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In the cosmic realm:
A man reclined in the middle of a large bed surrounded by many other worldly beauties from different races, he was making love with them until he was interrupted by a notification.
[ Salazar Beelzebub has arrived at your stellar gateway and is requesting entry. Do you wish for him to enter?]
He granted permission and rose from the bed, tying his night robe as he prepared to meet his visitor.
In the grand hall, he spotted a man seated and called out to him.
"Hello, Salazar, my dear child. How have you been?"
"I have been well all my life until you arranged my marriage with that wench of a woman, Father Lucifer," replied Salazar.
"Oh, come on, my super great niece isn't that bad," Lucifer retorted.
"Not that bad? She's the Queen of the Angels and a descendant of the Primordial Angels who despise our race. What made you and your brother decide on this marriage?" Salazar demanded, seeking answers.
It made no sense to him—a descendant of one of the Primordial Demons, destined to ascend as the Demon Emperor, marrying a high-ranking Angel, let alone the Queen of the Angel Race.
"We need to unite our races and end the long-standing animosity between our families," Lucifer replied, dismissing further explanation.
"But Father, I can't accept that woman. Our personalities and ways of thinking are so different. Moreover, wouldn't this be incest?" Salazar pleaded desperately, hoping to sway the Great Father of All Demons.
"Oh, please. If you want to come up with an excuse, at least come prepared," Lucifer replied, adding, "Where was the concern for incest when you made love to my dear princess, Acedia Lilith? She has indulged with many of our cousins whom she considered strong."
"That was... you know... because of her Sin... She has indulged with many of our cousins, from whom she took lots of SPs," Salazar reasoned, attempting to differentiate the circumstances.
"And are you not also infused with one of the Seven Sins—Gluttony? Your ancestor Beelzebub would have been ashamed of you," Lucifer retorted sarcastically.
"But Father, she only managed to control my will in the beginning. I later regained my senses and devoured a huge chunk of her demonic mana and SP. I had won," Salazar explained.
"That you did, son. That is why my brother Michael and I have decided to marry the strongest people of our rac—" Lucifer paused as a notification interrupted him.
His mood soured instantly.
Salazar didn't ask further, knowing that questioning his father in such moods could be fatal. Sometimes, he forgot that the person in front of him was The Mighty Satan, the First and Last Fallen Angel of the universe—a legend known throughout the Universe for the horrors he caused during the Age of the Primordial.
"That damn Michael. He wants to fight me in court over a mere blessing?" Lucifer cursed aloud.
"Did you just say you blessed someone, Father?" Salazar asked, disbelief and shock etched in his eyes.
"Yes, it was a promising human whom I blessed with {Eyes of Desire}".
"What?!"
There were only a few times in life when Salazar had been shocked, but even comparing all those shocks together wouldn't be enough to match what he felt now.
Lucifer Morningstar, the embodiment of 'Despair,' who only favored the demon race, had not only blessed a foreign race but had given a particularly unusual blessing.
"Father, why would you give him that of all things... No, why would you even bless a lowly race like humans?" Salazar asked incredulously.
"He resembled me, Salazar," Lucifer reasoned, looking down with sadness.
"And so you chose him to become the next Lucifer? You know better than anyone what that skill entails. It's a curse..." Salazar couldn't continue as Lucifer's gaze lifted to him with irritation.
Lucifer did not want to confront his past. He had done some terrible things he couldn't forgive himself for. Yet, like any living being, he also hoped and wished for a different outcome in his regretful life, which was why Lucifer hoped the young human would have a different fate than his own.
"I am going to be busy for a year or so with the court case, Bring me some treasures to brib.. I mean to please Judge Mikael" Lucifer said and dismissed Salazar
Nonetheless, Salazar was pleased with the discord between the brothers. The more they fought like this, the better his chances were of annulling his marriage.
He silently thanked the unknown human who had brought this opportunity, even though he knew the human wouldn't live long.
(Note: "Mikael" is pronounced as "Mi-Kaa-Hell" who is different from Lucifer's Twin brother "Michael")
*******************
The atmosphere in the Boathouse Island, now called 'Cambridge U-camp,' was dire as Silvie tried to reason with Connor while he awaited Elena, the whole crowd gathered around.
