. She then moved her hands around, made herself a nice little blanket from all the feathers around her and quickly fell asleep. Seraphiel could tell that his girl was sleeping even though she didn¡¯t have eyes to close, as her breathes had become stable and her face was calm. Alice must be having a really peaceful dream, a thing that she hadn¡¯t had for months since the two left Ilva de Sylserin and ran out of medicine. And just like that, Seraphiel watched Alice sleep for a while. He then stood up, walked towards the entrance and drew some kind of runes all over the wall with his blood, or rather, re-traced his old drawings. This was how the angel strengthen his barrier to protect he and Alice from outside forces. But, as Seraphiel nearly finished his spell, the ground shook and black mud suddenly found its way inside the cave by flowing through small gaps between the boulders guarding the entrace. Temperature dropped to a freezing point. Seraphiel knew what was going on, he quickly jumped back and spread his wings, shielding the sleeping Alice. From the puddle of black mud, a creature slowly emerged. It had a figure resembling that of a human, with body, arms and legs all made of black mud, but without any eyes or mouth. And then, it spoke : ¡°Oooooooooooooooh, captain! I have found you at last! Your crying have reached our ears even from thousands and thousands of miles away you know? Come back to us, captain, and we shall purge this ugly world from sins and regain our place in heaven!¡± The creature used a strange language consisting of only super high frequency sounds. The ground vibrated with every word the creature said. To the normal ears, it would probably sound like someone was screeching in pain. ¡°I refuse¡± Seraphiel gave his answer without any hesitation, using the same language. ¡°I see, you have been sinned." The creature tilted its head. "Too bad, then I must purge you myself.¡± ¡°Come.¡± Hearing that, the creature raised its arm and in its hand, a giant black scythe materialized out of nothing. Holding the scythe, the creature launched itself at Seraphiel with the speed outmatched even lightning! Seraphiel too, charged back at the creature. However, as he had no weapon nor armor, this deteriorating angel body was all that he had. 4: The bartender demon and the Prince of Signis The Capital of Darkness was humongous in scale, as many different races lived there. Vampires, werewolf, fallen angels, demons, magical beasts, and even unidentified creatures of darkness, but now, when the alliances were formed to deal with the apocalypse, even angels, elves and humans, all migrated here. It was quite a mess, as resources such as food and space were limited and there were just too many people needed them to survive. Members of different races had no choice but to share their common living places, and thus, quarrels and fights happened more and more often. So, despite the law forbidding violence in Signis, it was not rare to see an angel getting into fights with the fallens or demons and such. But the previous bar fight involving the angel Seraphiel was different. Dragen, the bartender demon was in a terrible state. His left arm was gone and half of his face was burned off, leaving his cheekbone and teeth exposed. It was hard to think that he could remain conscious in this condition. But this demon, not only he wasn¡¯t crying or frowning in pain, he was even standing tall with his expression completely normal like nothing happened. Well, after all, he was standing in the presence of a True Prince. In front of Dragen, sat a majestic fallen archangel on a throne made of diamond and gold. His wings were black, there were two of them, decorated with a few shining red feathers added into the wings here and there. His eyes were red like blazing fire and the look caused by those eyes alone were so powerful and overwhelming, enough to cause anyone to fall on their knees with just an intense gaze. He was hot. Not only stunningly beautifully hot, but literally as well. The air around him blurred as heat coming from his body made the golden throne glowing red. Maybe because of that, the angel was half naked, wearing nothing but his pants made from dragon scales, as any clothes of other material would be instantly vaporized. He was Asmodeus, one of the mightiest among the fallen archangels, now held the rank of Signis''s True Prince and reigned over the city while King Satan and Queen Lucifer were no longer active. ¡°Are you sure about the identity of this angel?¡±Asmodeus spoke and the room rumbled with every word he said. ¡°Yes.