Chereads / Chaos War / Chapter 53 - Into the Lion's Den

Chapter 53 - Into the Lion's Den

"Jade was three seconds away from losing her mind," Chelsea said. "Did you see her face? She was like --"

"Focus Chels!" said Hunter, cutting the dark mage off. The sprite picked up a mask and hands it to the raven-haired woman, the duo had already broken into the Darkforgers' sanctum thanks to Alastair who showed them a secret passage he made during his stint as the group's leader.

"If we were going to wear a mask why didn't Jade and Alastair tag along!?" She complained as she put on the mask.

"First, you asked to come along so what the hell are you complaining for? Second, Jade can't come with us because she's a vampire, the Darkforgers would quickly sense that her energy is different, and third, don't mention Jade or Alastair while we are here," he stated as he began exploring the sanctum.

"Ugh," the dark mage rolled her eyes before running a bit to catch up with the sprite who was already a few feet ahead of her. "So what exactly are we looking for?" She asked.

"Their leader's office or whatever. Alastair said there wasn't one but surely there must be a place where they keep records of whoever it is they are trying to capture," said Hunter.

Chelsea narrowed her eyes, a smirk on her lips, "thought you said to not mention Alastair." "I did," the dark-haired boy affirmed. "But I get a pass, alive person privilege," he added.

"Wow Hunter, wow," she shakes her head.

[Hunter, to your left]

"What's to our left?" Chelsea asks, looking to see if anyone was coming only to find the halls empty.

"There's a massive source of energy coming from behind that door," he stated. "Can't you feel it?" He asked.

"I -- I haven't used my powers since that day ... You know that," she said, crestfallen.

"I do, but sensing of energy is a natural thing, like a sixth sense," he stated.

"I can't ... Not anymore," she said.

"I see," he paused. "Is that what you want?" The sprite asked.

"I don't want to hurt anyone," she stated.

"That's not what I asked."

The raven-haired woman sighed. "I --"

"What the hell are you two doing here?" A voice said from above. The duo looked up to see a man towering above them both, he was the source of energy Hunter had sensed.

He was very tall with a long face, broad chin, and pronounced cheekbones. He had long black hair, which reaches to his lower back, and reddish brown eyes with thin eyebrows. He had well-kept mutton chops and a connected mustache. He was wearing a tattered, ankle-length maroon black cloak, beneath which was a white, double-breasted trench coat with large buttoned cuffs and lapels, white trousers, and trench boots.

"Sir?" Chelsea said calmly - too calmly in fact as the man was a bit befuddled by her nonchalant response.

He sniffed the air around them, "Hm... Are you two new here?" He asked.

"Yes," Chelsea replied. "I'm Astaroth and this is Asmodeus," she quickly added.

"Is that so? And when did you two arrive?" He asked.

[Not too long ago. Lilith's travel ban made it impossible to move to this realm but we've always been interested in the cause to resurrect the Dark Majesty]

"Not too long ago," Hunter said. "The travel ban set by the traitor Lilith made it impossible to move to this realm but we've always been interested in joining the cause to resurrect the Dark Majesty, it's a shame we couldn't get more people on our side before getting here," he added.

[Nice touch]

'Thanks.'

"You two made it out of Hel?" He asked surprised. "You must tell me how you manage to pull that off," he said.

"It's actually --"

"My lord, it is time," a fourth person appeared behind them and revealed.

"Ah," he said before turning back to the teal green-eyed boy and the honey brown-eyed woman. "I'm glad you two are here today because I have an announcement you both are going to love, come," he ushered.

The man led them both to the Sanctum's yard where nearly a hundred other Darkforgers are waiting, they also wore masks to hide their face. He points towards the group gesturing for the duo to join them while he took up a spot in front of the group of Darkforgers.

"Astaroth and Asmodeus, seriously!?"

"Like you could have come up with something better. You think he's the guy Alastair said replaced him as the leader of the Darkforgers?" Chelsea whispered.

"Children of the Dark Majesty, my name is Ranock and I am the leader of The Cause," the man started.

"I guess there's my answer," said Chelsea.

"Nearly sixteen centuries ago, the world banded together and attempted to wipe away every pure demon in this realm. The Dark Majesty - who at the time was in the form of a human - rejected that notion, so they schemed, and those closest to him turned their backs when he was close to establishing a new world order and they stabbed him in the back," Ranock stated. "Jade. Leah. Yves. Kendi ... Alastair," he continued. "For years, we have tolerated the abuse and hostility of the world, but that ends soon. I am pleased to announce to you that before the next full moon, we shall be in the presence of the Dark Majesty again!" He claimed and the crowd of Darkforgers burst into cheers.

"However, we cannot bring back the Dark Majesty until we first wipe away his enemies from this realm!" He stated.

[Hunter, time to go check the room this Ranock guy was in]

'Right.' The sprite turned to Chelsea and shoots her a small nod and the two slipped through the crowd and returned to the sanctum.

"That guy is giving me psycho vibes," said Chelsea.

"Tell me about it. Let's get out of here before he realizes that Astaroth and Asmodeus are missing," said Hunter.

"I'm never going to live that down, am I?"

Hunter pushes the door and it slides open. The duo walked in and Hunter immediately goes for the locker on one side of the room, ransacking it in search of clues. Chelsea went for the desk, looking through the papers and text. "Er ... Hunter?" She called. "Isn't this a picture of Zoe?" She said raising a polaroid from the desk.

Hunter rushed towards the dark mage, looking over her shoulder to take a look at the picture. "Zoe? It can't be!" Hunter muttered.

[Hunter, leave the room now!]

"Hunter! Let's go!" Chelsea shouted.

The sprite shakes his head, snapping himself back to reality, he moves to the door but before his hand could reach the knob, the door swings open, and standing in front of the duo is Ranock. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

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