2 Chapter 2: The Weird Tavern

SorrowMoon Continent

Kingdom of Molian

The red moon hung lazily in the dark skies, covered with dark clouds and thick miasma. The trees danced with the blows of the wind, rustling each leaf surrounding the dense forest. Not far in the distance were thousands of undead men, attacking a lone village for its resources and harvesting the people as food.

This was another one of the harvests and cleansings performed in the Ink Lotus Kingdom after King Zionell Neith took over from the Demon King Vhiniel. The Kingdom had had thousands of human harvestings since the king took power, arousing the blood lust of the undead kingdom.

The screams of the dying village echoed around the whole forest, waking a sleeping merchant. The cries continued to rise, never ceasing until the sun rose in the far east. The Merchant yawned, stretching his arms, rubbing his empty stomach. He tapped the nightstand beside him, trying to find his gigantic glasses.

He first noticed the red sun rays inside his bedroom. He narrowed his eyes, before rubbing the mucus away from them. “Another harvest completed, eh.” He took a white cup and drank whatever was inside it. He spat everything out, grumbling a certain curse word. “Well, that was disgusting.”

He put on a brown coat and went out to do his work.

_____________

Snow Lotus Kingdom

Tushu Guan Island

A massive white building stood high and above on a flying island. Six waterfalls flow to the side of the island, and lush trees cover the very edge.

The sun’s rays shone beautifully on the very walls of the temple, creating a subtle heavenly aura permeating through it. The winds blew past the trees, making the leaves dance to a rhythm that felt comfortable and free. A warm tune that alleviated the restless hearts of everyone who heard it was playing on an organ and thousands of harps were being strummed, creating the beautiful, angelic atmosphere inside.

The cherubims and archangels were busying themselves with an excessive number of paper works they got after another cleansing happened in the neighboring Kingdom. The souls of those dead people needed to be registered for reincarnation, and the heavens didn’t believe in the word “later.” There were seventy piles of paper in their office that needed to be checked, rewritten, re-edited, rechecked, reprinted, reevaluated, and republished.

Though the angels were busy with work, the music never died. This was because that music signified the power the kingdom had, and it dying down would render their defenses useless.

Arroth and Zaganon walked out of Araya’s office, making a beeline towards the exit to the Kingdom. The eyes of Angels who came across the two showed an undisguised disgust, and murmurs were raised. Arroth’s eyes twitched, but because his brother was pulling him back, he didn’t fight back.

“They gave us a place to stay. Stop thinking about murdering them.” Zaganon pulled on Arroth’s arms and dragged him towards the gates. “We’ll be leaving soon, so stop cursing them in your head.

Arroth pouted at his brother and poked his forehead. “If I can’t curse them openly, I have to curse them in my head.” He placed his arm around Zaganon’s shoulder and added, “And besides, we’re demons, let’s be demons!”

“We’re angels, too.” Zaganon pushed his brother’s arm away and walked away.

“Hey Monsters!” shouted a Throne with his wings raised like a peacock. “Going back to where you came, eh!” He shot an arrow in their direction and laughed.

Zaganon ducked, and Arroth caught the arrow with his hand. He stared at it and frowned. “Holy water? Really?”

Zaganon’s eyes widened, and he pulled Arroth out through the gates. He was supposed to be the cool and unmoving guy, but having a younger angel treat them the way they treated full-blooded demons was a big blow to their self-esteem. Zaganon had cursed his demon blood the moment he understood the murmurs of those demons. If they had not raped and impregnated their mother, then he wouldn’t have to have been born and abandoned.

Arroth, on the other hand, found Angels to be rather creepy. They always emphasized that they were the best and were loved by the Great God. Their smile had always made his skin crawl, and seeing their full form always gives him nightmares.

Arroth took out his sword, infused it with his Qi, and let the sword take him up into the skies. Zaganon followed behind with his saber. The two left the land and entered the deep woods of the Molian Kingdom. They flew leisurely into the depths of the land and watched the animals move about.

Molian wasn’t as dead as one might say; in fact, they have a great bounty of land expanse, perfect for planting and raising animals. However, because of the thick miasma and heavy resentful energy, there weren’t many animals that could live in their kingdom.

Arroth and Zaganon landed in the nearest town, hoping to finish their work as fast as possible. Zaganon watched the situation carefully. He didn't want to get killed the moment they returned to the land where they grew up. Although their dwellings were in the scorched land in the far east of the kingdom, the whole place knew of their names.