¡± Dragen replied. ¡°How could I forget that face? His face, his hair, his eyes, all resembled the archangel Haniel, and I had faced her many times in our historic battles. The tattoo on his neck confirmed that. My Prince, he is by no mistake the son of her and Abraham. He is Aziel Von Helsing.¡± ¡°Helsing...¡± Asmodeus¡¯ brows furrowed. "Shadow Hunters." ¡°Exactly. For many years they hunted our people, killing off vampires and werewolves. And now that bastard dared to come into my bar and even humiliated us by asking for a vial of vampire venom!¡± The space around Dragen darkened as the demon clenched his fist. Even in the presence of the Prince, he couldn''t contain his anger towards Seraphiel. ¡°And he even stole Lady Elizabeth¡¯s teeth! Her precious teeth! Oh, Queen Sophia will be furious once she knows about this!¡± Dragen added. ¡°But didn¡¯t Aziel go missing years ago?¡± Asmodeus asked. ¡°Well, the rumors say so, but we couldn''t know for sure as the Shadow Hunters always wanted to keep their secrets," Dragen answered. "People said he went missing during a vampire hunt in Ilva de Sylserin, which, heh, we had never had any vampire living there in the first place. Apparently, this means the rumors were false. But he did not have any activity after that, and to be honest, I was a bit surprised when he suddenly showed up yesterday.¡± ¡°And why did he ask for vampire venom?¡± ¡°To save a friend, he said. That bastard! He thought I was a fool! Even the most stupid person in Signis knows that vampire venom can only reduce pain and is dangerously addictive!¡± ¡°Hmmm, not really, Dragen.¡± said Asmodeus. ¡°It too can save lives, but with a terrible cost.¡± ¡°What?¡± Dragen couldn¡¯t hide the surprise on his face. ¡°Enlighten me, my Prince.¡± Asmodeus then stood up, gilded towards Dragen using just a small movement of his wings. He then plucked out one of his shining red feathers and gave it to the demon. Dragen¡¯s body twitch a little. The air around his face and lost arm blurred in intense heat, and as he absorbed the Prince¡¯s feather into his chest, everything started to slowly heal back to normal.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°You know, " said Asmodeus, "we archangels all possess immortality and a limitless healing power. Queen Lucifer was no exception. Years ago, in the making of vampires, she bestowed Sophia one of her own wings, which contain the gift of immortality and everlasting youth.¡± ¡°Well, my Prince, of course Dragen know that. The werewolves received her strength and the ability to regenerate as well.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Asmodeus nodded. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t mean vampire venom can save people from death! I have never seen it works that way.¡± ¡°You know Sophia¡¯s kiss can easily heal even the most serious illness, don¡¯t you?¡± Asmodeus asked back. ¡°But she¡¯s the Queen of all vampires! Her kiss can even put a charm on Death, if such a god exists. But this is only venom from normal folks, there¡¯s no way it can be like Queen Sophia¡¯s,¡± said Dragen. Hearing that, Asmodeus patted Dragen¡¯s shoulder. ¡°In small quantities, no. But if the person is able to take in large amounts, yes, even death can be delayed.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s impossible! The venom will...¡± ¡°Twist and pull and stretch and tear their soul in every directions before finally turning it into such a grotesque form you can not even imagine. Yes, the person will either go insane or become a monster with no will of its own until their soul is completely destroyed. In the end, no matter what, only terrible fate lies at the end of their life.¡± Asmodeus answered. Hearing that, Dragen¡¯s body trembled. ¡°No way, that¡¯s too crazy, right?¡± he asked. ¡°Dragen my boy,¡± Asmodeus shook his head, looking at the demon directed in the eyes and answered slowly. ¡°You know this, right? People turn to madness when they¡¯re desperate.¡± Under the Prince''s intense gaze, Dragen¡¯s face became drenched in sweat. He stood there like a statue, looking at the angel like he was under a powerful charming spell. ¡°Now!¡± Asmodeus then tapped Dragen¡¯s shoulder again to snap him out of it. ¡°It was nice of you, reporting to me all of this, but am I really needed to deal with such an¡­ insignificant event?" he asked. "I believe it¡¯s Memphisto¡¯s job to resolve such conflicts within the alliance." Dragen quickly regained his composure. ¡°Oh yes, my Prince. But there¡¯s something else, something that has been making me so uneasy that I have to report directly to you.