Canaan felt his body grow cold as the dreadful possibility arose within him.
"Do you know of any purity rituals being conducted in any of the noble houses?" Canaan asked slowly in a measured voice he desperately sought to keep under control, however Babel could see the deadly flames brewing beneath inside his irises. She didn't know why, he was clearly weakend right now, but she feared his rage.
At the same time his question took Babel by surprise.
She suddenly understood after a slight pause. "The house of Oceanus plans such an event in two weeks time. They claim thag it will give birth to a genius who puts our princess talia to shame."
Babel spoke their name with obvious irritation. "The house of Oceanus."
From the displeasure with which she spoke their name Canaan already inferred a few things. As he was already aware there were five noble houses contained the noblest of the devil god houses. The house of Arzul was the fourth strongest in regards to strength.
Before them was the House of Oceanus. A race of devil gods called Nereids. A race born from the blood of Hel, the Abyssal devil empress. Hailing from two devil emperors, both houses boasted similar power however the House of Oceanus had remained a step above the house of Arzul throughout the eons. That was until the birth of the first chaos blooded Blood Wraith in entire history of their existence.
Canaan didn't doubt that growing up Talia had faced several assassination attempts. However how could the house of Arzul allow them to get their way?
"No wonder they so easily presented is with a hundred grams of celestial moon pearls, initially no matter how I looked at there was only loss with no gain. But now I see, they were targeting him from the very beginning." Babel exclaimed in understanding.
She continued. "I understand it now. The claim they made earlier to have unearthed a treasure that would allow them to raise the purity of her Nereid blood by a hundred times. They must have found out about the humans existence in this land a few days back."
An explosion went off within his mind as fell onto his back. "How could this be happening?" He stuttered in a broken voice as his sweat drenched his clothes.
"Canaan" Babel worriedly cried as she gently supported him with her hands.
"You are now the Heretic devil emperor, even obstinate realities can only bend to your will. Nothing is qualified to put you in this situation. They will not harm the boy. Neither you nor I will allow it." She comforted, unfortunately Canaan showed no reaction to her words.
After a dreadful silence he finally spoke a string of listless words. "Show me a map of the entire territorypf the house of Arzul."
Babel was taken slightly aback by his request but still chose to comply.
Between the two of them, a mound of earth rose up in imitation of a circular table.
On its surface rested a parchment map inscribed with the entire territory of the house of Arzul and even beyond.
Babel watched him in silence as he studied the map, as if she wanted to record his every feature into her heart.
Canaans agitation vanished as his eyes became a field of calm. "Where are you my friend?" He whispered sadly.
***
The western abyss
Domain of Abyssal empress Hel, incarnation of death.
Tel' Dhati, the blossoming death palace, home of Hel
The mountain palace of Tel' Dhati loomed in the distance, its ominous shadow stretching across the barren wasteland that surrounded it.
The air was thick with the scent of decay and death. This was the home of the 4th devil emperor who held dominion over death:Hel!
Howver today there emerged a being so powerful and feared that even the gods themselves held their breath in anticipation.
This was the Shura Devil Emperor, a creature of unmatched strength and cunning, born from the pits and ash of the abyssal will.
He had come to this desolate place because it was the fief of a figure whose beauty haunted his every thought and dream, the abyssal devil emperor Hel, whose beauty surpassed the darkest dreams of mortal men.
His aura fluctuated with anticipation as he alighted upon the terrace, the very stones seeming to quiver under the weight of his presence.
Yet, as he waited for her, the perpetual silence was maddening, no one had come to receive him, and he did not dare to enter on his own or make the slightest sound out of fear that he would irritate her.
He was one of the most powerful divine beings of this era and yet he had actually devolved into a simpering dog.
However he was not the least bit ashamed of what he had become rather, his obsession continued to grow into something terrifying.
Unfortunately, Hel was not one to be swayed by love or any other mortal emotion.
She was the embodiment of death itself, a force as cold and unyielding as the heart of the abyss from which she had been born.
Several times he had been denied and yet Korah only felt more enamored with her after each time. Alas he could not longer turn back from the maddening passion and possessive desire he felt for her.
