"I can and I will…"
Behemoth paused, still surprised but his mind jubilating for this blessed opportunity. At long last, the reason he invaded was about to come to fulfillment.
Ultor froze in fear, yet his expression showed bliss.
Finally…
The two duellers halted in their offensives, each bearing mutual gladness at the influx of the new glorious aura.
"Met́́ha Dael…" Behemoth turned slowly, completely ignoring his now–incapacitated attacker. "I've been waiting for a long time now."
The new-comer smiled pleasantly, his golden eyes travelling through the plains, and widening a little at the sight of the slaughtered Seraphs.
"You've been really busy, I suppose," he replied gesturing to the corpses lying around.
"Oh Yeah, they all really made my wait worthwhile," Behemoth chuckled humourlessly. "But there's something suspicious too…"
Dael's eyes narrowed, but he kept his composure.
"What in the world are you possibly insinuating?"
Behemoth shook his head sadly, apparently disheartened at Dael's distrust. But the Gold Nailed God had a very good reason not to trust the masked demon.
"When I invaded, I expected stiffer resistance than what I got from your clan mates. Evidently."
Now that Dael thought of it, it sounded true. Behemoth, although a very powerful and high ranking demon, was not strong enough to eliminate the whole Clan of Holies in one attempt, without external aid.
So therefore, something happened along the way.
Dael glanced at Ultor in some trepidation. The Seraph gave him no reason for suspicion, but still he couldn't be really sure.
Especially as Ultor was capable of hiding his mind and thoughts from him.
Unless, something else came up…
Or Behemoth was lying.
Ultor seemed to be holding the demon back with little success. At the very least, the scenario didn't resemble the same a thousand years back.
He was actually trying harder this time. Even though, he was still defeated at the end.
"This was a score between you and I…" Dael sounded angry, with a tiny of regret imbued in it. "But you extended it to my clan members."
Behemoth smiled again, waiting for the Divine Seraph to pass on his judgement. At least, sentence him to a duel.
If it was thousands of years back, then he'd definitely lose. But now, he had a very good chance against Dael.
"Come, Dael," Behemoth stretched his hand, and a lone wisp of flame cackled in his gloved palm, dancing eeriely.
Dael's eyes followed it for a moment, before he looked back at the benign demon.
"Let's settle this now. At least, so that it won't have to get extended to the poor mortals too."
Dael's eyes widened slightly in mild alarm at this, but Behemoth didn't miss it.
"I know you still love them, don't you? I don't see anything so puny and weak as deserving to have my favor…Only the strong receive that endowment."
"Behemoth, this is between you and I…for my sake don't extend it any more further."
"I wonder who you think you are, that I'd not hurt mortals…for your sake? Once I'm done with you here, I'm headed down for the mortal world… Come to think of it…their existence has long imbalanced the scale of power in our world. Wiped out, only breeds with power will be left behind…"
"Stop it," Dael snarled, and Ultor looked in surprise and fear. Never in thousands of years, has Dael sounded aggressive.
But he just did now. Behemoth really knew how to get to him.
"You're blinded by your love of humans, Dael," Behemoth's voice also rose to match Dael's. "You can't just seem to break through your delusions, can you?"
"Humans are interesting people. They're the only reason the divinities like us still live. You may not know it, but their continued worship of us is what keeps us alive."
"Well, in that case, it's your issue to ponder on. The other breeds worship me, I don't give a fuck about humans."
"No use of foul words please, in as much as you're on the Sacred Mountain, you must respect that rule."
Behemoth clicked his tongue in distaste, his gaze returning to the tongue of flame on his hand.
"You're doing way too many formalities, let's just get this done over with."
"At your wish," Dael smiled grimly, and spoke to Ultor. "I think you'll have to move a little farther, your proximity is hazardous to your survival."
Ultor glanced at the wriggling creepers bound tightly at him, then imploringly at Dael.
"Oh, forgive my impertinence," At his order, the creepers withered as though burnt by some invisible flames, leaving Ultor to scramble away.
"But first," Dael raised his hand, sensing Behemoth's impatience to attack, "We must observe all the niceties…and to begin, we bow."
Behemoth wrinkled his face in disgust. Of course, Dael couldn't see that, but it became evident when he spoke.
"Seriously? You're subjecting me to some human practice?"
