Chapter 5: Zestial Morde

Hereticus had made his way to the Pentagram's central colosseum, he had arranged a meeting with Zestial Morde, the decision to meet there was due to their mutual appreciation for Hell's fine arts as well as Hereticus' desire to make sure that there were no unwanted ears listening to their conversation, the age and lack of technology of the colosseum prevented Vox from hearing what they had to say. Hereticus was standing outside the immense structure, he looked up to it, it was made of volcanic stones that were imported from Wrath, chiselled over time by the blades of countless battles. He made his way through the vomitorium, as he got closer to the central arena he could hear music, in ages past the colosseum was used to host battles between slaves and captured angels who fought for their freedom but it was now used more like an amphitheatre for plays, pantomimes, operas and any other form of theatre.

He exited the vomitorium and was faced with the entirety of the colosseum, he was a few feet from the lowest level, a short pudgy blonde woman was in the centre of the arena where an orchestra surrounded her, who were playing music as the song began. He made his way up some stairs to his left, he and Zestial had agreed to meet on the top floor. As he ascended the stairs, the woman began to sing, her words were in demonic, the ancient language of Hell, a way of speaking used by very few in modern times, but one that Hereticus had learnt. He recognised the piece that the woman was singing and the orchestra was playing, an opera called "Lilith's Eulogy," which was shortly after Lilith's demise to celebrate her life.

"Oh, tender and caring Queen of ours,

We sing this song to remember thee!

We begin with the story of your mighty tower,

That stood above the ancient tree!"

Hereticus found himself at the top of the stairs, he looked down the aisle to his right and saw Zestial, who was focusing on the performance below, the top floor was reserved for the Overlords and Nobles of Hell, so it was entirely empty other than them. He made his way towards the overlord and sat next to him, who looked towards him as he took his seat.

"Quite the performance, isn't it?" Hereticus asked Zestial, wanting to be pleasant rather than diving into business immediately.

"Indeed," replied Zestial, "I do love Mimzy's performances, she's able to convey the emotions of the performance in her voice so incredibly well," he said with an eager appreciation in his voice, "Oh, but I'm getting carried away, we're not here to discuss opera, are we?"

"If only we had such liberties." Hereticus replied, Zestial chuckled to himself hearing this.

"Oh, such irony, even in our high stations external factors trouble us and require our attention, preventing us from enjoying the simple pleasures of life." Zestial said.

"So, you would agree with me on the importance of addressing the upcoming exorcism?" Asked Hereticus.

"Indeed, but I am prevented from joining thyn alliance due to other factors," Zestial responded to Hereticus before elaborating, "It is not the top Overlords that will need convincing to join in thyn union, for we arrived at our positions due to our ability to negotiate, we all understand the obvious threat posed by the angelic exorcists. It is those below us that will not join so easily." Zestial was silent for a moment as he allowed Hereticus to take in this information before continuing, "their lust for power blinds them, they gaze upon our thrones with envious eyes but fail to see the power we have and the threats surrounding them, they throw themselves at us and they are destroyed in the process, this has been the way of Hell since time immemorial." Hereticus could sense something was troubling Zestial, the index finger of his right hand twitched after her spoke.

"Something troubles you, Zestial," Hereticus stated. Zestial was silent for a moment, his finger began to twitch at a more rapid pace. "By my guess I would say one of the lesser Overlords is looking to usurp you, yet you're the most experienced out of all of us when it comes to matters such as this, why are you concerned?" Hereticus asked, Zestial remained silent for a moment more before sighing and explaining his concern.

"The Vees are beginning to make their move," Zestial stated, "they are providing resources to one of the lesser overlords, Henroin Ragno."

Henroin was a name Hereticus had heard before, he was the Boss of a crime family on the east side of the Pentagram, their territory bordered Zestial's domain, their power nowhere near matched Zestial's own influence, yet the involvement of the Vees could prove disastrous.

"So, do you think that Henroin is capable of overthrowing you?" Hereticus asked.

"On his own? I doubt he could, in fact, I suspect the Vees are just trying to goad him into attacking me in an attempt to incur significant casualties to my army, allowing them to take both his and my domain, the Vees seek to destroy him and weaken me," explained Zestial.

"It concerns me that the Vees are making a move as bold as this," said Hereticus with a grim tone, "for years they've been building up their influence, this is probably just a precursor to some greater scheme."

"Indeed," agreed Zestial, "the Vees are another hole in thyn alliance, as long as they stand, they pose a significant threat to us all, fight against the angels and the Vees will be there to take advantage of our weakened state."

"Do not concern yourself with the Vees right now, Zestial," Hereticus said, "let's deal with our problems one step at a time."

"Very well," began Zestial, "how should we proceed with the Ragno family?"

