Chapter 51: Devil's Whisper (1)
As Azrail's upper body split into two halves, each side beginning to slide in opposite directions, a sickening, squelching noise entered Lyra's ears.
Threads of blood stretched between the parting flesh, refusing to snap for a brief moment as if Azrail's body itself resisted the inevitable separation.
But soon after, a soft squelch emerged, followed by the sound of slick, wet tissues pulling free.
The threads of blood finally gave way, snapping one by one with wet snaps, and the two halves of Azrail's torso fell away from each other, collapsing on the ground with a low, meaty thud.
His lower body also fell forward moments later.
Lyra looked down at Azrail's motionless, lifeless body with an emotionless face as the pitch-black sword in her hand disappeared.
With how Lyra's sword slashed through Azrail's upper body — from the navel upwards — it made his internal organs visible on each of his two halves.
His intestines, stomach, liver, diaphragm, lungs, heart, throat, skull, tongue, mouth, and brain were all exposed from within.
The soft, folded tissue of his brain was also visible. The greyish and slightly glossy texture had blood veins running across its surface, showing some minor signs of movement.
The cut was so clean that she could see the different parts of Azrail's brain, including the hemispheres, cerebellum, and brainstem.
"Haah…"
Lyra sighed, walking over to her study table before taking a seat.
From this angle, she could see the two parts of Azrail's face touching the floor. His blood-red eyes were no longer vibrant like before, appearing dull, listless, and dry.
Lyra then placed her left elbow on the desk and rested her head against her palm, crossing her legs and staring at the gory scene in front of her with a bland face.
Even to a professional assassin like herself, Azrail's body showed no signs of life.
Had she not known better, she would've assumed him dead.
"Has no one ever told you that it's rude to make a lady wait?"
After noticing no change in his condition for over four minutes, Lyra spoke with a small smile.
"A few minutes should've been enough for you to re-examine our [Soul Corridor]… Why hold back your regeneration any longer?"
Twitch!*
When he heard her sarcastic remarks, Azrail's dead eyes came back to life, creepily turning towards Lyra.
The gruesome scene, coupled with how Azrail's eyes moved in sync despite his body's condition, was enough to send shivers down one's spine.
Upon noticing the confusion, curiosity, and shock in his gaze, Lyra's smile widened.
The more thoroughly someone planned for the future, the more shocked they'd be when things went astray from their expectations.
It was a quote that suited Azrail a lot, at least according to Lyra.
"If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have stopped before destroying every cell in your body..."
Although, she knew it'd be pointless.
Even if she killed 'this' Azrail, his other two selves could always cause her soul to collapse at a single thought.
The best she could accomplish was destroying 70% of his soul by killing 'this' Azrail, which would be detrimental to him, but that wasn't what she wanted.
'His healing factor makes a Vampire's [Immortality] look weak in comparison…'
Blood vessels rose from all detached parts of Azrail's body, moving towards each other and merging together.
The blood vessels soon contracted, pulling the two halves of his torso and lower body together, and Lyra watched as Azrail's body 'stitched' itself together, similar to his clothes.
It only took seconds for Azrail to stand in front of her with no visible signs of injuries whatsoever.
If it weren't for his blood-soaked clothes, Lyra would've thought that his previously pathetic state was her imagination.
"Such potent regeneration. It can heal injuries even Gods or Dragons wouldn't survive as if they were minor wounds…"
Their eyes met, but Azrail didn't reply to Lyra's words. Instead, he rested his hand on his chest and spoke, "[Clean]."
A wave of Demonic Power emerged from his body, cleaning all traces of blood from his clothes and the floor.
Azrail looked down at his body, and after confirming that everything was in order, he turned back towards Lyra.
"How did you do it?"
Lyra remained unfazed despite Azrail's serious demeanour. "I didn't do anything…"
"Don't play around, Lyra… I can kill you with a single thought."
He wasn't lying.
While she managed to undo the restrictions on herself, she couldn't dissolve their [Soul Corridor] completely. The spell ensured that if it dissolved, the one who'd suffer the backlash was her.
