My DA is EmeraldOverlord so feel free to check it out if you want! For anyone confused, I changed several(but not all) details on the other chapter and long story short, I swapped Angel and Vaggie's roles.
Helsa winced as she carried Vox over her shoulder. The blonde was a helluva lot heavier than his lanky figure gave him credit for and having to carry him while sprinting from armed forces was a lot to ask for.
Eventually, once they believed they were far enough away in the woods, the only thing they were able to hear was the patter of their own footsteps, the screams and shouts of the armed forces had long since faded, replaced with silence as they slowed down before coming to a halt.
Exhausted, Helsa found the nearest log and situated Vox up on it.
The blonde hissed at the movement, the sprain in his ankle causing him great pain. He then glanced up at Helsa wearily, as if uncertain what to say. The silence prevailed and neither said a word for the longest time.
It couldn't have been more than a few seconds, but those few seconds felt like eons ticking by when Vox made the move to speak.
"Why'd you do that?"
She stared at him in bemusement, confused as to what he was asking.
"Why'd you save me, Helsa?" He clarified upon seeing the mute woman's bewildered expression,examining her eyes.
He felt pity, but Vox knew that couldn't be it. He knew how to read the expressions of others, he had to give his status as an Overlord prior to falling in this realm. Reading others was a useful skill and his years of experience told him that the eyes were the most telling part of others.
They could lie through their teeth and change their expressions but their eyes usually told a different story. It wasn't a 100% fool-proof method, but it did have a higher chance of working than the other methods he had used when it came to dealing with people and mapping out their movements.
Helsa was one of the people he couldn't map out that well. Anytime he thought he knew something about her, she did something entirely unexpected and shattered the perception he had of her each time. She was a wild-card and he couldn't predict her like the others in his life.
Vox could 'predict' most of the people he interacted with back in Hell, there was usually a pattern in their behavior. Whether it be from the way Velvet's erratic behavior increased whenever she was on her phone recording a live stream or Val's tantrums.
Despite the reason for their fights varying, the pattern usually remained the same. Vox either made a minor mistake or Val forgot something important and the other responded harshly to it only for a full blown fight to erupt.
The fights ended the same way, with Vox stepped out of line and Val lost his temper and smashed his screen in for the fifth time that week before they 'broke up' for a week or so before Vox eventually caved in and gave Val an expensive gift to apologize for offending him only for the cycle to repeat itself not even a week later.
It was hard to not memorize the patterns when they all had a similar conclusion. No matter how violent Val got, he had always come crawling back to him.
Until that day anyway. That day everything changed and that was how he got here in the first place. His life had been nothing but repetition until now, his life had been thrown into a loop and Vox wasn't used to all the chaos that this realm appeared to thrive off of.
"Helsa, can you be honest with me and give me a solid answer? It's not like anyone else is around…." He said,"Just give me a reason, why? Why'd you do it? You know you didn't have to…"
Even if Helsa had her voice, she would've remained speechless in that moment as the Princess was unable to come up with a proper response to Vox's armor piercing question.
"Helsa, please, just tell me. An honest answer is all I ask…" He pressed,"Because I know that if you could talk, you'd give me a whole squeal about how you were just preserving any entertainment you had or that your sense of pity stuck then and there, I think that we've known each other long enough to know that those are only mere excuses at this point. This isn't about pity or entertainment, is it, Helsa?"
The Princess of Envy flinched, uncertain how to respond to Vox's questions. Her confidence shattered and her calm and collected demeanor faltered into a more recluse and uncertain one.
"Helsa, I know your Mother taught you that all us guys are horny brainlets who mindlessly gush after the object of our affection with lust and for certain people, you're probably right. However, despite your best efforts to manipulate me into thinking otherwise, I know you don't fully believe that else you wouldn't have bothered to save me otherwise. After all, if I was just another foolish man, why risk going back for me? I had a sprained ankle. I would've been a liability to lug around,especially in the crisis we were in. Yet you chose to go back for me despite the risks, knowing you could've gotten caught too had things gone south."
Helsa didn't say anything in response, sulking a bit in posture. She felt weak in that moment and she despised the feeling, feeling ashamed that she possessed these weak sentimental feelings towards him made her stomach turn.
Vox must've taken notice of her position as he gave her a glance,"Your silence speaks volumes, Helsa. Though, I must ask to be certain of one thing to set the record with you because how I respond will impact how I speak with you from now on, understand?"
Helsa nodded her head.
"Do you like me? Like, as a person Or was this just another sick joke of yours?"
