Chapter 12: Emerge The Prophecy
Nearly more than ten years ago
Henri Azazel was still a Thirteen Crown when he met up with Lady Andrealphus at her gazebo.
It was a baffling time for Henri. The current leaders were acting worse than usual. A recently appointed Crowns told him that Sullivan's grandson should be executed for being a nuisance. That demon's reasons were vague. And as Henri's daughter increased her rank, Iruma was catching on.
He was able to become a Chet-rank before Ameri herself.
The Chief of the Demon Border wasn't sure what concerned him the most now. The great Sullivan's petition for his (secretly) human grandson to become Demon King proving to be a possibility over Ameri… or that Ameri had just professed her love to the human?
Henry took a big risk visiting the gazebo of the Andrealphus clan, hidden from the estate and public eyes within the Lotus Forest. Mountain-sized lotus flowers shrouded the sky, creating pink clouds over the fields of purple grass. In a small meadow surrounded by lotus trees, golden peacocks coiled around the gazebo's marble columns like cage railings. Lady Andrealphus was the only dark thing within the gazebo, courtesy of the black mourning dress she wore. Her black silk veil could still show her icy blue eyes and green hair tied in a bun, with peacock feathers covering her forehead like bangs.
Lady Andrealphus was stirring a wooden spoon in a cauldron-sized teacup. The aroma of Hell Grey tea filled the gazebo with small steam clouds, as if a storm brewed.
"Many Thirteen Crowns have requested appointments with me, Lord Azazel." Underneath her dress, her peacock-feathered tail tip brushed the ground. "They'll eventually get suspicious as to why I prioritized you over them."
"And I humbly accept it." Henri spread out his wings to show his respect while he bowed. "I assure you that I will return your favor."
"A favor I will share once we're done." Lady Andrealphus motioned to a nearby chair. Henri Azazel sat down on it. "I know what you want to ask… But why don't you ask me yourself?"
Henri Azazel nodded. "My daughter Ameri has the utmost potential of becoming Demon King… but from what I've seen lately, so does…" He hesitated to say out loud.
"Lord Azazel, my ability is Tea Tale. Contact with my concoctions and a seeker's DNA gives me the power to envision the seeker's future. When Sullivan came to me, I told him that adopting a human child would reinforce the Netherworld far more than a demon. I didn't tell him to acquire Iruma specifically, but his decision led to his future."
"Intuitional withdrawal." Henri Azazel nodded.
"And your desire?"
"With everything about Iruma… and my daughter… Will Ameri ever become Demon King?"
The demoness blessed with prophecy stirred her ladle thirteen times clockwise in her tea, then 6 times counterclockwise. Each time she pulled out the ladle, Henri Azazel had to drink from it. She slammed the tea leaves onto the table after he finished drinking and refilled the ladle. The redheaded demon hiccuped after going through half of the tea. The green-haired demoness leaned over the tea leaves spread onto a quarter of the table.
Two heirs meet.
On fate they cheat.
Traitors spoil the bones.
The scream breaks the stones.
Kneel in for…
Lady Andrealphus hissed. "Stupid poetic prophecies for the first half of the leaves… The last words are blurs until the actual event happens!"
"But what does it mean?" Henri Azazel questioned.
"Bones and stones are odd metaphors for foundations in my prophecies… The very foundations of the Netherworld will be shaken… The original foundations of demonkind will be tested… perhaps by the worst traitors in all demonkind… Demon traitors!"
Henri Azazel clasped his hands together. "And the first part?"
"The part of the heirs and how they cheat fate may depend on their very natures…"
Henri scowled. "It doesn't very much answer my question."
Proceeding with her usual method, Lady Andrealphus had Henri Azazel drink the remaining tea. The tea leaves took a more silhouetted shape on the table.
Underneath her veil, the icy blue eyes widened.
"The blood of Azazel will sit on the Demon King's throne."
Henri Azazel gasped. "You mean…"
She hit his hand with her ladle before he could grin.
"It doesn't mean your daughter will become Demon King!"
"But you just said that she'd be…"
"I said 'the BLOOD of Azazel will sit on the Demon King's throne', not 'AMERI Azazel will sit on the Demon King's throne!' In such readings, blood refers to ancestry, but for such an inquiry, descendance."
