Chapter 43 - Waves Beneath the Shadows

The Day Before...

Aldes and Atbara were walking through the royal palace of the Dominions, heading toward the main chamber where Queen Kaliga and King Kasama sat upon their thrones.

"Marshall said that for more detailed instructions, we'd have to speak directly with the queen herself, didn't he?" Aldes asked Atbara.

"Yes. I wonder what the queen could say that the marshal couldn't. Some extremely confidential information, perhaps? Or maybe something even he isn't aware of?" Atbara replied.

"We'll find out soon enough," said Aldes, as the two of them arrived before the great doors of the main chamber.

The guards stationed beside the doors pushed them open, and slowly, the vast room revealed itself as the doors drifted apart. Only Queen Kaliga was present, resting her head upon her right fist, her legs crossed, her gaze fixed upon the two guests. Aldes and Atbara entered the chamber respectfully as the guards closed the doors behind them.

"It's been a while since I've seen you both in person, Atbara, Aldes," the queen said, lifting her head from her hand.

"Your Majesty," said Atbara, as he and Aldes knelt before her.

"The fact that you are here means you've received instructions from Marshall Mildura and that he has already told you what must be done," the queen said.

"Yes, Your Majesty. We are fully informed," Atbara replied, bowing his head.

"Thanks to your efforts, there have been no suspicious activities on our side of the Guhojre Forest. So first, I wish to commend you both for your service," said the queen.

"We are deeply honored by your words, Your Majesty," said Atbara.

"Your voice is a blessing to us," added Aldes.

"In truth, what I am about to tell you concerns a mission somewhat more difficult than what the marshal proposed. He has surely informed you about the disappearance of the eleven Spheres of Alitus, a loss that raises many grave questions among us. But that is not your only task," the queen continued.

Aldes and Atbara listened intently, their heads still bowed.

"I am assigning you the task of capturing Eliael Frizina," said the queen.

Atbara and Aldes widened their eyes at her words.

"Eliael Frizina? From his surname, he must be a member of the royal family of the angels," Aldes said.

"Fifty-two years ago, the Treaty of Lucintra was signed, declaring that the Spheres of Alitus would remain under the dominion's custody. This was because they have no alluring effect on us, whereas the angels suffered greatly from their temptation. I, Kasama, Magdanela, and Augustel, along with his children, were all present at that meeting, Elial, Kaela, and Tarnael. Let's just say that Eliael is the easiest prey among them. His tongue is bound to slip somewhere, and for that, I need your assistance," said the queen.

"Your Majesty... if the situation were to spiral completely out of control?" asked Atbara, keeping his head low.

"You know what must be done," Queen Kaliga said with a smile.

In the present...

The rapier was plunged deep into Eliael's shoulder. Between the pain and the drops of blood spilling down beneath him, he could no longer tell which hurt more, the physical agony or the terror at his own bleeding. He was losing control, sliding into panic like a child. Eliael was still a child.

Suddenly he was surrounded by four large cobalt cannons.

"I drew a seven of hearts. I won't complain," Aldes said from behind Eliael.

"You?! How did you get in here?" Eliael cried.

"I think you remember when the servants brought your brother Oriel's head, served on a plate," Aldes said with a cruel smile.

Horror widened Eliael's eyes.

"I think you understand now why, and how, that happened," Aldes said, as the four cannons struck Eliael with spheres of molten lava. After the spheres slammed into him unprepared, Atbara withdrew his rapier and dropped down from the ceiling to the floor.

When the smoke cleared, it was obvious Aldes' strikes had been stopped only by four dead human bodies, torn to pieces by the force of the attack.

"For an angel, you're pretty filthy," Aldes said, dripping with irony.

"What do you want? Do you want to die early?" Eliael snapped, knocking the corpses aside.

Atbara moved with blinding speed in front of Eliael as the angel tried to stab him with his rapier. Eliael unfurled his massive wings and managed to evade Atbara's strike. Another cannon materialized before Eliael. He drew his sword from its sheath and split the cannon in two. But the cannon was nothing more than a diversion. From the shadow of one half, Atbara lunged at Eliael with lightning speed and drove his rapier through the angel's chest.