There it was. The dreaded question that she knew was coming but was afraid of when it would come. She froze up, her blood running cold.
"Helsa, don't just stand there. I'd rather you say no than just stand here in suspense. Just be honest with me, do you care or do you not?"
Instead of responding to the question, Helsa begrudgingly approached Vox beside the log, her expression unreadable within that moment. She could sense Vox was tense, as if skeptical of what she was planning on doing.
She placed her hands at the sides of his face and leaned in slowly in an effort to make a move on him. As their lips were about to touch, Vox's lips ghosted over her before he moved away, grabbing her chin gently as he teased,,"Not so fast, Helsa. You cannot think it was going to be that easy now did you?"
She gasped at this, this movement being completely unexpected. She hadn't expected Vox to just boldly grab her chin and force her to look him in the eyes and she couldn't help but shrink a bit.
"What's wrong? Did you think that you were the one who was in control?" He asked in a far too confident voice, seemingly amused by Helsa's flustered demeanor as a light shade of blush appeared on her face, her expression both furious and embarrassed.
He couldn't help but find it amusing, with Helsa always being the calm and collected kind of lady, catching her off guard was enough to make him grin in doubt no one else had ever seen Helsa embarrassed(or if they did, they didn't live to tell the tale).
Normally most would be afraid of upsetting Helsa, but Vox didn't scare easily. Few people could truly strike fear into him and those that could weren't around to bother him.
And besides, he knew Helsa wouldn't hurt him despite how angry she appeared before him. After all, if she wanted him dead, she would've let him die quite some time ago. Hell, she could've legit ditched him all the way back at Belphegor's palace and run into the woods yet she chose to save him despite him being what most would consider a liability.
'Fucking tease!' Helsa then pulled away before huffing, folding her arms over her chest in frustration. It was so unfair, she was the tempter, not him! How dare he make a fool out of her!
"Not so fun now is it?" He chuckled darkly as he grabbed her chin,"Now don't look like that, Helsa, it's only fair. You've taken advantage of me plenty of times, there's nothing wrong with getting even now is it?"
She appeared a tad ashamed and wondered if the trust in their relationship was destroyed forever. Vox sighed before saying,"Helsa, I really appreciate you saving me and I can tell that you've evolved beyond using me for your personal entertainment. But I can't fully trust you, not yet anyway. But I am willing to give you a chance so do not waste it, understand?"
Helsa nodded her head in understanding as their eyes locked onto each other. Before anything else could be said however, they heard Velvet's voice shout,"VOX! WHERE ARE YOU!? ARE YOU OK!?"
Vox shouted back,"Y-Yeah! I'm over here!"
The sound of leakage ruffling around was heard and Velvet appeared and quickly hugged Vox,"Oh my god, I didn't think you made it! I'm so happy!"
"Me too, Vel…me too.."
Velvet then noticed Helsa and narrowed her eyes with hostility,"Hey, what's that sea-witch doing here!? You didn't hurt him now did ya? Because I swear if you hurt him again I'm gonna fucking-"
"Vel, chill," Vox assured in an attempt to calm his friend down from doing anything she might regret.
"Don't tell me to 'chill' Vox! This woman tried using you and yet you're so vehemently defending her after all she's done!? Has she got you roped up in her looks again? Is that why you're so protective of her, huh?"
"It's not like that, Velvet," He chided,"Now quit assuming things are listening. I understand your distrust of Helsa but she saved my ass back there."
"Oh yeah? And how'd she do that?"
"By carrying me all the way here," He said before pointing to his sprained ankle,"I tripped and sprained myself back at the prison while we were escaping. I probably wouldn't have made it this far had Helsa not gone back for me."
"So? She could've just been trying to manipulate ya or something."
Vox scoffed,"Vel, that's ridiculous. She's had plenty of chances to manipulate me prior to this and if she didn't care in the slightest for me she wouldn't have risked her own safety just to save me. I understand your distrust of her but I need you to dial it back a bit. Your distrust is making you irrational and it's not helping anyone."
"But she-"
"Put it aside, Vel. That's not important anymore. What matters is that we got out…" He assured as he pat Velvet on the head comfortingly.
"Ugh fine…But I'm still keeping my eye on her so ya better watch your step Missy cuz I'll be watching!" She threatened.
Helsa seemed unfazed by the threat, brushing off Velvet's words without much care. It took more than a young woman's taunts to scare her and Helsa refused to falter to such childish antics. Vox defending her only boosted her confidence and a small but proud smirk graced her features much to Velvet's chagrin.