"Connor, please, why are you even angry at her?" Silvie asked as Connor refused to budge.
"I told you already, Mrs. Silvia Rogers, stay out of it", Connor replied, reverting to his harsh and cruel personality.
Silvie could do nothing but wait, biting her lip. She also realized that she didn't like it when he called her by her full name; she preferred being called Silvie, like he always did when he was friendly.
On the eve of that day, the party of six led by Elena returned to the camp. When Elena saw Connor, she smiled.
'Thank god he's fine,' she thought, relieved after being worried about his long absence.
'But why is he giving me that angry look?' she wondered as they came face to face.
"You're finally back. Took you long enough," she said, starting the conversation as she looked around. Everyone was staring at her. Connor stayed silent, just watching her and the rest of her group.
"Why is everyone looking at me like that? Did something happen?" She turned to her senior, Silvia, for an answer, but she also stayed silent.
"Get out."
Finally, Connor said two words that shocked her. She didn't expect that.
"What do you mean, get out?" It was Alya who asked him.
Connor looked at Alya this time, "Both of you, get out of my island".
"Why? What did we do? And how can you say that after all we have done for everyone here and the development of this island while you were gone?" Alya refuted, not wanting to accept this.
Before Connor could reply, a giant shadow blocked his sight, and he was about to get punched by the huge figure when he activated Darkness Surge.
Connor and the dark-haired man were surrounded by a dark sphere, and everyone outside couldn't see what was happening.
"What, what just happened?" Alya asked, turning to Elena.
But Elena was also speechless. Marsh, the party's tanker and the third strongest in the camp, had lunged at Connor, only to get devoured inside the black sphere.
She cautioned everyone to stay away and instructed her party and Silvie to surround the sphere from all sides.
Meanwhile, inside the darkness, Connor decided to use his blessing for the first time to look into his attacker's mind whom he had paralyzed inside his darkness field.
As he activated the blessing, his pupils turned crimson red, and his thoughts were directly transmitted to his mind.
'What is happ#$ing here.... Why ca*t I m#v@?'
All his thoughts were somewhat difficult to read, but Connor understood his intention and was just about to deactivate his skill when he heard more disturbing thoughts.
'h& l@@kd e%sy a)d we"k t* k$ll, I th-9th I c-ul' fin^lly g*t Ele*a's fa]or and l@y *er in b#d.'
Connor snapped when he heard that. This guy wanted to kill him just to impress Elena and sleep with her.
He mistook the man's words as his intention to kill him when what he thought was that ' he looked easy and weak to kill If I had taught him a lesson, Elena would have favored me and I could finally get laid with her in bed '
His heart filled with rage, Connor deactivated his skill and drew a dull blade.
Unable to contain his fury at the man's thoughts, he slashed his sword in a sudden, swift motion.
The blade, charged with dense mana, sliced through the man's neck like an onion being cut.
The sudden force of the slash sent the head flying high into the air, creating a swirl of wind. Blood gushed out in a relentless stream as the headless body fell backward.
The headless body lay sprawled amidst the lingering smell of blood that filled the area.
The elders shielded their young ones' eyes in fright, babies started wailing, and all fighters shuddered at the gruesome sight, blood staining the ground as the head fell near a child's feet. The kid stumbled back, tears threatening to spill as he met the head's gaze before being swiftly taken away by their parent.
"What is the meaning of this? How could you kill a human like that?" Elena asked with fuming anger at the loss of a comrade.
"So the rumors are true. You really did kill some girl in high school. That is why you did not hesitate to end a human's life," Alya said.
Silvie was shocked; this was the first time she had heard the rumor, and she believed there was some truth to it.
A fallen or monster is different than killing a human.
"ANYONE WHO DARES TO KILL ME, I WILL KILL THEM WITHOUT HESITATION, BE IT MAN, WOMAN, MONSTER, ANGEL, DEVIL, OR EVEN A GOD. IF THEY DARE TO CROSS ME OR STAND AGAINST ME, I WILL END THEM"
Connor, enraged by Alya's remark, lost his cool completely. Wrath filled his entire mind.
