Chapter 37 - The Forgotten Barrier

Aldes and Atbara were walking through the kingdom of Tamasi. They drew a fair amount of attention from the eyes of the Dominions. People looked at them and whispered conspicuously to one another. They watched them while ignoring everything else around them, but the two of them paid the attention no mind. Atbara walked with his gaze fixed straight ahead while Aldes noisily chewed on a toothpick, periodically glancing at the Dominions who were watching them a little judgmentally.

"I haven't walked through this kingdom in almost eight years. Aside from the unwanted attention, this place gives you a good feeling," Atbara said, casting his eyes lightly left and right.

"What did we even come here for again? I forgot," Aldes asked, his mouth still full.

"I think the Marshal wanted a word with us. He was going to meet us at a tavern near the military center," Atbara replied.

"Niak... Niak... Niak..." the irritating smack of the toothpick grew more and more annoying to the vampire.

"Take that gum out of your mouth; it's driving me crazy! Where did you find it in the first place?" Atbara said, a little irritated.

"A kid gave it to me," Aldes said without much thought.

"He had it in his mouth?" Atbara asked.

"Yes. Why?" Aldes shot back.

"You're making me lose my mind... Do you realize that's not hygienic?" Atbara scolded.

"What isn't hygienic?" Aldes kept up his rhetorical tone.

"Secondly, do you know why we're here?" Atbara asked.

"Hmm... drugs?" Aldes guessed.

"To meet the Marshal. He invited us to join him for a discussion. He said it was urgent," Atbara said calmly.

"Aha! That's why that soldier met us earlier. About this?" Aldes said.

"What did you think he wanted?" Atbara asked.

"I thought maybe he wanted a loan of Targas (the Dominions' currency)," Aldes said.

"Why are you so detached from everything today? I know it's in your nature, but something strange is going on with you right now," Atbara said, a little concerned.

"I'm bored. I've gone almost eight years without a single bit of fun. I wonder whose fault that is," Aldes said, hinting at Atbara.

"You mean Lazrael?" Atbara asked.

"Now that you mention it... him too," Aldes said, turning his gaze elsewhere.

"The Marshal has some not-so-good ideas about us. I think you've noticed that, Aldes. His suspicions are even more complex than the looks those eyes are giving us. That's why I suggested earlier that we shouldn't get involved with Lazrael. And yet here we are," Atbara said.

"You're the one who initiated our dealings with him. I just followed orders. Besides, we are obliged to follow only the orders of Queen Kaliga. If she—"

"That's why we haven't done anything suspicious these past eight years, so that neither the Queen nor any other Dominion would have cause to distrust us. The General submitted a direct report about the person who was burned, the duel I had to fight in the forest, and after that nothing else was taken up about me or you. I told you: we wait until the barriers lose their function, and only then act on whatever orders the Queen or Lazrael might give us," Atbara said.

"You think our inactivity will lead to less surveillance on us?" Aldes asked.

"I know you don't like being idle for so long, but we're not in a position to rebel," Atbara said.

"I don't know about you, but this policy of placing guardians everywhere has always left me with questions. Why does such a post exist? Why do we have to guard the forest?" Aldes asked, suddenly serious.

"Maybe you fell asleep the day the Queen explained it to you," Atbara

said.

"Oh damn..." Aldes muttered, putting his hand to his forehead in mock shame.

"The primary reason is that we use magic. Since the gods use a different life energy, it's harder for them to sense an enemy like us, which makes our job of guarding and attacking far more efficient. Secondly, this was arranged by treaty two thousand years ago between the Dominions and the angels. The forest flank, Guhojre, is kept by the angels through their visionaries. Because the Dominions don't have individuals of that kind among them, they chose for the forest's northern side to be controlled by two mortals with extremely high abilities. Our contract isn't permanent. In short, we are removed from duty when we die or when we're found to have committed dirty deeds," Atbara explained.

"Why does the forest need guarding?" Aldes asked.

"From idiots like you," Atbara replied sarcastically.

Aldes scowled.