"You think Henroin intends to attack you, but what if we could scare him into submission?" Hereticus asked, Zestial raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Join the alliance and we can make it clear to him that you do not stand alone, he who attacks one of us incurs the wrath of the other."

Zestial sat in silent contemplation for a moment before sighing and speaking his mind.

"No, Henroin would view that as a threat and would most likely only cause him to act more aggressive himself," Zestial argued.

"Then let him fight us, you said it yourself, he doesn't stand a chance," Hereticus responded. Zestial shook his head in disapproval.

"Even so, it's too big of a risk to take," Zestial said before speaking once more, "besides, not to be rude but despite what army thou may have thou art unproven, I doubt he would take thou seriously."

Zestial's words stung. Hereticus felt a desire to prove himself, to show the other overlords what he was made of.

"You doubt my ability?" Hereticus asked.

"Who wouldn't?" asked Zestial coldly, "you've yet to display any amount of strength."

"There will be a time when I do," Hereticus reassured Zestial.

"How did you even reach your position?"

"With patience."

The pair sat in silence before Zestial spoke.

"I will not ally with an unproven such as thee, thou art in an undeserved position, defying all the values that Hell is based upon," he said, letting his true thoughts out.

Hereticus gritted his teeth as his pride got the best of him.

"Then let me prove my strength, cross blades with me." He said, Zestial stared at him for a long moment, every second felt like an eternity. Zestial beckoned over one of his servants, an imp swiftly made his way over to his master. Zestial whispered something into the imp's ear, soon after, the imp hurried off elsewhere.

The pair were silent throughout the entirety of the first act, Mimzy played the role of Lilith, the first act came and went, with it ending with seven people kneeling before Lilith, who in her hand held seven rings…

"Each of you are now a prince,

and to you I give these rings.

You shall draw power from the sins,

but must swear to serve Lilith, Queen of Kings."

The audience began to clap as the act ended, the actors bowed briefly before leaving the stage, Zestial suddenly spoke swiftly as he clapped.

"East gate." He said to Hereticus as he got to his feet, he then walked west, away from Hereticus.

Hereticus eagerly got to his feet and began making his way to the eastern arena entrance. This was his chance to prove himself, to show what he was made of. He descended the stairs and the clapping began to fade as a tall incubus walked into the centre of the arena, his voice echoed throughout the colosseum so that the whole audience could hear him.

"This concludes, the end of our first act," the announcer said, "however, we have for you some surprise entertainment during our interlude." The crowd began to murmur amongst each other with excitement, they were eager to find out what was going on.

Hereticus now stood before the eastern gate, thick, black iron bars blocked his way into the arena, he could see another gate opposite him on the west side, shrouded in darkness. His heart began to race with excitement. This was it, the moment he had been waiting for, he had fought an archangel and this would be his chance to show his skills to the world, years of training would finally begin to be unleashed upon the world.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer continued, "two overlords cross swords in a display of strength and skill, please give a round of applause for Hereticus, King of the Storm, and Zestial Morde, Lord of the Dead!"

The gates creaked as they were lifted slowly, Hereticus walked into the arena, he felt the gravel beneath his feet and looked around the coliseum, hundreds of people were cheering and clapping in their seats, excited by the sudden event, the announcer retreated into the west gate as Zestial stepped out from the shadows, the crowd cheered even louder upon his arrival.

Drums began to beat in anticipation for the upcoming fight. Hereticus and Zestial bowed to each other as was custom. Suddenly, Zestial's cape flung open, he held two daggers, one in each hand, their handles were made of black ash wood, each had a gold pommel and cross guard that curved near the edge and a straight silver blade with engravings depicting Zestial's rise to power.

Hereticus looked into Zestial's eyes and his heart sank. He saw the eyes of an experienced warrior who had slain countless foes and he intended to do the same to Hereticus, this wasn't just for show, if Hereticus didn't win, he would die. Zestial had fought countless battles to sit on his throne and here was Hereticus, who had seemingly done nothing. Hereticus reflected on his previous battle in this arena, he had survived a fight with an archangel but it could not be considered a victory, he had lost an arm then and could lose more in this moment. He had been too prideful; he didn't know if Zestial could be beat.

Zestial raced towards his opponent arms and daggers behind his body, the drums picked up in their pace. Hereticus briefly hesitated in fear of Zestial's oncoming aggression but he steeled himself, he ran towards his opponent about a second later.

The two met in the centre of the arena, Zestial swung his right dagger, which Hereticus blocked with his silver hand. Hereticus tried to look for a way to attack but he had no window to do so as Zestial followed up with a thrust with his left dagger, he moved to the side to avoid the oncoming attack, he then saw silver fly towards him as Zestial followed up with yet another slash, which Hereticus responded to by bending backwards. Finally, he saw an opportunity to attack, in Zestial's swift motions he had loosened his footing, Hereticus let himself fall and swivelled his body around, using the momentum to kick Zestial off his feet and then quickly rise to a standing position. Zestial fell, hitting the hard gravel, Hereticus used Zestial's exposed state to go for a hit in the neck with his right hand, however, the blade was blocked by Zestial's daggers, and for a brief moment the two pushed against each other, with Zestial managing to push Hereticus back. Zestial rolled a few paces away and got to his feet.

