C 146
I let out a sigh of relief once Belial completely disintegrated. That fight was closer than I would have liked. If Gabriel hadn't felt me across the Atlantic and come to my rescue, then I knew things would have gotten real bad.
…Unless the Ancient One pulled some kind of crazy magic out of nowhere to banish Belial back to Gehenna.
[She probably would have.]
Gabriel noticed my sour look. "You've made amazing progress so far, Layla. Don't be sad that you couldn't beat Belial on your own. No Angel has ever been able to manage that either! He was always far too slippery. If your sorcerer friends weren't here, then I have no doubt he would have gotten away again." Gabriel explained. "I'm incredibly proud of you! Michael would be amazed when I give him the news that Belial has finally been dealt with. As a former Angel turned true Demon, Belial truly was a blight upon Heaven itself!"
Gabriel's words did make me feel a bit better. Those five levels I just got would also put me one step closer towards becoming a Super Level being myself. I wanted the kind of power to slap around Demon Kings whenever I wanted. Just like Gabriel could! I knew I would get there soon enough though and shouldn't blindly rush towards power. Even if my life was a game, games were meant to be enjoyed.
[You delivered the killing blow to Belial. You have acquired a hidden reward!]
'A hidden reward? What is it?' I asked the System.
[You have earned the Title: Queen of Gehenna! The realm of Gehenna and all the souls within are yours to do with as you please…]
That sounded like the route that an Evil Overlord Gamer would hop on… That wasn't for me. I grimaced as I felt something far away trying to reach out to my very being. It felt completely foul. I suspected it was Gehenna itself trying to connect with its new 'Queen.'
Of course I rejected it!
I was a proud Fallen Angel! I had no interest in being a Queen of one of the Hells. 'I reject the Title! All the souls trapped within are free to leave.' As I thought those words, I felt the tether that was trying to bond me with Gehenna slip away.
[That's your choice as the Gamer. The Title has been discarded and all souls within the realm have been released!]
"Are you alright Layla? You were shivering just now." Gabriel asked in concern.
"I'm okay. By killing Belial, I almost became the new Queen of Gehenna. Of course, I immediately rejected the notion though and blocked the tether the realm tried to tie to me." I explained.
Gabriel frowned. "I was not aware that was even a possibility. I apologize... Had I known, I would have dealt the final blow myself."
I shrugged. "It's fine. Nothing came of it in the end."
Gabriel decided to hesitantly accept the answer. Her senses were telling her I was completely fine anyway. Gabriel glanced around as she too felt fluctuations of magic all around. "Your sorcerer friends seem to be leaving now. Why don't we get out of here as well."
I looked around and could see the majority of Sorcerers, who had come to help trap Belial, were now portaling home. The Ancient One herself was flying towards the two of us.
"This has been the most high-profile fight we Sorcerers have ever been in! I have no doubts that the majority of the world's government bodies now know about our existence…" The Ancient One said to us with a tired sigh.
When I came to her claiming I found Voldemort performing a ritual, I doubt the Ancient One suspected he was in the middle of summoning such a powerful Demon…
"The Hand has truly gone too far with this move. I now declare them official enemies of our realm and enemies of mankind itself! Belial would have caused incalculable damage had we not immediately been here to confront him." She explained.
I was also disturbed that The Hand even had such a ritual available and was willing to give it away. They would have to be dealt with soon. The Ancient One knew that I had a grudge against them, so she told me that she would give me the location of some of their outposts later as thanks.
"Soooo… Do we just leave?" I asked as I gestured all around the area awkwardly.
…
–The Ancient One–
The Ancient One looked around herself. "I too feel saddened that such a beautiful landscape was destroyed by the Demon." She knew she had just the item that could repair all the damage, but…she lacked the power needed to use it on such a large scale. Hundreds of square miles were destroyed after all.
The Ancient One reached towards her neck. The Eye of Agamotto was hanging around her neck. She knew that she didn't have enough power to utilize it to fix the landscape. One of the beings in front of her did though… "Archangel Gabriel…" The Ancient One addressed the golden Angel with some trepidation.
"Yes?" Gabriel responded with a gentle smile.
Before she could change her mind, the Ancient One unlocked the Eye of Agamotto. The infinity stone inside began to float out until it hovered above the Ancient One's palm. She was putting a tremendous amount of trust in Layla and Gabriel here. "I don't have enough power to use this stone to repair the damaged landscape around us. So I can only ask you to do so in my stead."
She laughed as Gabriel and Layla widened their eyes. "You would trust me with an Infinity Stone so casually?" Gabriel asked in genuine surprise.
…
I was blown away by the amount of trust she was showing here towards us.
"I am not so cavalier. I trust Layla, and I know neither you nor her would ever try and take the stone for yourselves." The Ancient One responded.
"Of course, we wouldn't. I know that the Time Stone is humanity's greatest weapon at the moment." I said. I could understand the Ancient One's trepidation in literally handing it over to a being of Gabriel's caliber though. I figured that must have been the reason all the other Sorcerers were immediately sent home after the fight. So they couldn't see the Ancient One doing that.
"I've never actually held one of these Stones before." Gabriel took the stone in her hand. "It's amazing…" She trailed off while looking down at it in awe.
When it touched Gabriel's bare skin, I and the Ancient One were forced to take a step back! If Gabriel felt powerful before, now she felt like an invincible force! Her golden aura was tinted green as the power rolled off her fork.
Gabriel focused her concentration on the Time Stone and commanded it to rewind the ruined landscape all around us…
XXX
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