Author's note : WARNING! this chapter contains some disturbing content, including mentions of rape, bestiality, necrophilia, incest, brutal murder, etc...
Previously: Camael and Castiel were cleared at trial, but suspicions remain about Castiel. He was removed from his sector, and he must be under constant supervision from now on.
oOo
The goat
It has been almost a thousand years since the last time I set foot in this area, Levanael's sector. The Humans living there made a lot of progress since.
Standing still and invisible, we have been watching for hours the swarming crowds at our feet. The sun is shining bright in the cloudless sky, relentlessly casting its burning rays on the city and its inhabitants. In this area, the Humans display darker skin and hair to resist heat. Some of them only wear a loincloth, others cover their head and body with white fabric to protect themselves.
The architecture is quite basic, but the whitewashed walls look solid. More so than the constructions of the city I involuntarily destroyed. This is an arid zone, and these Humans developed an ingenious irrigation system to water their crops and gardens. Uninterrupted flows of Humans carry merchandises on animal-drawn carriages. I wonder what our brothers in charge of mammals think when they see them enslaved by Humans. Unless Father did create them for that sole purpose, just like the Garrison was specially created to watch over Humanity.
It is quite interesting for me to take a closer look at this land and compare these Humans to those living in my sector. It would almost make me forget about the punishment the Archangels chose to inflict on me. Depriving me of my sector and putting me under surveillance is more offensive than painful to me really. I know myself to be loyal and I have no doubt the truth will eventually come out. Sooner or later, my rights will be restored.
These past few years I have mainly been assigned to keep watch on Adam, Eve and their offspring, my original sector is actually situated further north. I am responsible of what happens there and I would be called before anyone else should an intervention take place.
After I took care of wiping out Adam's and Eve's memories, as well as those of the few Humans who witnessed the pregnancy and the birth, I watched them all closely to make sure none of them would remember anything. It was the first time such an order was given, so I was thorough. I turned out I'm quite good at wiping memories and creating fake ones. I have a talent for this.
I let my gaze slide over the Humans swarming in the market place, and my thoughts drift back to Adam and Eve. After having been chased out of the Garden of Eden, they didn't get that far away. They settled in an area with soil and climatic factors favorable to agriculture and sheep farming. In the end, they never met their kin that lived further north on the continent, even though they disobeyed God for that exact purpose. Did they give up on this idea to appease Him?
Now that's another question I will never get an answer to.
Levanael's pensive voice pulls me out of my meditative state.
"Birth rate is increasing to eight children on average per female, half of which stay alive long enough to reproduce too. There are already millions of them, and at this pace there will be billions before we know it. They will eventually outnumber all of us combined."
I take my eyes off a child struggling to get a very stubborn donkey to move. The animal is staring up at us, as if he could see us. Perhaps he can. This isn't the first time I notice animals gazing at me when I'm supposed to be invisible. The Garrison's mission is entirely focused on Humans, so my knowledge on animals is limited and I can only guess.
"Humans multiply but our number remains the same," Levanael's green and warm brown eyes turn to me. "For how much longer will we be able to watch over them efficiently? We are not omniscient. Riemu died, there are only fourteen of us left... Fourteen Angels to watch over millions of Humans."
"Leviathans were the only creatures able to kill us, and they have been locked away, Levanael. Our number won't get any lower."
"Lucifer plans to exterminate all Humans and we have no idea what are the motivations of the Mother of All nor the extent of her powers. Humanity's fate rests on the Garrison, even though Azazel can somehow neutralize our Graces, and we don't even know how he managed to do that!"
Levanael's body is still as a mountain, but his bright Grace is drawing wild patterns and swirling like thousands of storms. It is not fear. Levanael is a good soldier, he doesn't feel fear. No, he is just anticipating our mission's failure.
I know I can trust our Father. He would not let Lucifer destroy the creatures He made in His image, to whom He has offered the Earth. I have to keep faith. And it is my duty to ensure that my brothers do too.
I touch his shoulder with the tip of my wing to calm him down, and his Grace shines brighter at my contact.
"We are not alone, Levanael. All our brothers and God Himself stand behind us. The Garrison won't get fooled a second time, as we are on our guard now."
His Grace seems to be flowing more easily.
