Road to Eden | ONC 2022

8 - Nepharios

An infected made it through the corner of the barricade and charged towards her. She struggled to dodge his attack. They scuffled with her sitting on the window sill. One final blow to the head pushed the infected over the window, and he plummeted to his death.

Azazel heard the distinct crunch of bones as the patient landed on the paved ground below. There was a delay than cries and screams.

Azazel caught his teammate that had lost her balance. He hanged from the window for a second with her over his shoulder. Then he let go and landed on the ground with a light splash.

At his feet, the blood and the innards of the unfortunate human.  The crowd had formed a semicircle around it and were staring at him and his teammate. He shrugged, stepped away and deposited his teammate on  a patch of grass.

Her whole body was shaking and a huge amount of liquid was leaking from her yes. He knew how to fix wound and fight. He didn't know what this was.

He searched for the leader guy in the crowd.

"Fix her." He asked him.

He couldn't hear his answer over the rumble of thunder. Then the sky above their heads was crackled with lightning. Everyone looked up. Then it was like daylight. Everything was bathed in a dazzling light.

Azazel eyes burned, more used to darkness. He shut them tightly and kneeled to the ground holding his head, ears covered. The splintering headache felt like a seesaw across his brain.

Then they descended. He couldn't see them. He felt this immense pressure coming from above. When he attempted a quick glance, he was mesmerized. There were so many of them that if felt they covered the whole sky and the sky was porcelain white.

They descended from the sky, then stood still. Inches from the building. As if an invisible barrier was blocking them.

I never saw so many angels in my whole life. That was his first thought, immediately followed by another, more frightening one. Why did they need so many angels to rescue us?

When he glanced at his feet, he found the answer to his question and the cause of his headache.

Green stems sprouted between the cracks in the ground. Azazel stood up and followed how the stems were even starting to climb up the walls of the hospital. Then randomly, vivid yellow flowers sprouted on them. It could've been beautiful.

Demons had a special talent for twisting beautiful. The more beautiful it is, the more warped it will become. That's why the most powerful demons were all fallen angels. Once the purest form of life, now the most distorted aberration in the universe.

Just like that, the barely noticeable translucent cilia at the edge of lovely petals were spreading the poisonous influence of a demon. Such delicate work was the proof of a powerful demon. And he was nowhere in sight.

There weren't any barrier. Yet. A barrier would surely form once the invasive plants would have fully spread. The angels were hesitating. Or waiting for the demon's next move. In any case, Azazel wasn't sure he could count on them to get him out of there. Twisted objects, especially at this level, were lethal to the angels.

I have to find the demon. He must be near.

Azazel followed the trail of the biggest stems around the building. He meticulously investigated all of them, ignoring the humans that were waving and screaming at the angels. Most of the stems led to  the back of the building, but then would disappear. He would follow the bright green lines on the dying brown lawn,  and then I some point they would just merge with the ground.  Those that climbed up the walls were too thin to lead anywhere. He tried to reenter the building, but  an invisible barrier zapped him when he tried.

He circled around the building multiple times, following the green lines on the ground. Every time he walked past the building entrance, he noticed that the crowd in front of the building had gotten bigger. It seemed that the angels had made a decision, since they were picking up the humans on the ground one by one and flying back up to safety with the humans in their arms. Despite their number, they move in pairs of two and slowly trickled onto the hospital ground. Some of them had started investigating the flowers too.

Azazel was studying yet another green stem behind the building — the demon's hideout should be there for sure — when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You shouldn't be there, go to the front. We will carry you to safety."

A girl with fuzzy black curls was stands a few steps away from him. She was wearing a beige hospital gown like robe. No wings in sight, so not an angel.

"You shouldn't be there, Sasha, go back to Aurelios." A voice said from above the girl, before Azazel could answer her.

An angel with an impressive wingspan hovered a few feet above them.

"With all due respect, Master Jin, wouldn't it be weird for a member of the investigation unit to sit this one out?" The girl, Sasha, answered the angel.

They started bickering and Azazel slowly stepped back, hoping that they wouldn't notice him.

He managed a few steps before his feet caught on a thick stem, and he fell down on his butt. He cursed loudly. The angel and Sasha stopped bickering and stared at him.

He could feel heat creeping up his neck. The girl was about to say something when her eyes moved to something behind him. He didn't like the expression her face morphed into.

"I didn't expect to see my cute little brother here." The voice came from behind him. Too close behind him. The distorted raucous voice was easily recognizable.

"It's been a while, Nepharios."  He greeted without turning around. He needed as much time as possible to school his features before facing the powerful demon.

A/N:

WC Chapter: 1544

WC Total: 9771

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