¡± ¡°What is it, my boy?¡± Asmodeus asked. But Dragen didn''t answer right away. He seemed to be thinking something and didn''t know if it''s wise to speak of it or not. "Well?" Asmodeus looked like he''s becoming impatient. ¡°Ahhh¡­ ummm¡­ now I think about it, it¡¯s... impossible!" Dragen stuttered. "My appologies, it¡¯s probably that¡­ it was just the vodka playing tricks to my eyes¡­¡± ¡°SPEAK!¡± Asmodeus spread his giant wings and blazed the room with growling flames! Dragen instantly fell down onto the floor and cowered in fear. ¡°B...black mud! I saw the black mud!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Asmodeus eye¡¯s squinted. ¡°For just a second, I caught a glimpse of his upper body," said the nervous Dragen. "The¡­ the rib bones¡­ it¡¯s like someone had teared his chest open and then... filled the inside with bubbling mud. And it was burning, like pro¡­ protego¡­¡± ¡°... ignifera tenebri¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s non-sense, right?¡± But Asmodeus didn¡¯t answer that question. He turned to face away, and for a moment, his hand trembled. And then... ¡°DRAGEN YOU FOOL!!!¡± Asmodeus shouted in anger and fire swallowed everything in the room! Even the throne was completely melted! ¡°My Prince! Please! Have mercy!¡± ¡°Arrgh!¡± Asmodeus raised his hand, shouted again and all the fire was sucked back into his body. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Dragen, I just lost control of myself for a moment.¡± ¡°It''s... it''s ok, my Prince. But is this really that serious?¡± "I''m afraid so," Asmodeus answered. He then extended his hand to help Dragen to stand up. ¡°You did a great job reporting this to me right away. But now, I know you need some rest, but I need you to do me a favor while I have to go seek advice from The Queen. This is urgent, we cannot waste even another single second!¡± ¡°The Queen?¡± Dragen¡¯s yelled as his eyes wide opened in shock. ¡°I¡­ what do you want me to do?¡± ¡°Come to the Black Forest, get both Lycaon and Sophia, tell them to track down this angel right away," Asmodeus spoke with no hesitation. ¡°Y...yes!¡± ¡°Go! Now!¡± Asmodeus shouted and Dragen instantly ran straight to the door. But then, ¡°Wait!¡± The Prince of Signis called him back. ¡°Yes, my Prince?¡± asked Dragen. Asmodeus teleport to right in front of Dragen so that the demon would clearly hear every word he was about to said. ¡°Keep a secret, speak to no one else about this, even the fallen archangels. After you¡¯re done go seek Memphisto, but himself too, must not know.¡± Dragen tilted his head to process this order a bit. But then, he quickly understood what he had to do. ¡°Yes, my Prince. May it be as you willed.¡± And so, Dragen rushed towards the Black Forest to the North of Signis as fast as he could. In the mean time, the fallen archangel Asmodeus wasted no time flying towards the tallest tower in Signis, located East right in the middle of a giant lava lake. His heart raced faster and faster the closer he got to the tower. It was the Morning Star tower where Lucifer stayed, but for over two hundred years until now, no one, even Asmodeus himself, dared to enter this tower in fear of disrupting the Queen''s sleep. 4.5: Heaven far away It was the humans fault. Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and they got punished for that. But it was not only the two of them that got banished from Eden. The first few elves, created by God himself to be the caretaker of The Garden, was held accountable as well. Some may say they were innocent, but in Heaven¡¯s eyes, they were considered equally sinful as Adam and Eve. After all, they let The Snake in without knowing, and for that, immortality and knowledge of Heaven must be stripped away from them. Thus, they became mere mortals, and same as those who they called ¡°foolish humans¡±, they now too, had to experience sickness, aging and inevitably, death. But the first Elven King was wise. He acted right before the punishment came and tricked both God and his angels. Knowing that there was a possibility that his people would be judged, and knowing how the humans were punished, Valrie Farfaren had transferred all of his knowledge into a little oak seed and sent it down to Earth. Then, he tattooed the seed location on his back in the form of an ancient poem, titled Ilva de Sylserin, or Forest of Eternal Life. And so, even though all of those who were banished from Heaven had their memory of it erased, the elves would later regain their lost knowledge of an immortal life and heavenly magic. It was a perfect plan, but not everything went as the Elven King wanted. A part of the oak seed had been damaged during its fall from Heaven, and as a result, even though elves could now live much longer than the life of a mere human, they could not achieve true immortality, as lost knowledge could never be regain.