"Uh..what are you three doing?" Husk asked from the leafage with the other's following behind him much to their surprise.
"Think it's pretty obvious what they're doing Husky," Angel teased,"Looks like Voxy is thinking with his lower head again around the girlies…"
Vox snapped,"Quiet, Angel! That's not what's happening!"
"Sure looks like it…"
"Angel, enough," Vaggie grumbled,"Don't antagonize him, this isn't the time to mess around. We just out of the asylum for god's sake, let's not immediately start shit the second we're not under supervision…"
"Tch, you're no fun, toots…"
"So…" Niffty said,"Are we safe now?"
"We should be," Alastor said,"We're in the forest, darling. I don't think the guards followed us this far. We're free now.."
"Speaking of freedom, does anyone know how to remove these things?" Husk asked as he motioned towards the cuffs on their wrists, "They're suppressing our powers and I'm sick of having these damn things on me…"
"Aren't we all, Husker?" Al retorted,"Surely there's a way to break these things. As durable as they are, they aren't unbreakable…"
Everyone paused when they heard the sound of metal falling to the ground and saw Helsa with a fork in her hand, having since freed herself.
"Well I'll be, the siren was onto something…" Husk said,"Say, do you mind if we borrow that fork of yours?"
Helsa shook her head and allowed the others to free themselves with her fork. Once everyone got the chains off, a sense of relief flooded through them like a tidal wave. It had been so long since they had the ability to use their abilities again that everyone was visibly ecstatic, relishing their freedom once more as they embraced their powers.
"About time we got those stupid chains off," Velvet sighed,"Those cuffs were killing me…"
"And we can finally use our powers again," Vox said as he summoned sparks of electricity within his hands,"Heh, good to finally have these back…"
"Let's not get too caught up in our powers," Vaggie informed,"We still have to get outta here and quick. It's only a matter of time before those guards try searching the forest for us."
"Toots over here is right, we gotta split before those fuckers get any ideas."
As they were discussing this, Helsa helped but felt something was missing. She scanned the area before it finally hit her, the Princess of Envy's heart skipping a beat as her breath froze like ice, eyes widened with fear and horror.
Vox seemed to notice her panic and asked,"Helsa, is something wrong? You look scared…Did you hear something?"
Helsa shook her head and began signing desperately. It had been a while since Vox had seen Helsa sign and his memory of translation was a tad foggy. What he did make out was something about her missing something.
"Did you lose something?" He asked,"Helsa, you know that whatever was at the asylum can be replaced. I promise you whatever you lost is not worth going back for."
Helsa was frantically shaking her head and trying to get Vox to understand her desperately, much to his confusion.
Husk however, who was more experienced in sign language managed to translate what Helsa was saying as he said,"It's not an item she's missing Vox. It's her brother…"
Vox paused, his stare becoming blank as it hit him,"Wait…where IS Seviathan?"
"I thought he was with you guys…" Vaggie admitted.
"We lost track of him when he got the guards off our backs," Vox said before asking,"Did anyone see him get over the gate or enter the woods for that matter?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Angel seemed rather apathetic to this 'revelation' and merely said,"Guess that means he must've got caught. Belphegor's army's probably got him by now and no doubt they're using him for all sorts of sick shit. It's a shame but it's out of our hands now."
Helsa abruptly stood up in an attempt to try and go back to Seviathan only for Vox to stop her,"Helsa, I'm sorry, but I can't let you go back there…"
Helsa glared at him before looking back in the direction of the asylum in a panic. Vox seemed to pity her and he winced at her expression.
"I'm sorry, Helsa. I really am. But it's too risky to save Seviathan. Even with our powers, it would be very unwise to challenge Belphegor. He may be lazy, but I feel that if we return, he might just decide to unleash his full wrath upon us and no one, not even you would be able to withstand it. And deep down, you know this…"
The Princess didn't bother to give him a response, merely averting her gaze and gritting her teeth.
"Vox is right,"Husk admitted,"As tragic as it is to say, there is no helping him at this point. All we can do now is move forward with the journey without him and hope for the best."
"Not like anyone liked him anyway," Angel muttered,"Why would we all risk ourselves for an arrogant jackass who no one liked?"
"Angel!" Vox hissed,"Why would you say something like that!?"
"Because I don't sugarcoat, baby, and I mean it when I say that we're all better off without that jackass. Besides, he ain't worth spit and it's better him than us I would say."