"Ghhakk!! Nnnhhg!" Eliael grabbed Atbara, rapier and all, and hurled him away, smashing one of the room's green pillars.

"You're well prepared. It seems you've reinforced this room from the outside with Guhojre timber. That's why you infiltrated so easily and why my brother Tarnael didn't appear right away," Eliael said, speaking the obvious.

Atbara had been chosen as guardian of that forest because of his impressive talent for manipulating plant life in his favor. The Guhojre trees' wood carried an energy utterly different from anything living on the plane. It was said their seeds fell from the sky only during eclipses; why, no one had yet discovered. Their invisible presence had often proved effective in Atbara's hands.

"Atbara! Good to put that magic to use," Aldes said.

"Afraid you're right," Atbara replied.

Eliael slammed both hands to the floor. A massive tremor reverberated through the room as the three of them dropped down into a different chamber. Atbara and Aldes were taken by surprise, finding themselves in a wholly new room.

"I won't let you ruin my work! I won't let you kill Bakabal!" Eliael yelled in fury.

At that moment he brought his hands together.

"Lapis Arts: One Wing — Irresistible Greed."

Dead angelic corpses began to surround the room on all four sides like an uncoordinated army of zombies, driven by a ravenous desire to consume the living.

"Very technical, damn it," Aldes muttered.

Atbara remained unreadable and began cutting the dead angels in two with his rapier. Aldes drew his cards and a Four-Leaf fell.

"Damn! I wish I'd drawn a better card," Aldes said as a bronze shield materialized in his hands.

"Entirely luck-based ability, huh?" Eliael said, watching the battle.

As Atbara intercepted the dead angels and Aldes defended and fought at the same time, they both noticed something changing in Eliael. The angel shot toward Aldes with terrifying speed and slammed against Aldes' shield with all his might.

"Getting stronger, aren't you?" Aldes said.

"That's the power of this technique. The more angels you kill, the stronger I become."

Atbara struck Eliael from behind with his rapier. Eliael blocked the blade with the flat of his hand and, with his other hand, punched Atbara in the face.

"Damn! If only I'd drawn a better card," Aldes cursed.

As Eliael prepared to stamp on Aldes, a huge pile of timber fell and buried Eliael.

"What—?" Eliael sputtered.

"Atbara's magic. He finally used it," Aldes said.

While Eliael was trapped under the broken wood, Atbara lunged at him and thrust his sword into the angel's back.

"Gods damn you! Don't get so cocky!" Eliael roared as he shattered the wood and shoved Atbara away with raw physical force. "I will kill you!!!"

Eliael released a massive yellow aura that engulfed nearly the entire chamber.

"King of Hearts."

Atbara's eyes widened at Aldes's sudden stroke of luck as the card appeared between his fingers.

"I've been waiting for these five minutes," Aldes said calmly.

"So what if you've drawn that card? I can crush you with sheer strength alone," Eliael said, spreading his wings and flying straight toward him.

"Prison of Armageddon."

Diamond rods rose up, surrounding Eliael from every direction until they finally sealed him inside. Screams, wails, horrifying moans, the cries of the damned, all resounded from within, echoing through his mind. Eliael clutched his head, falling to his knees as madness consumed him.

"Let me out! Help me! I will not accept this blasphemy! Help me!" he screamed, his voice trembling with desperation.

"Begging for help, you filthy bastard," Aldes said with disgust, watching the angel trapped within the terrifying prison.

"Let's take this obese pigeon to Kaliga. Who knows how much she'll reward us," Aldes added cheerfully.

"He's part of the royal angelic family after all. Of course we'll be paid well," said Atbara.

As the two prepared to leave, a massive hammer struck Aldes from behind, splitting his body in half. Blood sprayed out like a fountain.

"Nhhhoukk—!" Aldes gasped, his cry torn between shock and pain.

"ALDES!" Atbara shouted.

"You cursed demons. Did you truly think something like that could hold me?" Eliael's voice thundered. It was he who had unleashed the fatal blow.

Atbara froze, staring at Aldes' broken body as blood poured from him uncontrollably.

"Did you really think I hadn't considered such a possibility?" Eliael said coldly.

