Chapter 283 283 - A Sacrifice In Her Eyes
"Finally, we're here," dropped into the land of fairies by Melicia's palm, Haruki took a somewhat comforted sigh.
Getting off her hand along with the others, he stepped onto the lush grass now corrupted by the blood draining down the witch's hand. Turning his gaze upward, he looked right into Melicia's eye before speaking to her.
"We can handle it from here, enjoy those souls now," although he tried to rush her off, Melicia ignored him completely as her eyes were utterly fixated on Moriyana.
"Sharing a vessel with your mother's soul, what a loving child," having witnessed Asmodia's soul being pushed onto Moriyana, Melicia was amused by her while at the same time, she was also disgusted at her mother. "Alas, not all mothers deserve children after all."
With those words, Melicia drew her hand back into the skies and closed the realm tear to disappear from their sight. And even though Moriyana had only known the witch for a while she ached for her presence to forever loom over her.
'Instead, I have you.' She thought to herself, but sharing the same body Asmodia could clearly listen to her thoughts.
"Moriyana?" Haruki called out seeing how she appeared a little dreamy.
"Uhmm…We should keep moving, right?" Moriyana replied, keeping her complaints to herself.
Despite her attempt to hide her discomfort, the contorted look on her face gave away her true emotions. Haruki, having to some degree forced her into agreeing to it, decided to talk things through a little before continuing on their journey.
"Moriyana, I know it's hard to accept that she made you as a vessel in case she dies, and all those horrible nights in the otherworlds, well…They were there to prepare your body to accept her soul without being turned to ash," spilling the beans about what he'd learned through the study of the arcane, and scanning the stained windows in the castle, Haruki tried to bring Moriyana to accept things for what they were. "But I promise you, once we find her this new body, I'd never let her touch you."
Reassured by her master, Moriyana felt slightly better. Washing off her downed expression, she replaced it with a gentle smile.
"Alright then, I trust you," saying that she internally called for the ballerinas to stay ready to jump out of the otherworld.
"If you two are done talking," moving to the front, Inferno tried getting everyone's attention. "We have a god to kill, and her child as well."
"Ughh, don't say it like that," Reya complained, peeking out through her darkness portal.
"Either way, I doubt us staying here is gonna help," Deus added while looking to a distant forest through an astral telescope.
Taking hold of Moriyana's hand, Haruki sprouted out his wings and quickly took to the skies with her flying along in tow. The other demon lords followed the lead with their own variation of wings, some made of flames, some from astral tech, and some simply followed behind in their floating portals.
Jolting through the sky with the lush grass fluttering under the pressure of their flight, the party of demon lords reached the forest in the blink of an eye. The trees that once rustled with lively spirits and fairies were more hushed than ever from the fear of being perceived as a threat. Before long with none to stand in their way, the party of demons reached a throne made of glistering stone.
By its steps, they saw the queen of fairies laying down with her eyes shut. Washed by a stream of clear water running down the tip of the stone fingers making up the steps, her angelic white garb was turned nearly transparent. Laying so carelessly under a fountained throne, Destinia was unaware of the threats present in front, for not in her wildest dreams did she expect anyone to make it to this place.
Too coddled by safety, she'd thrown all caution to the wind, and if the demon lords truly wanted to they could've easily slain her right then and there, but striking an unconscious enemy was not something any of them took pride in.
"Who's going to do it?" Moriyana asked, feeling a creeping presence of spirits gathering around them throughout the forest.
Comforted by serenity much the same as their queen, the spirits wouldn't dare try to oppose the demon lords. Yet with their eyes shining a raging bright, the very essence of fear was slowly taking over all those who were present.
"It'd be a shame to kill her like this, wake her up," Inferno ordered, too prideful to kill a defenseless victim.
"Don't even ask me, I'm not good at killing things," relying exclusively on her summons for fighting, Reya didn't want any part in the assault.
"Fuck it then, I'll do it," relying on no one, Moriyana stretched her arm forward and summoned a handful of stringed marionette ballerinas to cut off all emotions from Destinia's execution. "Kill her!"
Shocking even her companions, Moriyana pulled the strings up high to raise the razor arms of the marionettes. But the moment she was about to bring it down, something came flying from the sides and stabbed into the creatures. Flung toward an array of trees by the sides, the ballerinas were stamped into their trunks along with blades of light sticking out from their stomachs.
