บท 4: Confrontation – Part 1
With speed comparable to lightning, two Angels ascend through the vast miraculous forest, one of the terrains that separate Heaven and Hell. Around them, dozens of floating islands decorate the scenery.
However, their hearts beat chaotically even with all the beautiful scenery covering them. With half of the distance covered, they ought to feel a bit lax but the uneasiness overwhelms them.
[Swoosh!]
Gabriel takes a deep dive under one of the floating islands and Michael follows. The spell cast on the human Gabriel is carrying is still intact as Tamara anaesthetized with all the vigorous shaking.
Why are they in such a hurry? Regarding the talks they had with Malique back at the Gate of Hell, the information needs to be reported instantaneously. For now, only Gabriel and Michael know how dangerous this matter might be.
Halting his wings from fluttering, Gabriel suddenly makes a landing and lays Tamara down. Looks like he used all his energy for the flight and the incantation. Michael also descends after realizing this even if he could hover for a couple more hours.
"Do you think we should keep this a secret from Malique?" Michael asks Gabriel as soon as they hear each other.
"*Sigh*You know we can't do that, right?" Gabriel answers. "In any case, the timing was terrible for us even to mention it."
"But the truth about Lucifer might still be alive and should be made aware of among the Angels so we could have prepared for this." Michael had said the same thing back in the Great War.
Amid the Great War, the Angels suffered a huge blow dealt by the Demons of Sins. This changes when Gabriel ultimately declared that he slaughtered Lucifer. This causes the Angels' morale to strengthen while the Demons panic in despair.
Of course, this baffled the Archangels as none of them saw Gabriel doing it. When questioned, he simply stated that God orders him to do so. Uncertain, the Archangels asked and discussed with God, which He confirmed. After all, Angels cannot lie.
"Considering that only we, the Archangels, know about this, don't you think I should go ahead first and warn the others?" Michael suggests. If God receives this message, He knows what kind of approach we should take.
"Forgive me, Michael, I had something else planned in mind," Gabriel says, rejecting Michael's proposal, which leaves Michael baffled but still trusting enough to hear his suggestion. "You think that you can... Maybe hurry back to Malique? I want you to get him out of there."
Alone behind enemy lines, Malique's safety is unguaranteed. Unknowingly to Gabriel and Michael, he is already heading to the centre of Hell to meet the Demons of Sins. Thankfully, Gabriel's predisposition hits its mark.
"When are you going to remove that soft spot for him?" Michael teases. Gabriel always puts up a cool act in front of Malique ever since their first meeting. Guiding his teacher, Gabriel cannot reveal his fondness for him, or he gets spoiled rather than growing.
"Said the Angel who had the same feeling." Gabriel counters and they chuckle. To Michael, he loves almost all the angels he meets. Case closed, both care for Malique equally. "Besides, can you make it?"
"I should be the one asking you this." With a human to carry, Gabriel has it tougher than him. Michael accidentally doubts Gabriel's ability, thinking he may collapse somewhere, but he strongly shakes that thought off.
"I'll make sure to be careful with myself." Gabriel flashes a reassuring smile while approaching Michael and grabbing him by his shoulders. "Now, go bring our friend back."
Without further ado, Michael quickly soars himself. "Don't worry, I promise that he will be safe in my care. Make sure you relay this information to God Himself as well."
[Swift!]
"There goes Michael," Gabriel remarks. In the blink of an eye, Michael's figure shrinks to a dot. Only contrails of clouds line his course, which disappears from view. "As serious as usual, huh?"
Left on the island, Gabriel picks Tamara up again. As he looks at the human face, he thinks about what will happen to them, Heaven's dwellers, and even Hell's prisoners. Surely God realizes this event through his omniscience. He flaps his wings and takes off.
"I better be off then?"
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
The sizzling lava spurts a large amount of steam into the air. The smell of the burnt crisp and decomposing body is callous to any creature's nose that sets foot in Hell. The heat emphasizes the obscure vision of the scenery, making a blurry censor across the gory panorama.
Above it all, Malique easily glides with the wind current deeper into the centre of Hell. Before him is a mountain covered with a vast black cloud at the entrance. Inside, a well-known ruined-down castle stands firm.
He keeps on pondering where the Demons go as he scans the landscape only to eye a couple. This absurdity wrecks turmoil in his essence and drives the madness in his mystery. Here goes nothing. Tucking himself, Malique dives into the smokescreen. In a mere second, the sound of wind grazing his skin fades to silence. His heart veils with nervousness as even his sight are prone to uselessness.
In the dark, Malique is determined to get there. If he can show how handy he is to Gabriel, he may get recognition from him. This instantly clears his doubt, and the nervousness he had before.
Moreover, he is now on the other side of the smoke, inside the mountain. More of a volcano as the scorching magma flows around the castle like a fort. Only a single pavement lasts itself on the hot liquid, although cracks and disintegration are evident all the way.
The castle is bold on the red beyond. It stands there as if it were conjured from the storybook of a person's ordeal. It is corrupted. The castle's mouth is so big it engulfs everyone who enters. The windows are like the eyes of Hell.
Every stone is uneven and fissured as if the ground itself crushed the footpath with hatred as to why it was built there. The existence of Houska Castle itself was that the walls were made to imprison the Demons of Sins, to echo with cries and be the torture they needed for the millennia to come.
What a nightmare.
Malique spins around a couple of times before he chooses a landing spot due to the uneven structure. By the time his foot is set, a spurting slag jumps out of the river and almost hits his toe. Is this place even having a grudge against me?
It is as if Malique has disembarked into his epilates that which he never thought of. His sandal initiates an eerie sound that resonates heavier by the distance. Something doesn't feel right. It's too lifeless for a vast place such as this.
Passing through the aperture which is already opened, the inside of the castle is pure black. With no source of light whatsoever, Malique can completely determine the castle's colour by the reflection he is seeing on the floor.
The supposed-to-be grandeur keep is no more than a run-down mill. The two towers connected to each side have their entrance blocked by either a broken wall or a ruptured stair. So the only way Malique can go is straight, right into the great hall.
Unlike a haunted mansion, where moonlight slips through the hole in the rose-window ceiling, Houska Castle's throne room is livened by a vermillion ray instead. With seven pillars supporting the room, a sturdy throne is set at the centre of it.
"Anyone here!?" Malique sceptically looks around warily as he already reaches the centre yet not a single soul greets him. On top of that, the echo of his voice veers around the enclosure and deepens into a sonorous taunt.
[Twing!]
The echoes that can be picked up by Malique's ear die out at the exact moment. The fizzing sound, even his step dematerializes itself from liquidity. The castle fills with silence. It is quiet, very quiet, which makes him think that he has gotten trapped inside.
"Crap, I'm being too careless here." Remaining panicked would not help Malique out, so he starts to put on a defensive stance. Keeping himself full focus, he circles himself around and sometimes does a spin to try and catch the enemy off guard.
But his action deems worthless as Malique literally cannot scan anybody in his range. At this point, he wishes that he were Uriel, the Archangel of Wisdom, who can manifest a light orb whenever he needs especially to present a guide or a hope to those that strayed.
"This is pointless," Malique mutters to himself as he turns around, preparing to leave. "How can the Demons of Sins not be here? There must have been a secret room or something."
This time, Malique tries to flow his energy channel around the space to search for hidden cracks that might lead to his lost treasure. He closes his eyes to concentrate as the flow travels around and unconsciously touches an unholy vitality. Six of them.
Malique gets so engulfed by the pressure that he feels like his own body was pushed back. His spine shakes with agitation when he realizes that they have been carefully assessing him in disguise followed by the word.
"Who's there?"
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