Chapter 5
Written By Illuminet
Disclaimer: Just refer to the first chapter to view it. Otherwise, everything should be okay...
"..."-Indicate Speech
'...'-Indicate Thought
------
Celestia, Seraphic Sanctuary, Sacred Alter
'This is it...I'm doubtful, though...can I really seal someone as huge and powerful as he is...? No...I must believe...I will not let my people's deaths go in vain...'
Michaelangelo thought. Seeing as Baal was overconfident and letting him go first, Michaelangelo decided to take the initiative. The Seraph lifted his arms upward as far as they could reach up into the air. He took a deep breath before concentrating. His hands began to gather particles of white light as they accumulated in each palm. The collected light began to increase in size and luminescence.
"Hmmm...what's this...?"
Baal muttered as he saw light streaming down from the sky to encircle around him. Baal smirked.
"What are you planning, Seraph...?"
Baal asked. Michaelangelo simply ignored the question and kept concentrating.
'This should be powerful enough...I hope...'
The Seraph thought as he opened his eyes and stopped chanting.
"Farewell, Baal. This is for my people who've you made suffer."
Michaelangelo said with narrowed eyes. Baal quirked a large eye brow. Before the Lord of Terror was about to speak, however, he felt a sort of crushing sensation on his rock skin.
"What's happening...to me?"
Baal asked as he felt himself shrink smaller and smaller as his form became long and simplistic. Before long Baal's form became that of a flower, one with a knarled stem and unhealthy looking violet roots. The light finally dissipated. Michaelangelo sank to his knees.
'I can't believe how much it took out of me just to seal him away as a flower. Regardless...it looks like his prison will hold...'
He fell to the floor in exhaustion, his ears barely picking up the sound of footsteps coming into his chamber.
"Hey Seraph, you alright?"
He recognized the feminine voice, and slowly opened his eyes.
"Overlord Etna...and Overlord Priere...what are you two doing here?"
He asked. Priere shook her head.
"Seems we got here a little too late to warn you about Baal, the Lord of Terror's return. Where is he? I can't sense him anywhere."
Priere stated. Etna helped the Seraph to his feet.
"That flower over there is all that remains of him. I guess were safe now."
Michaelangelo said. Etna wanted to agree, but she felt something she couldn't quite describe. As strong as the ability to seal away a soul in a flower that the Seraphs used a lot, Etna didn't believe that would be enough.
"I heard the Seraphs could use an ability to turn a living thing into a flower. I guess this proves it."
Priere said as she looked at the flower that was once Baal.
"Originally that technique we Seraphs used was an exclusive weapon against Demons until it was founded to be used as a means of punishment for the Angels as well."
Michaelangelo explained.
"So this flower get will be able to hold him, right?"
Priere inquired. Michaelangelo nodded.
"It should. I have read many texts about the successfulness of this technique on Demons in ancient times. So far, no Demon has been known to be able to escape from this flower prison."
He said.
"I understand that. Regardless, Baal is no ordinary Demon. He is the Lord of Terror after all."
Etna said as she looked at the flower.
"But can even the Lord of Terror escape from something like this?"
Priere inquired. She didn't see any reason to fear a flower.
"Actually, I can..."
Baal's voice seemed to echo throughout the room. The flower began to twitch about violently. The room itself began to shake.
"Impossible...he's reversing the process!"
Michaelangelo warned. Violet rays of light showered the flower, making it grow and enlarge until it reformed into Baal's body once more. The Lord of Terror grinned slightly at the Seraph's shocked features.
"Heh...your face is beautiful, Seraph...keep showing me that face of fear and disbelief."
Baal said with a sneer. He turned to see Priere and the unfamiliar Etna.
"So we meet again, Overlord Priere. Who's your friend...? Wait...how nice. To be graced by the presence of the Overlord of the Netherworld as well. What did the Seraph call you again...ah, yes, Etna wasn't it? It's hard to be a flower. I could hardly hear anything within that state."
Baal said. He gave Etna a look over before scowling.
"Your not one of Krichevskoy's kin. I wonder what relationship you had to him, though. You must have been a lowly Vassal of his before he passed away, correct?"
