MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

In the end, Adam made one simple decision on his part...

"Natasha, take Viktor with you, find Sae then leave this place.

"What!?"

"Adam!?"

"Stop. We don't have much time to discuss anything right now. Viktor, you are not a fighter. If you stay with us, we will have to protect you. Let me be clear here. Your grandfather entrusted you to me the moment we went out. Your security is of paramount importance."

Adam looked up at the skies above. Already, the weather was starting to change for the worse. The sea was stirring and the wind was picking up progressively. It felt like a tornado would cover this place at any moment.

The shouts and screams of human beings were increasing with each passing second.

"Sae is in an even worse situation. It's because of us that she is in this place."

Natasha couldn't help but groan at this situation, "But... Normal humans [1] can't..."

"Don't worry about that. Try to get her out. If it's impossible, then come back and use the protection of this place to your advantage."

"You... You are quite shameless."

Adam ignored the man's ridiculing voice and words. Sae was not truly a human anymore. So she should be able to leave this place with them. Thankfully even if she wasn't, there was a lifeline at this place to save them.

"Natasha..."

He looked deeply into the eyes of the shapeshifting girl, "I believe in you. I leave their protection in your hands."

Natasha fought tooth and nail, or was it fangs and claws, to protect him even though she thought he was dead during their time of peril. She was a powerful fighter and he knew he could believe in her to handle this mission.

"You are really unfair, you know?"

"Hey... You know, I have been listening to you talk for some time already. But isn't this a little too much? You are basically telling us to die while you flee with your friends? Aren't you ashamed as a hunter?"

Adam sighed visibly and directed a cold stare toward the woman who interrupted them.

"Let me correct some assumptions of yours. Firstly... I am not a hunter and neither am I your subordinate so you don't get to say that to me."

[Fear]

A frigid aura spread from his body as the center, causing the woman to take a step back and cold sweat to drench her back. She felt like she was not facing a young boy anymore but a large and hungry feral beast ready to devour her to the bone.

"Secondly... I am not fleeing from this place."

She was not the only one to be startled by his aura. Even Natasha narrowed her eyes sharply while Viktor seemed to be paralyzed on the spot. The other hunter placed his hand on his watch on reflex. The only one who seemed unaffected by his skill was the so-called Saintess but Adam was not surprised by her immunity.

For someone who was ready to die for others and sacrifice herself to this extent... He doubted fear was even part of their dictionary. But did that really matter to him? In the first place, he just wanted to make them understand that they were not pushovers that they could control and monopolize as they wished. He was not about to let themselves be used like puppets.

He looked up at the sky again, thinking about a crazy idea he had been harboring from the moment he learned how to control Gravity.

"I am not going to flee. Rather -- I am going to fly."

Adam ignored the dumbfounded gazes that were literally seemed to be asking "What the hell is this bastard saying?" and focused on his powers.

It was a multitasking feat that suited his Parallel Thinking skill.

The others could only watch on as his feet slowly began to leave the ground and continued to go up until he was two meters above them already.

Opening his eyes Adam couldn't help but sigh out loud...

'This is actually easier than I thought.'

The first thing he did was lower the gravity surrounding him.

W=Mg. The most fundamental principle of weight.

It was far easier for him to lower gravity than actually increase it and he was able to lower it to around a third of his body. effectively dividing his weight by three.

'If it's like that, then I can help more people...'

"I will go search for people I can save and bring them here. If I find the ritual place, I will try to stop it if I can. If I can't, at least I will have found the location for when help comes."

He did not wait for more answers and continued to fly up into the air.

Whoosh. He accelerated and left their vision altogether.

------

Looking at him flying in the air, Natasha clenched her fists before exhaling a shaky breath.

"Viktor, let's go."

She gave a glance at the two hunters and the Saintess before speaking, "I will come back and help protect this place once I have secured the safety of my friends."

Elysia, who had been looking in the direction where Adam flew immediately glanced at Natasha after hearing her speak and clasped her hand. A large smile spread on her face as she looked at Natasha with kind eyes, "Your friendship is truly a beautiful spectacle. I wish you luck."

She kneeled and placed her hands together, and a golden light began to emit from her body, entirely covering her being in a pure and holy light.

"Truly, this is fate that brought me to this place. Don't you think so -- Lailah [2]"

A pillar of golden light shot out in the sky as she muttered that name and a large dome began to cover the place with a holy radiance. But she knew that this was not enough.

In order to protect the people here from the pollution of a godlike being like Asmodeus, they needed more than just a makeshift barrier.

She brought a finger to her lips and savagely bit on it with absolutely no hesitation. Pain shot through her brain but she paid no mind to it.

If this pain could help her save and protect more people, she would suffer ten times or a hundred times more if necessary.

"Saintess!"

She directed a fierce glance at the two guards shouting at her to seemingly stop. As if daring them to even try stopping her. Gone was the gentleness and the calm smile that perpetually graced the girl's lips. There was only resolution left on her face.

She continued to bite her finger until blood splashed on the ground. Only then did she stop her bloody act.

Lowering her head, she muttered a prayer to the gods above,

"I call down, the Sacred Sanctuary. [Garden of Eden]"

The projection of hell, the odor of sulfur, and the groans of humans all vanished in an instant.

What replaced it was the projection of a beautiful world covering a radius of more than three hundred meters, filled with chants and the projection of a green pasture. The air was refreshing, free of all pollution. It was as if a place straight out of fantasy had appeared.

Chains filled with thorns shot out from the ground and covered the hands and feet of Elysia, drawing even more blood to seemingly sustain this place carved out from paradise.

"You..."

"Heheh... I did say I wouldn't be able to move once I started, right? Now go. I believe you will come back."

Natasha growled slightly at this sight before nodding. Now wasn't the time to leave herself to her emotions.

Her eyes shone with a red luster as she pulled Viktor and flashed away from this place.

Now alone with her two guards, Elysia gave them a small smile,

"You are not leaving?"

The two looked at each other before speaking, "You are putting us in a difficult position. If anything happens to you, the Vatican will take the Association as responsible. Your life is more valuable than all the people here."

The man, whose true name was Oscar, was blunt. They were hunters. Not heroes. They could not save everyone and sometimes they had to make sacrifices.

The life of a woman who could make a contract with an Archangel was too precious to lose just to save a few hundred people.

Even though her blood was being drained from her body and her expression was pale, Elysia showed a simple and calm countenance,

"I am the only one who can judge the worth of my life. I believe this is the most basic freedom."

She would never ask anyone to sacrifice themselves for her ideals and in the same way, she would reject anyone who wanted to stop her from sacrificing herself for her ideals.

Sussane gave a pleading look toward Oscar who could only sigh, "This is why I hate dealing with kids. You guys are too vigorous. Fuck it. Let's do it."

He touched the watch on his hand and a large futuristic armor formed around his previously naked body.

Seeing this, Sussane grinned and did the same.

"We will fight with you."

As the two said this, they looked far ahead. Portals had started to appear outside the gardens.

Hundreds of hands flayed around as if trying to tear everything apart. Thousands of eyes appeared, making anyone looking at them feel goosebumps.

The Legion of hell was coming down on earth to invoke Chaos.

[1]: Saying normal human every time is a pain. I need to find a term for humans without power later.

[2]: Lailah (Meaning: "Night") is an angel in some interpretations in the Talmud and in some later Jewish mythology, associated with the night, as well as conception and pregnancy. She is the antithesis of Lilith whose name also means Night and who is a demon who affects childbirth and kills babies. Lailah was also mentioned as a Guardian angel who protected Abraham and fought Lilith in the Garden of Eden.