"Things used to be so much simpler when there were only a hundred fish or so. Do you remember? No Heaven, no Hell. All children of God lived together in harmony on Earth..." he murmurs wistfully.
I remain silent and look down at the city. The boy finally managed to make the donkey move and is heading back to the market stall where his parents are working.
Indeed, things were easier when we all walked the same lands and didn't need to hide our true appearance. But we have been created to obey and fight, not to enjoy the Creation.
My gaze is drawn to a man standing aside, lurking in the shadow of a wall with his forearm hiding his face. He looks unsteady on his feet as if he were drunk and I hear his ragged breath. It looks like he's trying to get further away from the crowd. Looking closer, I notice that the dark skin of his neck is covered in blood under his trembling hand. And there is more dripping from his mouth.
I point out this anomaly to Levanael and we share a meaningful look. The man staggers to a dark alley and starts weeping like a child.
"I witnessed a few cases of cannibalism, a couple of decades ago." Levanael narrows his eyes.
The man is mumbling inarticulate words between sobs. I bend over to reach out and as soon as my fingertip touches him, a flow of colors, sounds and smells rushes inside me in the form of shifting memories. Laughter, warm arms wrapped around him. His children smiling up at him with so much trust in their eyes. One of them dying in his arms from a snake bite and he can't hold back his tears. The few decades of his short life are swirling as I skim through useless memories to reach the most recent ones.
A sharp and sudden pain on his neck. He struggles to wrench himself free, but his attacker is too strong. There is a slit wrist pressing against his lips. The coppery tinge in his mouth. He falls to the ground. Everything is blurry. The attacker walks away, just a dark figure disappearing in the distance.
He is thirsty. So thirsty.
They're all staring at him anxiously, his wife, his children, talking to him, but all he can hear is the loud pumping of their blood inside their veins. Their screams. The taste of blood. He can't stop anymore.
Thirsty. So thirsty.
I remove my hand.
"This is not cannibalism."
"What is it then?"
"Something new. I have never seen such thing before."
"Let's call Anael. He will know what to do."
Before we even had a chance to call him, our General's flat voice resonates through our heads:
The Garrison is summoned to a crisis meeting, room 3609.
oOo
Anael is standing in front of us, his hands resting on the table while he waits for the latecomers to arrive. Camael then Miz appear and settle on their seats. Once we're all here, Anael's serious gaze focuses on us.
"I summoned you all at the Sisters of Fate's demand, and also because some of you reported to me some unusual behaviors among the Humans. I need an overview of the situation and specific facts before I alert the Archangels."
I share a look with Levanael. My brothers are obviously eager to speak, judging by the impatient swirls of their Graces inside their bodies.
"So," Anael turns his eyes to Camael. "It's about Cain."
The Angel of Joy's head snaps up.
"Is there a problem?"
Anael sits down.
"The Sisters of Fate told me Cain should have reproduced already. It is written. He is meant to have a son who will be named Henok."
Silence.
Camael keeps staring unblinkingly at our general. Anael narrows his eyes.
"Don't you have anything to share with us, Camael? What prevented Cain from copulating? Did he not meet any woman to his taste on the way?"
There is a cold tinge showing in the Angel of Joy's golden eyes, even though his voice remains calm.
"Cain's heart is heavy with sorrow and he is trying to redeem himself for murdering his brother by helping anyone he comes across with. He did meet a few women but never tried to copulate with them. He doesn't want to make his case worse by succumbing to the temptation of the flesh."
Anael heaves an irritated sigh.
"I see," Anael snaps back. "Well, explain to the Human that copulating won't be regarded as a sin, considering we need him to have a progeny that will be very important in the future according to the Sisters. If he doesn't cooperate we will have to send low-ranked Cherubs to make him fall in love with the next suitable woman to cross his path."
"That won't be necessary. Cain will reproduce within the next year without fail," Camael says without hesitation.
Anael nods and turns his eyes to look at the rest of the Garrison.
"Now that that's settled, let's move on to the incidents you witnessed."
"Castiel and I just saw a Human wounded on the neck who had seemingly drank blood," Levanael says. "Being the most talented of us all to explore the human mind, Castiel read his memories."
"He was attacked, bitten, and since then he is drawn by the irrepressible need to consume human blood," I say, the images and sensations still crystal clear in my head. "He slaughtered his own family."