Baal asked. Seeing Etna's eyes narrow in his direction only amused him, and it showed with his slight curve of a smile that appeared on his face.
"Actually I was his and his son's right hand Vassal, thank you very much."
Etna stated as she continued to glare at him. Baal's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Oh...? So Krichevskoy had a heir? Where is this Demon, then? Why is he not an Overlord that stands before me, instead of you?"
Baal inquired. His interest was peeked. This had been new information to digest.
'I was uninformed that Krichevskoy had a son...could he have been ousted by this female Demon? No...not likely...oh well, no need to dwell on it for now.'
Baal thought before shaking his head, getting his mind back to the main focus of his arrival here: To defeat the Seraph and take over Celestia. The only added difficulty would be the interference of two Overlords. This hardly worried him. Although it took a bit more power than he had suspected it would to release himself from the flower binding spell cast onto him by the Seraph, he knew that the three combined would still not be enough.
"I'll give the three of you two choices. Surrender peacefully and die quickly, or resist forcefully and die slow and painfully. Your pick, so consider it wisely."
Baal announced. Judging by the fact that the three pulled out weapons and got into fighting stances, Baal knew they would resist. Baal took a more through glance at the spear Etna was carrying and it made him smirk.
"Longinus, my old friend, I didn't think you were here. I guess my abilities really have gotten a bit rusty since I last met you and Krichevskoy in my tower so long ago."
Baal stated. The spear bended upwards to peer at Baal through circular eyes.
"Indeed it has been a while, Baal, but I am not your friend. You are the reason the Demons were looked down upon by the other races as beings of evil and disgust."
The living spear spoke out to him. Baal let out a low chuckle.
"Heh...believe what you will, Longinus. I can tell you haven't been used for a while. Still think you can match up to me with a weaker Overlord than Krichevskoy?"
Baal asked as he cracked his knuckles in each hand, with a menacing gleam in his eyes.
"Be careful, you two. He's much more nimble than he appears."
Priere warned. Her encounter with him before was enough of an experience for her to know. Baal's usual amused smirk turned to grim seriousness, indicating he was ready for combat. Priere and Etna walked opposite ways around Baal until they were at his sides, while Michaelangelo remained in front of Baal's line of vision. The Seraph's fist flashed as he gathered lightning within. Michaelangelo was the first to attack, throwing out a lightning guantleted fist at Baal's direction as he sped towards the large Demon. Baal quickly brought his right hand out to effortlessly catch the Angel's fist. Etna went for Baal's now unprotected side, but had quickly had her thrust brushed off as Baal brought out his arm in a wide arch while dragging Michaelangelo by his caught arm. Baal released Michaelangelo briefly once he sent Etna off her feet by the unexpected blow. While Michaelangelo was momentarily free in the air, Baal let some of his sadistic nature show through as he quickly grabbed the top left wing of Michaelangelo and crushing the wing in his fist, letting it make sickening cracking sounds as it broke. Michaelangelo's scream echoed throughout the room as he roared in pain, making Baal grin widely in satisfaction. Baal then decided to tear the wing right from the Seraph's back.
"Hey Baal!"
Before the Lord of Terror could be allowed the satisfaction, Priere was quickly in front of him to strike his right forearm with enough force to release Michaelangelo. As the Angel fell to the ground, Baal took a quick glance at Priere before using the arm she had hit to grab her by the head quickly. Baal brought his fist up high, as Priere tried desperately to get her head free from his grip, before he slammed his fist into the ground. Priere felt pain seer the back of her head as he slammed her down. The ground was now lined with large cracks running along it's surface. Baal growled lowly before he began to grin with an almost animalistic look on his stony face. He began to grind Priere's head into the ground with great force. Priere closed her eyes to the intense pain on the back of her head as his fist kept moving it in a circular motion forcefully. Priere gritted her teeth to keep from screaming out.
"Let her go!"
Etna roared as she dashed towards him, closing the distance between each other. Etna jumped to about Baal's head, before slamming Longinus into the side of Baal's face with enough force to send him off his feet and skidding along the ground until he hit the wall. He hit it with enough force that it collapsed on top of him. Etna quickly knelt by Priere's side to help the other Overlord up into a sitting position, knowing that it could be any moment now that Baal could arise from the rubble.