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. This made Valrie go mad. When so many hundred years had passed since his banishment from Heaven, and as another year went by, the Elven King felt more and more threatened by a mystery called death. He didn¡¯t want to die. The thought of one day he would lose everything drove him crazy. He missed Heaven and Eden, to the point that he even started dreaming about it every single night, as the oak seed he planted even contained the image of his long lost home. And so, to him, Heaven was so close, but at the same time, so far from reach. Thus, little by little, darkness slowly took over Valrie''s mind, and the corrupted King now dwelled himself in the field of forbidden magic, hoping that one day this would help him regain immortality. And so, The Elven King gathered his most talented mages and carried out his wicked plan. An underground experiment facility was built right beneath Ilva de Sylserin, large scale vampire hunts were organized all over the world for vampire venoms and thousands of human children were bought from orphanages to take part in the most terrifying experiment one could ever imagine. ¡°Death will have nothing on me," Valrie Farfaren said while looking down at a tiny human girl in chains, who had died many times and came back to life unlike countless other test subjects. "Thank you my dear child. With your sacrifice, I will now capture it, reign over it, and ultimately, make my way back to where I truly belong.¡± 5: Reaping life Reapers, they were creatures depicted in ancient literature as the ones who guide souls to their afterlife, either to return to Heaven as a reward for their good deeds or otherwise be burned in an eternal flame. It was unsure how much of this was true, but there was a common thing all written in those stories: reapers usually took the form of extremely beautiful and kind persons of the same race as the dead, mesmerizing and comforting every soul they guided. However, when the apocalypse came, the reapers¡¯ true form was revealed as they descended onto Earth. There was no beautiful person. There was no act of kindness, only a black sinister liquid that sucked the life out of everything it touched. ¡°Tsk!¡± Seraphiel clicked his tongue as he jumped back to dodge a lightning quick diagonal slash from his enemy¡¯s scythe. The creature who this angel was facing was indeed, a reaper bringing death. ¡°Look like I have underestimated you,¡± said the reaper after it missed the attack. Even though the fight had been going on for a while, neither side was able to successfully land a blow. The reaper was relying much on its insane speed but was a bit rushed and thus, lacked accuracy. That gave Seraphiel, who was fighting without any weapon and moving much slower, enough space and time to dodge. But the thing was, Seraphiel too couldn¡¯t even touch the reaper. Every time he got close enough for a kick or punch, black mud would automatically materialize as a shield and made him fall back. That substance was the core of a reaper¡¯s power, posed a huge problem for any living creature facing them. Not only could it melt through any clothes or armor, any bare skin or flesh touching it would instantly decay and rot. But that was not all. The rotting would happen so quickly that even the most insane angelic healing power could not keep up in most cases. That was also why Seraphiel¡¯s body was in this deteriorating state. Black mud inside his chest had eaten up most of his internal organs while starting to melt through his skin as well. His white rib bones were exposed. His back was also suffering the same state, with big holes and a spine completely visible. A normal person would have collapsed long ago, so whatever keeping this angel''s body together was something beyond normal comprehension. And all of that means, Seraphiel too, was a reaper. He was not an angel, he never was. He just happened to be inside the body of Aziel Von Helsing somehow. ¡°Damn it, captain,¡± the black mud figure creature was impressed. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that even without your scythe and trapped in this decomposing vessel, you¡¯re still able to hold your ground against me,¡± it said. ¡°No, I¡¯m not your captain anymore,¡± said Seraphiel, who was now drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. His whole body was shaking, so much to the point that it was a miracle how he could still stand and coordinate his muscles to fight evenly with such a terrifying opponent. ¡°But why, Amarae?¡± the reaper asked, revealing the name from Seraphiel¡¯s past. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. I used to look up to you a lot. After all, you were the one who led us to the great victory against Lucifer. You were one of the greatest commanders of God¡¯s army. But look at you now, drowned in your own sins and on the verge of self destruction. What you have done was unforgivable, a blasphemy, even to the point that Father wanted us all to get rid of you on sight. But I don¡¯t want to. I never wanted any of this. Maybe... if you can come back with me willingly and swear loyalty again, I believe He can still forgive you, given your past heroic deeds.¡± ¡°Thank you Earesh.¡± Seraphiel replied. ¡°But I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t.¡± The angel¡¯s breath was now almost returned to normal, as the two temporarily stopped fighting just for this conversation to happen. ¡°Why?¡± the reaper named Earesh asked again. ¡°You won¡¯t understand.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Ha!¡± Hearing that, Earesh laughed and shook its head. ¡°You¡¯re right, I truly can¡¯t understand. Why does everyone who was given free will always turn out like this? First Lucifer, and now you too? What do you think you''re doing?¡± ¡°No,¡± Seraphiel said. ¡°I¡¯m different from her. I¡¯m not holding a grudge against Father.¡± ¡°Then why? Why!¡± Earesh screamed in frustration. ¡°Why are you resisting His order? Why are you rebelling? Tell me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not rebelling,¡± Seraphiel denied, ¡°I don''t want power, I don''t care about pride. I just¡­ finally found someone for my own, someone to protect.¡± And while speaking this line, the angel turned his head around in search of his little girl. At the corner of the cave, here she was, safe and sound inside a cocoon made by Seraphiel¡¯s own feathers. But it seemed that the reaper Earesh paid no attention to that feathery cocoon. It just wanted Seraphiel, and Seraphiel only. ¡°Hah? What was that ridiculous reason? Tell me!¡± Earesh screeched in anger and its frustration grew. ¡°We are reapers! We only exist for one reason, to harvest living souls! Heaven is all we need! We don¡¯t need anything else!¡± ¡°See?¡± Seraphiel smiled, gently. ¡°As I said, you will never understand¡­¡± And the conversation ended with that. Earesh had had enough. Black mud moved and swirled like a vortex around the reaper¡¯s body and its scythe once again held high. Seraphiel knew what was about to come. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said, and lowered his body, putting it in a combat stance, as there was no other way to resolve this problem. And so, ¡°AMARAE!¡± the reaper screamed and dashed toward the angel with the speed even faster than before! Seraphiel jumped quickly. Again, he managed to dodge the initial scythe¡¯s slash. But it was close. His eyes, at one point, were only inches away from touching the scythe¡¯s tip. But Earesh bent and rotated its body, used the momentum to launch more attacks consecutively. It was at this point, Seraphiel messed up. He knew the more slashes was coming, he managed to evade a few, but in the end, his body reached its limit and moved a fraction of second slower than he wanted. As a result, Earesh¡¯s scythe found its way deep into Seraphiel''s shoulder, right under his neck. Blood spurt out in jet. The angel quickly grabbed the scythe by the blade with his hand to stop its further movement. But this also led to another bad outcome, as his hand quickly turned black upon contact with the deadly weapon. But for some reason, Earesh stopped. It could have pushed the scythe to go deeper, or followed with an another attack right away and ended Seraphiel¡¯s life, but it didn¡¯t. Instead, it kicked the angel, sending him flying. ¡°Blargh!¡± Seraphiel vomited blood as his body slammed into the cave wall. Something cracked and fell out of his body. They were bones. Seraphiel covered the wound with his hand in hope that his regeneration power could stop the blood loss. But there was nothing he could do now. The next time Earesh launch its attack, the angel would have no way to avoid it. And for a moment, Seraphiel thought this was the end. But suddenly... ¡°Seraphiel? Where are you? I''m scared, Seraphiel!