Chapter 768 - Fire And Brimstones
Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)
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Vampire King Apollyon
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Each cell of? Apollyon's body felt like he was set on fire.
Steam had started to fizzle from the expanse of his pale skin despite the light armour that the Fae Sentinel in charge at the Autumn Militia's underground military base camp had given him.
It was good that his charioteer still had his wits about him and steered the two Pegasi of his Sun Chariot away from the explosion caused by the winged dragon serpent.
Until now, Apollyon wasn't confident if it was, indeed, Queen Morgan's doing, and there was nowhere to confirm that when his eyes were squeezed shut.
Apollyon endured the itchiness burning at the back of his lids.
Yet, he had growled and muttered a string of curses when tears had leaked from the corners of his eyes.
It might make him look less of a man, but it alleviated the irritation.
His strong hands gripped the pole brace at the side of his carriage tightly while the Sun Chariot moved to somewhere safe.
The ride to that place was rough, frantic and almost impossible—which would make sense—since the charioteer will have a hard time navigating in the winds when they couldn't even bring themselves to use their god-given eyesight.
Both of them had turned their backs from Queen Morgan and the trapped dragon serpent as they trotted in the air as if the devils were on their heels.
The loud male screams of pure agony heard from the Autumn Militia fluttering their wings in the air resonated throughout the Kingdom.
Apollyon felt like it was rehearsed… or was it his shout coming from his own throat?
Apollyon grimaced, hissing in discomfort. It felt like invisible claws were tearing his muscles apart while his bones creaked from trying to adjust into a manageable position.
At the same time, his legs dangled perilously on the edge of the carriage.
At the same time, he kept the protective bubble he created around the Chariot of the Sun and made it stronger with Fae Magic.
Unfortunately, the giant bead encasing them grew thinner as the boiling temperature tried to close in on them as well.
This magic bubble might have safeguarded them from the looming threat, but it was close to penetrating the surface.
If this unexplainable fever in the Fall Courts didn't stop from radiating this extreme heat and light, Apollyon and the Charioteer would die if they didn't escape from the sky fast enough.
The only thing preventing Apollyon's instant incineration was his age and the magical properties of his royal blood.
The majority of the Fair folk from the Autumn and Winter Courts were Vampiric Faeries.
Like him, these Vampiric Faeries also could withstand the effects of direct sunlight exposure.
Right now, their tolerance to it was being put to the test by the eruption of the supernova.
The intense heat and the length of exposure to it wasn't just a severe inconvenience, and it left Apollyon with nasty burns to his handsome face.
He shoved his silver arrow back to his quiver, dropped his silver bow on the Chariot without thinking and stroked his chiselled jaw and cheekbones.
His brows had furrowed in concern when his rough palm felt his skin tissues split open into layers around the bumpy swollen area of glossy sheen at the centre.
Exhaling an impatient sigh, Apollyon wondered why the injury on his face didn't heal fast enough.
He was an Ancient pure-blood Vampire!
What the f*ck was happening to his ability to heal his wounds and permanently removed the scars?
At that moment, he wished he could access a mirror or a reflective surface to see if it was as horrible as he thought.
Was it vain for him to be fear that his wife wouldn't love him anymore if this blemish turned out to be irreparable?
Apollyon gritted his teeth.
It might be a stupid question but also one that he already knew the answer to.
His beloved would still love him unconditionally no matter how he looked, and he would also do the same.
Yet, he found it extremely important to jump from this Chariot in post-haste and return to his wife at the Autumn Palace.
If he couldn't do that, he should look for a river to see his reflection.
A sense of urgency made his heart pump more blood as adrenaline rushed through his bloodstream.
He desired to see his beloved so bad to make sure she was sheltered from this never-ending chaos, Luxen's Legion and Queen Morgan be damned!
He tried to stop Queen Morgan from passing through the barriers, but the lady still insisted on killing the president with her angel sword.
It might be true that she had finished him off and sent him to Tartarus, but she had to look at what they had to deal with now because of her actions!
Was she even still alive after all that?
There was another blast wave so strong that it caused burn injuries all over his physique.
He would bet his life that it also caused multiple lacerations to all living beings who couldn't seek shelter on the ground.
Apollyon and his charioteer were still airborne, but from the strong smell of smoke and burnt wood in his flaring nostrils,? he realized that the Chariot of the Sun was close to the ground.
He thought that he had already banished his worries and concerns at the back of his mind, but now they popped back again at the forefront as if demanding his attention.
Apollyon's new burns weren't healing quickly as he hoped as the first one, so he didn't even bother touching them.
It might get worse.
His lips curled into a frown.
He already expected this outcome, but he kept his cool.
When he sensed that it was alright for him to open his eyes,? he changed his mind almost immediately.
Maybe, it was too dangerous, and he had to wait for some signal from her Cadre.
God's Blood!