An angel with a tail and a demon who stank of yin energy were pretty easy to remember. Arroth had dark-purple hair, deep red eyes, and had an aura of a powerful king. He wore a black robe with a silver longsword mounted to his side. He looks like a beautiful disaster, and his personality even more so.

Zaganon had two horns in his head. When he was younger, he had the face of a normal human, but as he grew up, his horns started popping out, and his eyes turned all black. Among the two of them, Zaganon had the most prominent Yang energy in his body. It was confusing to see a demon with yang energy instead of yin, but Arroth didn’t mind - this was his brother, and he loved him.

The two had the weirdest combination, with an Angel that cultivated Yin energy, and a demon that had more yang energy than yin.

Arroth and Zaganon walked around town, watching the gazes of demons fall on them. Zaganon pulled his brother away before he managed to kill another demon with his bare hands. Fighting shall not happen when he's around, and ‘he should behave during work’, this was what Arroth learned after years of living with Zaganon.

"Ignore them; they aren't worth it." Zaganon purses his lips, hoping that his brother wouldn't get himself hurt. He kept his hand on Arroth's arm, preventing him from fighting. "Don't add another scar to your body." His mellow voice was enough to melt Arroth's heart.

Arroth pulled his arms away and raised them in surrender. "I won't, don't worry." He smiled and laughed as his brother frowned even more.

Finally, they stood in front of a Tavern, the scents of beer and wine intertwining with each other. The sounds of merrymaking and loud music could be heard from the outside. The noise of men breaking glass and deep and bubbly waves of laughter made those around them frown.

When they pushed open the doors of the tavern, the sounds died down, and what they saw was not laughing men, but a small store for trinkets.

“Is this it?” Arroth said, furrowing his brows and gritting his teeth.

“The compass says ‘yes’,” Zaganon answered, pulling his brother inside

“Welcome, travelers,” The man sitting at the counter said with a lazy grin. He wore a sun-beaten and torn jacket. He had a porcelain face that hides a lonely man that seemed to have lost someone very important. Inside the jacket was a white three-piece that Arroth almost missed. Although he has a pleasant face, it was covered with an unevenly cut beard, and scars that were still healing. He had deep black eyes that decorated his peach-blossom eyes.

He poured two glasses of vodka for his visitors and went to clean seven glasses for beer. “Do the young lords require something from this lowly one?”

Arroth poked Zaganon and moved his lips near the other’s ears. “That’s him?”

“Yes,” Zaganon said, pulling his brother over to sit at the counter. He handed his brother a glass of vodka and grinned. He turned to the sloppy-looking man and said, “I am Zaganon, and this is my brother Arroth.”

The sloppy man nodded. “This lowly one is named Dayan. I presume that the both of you are here for me, then?” He then took out a massive chest and pushed it towards Arroth and Zaganon. He didn’t explain why he took the chest out, but for something this size, it’s impossible to be something useless.

Arroth took a look at the chest and hummed.

The chest was a meter tall and more than a meter wide. It was painted blue and gold, it had a golden keyhole that was as tall as a human hand and as wide as a normal keyhole. Silver flakes and a golden glow surrounded the chest, and in one look anyone would know that it used to belong to a heavenly being.

“What is this?” Zaganon asked. He didn’t like the glow coming from his chest, nor did he enjoy the feeling he got from looking at it. He felt his heart squish when looking at the chest, and his head felt light.

“This is a little gift this lowly one is giving these two special ones .” The man said, before pushing the chest to the two. “Now, leave my tavern.” He pushed his customers out, slamming the door closed behind them.

The two brothers’ eyes twitched. They threw the chest to the ground and unsheathed their swords, preparing to attack the tavern. Their red eyes glowed sinisterly, their breath thinning out. They felt their blood run cold, heads flushed red. Zaganon pushed open the door, almost breaking it. “What kind of f*ckery is this!”

The two fell into an awkward silence.

Arroth and Zaganon were faced with hundreds of gigantic demon men, staring at them with vicious eyes. They all held their beer mugs, having just been drinking and having their way with life. The two were bombarded with whatever happened. They had heard the merrymaking of men before, but because they didn’t see anyone, they had thought it was nothing more than a mirage.

“You half-demons always think you’re better than us full-bloods!” A man shouted, followed by the agreeing shouts of the whole room.

Zaganon pulled his brother back and shook his head to signal that they should leave now.

“Hehe. Seems like these half-bloods have no idea what they’re dealing with.” A giant demon, who stood 3 meters tall, stood right in front of the two. “Shall I beat the idea into you?”

Arroth took out his sword, preparing to fight, which didn’t help in any way.