Like bugs, the marionettes crittered before the light of the blade burned them into dust. Awoken by the commotion, Destinia peered up to the sight of the demons standing right before her. In utter shock, she gasped and quickly fled upstream by turning into water. Once reaching her throne, she conformed back into her real self and looked around to figure out exactly what was happening.
"Who the hell was that?" Looking into the direction the blades came from, Moriyana was astounded by what she saw.
Haruki and the other demon lords were no different as the frame of blood-drooling Atlas came into view. Walking towards them from the shade of the trees, he stopped in front of them all with a trio of elemental fairies riding over his shoulders. Just in time, the girls had managed to warn Atlas about the intruder using a spell he'd instilled in their minds.
"Now I'm glad, I appointed you fairies as my messengers," brushing the head of the trio one after the other, Atlas quickly sent them off his shoulders. "As for you people."
Turning to the demon lords in the tattered condition he was in, Atlas let out a painful wheeze as if his insides were about to implode inward. Leaving in a rush after the fairies warned him, he'd wasted no time to get here. Even the war generals were unaware of his hasty departure since they couldn't make it to him in time because of trouble caused by Dominion.
'Dammit…I could've brought backup had it not been for my brother betraying me!' Atlas thought, enraged by the fact that Dominion was intentionally stopping the generals from getting to him.
"Anyways…" Speaking to himself, he glanced around at everyone before fixing his gaze on the one he could easily get to betray his companions. "Haruki, help me kill these fuckers!"
Bound by the emperor's curse, Haruki's body instinctively flew away from his group. Baring his fangs and claws, he was ready to unleash fury on the demon lords even though he didn't want to.
"Inferno!" Calling out to his match, Haruki tried to get Inferno to subdue him so the others could somehow deal with the situation. "Moriyana, let Asmodia take over, for now, Deus and Reya capture Destinia!"
Before the emperor could force him to shut his mouth, Haruki made sure to give out all the orders that had to be relayed to the others.
"Shut up and fight!" Atlas ordered, just as Haruki had expected.
Storming towards the group, his claws were reinforced with dark and ready to slash at anyone who stood in front. Parrying his outstretched claws, however, Inferno deflected the strike with his flaming blade.
"Shogun!" Stomping his feet on the ground, his body grew twice in size and the deep red armor of the shogun clambered over him in just a few seconds. Replacing the flaming sword with a giant cackling cleaver, Inferno stood before Haruki and the others like an impenetrable wall. "Come! Come! Come! Ahahah!"
Despite the deviation in their plans, Inferno was enjoying every second so long as he got to fight. The other two demon lords on the other hand were too careful about any moment before Moriyana engaged Atlas so they wouldn't have to worry about him while chasing the queen of fairies.
"Moriyana quick!" Deus urged, getting in position to storm closer to Destinia.
"Y-yeah…Fuck! Take over then you bitch!" Calling out to her mother, Moriyana let down all internal guards to allow Asmodia to completely take over. The very next moment, her eyes burned with a passionate violet, and a cryptic smile appeared on her face. "As you say, darling hehehe."
Noticing the change in her tone, both Deus began dashing towards the queen while Reya simply appeared behind her and held her still.
"What?!" Rustic in combat after relishing in tranquillity, Destinia was at a complete loss as to what she was supposed to do. "Get away!"
Even then, as her screams resounded in the soul forest, a parley of whisps, fairies, and desperate souls rushed over to help their queen. Engaged in their own battles, the initial group of demons was now divided into three.
"Try not to get killed!" Haruki warned Inferno, as his body readied itself to unleash all kinds of abilities.
"That's my fucking line!" Inferno replied, swinging at him with the blunt end of the cleaver.
"Leave her!"
"Leave our queen!"
"You bullies!" One after the other the spirits and fairies complained while shooting elemental spells at Deus and Reya from each and every direction.
Lastly, face to face with her past lover and hunting the one he cheated on her with, Asmodia wore a crescent smile at the thought of it all crumbling right before him.
"What the hell are you planning, Asmodia?!" Atlas growled.
"That child, it doesn't deserve to live," she replied, and she truly meant it.
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