Nathanael
As The Queen sat on her silver, throne, she watched as the clan leaders took their place, at the semi-round table that was before her throne, and the throne of the king of the underworld, completely in silence.
The seven clans were meeting here to discuss the king's lack of cooperation. As well as the strategies they were using to overthrow him. The tension lingered in the room. While others were alert, others were too excited to keep their objectivity, and some were filled with anxiety.
“My Queen, I'm afraid we have not achieved what we expected. Although you have kept him occupied while we moved our forces, I think it is not enough. You have to convince him to accept our demands.” Doomerth, the leader of the Doomind clan, said.
As the Queen gazed at him apathetically, another clan leader spoke up, “Some of us suspect that the curse is fading away from the king. Several days ago, all these troubles with him would not have occurred. His Majesty's thoughts used to revolve solely around you, but now they have shifted.”
“I share your suspicions, Carldeath. I am confident that the power used by the celestial messenger was not enough to contain the all-supreme king of the underworld.” Poissonaro, the leader of the Poissonarm clan, gave his opinion.
“Yes, clan leaders, we must increase the dose. But now it is risky to meet with the divine messenger. Hence, one of us will need to go to heaven to meet with him, and in the current situation, there is no point in taking risks because we are close to obtaining power. In my opinion, it should be brought up first with the celestial being.”
“I am with you, Lothbark, the benign being will tell us the best path to follow. We will need all the help we can get. If the god of the underworld awakens, we will all be dead, unable to defend ourselves.”
Blooderek, leader of the Bloodrink clan, added, “We need to remain vigilant, we cannot let our guard down.”
“Silence everyone,” The Queen ordered, raising her voice. The clan leaders fixed their gazes on her as the throne chamber went silent.
She stepped down from her throne and walked towards them. When she approached the table, she paused and looked at them intently.
“Demons of the underworld, yes, we need to enforce the curse, for the king has lost his initial fervour. The potion is weakening. Although he is still in my possession, I don't know how long he will remain like this. Our knowledge of the king of the underworld is limited, as is our awareness of his power.”
While some clan leaders nodded in agreement, others had worried looks on their faces. Nonetheless, the Queen added, “So we will, as the leader of the Lothbark clan suggested, but…”
The Queen paused, looking each of them in the eye, “The messenger from heaven must come to us.” The clans' leaders started arguing among themselves, questioning the Queen's instructions. There were some in favour and those who wanted to go directly to heaven. Yet, the Queen would have none of it, and in a darkened tone she said, “I assure you, it will be done as I have decided. He, who comes from heaven, will come to us.”
Turning around, the Queen walked up to her throne. Sitting down, she listened to the clan leaders' discussion. While they were busy, the Queen summoned her trusted advisor. It only took a few seconds for Headeath to appear out of nowhere.
Bowing to his Queen, he saluted her, “Your servant is here to serve you.”
The Queen nodded and said, “Advisor, I have decided to summon the divine messenger. Everyone here is concerned that the curse we placed on the demon king is losing its effectiveness.”
It took the advisor a few seconds to think. He, then, said, “My Queen, I suggest sending a message explaining our issue to the divine envoy. I know they will know what to do. We have to wait for their response, and then we can move forward.”
She raised an eyebrow, considering that option. Throughout the chamber were also heard the murmurs of clan leaders.
“Headeath, you are always so timely with your intervention. We will be implementing what you propose. In the end, we risk everything; failure will not be an option.”
The clan leaders nodded, they all agreed. The only thing left was to contact the heavenly messenger.
The Queen threw her head back and rolled her eyes. She summoned the power of darkness, and seconds later, a portal formed in the middle of the chamber. From the Queen's hand, a small white snake emerged. This one went to the entrance of the portal and crossed it.
After this, the door closed immediately. No one can enter or leave the underworld without being detected. And this snake will notify the heavenly messenger of the demons' intentions. The only thing left to do is wait for the answer, and for it to arrive soon.
The clan leaders and the Queen continued to discuss their strategies. They were greedily distributing the spoils without even having them in their hands yet. The Queen from outside looks all bored, watching. But no one was aware that another force, even more powerful, was aware of what was happening.
Until the next point to be addressed left all the demons in the throne chamber silent.
“My Queen, and the leaders of the clans, I have received reports that the human is no longer in the king's catacombs. After the lashing session, the human disappeared. No one knows where she is.”
The murmurs were immediate, the human was a fundamental part of their plans, and it was essential that they had control over her.
“Your Majesty, do you have any information on this?” The leader of the Bloodrink clan, Blooderek, asked.
The Queen was tapping her fingers on the armrest of the throne. When she heard this, she sat up straight and narrowed her puzzled eyes, and said, “The only thing the king of the underworld told me, is that the human had been severely damaged after the lashing. And that he had to take her to someone who could fix her.”
She turned her attention to the adviser Headeath, and asked, “What else have you heard? And how is it that anyone knows that the human is no longer in the catacombs?”
The demon adviser nodded, and replied, “Your majesty, the human has been linked and marked by the tree of knowledge and the king's infernal steed. Thus, everything that involves the king we will know. The curse that the celestial being conjures dictates his will. That is why everything that happens to him, we will know. As long as the curse works, of course.”
The Queen leaned back, and said, “I see, if the king is having trouble with the curse, chances are the celestial being knows already. We will be hearing from him soon if that is the case.”
While all the demons present were giving their opinions and suggestions on how to do things, a flashing light appeared on the ceiling of the throne chamber.
From that light, a figure of unique beauty emerged. His face seemed sculpted in the finest marble, and his clothes were stitched with gold threads.
The being of light spread his imposing wings and descended to the floor. All the demons present gaped, and when they recovered from the shock, all bowed to the creature of light in reverence.