"So…" Henri Azazel shook his head. "Are you saying that… if Ameri bears a child, the child would become Demon King? But what does this have to do with the current Demon King candidates?"
Lady Andrealphus scoffed. "Any of those candidates would just be the de-facto ruler! If any of those candidates became Demon King… Derkila had it willed that his successor's firstborn will become the true heir, and thus the true Demon King!"
Henri Azazel rubbed his chin in thought.
The blood of Azazel on the Demon King's throne…
The winning candidate's firstborn is Derkila's true Demon Heir.
Lady Andrealphus rolled her eyes beneath her veil. "Just so your head doesn't explode, your daughter can either become the winning candidate or marry the winning candidate! Regardless of what she accomplishes, Ameri is destined to be a ruler because her child will become Demon King!"
Current day
Iruma was able to convince his father-in-law to join him at the spot where he'd found King in the West Border Forest.
"So I found him on this pile…" Iruma showed the spot. The ground had turned blue where King's blood had been a puddle. "And he was dragged from the East. Comparing maps, where he claimed to have last been… a town called Latissa." He pointed east. "However, considering my companions and I had to ride on Izanami OVER the border and towards the Isles in a straight line, that would mean the criminals had to do the same… Which them gets confusing, because keep straight from Latissa…" Iruma pointed northwest, "…would mean that they were flying in that direction. And when I found King HERE, he was facing the ground, and a dagger was on his leg."
Henri Azazel nodded, inspecting the maps of the Netherworld and the Boiling Isles. "And you said he can't fly, right?"
"Professor Balam said he's still too young to grow his wings… I gave him the dagger to further study King's blood."
"So… the young Titan can't fly… but there must have been a commotion. At his crash landing, that means he must have fallen at 66 degrees away from his kidnappers' flight…"
"I'm just worried about what could be happening. The Boiling Isles are having some kind of civil dispute, and if criminals from the Netherworld are kidnapping their civilians… They tried to kidnap a baby."
Henri turned his head. "A baby?"
"A baby… and a teenager who tracked her. All parties are affiliated with the leaders King knows… King himself is affiliated with them."
"The abduction of the leaders' affiliations could lead to their civil war being dragged to us." The elder demon realized. "What do you wish the Demon Border Patrol to do?"
"I can't risk war right now, but get the Border Patrol to report to Lords Gaap and Agares… Under their command, have them patrol the border. If ANYTHING flies over that border, be they demon or not, have them captured and delivered to the Thirteen Crowns… alive."
Henri Azazel bowed, exposing his wings. "Yes, Your…"
"Please. Don't do that." Iruma waved nervously.
"Only expressing that I listened to my king's command," Henri Azazel said calmly.
Just as Iruma sighed in relief, the older demon stood up and crossed his arms. "And now to express my concerns to my son-in-law."
Iruma gulped.
The redheaded demon chuckled. "Take it easy, will you? You always act like I'm about to devour you when I'm talking to you as such!"
"Right…"
Henri Azazel found a tree stump to sit on. "So… when do I get to find out my grandchild's gender?"
Iruma frowned at Henri in suspicion. "Don't tell me Jazz added you to the gamble."
"Iruma, your firstborn baby is the destined Demon Heir of Derkila. EVERYONE is gambling. Even Sullivan is putting his money."
"Don't tell me…" Iruma nearly clawed his own cheeks.
"666,666 devis on the table, he bets a boy. 666 devis, I bet a girl."
Iruma didn't feel better. For such an amount, his grandfather would lose a good amount if he lost. Winning, however, would probably mean that Sullivan would spend his new money on spoiling the baby. Ameri and Iruma already knew that it was inevitable.
Though Henri Azazel did sound like he wasn't gambling much… Was it to save money?
"Why do you want to know the baby's gender before the birth?"
"Oh, a little Azazel family myth is that strong Azazel women always breed stronger girls. Ameri is strong like my wife was. My sister was strong like my mother. My grandmother was strong… I wouldn't mind a grandson, but my chats with my daughter on the phone remind me of my wife when she was pregnant… Was she still with us, she would have liked you…" Henri Azazel sighed. "And speaking of chats, Ameri told me of your anxieties."
