Return of the Demon Sovereign (Book 1) [MxM]

93. Nether Flame

The Nether Flame was something that should have never touched the mortal realms. Nyx had whispered stories of a time when there were many Deities. Amongst them was one so beloved by the darkness that the Nether Flame naturally came to him.

However, when the Titans rebelled, many Deities died or fled. Only a few remained. The Deity of the Nether Flame had sacrificed himself to imprison the Titans—his power becoming the cells deep within the Nothingness. In the aftermath, Nyx would act as their lonely warden as the last remaining Deity.

The re-emergence of the Titans insulted the sacrificed Deities and Nyx's tireless guard. Worse was A'Teh's thievery. He must have stolen the Nether Flame from that nameless Deity's corpse or grave.

But now the Nether Flame raged in Erebus. He could feel the flames burning through his core, threatening to consume his blood and marrow. He needed to release some of this overwhelming power, or it would destroy him soon.

He stumbled over to A'Teh's body, which was still standing, and placed his hand on his bloodied chest.  The flames rushed over the body and started to consume it.  Erebus watched as the body turned blue to purple, then darker still.  When it finally turned black, it began to crack until it crumbled into a large pile of ash. The Titan core he held in his hand followed suit and disintegrated. The pile of ash was so cold that ice formed underneath it and spread to at least a meter in diameter.

Erebus grabbed the bloody head, tossed it on the pile, and flicked his finger.  Black flames erupted on top of the head, consuming it like the body.  Erebus turned his gaze away to examine Leo and Astra.

Leo was lying on the ground, breathing heavily and barely conscious. He had wrapped the worst of his wounds, but there was still blood staining his bandages. Astra was unconscious, but her body was trembling. She may not have sustained many physical wounds, but the mental toll was unfathomable.

Erebus needed to reach Leo, but when he stepped forward, he swayed. He had bled too much from the grievous wounds he sustained. However, now that he had released some of the rampaging energy from the Nether Flame, he could think a little more rationally.

To quell the volatile energy, he drew a rune to contain the power inside of him.   But even drawing the rune was strenuous, and he felt blood spray from his mouth.  He stumbled over to Leo and half-carried, half-dragged him towards Astra.  He called over Requies, and the two blades flew to him and landed securely in his belt.

He used the little mana he had left to open a portal to the Spirit Realm and push Leo and Astra through it.  He looked at the fallen body of Aboros and chuckled ruefully.  The blood of Aboros had drained from his body and reconnected the array where it was broken from the battle with A'Teh. Even in death, the Devil King fulfilled his mission.

"Stubborn Devil,"  Erebus whispered as he placed a hand on the array.

A bright red light erupted from his palm and rushed out to connect all the lines, illuminating the dark room in a red glow.  However, once all the red lines connected, they suddenly erupted with the Nether Flames, increasing the destructive power tenfold. The room started to rumble, and the walls began to crumble.

Erebus cursed and threw himself into the portal into the Spirit Realm.  He watched through the portal as the basement started to cave in.  When Aboros' body was covered by stone, Erebus closed the portal and collapsed down onto the soft grass of the Spirit Realm.  The sky was clear, and the sun was just setting, giving the realm a gentle orange glow.  Erebus felt that it had been forever since he saw such a sky.

He groaned as he moved his broken body towards Leo and Astra, but their state made him blanch.

Leo had fallen unconscious, and his wounds were blood was pooling beneath him. At the same time, Astra's trembling had turned to convulsions.