Is it just me, or is my story getting slightly more popular by the week? Either way, I'm very grateful for all the people who have been stopping by to read it.
WARNING: This chapter features the murder of a child. From now on things will get gory, violent, and maybe even offensive. You have been warned!
Beasts that Shout Love, Part 1: Innocent Blood Spill
Astar opened his eyes and met with a familiar rocky ceiling above him. His nostrils could also identify all the pungent smells of rotten meat, curdled blood, saliva, reproductory fluids, and excrements mixed together at once that permeated the corridors of the Hades. He knew well what his sacrifice would entail to his own soul, and being a creature of Hell himself, this was nothing particularly bad to him.
But what really was bad was the fact that his arms and legs were enclosed in some kind of fleshy structure. The organic wall in front of him formed some kind of mocking face that bent itself to meet with the incubus' gaze.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a slew of voices spoke on behalf of the face. "If it is not Mr 'Too-Good-for-the-Hades', Astar the Incubus. How was your life, our dear? Are you ready for the kind of punishment we give out to the inhabitants who dare to go out of our dominions without permission? We have such sights and experiences to show you..."
"I am not afraid of you... Usurper."
"Ooh, usurper!" The voices screamed out in a mocking tone. "That's an original one. All those other names, like Lucifer, Satan, the Devil and whatnot... They're so passé. And who says we are trying to make you afraid? We are just stating what is going to happen to you."
Astar just shook his head in disapproval. "Nevertheless, there is nothing you could do that could break me in any way, for I have seen and felt them all."
"Oh ho ho ho! But you will be broken for your troubles, oh lovely Astar. Let me refresh your memory. After eons of wanton debauchery as an incubus, you ran away from the Hades and reincarnated as a common human being. And can you go more inconspicuously than an orphaned vagrant, depending on the goodwill of humanity to survive? You were even given the pedestrian name of Ashitaka Onizuka by your foster parents."
"Ashitaka... Onizuka... That was my name... on Earth?"
"Yes, it was," the voices resumed. "We saw no point on that, but we still let you go. After all, what were the chances somebody could ever find the blood sigil to summon you as an incubus once again? But who knew, lo and behold, that abject figure that calls himself Dis Pater finds it, and sacrifices an innocent girl for it? Ah, what a sad tale. We would weep over it, if we cared. But what truly disturbed us, o dear Astar, was not necessarily the fact that you ran away... You had an ulterior motive. One that you came up with, once you heard our intentions in finally taking over the surface world."
Astar's blood ran cold at those mentions. "You... I... what!?"
"Oooh, yes, yes! Thanks to this Dis Pater's efforts, we will finally be able to bring forth the Apocalypse and take over the Universe once and for all! For eons, we made it clear we would be taking over all aspects of Existence, but in the few chances we had... Somebody came along to ruin everything! First, it was the megalomaniac queen from the Moon, then that damned preacher from Palestine. But now, there is nobody to stop us."
"Wrong," affirmed Astar. "There are... The Sailor Guardians."
The figure guffawed even louder. "As if! That's exactly why you tried to leave, except you lost your memories when you reincarnated as a human through regular conception and birth. We are telling you this because there is nothing, absolutely nothing that you and your whores can do about it, either way."
Astar knew the only thing the Fallen Angel exceeded at were at lies and deceit, which is also why he referred to himself as a plural entity. But still, there was something about his narrative that made sense. "Your sad attempts to break me won't work. I told you already!"
"You will be broken, oh dear traitor. Your story ends here, and you will not be saved. Now, we grow tired of seeing your sad mug. Pazuzu, take the traitor back to Tartarus and make sure he suffers."
A humongous flaming creature with an ox skull for a head and bat wings on its back then picked Astar up with one of its claws. "Confringam animam tuam, heh heh heh..."
(xx)
The first signs of the cold season were showing in that white and cloudy day. Inspectors Toshio Wagaki and Naitou Kakusareta were out on patrol around Azabu-Juban, catching only the usual juvenile delinquents loitering around or fighting with one another. No signal of the paranormal activities they were trying to make heads out of tails about.
"Thankfully, we only dealt with youth gang cases lately," Toshio commented. "Speaking of which, how is Chief Sakurada?"
"Still recovering at her sister's house," Naitou answered. "Little by little, the shock is subduing. I believe one more week and she'll return. At the very least, we didn't lose her."
