"Oh?" Belial slowly turned around as his wings kept him afloat. "Why, if it isn't the pet guardian dog, Behemoth." He snickered, egging Behemoth on.
Behemoth growled and spat out a blast of air towards Belial, who wavered but was still flying in the air.
"You didn't like that?" Belial raised his eyebrow, crossing his hand in front of him. "Good, because I don't like you. Plus, it fits you perfectly," he snickered.
Behemoth glared, unable to say anything but grunt.
"Fine. Fine. Whatever. I know why you have come here." Belial spoke with indifference, waving his hand in front of him. "Your master is asking around to join his army, isn't he?"
Behemoth nodded sharply, disliking the thought of Belial even joining.
"What? It's not like you're worth my time." Belial snorted. "The demon prince is just a prince in name only; what could he give me that I could get myself?"
Behemoth rolled his eyes at what Belial had stated. Then, he conjured up a magical weapon that made Belial eyes become wide. Floating in the air, in front of Belial, was a flaming blue sword that blazed like fire. Sparks of holy light danced outwards like fireworks in erratic interference, but Zero could even feel the power that the sword was giving. It was an angelic weapon that even made Zero hunger to have for himself.
"No, it can't be." Belial's hand reached over as he got closer. He wrapped his around the hilt, making the blade flare out angrily in white, burning Belial's hand. Yanking back in surprise, he looked down at his hand and noticed that it was burnt black, but just as quickly as the wound burnt him, his skin quickly healed. "You found my Soul Sword…."
Then Belial started to get angry, and the aura around him intensified, becoming stronger and deadlier. Finally, Behemoth was struck by the power Belial gave off, taking an unconscious step. He, too, raised his level to match the intensity of Belial's power.
"Oh? The dog knows how to bite?" The end of Belial's lip curled upwards, giving him a nasty snarl. This time, Belial didn't hold back his power; the intensity was so strong that Zero could feel the high power that was even stronger than Behemoth.
Behemoth shuddered; the density of the power pushing him down to his knees was incomparable to what he had outputted. He was getting lower and lower to the point where the Behemoth was literally on its belly as its large head was pushed into the ground.
"Disgusting vermin, how dare you have what is mine!"
The power intensified and cracked until a large crater was finally formed underneath the Behemoth as he kept getting pushed in deeper and deeper. Bones started cracking as the ribs broke one by one. Behemoth screamed out in pain at the power the Belial was giving him. It was all he could do to try to get squashed alive desperately. Finally, the sword floating in front of Belial clattered onto the ground, standing proudly underneath the sunlight.
A sinister smile erupted on Belial's face, making the fallen angel a creepy sight. But, of course, something so holy, looking so sinister, would make anyone nervous, especially on a beautiful child-like Belial.
"Enough!" A deep scratchy voice shot around both of them, startling Belial from the sound. He looked around to see where the voice came from but could not find anyone who yelled in such a powerful voice.
"Who's there?!" Belial cried out, still searching for the source. He was spinning around so quickly that he looked like a small tornado.
"Belial, brother." The voice said softly, making their Belial hair stand up.
"Brother?" Belial frowned, not liking that he was associated with someone or something he couldn't see. "How do I know you are my brother? Show yourself!"
A chuckle formed, causing even Zero to search hard for the source of the laughter. He was getting chills running up and down his spine; even though he was an apparition, he couldn't help but feel like he was there when the laughter happened. For sure, he thought he would have nightmares just hearing the voice itself.
"You know I can't." The voice stated in deep regret. "I am not strong enough yet."
Belial stopped scanning around; he flapped in the air as he crossed his hand in front of him. "So, I'm guessing you're the dog's owner."
The deep chuckle started again, affirming what Belial had said. "What if I am?"
"Why do you have my sword? No one should've been able to touch or find it, especially of your kind!"
"My kind?" The voice spoke, "You know just as well as I that you and I are the same kind. We have followed the morning star to this world and lost our right to hold our angelic weapon and armor. But that doesn't mean there aren't other ways to transport such things."
"You have found a way?" Belial was surprised at what the voice was suggesting, and the thought of holding his dear weapon again created a surge of greed. "What is it? Tell me!" He commanded in an arrogant fashion like all fallen angels.
"Follow me, then I shall tell you."
Belial thought it over for a moment, then he snorted at the thought of serving under someone else. "Why should I follow you?"
The voice was silent for a moment, "Don't you want to see this world cave under? To bring back the end and start a new beginning? A beginning where the supreme rule?"
"And who might this supreme be?"
