The Fallen demon trembled all over as he faced Akira. He knows he doesn't stand a chance against this demi beast but he swore an oath to his master, to protect his abode.
He went all out, black lightning crackled as he used his lightning attribute, corrupted by Black Magia.
{Lightning Code: Corrupted Bolt}
A powerful bolt of lightning shot out from the tip of his spear toward Akira. She barely glanced at it before swatting it away like a fly. Deflected, the bolt went towards some boulders and blew them into dust.
"Not bad. For a Fallen.", Akira nodded as she looked back at the damage.
The guard suddenly appeared behind her, cloaked in black lightning. He swung his spear at her head at lightning speed.
"Your speed is not bad for a CAT 2 being.", Akira remarked as she appeared behind him, to his surprise. She was just in front of him a second ago.
Before he could react he suddenly fell forwards to the ground.
'Huh?', the guard tried to get up but he couldn't. He tried to use his arms to propel himself from the ground but he was unable to. His eyes widened as he realized what happened.
His arms were gone and so were his legs. They were ripped off and black blood flowed from his severed limbs.
Then the pain hit him but before he could scream he found himself looking at the face of the demi beast. Now he didn't feel his body and before he realized what had happened everything became dark and silent.
Akira dropped the head of the second Fallen beside his dismembered body. She doesn't go easy on the ones who try to kill her, no matter how weak or strong they are.
She approached the gates and swung them open, casually breaking the protection enchantment on them.
As soon as she stepped into the compound, Akira was surrounded by many Fallen guards, all already activating their attributes as they faced this grave threat to their master.
"A pretty efficient system. As expected of him.", she said with a wry smile.
A Fallen vampire appeared above them, floating in the air with wings of black blood. "The punishment for trespassing into the estate of a Fallen Lord is death. I believe you are aware of that?", he asked in a threatening voice.
Akira smirked, "Death from your hands? Dream on, little vampire."
The vampire narrowed his eyes, "Your insolence is unforgivable. If we cannot kill you then our master would."
"Then why not ask him to come?"
"You are not worthy of our master's attention, demi beast.", he extended his arm. Black blood converged to form a black sword covered with dark purple flames.
'The flames of Black Magia. Interesting.', Akira narrowed her eyes. The guards surrounding her were of the same level as the ones at the gate.
The Fallen vampire pointed his sword at her, "I Vergas, command all of you. Bring her head for the master."
The guards rushed at her. Akira just calmly stood there. "I have no time for this.", she stamped her feet.
A powerful magia pulse ripped the attacking guards to shreds and the lucky ones that managed to survive crashed into the walls of the estate and the mansion, their bodies utterly broken.
Vergas couldn't believe what he witnessed. The guards were powerful and highly trained Fallen but they were decimated in a second.
He gripped his sword as the demi beast looked up at him, her eyes glowing. Vegas was about to attack when he suddenly couldn't move as a primal fear descended upon him.
Vergas saw himself staring into the eyes of a colossal beast, too big to even discern the shape. He found himself on the ground, on his knees with the demi beast looking down on him. His flaming sword fell from his hand as he realized he could never beat this monster.
What Akira just did was the original form of a powerful code favored by warlocks with the Beast attribute. Eravon saw her giving this gaze to an enemy and was inspired to create a similar code and gave it a name.
{Beast Code: Primal Gaze}
"That's enough.", a male voice spoke from behind him. He almost sighed in relief as he recognized the voice. It was his master.
Fallen Lord Stephen Kain stood at the entrance of the mansion. He is a tall handsome demon with long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Despite being a powerful Fallen, he didn't look like one.
His fair skin was unblemished and the lines under his eyes were blood-red. He became slightly nervous when Akira looked at him but he maintained a calm demeanor as he faced her.
"I never thought I would see you again.", his voice was smooth and to the shock of Vergas and the guards who accompanied him, the Fallen Lord bowed his head.
"It has been a long time, Queen Akira.", he greeted her.
"What are you doing master?", Vergas asked. He had never seen Stephen bow his head to anyone, even to the Dragon Lords. He also felt something from his master that he believed was impossible.
Fear. His master, the mighty Fallen Lord fears this mysterious demi beast.
Stephen looked at him, "Stand down Vergas. Even I am no match for her.", he ordered his most trusted servant.
Vergas never thought he would hear those words. For his master to say it, this demi beast must be on a whole new level.