"Countless warriors have fought on this spot," said Zestial, "I can hear the echoes of their screams of agony, their shouts of triumph." He clicked his fingers and then floated upwards with use of his cape; the air went cold as Hereticus saw three ghostly figures appear around him. First, there was a hellhound gladiator wearing naught but a shoulder guard, a loin cloth and a helmet, wielding a double-headed great axe, they frothed at the mouth with bloodlust. Secondly, there was a power angel, his long white hair flowing with the wind, he wore heavy silver armour and held a sword and shield. Finally, the last spirit was that of an exorcist, half of its mask missing and the exposed muscle underneath could be seen, it stared at Hereticus with a hateful look of recognition, it twirled it's spear around in an attempt to intimidate him.

The gladiator moved first; it wildly threw itself towards Hereticus, swinging its axe towards him in a chaotic flurry of attacks, Hereticus stepped backwards from each attack, making sure not to gain too much distance so that he could attack quickly once a window arrived. An opportunity presented itself, the gladiator swung it's axe downwards over its head, which Hereticus moved to the side to avoid, the axe got stuck in the ground and Hereticus swung a fist into the gut of the gladiator, who let out a pained grunt. Hereticus reeled his fist back as he prepared another strike, but then, he saw out of the corner of his eye the power angel flying towards him, sword outstretched to thrust into him. Hereticus leapt into the air to avoid the attack and intentionally fell on top of the power, forcing it onto the floor. Hereticus wanted to attack, but he felt a shadow move over him, he moved out of the exorcist's attack as it thrust its spear into the ground, the power angel got to it's feet and the exorcist pulled the spear out of the ground, the two angels circled around their opponent on opposite sides and attempted to attack, the exorcist thrust his spear at Hereticus, who skilfully dodged to the side, however, the power followed up the exorcist's attack with a swing of his sword, an attack Hereticus saw a bit too late, his cheek began to bleed, it was caught by the tip of the blade as he moved away from the attack.

The angels in combination were overwhelming for Hereticus, the gladiator took it's axe out of the ground and let out an enraged roar, but rather than going for Hereticus, it swung its axe towards the power angel, who had enraged him by interrupting his fight with Hereticus. The power turned to face the gladiator in order to defend itself. Two of the spirits were preoccupied, and Hereticus could handle the exorcist alone. It thrust its spear towards him again, and he responded by grabbing the handle of the spear and taking it from the exorcist's hands, turning it around and stabbing it through his enemy's neck. It fell to its knees and closed its eyes, the spirit could once again rest in peace.

Hereticus turned his head to face the other two, but found that both began to fall to their knees, the power angel had impaled the gladiator with its sword and the gladiator had cleaved the angel in half with its axe.

The spirits faded away and Hereticus felt the cold pass. He locked eyes with Zestial, who now floated downwards, planting his feet on the floor, they were about twenty metres away from each other. Hereticus used this distance to his advantage, he raised his arms into the air, a vortex of air began to pick up the arena's gravel, sparks of lightning passed between specks of rock as the storm's intensity increased until it was hard for Zestial to see Hereticus.

Hereticus moved around the arena, making his way towards Zestial, who could see a yellow light to his right as Hereticus summoned a bolt of lightning in his hands, Zestial tried to move but he was too late, the bolt met flesh and he was shocked in place, which allowed Hereticus to move out of the storm and push Zestial to the ground, he placed the sharp tips of his silver fingers to Zestial's neck.

The drums stopped. The entire coliseum was silent as Hereticus stared into Zestial's eyes, Zestial smirked and gave Hereticus a look of approval.

"Very well, fellow overlord, I yield, and you will have your alliance," Zestial said.

The coliseum began to cheer in admiration of both fighters' displays of skill, Zestial and Hereticus bowed to each other and left through the gates they had come in through, Hereticus moved back into the darkness of the east gate, but a moment before he crossed the threshold something caught his attention, he saw a man with antlers in a red coat, wearing a wide grin, sitting on the highest level, clapping along with the audience, but the moment he turned his head to see him better, he had disappeared.

The two fighters met once again shortly after the opera had finished, they were stood outside the coliseum, ready to discuss their plans.

"Attacking Henroin would be foolish, and so would announcing the alliance to him directly," Zestial said.

"Perhaps it would be best to announce it to him indirectly, then," said Hereticus, "we tell some of our subjects of the alliance and it eventually reaches Henroin through word of mouth, that way he won't interpret it as us directly threatening him, and it'll give him pause."