"You okay?"
Etna asked. Priere just nodded slowly as she brought her hand to the back of her head. Luckily Etna helped her just in time before Baal would have been able to grind her head into the ground any harder, or she might have ended up with a fracture in the back of her skull. Michaelangelo walked slowly up to the two, his top wing dragging on the ground. It was truly a sickening sight to see the once beautiful wing mangled and twisted in an impossible angle.
"Things aren't looking very good at the moment."
He said softly as he winced. The pain he was feeling was near unbearable, but he didn't want to complain. Priere got to her feet quickly.
"He's fighting a lot more aggressively now compared when I first fought him in the Alternate Netherworld."
She stated. The three turned to the pile of rubble waiting for Baal to show up any minute. Baal rose up slowly, almost dramatically. His ever amused smirk graced his lips, no longer showing his animalistic nature that had shown through only a few minutes earlier.
"Not too bad, Overlord Etna and Longinus. Not too bad at all. I almost let my anger get too great and almost killed you all too quickly. Thanks to you, I've come to my senses a bit. I can't kill you without making sure I truly let you know why I'm called the Lord of Terror. There would be no pleasure in that, I'm afraid, killing you quickly without having you taste the full extent of fear."
Baal said as he walked closer to the three.
'Man, talk about mood swings or something. Still, we can't fight him with such small number of individuals. We have to get him out of here somehow...'
Etna thought as she and the other two started to back away from the massive Demon.
"Any bright ideas on how to get him out of here, you two? Fighting him like this is just going to get us killed."
Priere whispered to her comrades. Soon they were all backed into the wall. Michaelangelo racked his brain for ideas until something caught his eye. Baal had just walked past the unconscious Lianas, totally ignoring the Arch Angel.
'I hope this works...'
The Seraph thought as he began to concentrate.
'Lianas...Lianas...please wake up...'
He began to use telepathy in hopes of rousing the downed Arch Angel. Soon enough, she woke up with a start, as if waking from a nightmare. Michaelangelo eyed Baal briefly to see if he had heard her as she awoke. Priere and Etna noticed this too.
"Hey she's awake..."
Etna whispered.
"Say no more, Overlord Etna. I'm using telepathy to communicate so don't giver her away by staring too long."
Michaelangelo whispered back. All of them averted their eyes swiftly back to Baal as he walked slowly up to them, almost in a casual manner.
'Lianas listen to me...you have to get the Gate Keeper. Bring her here and have her open a gate to the Alternate Netherworld. Have her set it for the highest point of the Alternate Netherworld, wherever it might be.'
He instructed. Lianas nodded, and without a word left the room silently. It was at this point Baal stopped just a few feet away from the trio. He lifted his head to peer at the ceiling, looking like he felt something was off.
"That was telepathy I sensed...but where...?"
Baal said silently to himself, just enough for the others to hear him. Baal swiftly turned to look behind him.
"That's right...I forgot about our little Arch Angel friend. Where did she go?"
Baal asked. Before he could dwell on it, he heard the three let loose a battle cry as they charged in his direction. Baal lifted his head slightly before turning to face them, a malicious grin on his face. He quickly turned as the three got mere inches towards him, bringing out his left arm, and charging at them with immense force. Etna, Priere, and Michaelangelo had the wind knocked out of them as they were pinned to the wall by Baal's large forearm. Baal's grin turned into a scowl.
"I can't say I know what your up to, but I know it can't be anything to be in my favor. I didn't want to end it so quickly when we all just begun, but I guess it's okay because I'll be getting rid of three out of four world leaders all at once."
Baal lifted his right arm from his side, letting his hand open. The two Overlords and Seraph watched as some kind of black energy began to emanate and gather in Baal's palm. It increased in length, and began to take on characteristics typical of a sword. Soon the black energy dissipated as a large, thick double bladed sword with a single handed grip fell into Baal's awaiting palm. The blade was etched with many carvings of Demon runes. To both Etna's and Priere's surprise, few of the runes were actually readable and it almost seemed like a different language from the Demon tongue. Baal smirked.