Anael is taking notes for his report to the Archangels.
Then it's Uriel's turn to speak. "In the city I was watching over, the Humans became ill all at once. Every single one of them, all with different and new diseases."
"Hundreds of Humans are starving themselves to death in my sector!" Hcoma exclaims. "They've got plenty of food within reach but they won't lift a finger to actually eat!"
Then all of my brothers start speaking over each other loudly. Two pacifist and allied tribes attacked each other in a violent and bloody way. On the other side of the planet, Humans are overeating and overdrinking until they die. Miz saw with his own three eyes a Human shedding his skin like a snake and totally change his appearance. Rachel saw Humans master dark powers to torture their enemies. And almost everyone noticed the disappearance of many young children under two years old, tens of thousands of them. Maybe more. It's hard to be more accurate, considering we are not omniscient and we can't exactly watch every plot of land on this planet at any time.
Anael is still taking notes as I listen to my brothers in astonishment. This is the first time the Garrison is faced with so many incidents in such a short notice.
Camael is the only one who remains silent. As Cain's Guardian Angel, he no longer has a sector and human cities to watch over, so he couldn't witness these phenomenons himself. Watching over one single Human surely is less interesting than groups of thousands of them, but this is his mission now.
"I guess all of this is linked to Lucifer and the Mother of All running free?" Yasen asks Anael.
Anael stops writing and looks up, his dark green eyes sharpening on Yasen's face.
"It is the only logical explanation. I have no idea if this is Lucifer's, Eve's or even Azazel's doing."
"What should we do, Anael?" Levanael's wings twitch as if to get ready for battle.
"Nothing. I will report the situation to our superior officers and then we wait for orders. Get back in position and keep me informed."
oOo
The sun sinks below the horizon, wrapping the city in darkness. Humans are lighting up torches. Levanael is standing by my side and counting once again how many « infected » Humans there are at our feet. The number keeps growing.
A rustling of flapping wings, and Miz lands between the two of us. Levanael turns his eyes to him.
"Miz. You're taking over Castiel's surveillance?"
Miz merely nods unblinkingly. Then, without a word, he motions to me to follow him and spreads his wings.
A few seconds later we both arrive further in the north west where the sun is still shining bright but starting to set. So this is Miz's sector. I have never seen it before.
We're standing over a small city, less impressive and beautiful than Levanael's. The walls are dark and cold, only adorned by climbing ivy. The sky is heavy with grey clouds. The climate is colder here, and yet, the Humans are walking around naked and…
I narrow my eyes and take a closer look. Of course I'm used by now to watch Humans copulating, but never in such a frenzy, in open air, and all at the same time. All the Humans in the city are copulating. Every single one of them. Hundreds of Humans, stark naked despite the cold weather, fornicating directly on the ground by groups of three, four, or… fifteen?
I look up to glance at Miz who is staring down at the city unfazed, almost looking bored.
"How long have they been behaving that way?" I ask, intrigued.
I don't think this is Lucifer's doing. Lucifer wants to see the human race go extinct, not reproduce even more. I don't see why Lucifer, Azazel or even Eve would want that.
Unless this is a human custom in this zone?
"For about one hour," Miz answers in a neutral voice.
So this is an unusual behavior to be reported. One more.
"Did you tell Anael?"
"I just did. I also told the entire Garrison."
I stare at him and he holds my gaze unblinkingly. His Grace is flowing calmly inside his body, but produces a few mischievous bubbles near his shoulders. He folds his arms and turns his attention back to the city.
Three men on a carriage are positioning themselves so that the one in the middle is penetrated from behind while he's slipping his penis inside the other man's rectum. A few meters away, a woman is copulating with a horse.
Now this is not ordinary. And this won't allow any kind of reproduction. What is the point of all this?
There is a rustling of feathers at my left, and Uriel lands on the ground, his eyes riveted to the city where Humans are moaning and groaning.
"So it is true!" he exclaims, delighted.
"Uriel? What are you doing here?" I ask, puzzled. "This is not your sector."
"Are you joking, Cas? Humans copulating with horses? I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world!"
Another rustling of wings, and Htmorda is here too.
"A woman and a horse? This love is impossible," he declares in an overly serious tone.