Vox frowned,"You seem far too happy about that, Angel…"
"Just saying facts, Vox, just saying facts…" He chuckled slyly with his arms put over his head in an almost malicious manner,"Anyway," He said as a way to change the subject,"Why don't we go ahead and ditch these rags? I've been growing tired of these prison clothes and I think it's about time we've tried something with a little more spice if you catch my drift…"
"And replace them with what exactly?" Vaggie asked,"We're not exactly at a clothing store, Angel…"
"Like so," He said before snapping his fingers and using his powers on his own clothes. His prison attire changed into a green and brown uniform that resembled that of what a ranger would wear.
He wore a green scarf around his neck along with tall dark brown boots and loose but layered clothing on his upper had a wood mask with holes in it. It covered the other parts of his face but allowed his mouth to be visible, the mask having pieces of moss on it and his hair had shifted to a green color with tinges of brown at the ends.
"What the hell have you done to yourself?" Husk inquired.
"My new disguise, what else?" He said,"Ya know that that lazy oaf is gonna mark as wanted people right? This ain't exactly our first rodeo so the least we can do is wear some bloody disguises so we don't get exposed walking outta this place. It'd be a shame to come so far only to get caught because some bitch recognized us from the front page of the newspaper."
The disguises were only temporary after all. Once they got out of here they'd go back to their normal attire and ideally put this all behind them.
"Fair point…Come on everyone, let's do the same thing and create ourselves new outfits…"
The others followed after Angel's lead in creating outfits of their own to boot.
Vaggie wore a white long dress that resembled a candle stick that appeared to somewhat melt like wax. Her skin had become darker, almost like a charcoal color with lava colored hair was like fire, darker at the bottom but turning lighter at the top.
Alastor wore a brown uniform with silver armor pieces on his hands and his boots with a goggles over his eyes. His hair had turned a rust-like color.
Vox had storm blue hair and grayish skin with pale blue eyes.. He dropped his glasses to the floor and wore a robe,dash and long sleeves and pants with black boots. He had a cloak installed within his outfit that granted him the ability to cover himself if need be with his hood.
Velvet had a black roses where her pigtail bows were and a black and magenta dress with fish-net stockings and flat shoes underneath. On her face and masquerade eye-mask over her face with a small heart on the left side of her cheek. Her dress had a slit and exposed the lower parts of her legs.
Husk had cloud white hair and a yellow and white clothing that was great for movement with light brown boots and white eyes.
Niffty pale white skin and black three small black eyes on her forehead like a spider would had a red kimono with a web design at the bottom.
And last but not least, Helsa wore a winter dress with fur at the ends and at the collar with a snowflake pattern at the bottom and unlike the others, she had visible changed her hair to have two braids in the front while the rest of her hair dangled all the way past her back.
"Well…this is certainly a change of pace," Husk admitted,"Though Niffty…I gotta ask, what's with your get-up? I thought you controlled the glass?"
"You know I have a 'bond' with spiders?" She said,"Well, Belphegor kind of found out about that and before we escaped he…decided that since I was gifted with two powers, it would be inconvenient to train me on both so he…forcefully made it so I couldn't use my other powers…"
"That scoundrel hurt you, darling?" Al growled.
"It's fine," She assured,"Besides, I like being in tune with the spiders. Harry and I feel more in touch and it's better that way. Not to mention with my powers not being suppressed, I finally use these…"
Just then, Niffty sprouted several large spider-like legs from her back,taking most off guard. The legs supported her above ground and Niffty was able to walk on them without much trouble.
"Holy shit! You were keeping those things in your back this whole time!?" Angel hissed.
"I discovered it by accident," She admitted,"Belphegor was testing my reflexes and they just kind of…popped out. I never got the chance to fully use them since he told me to put them away and I didn't want to risk his ire."
"Just know that he won't ever get the chance to hurt you like that ever again, that's a promise," Al assured,"I won't let him hurt you again, Niffty."
"Thanks Al, it's nice that you still have my back despite everything…"
"Never would I leave my darling without a fight…"
Velvet coughed,"Hate to break the sappy moment but we've got places to go ya know. Only a matter of time before Belphegor and his bozo's search this place and I'd prefer not to be within the same vicinity of those bastards if you know what I mean."
"Crazy girl has a point, we best get outta here before anyone we don't like shows up. We're not outta the clear just yet so we better get a move on," Angel said,"Come on y'all, it's time to take our leave outta this joint…"
"Do you guys even have an idea where we're going next?" Husk inquired.