"Once our job was just to check who came and went through the barriers, eliminate any creature that might scratch them. It was more peaceful then, as was the relationship between the Dominions and the angels. Now that Uanamangura has been born, I'm not sure what will happen to the two of us," Atbara said in a serious tone.

"I want to see those angelic females again. There are some here, but that fairy-tale beauty with golden hair hits you differently when you kill her," Aldes said like a maniac.

"You know that when we saw King Tarnael self-crown himself king at his father's funeral ceremony, we were in their kingdom even though the barriers were more than functional. Without me you can't carry out your damned desires," Atbara said.

"Now that I think about it, with your ability why don't you just kill a high-ranking angel? You could go straight there," Aldes said, curious.

"If it were that simple, I would have done it long ago. Also, I can bring at most three people with me with my abilities, counting myself. I'd say it would be utterly disadvantageous if I took such an initiative in the angels' nation," Atbara said.

"You could just kill the king when he's off guard, and boom, the Dominions gain a huge strategic advantage," Aldes said.

"He's king of the angels for a reason. From what we've learned from Lazrael, King Tarnael Frizina can manipulate space and place. He is literally my greatest challenge, and I would prefer to avoid him at all costs if I could choose," Atbara replied.

"So you can't kill him in any way? Do you have any idea what Lazrael is inventing with that mind of his?" Aldes asked.

"He's been asking us to bring him as many dead bodies as possible. Maybe it's a hobby of his, to experiment on them. At least for us, we don't have to kill; we just need to remove them quietly from the hospital morgue," Atbara said as he and Aldes continued walking along the cobbled streets of Tamasi.

A desolate land, where massive sandstorms ruled across the vast and hazy horizon. Currents of dust drifted like nomads in endless motion. The powerful winds had carried the seeds of the Guhojre trees beyond the Alps of Sin, leaving this part of Ladnoria barren, stripped almost entirely of life.

In the midst of this raging wasteland lay the carcass of a dead buffalo, alone, torn, abandoned. A massive bird's talon struck down upon it, gripping the flesh, and then a sharp, enormous beak tore into the body, consuming it as a meal. A piece of meat was ripped free, revealing the predator to be a Skrid, a giant, dark vulture with yellow eyes that could reach up to five meters in height and a wingspan of twenty. The Skrid seized the entire buffalo with its claws and took flight, vanishing toward an unknown direction.

In the distance, blurred by the storm, stood Virgiel Tower, emanating its malevolent presence across the desolation.

King Xael sat in his chamber atop the Ninth Circle of the realm, sipping a glass of wine in tranquil silence. Two maidens, covered head to toe in white cloaks that revealed only the lower half of their faces, were combing through his long, dark hair with wooden combs.

"Your Majesty, forgive the interruption, but today is the scheduled date for your meeting with all the Circle Guardians," said a servant as he entered the king's chamber.

"You may leave," Xael said to the maidens. They bowed their heads slightly in acknowledgment and quietly exited the room.

"Let them in," Xael ordered, turning toward the table.

"As you command," the servant said, standing beside the door. Heavy footsteps began to echo closer and closer.

"Leviathel," Xael said, as the guest entered, gnawing on the lifeless body of a human girl with chestnut hair. He was grotesque, obese beyond measure, his flesh hanging in folds from every part of his body. His neck bulged with layers of fat; his short, unkempt red hair crowned a glistening face of gluttony. His brown leather shirt and trousers strained against his size.

"A bit revolting, but it settled my hunger for a few minutes," said Leviathel, Guardian of the Third Circle.

"Tch! I wish I could've eaten too," said Aefridel, Guardian of the Fourth Circle.

"Your tiny body couldn't handle such a meal," Leviathel replied.

"I told you, I have a fast metabolism! And stop calling me tiny," Aefridel snapped, a short demon with slightly longer hair than the previous one, wearing a dark jacket fastened with yellow buttons and short violet pants.

"Calm yourselves, it's nothing important. I'll have some human children sent to you later, Aefridel, don't worry," Xael said, sipping his wine.

"I want some of those children too. A few pregnant women would be even better," Leviathel added.

"That's all you ever think about, you fat lump," Aefridel spat.

"Do you know when the others are arriving?" Xael asked the two.