"Let's make it a wager then," Dael's eyes sparkled mischievously. "If you agree to my terms, I will fight you with the barest minimum of my powers, and promise to let you flee, but if you don't…"
Behemoth laughed humorlessly, and then fixed his stare at Dael.
"Really? Is that how much you underestimate me?"
"I only promise to treat you like a worthy opponent, which if you must know…you're not."
Behemoth looked taken aback, but once again, with the presence of his mask, they couldn't really gauge his expression.
"I'm not going to agree to your stupid wager. I'll show you, that I'm not to be toyed with. I'll –"
"Enough of the talk. Ready when you are, Behemoth. Or should I say, Bael?"
Behemoth, once again halted in his movements. This time, even without seeing his face, his shocked gesticulations showed that he was thoroughly shaken.
"How – how…did you know?"
"I'm the Divine Seraph," Dael said simply, as though that summed up every needed explanation. "But, I can't see why Asmodael and Lucifer would send you, investing a good percentage of their powers in you to destroy the clan of Holies…"
Dael stroked his smooth hairless chin in thought, still on alert. Behemoth's strength lay in sneak attacks, especially whenever he fought gods clearly stronger than him.
" What's he talking about? How did he know?" Beads of sweat ran down Ultor's chin as dread pooled in his stomach, leaving a lingering unpleasant feeling in his guts.
"I know who you are, Behemoth. You're just a petty demon, who was gifted with enough powers by the kings of Gehemma, to take Behemoth's body, as a punishment for rebelling against Asmodael. Your name is Bael. Or should I say, was?"
By now, Ultor has forgotten his earlier dread, and was staring from Uriel to Behemoth. The demon now stood, looking stupefied than surprised.
"You went after Behemoth's body, because of the gifts of his eyes. You can possibly see through any thing, any trick at all, and even through souls. And as for the mask, you didn't probably want any demons to know that your eyes were like mine, did you?"
"My lord…how'd you–" Ultor began by Dael cut him off roughly.
"Because those eyes are my creation. I gave them to Behemoth, in honor of a wager. They're golden like mine. And you too…Ultor, you have something to answer to also…"
Ultor twitched in horror, feeling the unfamiliar feeling wash over his body.
"When did you start conversing with Asmodael? How far-fetched were your ambitions that he managed to convince you to destroy your own clan?"
Ultor opened his mouth and closed them several times. His throat couldn't articulate any words at all. Fear had constricted them, and even now his body refused to respond to his impulses.
So, this is fear…
Dael watched Ultor, with disappointment in his gaze. Those golden eyes had a infinitesimal amount of sadness hidden in them, otherwise he looked perfectly composed.
"I only feel bad for entrusting the clan members to the mercy of a backbiter. But, all is well."
He turned away from the two shocked 'allies' to look at the endless mass of bodies stretched all the way to the horizon.
"You asked me to announce a festival in honor of the Holy Sword God's victory over the Cubus who had kept him captive for so long. I suspected a lot, but I did, summoning every seraph back home for this 'festival'.
Then, you poisoned the ceremonial ambrosia which all the seraphs were required to drink. I too drank it, to avoid rousing suspicions from others. That poison, originating from the fangs of Asmodael's Death dragon, weakened all the seraphs, then Asmodael sent Behemoth here too at the same time, to finish them off. Do you think of it as a coincidence?"
Dael looked again at Ultor, who looked away at once. He couldn't look at his Master's face at this moment.
"I confess myself disappointed."
Behemoth made a sudden move, but Dael's guard was amazing. He whirled around and slashed his hand sharply against the air. A low humming drone filled the air at once, reverberating throughout the horizon.
"You can't use my own creation against me," Dael mused with a warning glare on his face. "Infact, I'm taking it back. You've overused your privileges."
Dael stretched his hand, and at once, Behemoth covered himself, with a gutteral scarlet shield, cold beads of sweat accumulated in his mask, and then rolled out, betraying the extent of his fear and the effort used to keep up the shield.
Dael smiled again, still keeping an eye on Ultor, who was making miniature attempts to crawl away.
"Ạḍi ḍher"[1]
With a splitting sound, that tore through the tension, the shield broke apart like a heated egg. Behemoth fell to his knees but Dael wasn't done.