"I'm sure you two are well read in the Demon language and the ancient runes of our ancestors. You want to know why you can't read the runes engraved on this sword, then I'll tell you: These runes are derived from the original Demon tongue created exclusively by the first Lord of Terror to ever walk on the Netherworld when he create this weapon. Originally this weapon was a spear when he held it. Used to counter the power of the living spear that came into possession of Krichevskoy's early ancestors."
Baal said. He lifted it over his head, prepared to sever their heads from the rest of their bodies, but Etna spoke up, wanting to stall until Lianas had a chance to bring the Gate Keeper and they could try the Seraph's unspoken plan, whatever it might be.
"Wait a minute, there were other Lords of Terror before you?"
Etna asked. She was also genuinely curious because there were no actual written documents stating that Baal was actually a successor to the title rather than the original, as was mostly speculated by the writers of those documents. Baal's face remained stoic.
"You mean to say that you didn't know about the previous two Lords of Terror before me? Oh well, I know your just stalling for your friend to reappear."
Before Baal could fully swing his massive blade, however, Michaelangelo used his one free hand to throw a lightning projectile right into Baal's eyes. Rather than yell in pain, Baal simply grunted as he brought his left hand to his eyes that had been momentarily blinded, releasing his captors. At that moment, Lianas came back in with the Gate Keeper hot on her heels. Baal continued to grunt in frustration as he couldn't get the annoying flash out of his eyes. The Gatekeeper quickly created the Dimensional gateway to be used to send Baal away.
"That sound...a Dimensional Gateway..."
Baal muttered. Working together, the two Overlords and Seraph were able to push Baal through the Gateway with much effort. After the Gateway closed behind Baal, they collapse to the floor in exhaustion.
"I'm glad that's over with."
Etna stated. Priere smiled.
"Ditto."
She said after letting out a few heaving breaths.
"Are you alright, Seraph?"
Lianas asked as she came over to inspect his broken wing. Michaelangelo smiled weakly.
"We can heal it later. Lianas, gather the remaining Angels quickly and have them come here to the Sacred Alter. Were going to go to the Netherworld. I'm sure that's alright with you, Overlord Etna?"
He asked as he turned to her. Etna nodded.
"Yeah. We have to hurry, though. Baal could come back at any moment."
Etna stated.
"I wonder how he got here if there was no Gatekeeper to help him get here?"
Priere asked. Everyone turned towards her.
"Apprentice, perhaps?"
The Gatekeeper offered as a suggestion. Priere shook her head.
"Not possible. My Gatekeeper has not taken an apprentice yet. And as you know, there can never be more than one Gatekeeper to the Netherworld, Alternate Netherworld, and Celestia at a time. So how did he do it?"
Priere asked herself, trying to figure out some explanation.
"You don't think...he can create his own, do you? Isn't that an ability handed down only to Gatekeepers, though?"
Lianas asked. It was a terrifying thought to think that the Lord of Terror had an ability to travel to other worlds so freely that not even Seraphs or Overlords were allowed to learn, and was exclusive to a Gatekeeper. They didn't know how right they were.
------
Alternate Netherworld, Forgotten Tower of Baal, Ground level
"A interesting diversion...they were actually successful in halting my efforts to take Celestia."
Baal said quietly. He was sprawled on the ground facing his tower. He had been left into a free fall right outside of it, most likely because it was the highest structure in the Alternate Netherworld. Even having fallen head first, Baal survived, and it wasn't just luck that was with him.
"From now on...I'll have to fight seriously..."
The amusement totally left his face. Baal's grin turned to seriousness as his crimson eyes narrowed and glowed ominously.
"As the saying goes...Playtime is over..."
Baal glared briefly at the night sky, before closing his eyes. He would need a little rest to recover some of the strength he lost while reanimating himself from flower to Demon once more and battling the three leaders of their respectable worlds.
"Playtime is over, indeed."
***TBC***
Note: Sorry for not updating for a while. Slight writer's block can be a real pain, don't you think?