"Anywhere is better than here," Vaggie admitted,"Best thing we can do now is go in the direction we haven't gone toward yet. After all, we still need to get outta here. Though, I am worried about Charlie…"
"Don't worry about her, chances are Charlie is gonna hear about our escape and come running after us," Angel said,"I know her, she ain't just gonna give up on us like that and there ain't a doubt in my mind she's gonna come running for us when she gets the chance."
"I hope you're right, Angel…" The former Moth Demon said before following after him.
The others followed Angel's lead.
Vox wobbled a bit due to his sprain as he walked and almost tripped had Helsa not caught him. She pulled him back and he silently thanked her and was about to pull away but Helsa refused to let go, her hands icy cold.
The former TV Demon felt pity for Helsa as he saw her icy cold eyes averting downward, clearly upset by the loss of her brother. Seviathan's absence seemed to be eating at her and Vox knew he could do little to help her.
The only thing he could do was hold her hand and that he did.
As they walked, Vox didn't know what made him do it, but he looked at his wrist. He expected to see the familiar mark of Mammon's sigil on his hand, however to his surprise, it was somewhat faint.
Not invisible or anything, but faint enough to where it was noticeable if you squinted. Has Mammon's hold over him weakened? He didn't know how but it seemed the Lord of Greed's grip over him had loosened ever so slightly.
He wasn't free..not yet but Vox was relieved that whatever he was doing was undoing the binding he had made with Mammon.
Still, he was very much afraid, Mammon still believed he was trapped at Belphegor's asylum. If he found out he wasn't under his total control…it would be anything but pretty…
He sighed,'Let's try not to overwhelm myself with negative thoughts now. I'm at least not totally under his control, I should consider that something while I still can…'
He took a deep breath and moved onward with Helsa, who turned her back one last time in the direction of where Belphegor's asylum was with a longing look before ultimately turning back around.
Seviathan stared at Belphegor as he sat at his desk with his books sprawled out all over the place,"How does this ritual work exactly, Belphegor?"
"Glad you asked my dear nephew," He chuckled,"Surprisingly for such a dangerous craft, this ritual is quite 'simple' in terms of instructions. All that's needed is a knife and blood, unsurprisingly enough."
"That sounds far too easy…"
"Oh it is, like all things in life there is a catch," Belphegor admitted in a matter of fact manner,"You see Seviathan, as you know, Blood Magic is a dark art and a dangerous one at that and in order for you to master it and unlock your full potential, there will be need to be a price. Tell me, how much are you willing to pay to get back at those who've abandoned you when you needed them most? A lot, I bet. But I must ask,are you willing to spill your own blood to fill the price?"
The Prince blinked at the proposition, the question made him waver for a split second but only just because Seviathan quickly recomposed himself before saying anything,"I will sacrifice my all if it means enacting justice on those who wronged me."
"Just what I thought you'd say, Seviathan," He chuckled,"The ritual is very simple, all you need to do is cut your wrists in the shape of a pentagram and offer a 'sacrifice' in exchange for power. Think of something of great value that can't be easily replaced by your person. Since you don't have much wealth, perhaps offering a part of your body would suffice…"
"Is that all?"
"Pretty much, so I've the books tell me anyway…" He admitted before handing Seviathan a knife,"Here. This should get the job done…"
Seviathan accepted the knife and held it in his right hand.
"Now go on, I've got a room prepared for you with candles and everything. All you need to do is fulfill your part and surely it should work going by what the books say.."
"You're not even certain this will work?"
"It's been years since we've had someone like you, Seviathan. Sometimes we just have to hope the books in the information hold up in modern day.."
He grit his teeth before doing as he was told. Seviathan entered the room, seeing a bunch of candles scattered about and lit with a small flame. No doubt Belphegor was watching him from the glass and he didn't bother facing him, instead focusing on the task at hand.
He took a deep breath as he eyed the knife and glanced at his wrist. He closed his eyes in acceptance before using the knife to cut deep into his skin. He hissed in agony as he made gaping slits into his wrists that dripped onto the floor, the red ooze splattering with each drop.
Seviathan began to fill in the pentagram with his blood. It was far from a perfect pentagram but it was the best one could do while using their own blood as 'ink' so to say. Once he was done, Seviathan began to doubt the effectiveness of this ritual as he didn't see anything happen.
'This is pointless…' He thought to himself,'Whatever. Better try 'pleading' for power before telling Belphegor that he's incompetent..' He closed his eyes and entered a deep thought, thinking about what he really wanted.
He wanted power…glory and praise. He wanted his parents' love and respect, he wanted their attention that he had been denied from him for far too long….