"That sounds well enough for me," said Zestial, "it is agreed then." Zestial nodded to Hereticus before speaking once more. "My apologies, Hereticus, if thou felt insulted earlier, I did not mean to cause distress to thee, however, I needed to know if thou truly had the strength thou claimed to possess, and the strength of heart to lead, unproven Overlords such as Henroin are like animals, only seeking to satiate their appetites, they are selfish and cruel, they take from others and give little in return. They pervert Hell's morals into something selfish."

Zestial looked down one of the roads of the city, they could hear the crying of children, the screams of the helpless as well as cruel laughter.

"We will make this city great," Hereticus assured Zestial, "we'll drive out the cruel, and this city will stand as a glowing example to the rest of Hell, for too long has the dark realm deteriorated."

Zestial chuckled, "It sounds to me that thou have plans beyond this city, this is good, this is what makes you a person, that drive is inspiring and I encourage you to follow your heart and make your ambitions a reality."

The pair were silent before Zestial began to walk away.

"Farwell, Hereticus, may your heart find it's way in Hell," he said as he walked.

Hereticus began making his way towards the hotel, the sun had just set and he walked through a small commercial area, he was the only person in the street, he walked past a TV store, when suddenly his attention was drawn by a blue light emanating from the TVs on display, he faced the screens and before him was a wide cyan grin and deep red eyes.

"Hereticus!" said Vox, feigning excitement, "good to finally meet you, face to face!" Before Hereticus could get a word out himself, Vox continued speaking, "y'know a few birdies tell me that you're starting an alliance with some of the other overlords, gotta say I'm pretty impressed you've managed to get that crazy cannibal, the dinosaur and that old fart to work with you, you managed to beat him into submission too."

Hereticus' expression became one of both disgust and discernment, he wondered how Vox had managed to find out about the alliance and about Zestial joining him in such as small amount of time.

"Oh, come on, don't look at me like that," Vox began again, "every word that's said in this city reaches my ears eventually, did you think that gossipy old granny that runs Cannibal town would be all hush-hush about it? She tells her closest friends everything, and they tell their closest friends, and then eventually I hear about it. As for your little scuffle with the old man, everyone has phones nowadays, everyone shares everything on the internet, and I'll know about it faster than you can say omniscient."

"Why are you here?" Hereticus asked.

"Because like I said, I'm impressed, and I'm here to offer you a job," Vox said, his sinister grin widening, "you're a people person, that's something I could use, why would you want to be working with those washed-up losers when you can be working with people of the future, like me! I want you working with me, we'll be the best of pals, although, the other Vees won't be as eager to have you on board as I am, so you'll have to be working under us for a while before I can win them over, that sound good to you?"

Hereticus knew what Vox was doing, he was lying. Vox intended to never have Hereticus be an equal amongst the Vees, he just wanted to sabotage the alliance.

"No thanks," said Hereticus with a direct tone, Vox's grin slowly faded from his mouth.

"No?" he asked, his voice was beginning to be distorted by static and his anger started to come forth.

Hereticus nearly grinned but managed to keep his composure, he knew he'd struck a nerve at Vox with a simple 'no,' which Vox wasn't used to being told, he expected Hereticus to leap at the opportunity to work with the Vees without a second thought, and here he was, annoyingly defying Vox's wishes.

"I don't think you quite understand what I'm offering here," said Vox, objecting Hereticus' words.

Why would Hereticus dismantle the alliance now that he knew Vox was scared? If he really thought that the alliance wasn't anything valuable, why talk to Hereticus? Why try to sabotage it if he thought it was nothing for him to worry about? Hereticus wanted to make his thoughts known, to gloat in Vox's face, but he knew that doing so would anger Vox beyond negotiation, the Vees were still a significant threat and he'd lose the element of surprise should he wish to make the first strike.

"I don't think ending the alliance would be a good idea," said Hereticus with his usual stoic and unwavering voice, "we all share a common enemy in the exorcists, I trust Velvette let you know of my thoughts on the matter of the upcoming extermination in about five months, if we don't ally with each other, we'll all be wiped out," Hereticus paused before letting out a little lie, "you're welcome to join, if you want."

Hereticus saw something he was not expecting, he saw a brief glitter in Vox's eye, like the helpless look of a caged animal, as if he wanted to join the alliance, but something was holding him back, something prevented him from doing so. The expression quickly passed and Vox's face changed back to his grin, though this time it looked like he had to force it.

"Well! Seems like we won't be working together then," Vox said trying to sound composed, "thanks for your little offer but we're not interested in working with a bunch of second-rates, see you later, or maybe not."

The screens shut off and Hereticus was left in the dark street, after a brief moment of contemplation he kept walking towards the hotel, his mind racing as he processed the implications of what had just happened.