Iruma groaned. "Even you?" He exclaimed.
Henri Azazel lifted himself up. Iruma composed himself.
"You're the Demon King." The retired Thirteen Crowns rested his hand on his son-in-law's shoulder. "Your ambition with Ameri to make the Netherworld a haven for all demons is going to change when your child's born. EVERYTHING the two of you established to bring everyone together… to make the Netherworld a place where demons of all sorts can harmonize… Your child's going to inherit all of it. But your child can't do it on its own."
Iruma bit his lip.
"I can't tell you to forget your trauma. I can't. But believe me on this. Once you and your child lock eyes for the first time, you'll see how your trauma has clouded you from thinking ahead. I loved Ameri the moment she opened her eyes at me. I knew once I saw her that she was part of my ambition. In a matter of time, Iruma, you'll meet that ambition."
The two tensed. Henri's horns and Iruma's cowlick flickered in surprise.
"Did you sense that?" Henri asked.
Iruma rapidly summoned Izanami.
Whatever he had sensed… it came from the palace.
…
King held on for dear life on the branch.
He really should have listened to Andrealphus.
Ameri and Iruma would probably kill him for ruining their library because of the seed's roots balling up. The branches had slithered outward. King nearly threw up from hanging on and moving around as the branches wove themselves together, creating a tree of multicolored trunks of a braid. By the time it leaned downward, the Palistrom tree looked like a multicolored, withered hand reaching downward to the endless sea of clouds.
King spotted Andrealphus. He was desperately hugging onto a branch, unable to look away at the bottom. His branch was thirteen branches lower than King's. Andrealphus was the most likely to fall to his death…
Then again…
"Andrealphus! Fly back to the palace!"
Andrealphus shook his head.
King had never seen him so terrified.
"I can't!"
King gulped. Ignoring the gravity threatening to drag him down, he climbed down. The winds whistled in his ears. His broken leg threatened to give up, but he kept climbing down.
He was just above Andrealphus. "Come on!" He reached out, unsure how long he could hold on to the branch.
Andrealphus shook in fear.
"I'll help you climb up!" King insisted. "You can fly to safety if we get closer!"
Something sprouted out of Andrealphus' back. Black bat wings, very much what sprouted out of most demons to fly around in the Netherworld.
But Andrealphus' left wing was amputated at forearm level.
King understood now.
He managed to grab Andrealphus' wrist and lifted him up. King tossed Andrealphus over his back, the latter clutching onto his shoulders for dear life. King didn't know why that touch made him feel weird.
"Whatever you do… DO NOT let go and DO NOT strangle me!" King warned.
Andrealphus nodded, folding his handicapped wings in.
King underestimated how the other demon's weight could complicate the climb. Each arm lifting up made King feel like his tissues were breaking. His claws were effective in sinking through the multicolored bark and lifting up. The pain was horrible.
Each time he pulled his claws, green sap like magic bile spilled out.
King heard Andrealphus gag after a sniff. "Ugh! What is that smell?"
"Magic bile. It's how witches in the Boiling Isles get magic from the heart. For Palismans, it's the bile sap. Gives them sentiency after a witch carves them from Palistrom," King grunted. "I messed up…"
"YOU THINK?" Andrealphus exclaimed. "I told you that doing it in the library was a bad idea!"
"Will you forget that stupid library? I couldn't grow a Palistrom out of that seed back on the Isles, and now I don't know if I'll ever get to show it to Luz, Eda, or my grandparents! I can't even show it to the Boiling Isles either!" King held his tears back. "Nobody's seen a Palistrom in years due to overcropping… And Belos killing Palismans… My dad will never see this tree."
Something within King hurt.
Out of the blue, Andrealphus rested his head against King's skull. "Well… at least now you know to not soak seeds with Titan's Blood within a library when you try to do it again back home."
In his pain, King rolled his eyes. "And you're back… A bit of a relief. I'm not used to seeing you…"
A blob of red descended towards them.
A blob of a red-colored abomination stretched towards them, extending its arms.
King jumped at the creature. Andrealphus screamed as the abomination dragged them to the mainland. The abomination dropped the boys onto some sort of training field.