But above all…he wanted justice. To right the wrongs of many who had harmed him in the past. His reputation had been squandered, he was considered a failure by his parents and no one dared stand up for him in his time of need, not even his other half dared to say a word despite knowing it was all a lie.
All of those thoughts…all of those feelings of bitterness and hate unleashed a hunger that could be sanitized by enacted vengeance upon those who crossed him.
'What I'd give up just to have that kind of power…' He thought,'I'd trade anything..even my face for it if that was even possible…'
The second that thought slipped his mind, the world around him began to spin. Demonic symbols circled around him along with the flames of the candles abruptly turning blue as the fire rose.
Just then, he felt something forcibly enter his mouth, something that caused his entire body to feel like it was on fire.
Seviathan felt an enormous pain strike him down, his entire body aching. Seviathan gagged as he felt his entire body become weak, collapsing to his knees as he felt something painful in his face, more accurately his jaw. It felt like something was trying to wreck his entire mouth or something because whatever was tearing it apart was doing it without the slightest hint of mercy.
He was screaming and Seviathan could feel himself bleeding. He began gagging and actually began throwing up blood, dark red blood that almost appeared black. His heart was throbbing and he could feel his heartbeat becoming weaker and weaker.
The last thing Seviathan heard was Belpehgor shouting something about a nurse before it all went black….
Several hours later...
Seviathan's eyes slowly creaked open as he came around. His eyes were heavy and his vision was blurry. He had the worst headache imaginable.
He turned its head and saw that it was laying on a hospital bed.
At his side was some sort of heart monitor and some other tech he couldn't identify, no doubt something that was being used to keep his condition stable.
As Seviathan rose out of bed, he walked to the mirror and stared at its reflection only to gasp in shock, its hands trembling at its newfound appearance.
Seviathan wore red and black attire with a red sash wrapped around his waist. On his hands were black finger-less gloves and sharp gold metal nails attached to his hands. His once green hair had changed entirely to a black color with a tinge of red at the front. The once white part of his eyes had turned an inky black color with gold demonic eyes.
But the most surprising and horrifying detail was a Glasgow grin aligned with sharp pointed teeth. When he opened his mouth, he was horrified to see his lower jaw had monstrous teeth and a long pointed tongue. He looked like an abomination of sorts, like some fucked up experiment gone wrong.
'By Lucifer's name…What's happened to my face!? I'm hideous!' He thought in disbelief before it hit him, recalling his last thoughts prior to the ritual.
'I'd trade anything…even my face for it…'
As he felt his jaw, he then made the effort to speak,"It worked…" He gasped slightly at how his voice sounded, his voice was raspy and feral than he recalled it being. Perhaps this was a side effect of his changed appearance but it was going to take some time to get used to the change…
Still, he wondered if this new look was worth the pain and suffering he had endured. After all, if THIS is what he looked like, perhaps the ritual truly did succeed…
The Prince then wondered,"But at what cost? Surely it can't be that easy now can it?"
Before he could question himself any further, Seviathan felt a painful ache in his stomach. He doubled over and clutched his stomach in agony as he let out a pained hiss.
The pain in his stomach, it was unlike anything he had ever felt in his entire life. It was like something was eating him up on the inside he could feel himself becoming disoriented as his vision became blurry and he hunched over. He had never felt this way before, the sudden hunger just hit him like a tidal wave was threatening to consume him whole as he thirsted for sustenance.
He cursed and trudged out of the room that he had been left open,desperate to find any food. His nose then sniffed the air and detected the smell of blood. He followed the trail, his mouth watering at the prospect of feeding…
As Seviathan got to the source, several guards surrounded him. One shouted,"Lord Belphegor said that you're not supposed to leave the hospital bed until further tests are done on you! Return to your holding cell at once!"
Seviathan paid no mind to the order the guard had given him. Instead, his body began to spazz out, becoming erratic as his head was kept down, his stomach growling even louder than before as the hunger inside twisted within his body.
The guards were caught off guard by this, seemingly somewhat afraid of Seviathan's erratic behavior.
"Stand down, else we'll have to use physical force on you!" The other said as they tried to close in on him. The second one laid their hands on Seviathan, Seviathan's eyes snapped open, turning blood red with rage. He then let out a feral screech as he attacked the man.
The Prince of Envy then unhinged his monstrous jaws upon the unfortunate guard and tore into the flesh of his jugular and began to drain him of his blood as he tore him apart.
The other guards tried to flee as he heard them run away, Seviathan turned to them before calmly asking,"Where do you think you're going?"