He slowly got up, retrieved his sword, and stepped back from Akira.
She barely noticed him. Her eyes were on Stephen. "You still look the same."
"I can say the same about you.", Stephen replied with a small smile. He gestured to the entrance, "How about we talk inside?"
Akira nodded, "Good idea. I am getting sick of this wretched atmosphere.", she waved in front of her nose.
She followed the Fallen Lord into the mansion. In sharp contrast to the outside, the mansion is very well built and comfortable with ample light coming from the light crystals in a huge chandelier hanging at the center.
Stephen led her to the hearth and sat down on the comfortable couches. "Would you like to have something?", he asked. She shook her head, "No need. I have another thing to do in Ethereos and will be leaving immediately."
"You could've said that to the guards and I wouldn't have lost so many of them.", he sighed.
"They were rude to me. I had to teach them a lesson."
Stephen shook his head, "They don't know who you are. Anyway, what brings you here?", he asked her, lacing his fingers as he tried to relax in the presence of the divine being in the room.
"Eravon told me that you have remained here for a long time.", Akira said, ignoring the question. The Fallen Lord nodded, "You can say this is a form of exile for me for what I did back then."
"Ah. Well, you did betray your queen and cause her death.", she said nonchalantly.
There was a heavy silence as those words hung in the air.
"Do you still hate me for that?", Stephen asked, looking her in the eyes. Akira glanced at a portrait of a beautiful demon with striking violet eyes, long white hair, silver lines under her eyes, and a calm smile.
In the portrait, she wore a sleeveless light red dress with red arm covers of lace and like, Vanessa, red eyeshadow.
She was Mavis Maxillian, the Demon Queen, and a close friend of Akira. Like her and Vanessa, Mavis was a powerful Crown and she was the most powerful demon to ever exist. She was a fun-loving prankster with a kind heart and fierce intellect, rivaling that of the Vampire Queen.
"Do you still hate me?", Stephen asked as he noticed Akira's gaze.
"I have learned a long time ago that holding grudges has no meaning. I am still angry at what you did but it's all in the past."
"Now if it was Vanessa instead of me she would probably break your nose before sitting down on the couch.", she said, giving him a meaningful look.
"You don't need to tell me that. I am always expecting her to blow up my front door.", Stephen sighed and unconsciously glanced at the front door, "Well, Your anger is justified."
Akira shook her head, "Of course. You were her right-hand man and most loyal subordinate. But you foolishly believed the words of the enemy and attempted to make Mavis 'stronger' by corrupting her with Black Magia. The only reason she was able to survive that was due to her unnatural resistance to that stuff."
Stephen hung his head, "I was naive and inexperienced back then and am still regretting that decision. The corruption had weakened her which was a reason for her death on the battlefield."
She sighed, "Well. It's all in the past. Your act of taking in the Black Magia from her body into yours, becoming a Fallen, and exiling yourself in Ethereos is commendable."
"But you did commit the grave sin of betraying your queen, the one who trusted you the most.", she looked at him with her glowing eyes.
"Anyway.", Akira changed the subject, "I am not here to talk about the past. Eravon asked me to confirm something with you."
Stephen raised his head. He knew what that crafty warlock wanted to know. "Tell him the answer is no. We have no intention of disrupting the Arkenians in subduing the creature. Even I know it is not something that should exist in this world."
"As the oldest among them, I hold a considerable amount of influence among the Fallen Lords. The decision was reached by the popular vote. Of course, some of the Fallen Lords were against the ceasefire, especially the younger ones."
Akira raised an eyebrow, "You should be keeping them in check as the oldest Fallen Lord."
"I am the only one who knows that there are absolute monsters like you out there. The younger Lords are really confident and hard to control.", Stephen said with a sigh.
"You better.", the Spirit Queen got up, "That's enough. I will be taking my leave."
"That's it? You dropped into Ethereos, broke into my estate, killed my guards just to get my confirmation?", Stephen stood up, indignant.
Akira turned around, "Well. He told me to check up on you. Apparently, the Immortal Warlock has a soft spot for you. He also asked me to give you a warning."
"What is it?", Stephen finding it hard to see Eravon Lock having a soft spot for him.
"The embers of Inferno still burn."
The Fallen Lord's face became grave, "Inferno is still alive?"
Akira nodded, "You better get ready to die."