Azrail could no longer read her thoughts and memories or feel her emotions, but he could utilise the base feature of [Soul Corridor] — destroy Lyra's soul at any moment he wished.
She had to admit, [Soul Corridor] was an incredible spell.
"I know that much…" Lyra brought her hands together and intercrossed her fingers, resting them above her legs. "But I also know that you won't kill me…"
"Why?"
"Because you are wary of me… We both know you have absolute authority over my soul, but you can't understand why I'd sit here comfortably. Not knowing what I have prepared puts you on the edge…"
Azrail smiled at her words. "You want to negotiate?"
'As expected, he's quick to catch on…'
Negotiation was indeed her intention.
However, it seemed like Azrail still believed he had the upper hand in their conversation because of the [Soul Corridor].
"In that case…"
Lyra surged her Demonic Power, and a hand emerged from her shadow, holding numerous documents before passing them to Azrail.
"This is…"
Azrail's eyes widened when he saw the contents written on the paper.
The documents contained irrefutable evidence of most crimes he had committed against various races, the locations of his four laboratories, the list of people he abducted, his methods, and how the Four Great Satans framed another group to cover up his actions.
"Devils, Fallen Angels, Angels, Monsters, Vampires, Youkai, and even different Mythological Factions whose followers you massacred like insects…" Lyra grinned at Azrail, narrowing her eyes in delight. "If I die, this information will become the next trending topic in the supernatural world…"
This information could cause massive turmoil.
Not only did Azrail break the supernatural rule of not massacring humans in batches, but he also killed numerous individuals from other factions.
Whether it was to study their abilities, read their memories for knowledge, or use their life force as a power source, he didn't hold back.
The crimes he committed were enough to put him on death sentence in all factions, and even then, his death wouldn't cover for the fallout that'd happen.
By covering up his crimes, the Four Great Satans would lose all their credibility in everyone's eyes, from the devil population to other faction leaders.
The Astaroth Clan would be damaged, as well, since the Clan Head knew of Azrail's actions but chose to hide them.
The devils would lose the little connections they had to other factions.
'And the best part is, these are just the minor consequences…'
Azrail's grip tightened around the documents, and Lyra smiled in satisfaction.
"How did you do it…" The documents in Azrail's hands burned to ashes as he turned towards Lyra. "I've been monitoring you twenty-four-seven ever since we met again…"
"You are one of the most intelligent people I've met, but… A child who lacks wisdom and experience can't fight against the world — no matter how intellectually capable you are."
That was her honest evaluation of Azrail.
If based solely on intellectual capabilities, Azrail was leagues above Lyra. However, he lacked experience in facing other capable individuals.
"You had the Vampire's [Transform] for a week and devised a spell to split your soul into various parts, so…" As Lyra spoke, she raised her palm, and a magic circle appeared above it. "What makes you think I can't do the same?"
The spell formation on Lyra's palm was similar to Azrail's [Parallel Existence], but it was far more advanced than the latter.
Azrail's spell only allowed him to split his soul and coexist, while Lyra's allowed her to alter parts of her soul, too.
She could split her soul into various pieces, manipulate those pieces' memories at will—essentially creating whole new versions of herself, and have absolute control over them.
It was how she deceived Azrail's [Soul Corridor].
Moments before he collected her soul, Lyra split herself into two, controlling the second half of her soul while hiding her 'true' consciousness inside the first half.
From then on, she controlled what her second half thought, believed, remembered and felt.
Naturally, it also included the information Azrail accessed through his [Soul Corridor] with her second half, from her memories, thoughts, and emotions.
Lyra's true consciousness even faked the times he kept surveillance on her by altering her second half's perception. Instead, she 'marked' his shadow and secretly kept tabs on him ever since they last parted ways.
While Azrail saw her searching for the one who delivered her the assassination request, she was busy collecting evidence against him.
When he noticed the perfectly stable magic circle above Lyra's palm, Azrail's eyes shook in realisation. "You said you can't use magic at all…"
"I never said that…" She shook her head a little, and the magic circle above her palm disappeared. "The 'Lyra' you formed a [Soul Corridor] with said that, and she wasn't lying…"
There was one major drawback to spells that detected lies.
