Chapter 256: THE TIGHT ROOM

"Ah, so my brothers remained steadfast.

But now that I think of it...

Mm, eliminating them at once would be such a task."

Satan thought as he wait for the seal to recieve more cracks.

"Well, not that I'm afraid.

After all, I think they watched the whole thing."

Satan giggles as he thinks of what he could do,

Until he heard Ken try to break loose.

"How long can you last, Ken?

How long can you convince yourself?

That you're still the epitome of a hero despite your obvious weaknesses,

That you can still play your part,

even after you witness their deaths?

How long can you last?

How long can you deny?"

Ken did not answered and tried to fight off the poison,

Trying to summon his scythe but it doesn't seem to work.

The snakes continued to bite harder,

Coiling him too tight that his power refuse to flow.

His horns shrank as his power were slowly drained,

And more than that, he was met with unexplainable pain.

His eyes watered as he scream,

Trying to free himself, despite the repercussions it gives.

"Well, you're surely an idiot.

Anyways, I got to go.

I'll check you later once you come to your senses.

For now, I'm going to collect the abilities of those angels."

...

"Raphael,"

"Yes, sir Michael?"

"We need to have Satan leave his vessel,"

"What? That would just make it harder to kill him.

It's not like he took an angel hostage."

"But you saw Lucifer's expression.

We saw the same thing.

I had hope he could start anew."

"I saw it, but it's not enough for all the things he had done before."

"What if he was only lost?"

"We discussed that matter over and over.

And what if he go back to his old self the moment he is saved?

C'mon, you know I pity him, but don't make it harder for ourselves."

Gabriel suddenly punched the seal,

Distracting the two bickering angels for a bit.

They looked worried the moment they saw his expression,

A paint of darkness enveloping it whole.

Raphael knew that the angel beside him was frustrated,

"Sir Michael, one day...you'll be killed by your kindness."

Gabriel spoke with a monotonous voice,

But his eyes watered, showing hesitation and concern.

Jegudiel gulped and looked down,

Not wanting to add to the conflict of the bunch.

"Gabriel, Raphael. Don't set such an example when you know Dawn is just beside us.

Can't you recall? We've been helping in saving sinners our whole lives.

Lucifer may have blew many chances,

But now that he showed a possibility of change,

Why would we rob him of it?

We sing whenever a soul repents.

We rejoice for every being saved.

So why should we push our brother away?

When we saw how much he regretted falling from grace.

He loved Selaphiel, and he loves him the same.

He smiled at him the moment he took his last breath.

We shouldn't just let that expression fade from our memory,

Even Selaphiel want him to keep his wings-"

"But what if it kills another somebody?

What if your persistence to keep him alive kill one of us?

What would then happen?"

Michael became quiet,

And understood the flaw in his faith.

He had so much faith in everyone,

He forgot to look at the other sides.

"So we should just kill him, right?

That's what you want?"

"Yes."

Michael gave a long sigh.

"If...if you truly value...

if that's...if that's how you value your life.

Then...fine.

Stay behind the whole fight.

I'll do this on my own."

"Michael, that's not what I meant!"

"Stay back, Raphael. This is an order.

You're right, I can't lose another brother.

I can't protect you all as well.

So just...just stay back and let me do this on my own.

I've lost...way too many brothers.

Uriel...Barachiel...Selaphiel...

I can't do this any longer.

I can't grieve forever.

And if I die on our fight,

I'd count it as a blessing,

So my heart won't have to ache for everyone I lost.

"Michael, that's not what I meant, we can still work together!"

"But I do not like your method!

Archangel Raphael, I will save all I could.

So stay behind if you're afraid.

I understand.

You're scared of fate."

Raphael suddenly had his tears released,

"You're so unfair Michael! You make us all worried sick!

Why can't you think of yourself sometime?!

Do you not value your own life?"

"What makes my life valuable is living it with courage.

I have failed a lot of people and I know that,

But as long as I can help them with my hands,

I'll put my life on the line."

Dawn managed to crack a larger portion of the seal,

Having his and Jegudiel's water, seep within.

"I hope the adults have already handled their emotions.

Because I've already made a big enough hole."