"We lost nine souls that day... And that includes the Hanekoma mother and son. Damn, did you see the report from the morgue? It's like the mere sight of those things caused them to just burst like that. And yet... Since then, nobody has reported anything. For all we know, that thing is on the loose, and yet it has caused no more harm and damage."
"Give it time, and you will see those things running amok in the city. And the Sailor Guardians with it, too."
Before they could continue their tense chat, the policemen saw a man preaching frenziedly while lifting his hands up and down to the sky.
"He is here! Our one and only lord, Cthulhu! He exists, and is ready to wake up from his death-like slumber! Be not afraid of the sacrifices required for his coming! Yes! Yes! Cthulhu rises! YES! YES! CTHULHU RISES!" The few people who bothered to take the rambling seriously joined the preacher in his frenzied chant. "YES! YES! CTHULHU RISES! YES! YES! CTHULHU RISES!"
Naitou found it oddly amusing, while Toshio simply looked at the scene with pity. "Just what in all hells is that?"
"Our brains have strange ways to cope with things beyond our comprehension," Naitou rationalized. "In times like these, odd beliefs begin to rise."
"I see that as completely giving in to insanity," retorted Toshio.
"Could be. You think it is an act of God, or gods, or some other kind of otherworldly entity?"
"You know I don't believe in such poppycock," Toshio immediately shot his workmate down. "It could be Yahweh, or Allah, or Susanoo-no-Mikoto, or even some kind of critter made of spaghetti and meatballs. Whatever. I'm not one to believe in such things. It's all about the mind and its refusal to accept things they are ignorant about."
Naitou simply shrugged. "Can't say I haven't tried. Anyways, we gotta go back and report our findings of the day to the front office."
Toshio silently nodded and sped up his nervous pace to match Naitou's, feeling anxious to resume his own investigations on the Sailor Guardians. After all... How come the people they investigated and collected reports from have now suffered such strange fates? The Hanekomas are dead, Kenzou is jailed at Tama Youth Detention Center, and according to the latest report, Ginki Taoka is hospitalized with delirium tremens symptoms, despite being only sixteen and having never drunk. Something didn't add up, and he felt he had to finish his own report soon.
(xx)
Even if the day was cold and gray, it did not impede Usagi from finally taking the Saturday afternoon off after morning classes to hang out with Naru Osaka and Gurio Umino. Their relationship still going strong and steady, the couple couldn't be happier to spend some time with their long-time friend. After a downtown stroll and a stop for taiyakis at an open-air parlor, the subject of conversation was their short-term education plans after graduating from high school.
"I'm torn between Waseda University and the Tokyo Institute of Technology," Umino proudly stated as he fixed the position of his glasses. "Both have handed me scholarships over my performance at school. I intend to follow a career in academia, get a Master's, a Doctorate, perhaps even a tenure as a professor. Of what, I don't know yet, but anything goes. And if that one doesn't go, I have other possible destinations in mind."
"As for me, I intend to study Business Administration and earn an MBA later on," Naru said. "It will be useful for when I take over Osa-P, y'know. I have huge plans for it, and I want as much knowledge as possible."
"And how about you, Usagi?" Umino asked. "Have you chosen a college and a course?"
"Ooh, umm, yeah..." she fumbled for words with a mouthful of taiyaki in her mouth. "I gotta admit I haven't thought of any college or course yet. Maybe I could use next year to work and study for the entrance exams?"
Before the couple could comment on Usagi's intentions, the Guardian's Compact started emitting its usual signal. An enemy was near.
"Something wrong, Usagi?" Naru asked.
"No, nothing," the Guardian lied.
But then, Usagi's fears materialized, literally, as the Shoggoth crept out of a sewer mouth. The same one that had killed Astar the week before. The memory was still fresh, and the heroine felt a brief wave of anxiety over it. She would not let anybody else share his gruesome fate. Everyone started running away for safety all over the place, and so did Usagi as she went behind the wall of a corner of the street. Some Saturday, Usagi lamented in her thoughts. She then raised her hand to the sky and called for her power: "Moon Eternal, Make Up!"
The Shoggoth quickly targeted Naru and Umino. Ignoring the rest of the people in the street, it cornered the young couple against the wall, and both were too terrified to react. Umino in particular was twitching violently without being able to deviate his gaze from the many eyes the creature had. Naru barely had time to embrace her boyfriend before the Shoggoth opened its sharp-toothed maw. Sailor Moon could barely reach them when the beast got ready to chomp off Naru's head.
