THE FOREST OF DEAD CRIES 2
Azazel enters the room and the guards close the door behind him, he walks barefoot with black pants and a black coat. He looks through the starlight as the moonlight bathe him and his skin shines beneath the coat, leaving traces of straight shadows on his body.
He stands at the stairs of the throne and admires the moon in all its glory.
"Master Azazel," a demon says and the man turns to face Tuyul who stands in the middle of the room.
His black tattoos stand out under the moonlight, "Tuyul, I presume you have some good news for me. A gift to be more precise," Azazel says, "Yes, master" Tuyul says and bows on one knee.
He holds up a silver chalice, "I present to you, the Holy Grail" he says as Azazel carries the chalice from his hand. Azazel lets out a small laugh, "This isn't the Holy Grail Tuyul.
This is a much older chalice, one that history knows little about. This is the first chalice which the creator used the first time he walked amongst his creations.
I don't blame you for your ignorance, like I said, history knows little about it.
It truly is a magnificent treasure with powers that only a few can tap into but I am not interested in that anyway," Azazel says as he walks toward the throne.
"You have done well Tuyul, you may leave" he says.
Tuyul bows his head and disappears into the black pond at his feet.
"I have Nightmare and a treasure of a sphinx," he chuckles, "Soon the rest of the pieces will come together,".
He pulls out a cell from his pocket and relaxes on the throne with his legs on the hand rest. He dials a number, "Ballan, send word to Alex and Carter. There is no need for them to continue their chase.
Alucard can handle the rest," he says and cuts the call before returning his eyes to the glittering chalice.
A strong wind descends from the skylight and blows throughout the room, it is brief but it puts Azazel in a state of unease as he stands up from his throne. His eyes peer into the darkness of the room, "Come out," he says.
"Who says I am hiding?" a voice says.
Azazel sees no one, no shadows under the moonlight and no flesh before his eyes but he knows the creatures that can make their presence known without a physical appearance and he is not a fan of this one.
"Lucifer," "Azazel. What do you think you are doing? You interfered in my work," Lucifer's voice echoes through the room in a light tone, "No. You are the one who wants to interfere with my work," Azazel says.
"Don't test me," Lucifer snarls, "No, you don't test me. I am not your son or a spawn of your lineage. I am not a demon under your command. You know what I am, I am not someone you can threaten.
Come back and face me when you have a body of your own," he says, "Until then, fuck off" Azazel's voice rises and drowns the room in a thunderous clap.
The room seem to get brighter with Lucifer's presence vanquished while Azazel stands with the chalice in his hand and a proud smile on his face.
*
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*
Rachael pants and breathes heavily as she runs through the forest, jumping over long roots and thick branches. The trees stick out like they want to trip them and strange cries of children in pain fill the forest wind.
"Help me," Rachael hears a child scream, "Don't listen to them. It is the forest," Amanda screams.
"What about the zombie chasing after us? Is that from the forest too?" Rachael asks as she glances behind her to see rotten corpses running after them.
"Well, I bet nobody wants to find out. They must be attracted to your stink," Elma says, "Fuck you," Rachael fires at her.
The dead creatures snarl as they run as fast as their decaying limbs can take them but the group isn't losing in pace.
The forest gets thicker but somehow the moonlight finds its way into their midst.
Rachael steps over a skull and almost falls but Elma holds her up, "Be careful," she says but turns to meet a headless body standing before her. Elma screams and throws her fist into the chest of the headless body, it falls and shatters into sand.
"Fuck, this place is creepy" Elma says as she dangles her hand, trying to get rid of the dirt around her fist.
The rustling of leaves make them regain their cautious mind, "They are getting closer," Rachael says.
"Then we should get the hell out of here as fast as we can," Elma says and zooms off in a blur, leaving Rachael to continue her run alone and behind the sphinxes.
"Fuck," she mumbles as she continues her run.
The journey hasn't been quite easy for the human, from one danger to another has been the theme of her life lately although she has been accompanied by luck there is still a strong sense of death around her.
Rachael falls as a hand grabs her leg from the floor, she sees a man with dark skin and black eyes, he is missing the lower half of his body and crawls on his belly.
Rachael begins to kick his head and he bites her, luckily her boot protects her feet, "You will die human. You and your precious sphinx," he says.
The man's eyes reminds her of something she has experienced not long ago. A creature with similar aura and a spiteful tongue, "You are the demon that chased me," she says as she struggles with him.
"I am flattered, you remember" he says. The man's grip is strong as he works his way to her upper body and tries to strangle her, "Scream for me and give me your soul," he says.
Rachael stretches her hand over the ground as she searches for anything she can use to fight back. She feels his hands go around her neck and squeezes but again, luck smiles on her and her fingers draw a pointy stick towards her.
She grabs it with all the strength her small arms can muster and stabs the man in the throat, he laughs as black goo spills from his neck, "Your souls will be mine," "Fuck you," Rachael says and throws his off her body.
Rachael stands up quickly, coughing, running and screaming; "Guys, it is the demon from the ship,".
She runs aimlessly as she finds herself all alone with no one in front of her and loud sounds of running feet behind her.
Her feet hurts from all the running and climbing she has been through but this feels like nothing compared to the mountain she climbed, she hates the darkness but it now becomes bright in her eyes.
"I have been to darker places," she thinks.
A corpse appear in front of her but she doesn't stop her run, she screams louder like a warrior running into battle and she raises her leg and stomps the corpse in the chest. She runs over it without a care if it stands up again as long as she is ahead of them.
The moonlight gets brighter and illuminates the forest path, mist slowly rises into the forest atmosphere and Rachael gets a glimpse of something moving at her far left. It looks huge and it moves through the shadows of the forest, camouflaging itself and coming closer to her.
Fireflies slowly join the scene and a distant howl increases the tempo of Rachael's heart, her mouth taste of salt and sweat and her hands claw at the trees for support.
The air is hot and her skin begins to feel slippery as dirt slip between her fingers, "Samuel, Amanda" she screams out.
"There is no one here," a voice says in a cold whisper.
Suddenly, meters away from her; visible and not so distant, a black smoke erupts from the ground and a tall creature walks out with glowing eyes that burn like ember and a face of skull.
It holds a long scythe in one hand and its fiery gaze pierces into her soul while she stops, her legs shake and the rest of her body follows in tremble.
"You are not suppose to be here. I have come for you, Rachael McQueen,".