Inside the diamond prison, another figure, a decoy, stood revealed. It wasn't Eliael at all, but a soldier disguised as him. The real Eliael was behind them now, his arms folded.

"How? We were certain it was you in there," Atbara said, bewildered.

"The moment you were distracted, I switched places with one of my soldiers. Divine Masquerade, that's what the technique is called. Nearly impossible to detect, since it requires only a negligible amount of Lapis energy to cast," Eliael explained.

"You sacrificed one of your own soldiers for this?" Atbara asked darkly.

"So what? We have plenty of those worthless chess pieces. Losing one means nothing to me," Eliael sneered.

"H-haah... y-you call yourself... an angel," Aldes gasped, bleeding heavily.

"Aldes, don't speak," said Atbara.

"H-hahaha... Eight of Hearts," Aldes muttered, revealing the next card.

"What? But five minutes haven't passed!" Eliael said in disbelief.

"To be honest, I don't like how this situation escalated," came a voice echoing through the chamber.

"Who's there?" Eliael demanded, glancing around.

"Y-Your Majesty!?" Atbara stammered.

"I couldn't wait any longer. Aldes, do your work, now," said Queen Kaliga, standing at the far corner of the room, arms crossed before her.

"Bloodied Legion," Aldes whispered.

Every drop of his blood turned into swords and spears.

Eliael hadn't anticipated this sudden reversal. He managed to dodge several of the blood-forged weapons, but many others pierced his body at different points.

"Gaaah! You think this will be enough to defeat me?" he snarled.

"Don't forget, there are three of us here," Kaliga's voice resounded, as silver chains materialized from her hands, binding Eliael tightly.

"Nnnnnggh! You'll pay dearly for this! You Dominions are nothing but filth, foul remnants of dragons! You are not true gods!" Eliael roared with hatred.

"If you'd been shouting like that all along, you might've lost a few pounds," Aldes said mockingly.

"Your Majesty Kaliga, forgive us. We failed to carry out the plan perfectly," said Atbara, kneeling.

"The fault is mine. I might've underestimated this bulldozer here," the queen replied.

"You think you've won this battle? You have no chance against the angels. My absence will be noticed, and you'll suffer, more than any creature that's ever lived," Eliael spat.

"Hmm... what if they don't notice your absence?" Kaliga's voice asked, tauntingly calm.

"W-what do you mean by that?" Eliael asked, his voice trembling.

"From now on, you're just another victim of time, worthless to the angels," Kaliga's voice whispered, its venom striking terror into Eliael's heart. His body went limp, and he fainted, still bound in the silver chains.

"You two will handle the rest. We'll meet again," said Kaliga's voice, fading away beyond the chamber's stone walls.

"Even I was terrified by Her Majesty's tone. Did it come from that vial?" Aldes asked weakly.

Atbara reached into his pocket and pulled out a small flask filled with glowing blood.

"Her Majesty poured her own blood into this. That's how she was able to speak and use a fraction of her power," Atbara explained.

"I can't imagine how tempted you must be to drink that," Aldes said.

"The blood of gods is revolting," Atbara replied, opening a portal made of roots. Aldes lifted Eliael's limp body over his shoulder, and together they stepped through. The portal closed behind them, leaving silence to drift once more through the chamber.

But not for long.

From above, the presence of a fifth figure became clear. Glauk watched from the ceiling, his expression frozen as always. He dropped silently into the ruined chamber where Eliael's capture had taken place. Rising to his feet, he restored the shattered upper layer of stone, sealing the room again with a wave of his hand, the air vibrating faintly from the energy of his scythe, Draken.

Glauk moved forward slowly and touched one of the wall stones. Like a mechanism responding to a code, the stone slid outward, revealing three rows of numbers: 0 through 8, and a 9 at the end. He pressed 122119. The stone returned to its place, and a door opened before him.

Only darkness waited beyond. Nothing was visible.

Cautiously, Glauk removed his cursed eye from its socket and threw it inside.

The chamber came alive with light.

Through the glow, a suspended body could be seen, sealed inside a larval cocoon at the center of the room. Beside it stood a table cluttered with surgical tools: needles, tongs, masks, knives, drills.

Glauk closed the door behind him, letting silence drift once again through the room...