Monarch Of Darkness, Arsene

I turned to Lucifer, and he shook his head, to my dismay. " I'm not here to help them, Arsene. There is no saving them." He said but still glanced at Apophis and Damien. "However, I'm sure they can help. Apophis is a first generation Abyssal Fiend. He could kill Balor, but...."

"But that means the gates might not open due to the lack of Qi."

"Correct." Said Lucifer indifferently." Look at the other kings. They are Paragons, but they haven't moved. Don't you think it's strange?"

"I think it's a betrayal. I think those bastards are part of the Court of Nox."

"Or they just want Asmodeus out the way. I must say his former master may be angry. She liked Asmodeus."

"His master? You mean before the Great Change." I inquired, shooting a glance towards the Ilthad that hadn't moved.

"Quite right. Amara is her name. My most esteem servant." Lucifer remarked somewhat smilingly. "Even Lilith was jealous of her once I took her under my wing. She's one of the few to challenge a Fallen and live."

"Oh! That's quite something. Who'd she challenge?"

Lucifer chuckled. " me."

Eh?

"You're kidding, right?"

"I'm not," He said, chuckling, "she's a monster even by my standards. Of all the devils, she's one of the few to rise above her creator or, in her case, stand as equals."

Amara is it. I'll remember her.

Pulling my gaze away, I looked upon the fearsome flickers of light clashing. Two devils and a demon battled with all they had against Balor, who had seemed to only toy with them as though he were the master, and they were the apprentice who hadn't even known how to grip a blade.

Levi's silver scales were red, and her silvery eyes slowly began to take on an azure glow as the battle continued. A pang entered my heart as she shot me a look, and then Lilith, who she spoke into her mind.

"Mommy's going to go first," I heard Levi say to Lilith. "Take care of yourself. And keep my daughter safe. This battlefield is no place for her."

"Mom," Whispered Lilith, her tone ebbing on sorrow. "Don't. Just hold out. There's no need to..."

"Silly child." Interrupted Leviathan. "It's been fun. But...But this is the fate of all demons and devils. We live for suffering and death, and we will die by it." She smiled, shooting me a last glance. " How I envy you, little one. How I envy you dearly."

Spreading his winds, Balor pierced through the confines of space, shattering the void into fragmented shards as his fist struck like a battering ram against Leviathan's chest.

Blood rained from the skies, staining the scorched planet below, as Balor's fist entered Leviathan's chest. He smiled. "Weak drivel. May you find eternal damnation under the flames of Abyssal Night."

"Balor, Stop!" Asmo cried, cleaving his sword down as sigils of all kinds stormed the skies, but with a pulse of the throne between this False King's brow, Asmo and Baphomet were torn from the skies like fallen stars, crashing against the bird cage.

"Don't." Mourned the King of Hell as scarlet mist danced, billowing alongside the ash, leaving no sign of Leviathan.

"Mother, I'm sorry," Lilith whispered, shutting her eyes as her aura waned and flickered.

Seizing control to lessen the pressure on her end, I clenched my eyes shut and sighed. "I knew there'd be sacrifices, but I really didn't think it would go this far."

"Lilith did," Lucifer said. " That's why she had her mother and father be accompanied by Baphomet. They were to be sacrificed if the lives of the abyssal fiends and devils weren't enough."

I sighed, opening my eyes to the sight of the scarlet king's seal hovering where Levi once stood. Glistering a mighty glory beyond the dawn, a pang emanating from Lilith carved its way into my heart, alongside a feeling of betrayal took over.

"How many times must I kill my family for you?" She weakly asked. "This is the second time--my mortal family. Now my immortal One. What of the Twins? Will... will you one day expect me to do the same, Arsene? Will there be a third?"

"Never," I replied, clenching my fist.

A feeling of torn awakened in me as a small head rested on my shoulders as Lilith appeared from the shadows beside me. "You better not. I'll go mad."

"I think we are already there... I don't think we know the difference between right and wrong anymore." I muttered gently, feeling the icy touch of her skin penetrating me. "All we are and will be is madness."

"I'll miss her," Said Lilith gently.

I know.

"BALOR!!!"

"Your gods have abandoned you--lowly Devil and Demon. But I shall be a merciful lord this day. Kneel. Kneel, and I shall allow you a second act at life. You shall be born of my flesh and molded into my image."

Bleeding tears of blood, Asmodeus's body blazed and blazed with such fire. I felt it pierce through my immunity, taking me by surprise.

"How!"

"He's burning his life, calling upon the attunement of the Hells," Lucifer said, his tone still icy cold; he poised his arms behind his back and shook his head. "And right now. He's burning his attunement."

"Prison of God," Balor snapped dryly, pealing away the laws, awakening a wave of fury that burned hotter than any anger within me, as an enclave of energy belonging not to the One nor the All poured into creation, and it all vanished.

Asmodeus fell to his knee's and Baphomet just vanished, the only remains being the king's crest that burned with his qi signature. Even the Scepter of the Demonic mother had vanished.

"This is where you belong, Asmodeus. And where you shall always be. On your knees like a common dog. How does it feel? Will you now beg with your final moments? You've only seconds, or will you spend the rest of your lingering lifetime wondering why your wife fucked the very man you are fighting for?"

Asmodeus lifted his head, eyes hollow and broken as he turned to me. His lips buckled, and before he could speak or scream, he was dust billowing in the winds.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA~"