"I've always suspected you of engaging in covert activities, Fayeth, but this... this is on a whole other level," Rodney's voice conveyed shock and disbelief.
"A rogue god paired with a naturally born hydra. It seems Fortuna herself has graced me with her favor," Rodney exclaimed, a chuckle of disbelief escaping him.
"Unfortunately, Fortuna seems to have turned a blind eye to you. Not even your goddess Ava, were she to reveal herself, could shield you from the consequences now. Once Rainar finishes with all of you, the pantheon will learn of your betrayal," Rodney's words dripped with cold intent, his focus on Fayeth unwavering.
"Leave her out of this," Sarba's voice growled, only to be met with Rodney's tightening grip on Vedora, eliciting pained growls from each of the hydra's heads.
"Seize her," Rodney ordered the angel positioned behind Fayeth. With swift efficiency, the angel grasped Fayeth's wrists, her struggles proving futile against their superior strength. In matters of battle and combat, Fayeth and the angels of Goddess Ava were no match for the formidable might of Rainar's trained warriors. While Fayeth's kind was dedicated to healing, Rainar's angels were honed into formidable warriors.
"You, my dear, are about to become a prized exhibit in Rainar's collection," Rodney mused, his gaze fixed upon Vedora.
"You can inflict whatever punishment you wish upon me, but spare this temple," Fayeth pleaded, her voice laced with desperation as the angel behind her twisted her arm, securing golden shackles around her wrists.
"Don't be silly, Fayeth. This temple is beyond salvation now. Its fate was sealed when the moment you chose to shelter a rogue god," Rodney chuckled coldly.
"But you are indeed a blessed one. Once I inform Rainar of this, he will personally come to flood this temple to the ground," Rodney's laughter echoed through the room, his satisfaction palpable.
Yet, a sudden disturbance interrupted the scene as the room's illumination began to flicker. The angels paid little heed to the wavering torchlight until the door abruptly swung shut, sealing them within the chamber.
"Captain," the angel beside Rodney exclaimed, his gaze fixed on Michael's face, the purple veins that marked the effects of Emperor Nagin's poison fading from his skin.
Observing the lights' erratic behavior and the vanishing poison signs, Ayag's grin widened. She understood that, against all odds, Ghost was awakening.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"What's happening?" Rodney's confusion was evident.
"You mentioned Fortuna's favor, didn't you? Forget that. It's death that's casting its smile upon you," Ayag taunted, realizing that, by some miracle, Ghost was waking up from his slumber.
Out of nowhere, unfamiliar black flames consumed the rogue god, creating a blanket of darkness that Rodney had never encountered before. The angels felt an intense surge in temperature, forcing Rodney to hastily retreat from the searing heat that engulfed the rogue god.
Fayeth's eyes widened as she sensed the emperor nagin's poison being consumed by the black flames, a realization that dawned on her in astonishment. Without warning, the room's lights were extinguished by an invisible force, shrouding everything in deep darkness. Yet, this darkness held an unsettling quality that Fayeth couldn't quite place.
"Now even your god's father can't save you," Sarba's voice dripped with icy certainty.
Rodney responded swiftly, snapping his fingers to conjure a ball of light at his fingertips. The luminous sphere emitted an eerie blue radiance, dispersing the shadows within the room. However, the ball of light created by Rodney hovered above, casting an eerie blue glow that contended against the inky blackness. Yet, the orb's efforts to dispel the darkness were met with resistance, preventing it from fully illuminating the room.
Ayag's anticipation and excitement were palpable in her words. "No matter how many times I've witnessed this scenario, the thrill never goes away,"
Meanwhile, Fayeth's gaze remained fixed on the unfolding spectacle, her eyes reflecting shock and disbelief.
What startled Rodney even more was the sudden disappearance of the rogue god from the spot where he had lain moments ago on the floor.
All at once, Rodney's eyes widened as he witnessed the rogue god materialize behind the angel stationed a couple of meters in front of him. The rogue god's smile, far from friendly, bore the predatory menace of a seasoned hunter.
"He's finished," Ayag's comment carried a tone of finality. As Rodney watched, the rogue god seized the angel's head, and in a flash of lightning, the angel's skull was obliterated. Blood and fragments of the helmet sprayed in a gruesome display.
Before Rodney could even react, a searing pain erupted in his hand. Glancing at his hand, which clutched the hydra, he was met with a gruesome spray of blood gushing from his severed wrist. The shock of the moment gripped him only as the realization dawned.