The training field dedicated to the rookies of the Queen's Horsemen Of The Apocalypse. Mandolin music ceased to play and the abomination vanished. King put Andrealphus down.
"Oto!"
Andrealphus' uncle came running at his nephew. The demon checked his nephew for bruises or scratches. Fortunately, Andrealphus wasn't injured. "Oh my devi! I was worried!"
"I'm alright…" Andrealphus let his uncle embrace him.
The rookies were crowding.
"What the devi is that tree?"
"Did the Titan grow it?"
"That Isles girl called upon a monster."
"Well! The Fowl Peafowl didn't perform his duties!" King recognized the female rookie as the demoness Andrealphus had struck on the face seven chapters ago. "Probably grew that tree to blame the Titan for it!"
Decarabia stood up in front of Andrealphus. "What audacity do you have?" He demanded the younger demoness. "Accusing Oto of such an act!"
"It's always those faking loyalty that stir chaos, just like the traitors of before! Especially the deficient ones…"
King's fist met her cheek. Still confused by the punch, she couldn't stop King from pining her down by the throat. The rookies instantly pulled out spears and tasing sticks.
"Are you nuts?" Maurice exclaimed, he and his sister acting as living shields. "Attacking a Titan?"
"Oh, let them!" King snarled. Something within him burned. His claws poked the demoness' neck enough for some drops to show. He could care less about her newfound terror. "Maybe breaking your pipes will make YOU a traitor!"
Ameri emerged and pulled him by the horn. The moment the rookie ran off, the Demon Queen dropped King on the ground. The Palistrom Tree suddenly uprooted itself. Standing tall on Izanami, Iruma used magic to transport the tree out of the palace grounds. The ground shook as he rooted the tree into a nice spot just outside the wall.
"You've disappointed me!" Ameri declared to the rookies, all bowing before her. "Our armies don't just defend the Netherworld, but also provide individual assistance when needed! Any of you should have the instinct to come to a demon in need of saving! Thank Lord Agares for his distinguished skills that have designed the rooms to not crumble, because I didn't need help when the nursery shook. You claim deficiency as a sign of treason, but how many of you stood up, ready to fly down to save a Titan and the royal secondhand?"
Nobody among the rookies spoke.
Ameri bared her disappointed fangs. "If none of you are willing to risk your lives for a demon in need, your worth is questionable." Ameri pointed towards the direction of the main entrance. "Two choices await you: redemption from square zero, or leaving now. Take the second one and you will never receive a royal recommendation. Bring the shame with you! What will your choice be? Redemption or surrender?"
King expected them to beg for forgiveness. Or to stand up and proudly call for redemption. Instead, a majority left.
Ameri shook her head in displeasure. King hadn't counted until then, but there had to be close to 26 teenagers who'd signed up to get a recommendation by training as potential soldiers. 23 of them had given up on the spot.
Queen Ameri viewed no soldier with worth if all they sought was a recommendation.
The prejudiced rookie remained, along with her friend holding her close. The only other rookie remaining with them to train was a tall, male rookie who looked like he'd just gotten out of Izanami's personal pen.
"You three are all starting from scratch…"
"Yes, your Majesty."
"And Seir."
The male rookie lowered his head.
"Your lack of performance vexes me."
Seir merely lowered his head.
"Skarlett's making a run for the woods." Iruma flew down with Izanami. "Did she just steal Soi's mandolin?"
"She must have used it for her Bard magic." King crossed his arms. "Props to her for combining Bard and Abomination magic… which I'd say if…"
"YOU! Inside! Now!" Ameri pointed towards the door. "That includes you as well, Andrealphus!"
King lowered his head.
"Ivo, check on the tree while Ameri and I have a chat with the boys."
"Yes, Your Majesty…" Decarabia sighed.
"Kappa and Amikiri!" Ameri addressed the female rookies. "Lady Smoke will supervise your 13 jogs around the perimeter. And Seir… fetch Skarlett before she accidentally falls off."
Seir spread his sapphire blue wings and took off.
Ameri and Iruma glared King into going inside with Andrealphus. King wasn't sure what awaited him for such an accidental mistake. He hadn't even tried to run off. All this mess… because he wanted to try growing a Palistrom tree.