Written By Illuminet
Disclaimer: Just refer to the first chapter to view it. Otherwise, everything should be okay...
"..."-Indicate Speech
'...'-Indicate Thought
------
Celestia, Seraphic Sanctuary, Sacred Alter
'This is it...I'm doubtful, though...can I really seal someone as huge and powerful as he is...? No...I must believe...I will not let my people's deaths go in vain...'
Michaelangelo thought. Seeing as Baal was overconfident and letting him go first, Michaelangelo decided to take the initiative. The Seraph lifted his arms upward as far as they could reach up into the air. He took a deep breath before concentrating. His hands began to gather particles of white light as they accumulated in each palm. The collected light began to increase in size and luminescence.
"Hmmm...what's this...?"
Baal muttered as he saw light streaming down from the sky to encircle around him. Baal smirked.
"What are you planning, Seraph...?"
Baal asked. Michaelangelo simply ignored the question and kept concentrating.
'This should be powerful enough...I hope...'
The Seraph thought as he opened his eyes and stopped chanting.
"Farewell, Baal. This is for my people who've you made suffer."
Michaelangelo said with narrowed eyes. Baal quirked a large eye brow. Before the Lord of Terror was about to speak, however, he felt a sort of crushing sensation on his rock skin.
"What's happening...to me?"
Baal asked as he felt himself shrink smaller and smaller as his form became long and simplistic. Before long Baal's form became that of a flower, one with a knarled stem and unhealthy looking violet roots. The light finally dissipated. Michaelangelo sank to his knees.
'I can't believe how much it took out of me just to seal him away as a flower. Regardless...it looks like his prison will hold...'
He fell to the floor in exhaustion, his ears barely picking up the sound of footsteps coming into his chamber.
"Hey Seraph, you alright?"
He recognized the feminine voice, and slowly opened his eyes.
"Overlord Etna...and Overlord Priere...what are you two doing here?"
He asked. Priere shook her head.
"Seems we got here a little too late to warn you about Baal, the Lord of Terror's return. Where is he? I can't sense him anywhere."
Priere stated. Etna helped the Seraph to his feet.
"That flower over there is all that remains of him. I guess were safe now."
Michaelangelo said. Etna wanted to agree, but she felt something she couldn't quite describe. As strong as the ability to seal away a soul in a flower that the Seraphs used a lot, Etna didn't believe that would be enough.
"I heard the Seraphs could use an ability to turn a living thing into a flower. I guess this proves it."
Priere said as she looked at the flower that was once Baal.
"Originally that technique we Seraphs used was an exclusive weapon against Demons until it was founded to be used as a means of punishment for the Angels as well."
Michaelangelo explained.
"So this flower get will be able to hold him, right?"
Priere inquired. Michaelangelo nodded.
"It should. I have read many texts about the successfulness of this technique on Demons in ancient times. So far, no Demon has been known to be able to escape from this flower prison."
He said.
"I understand that. Regardless, Baal is no ordinary Demon. He is the Lord of Terror after all."
Etna said as she looked at the flower.
"But can even the Lord of Terror escape from something like this?"
Priere inquired. She didn't see any reason to fear a flower.
"Actually, I can..."
Baal's voice seemed to echo throughout the room. The flower began to twitch about violently. The room itself began to shake.
"Impossible...he's reversing the process!"
Michaelangelo warned. Violet rays of light showered the flower, making it grow and enlarge until it reformed into Baal's body once more. The Lord of Terror grinned slightly at the Seraph's shocked features.
"Heh...your face is beautiful, Seraph...keep showing me that face of fear and disbelief."
Baal said with a sneer. He turned to see Priere and the unfamiliar Etna.
"So we meet again, Overlord Priere. Who's your friend...? Wait...how nice. To be graced by the presence of the Overlord of the Netherworld as well. What did the Seraph call you again...ah, yes, Etna wasn't it? It's hard to be a flower. I could hardly hear anything within that state."
Baal said. He gave Etna a look over before scowling.
"Your not one of Krichevskoy's kin. I wonder what relationship you had to him, though. You must have been a lowly Vassal of his before he passed away, correct?"