But then, it got hit by some kind of fiery projectile. "Need some backup?" The unmistakable voice of Sailor Mars asked from above the wall. And indeed, all the Inner Guardians appeared at the best possible hour.
"You girls! I'm so glad you're here," Sailor Moon affirmed with a smile as she got up.
While Sailor Mercury scouted the area for hurt people and other possible enemies, the others went against the Shoggoth. Sailor Mars released a flurry of Fire Snipers towards it, and while the beast writhed in pain, all it did was turn the creature's attention towards her.
"Oak Evolution!" Sailor Jupiter then released her razor leaf attack, with similar results as to Mars' attack. It only ceased its steps somehow when Sailor Venus managed to wrangle it with her Love-Me Chain. And even then, it was too strong to be held just like that, dragging the Guardian of Love as it slowly lumbered towards Sailor Moon.
But then, some kind of card tossed from above finally made the creature stop on its tracks. When the Guardians turned around to see the source of the projectile, they saw a man clad in all white atop a nearby building, with flowing white hair on his shoulders and with a cape and a mask similar to the ones Tuxedo Mask usually wears. His figure meshed itself with the white-and-gray clouds that covered the Tokyo sky.
"Huh? Who are you?" Sailor Venus asked.
"Today's prediction is that you will see beyond what your mind can accept. That's all you need to know for now. Good luck!" The figure then somersaulted away, and afterward, the attentions were returned to the paralyzed Shoggoth.
"Hey, Sailor Moon! It's your cue!" Sailor Mars advised.
"Got it!" The heroine then drew forth the Eternal Tiare and pointed it towards the creature. "Honeymoon Therapy Kiss!"
Rather than being completely annihilated, the Shoggoth was simply reduced to some kind of dark ball that hovered at face level. Sailor Moon tried to approach it, but it floated away in the blink of an eye. Sailor Mercury could barely draw forth her super mini-computer to analyze it when it disappeared from sight. Chances are that they needed something else to fully defeat it.
With danger apparently away for the time being, the heroine then approached her friends, who were still cowering by the wall. "Are you okay?"
Naru seemed fine, but Umino had his face mostly covered in blood, which fell in constant quantity from his nose, his mouth and his years. When he took off his thick glasses, his eyes were not simply bloodshot - they were bulging and on the verge of pouring over, with more blood flowing from his eye sockets. Naru covered her mouth to stifle a panicked scream upon seeing the state of her sweetheart.
"I... I can't see a thing..." Umino moaned. Naru and Sailor Moon propped him up to a nearby bench, while Sailor Mercury went to a public phone to call for medical help. Not too long after, the paramedics arrived to treat a few people with minor injuries across the street. All of them complained of stomachaches and pain in their eyes, which were easily treated.
The biggest problem, however, was with Umino. Not only were his eyes on the verge of melting and pouring over, according to himself, his insides felt like they were dipped into a vat of acid. Naru rode alongside him in the ambulance to the hospital, visibly concerned about her boyfriend's health condition. She already lost a man she loved once, and her heart would not stand losing another one.
For some reason, Naru herself was not affected when she stared at the Shoggoth.
Sailor Moon was visibly concerned and at a loss of thoughts for her next course of action. "Don't worry, we'll take care of the rest and scout for any place the creature must have gone to," Sailor Venus reassured her leader with a sympathetic nod and a hand on her shoulder. Sailor Moon happily retributed their trust and followed the route of the ambulance, following the Silver Crystal's signal.
"Now... Who was that guy that helped us earlier?" Sailor Venus finally asked, but none of her battle companions could answer. The Guardian of Love seemed somewhat smitten by that figure.
(xx)
Usagi arrived about an hour later at the University Hospital, to where Umino was taken. The young man was sleeping under the effect of intravenous morphine and had his eyes and top of the head covered in gauze and cotton.
Naru naturally was there to make some company to him while either one of his parents don't arrive. When she saw Usagi in the room, she was less than amused. "Where the hell were you? Do you see the state in which Umino is? He's going blind! And the doctors said he was melting inside... He's running a serious risk of dying, even now!"