"Ako̱rso̱n"[2]
An excruciating scream of pain filled the air, causing Ultor to bend over and clasp his hands tight over his ears. Behemoth collapsed on the ground, splashing red blood all over. Soon, he lay in a pool of blood as the mask fell on the ground.
Two small pupils, caked in congealing blood flew out of their holes, straight to Dael, then they stopped, hovering in front of him.
"No̱sṭo̱"[3]
In a flash of blinding light, the two floating objects in front of Dael exploded with the force of a bomb, buffeting Ultor away. Dael, however didn't move an inch.
"That does it…" Dael placed a hand in his chest, and winced. "So this poison could really affect me?"
Ultor rushed to his aid. He now regretted his decision from the bottom of his heart. Tears glowed down his cheek, as he placed his hand over Dael's on his chest.
"Sana! Sana! Sana! Cura!"[4]
It was clearly not working. Dael watched him with amusement, hiding the pain in his eyes.
"If I can't heal myself, do you think you can? I didn't see this coming. My mistake," he acknowledged, twisting his neck to look at Behemoth.
The demon was crawling away slowly, taking slow anguished breaths with each jerky movement. He couldn't even cry, since he had no eyes where the tears could come from.
"No, I can't allow that. Even if it will cost me my life, I can't allow him to escape. Probably, he would find another body and resume his life of atrocities."
Dael stretched his hand again, and Behemoth turned around again. His face, Ultor saw, was very beautiful and literally glowed. This face could enchant any female from any breed at all.
If he had this beauty, he could woo even the Empress of Heaven.
That's just a slight exaggeration, actually.
"Good bye, old friend. Seems like we'd meet again on the other side."
"No!", Tears rolled freely down Ultor's cheeks. "Gods can't die…they can't."
"But you found a way to kill one, didn't you?" Uriel laughed at his own little joke, before gently pushing Ultor's hand away from his chest.
He turned back to Behemoth, who glanced at him with stark helplessness.
"Occidere"[5]
It happened in an instant. Behemoth's expression seized for a moment, showing no emotion, before he fell back on the ground, his face now bearing a glint of peace.
"Finally, I'm at the end of my tether. At least, I lived a really fantastic life, what did I miss?"
He looked at Ultor, expecting an answer. Ultor was too busy grieving to reply.
"I think the answer is really obvious…I never did have any wife, nor concubine. And I can't miss that part out…I must have that experience most lovers speak of. That happy expressions I see on their faces when they're together…I'd like to fing out the reason behind those smiles…but how? I'm dying now."
Ultor looked at Dael, worried for his sanity.
But did it matter? He was about to die anyway?
And finally, he, Ultor would be free to rule the mortal world as he seemed fit. After everything, he got the better part of the bargain!
Perfecto!
He glanced at Dael, to check if Dael had seen his wistful expression, but the god was still muttering to himself.
"That's it. That's a splendid idea."
"To do what?" Ultor still looked confused. What was Dael planning this time?
Couldn't he just die and rest in Peace?
"Pull yourself together, you're king now. King of nowhere actually, so just kidding…"
No, you're right. I'm king now…
An evil grin curled Ultor's face. But Dael didn't see it.
Dael walked a bit away from Ultor and turned back to face him.
"Just hope I still have enough power for this last one…Oh I forgot… my power doesn't really matter…"
What's wrong with him, what does he want to do this time?
Ultor was used to Dael's eccentricity, but this time it was going a bit off the margin.
And all this talk about his power not mattering… What did he mean?
Of course, Dael had a little secret. Even when he was fully exhausted and worn out, in the midst of enemies, he always managed to pull off some stunt and escape alive.
No, not escape, since he always finished all his enemies off before leaving.
Ultor felt inclined to ask for that secret, but again it didn't matter. He was dying after all.
"My Lord," he bowed deeply, "I will miss your calculative and wise sayings, and –"
"Miss me? I'd be gone for only a thousand years at most!"
Ultor's eyes widened in alarm."W – What?"
Dael smiled at him, then placed his hand on his own chest, and said a last parting word.
"Puṛa janam."[6]
[1] Latin word for Shatter.
[2] Latin word for Attract.
[3] Latin word for Destroy
[4] Latin word for Heal.
[5] Latin word for Kill.
[6] Latin word for Rebirth.