Fayeth's horror-stricken gaze was fixed on the unfolding brutality as the rogue god systematically dispatched each angel. Beyond the temple walls, deafening thunderclaps reverberated through the kingdom, while crimson lightning streaks illuminated the sky.
Within the chamber, Michael unleashed his godly powers without restraint.
"Ah!" Rodney's scream pierced the air, his surroundings crackling with lightning. The darkness obscured the nature of the bolts, leaving Rodney vulnerable to their onslaught.
Amidst the chaos, Fayeth felt a weight land upon her shoulder. She turned to see the hydra perched there, a silent yet significant presence.
"It won't take long now," Ayag's voice held a note of finality.
Gradually, the darkness yielded to reveal the grim tableau. The angels that had accompanied Rodney lay strewn about the room, their bodies bearing smoking craters where lightning had struck.
In the midst of this carnage, Rodney remained the sole survivor.
"Rainar will hunt you down..." Rodney's words trembled through the air. His smile sent shivers down Fayeth's spine, a chilling expression even amidst his bleeding wounds and the remnants of lightning strikes. It was the grin of an entity cloaked in malevolence.
"You have it the other way around," Michael's voice rang out coldly, his finger pointing at Rodney's head. From his fingertip, a black lightning bolt shot forth, piercing Rodney's skull and swiftly ending his life.
"I've got many questions, but first, won't unleashing your powers alert the pantheon to your presence?" Ayag's voice broke through the stunned silence as she directed her query to the rogue god before her. Amidst the aftermath of the chaos, Michael began to gather the fallen bodies together.
"Yes, you're right. That's why we need to leave Nimbosia as soon as we're done here," Michael replied calmly, arranging the bodies and hoisting them onto his shoulder.
"Sorry for this mess, Fayeth. Here," Michael tossed a large vial filled with colorless liquid.
"Spray this around the room. It'll clean up the blood," he instructed before glancing upward.
However, Fayeth wasn't ready to let him go without answers. "Wait," she interjected, halting Michael as he was about to depart.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Who are you?" she inquired, her voice laced with curiosity and confusion.
"You'll find out soon. For now, thank you for your help and sorry for the damage to your roof," Michael's cryptic response left Fayeth baffled. In the blink of an eye, he shot through the roof, breaking it in the process.
As Michael soared through the air, Ayag raised her voice to be heard. "What actually happened back there? We thought you'd entered a place called Hades."
"I was there. It's a long story," Michael's response carried over the wind as he continued his ascent.
"I'll fill you in once I've sorted out these bodies," Michael's voice reached them from the distance as he strategically placed the bodies far apart. Given that he had used lightning bolts to end their lives, Michael arranged the scene to appear as if Kranar's angels were responsible for the deaths. While not foolproof, it would serve as a diversion, occupying the pantheon's attention while Michael devised his next move.
"So, you were in Hades. What is that place exactly? Fayeth mentioned it's where a god's soul goes temporarily when their physical body is harmed," Sarba inquired, observing as Michael meticulously set up the fabricated scene of the murders.
"Sort of. I had some assistance while I was there," Michael responded, offering a glimpse into his otherworldly experience.
"And who or what provided this assistance within Hades?" Ayag inquired as she observed Michael's efficient movements, each body being meticulously arranged through his almost instantaneous teleportations.
"Dagon," Michael uttered the name with a weight that seemed to resonate through the air. The mention of the ruler of Hell's name sent a shiver through the air, unsettling Vedora as they had never anticipated such an unexpected alliance with hell's ruler.
***************************
Meanwhile, a striking figure descended from the heavens somewhere else in a different part of the realm. With crimson red wings stretched wide, the angel glided gracefully through the air, guided by streaks of red lightning that illuminated his path. His descent was a spectacle of power and beauty, a crimson comet against the night sky.
As he neared the ground, the wind tousled his black hair, causing it to flutter like the wings of a raven. Clad in dark red armor adorned with intricate golden lines, he shone like a beacon in the dim light. The earth trembled beneath his feet as his landing sent ripples through the ground. His crimson wings folded neatly behind him, exuding a sense of quiet power.
In a voice as cold as the wind that brushed against his armor, he uttered a single question that reverberated through the air, carrying with it a chilling edge, "Where are you, rogue god?"
A sense of dread would grip many at the mere sight of this angel, for he was the chosen executor dispatched by the pantheon to eliminate rogue gods. He hailed from one of the deadliest units under the pantheon's command, a force renowned for its lethality. Now, he launched on a relentless pursuit, his mission clear: to track down and neutralize the rogue god.