Throughout the eons, to impress her and win her heart, he had committed a myriad of unspeakable sins, however he had nevwr won a smile, or even the simplest gesture of acknowledgement from her.
The silence was finally broken by the sound of shuffling footsteps, echoing through the vast halls of the palace. Hel emerged from the darkness, her silhouette framed by the flickering torches of green flame that lined the corridor. Her gaze was as empty as the void she represented, yet it sent a shiver down Korah's spine.
She moved with a grace that seemed to define the very essence of death, each step calculated and precise. As she approached the terrace, her eyes met his, and for a fleeting moment, he thought he saw a flicker of something other than indifference in their cold depths.
But as she drew closer, the illusion vanished, leaving only the cold, unfeeling stare of the abyss.
"Welcome, Korah," she said, her voice as smooth and chilling, not single bit of emotion that could signify ones humanity was resent in it. "What brings you to my domain?"
Korah temporarily floundered as a somewhat frantic and flustered light flashed across his eyes. "I had to see you again." he declared, his words resonating through the stillness. "I have spent eons away from you and yet I cant seem to forgot the beautiful dream you gifted me with."
Her lip curled into a semblance of a smile, however it was dull and lifeless, just like the fractured light in her eyes. "Love is a curious concept for one such as yourself," she mused, her tone devoid of warmth.
"You, who feast on the suffering of others, seek to claim the heart of one who embodies the very end of all things. Tell me, what makes you think I could ever return such a feeling?"
Korah's passion grew with each passing second, his eyes alight with the madness that only an eternity of unrequited love could bring. "I have done the unspeakable in my pursuit of you, however i cant seem to refret it." he insisted, his voice trembling with desperation.
"I have slaughtered worlds to fill your coffers with death energy. My first wife, the mother of my twin daughters insulted you, so I killed her. I have defied the very inexorable will that sought to bind us. Can you not see the depth of my love in the rivers of blood I have spilled?"
But Hel remained unmoved, her expression as unchanging as the eternal night that shrouded her realm. "Love is not something to be earned," she replied softly, her voice carrying the weight of a thousand funerals. "It is a gift that must be given freely. And as the incarnation of death, I am incapable of granting what I do not possess. You know this." Hels voice was gentle now, almost patroznizing.
With a heavy heart, Korah realized the futility of his quest. Yet, he could not bring himself to leave, not without one last attempt to sway her. He stepped closer, his hand outstretched, reaching for hers. "Hel," he whispered, his voice raw with emotion. "Please, let me show you the warmth of life, give me a single chance to enter your heart. You are not just death; you live, you breath and so you must feel."
But she retreated, her eyes never leaving his. "I am what I am," she said firmly. "And you, Korah, must learn to accept that. Now, leave my realm and do not return."
With a final, sorrowful nod, Korah vanished into nothing.
He was well aware that his quest had been hopless from the beginning, but he also knew that the memory of Hel's icy beauty would haunt him for all eternity.
***
Thousands of kilometers away from Tel'Dhati....
A nine-foot-tall woman with majestic black horns and a wingspan that could cast a shadow over the largest of beasts descended from the inky sky, her chalk-white skin gleaming eerily in the moonlight. Her beauty was so profound that it could captivate the fiercest of hearts, yet it was tainted by the icy aura of death that clung to her like a second skin.
The moment she alighted on the desolate ground, the very air around her seemed to shiver in anticipation. Her alabaster skin, gleaming under the sanguine moon, was a stark contrast to the shadowy landscape that stretched before her. Her pitch black wings, each feather intricately designed and as large as sails of a ghostly ship, folded gracefully against her back, framing her voluptuous figure. Her breasts, heavy and full, peeked through the tattered fabric of her armor, each movement revealing the seductive curves that could make the strongest of men tremble. Her hips swayed with the promise of a fiery passion, and her buttocks, round and firm, seemed to defy gravity as they shifted beneath her tight leather skirt.
Yet, it was her eyes that truly captured one's attention—orbs of black death, burning with a hunger that could only be satiated by the essence of life itself.
Her beauty was undeniable, but it was the aura of death that clung to her like a cloak that made the very shadows whisper in fear.
The bushes suddenly rustled, disrupting the silence. Around her a horde of barbarians arose, having already laid in the bushes to ambush travellers.