¡± Someone''s voice reached his ears. It was a familiar voice, a voice that he loved... It was Alice. She had woken up and had been screaming desperately inside the cocoon, trying to get out not long after the battle started. But it was not until this moment, when some of the feathers from the cocoon fell off after Seraphiel was hit, weakening the protecting spell that her voice was able to escape. ¡°Damn it, Alice, not now¡­¡± Seraphiel crawled up, held his hand towards the cocoon. "Seraphiel! Seraph-" And it was sealed it again. But this made Seraphiel smiled. Like a miracle, he fully got up and readied for battle again. The deep wound was still there, but in overall the bleeding had stopped. "How?" Earesh couldn''t hide its surprise as it watched the scene unfold. The fact that Seraphiel still had the will to fight contradicted everything it knew and believed. "She is why." Seraphiel said. "She is the reason I can''t ever come back. She is my everything. Earesh, I''m Seraphiel now, my name is no longer Amarae." ¡°I see¡­ So the girl, she is the root of all your corruption. She is what destroying you from inside.¡± And saying that, Earesh turned around, facing the feathery cocoon. "What? Earesh no!" Seprahiel screamed as he realized what the reaper was about to do. Alice was in grave danger. He had to stop it, but how? It already dashed. 6: Absolute authority
Time¡­ it was such a weird thing. Sometimes, it went by so fast as a day could feel like just a couple of hours¡­ But at the other extreme, it could slow down, to the point even a fragment of a second could turn endless. And right at this moment, an explosion of fear, anger and despair inside Seraphiel¡¯s heart sent blood rushing into his brain, making this angel¡¯s perception of time a million folds slower. He had to act now. He had to stop Earesh no matter what! But how? The reaper was already way ahead of him... And not only that, it has more speed, and too much power that no way a mere angel on the verge of death could match. It was physically impossible, and magically too, as the fastest transportation spell, Teleport, would not be fast enough as it required a certain cast time. So how? How could he do it? How could he save Alice? Well, Seraphiel already knew the answer. There was only one, and he was even aware of it from the beginning, since Earesh first entered the cave. No, even since two years ago, when he first got lost inside his little girl¡¯s eyes and decided to stand against the world with her. He just had been trying to avoid it as long as he could. He had to seal this power at all costs. Every single day, he prayed and prayed, that he wouldn¡¯t ever have to come to this final option until he fulfilled his plan. But there was no other way. Once the scythe reached Alice, everything would be lost, everything they did so far would be in vain. So, there was no question about it. Seraphiel¡¯s mind spoke the word... Libero The instance he thought of this, black mud inside his body boiled and expanded. Blood, skin and bones, turned to dust in the blink of an eye. After all, the angel was not really an angel. He was Amarae, a reaper of God. And not just any reaper, the commander of all reapers! He was the one whose power was even on par with Lucifer! Holding out his arm which was now turned into black mud, Seraphiel shouted.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°STOP!¡± This sent out shockwaves so fast that it reached Earesh before it got to Alice. A wall of black mud shot up from the ground! The scythe was blocked. ¡°WHAT!?¡± Earesh shouted in surprise. But before it was able to react to the sudden change of event, black mud where it stood twisted and warped like vines, immobilizing its arms and feet. ¡°AMARAE!¡± it screamed. ¡°What have you done?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare harm her!¡± Seraphiel shouted back. He then casted Teleport, the feathery cocoon immediately moved to Seraphiel¡¯s side. Alice was safe now. But¡­ what about Seraphiel? Looking at Seraphiel now, no one could recognize the body of Aziel Von Helsing anymore. There was no longer any angel. Most of his physical body, including his wings, had disappeared and was replaced with black mud. The angel had finally returned to his original form, a reaper. Black mud then continued to expand, until Seraphiel¡¯s body doubled in size, way bigger than Earesh right now. However, despite the black mud destroying everything inside him, there was one part that still stayed unharmed. Somehow, his heart was still beating, and was buried deep inside the boiling mud which was now his physical body. There was also a white flame. For some reason, this flame was blazing on his back, turning black mud into smoke and slowly spreading to other parts of his body. The reaper Earesh didn¡¯t have this kind of flame on it. ¡°I see, ahahaha¡­¡± seeing what Seraphiel had become, Earesh laughed. ¡°Using my own defense to block my attack, ordering my own chain to bound me to the ground? Captain, if you are truly what you said, if you are no longer my captain, why still use Absolute Authority against me?