Possession has always been a problem for humanity. After all, the celestial Born and the Infernal-Born had come about due to angels and demons possessing humans and procreating to create this new race. But still, these beings are not of the mortal plane, our world rejects their very existence and the only way they can exist is within the body of human.
And so they made the sub-human races, cheap copies of the original that grew to challenge our rightful Dominion over a world that belongs to us and is alone. The celestial and infernal born are abominations, and their makers use them as cheap and available bodies to possess whenever they want to walk and enjoy the wonders of our world.
I pity them, after all. They are raised up in arms against us, claiming they want freedom and equality and the right to live freely in a world that does not belong to them. Yet they are nothing more than clothes to the Bloodlines that sired them. Angels and demons do not belong in our world, they befouled the very sanctity of what the High God has bestowed upon his true children.
So tonight we will ride out to war! These bastards have decided many of our brothers and have taken down the very pinnacle and bastion of human achievement. Today they march on our gates, abominations, invaders and traitors. They think they can tell us what to do! How to live. They claim they stand for equality and freedom, but they have systematically moved from region to region, dismantling the very essence of human civilization.
So stand tall my brothers and sisters! Ready your grimoires and your spells. Today, the last of the Great human kingdoms stand against the evil of the celestials and the internals. This disease that has infected our world, tonight we root it out at the source, or we die trying. Either way…history will remember us as the very pinnacle of human purity.
Onwards! To VICTORY!
A Recording Unearthed From A Random Ruin In The Space Region. The Era is Unknown, And So Is The Speaker And Whatever Kingdom He Represented.
Azrael was the weakest out of everyone present in the house, but still he was the one already on the move before Emilia and her mother could react properly. Luckily for them, the switches for the lights in the house were not located far from them.
Azrael moved, plunging the dining area and the living room into darkness. The switch for the kitchen was further away and in the kitchen itself, but considering that's where the sounds were coming from, he would be able to see who was there before they could see him.
It was a good plan, but the shocks were not over as the moment the dining area was plunged into darkness, Azrael seemed to vanish. Meddling into the dark as he became one with it. Emilia gasped, even her mother had to narrow her eyes as she moved closer to Emilia, gripping her daughter's hand with purpose as she dragged her back into the living room.
The way Azrael had seemingly vanished into the darkness was nothing short of eerie. They could neither see nor feel him. Not even the sound of his breathing reached them. But still, they did not have any time to dwell on the shock of how much the dark seemed to love Azrael. They had an intruder in their house, and that meant they had to be ready for a fight. Thomas had been at the Supernatural rank, which level was not known, as the man had made it an absolute rule to keep the true level of his power away from his children.
Emilia's mother, though, had an idea. She was at the mortal rank level III, which meant that she had slain at least over two hundred people to get to the level of power she now has. Thomas was stronger than her, yet he had been killed in his own house, and now that same house was being invaded. It was not too hard to think and believe that whoever had been here to take Thomas's life, was back again to finish the job. But there was nothing Azrael could do against an individual with that level of power. Emilia's mother knew she needed to help. But regardless of who Azrael was to them, she would protect her daughter first, before anything else.
But that would be easier said than done. There was no way Emilia would let her brother face whatever danger was in their house alone. So much to her mother's annoyance, even with her furious whispering lingering in the dark, Emilia pulled her arm away from her mother's and made a beeline for the kitchen. There was a rustle and the sound of something falling. Her eyes widened at the sound of an unfamiliar grunt as she rushed forwards, only to come face to face with a mountain of man, his huge body blocking the doorway to the kitchen with the lights spilling out behind him.
She came up short, using those few seconds of shock to take a closer look at the intruder. He was well over seven feet tall and packed with muscles. Jagged black tattoos spiraled up from the tips of his fingers. But the most important aspect of his physical attributes must be, the single black horn that jutted out of his forehead, and the blood-red and bright yellow heterochromia eyes, that signified one thing and one thing alone...
"Demon!"
Emilia stumbled backwards, her eyes widened in shock as her mother rushed forwards, her grimoire coming alive in a cascade of soft green and pale-yellow light. She could tell almost immediately that this man was a demon, or rather someone who had been possessed by a demon. Infernal born are usually born with demonic characteristics, but the sign of a possession is usually an incomplete manifestation of those characteristics. And most importantly, heterochromia. Two eye colors; blood-red for demons, and a bright, vivid, and very unnatural blue for angels.