The barbarians, their eyes wide with a mix of lust and wonder a great beauty, stumbled forth from the shadows, their crude and grimy bodies shivered eith excitement ae the beheld the beauty that had invaded their night.
Their gruff voices grew louder, an lewd laighs and taunts circulated from their midst.
Excitedly they approached her with eyes glowing with a heayed and uncontrolled lustful passion.
Form the cruelty present in their eyes, one could infer that thay had raped several travelling women who met their fancy, after a theh were villainous bandits and the beauty of the woman before them was tok surreal.
She was too beautiful, so beautiful that she had already long since deystroyed any of their hesistation or rationality.
Quickly they rushed to her like moths to a flame, unable to resist the siren call of her voluptuous figure.
The woman was silent, as if what was transpiring was beyond her notice, as her large chest heaved the fabric of her armor strained against her ample breasts, presenting an even more mesmerizing scene to the world, and as she listened to their vulgar banter.
The cruelty in her eyes deepened, and the once gentle sway of her hips grew rigid, her wings unfurled.
But the bandits paid her no heed, in their eyes the only saw an exotic beauty of a potential victim.
Three barbarians, the largest and most brutish of the group, stepped forward from the crowd, their bearded faces twisted with lust and arrogance. The one in the center, a towering brute with a thick, knotted club, announced himself as Thar, the self-proclaimed king of the Eastern wastelands. His two companions, equally foul and menacing, introduced themselves as Koba and Urae.
Their eyes raked over her, and the sound of their coarse laughter grated on her nerves. "Look what the night has brought us!" roared Thar, leering at her. "We shall take our turns with this heavenly creature, and she shall bear our strong sons!" The other two echoed his sentiments, their crude words bouncing off the barren rocks and reverberating through the eerie silence of the night.
They spoke loudly and without scruples
Each syllable of their lewd intentions was clear and unmistakable, a declaration of the depravity they planned to inflict upon her.
"Elder brother should play with her first. When he's pupped her with a few babies then.." Urae began, unfortunately the angel before them moved before he could complete his string of words.
With a sudden explosion of speed that did not match her immense size, she lunged at Thar, the one who had been the first to speak.
The barbarian's leer turned to shock as she moved with the unnatural and frightening grace.
In a single, fluid motion, she grasped his thick, muscular arms, and with an unnatural strength and ferocity then....she ripped them from their sockets. The sound of bone and sinew tearing filled the air, and the warm spray of his blood painted her alabaster skin a ghastly red.
The other barbarians watched in horror as their leader fell to his knees, his arms dangling uselessly by his sides, his screams of agony a song of terror.
The beauty's eyes never left his, and in them, he saw not a shred of mercy, only a cold, burning bloodlust.
The darkness in her gaze grew more intense as she savored his fear, her wings flaring out.
Urae and Koba took a step back, their bravado dissolving like mist in the face of the unearthly power she had just displayed. The air was thick with the coppery scent of blood and the acrid stench of fear as she stepped over the now-whimpering Grunthar, her eyes never leaving the next target in line.
"Goddes, we beg your forgiveness, please let us go!" Koba and Ursae begged in tandem. Unfortunately the angel of death had turned a deaf ear to their pleas.
With a swift and merciless grace, the angelic woman turned to face Koba, the second of the three.
He raised his weapon, a sword that gleamed with a silver rediance, but she was upon him before he could even attempt a swing.
Her legs, powerful and shapely, lashed out like serpents, snapping both his thick legs like dry twigs. His agonized scream pierced the night as he crumpled to the ground, his face a twisted mask of pain and disbelief.
Before he could even begin to comprehend the extent of his injuries, she placed her heel upon his groin, pressing down with a force that seemed to surpass the limits of her delicate frame. The crunch of bone and the sickening squelch of crushed flesh filled the air, and his screams grew higher in pitch, a sound that sent the remaining barbarians into a frenzy of panic. As Koba writhed on the ground, clutching at his ruined manhood, she pivoted on her heel, leaving him to writhe in a pool of his own blood.
Her gaze fell upon Urae, the last of the trio, and in her eyes, he saw the promise of a swift and painful end to his existence. He had long since lost the ability to think under paralyzing fear.