Seviathan then did the expected, he used the man's blood to form two twin daggers before charging at them with malicious intent.
It was a bloodbath. Screams were heard as they tried to get away from the feral Prince in vain. Their attempts to escape their fate was for naught as Seviathan caught up with them far too easily and used his dagger to stab into their flesh.
Seviathan finished off the last man, stabbing one of his daggers into his head as his victim screamed in agony before removing it, letting out a grunt as he did so. Seviathan then stood up in the aftermath of his massacre, the scent of fresh blood staining the area becoming salivating to him.
He then glanced at his bloodied dagger, holding it up to his face as he surveyed his reflection with pride. He then sensed another's presence behind him and turned his head to the side ever so slightly as a way to show half of his face, his eyes filled to the brim with sadism and hunger, his jaw and chin covered in the fresh blood of his victims.
Belphegor stood there with a rather intrigued expression. Despite the carnage around him, he didn't seem scared in the slightest, in fact, he seemed almost proud.
"My my, Seviathan, you always impress me…" He chuckled with great amusement,"It seems the ritual has brought out your true potential. Your blood magic seems to have manifested itself to the point you're able to not only create weapons with ease but use the opponent's blood for your own desires. How intriguing…"
"Were you watching me this entire time, Belphegor?" He asked in his raspy yet calm voice.
"And what if I was?"
"You sent those men after me on purpose, didn't you?"
"I had to test out your abilities somehow and using canon fodder that I was rarely using wouldn't hurt. Besides, it's not like you cared much for their deaths now did you?"
"Hardly," He admitted,"They were nuisances to me yet their blood did provide me good sustenance. That's about all they're good for after all…"
"Sustenance you say? My, you were quite hungry. That ritual must've taken quite a lot out of you. I wonder, are you still hungry? I could always prepare you a much more…conventional meal…" He offered a piece of bread to Seviathan that he had summoned.
The Prince narrowed his eyes and reluctantly took the bread and ate a piece of it. His body immediately rejected it, as if it were poison.
"Are you trying to poison me?"
"Not at all, Seviathan. I was just trying to feed you."
"Your food is not welcome,"Seviathan scoffed,"In case you haven't noticed, the ritual did quite more than modify my face, but it modified my body in more ways than one. The only sustenance my body accepts is blood. Only the blood of others will satisfy my hunger.."
It clicked in Belpehgor's mind that the ritual had changed Seviathan's feeding requirements to the point that in exchange for mastering the arts of Blood Magic, he in turn needed to feed on the blood of others to survive and sustain himself, normal food no longer having any desired effect on Seviathan's digestive system.
Quite a heavy cost, but Belphegor wasn't going to lie that the benefits seemed to outweigh the negatives, at least in his mind anyway.,
"I see…Well, Seviathan, I'm certain we can arrange something. After all, your powers do seem to have improved without any downsides. There will need to be further testing, however I believe we're close to 're my latest masterpiece, Seviathan and I'm proud of you for going along with me this far."
"I would never back out of a deal this good," The feral Prince smirked,"You know, I must thank you, Belphegor. You saved me and I'm glad you have given me this opportunity to perfect myself. This power you've bestowed me will not be wasted…"
"I know, my dear nephew, I know. Your loyalty will be well-rewarded in due time…However, before that happens, I need to go and speak with one of my messengers. I need to tell Lucifer and Mammon of the recent escape of your former comrades. Not only that, but I need to speak with your parents and show them my newfound masterpiece…"
Seviathan seemed intrigued,"You'll show me to Mother and Father?"
"Of course, I'm certain they'll love to see you, Seviathan. Especially once they see your perfected form…."
"How long will it take?" He pressed, wanting to know more.
"It takes time to get there by sea, I'll give it a week to reach your parents,"The Lord of Sloth admitted,"Don't worry, I'm certain they'll come…"
"I eagerly await their visit…" He said eagerly,"Farewell, Master Belphegor…"
Once Seviathan left, Belphegor turned an eye to the carnage at the floor before deciding to call the nurses to clean up the mess that the Prince had left. As they did this, Belphegor set his priorities to delivering the letters informing those who it concerns of the escaped prisoners…
'Mammon won't be happy about this one…' He thought,'Thankfully it'll take a week to get to him so I'll at least have a small break before he inevitably shows up at my palace with fury in his eyes…'
He decided not to think about it too much, after all, Lucifer's place was the closest and he figured requesting his friend for help wasn't too much to ask given their current situation. It would only take several hours and he'd likely arrive by dawn anyhow.