Golden sparkles fluttered around his white hair, it was something incredible to witness. The beauty of this angel of light was supreme.
The demons have always been envious of this. Being exiled to the underworld, their bodies were transformed into repulsive and pestilential creatures.
But there was only one demon who was watching all this with revulsion and excitement. He did not envy anything because he had everything. The god of the underworld, the supreme Armaloth. He was waiting for exactly this moment, now, the positions of the game had changed, and he had the upper hand.
The Queen immediately bowed before the being of light and said, “My Lord Nathanael, welcome. All of us were waiting to hear from you. Thank you for coming in such a short time.”
The angel, Nathanael, observed each of the demons in the throne chamber. His beautiful honey-colored eyes stopped on The Queen's adviser and said, “I received your message, my faithful Headeath. Your insight into detecting the problem was incomparable. And you will be rewarded with the favours of my Lord, the supreme Archangel Michael.”
The demons around, including the Queen, began to wonder what was happening. But she wanted to avoid being left with doubt and asked the being of light, “What are you talking about? I was the one who sent you the message a few seconds ago.”
The clan leaders looked at each other, nodding that it was true what the Queen was saying. The powerful angel turned to see the Queen, and his eyes flashed with intensity and purpose. He gave her a benevolent smile and shook his head with delicacy in disapproval.
He raised an eyebrow and addressed the Queen, “King of the underworld, long time no see.” Everyone present turned to see each other, asking what was happening.
“We underestimated the power of the demonic triad. We knew that eventually, you would awaken from the curse, but it was sooner than we had anticipated. Bad luck, that's all. I hope you are not offended, king of the underworld. My adored Lord only wants the best for everyone, no one can deny it.”
The eyes were on the Queen. How was this possible? Everyone wondered. Suddenly, the Queen froze. Like a statue, her eyes began to turn white and began to enlarge, more and more, until the most feared creature of darkness emerged from them.
His body radiated evil, injecting terror into the bodies of everyone present. The Queen fell to the ground, with her body inert, and seemed lifeless. The mighty Armaloth, yet, had other plans for her; he would not let her die so easily.
Now that he had been discovered, he had no reason to remain in the shadows. Why not take advantage of this opportunity? Wondered the king. The demons present could not believe what was happening before their eyes. Their lives were literally over, and the collective terror began to spread in the air.
Many fell to the ground as a sign of repentance. They could not do anything against the powerful god of the underworld now.
Armaloth didn't even pay attention to them, his full focus was on the divine being in front of him.
The celestial being said, “Ah! There you are, king of the underworld. Thank you for joining us here.”
Armaloth, the great king, smiled at the angel, saying, “Nathanael, I am surprised that someone of Archangel Michael's ability could think that such a cheap trick will result in something effective. As you can see, you and your master are nothing compared to me. In all, you were naive in thinking that something like this could harm me.”
The infernal king saw all the demons gathered in the throne chamber, and with a blink, they all fell to the ground. It seemed that their bodies were anchored to it. Having been discovered by the great king, some were sweating blood from anxiety and tension, and their bodies looks like were about to explode.
After turning his back on them, the king ascended to his throne, sat on it, and immediately the thorny branches embraced him.
Beside him, a black incandescent cloud began to form, and inside it, you could hear the neighing that could freeze anyone's blood by listening to it. The infernal steed of King Armaloth appeared in front of everyone. With a threatening look of his eyes of fire, and without ceasing to neigh, he stood on two legs, demonstrating his might. Showing his deadly energy.
Everyone was trembling at this, even the celestial being doubted his abilities for a moment. The king's Agalariept stood guard to the right of his master. His thorny branches snake menacingly. There was an unspeakable malefic force radiating from the throne of thorns. There was no one who could defeat the dark lord.
And in front of the Lord of the underworld, a new cloud began to form. Thunder and lightning erupted from it, and its roars could shake anyone's soul. The divine being took a few steps back. His confidence was waning little by little.
The tip of a scythe emerged from the thundercloud, discovering the Lord of the Dead.
Thanatos appeared from the thunderclouds. His every step reverberated in the throne chamber. The day of judgment has finally arrived.
The mighty god of death appeared dressed in black, with his sword of death hanging from his belt. His wings spread wide, acting as a protective shield between the incomparable Armaloth and the traitors. A scythe held high in his hand.
The throne chamber filled with such power was unimaginable. However, the king did not intend to destroy them. He had other plans.
The celestial being, Nathanael, invoked the portal that would lead him to heaven. His only hope was to escape from there. So, he knew he could never stand up to any of the dark beings in front of him, never mind both.
The portal was present and open for him. With the power of the heavens, Nathanael was propelling himself upwards. He reached the door but was immediately pulled back by the powerful forces of Thanatos. No one could escape them now.
The mighty, Armaloth, shook his head from side to side, disapproving of this action, then he smirked. “TSK, TSK, No! Nathanael, none of that, I have not dismissed you.”
In an attempt to break free from the power that held him to the ground, the being of light struggled. It was impossible for him to match the real strength of the underworld; he was child's play. But before his power was taken, the being of light managed to send a message to his lord, the Angel Michael.
Thanatos was given the go-ahead by Armaloth to carry out the plan. Suddenly, the god of death waved his scythe of evil. As a result, an energy current circulates through the chamber. With such remarkable power, a whirlwind was created. It swallowed all the unfortunate creatures who had gathered to defeat Armaloth.
Whirlwinds grew smaller and smaller, until it fits in the palm of the terrible Thanatos' hand, then solidified into a crystal sphere. The Lord of Death managed to contain all the demons and the angelic being in that place.
Thanatos observed the angelic being banging on the glass walls, then he handed the sphere to his lord.
After watching them for a moment, he laughed out loud with a malevolent grin.