The voice chuckled. "That would be me. I am now a greater being that has transcended, a Demon Prince, higher than all beings in this world. For I can give you a more powerful weapon than the sword of the past."
Belial was stunned by what he heard, then he threw back his head, laughing so hard that he almost fell out of the sky. He had to correct himself so he wouldn't fall onto the ground. Then, flapping back up, he repositioned himself away from the ground. "You make me laugh; how can there be something more powerful than an angelic weapon? Do you not know what sense that makes?"
"I know that there are things out there in this universe that are locked away so that nobody can get them. The power one could cut the planet in half and even destroy stars."
Belial snorted at such thoughts and waved his hands. "That's just legends."
"Oh really?" The demon prince questioned Belial, making Belial wonder if what he said was true. "Let me tell you something, brother. There are beings out there that have the power of light and dark, like a god. Stronger than you and I, I shall take such a soul and make them into my weapon when that time comes. It has been done before."
"You think you have the power to do such things?" Belial wasn't completely buying into Demon Prince's words, but Zero could see the hunger in Belial's eyes.
"I do, and you should follow the winning side." The demon prince said haughtily. Belial rolled his eyes at the arrogance of the demon prince's words. "Well then, thank you for telling me what I need to search for. I don't bow down to anyone, so with that being said. Goodbye." He raised his hands as a small but very powerful energy ball appeared in his hands.
With a flick of his fingers, the dark energy ball shot toward the Behemoth's head. Suddenly, a powerful blast of magic deflected Belial's attack, creating a barrier around Behemoth himself. The ball flew backward, hitting the nearest volcano, and completely demolishing it in one go. Following after, a jet of powerful lava shot forward, spraying everywhere.
"Not bad." Belial looked over his shoulder to see the destruction behind him. He then smirked, knowing full well that attack wasn't his strongest. But, even still, he didn't fire another one. "Well then, I have no use staying here."
Belial dived forward, grabbing the hilt of his sword as he shot back into the sky like a comet. He then disappeared as a burning flare of fire blazed behind him as he disappeared. After that, the memories started to waver and change.
Zero could feel the rage Belial had caused unto the Behemoth, it wasn't pretty, and the stirring emotions started to get to him too. It was chaotic and dark, almost deliciously enjoyable that the feeling was becoming a part of him, making his mind into a fury of mess. He knew the longer he stayed connected with the Behemoth, the more chaotic his thoughts became.
The most powerful thought was revenge and to kill Belial, who had sullied his pride. Zero became increasingly angry, and the thought of killing Belial became intense. He wanted to rip the wings out of Belial and trample him under his claw; the thought of seeing blood excited him, making his golden eyes murky black.
"Zero." A female voice softly called out to him as it became louder. "Zero! Snap out of it, Zero!"
The blur in Zero's eyes started to clear up; his head was low as he was in his predator position, crouching low like a tiger hunting for its prey. When he glanced around, he noticed that everyone was staring at him worriedly with their weapons completely drawn.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Zero tilted his head, straightening up as he looked at them as if they were crazy.
"Zero!" Agnis angrily spoke; she cocked her hips and placed them on her side. "You went all feral on us!"
"I did?" Zero was shocked to hear something like that, especially to turn on his friends and allies. But he wasn't the type to be mad.
"Yea, you went all angry and tiger-like, spitting and hissing at us not to get close. We even saw your belly glow green as you were ready to spit out that nasty dark fire you use!" She threw up her hand, annoyed that he had gone crazy.
"Hey. Hey. I didn't do it on purpose; I was….uh…." Zero tried to explain, but he didn't have anything to counter why he went feral. "I just zoned out, you know. Like when you see flashes of images before you and forget where you are."
Agnis thought over what he said; she knew what he was talking about as her anger deflated. "Did you see the future?" She asked worriedly; her posture changed as she started to walk towards him with worry. "What did you see?"
Zero wasn't sure if he wanted to talk too much about it; the power he felt from the whole experience was mind-numbing. Only a few times he got scared, and the power he felt was way too real. He remembered the incident when he met the demon who stole his mother's soul and even possessed his brother. Belial was the type of fallen angel equivalent to those demon powers he felt, but the Demon Prince felt more sinister and real.
In-game monsters or bosses gave him a certain level of fear, but the one he felt through the memory of the Behemoth was pure evil. So he could still fill the oppressive power of the Demon Prince crawling all over his body that he had to shake it off as if it was a living thing.
"You….alright?" Agnis asked, a bit concerned at his unusual behavior.