They wouldn't work if the target believed their words to be true.
Lyra's second half knew no magic. As far as she remembered, she had been talentless in magic since birth.
Was it the same for the original Lyra? No.
Her Magic Power Reserves weren't enough for battle, but that didn't mean she wasn't adept at utilising magic outside of it.
"To fool your enemies, you must fool your allies first… Isn't that right?"
And in Lyra's case, the only person she ever considered an ally was herself.
Azrail paused for a few seconds before replying. "Do you want me to release our [Soul Corridor] in exchange for not revealing this information?"
"You misunderstand me… I wouldn't have worked so hard to collect this information in exchange for freedom. If anything, I want to willingly work for you with all my heart, body, and soul…"
Lyra knew Azrail expected to hear the most absurd demands, but her words left him speechless. "Huh…"
"You can tell I'm telling the truth, right? After all, if I wanted my freedom back, I have multiple ways to force you into releasing our [Soul Corridor] without revealing that information. For example…"
Lyra's grin widened as she spoke, and a hologram appeared above her right palm.
Whoosh!*
Within an instant, Azrail appeared in front of her, the blade of his sword resting on her neck.
"Don't push your luck, Lyra… I can collapse half of your soul and kill the other half myself…"
Lyra didn't doubt his words, not even a little.
If half of her soul collapsed, Azrail would have enough strength to kill her other half in a drawn-out battle, but—
"The main question is, can you kill me before I do something to them… If I haven't already, that is."
The mocking grin on her face remained unchanged, and she glanced towards the hologram above her palm, which showed Azrail's parents in real-time.
Azrail didn't move, and Lyra pushed his sword away from her neck with her index finger.
"You underestimate others, thinking that they are chess pieces who only move in a set pattern. You calculate everything about someone from your perspective rather than their own. That's your major flaw…" As the hologram above her palm disappeared, Lyra stood up. "You aren't the only talented person in this world, and the world doesn't revolve around you…"
In the first place, Azrail never detected Lyra's split soul because of how her mastery of [Soul Magic] surpassed his.
It was something he never even considered in his plans to subjugate her, which led to the current situation.
He probably thought Lyra was the same as Elmenhilde — an easily breakable individual that he could mould according to his will simply because he controlled her life and death.
"To make it worse, you overestimate your creations. If you didn't blindly trust [Soul Corridor]'s authenticity and 'marked' my shadow to monitor me, I wouldn't have had such an easy time… What makes you believe that things will always go your way?"
Lyra gently rested her hands on Azrail's cheeks, leaning forward and placing her forehead on his, looking into his eyes.
"But I guess having that mentality is inevitable since you were born special… Isn't that right, Azrail Astaroth? Or should I say…"
Azrail's eyes shook when he heard Lyra's words, and her fingers dug into his skull as she continued.
"Michael…"
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Words: 2153
A/N:
Azrail would have such an easy life if he didn't run into people like Ajuka (one of the smartest individuals in DxD) or Lyra (a Vampire older than his bloodline who is as scheming as him) before he's strong enough lol.
Right, the chapters back then were from Lyra's split soul pov, not her actual consciousness. She got us, too.
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If anyone hasn't noticed, a time skip is approaching in a few chapters xD.
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Also, I've decided to stop worrying about the chapter lengths. It takes too long to make a 'perfect' chapter.
Imma just write and upload it when I feel the chapter can end on a nice note. Otherwise, I keep wanting to finish it on a particular scene and it ends up taking weeks.
Even in the last chapter, I wanted it to end on that particular scene, which took 8,000 words and three weeks cause I wanted it to be perfect + the irl stuff.
Could've uploaded it when it was around 4000 words but didn't. I ain't gonna do that now so the updates are a bit more consistent.
Chapters will still be long (4000+), but there will also be small ones (2200+).
That's all. I'll try uploading more than one chapter a week.
Do send powerstones.
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No questions today cause I can't think of one.