Dawn said nonchalantly,

As he stares eye to eye with the Devil.

...

Belphegor felt difficulty balancing his flight,

And he could have sworn that his vision seemed to spiral.

However, despite no longer hearing the haunting sound,

He still heard a familiar voice call out.

A male voice suddenly told him to look behind,

And so he did as told, and saw a bug, ready to bite.

He had no time to process who had warned him,

And quickly dodged in the whim.

He regrew his lost limbs with the use of a black substance,

Something he had acquired from the nightmares he had harvested.

But using it however, left his stamina drained,

Still, he can't truly defeat the monster with one working limb.

His cuts his own legs quickly,

Replacing them with a black goo that transformed into legs.

The quick transformation left the intellegent creature impressed,

Even mocking him with its claps,

Then storming away.

It hid in the walls, which seemed to be becoming tighter and tighter,

But after Belphegor casted his summons to hold it in place,

The bug suddenly emerged from the floor.

Belphegor don't know what it was,

Or what weakness it has by chance.

He needs to use his summons wisely as well,

Seeing that no being could be used to refill them.

It shrieked the moment Belphegor's spear hit its leg,

But it only absorbed it.

It then strategically called out his friends.

And the little bugs started to gather.

They glowed in gold,

As the demon watched in awe.

The temperature soon became hotter,

Making Belphegor even more disracted.

His vision started to sway again,

As his wings began to burn and fail.

He tried to keep finding the bug that had hid again,

But the creature was using its skills well.

If only he could smell like Beelzebub,

And if only his outfit isn't thick and black.

His scarf that once brought comfort to his neck,

Soon brought great hassle into himself.

He felt choked out and itchy,

And had to stop his urge to throw them out eventually.

When he felt a movement from his left side,

He quickly summoned a pair of black vines.

But the bugs from the floor only crawled on the summon,

And with their number, it was burned in seconds.

"This is impossible.

Azazel...how can he have this power?"

Belphegor wondered to himself,

But his thoughts were stopped immediately, from the glow and knocks on the door.

The force soon became more violent,

That Zeharah then inflicted a crack.

And soon enough she managed to make a hole,

Big enough for her face to show.

And because the bug hid in the corner,

Zeharah was left unaware of the monster.

"BELPHEGOR! CAN'T YOU HEAR ME?!!"

Zeharah asked worried as hell.

He saw how her arm had bled from the force she had applied,

And the panting expression of hers, nearly broke his heart.

However, he felt the warmth in the room increase,

And that urged him to look at the monster from the corner.

It was drooling and cleaning its mouth,

As if preparing to take her out.

Panic suddenly rose in his chest,

As he saw that the bug showed great interest.

It smelled injury and great distress,

And it might think that preying on her,

might be best.

But after remembering the corpses of women in the room,

Realized that Zeharah's body may serve them more purpose.

Belphegor's skin crawled at the recollection,

And could only conclude, that it was Zeharah, who was most endangered.

The quick realization that it will hurt his friend,

Gave Belphegor more determination to kill the pest.

He speedily summoned another vine but faster,

Even if the speed he added required more energy to hand over.

The speed was quick to puncture the bug,

And in great pain, it soon cried.

"Belphegor! Wait!! I'll help!"

Zeharah called out, ready to move to the space.

But Belphegor had no plans putting her in danger,

And covered the door's hole before she could enter.

Joseph soon asked her of what had happened,

But she wasn't sure herself.

"He suddenly trapped himself,

But I know I should help!"

Joseph's barrier was close to cracking,

Showing that the walls were still continuing to tighten.

The summons Belphegor had left were also weakening,

Hinting that its master is also on the verge of collapsing.

"There must be a reason why he doesn't want you there,

I'll try to enter, so take my place."

Zeharah nodded at her brother's suggestion,

And rose her hand, to repair their barrier.

"Make sure both of you make it out alive,"

"I cannot promise, but I will certainly try."

The sentence made her heart burn in flames,

Aching strongly, scared of what could come next.

She kisses her brother's cheek all of a sudden,

And hugged him tightly as well.

"Come out alive, Joseph. And Belphegor too.

I'll be praying for your safety. God be with you."