Elena noticed his eyes had become deep crimson pupils instead of the usual serene blue, which she found attractive.
"Connor, calm down, you are not in your right mind," Elena tried to cool down the situation.
"I said leave my island, you bitch!" Connor shouted in an even higher tone than before, causing everyone except Elena to fall to their knees as they lost the strength to stand, their willpower broken.
Silvie also lost all her willpower but tried to stand up.
She wanted to calm Connor down; out of all of them, only she had seen the kindness in him.
Or was all that an act? She wasn't sure, but she wanted to try changing his mind one last time.
So she crawled to him from behind and spoke in a low tone, "Connor, you are hurting us, please stop whatever you are doing."
Only after hearing her voice did Connor snap back to reality. His pupils returned to their usual color, but he was still feeling the anger.
"Sorry, I had read his mind with a skill and found out that he wanted to kill me just to impress this bitch and sleep with her, then I just snapped," he said, smiling at Silvie.
"That's not possible, he was always on his best behavior and helped us a lot," Alya said.
"Quiet, you naive little girl. Don't speak when the adults are talking," Connor hissed at Alya.
Alya turned silent with tears in her eyes.
He then turned to Elena, who had a disgusted look on her face.
"How long did you know this man to speak as if you knew his true nature? What, a few days?"
When Connor asked that question, Elena thought deeply for a while and then replied
"Let's say what you said is true; your skill read his intentions, which sounds like an amazing skill I can't believe how you got your hands on. It is probably ranked around 3rd order or above maybe, but you still do not have the right to kill him."
Elena gave out her verdict.
"Oh, so am I supposed to say to my attacker, 'Please don't kill me, sir, I will also not kill you back' in that situation?" he sneered in sarcasm, then continued,
"We are in a world of disorder right now, Helena. Keep your laws and order, Rights and respect bullshit with you and leave my island while I am asking nicely " It felt like he was done but he added after a pause.
"I brought you here, gave you my own portion of food, and you took my help for granted and stabbed me in the back by taking control of my island."
"Is that what this is about, all that anger? Because you wanted leadership? Do you realize how childish you sound, Connor? Leadership is earned, not given," Elena said, echoing the same words his parents used to tell him, worsening his mood.
"I was going to hand over my leadership to you, but now I have changed my mind, Connor. You are a cruel tyrant who will lead his own group towards their death or, worse, kill them yourself," Elena said with firm resolve, which Connor found amusing.
He could not understand where her confidence in standing up against him came from, even after he showed her his display of strength.
"No, it is you who will leave this island," she said in a chilling tone.
"Hahahahahaahhaa," all the anger from Connor disappeared as he started laughing like he heard the best joke ever. "And how will you kick me out, little Helena?"
As soon as he asked that, Elena took a deep breath and started an enchantment.
"Great Thor, Lord of Thunder, grant me your strength.
By your lightning, transform my spirit and fortify my heart.
Bless me with your power, courage..."
Connor felt an ominous feeling when she started chanting, so he struck her with super speed. Connor wasn't a fool to let his enemy transform while he simply stood and watched.
But what he did not know was that Elena continued the chanting in her mind even after she flew away from the impact of his fist.
While still in midair, she finished the enchantment. Connor was stunned as Elena's entire body was struck by lightning, transforming her with majestic armor, a helmet, and wings on her back. She looked like a battle maiden, or Valkyrie, as they say in Asgardian stories.
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A/N: current Elena's Profile with blessing
I am just dropping it here for you all to realize how she will fight so well against Connor in next chapter.
[ Name: Elena Schmidt
Race: Human ( Hybrid Valkyrie )
Class: None
Subclass: None
Level: 9 ( 52/1000)
AP: 1
Attributes:
->Strength: 83 ( +41)
->Endurance: 40 ( +20)
->Stamina: 62/66 ( +33 )
->Agility:90 ( +60)
->M.P: 60 ( +40)
->Mana: 3000/420
Weapons(1) Equipments(2) Skills(2) Weapon Arts(0) Blessing(1) ]