"Well, my dear, you don't have to run away from dear old me, it's going to make chasing you down exhausting." The demon said as he stepped into the darkened exterior of the dining area. There was still enough light spilling out from the kitchen for him to see Emilia and Mother. Not to mention, being a demon meant he should have no problem seeing in the dark, but at the same time.... how were they going to deal with him?
Emilia's mother could read that the demon was a level below her at Mortal-II. But it was a demon. Their sheer physical prowess made it possible for them to jump levels, sometimes ranks to defeat their opponents. The worst part about all this was that Emilia's mother had left combat behind, switching all her attack spells for spells that offered utility and made it easier for her to do her job as pediatrician. Only Emilia would have a chance to cause damage, but she had neither the level nor spell power to be able to bring this guy down, and Azrael, wherever he might have vanished to, was just a baby. He had only just experienced his awakening...they needed to get help.
"Don't even think about making a move, old lady, there's a war around your building, you are not getting out, and no one is coming in." Emilia's eyes widened as she searched frantically in the dark for Azrael, but he was nowhere to be found. For a split second a horrifying thought crossed her mind. "Did he run away?" She couldn't reconcile such an act to Azrael, but at the same time, even if it had been just a few minutes, there was absolutely no sign of him anywhere.
"Now, there's no need for this to get ugly. There's already been a murder on the premises. The Celestials getting here before me is quite unfortunate, but the word on the street is that they couldn't retrieve the vessel. So, I won't beat around the bush...where is he?" Emilia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but not her mother. There was clarity and understanding almost immediately, as everything seemed to fall into place.
"You are here for Azrael?" she asked.
"Is that his name? Wonderful! We all just know him as Experiment No-777! But not that it matters what he is called. If you can just point me in the direction of my new perfect body, I will be on my way, and no blood should be spilled. Your souls...don't look like they're particularly palatable, and since this body is possessed, souls would be useless to it. So, you see, there's no need for you to die. Just tell me where he is."
"Over My dead Body!" Emilia hissed, only for her mother to pull her back.
"The moment he heard you come in, he turned off all the lights and dipped. But considering why you are here; I can't blame him. Why do you want to possess him? There are many others more that can suit you better. He's just a kid." the older woman said as she kept her gaze locked on the demon.
"No way he's off the premises, like I said, there's a war around this place. So, he's probably somewhere around. Don't worry, he'll get to me eventually. And as for the answer to your question, don't you know? Heh! It seems you have no idea just how valuable a treasure you have been living with."
Emilia and her mother exchanged glances; the confusion evident on their faces seemed to cause the demon pleasure. Then again, this was a demon they were faced up against, they thrived on sin and agony. Pain empowered them and strife fed them. For all of their immense physical abilities, a fight with a demon is one that is as much a psychological warfare as it is a physical battle. They aim to defeat and subjugate; it is the only way victory has meaning for them. Not just your body will be broken down, but your mind as well.
"Well, look who has secrets, he put you all in so much danger harboring him, and he never told you what he was? Astounding. Well, I will be happy to tell you everything you need to know about the misfortune your family decided to adopt. Firstly though, you should all understand...the man that died here a few days ago...your pops I might assume." the demon grinned as he turned to Emilia, a mocking grin on his face. "He's dead because of No-777. I mean how foolish can you be deciding to raise a child that was created to be the perfect vessel for any demon or angel. A vessel whose growth will not stagnate once he has been possessed, but will continue to grow stronger, merging the abilities it has cultivated, and the powers of whichever demon or angel gets to wear him. Isn't it wonderful...the body of a godling, and you fools were playing house with it."
Emilia shook where she stood. The Demon chuckled, as he let out a wild grin, a black serpentine tongue slid out of his mouth as he ran it over a mouth filled with two rows of serrated fangs. It was like they were in the presence of a shark or some sort of lamprey. Such a mouth did not belong on the face of anything normal, she shuddered, and the demon took a step forwards.