By the time they reached the floor, Lord Agares was just about done sealing the hole in the library. Iruma closed the door so that the stressed out Thirteen Crown wouldn't see the ones who caused the mess. It could lead the Lord of Sloth into a Wicked Phase.
"Look… this one's on me, alright?" King explained. "I…"
Iruma pointed at the direction of King's room.
"King… I'm having a stressful day today, and nearly every time we try to help you, you somehow put yourself in danger. Or you express your hatred… Which I'd shrug off… But the next time you intend on creating a Titan-size plant in my domain, do it outside AFTER warning me! By growing that plant, you nearly crushed the nursery while Ameri was in there!"
King gasped, turning to look at Ameri. She gestured to him that she was fine.
"You nearly got Andrealphus killed and you might as well be limping for life with all that climbing! Your incident caused us to realize that most of the next generations within our army won't do what's right unless we tell them to! I WORKED FOR YEARS TO GET DEMONS TO WORK TOGETHER SELFLESSLY, AND I FIND OUT THAT THEY STILL PRIORITIZE THEMSELVES UNLESS TOLD OTHERWISE!"
King bit his lips.
"Your Majesty… I am responsible as well…" Andrealphus tried to step in.
"Since I'm prioritizing myself… can I leave like the others?" King asked. "Can I go back home?"
Andrealphus tensed next to him.
Iruma just kept himself collected by taking a deep breath. He exhaled.
"Ameri… bring Andrealphus to his apartment. I need a word with King. Alone."
Meanwhile
Skarlett ran as she could through the forest.
Barely two days and her imprisonment was too much for her. Two days in the scullery almost made her forget the sunlight. She still couldn't believe she had the audacity to steal a framed mandolin, and for what? To save that loser King.
Worse, she used her music to summon an Abomination.
The commotion gave her a chance to run into the forests. The pink flowers and the purple thorns surrounding her made her feel suffocated. The open fields of green grass freaked her out.
Skarlett had to admit, in her pride, of her homesickness. She didn't know how she could get back to the Boiling Isles. She had to get out. Figure out a plan to save Rue…
She didn't see the edge leading to the quarry. Skarlett yelped in shock.
A hand grabbed her collar and pulled her back.
Skarlett instinctively swung the mandolin at the demon. He didn't move when the instrument broke against his cheek.
"Ow…" He barely reacted.
"I'm not going back!" Skarlett hissed.
"And you were going to fall down 10 layers of a marble quarry, wobble towards the edge of the mesa, and fall to certain death. Unless you have wings." The tall male demon showed off his sapphire wings. "And if you did survive, how will you climb the border as tall as the atmosphere to reach the Boiling Seas? Do you also have boil-proof skin?"
Skarlett hissed. She hadn't thought of any of those factors.
She still had the mandolin's handle. She could always fight back.
"And if you return to the Boiling Isles, will you tell the Titan's family and little Rue's parents that you abandoned them? Would you at least mention that the King bothered to change Rue's diapers for you?"
Skarlett dropped the mandolin handle on the grass.
He looked at the damages left of the broken mandolin. "Lord Purson won't be pleased that one of his instruments was damaged." He picked up the debris, using his dirt-covered uniform jacket to wrap the debris in a bundle. Through his wrinkle purple shirt, Skarlett could see his abs. "We could lie, say that you tripped and landed on it. Or we could admit that you hit me with it."
"They… might believe the second one." Skarlett looked away from him.
He tossed the bundled jacket over his shoulder. "Do you wish to walk or to be escorted back to the palace?"
"I don't see the difference." Skarlett snorted, walking through the fields in a huff. "You'd still end up following me."
"I'm tasked to ensure your safe return. Walking is more casual, but escorting would mean providing you with the best desired route."
"Meaning?"
"Well, if you're too tired, I can carry you back by flight. Or I may call, requesting a horse…"
"Yeah, no! Walking is good!" Skarlett shook her head.
He caught up to her.
"So… is there a proper term to address you? The other rookies and staff members just nickname you 'the Isles girl'. Or is your last name Isles? Should I address you as Ms. Isles?"
"What's yours, Mr. Big Mouth?" Skarlett snarked.
"Sinderblair Seir. If I had friends, they'd call me Sin."