"We're here, we're here! I know you've all been dying to see me," said Zarathaedra, Guardian of the Second Circle, a woman in a black dress adorned with dark roses woven along its edges. Her long, straight, crimson hair framed her face elegantly, a silver clasp holding some strands atop her head while others cascaded over her brow. Her allure filled the room immediately.

"Our apologies for the delay," said Edda, Guardian of the First Circle, a petite girl with short hair tied back with a ribbon, dressed in a pure white gown.

"Hmph! This place always disgusts me. That's why I like it," said Magrael, Guardian of the Fifth Circle, a curly-haired demon wearing a crimson suit jacket over a dark shirt.

"I don't think it was wise of you to summon us here, Your Majesty. We never agree on anything," said Dardanel, Guardian of the Sixth Circle, a young man with long, feminine hair, wearing an orange cloak that left his right shoulder partially exposed.

"I just want to kill someone. I don't care who," said Mildred, Guardian of the Seventh Circle, a muscular woman with short hair, dressed in Viking fashion, her body covered in tattoos, a battle-axe slung across her back.

"I can't wait to see that pathetic face of Anadir. I feel like tearing his eyes out," growled Fraudel, Guardian of the Eighth Circle, an elderly, bald, frail man wrapped in a large black cloak with a white crest upon it.

And finally came Anadir, Guardian of the Ninth Circle, a tall man with short hair, dressed in a black suit, who entered the room quietly without saying a word. All the guardians waited for him to take his seat at the table.

They looked at one another with hatred, jealousy, fear, and deceit, a table where the raw, physical manifestations of the darkest desires gathered together in one room.

"I'm glad you at least took the trouble to come here, with that fiery red hair of yours, except for one of you," said Xael, his face twisting into a diabolic grin as his eyes turned toward Fraudel.

"HAHAHAHAHA! That was a good one!" roared Aefridel, slapping his left knee in laughter.

"Shut up, dwarf, before I rip your guts out and strangle you with them," snapped Fraudel, clearly irritated.

"Old weakling. Nyhhh!" Aefridel stuck out his tongue like a child in front of Fraudel.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

"Anyway," Xael interrupted, "we're not gathered here to tear each other apart. Do that on your own time, I couldn't care less. As you know, in a few days, the barriers will lose their function. Meaning, they'll no longer be able to detect who enters or leaves them."

"So what do you propose we do?" asked Dardanel.

"Obviously, we wait until all the petals are found," said Xael calmly.

"That's it? We're not going to fight at all?" asked Mildred, raising an eyebrow.

"Battles aren't for thick-headed fools like you, Mildred," sneered Zarathaedra with a mocking laugh.

"What did you just say to me, you bitch?!" shouted Mildred.

"Ah, how I love it when two women fight. It excites me beyond measure," said Magrael with a grin.

Mildred drew her axe and lunged at Zarathaedra, aiming for her throat. But in that instant, Anadir appeared before her, blocking the weapon's edge with just two fingers of his right hand.

"Tch! Anadir, move! If you don't, I'll blow your brains out!" yelled Mildred.

"ENOUGH!"

King Xael's voice thundered through nearly the entire upper section of the Ninth Ring. Goosebumps prickled Mildred's skin as she froze, terrified by the king's furious expression. Leviathel kept eating the woman before him without a care, Magrael chuckled, Dardanel remained composed, while Edda, Aefridel, and Fraudel flinched at the sudden outburst.

"Hmph." Mildred sat back down quietly, as did Anadir.

"Thank you, Anadir. Now then, as I was saying, we will not interfere in this little conflict between the dominions and the angels," said Xael.

"Technically, we can't interfere," added Dardanel, his eyes still closed.

"So far, only three petals have been found. How long until the others surface, or worse, fall into the wrong hands?" asked Fraudel.

"That depends on the vampires. They hold two of them, and one was used by Lazrael for his experiments, wasn't it? So with his cooperation, we can presume we have three," said Magrael.

"Exactly. Unless all the petals are gathered, we cannot leave the tower. And if we cannot leave, we will never be able to restore my father's physical form, Agh'Urunda..."