How could Usagi possibly answer? She ran to transform into Sailor Moon and save them all, but since Naru didn't know of her secret identity, it was like she ran away. "I... Oh, dear, I'm so sorry-"
"Saying sorry won't do shit!" Naru belligerently interrupted. "You left exactly when that thing came to eat us alive! You ran away with all the others and left us for dead! What kind of friend does that? Couldn't you at least, I don't know... Be there or something?" She wanted to scream at Usagi, but knew she couldn't. She simply sat down on the chair beside Umino's bed and turned her face away from Usagi. "You know what... Leave us alone."
Without saying anything more, Usagi left to return home, downcast as she could be, fighting back tears and a guilty headache. This was supposed to be a peaceful and joyful reencounter between longtime friends, and now, not only one may be irreversibly hurt, it may put an end to their friendship for good. I'm so sorry... Naru... Umino...
(xx)
"The time has come for the summoning ritual. Fréamund, proceed with the bloodletting."
Fréamund then came in, wearing a translucent purple robe and holding a toddler in his hands. The little boy squirmed and cried loudly in fear. "Mama! MAMA! MAMA!"
"Here in this dark corner, I give you innocent blood to feast upon. Pray you that, upon this tribute, you grant me the boon of calling four souls back to life in the surface, to carry on our mission."
The servant then drew a rugged dagger and used it to slit the boy's throat and stab his belly, his blood flowing down in massive quantities from the slits, his nose, and his mouth. Fréamund kept holding the child through the skin of the nape of his neck to use as much of his blood as possible, and to grip him well as he coughed blood and spasmed in pain. His blood pooled beneath him, covering the four Quartzes inside the outline of the pentagram. Eventually, the child stopped beating around, the cold touch of death finally felt upon his flesh. The dark servant tossed his corpse away to a corner of the room, and the pooled blood started moving, forming around the outlined pentagram and emitting a strong crimson glow. The flames on the candles rose, further illuminating the room.
"The tribute has been accepted. The Fallen Angel is sated and is willing to cooperate. I now call forth the souls of the four bravest men who served the erstwhile civilizations of Planet Terra during the age of the Silver Millenium. The four men who led the planet's troops and perished in their brave attempt to topple down the tyranny of Serenity. Rise now, Star Seeds, containers of souls. Rise and receive the essence of the men who were worthy of being deemed the Heavenly Kings!"
The Phantom Quartzes then floated up and acquired a small spark of light inside of each. They effectively became Star Seeds this way, and as such, could contain the soul of the men Dis Pater wished to call for.
"Arise now, o my brother in arms. I call for you, Uemon Akumetsu, Heavenly King of the East."
The first Star Seed materialized the body of a tall and slender man with short blond hair.
"Arise now, o my brother in arms. I call for you, Lonki Ayawatha, Heavenly King of the West."
The second Star Seed materialized the body of a well-built man with long wavy auburn hair.
"Arise now, o my brother in arms. I call for you, Lucius Artorius Aeneas, Heavenly King of the North."
The third Star Seed materialized the body of a slim man with fine traces, with his honey-blond hair tied in a ponytail.
"Arise now, o my brother in arms. I call for you, Aniruddha Satwa, Heavenly King of the South."
The fourth Star Seed materialized the body of a well-proportioned man with a swarthy complexion, and a long mane of slick white hair.
The Heavenly Kings stood naked before the lamb carcass that formed Dis Pater's effigy. Fréamund entered and gave each of the men some articles of clothing.
"We are at your service, o Dis Pater," all four men stated as they knelt down and lowered their heads in submission. "State your mission, and we shall do it with no questioning."
"You once loved the Warrior Princesses and turned against them when you realized their true motives. I resurrected you to carry the mission once more. But there is no need to slay them this time. I want you to humiliate them, and to expose their true allegiances before the world. Do as you will with them and any other that may get in the way. But keep them alive, and make sure they suffer."
Yes sir, those are the Heavenly Kings/Shitennou that just returned. For convenience sake, I will refer to them with their familiar jewel-related names, but later on, I intend to provide an explanation as to why they were called by these names.
litakino1987: Una vez más te agradezco tu aporte, y que te siga sorpreendiendo a cada capítulo. A ver como te quedas con este capítulo!
szer: Bardzo dziekuje za komentarz! Mam nadzieje ze nadal bedzie ci sie podobac.
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Next chapter: A view into Minako's musical career, the first attack from a certain Heavenly King, and another appearance from a certain mysterious hero.
Best regards from The Hospitaller Knight