Linfer raised an eyebrow, his patience already strained by the mere mention of that woman.
"And?" he snapped.
"She's very disappointed in you," Caesto replied.
Linfer clenched his fists, and his voice thundered with fury, "Disappointed in me? I have the richest and most prosperous territory on the continent! My name inspires terror, even the Elysians dare not challenge me, and you dare say I've failed?"
Caesto remained impassive, letting a heavy silence settle before murmuring, "It's not enough..."
He paused, his tone taking on an almost provocative accent.
"Your brother is more valuable than you. I think you won't see Lady Lofiel for a long time."
At those words, Linfer's gaze darkened with hatred. He fixed Caesto with disgust.
"I've always been alone. She can go to hell with her other son."
Caesto inclined his head slightly.
"I'll pass on your message." Then he disappeared into a dark mist, leaving Linfer alone with his rage.
The young sovereign gripped the balcony railing with such force that the metal broke under his grasp. The ground beneath his feet trembled as he leaped with a single bound, leaving behind a gaping crater. He rose into the air, a fiery silhouette, unfurling two bloody wings that illuminated the starry sky.
The trail of nauseating red mist tore through the sky behind him like a gaping wound, spreading terror among the inhabitants. Each wingbeat brought the nightmare closer, and gazes lifted to the sky, pleading, as fear froze their blood.
A few hours later, Linfer descended like a meteor on the front lines of the war with the White house. He didn't need a plan or strategy. His anger was enough. Without a second thought, he plunged into the fray, his bare hands tearing through enemies and allies with indescribable savagery. The infernal flames that surrounded him reduced everything in their path to ashes.
Chaos reigned, and as his rage initially fueled his actions, something darker awakened within him. The more he bathed in the blood of others, the more a perverse joy filled his frozen heart. Each splash of blood that stained his bare chest seemed to galvanize him further. His smile widened with each blow, with each cry of despair.
*He he he* A demented laugh escaped his throat.
"This is what I need!"
In just an hour, he had razed three of the White domain's largest cities. Fortresses that would have taken years to storm if only his legions of Wendigos had been sent. But with Linfer leading the charge, nothing could resist them. He exterminated enemy warriors, his own troops, women, children, and the elderly without distinction. More than 700 square kilometers with a population of ten million were now ghost lands, black craters, charred bones, and pools of flames.
In the midst of this field of ruins, he stood, covered in blood, his gaze lost in the immensity of the devastation he had wrought. His anger had been vented, but an odd emptiness devoured him. Each step echoed in the cracking ground, and all around him was desolation.
"I should go back..."
Hurting others brought him euphoria, the feeling of being alive, but the problem was that it didn't last, and thus he needed much more murder and genocide. It was an infernal cycle, like an addictive and harmful drug.
***
The title "Blood Devil" had become entrenched in the collective memory. To the point where it was rumored that Leviathan or Alderbaran were his heralds of this devil. The years passed, and the last domain where humans reigned fell; the new ruler, Uriel MorningStar, had taken over. The years of war were over, and the former White house domain, now renamed Iustitia, had become a prosperous land where humans could live in order and safety. Luciel, too, in her territory called Luxem, peace reigned. The humans living on their territories had become accustomed to calling them the Archangels of Justice for Uriel and the Archangel of Peace for Luciel.
Even in the north, the situation was calmer between Alderbaran and Belzebuth. There were only small skirmishes between Astaroth and Raphael.
In this new era of peace, Linfer was seated in his office, writing paperwork, when the silence of the room was interrupted by the distant sound of whips on human slaves below, forcing them to work harder.
*Knock knock*
"Come in."
Nestia entered the room respectfully and bowed.
"Your Majesty, the Elysians have arrived, and they're waiting for you in the drawing room."
"Very well, I'll be right there."
Linfer rose from his armchair, adjusting his velvet coat, and followed Nestia.
...
In the drawing room, Uriel was comfortably seated on a velvet couch, one leg crossed over the other. He wore only white trousers adorned with esoteric inscriptions. His bare chest, glistening under the dim light, and his handsome face adorned with piercings, his golden hair reaching his shoulders. Around his neck hung several finely carved gold necklaces, and his wrists and fingers were adorned with rings and precious stone-encrusted bracelets, and two long golden chain earrings that hung from his ears.
Behind him, standing tall and imposing, was a young woman clad in a complete golden armor, shining like a blazing sun. The perfection of this armor contrasted with the austerity of her black eyes, two unfathomable abysses that pierced through the slits of her helmet. On her back, an immense sword, almost disproportionate, was attached, its weight seemingly ignored by the woman.
Uriel, relaxed in his seat, threw a brief glance toward the door as it opened, revealing a silhouette he knew all too well. Linfer entered the room with a nonchalant stride.
Uriel burst into a light, almost mocking laugh before addressing him with a casual tone.
"Uriel Morningstar greets the Blood Devil," he said, his smile radiant. "I hope you don't mind, I like to be in contact with the ground." He added this last sentence while pointing at his own bare feet, which rested comfortably on the carpet.
Linfer nodded indifferently. He advanced to sit down, but as his gaze brushed the woman in armor behind Uriel, he froze for a moment. A heartbeat. Then another. His heart, long inert, began to beat like a war drum. Why? He had no idea. An amused smile formed on his lips as he finally settled into a chair facing Uriel.
"And who is this young woman?" Linfer asked, his tone deliberately nonchalant, although his gaze never left her.