Charlie wandered around the palace. She had since had breakfast and her boredom within the palace walls was quite obvious for just about anyone to see. Even with Wiggles walking by her side, she felt more alone than ever without the presence of her friends…
'God…this place is boring as hell without anyone around…' She thought to herself, her gaze averting to the ground as Wiggles clung to her dress.
Despite living the most lavish lifestyle this world could offer, Charlie felt incredibly isolated. Her 'parents' didn't truly understand her, everyone else saw her as an immature brat and most sucked up to her out of fear of not only upsetting her, but her parents.
What snapped Charlie out of her haze of misery was the sound of knocking on the door. She paused in her tracks before deciding to head over and check out what the commotion was. She didn't know why, but she found herself curious as to why anyone was knocking at this time,especially since no one usually came by at this time.
She headed over to the door and the maid at the front door stepped aside upon seeing her, allowing Charlie access to the front door.
On the other side of the door was a man who she didn't recognize carrying a letter. She raised an eyebrow and asked,"Um, who are you?"
"A messenger," He said, somewhat out of breath,"I've traveled all the way from Belphegor's palace to deliver this to the Morningstar residence. I hope this letter is of use to you…"
"Thank you for your service, I'll be sure to show this to my parents," She said before closing the door. Charlie excused herself and once she was certain no one was watching her, she opened the letter and read the contents…
Her jaw fell as she heard that the others had escaped from Belphegor's asylum. This filled her with a sense of relief, finally a piece of good news after all this misfortune! There was still hope!
However, Charlie knew not to get too excited, especially since as she read the letter, she saw that Belphegor was requesting help in 'retrieving' the escaped convicts. Charlie winced at this, knowing that if her parents sent reinforcements, her friends would be in a lot more trouble than they already were….
'Better hide this…' She thought before stuffing the paper in one of the flowerpots. Even if someone found it, it would be a while and it should at least buy them time.
"The others have escaped…I have to go after them. They need me and I've stood idle far too long to get left behind now! Come on, Wiggles! We're gonna see our friends…" She grabbed the pig and quickly escorted herself out of the castle, making the excuse to any wandering maids or servants that she needed a 'breath of fresh air' and that she would be right back.
Once she was out, Charlie knew she had to get on the road and fast.
The Princess gazed for a way to catch up with her friends. She'd take her parents' carriage if she could, but she knew that would be too obvious. Something so big would be highly noticeable and she'd get caught rather quickly.
She needed fast transportation, one that wasn't as noticeable as well…
She then caught sight of Bombproof in one of the horse stables chewing on some hay. An idea came to mind and she smiled as she ushered towards the horse,"Hey Bombproof, long time no see huh?"
She petted the horse affectionately and he weighed in response.
"Yeah, I know it's been a while. Listen, we're gonna get outta here and I need you to help me find the others. What do you say?"
The horse made a motion that she assumed was a nod in agreement and she smiled,"Good boy! Come on, there's not a second to waste! Let's go!"
The Princess of Pride hopped on top of Bombproof with Wiggles. Charlie then grabbed the lead and shook it like she saw in those old wild west movies,"Alright giddyup!"
The second she said that, Bombproof started sprinting like a mad-horse, galloping over the fence without warning. Charlie clung onto the horse for dear life as she screamed a bit, begging him to slow down,"Woah boy! Slow down!"
Bombproof slowed down a tad, not enough to where he was walking or anything, but enough to where Charlie wasn't going to be falling off the horse with Wiggles. After getting used to the pace, the fugitive Princess was brave enough to try speeding up and leaned downward, the Princess proudly commanding,"Onward, Bombproof! Onward!"
The horse obeyed his new owner's commands and they galloped off into the break of dawn,, the runaway Princess's eyes filled with determination and hope,'Don't worry guys, I'm coming for you…'
Thanks for 15,992 views, feel free to tell me what you think below!
BTW, anyone who wants an idea of what Seviathan's mouth looks like, imagine MK11 Mileena's mouth when it's open and even when closed, Seviathan's upper teeth are still visible and it's coated in blood of victims...
Enigmus-288:They aren't dating in this fic but yeah. I changed the details of that part of the fic but you get that it pretty much ends the same way with Seviathan swearing vengeance.
Guest: Honestly it's kind of sad when you think about it. They kind of just gave up on sentimental emotions once that happened since they viewed that it would be easier than having to risk getting attached again. And it didn't do anyone, let alone their children any favors.
Frederick knows, but Bethesda ain't aware of them being missing. They just didn't announce the investigation to be public because...reputation reasons.