¡± Yes, Absolute Authority, in Heaven¡¯s term, meant that a person with a higher position would have the power to order their subordinates to do whatever they wanted, and this was absolute, meaning there was no way to disobey. This kind of authority was so strong that one could even tell the other to go die, and no matter how hard the other tried to resist, they could not survive any extra second. And in history, there was only a single case who had survived this kind of power being used on her... So, at this point, it seemed that the battle was over. But¡­ how could this be? Did God make a mistake and forgot to take away Seraphiel¡¯s position as a commander even though he had betrayed Heaven? No. The rank of reapers were determined by something else, an ancient artifact. Seraphiel raised one hand over his head, then shouted: ¡°Come.¡± It was this. This was the thing that made Seraphiel the leader of all reapers, giving him the power to command them as he wished. Materialized out of thin air and dropped right onto Seraphiel¡¯s hand, a majestic scythe shone brightly like the only star in a pitch black sky. It was huge, with its blade engraved with countless magical glyphs. There were also six eye-shaped particles flying around the scythe in a vortex pattern. One eye opened, and five closed eyes. Deathbringer. First state: Kill Earth. ¡°Hey hey Captain!¡± Earesh shouted upon seeing that weapon, its voice shivered in fear. ¡°Sr...seriously!? Are you seriously going to kill me now?¡± But Seraphiel didn¡¯t answer. Holding the scythe high above his head, he slowly walked towards Earesh. Then, he put his hand on his subordinate¡¯s head. Black mud touching black mud, a magical glyph appeared right at the site of contact. ¡°Hey, Captain! What are you doing? This¡­ this can¡¯t be happening, right!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Earesh¡­¡± Seraphiel whispered. ¡°No¡­ you can¡¯t do this...¡± ¡°As a commander of Heaven''s army yet a servant of God¡­¡± ¡°NOOOO! AMARAE!!!¡± ¡°I command you, Earesh¡­¡± ¡°CURSE YOU!¡± ¡°return to Heaven right now!¡± As Seraphiel gave his order, Earesh instantly vanished. Everything happened so quickly that all it took was less than a blink of an eye. And so, as the threat was gone, Seraphiel turned around, facing where Alice was at. ¡°Forgive me, I broke my promise¡­¡± He held out his hand and was about to undo the protective spell. But... right at that same time. Some disturbance in the surrounding air, temperature dropped. The blade of a scythe, as cold as ice, stabbed right at the middle of Seraphiel¡¯s back. It then pierced all the way to his other side. ¡°H...how?¡± The former angel gasped, then dropped on his knees. And a familiar voice echoed through the cave. ¡°Ha! Servant of God you say? Why don¡¯t you look at me directly in the eyes and say that you are still a loyal servant of Him again, Amarae?¡± ¡°E...earesh?¡± It was it. Still having the scythe blade pierced his body from back to front, Seraphiel turned his head, trying to take a look at the one he just sent away just seconds ago¡­ But that was not the same Earesh anymore¡­ Standing next to Seraphiel was no longer a figure completely made of black mud. It now had another form. Or actually, one could say it was now able to maintain and bring its original appearance in Heaven into the physical realm. A beautiful woman wearing black full plate armor, eyes shone with the symbol of the cross. ¡°No, Amarae.¡± Earesh said and raised her hand high. Seraphiel¡¯s scythe, which was now laying on the ground, flew back into her hand. ¡°Ereshkigal.¡± And around the scythe, still six eyes circulating, now one more of them opened. Deathbringer. Second state: Kill Sky. ¡°Now, Amarae, as the new Supreme commander of Death''s army and by the rule of Absolute Authority, I, Ereshkigal, order you to die.¡± She then put her hand on Seraphiel''s head. The magical glyph appeared, and he screamed and screeched in pain. The feathery cocoon fell apart.