Baal asked. Seeing Etna's eyes narrow in his direction only amused him, and it showed with his slight curve of a smile that appeared on his face.
"Actually I was his and his son's right hand Vassal, thank you very much."
Etna stated as she continued to glare at him. Baal's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Oh...? So Krichevskoy had a heir? Where is this Demon, then? Why is he not an Overlord that stands before me, instead of you?"
Baal inquired. His interest was peeked. This had been new information to digest.
'I was uninformed that Krichevskoy had a son...could he have been ousted by this female Demon? No...not likely...oh well, no need to dwell on it for now.'
Baal thought before shaking his head, getting his mind back to the main focus of his arrival here: To defeat the Seraph and take over Celestia. The only added difficulty would be the interference of two Overlords. This hardly worried him. Although it took a bit more power than he had suspected it would to release himself from the flower binding spell cast onto him by the Seraph, he knew that the three combined would still not be enough.
"I'll give the three of you two choices. Surrender peacefully and die quickly, or resist forcefully and die slow and painfully. Your pick, so consider it wisely."
Baal announced. Judging by the fact that the three pulled out weapons and got into fighting stances, Baal knew they would resist. Baal took a more through glance at the spear Etna was carrying and it made him smirk.
"Longinus, my old friend, I didn't think you were here. I guess my abilities really have gotten a bit rusty since I last met you and Krichevskoy in my tower so long ago."
Baal stated. The spear bended upwards to peer at Baal through circular eyes.
"Indeed it has been a while, Baal, but I am not your friend. You are the reason the Demons were looked down upon by the other races as beings of evil and disgust."
The living spear spoke out to him. Baal let out a low chuckle.
"Heh...believe what you will, Longinus. I can tell you haven't been used for a while. Still think you can match up to me with a weaker Overlord than Krichevskoy?"
Baal asked as he cracked his knuckles in each hand, with a menacing gleam in his eyes.
"Be careful, you two. He's much more nimble than he appears."
Priere warned. Her encounter with him before was enough of an experience for her to know. Baal's usual amused smirk turned to grim seriousness, indicating he was ready for combat. Priere and Etna walked opposite ways around Baal until they were at his sides, while Michaelangelo remained in front of Baal's line of vision. The Seraph's fist flashed as he gathered lightning within. Michaelangelo was the first to attack, throwing out a lightning guantleted fist at Baal's direction as he sped towards the large Demon. Baal quickly brought his right hand out to effortlessly catch the Angel's fist. Etna went for Baal's now unprotected side, but had quickly had her thrust brushed off as Baal brought out his arm in a wide arch while dragging Michaelangelo by his caught arm. Baal released Michaelangelo briefly once he sent Etna off her feet by the unexpected blow. While Michaelangelo was momentarily free in the air, Baal let some of his sadistic nature show through as he quickly grabbed the top left wing of Michaelangelo and crushing the wing in his fist, letting it make sickening cracking sounds as it broke. Michaelangelo's scream echoed throughout the room as he roared in pain, making Baal grin widely in satisfaction. Baal then decided to tear the wing right from the Seraph's back.
"Hey Baal!"
Before the Lord of Terror could be allowed the satisfaction, Priere was quickly in front of him to strike his right forearm with enough force to release Michaelangelo. As the Angel fell to the ground, Baal took a quick glance at Priere before using the arm she had hit to grab her by the head quickly. Baal brought his fist up high, as Priere tried desperately to get her head free from his grip, before he slammed his fist into the ground. Priere felt pain seer the back of her head as he slammed her down. The ground was now lined with large cracks running along it's surface. Baal growled lowly before he began to grin with an almost animalistic look on his stony face. He began to grind Priere's head into the ground with great force. Priere closed her eyes to the intense pain on the back of her head as his fist kept moving it in a circular motion forcefully. Priere gritted her teeth to keep from screaming out.
"Let her go!"
Etna roared as she dashed towards him, closing the distance between each other. Etna jumped to about Baal's head, before slamming Longinus into the side of Baal's face with enough force to send him off his feet and skidding along the ground until he hit the wall. He hit it with enough force that it collapsed on top of him. Etna quickly knelt by Priere's side to help the other Overlord up into a sitting position, knowing that it could be any moment now that Baal could arise from the rubble.
