Chapter 19 – The Fake Ruler
He could not lift a hand to wipe the dripping sweat from his forehead... nor was he able to calm the palpitations of the heart that left him gasping.
The uneasiness that ate at him – it was the same that seized him when Celestine's aura suddenly disappeared from his detection while she was still known as Zell's Angel; a direct consequence of taking the brunt of a full-fledged Apocalypse attack.
But this time… it wasn't Celestine. It was the Lord's aura that went missing abruptly.
The Lord... the only parental influence he ever had in his two hundred or so years of existence.
The possibility just did not seem plausible to him… the Lord, seemingly invincible… the most experienced, most spiritually enlightened among all the Angels… dead?
If what he feared was true… then Angel Land was doomed.
Carrying with him a totally atypical urgency, he sped towards his homeland like a missile without speed control.
The Land that he once called home had turned into something unrecognizable.
In place of the white, fluffy, cotton-ball like clouds that once floated around in the air was a dense, dark fog that almost completely blocked his vision. He could only rely on his wings to avoid hurting himself against obstacles.
You're the last one, Damien Silvergrace. We await your gracious presence in the Grand Hall.
He could detect the concentration of sarcasm lacing the words "your gracious presence" – not a difficult task in any case given the speaker's inherent liking for hurling insults at others.
He arrived in the Grand Hall as instructed, only to find numerous pairs of mirthless eyes on him. An abnormal scene in Angel Land… for a majority of the winged ones never liked dwelling on unpleasant feelings for more than a few hours.
His eye immediately fell on the one sitting in the throne at the top of the raised platform, where the Lord usually sat while he was upholding court or chairing the bimonthly meeting.
"Where's the Great Lord?" He shot out at once, for he was appalled at the audacity of this magenta-haired creature sitting in the Lord's place.
Yes… he regarded it as merely a creature, for he would not admit that one with such a foul presence could be the same kind as he was… despite the fact that he had wings as well… opaque wings with an Anti-Hyne sign tattooed on them….
What a revolting fellow! How dare he sit so openly on the throne reserved only for the Ruler of Angel Land? I would not be surprised if he was the one responsible for the change in the air!
Why… thank you for your compliment, Silvergrace. Although I must say… you have become slow… too slow. A direct consequence of mingling too much with those human-mortals, I'm sure.
"That is none of your business! Where is the Great Lord? What have you done to him?"
"Relax. The Great Lord that you have previously known… also Shin to veterans like myself… he shall no longer be holding that position. Instead, he has entrusted the responsibility to me."
"Lies! The Lord will never hand the most crucial seat to one such as you! You do not deceive me… in your heart grows the seed of all Evil. You harbour the soul of a Demon underneath that Angel shell of yours!"
"Well, I must say you are rather perceptive. It's a pity that Celestine passed you over for a mere human, for which I cannot help but feel sad for you…" Redrumiel bowed his head in mock empathy, succeeding his aim in provoking the other.
"I DO NOT NEED YOUR PITY! WHAT IS YOUR AIM? SPEAK AND BE QUICK!" Visible smoke of fury could be seen emitting from Damien's head… as rightly he should be.
"Isn't that obvious? I'm trying to take over the three dimensions of AKU.ZOK and SEI… to achieve, what else, AKUZOKSEI! Now… the question lies in whether or not you will join me, and become my follower."
"Never! Even if my life depended on it!"
"If that's the case… I'm sorry to say that I would have to end your life." He snapped his fingers. "General of ZOK… Heed my command!"
"You beckoned, my Lord?" Tanya emerged from behind the throne to answer to his call, placing a heavy emphasis on the last word.
"Get rid of this obstacle in front of me. Do not come back to me unless you have achieved the task. Now, go!"
She approached Damien slowly, without a shred of recognition in her expression even though he had been the object of her affections for a good half of her life.
"Tanya?" Damien looked at her in shock… for he could not think of any reason for her complete submission to this… fake Lord.
"You have expressed your reluctance to bow before the Lord Redrumiel. Therefore you shall suffer his wrath through my hand. I will show no mercy… either one of us will be dead when the battle ends."
Her voice was toneless, a direct contrast of the yo-yoing emotions of her soon-to-be opponent.
"Why… Tanya? I do not believe that you could betray the Lord like that…"
"Oh… I forgot to mention. The murderer of your beloved Lord is none other than General AKU… also known to you as Celestine Angelwing… hahahahaha!" Redrumiel let out a peal of cruel laughter… sounds that echoed in Damien mind as he found himself goggle-eyed at the revelation.
"I can see that you do not fully believe my words. Let me show you an entertaining movie…"
With a snap of his fingers, familiar to the reader by now as a favorite gesture of his for inflicting hurt unto people, a screen appeared in mid-air.
In despair, Damien realized what was going on in front of his eyes…
He wanted to cover them up with his hands. He could not believe that it was really Celestine sending the AKU creature upon the Lord, then blasting him with another attack.
The aggrieved gaze of the Lord upon his last breath was a picture that kept imprinting itself upon his mind, one that he knew he should not shake away.
"YOU! You must be the one behind it! Why are you doing this?"
"I believe I have already told you my aim." Redrumiel drawled, with a smirk on his face.
"I will never forgive you for this! I swear upon my very life to avenge the Great Lord!"
He charged towards Redrumiel, while gathering Chi for his attack as his speed increased.
However, a small blur of black jumped in front of him, erecting a shield that collided with him as he neared the raised platform.
The black blur was Tanya.
"Your opponent is me."
"I do not want to fight you, Tanya. Get out of my way."
"NO."
"You leave me no choice."
He did not want to fight her. Hyne knows how bad he felt about rejecting her for more times than his vast memory could relate…
She's no longer the Tanya you know, Damien. Do not forget that. And she will kill you, if you do not do the same to her.
He prepared for his Finishing Blow – a new one he had acquired after his battle with Zell Dintch, for he had seen clearly the flaws in his system of attacks.
He had not anticipated that he would be using it so soon after acquiring…
Silvergrace's Secret Ouiji: Dragon-Summoning Chi Attack!
Directing the stream of Chi in his body, he allowed it to rush around his bloodstream, and directed it out of his system.
The imagery of an Emerald-scaled Dragon rose above his head, appearing to carry a ball of energy in mouth.
Emerald Dragon hear my cry!
Release thy Chi upon my foe
Leave no mercy,
Feel no fear
And Honor shall be yours for sure!
The "Dragon" released the Chi, which hurtled towards Tanya at neck breaking speed.
Will she be able to avoid it?
Will Damien be able to avenge his Great Lord?
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WL: Hehehehe… you won't know until next chapter!
Celestine: Aren't you supposed to be dead?
WL: Aren't you supposed to be possessed?
Celestine: The it is taking a nap.
WL: Same goes for Hades… caught him sleeping on his job hahaha wait until I blackmail him… I shall be able to come out anytime I want…
Celestine: Yes, hope is a good, but a useless thing in your case.
WL: We'll see…