"'IF' you had friends?" Skarlett snorted.
"Well, they'd rather be friends with my older brother, Blazezare. They call him Blaze."
"Oh…" Skarlett didn't feel that good about taunting him. "My big sister's Skara. And I'm Skarlett. With an 'SK', not an 'SC'."
"Like the color of your monster… Catchy." Sin shooed a bird off after it tried landing on his brown hair. Skarlett noticed the blue roots within the brown locks.
"How come you don't want your hair color to match your wings?"
"To deviate away from my brother. Don't get me wrong. I care about him. I just don't want to be recognized strictly as 'Blaze's little brother.' Do you like being recognized as 'Skara's little sister'? Even though you love her?"
"Well…" Skarlett wanted to comment that she didn't dye her hair to match or deviate from her sister. She just didn't want to be exactly like her. It didn't mean she didn't care about Skara…
Skarlett really hadn't thought of how she'd miss her sister. Her hand felt the scars on her neck, safely hidden by her collar.
"You ever had the feeling… that people expected you to make a choice… between playing a single instrument your entire life… or playing all in an orchestra… but while everyone expects you to pick either… you just DON'T want to pick… because you want to be left alone?"
Seir gave a small nod. "Well… I can see why such an ideal would be challenging to approach… Metaphorically. Is your desire to be alone because you don't want people to pick for you… or because of the metaphorical, decisive situation you've been placed in, you can think of an ideal but not an ambition?"
Skarlett hopped over a water stream. "You make zero sense. Aren't ideals and ambition the same thing?"
Seir just walked on the water, not caring if getting his boots wet would lead to soil sticking on it. He shook his head at Skarlett.
"For someone who's forced to decide between an individual instrument or a whole orchestra, too many melodies cloud your mind. Makes it harder to find the shining tune in the quiet darkness."
Skarlett hated that his words had some wisdom.
Elsewhere… but where?
In the darkness underground, a witch listened one more time to the prophecy being spewed out of the mouth of her crystal ball's stupid spirit.
Two heirs meet.
On fate they cheat.
Traitors spoil the bones.
The scream breaks the stones.
Kneel in for…
In the background, machine gears turned. Lights flicked on.
The one creation she'd kept in the dark from her ex-husband made his presence known.
"I told you the prophecy was vague," the male voice told Odalia.
Odalia gritted her teeth.
"Even Baal couldn't squeeze the info out of the greatest soothsayer in the Netherworld. Why do you think he retaliated by staging her clan's death?"
"And I can't?" Odalia seethed.
Over her shoulders, the mechanical braces kept the demon's prosthetic limbs in check.
Without Alador knowing once, Odalia had once stolen his Abomiton experimental blueprints to revive a crippled demon she found… into a unique cyborg. The very prosthetics were made of Abomination goo. Odalia would have never imagined that during her years in hiding, the one she hid from Alador and their offspring would offer her an ideal proposition.
Both had scores to settle.
Both wanted the Demon Realm… differently than it was.
Both… had issues with a human.
"Trust our project, Odalia." The demon-cyborg raised his arms in the darkness above them. "We've sown seeds of doubt. We brewed civil unrest on the Boiling Isles. We trapped that stupid little Titan away from his loved ones. By the time the next eclipse is over… we will have a new Demon Realm. No more Netherworld… No more Boiling Isles… No more pesky obstacles to stop you from acquiring a new empire that Belos denied you…"
Odalia stiffly turned to look at him. For a youth and ideal revenge partner, his kinks did weird her out. "And… your hunger will be satisfied."
The thirty-three-year-old demon cyborg finally revealed his face. Abomination prosthetics covered 90% of his body's left-side, a reactor with the Blight Industries' logo shielding his heart. The goo barely concealed the burnt scars that went towards his remaining flesh. His once teal hair had gotten some pale strands.
Even with the artificial Abomination eyeball on his left eye socket, his remaining teal eye still had its vicious gleam above his ecstatic blush. Purple saliva escaped his lips, his scarred lip licking it back in.
"Devouring Iruma's firstborn child… His despair will be greater than the one I almost gave him all these years ago!" Amy Kirio hugged himself with his real arm and mechanical arm.
Odalia Blight shuddered again at his perversion.