"You okay?"
Etna asked. Priere just nodded slowly as she brought her hand to the back of her head. Luckily Etna helped her just in time before Baal would have been able to grind her head into the ground any harder, or she might have ended up with a fracture in the back of her skull. Michaelangelo walked slowly up to the two, his top wing dragging on the ground. It was truly a sickening sight to see the once beautiful wing mangled and twisted in an impossible angle.
"Things aren't looking very good at the moment."
He said softly as he winced. The pain he was feeling was near unbearable, but he didn't want to complain. Priere got to her feet quickly.
"He's fighting a lot more aggressively now compared when I first fought him in the Alternate Netherworld."
She stated. The three turned to the pile of rubble waiting for Baal to show up any minute. Baal rose up slowly, almost dramatically. His ever amused smirk graced his lips, no longer showing his animalistic nature that had shown through only a few minutes earlier.
"Not too bad, Overlord Etna and Longinus. Not too bad at all. I almost let my anger get too great and almost killed you all too quickly. Thanks to you, I've come to my senses a bit. I can't kill you without making sure I truly let you know why I'm called the Lord of Terror. There would be no pleasure in that, I'm afraid, killing you quickly without having you taste the full extent of fear."
Baal said as he walked closer to the three.
'Man, talk about mood swings or something. Still, we can't fight him with such small number of individuals. We have to get him out of here somehow...'
Etna thought as she and the other two started to back away from the massive Demon.
"Any bright ideas on how to get him out of here, you two? Fighting him like this is just going to get us killed."
Priere whispered to her comrades. Soon they were all backed into the wall. Michaelangelo racked his brain for ideas until something caught his eye. Baal had just walked past the unconscious Lianas, totally ignoring the Arch Angel.
'I hope this works...'
The Seraph thought as he began to concentrate.
'Lianas...Lianas...please wake up...'
He began to use telepathy in hopes of rousing the downed Arch Angel. Soon enough, she woke up with a start, as if waking from a nightmare. Michaelangelo eyed Baal briefly to see if he had heard her as she awoke. Priere and Etna noticed this too.
"Hey she's awake..."
Etna whispered.
"Say no more, Overlord Etna. I'm using telepathy to communicate so don't giver her away by staring too long."
Michaelangelo whispered back. All of them averted their eyes swiftly back to Baal as he walked slowly up to them, almost in a casual manner.
'Lianas listen to me...you have to get the Gate Keeper. Bring her here and have her open a gate to the Alternate Netherworld. Have her set it for the highest point of the Alternate Netherworld, wherever it might be.'
He instructed. Lianas nodded, and without a word left the room silently. It was at this point Baal stopped just a few feet away from the trio. He lifted his head to peer at the ceiling, looking like he felt something was off.
"That was telepathy I sensed...but where...?"
Baal said silently to himself, just enough for the others to hear him. Baal swiftly turned to look behind him.
"That's right...I forgot about our little Arch Angel friend. Where did she go?"
Baal asked. Before he could dwell on it, he heard the three let loose a battle cry as they charged in his direction. Baal lifted his head slightly before turning to face them, a malicious grin on his face. He quickly turned as the three got mere inches towards him, bringing out his left arm, and charging at them with immense force. Etna, Priere, and Michaelangelo had the wind knocked out of them as they were pinned to the wall by Baal's large forearm. Baal's grin turned into a scowl.
"I can't say I know what your up to, but I know it can't be anything to be in my favor. I didn't want to end it so quickly when we all just begun, but I guess it's okay because I'll be getting rid of three out of four world leaders all at once."
Baal lifted his right arm from his side, letting his hand open. The two Overlords and Seraph watched as some kind of black energy began to emanate and gather in Baal's palm. It increased in length, and began to take on characteristics typical of a sword. Soon the black energy dissipated as a large, thick double bladed sword with a single handed grip fell into Baal's awaiting palm. The blade was etched with many carvings of Demon runes. To both Etna's and Priere's surprise, few of the runes were actually readable and it almost seemed like a different language from the Demon tongue. Baal smirked.
