"You fight well, human," mocked Marky, holding the large bow as he loaded another arrow of light. "But you've already lost. This will be your last battle."
"You demons will pay… you'll pay dearly," said Gabriel, struggling to stand. He planted his sword into the ground and gathered all his remaining strength. The wind around him began to spin again, creating another rapidly growing vortex.
"Fury of the Cutting Winds!"
Gabriel's final strike was devastating. A colossal hurricane made of wind blades engulfed Marky, lifting him into the air like a fragile toy. The demon tried to resist, but the cutting winds tore him apart. When the vortex finally subsided, Marky lay dead on the ground.
Gabriel fell to his knees, exhausted but victorious. Using the sword to support himself, he mustered one last effort and began walking toward the cave.
Inside the cave, Taina battled against pain and exhaustion. Blood flowed, and she pressed her trembling hands against her belly.
Gabriel limped inside, his vision blurred from the strain. When he saw Taina lying down, sweating and groaning, a wave of panic surged through him.
"Taina… I'm here," he said, kneeling beside her.
"Gabriel… I… can't… He's coming," Taina gasped, her hands clutching his arm.
Despite his injuries, Gabriel gathered his strength to assist her. He held Taina, supporting her as the childbirth progressed.
…
"Uwaaaaa, uwaaaaa"
The sound of the first cry echoed through the cave, bringing a brief moment of relief and joy.
"It's… a boy," Gabriel said, his voice trembling.
Taina looked at the baby with tears in her eyes. "Adam… Adam Castro," she murmured, a faint smile forming on her lips.
Gabriel nodded, holding their son gently. "Adam Castro. Our son… we are the last of our kind."
Suddenly, the air around the cave grew heavy, as if the world had stopped. Outside, the trees began to wither, their leaves falling and rotting instantly. The wind ceased entirely, leaving an eerie silence. A colossal shadow formed in the sky, and the ground shook with the presence descending.
A celestial demon appeared, holding a black spear, his dark wings blocking the moonlight. His scarlet armor glowed with a sinister radiance, and his burning eyes fixed on the cave.
The surroundings seemed to bend to him. Even the sounds of the forest were swallowed by the oppressive silence.
Gabriel felt his heart race as the figure entered the cave, his overwhelming presence filling the space.
"Who… are you?" Gabriel asked, gripping his sword with trembling hands.
The celestial demon smiled coldly. "I am the end, human."
Gabriel handed Adam to Taina and stepped forward, shielding Taina and Adam. "You demons… why are you hunting the human race? What did we ever do to you?"
The celestial demon advanced slowly, his voice laden with disdain. "A dead man doesn't need to know."
With a brutal motion, the demon slammed Gabriel against the wall with a strike from his black spear. Gabriel cried out in pain as blood spilled from his mouth.
Taina screamed, clutching Adam to her chest.
"You… will not… touch my family!" Gabriel said with the last of his strength.
"Family?" the celestial demon mocked. "This ends here."
With a final blow, the demon pierced Gabriel's heart, and he fell lifeless to the ground.
The celestial demon turned his attention to Taina, who now held Adam with trembling hands.
"Please… kill me, but don't kill my son, he's just a baby," she pleaded, tears streaming down her face.
"It doesn't matter; all of you must die," the celestial demon replied. The celestial demon didn't hesitate. He raised the black spear and plunged it into Taina's chest. Her body trembled, and a final gasp escaped her lips. "Adam, Gabriel."
The baby began to cry, his wails echoing through the cave like a cry of despair and loss.
The celestial demon turned his attention to Adam, raising the spear to deliver the final blow.
But before he could strike, the cave was flooded with divine light. A gentle breeze blew, carrying the scent of flowers. A figure cloaked in golden light descended, petals of light filling the space.
"You dare touch the one who carries my blessing?" the Goddess of Love declared, her voice reverberating with divine authority.
The celestial demon instinctively stepped back, his confidence shaken by the goddess's presence.
"You demons broke the pact forbidding commanders from entering the lower planes, Commander Abbadon," she said, her eyes shining like stars.
The demon hesitated but knew he could not face her. With one last glance at the baby, he vanished into a whirlwind of darkness.
The goddess approached Adam, now alone and enveloped in the warmth of divine light.
"You are the last of your kind," she whispered, carefully picking up the baby. "But within you lies the hope for a new beginning."
She looked at the bodies of Gabriel and Taina with sorrow. "Your sacrifices will not be in vain."
As the cave returned to silence, Abbadon appeared in the devastated forest. He hovered above the wreckage of the battle and found the remains of Marky's body. Twisted and shattered fragments lay scattered on the ground, clear signs of his humiliating defeat.
