Hell's Consort

New Chapter for the Highest Tier (June 2021)

***********************

Vampire King Apollyon

***********************

Apollyon's muscles still quivered as his nostrils flared from breathing hard with all the adrenaline pumping in his bloodstreams.

He was still furious about what Luna had done earlier, opening a portal of her own so quickly with just a single thought.

He wondered if Luna created the space chasm to defy him for forbidding her to see the Goddess of the Underworld or it was an accident on her part because she was a powerful Archdemon.

Did she fervently will it to exist when she closed her eyes as she laid flat on her back beneath him, or was it just a passing thought about wishing she could see the Goddess she served although she was in the middle of a battle with another god over a kid?

Then the strong magic she possessed turned it into a reality?

It was so abrupt, and he didn't expect it to happen when she actually dared to return to the Summer Castle.

"I am ready to fulfill my mission, goddess."  Luna said with reverence. "Please tell me what it is."

He glanced down at her back while she knelt on the bed, bowing her head to Hecate's messenger as if it was the Goddess herself.

Apollyon frowned in disapproval.

He didn't like Luna like this, even if it was an ethereal being perceived to be her superior.

It wasn't right for the Luna, an Archdemon Empress, to pay her respects to this… lowly… leaf-shaped dark mass.

His wife was of a higher status and possessed a much stronger power compared to this weak blob!

The strong aura of Hecate's messenger should make his skin crawl as if he were coated with grease and dirt by the presence of an evil spirit.

But for some reason, the soul had a similar energy to Luna's creatures summoned at the mountains to distract the Spring Militia.

It had no ill effects on him.

The soul might be from the Underworld, but his aura didn't feel icky and evil as a demon.

Maybe, his wife made the mistake of idolizing the goddess too much that it extended to her servants when his wife was capable of being a goddess herself.

After centuries of getting used to the abilities she yields as a Vampire and Archdemon, Luna would be stronger or similar to Hecate if she aspired to be.

But his wife, although rebellious, impulsive and dominant at times, was capable of humility and respect—just not to her husband every time.

Apollyon hated how she acted towards this creature compared to him, who she should be bowing to and apologizing to appease him for her mischief.

He wasn't averse to his wife meeting the dark goddess if ever Hecate would allow that and talk to her.

But Apollyon wasn't keen to place themselves (especially his wife) in danger and dropping from their sudden portal in the sky, landing in the middle of a battle between two godly beings.

He was lucky that he had grabbed Luna' clothes while mid-air and brought her back to safety.

He gave no fucks whether masked Hephaestus would destroy the whole Summer Realm with his automaton to fetch his 'daughter' and bring her to his Kingdom located under volcanoes.

He was certain Hecate would do something about it.

It had nothing to do with him nor his wife.

It was just unfortunate that Luna desired to see Hecate.

"The one inside you is about to wake up." Apollyon scowled as his gaze shifted to the soul floating through the ceiling.

Its unnatural presence brought tendrils of red mist along with it, and its visible miasma left imprints on the walls like spatters of blood before it vanished right before his eyes.

What did he mean that the one inside is about to wake up?

He squinted at the soul as he ran a frustrated hand through his raven hair.

'Whose insides?' He mused, expecting his wife to react and answer his question through their mind link. 'A vampire baby can wake up while it was still formed in the womb?'

There was no answer, and Apollyon half-expected it.

What was new?

Luna's mind was as silent as a tomb and could establish strong barriers similar to the fortifications of the Vampire Castle if he attempted a mind link only when it is convenient for her.

He sighed as he tried to calm himself down by loosening the top button of his tunic.

There was this unexplainable feeling in his stomach as he licked his lips, waiting for the shoe to drop.

Apollyon can neither agree nor refute the idea because this was the first time he had a mate and became a father.

His parents weren't a good example of child-rearing.

There was no vampire nanny to ask and learn from.

What was even more suspicious was that he felt that his wife's entire form had stiffened beside him as she abruptly exhaled noisy breaths that bothered him.

"Lilith is sucking the life force out of your baby and it is stunting her growth."

Lilith?

The Archdemon of Envy?

"What did the messenger mean Luna?" Apollyon demanded, and his voice rose like a bad-tempered brute, "Did it meant that Lilith is still inside your body?"

"I don't—" Luna rose her head from her submissive bow, and she had a blank look on her face when she muttered, "I don't know, Apollyon."

She didn't even turn her head towards him, looked him in the eye and tell him the truth as if she was ashamed and guilty of something.

"Are you sure you have no idea about this?"

Apollyon didn't expect in his entire life to have a wife that was more secretive than him.

He was the man who should be keeping secrets, damn it!

But, instead, he forced himself to be an open book, basically changing himself to keep his mate.

Luna promised that there would be no more secrets.

"My child." The soul continued, "You need to summon a specific Archdemon Familiar from Hell while you figure out how to get rid of Lilith. She became a co-owner of your body because of a spell she made. No amount of exorcism could get rid of it without divine intervention."