"I'm sure you two are well read in the Demon language and the ancient runes of our ancestors. You want to know why you can't read the runes engraved on this sword, then I'll tell you: These runes are derived from the original Demon tongue created exclusively by the first Lord of Terror to ever walk on the Netherworld when he create this weapon. Originally this weapon was a spear when he held it. Used to counter the power of the living spear that came into possession of Krichevskoy's early ancestors."
Baal said. He lifted it over his head, prepared to sever their heads from the rest of their bodies, but Etna spoke up, wanting to stall until Lianas had a chance to bring the Gate Keeper and they could try the Seraph's unspoken plan, whatever it might be.
"Wait a minute, there were other Lords of Terror before you?"
Etna asked. She was also genuinely curious because there were no actual written documents stating that Baal was actually a successor to the title rather than the original, as was mostly speculated by the writers of those documents. Baal's face remained stoic.
"You mean to say that you didn't know about the previous two Lords of Terror before me? Oh well, I know your just stalling for your friend to reappear."
Before Baal could fully swing his massive blade, however, Michaelangelo used his one free hand to throw a lightning projectile right into Baal's eyes. Rather than yell in pain, Baal simply grunted as he brought his left hand to his eyes that had been momentarily blinded, releasing his captors. At that moment, Lianas came back in with the Gate Keeper hot on her heels. Baal continued to grunt in frustration as he couldn't get the annoying flash out of his eyes. The Gatekeeper quickly created the Dimensional gateway to be used to send Baal away.
"That sound...a Dimensional Gateway..."
Baal muttered. Working together, the two Overlords and Seraph were able to push Baal through the Gateway with much effort. After the Gateway closed behind Baal, they collapse to the floor in exhaustion.
"I'm glad that's over with."
Etna stated. Priere smiled.
"Ditto."
She said after letting out a few heaving breaths.
"Are you alright, Seraph?"
Lianas asked as she came over to inspect his broken wing. Michaelangelo smiled weakly.
"We can heal it later. Lianas, gather the remaining Angels quickly and have them come here to the Sacred Alter. Were going to go to the Netherworld. I'm sure that's alright with you, Overlord Etna?"
He asked as he turned to her. Etna nodded.
"Yeah. We have to hurry, though. Baal could come back at any moment."
Etna stated.
"I wonder how he got here if there was no Gatekeeper to help him get here?"
Priere asked. Everyone turned towards her.
"Apprentice, perhaps?"
The Gatekeeper offered as a suggestion. Priere shook her head.
"Not possible. My Gatekeeper has not taken an apprentice yet. And as you know, there can never be more than one Gatekeeper to the Netherworld, Alternate Netherworld, and Celestia at a time. So how did he do it?"
Priere asked herself, trying to figure out some explanation.
"You don't think...he can create his own, do you? Isn't that an ability handed down only to Gatekeepers, though?"
Lianas asked. It was a terrifying thought to think that the Lord of Terror had an ability to travel to other worlds so freely that not even Seraphs or Overlords were allowed to learn, and was exclusive to a Gatekeeper. They didn't know how right they were.
------
Alternate Netherworld, Forgotten Tower of Baal, Ground level
"A interesting diversion...they were actually successful in halting my efforts to take Celestia."
Baal said quietly. He was sprawled on the ground facing his tower. He had been left into a free fall right outside of it, most likely because it was the highest structure in the Alternate Netherworld. Even having fallen head first, Baal survived, and it wasn't just luck that was with him.
"From now on...I'll have to fight seriously..."
The amusement totally left his face. Baal's grin turned to seriousness as his crimson eyes narrowed and glowed ominously.
"As the saying goes...Playtime is over..."
Baal glared briefly at the night sky, before closing his eyes. He would need a little rest to recover some of the strength he lost while reanimating himself from flower to Demon once more and battling the three leaders of their respectable worlds.
"Playtime is over, indeed."
***TBC***
Note: Sorry for not updating for a while. Slight writer's block can be a real pain, don't you think?