"He is your brother, right? But only adopted. So, when I have his body in my grasp, my soul and essence filling every square inch of that vessel. I will take you, and your mother, hehehe. I don't see any reason why your close familial ties should be broken, with me at the helm...we can change it a bit. Show you the depths of passion and taboo, a mother and her son, or a sister and her brother."
"You're sick!" Emilia spat at the demon, prompting another round of wild laughter from him as he took another step forwards.
"I am a demon my dear, what you call sick... for me, its just another Tuesday." the Demon's words cut off, he had stepped further into the dining room, away from the spilling lights of the kitchen, as Azrael seemed to materialize right behind him.
"It's a Sunday you dumb bastard!"
The demon turned around and punched, the very air rippling with his movement. But Azrael ducked under that strike, before stabbing a jagged piece of metal easily under the ribs of the demon-possessed human, going straight for the heart. The demon roared out in anger and pain, but Emilia was already making a move as she cast her spell
"Come here you little shit! Come out, or I'm going to kill your precious mother and your sis- Arghh!"
Azrael did not let the demon finish his sentence, his hand had reached out from underneath the table and grabbed the demon's leg. Normally, this should never have been a problem for the demon to deal with, but Azrael did not just spend more than half his life as an experiment, he had been trained and knew best how to take advantage of small weaknesses.
The demon had been off balance, even as he pulled out the knife from his chest, black and red blood spilling out onto the floor. Azrael pulled hard. With no balance, the demon fell like a tree, his back and head smacking into the floor so hard that the tiles beneath were cracked. This was definitely not enough to leave the demon Dazed, but it was just one step in the plan.
Emilia's mother took action, rushing forwards as she punted the demon on the side of his head. Out of all of them, she had more strength, even if she was a tech affinity healer. Her <Diagnostic> spell was already active, and it had shown her where there were weaknesses in the demon's body, and his head was just one big target.
The single horn on the demon's head snapped, as Azrael dragged him under the dining table, then quickly scrambled away. The demon let out a guttural roar, as mana began to gather in the air. He was ready to cast a spell, but all three individuals had spent enough time in this house to know, Azrael had not dragged the Demon underneath the dining table for nothing.
Emilia's
Right in the middle of the table was a spell matrix. It had been meticulously etched into the wood, which itself was a special material. This was one of the many traps Thomas had left in the house. This demon, even if he was here with evil intentions…he would not be leaving her alive or intact. Because what he did not realize, was that the whole house. Every single inch of it…was a grimoire itself.
Azrael poured the ambient mana into the spell matrix, rerouting it to go through his body and source for Purification. The process….was as painful as it was damaging. He could feel his newly created channels, tremble and snap apart from the deluge of ambient mana. But he gritted his teeth and pushed through. The demon placed a clawed hand on the edge of the table, his wrath so intense and palpable, you could feel it in the air.
"I am going to kill you all!" he screamed as he moved his head to the side and was about to pull himself out from under the table. Azrael gave a dull look as he responded.
"Not today."
The spell matrix came alive, the entire house shook with the roar of a great beast. Azrael felt his bones rattle in fright, as the very hairs on his body stood at attention. This house was a grimoire beyond the mortal stage. Only Thomas had the power and means to control it. And that was to be expected. The man had built this place with his own hands, every brick, every beam. And all of it he had built from the harvested materials of dragons he spent many years hunting, even while he searched for Azrael. Thomas has a nickname, or rather a Path-walker Designation that the world knows him by…. The Dragon Prince.
Flames surged out of the table, they flared out a bit, but it was kept contained to the spot underneath the table. The demon's roar of anger quickly transformed into an intense screech of pain. There was a dissonance in his voice, as it seemed as if two people were screaming in agony at the same time. He threaded underneath the table, but no matter how much he tried to move away, the flames kept him in place, as one of the most mystical and dangerous fire aspects, ripped the flesh off his bones, turning him into blackened husk. Dragon flames were as rare as the death affinity, people with such affinities were highly valued by the covenants and their Grimoires tended to be some of the most destructive and powerful.
But not Thomas, after he saved Azrael and went back home. He put his fighting days behind him and chose to be a father. So his grimoire was no spellbook, or a sword or any other thing. It was this house, a symbol of his new life and willingness to raise his children in a place where they could be safe and happy…this house, this Grimoire… The Dragon's Lair.