Apollyon should be the one giving the Autumn Fair Folk a signal due to their Queen's absence.
e promised his wife that he would look out for Queen Morgan, and he wasn't about to break that.
Apollyon allowed himself to squint a little bit.
He saw that some of the structures below were damaged from the blast, bringing ancient trees and fallen debris to come crashing down to the ground.
He crouched side by side with the charioteer as he led the Sun Chariot behind a small, worshipping temple in what seemed to be at the corner of open rice fields.
It was amazing how the Autumn Faerie had kept his eyes closed throughout the quick travel and didn't cause accidents to their winged horses and send them straight to Hell with surprise accidents.
"Charioteer, did? you see what happened to Queen Morgan?" Apollyon rasped.
The charioteer turned towards the sound of his voice, but he still had his eyes closed.
"It was too bright in there that I couldn't see the the entire scene, Vampire King. I tried my best to steer us here." His companion responded calmly as the winged horses neighed and stomped their hooves in the background. "But one thing I can tell you is that the winged dragon serpent had disappeared along with the Nephilim. As if? the two weren't here in the first place." So Luxen's president had committed suicide and brought Luna's giant with him. That was the only plausible conclusion he could come up with unless a witness tells him otherwise."The last image I saw was that? the demon spirits were nowhere to be found around the Fall Courts while? the rest of the Autumn Faeries are looking for a safe structure to cover themselves from? this heat."
Apollyon nodded and asked, "Do you think it is safe for our eyes to look now?"
The charioteer shook his head no before he slightly opened his eyes.
His pupils weren't black but greyish, but it appeared almost white, blending with his scleras.
His posture seemed to be angled towards his direction, which meant Apollyon had caught his notice.
Strangely enough, the Fae had that glazed look in his countenance which closely reminded him of the Archdemon of Sloth.
He narrowed his eyes at the Fae as he kept in mind not to damage his sight, brought his face closer to get a good look at those whites and greys.
The Autumn Fae's dark pupils had disappeared entirely, and he didn't notice his sudden proximity.
Neither did he flinch nor move his head backwards to avoid his inspection.
Apollyon didn't want to admit this out loud and turn it into this horrible self-fulfilling prophecy but did his companion go blind from the light?
"I don't know, Vampire King." He replied as he settled his hand over his brow, vigorously brushing his palm against his eyelids from left to right. "I tried looking at the explosion of light and I couldn't find Queen Morgan. So I sacrificed my eyesight for that quick examination."
"You have gone blind?"
Apollyon's charioteer's entire body tensed, held his breath and nodded in confirmation.
Did utter shock make him more accepting of his new circumstance?
Maybe, it hadn't sunk in yet.
Goosebumps broke out of his skin from the sudden chill he felt.
Apollyon clenched his fist as his expression shuttered into something stoic.
He must not let his companion's state affect him.
'He needed? to be rewarded', Apollyon thought as he kept the detail safely tucked at the back of his mind.
The brilliant Fae had led them to a safe place by memory.
He must reward this man's sacrifice and bravery.
His helpful efforts were not a waste.
But Apollyon remembered he had other things to do, "I need to return to my Empress. I want? to make sure if she is safe with her--" Archdemons. "—companions."
"Not yet, Vampire King." The blind charioteer raised a hand, gently touching Apollyon's forehead even if he initially aimed for his shoulder. "Please save our beloved Queen. Find out what happened to her when she fell from the sky."
"How can I?" Apollyon growled, "With? what's happening right now?"
Apollyon watched how the sulfur stone almost hit him on the crown of his head.
It landed on the ground, and it slowly melted down before it burned up and burst into orange flames.
A massive hailstorm of fiery rocks and balls of sulfur were now falling on them, dissolving the wings and the flesh of the Autumn Faeries.
The stone buildings and houses from the city and the village were now full of holes caused by the flaming balls of fire, terrorizing the Autumn Fair Folk with the certainty of destruction.
The devouring flames were a scattering storm of hailstones.
Queen Morgan's Kingdom will be reduced to ashes with the brimstones and hellfire falling from the Heavens.
It wasn't only the Autumn Courts who were targeted when it rained down and destroyed the region.
It also targeted the entire Material Realm.
The end was near.
Was this last attack administered by the winged dragon serpent to ruin the Kingdom for not bowing their heads, kneeling on their knees and swearing their allegiance to the new Demon King of the Earth or was this the Highest God's divine punishment for summoning the Archdemon of Lust here and allowing him to escape from his eternal prison in Hell?
The Autumn Faeries on the ground, who were slow to find shade from the heat, was quickly burned up and turned into ashes.
Apollyon derived his courage from his blind charioteer and risked looking at the heavens.
The blind charioteer told the truth.
It was a suicide attack from Luxen's president.
He had destroyed himself by bursting into flames and eradicating Luna's giant as the fire flowed through the vines that had wrapped around his body.
In that instant, Apollyon looked to the left and saw Queen Morgan with her black gladiator dress falling headfirst from her Moon Chariot.
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