"I'm positive the horse will kill her with its sweet loving, brothers," claims Rachel who just got there too.
"Want to bet on it? She's got strong wide hips," Uriel retorts.
Every soldier of the Garrison is joining us one by one. The small city is now surrounded by invisible Angels who are watching the Humans fornicating. The entire Garrison is here, except for Anael and Camael.
"Is that a… goat…?" Zedekiel bends to peer into one of the stables.
My brothers and I take a closer look in this direction. Indeed, three Humans are surrounding a scared goat. One man is breeding it from behind, a woman is rubbing her genitalia on its back, while another man is trying to copulate with… the goat's mouth.
I think our brothers from the animals division wouldn't be very happy about this.
"The hairless ape is trying to breed with the goat's mouth!" Uriel cackles, absolutely delighted.
Levanael and Zedekiel are chortling as I try very hard to restrain a chuckle and remain dignified and unfazed like any proper Warrior of God should.
Suddenly, the goat fights back and bites down furiously, emasculating the man, then bucks to shove back the two other Humans. That animal's fighting spirit is admirable. Uriel bursts out laughing.
"Here's what happens to goats' mouths breeders!"
This time, I can't help laughing out loud along with all my brothers, except Miz who didn't bat an eye even if his Grace is fizzing with amusement.
The castrated Human is screaming and writhing in agony on the ground, and his friend lets the goat run away to pounce on him and breed him instead while he's bleeding to death. My brothers start to loudly cheer the escaping goat when other Humans try to chase it.
I have never seen Humans acting so irrationally before.
Uriel won his bet: the Human female survived her mating with the horse and is throwing herself into a bunch of men, women, children, dogs and chickens.
Our laughter fades away when Anael lands before us in a furious rustling of feathers, glaring at us with cold eyes. Everyone gets very quiet, except for the Humans screaming in pleasure or pain in the city.
"Go back to your station, soldiers, before I send each and everyone of you in rehabilitation."
He doesn't need to tell them twice, my brothers immediately fly off in a swish. Miz and I are the only ones left to face Anael now.
Our general takes a look at the city. The Human madness seems to be getting worse and far less entertaining. A man is sturdily penetrating a greyish corpse whose intestines crawling with maggots are spilling over. Another just slit a woman's throat and is trying to shove his chaffed penis inside. A pregnant woman has been gutted alive and is now dying under the assaults of twenty Humans using sharp tools.
"This is a demon's doing. A creature shaped by Lucifer himself."
Anael's voice is echoing through my head, which means he's talking to the entire Garrison.
"According to the Archangels, there are seven of them scattered around the world, each representing a human sin," he points his finger at the city. "This one is Lust."
Miz and I peer at the city, looking for the demon.
"The Garrison received the order to find them and lock them in Hell so they won't be able to harm Humans anymore. All of you, listen carefully to the spell I'm going to use, you will need it."
A woman covered in semen from head to toe is devouring an old man's feces. The goat has been caught again. It seems like Lust is driving the Humans to incest. But I can't see the demon anywhere.
"Look for a Human with a monstrous face who reeks of sulfur. Michael said demons can possess any Human without having to ask for their consent first."
"I found him," Miz points his finger to a house.
Inside, a woman and two men are copulating in a relatively normal way compared to what is happening in the rest of the city. Indeed, the woman looks like she has two faces. The human one, soft and smooth, and another one superposed whose features are slimy, with a thick black tongue as long as a snake.
Anael stretches out his hand toward Lust and starts reciting a spell in enochian. The demon stops fornicating immediately and screeches with all its might. Its hideous face blurs and the Human opens her mouth to let dark smoke swirl out of her throat and dive to the ground. Soon there's nothing left but burning ashes on the floor.
The city goes silent and still all of a sudden. The Humans stopped moving and stand frozen as they realize what they were doing.
A young girl who had tied up her father to a tree starts sobbing and begging for his forgiveness.
"Should I erase their memory?" I ask as I watch the wave of horrified panic unfold on the city.
Anael stares down unblinkingly at the naked and distraught Humans, and I see his Grace shriveling.
"No. Our order was only to get rid of the demon. Nothing more."
"And orders are orders."
oOo
In the next chapter
"Siosp."
"What am I going to do now? I had one mission, one single mission!"
"SIOSP!"
"WHAT!"