Abbadon sighed deeply, his expression filled with disdain.
"Hmph, useless trash," he muttered. "You failed to kill a human 100 levels below you, forcing us to break the pact and obliging me to descend here to finish your work."
He spat on Marky's remains before spreading his dark wings and shooting toward the skies, vanishing on the horizon like a shadow of the destruction he embodied.
Back in the cave, the Goddess of Love held Adam in her arms as her gaze shifted again to the lifeless bodies of Gabriel and Taina. She walked toward them and extended her hands, a golden glow enveloping the two.
"You sacrificed everything for love and hope. Let your souls rest under my protection."
A soft light emerged from the bodies, forming two translucent figures. Gabriel and Taina looked at the goddess with expressions of surprise and peace as their souls were embraced by the divine light.
"Thank you so much," murmured Taina, her gaze resting on Adam and Gabriel for the last time. A gentle smile lit up her face, even in the midst of farewell.
"Please, take good care of him," Gabriel asked, his voice filled with gratitude and sorrow as his translucent hands seemed to reach out for his son. He cast one last glance at Taina, and even in parting, a kind smile appeared on his face. Taina returned it with a faint but loving smile, their souls connecting in an eternal moment of complicity.
The Goddess of Love nodded, surrounding the two with comforting warmth. "Do not worry. I, Maria, Goddess of Love, will bless and safeguard this child's destiny," she said, her voice resonating with sweetness and power.
Then, with a smile so radiant it could melt even the hardest heart on Earth, she enveloped Gabriel and Taina's souls in her divine light and vanished.
The cave was enveloped in silence, the bodies of Gabriel and Taina resting side by side. Outside, the forest seemed to slowly come back to life. But in an instant, as if the very fabric of reality had been torn, a golden light burst forth in the heart of the forest.
In a motion so swift it seemed instantaneous, the Goddess Maria manifested about 20 kilometers away.
Her figure burst through the trees in an explosion of celestial light. She was surrounded by a golden radiance that reflected the moonlight, as if her very presence were an aurora.
Her red hair, cascading to her feet in soft waves, shimmered under the light, creating a mesmerizing display. Her deep, shimmering blue eyes seemed to reflect the vastness of the skies, while her golden mantle danced with the wind, spreading her presence to every corner around her. Her beauty was breathtaking, as if she were the very embodiment of love and creation.
She gazed at the baby in her arms with an indescribable expression of tenderness, as the golden light further enveloped her figure. She gently caressed Adam's forehead, and a soft smile graced her lips.
"You carry the legacy of your race, Adam Castro," Maria said with a voice gentle yet full of power and authority. "I, Maria, will bless you with strengths no other being possesses."
She extended her hand, and a stream of golden light surrounded it. The celestial energy spread over Adam as he remained in her arms, unaware of the immense power being bestowed upon him.
"You will be Immune to poisons, have a free destiny, capable of adapting to any environment. Your healing strength will be unmatched, and your body will resist the ravages of time and a world that has forgotten humanity. This is the gift of the Goddess of Love."
With Adam's destiny sealed and protected, Maria cast one last glance over the wild territory that now surrounded her. She stood in the domain of ferocious beasts, where even the most powerful beings struggled for survival. Yet her gaze did not waver, for she knew what needed to be done.
In the distance, Maria spotted the fallen body of a Tiger King, an immense and fierce creature standing four meters tall. It lay defeated, felled in a brutal battle against another King Beast. Beside its body, a young Tigress, injured and wary, observed everything cautiously.
Maria walked toward the Tigress, who instinctively backed away. However, the Goddess, with a serene smile, approached and healed her wounds with a simple touch of her hand. The Tigress, still wary, looked at her but accepted the healing with a more relaxed stance.
"I'm so sorry, handsome little one," Maria said with a soft sigh as she gazed at Adam in her arms. "I cannot take you with me to the higher planes.
You are the last of your race in this plane. You must grow, become strong, and avenge them. Rebuilding the human race lies in your hands. I will watch over you and guide you from the shadows. Be brave, little Adam."
She wrapped and dressed Adam in small cloths, and with an expression of sadness, Maria handed him to the Tigress. The Tigress hesitated for a moment but finally accepted the baby in her arms.
The Goddess smiled one last time and, with a final blessing, stepped away. "Take good care of him. The future of humanity rests in your claws."
With that, Maria vanished like a shooting star, returning to the higher planes, leaving little Adam under the protection of the giant Tigress. The Beast, with a tender and protective gaze, began walking through the forest, now bearing a new responsibility: caring for the last of humankind.