Ablackwing

"Sir... Why are you smiling like that?" Jeanne said just like Eve did before. It was getting hard to control myself.

My blood l.u.s.t was acting up again. I had tried to bury my hatred for demons in my heart. But it had never died. Every time I saw these demons, it"d come out of its grave just like an undead being who that refused to go to the afterlife. I took in deep breaths in an attempt to calm my mind. I didn"t want to lose myself to my rage again as I did in the morning.

"Just come with me," I said and walked forward. They didn"t say anything further and followed me. I guess they had no choice. As I was near the alley, I halted.

I saw my Eve coming out of the car after keeping the groceries. She stood beside her car on the other side of the road. She looked around a bit. And the next moment, our eyes met. Even though we weren"t separated for long but in her eyes, I saw the joy of seeing me again. It was funny how impatient she was. It was funny how easily I found my peace. Those bad thoughts of mine were like prey cowering in the fear of a predator. Her eyes were so magical.

"What"s wrong?" Jeanne asked, wondering why I had halted. She couldn"t see my Eve because of people blocking her sight.

I smiled at my Eve and shook my head. Hoping she would not follow me. The things that happen in dark shouldn"t ever reach her. I"d never let them reach her.

"Nothing," I replied and walked inside the alley.

The alley wasn"t too wide but it wasn"t too small either. It was empty but I could sense the demon dressed in yellow and his friends up ahead. I kept walking forward and turned right.

There that demon was, standing in the middle of that small road. The other two demons were nearby but just in casual hiding. Even though it was already dark, his side appeared to be a little darker. It was his doing. He wanted to scare us but such small tricks were really useless to me. My eyes could see everything. I could see his smug expressions. His eyes were looking down on us as if we were insects. It was just... too funny.

"Bring that we kids here, sign a pact and be my servant or be ready to die," he spoke it all slowly but sharply, perhaps fearing we won"t understand it. Those dumb kids behind my held my shirt, fearing I would really hand them over to the demon to save myself.

I didn"t get from where the yellow demon was getting his confidence. If we look according to the ranking system, that demon, at best, belonged to higher A rank. At worst he would be a lower A rank demon. And he still behaved like that. The new blood among demons really surpa.s.s the old ones in foolishness.

"I"d have to deny, " I politely replied. I knew that being all nice with these demons will never work. Not in a million years would he say "Ok. You can go. Sorry for trouble". But I still tried. It can be said I gave him a chance. That was the first time I gave a demon a chance. Otherwise, I"d have beheaded him for his insolence.

That demon smiled and said, "Why are you so eager to die. I swear I don"t treat my servants badly. In any case, the kids are coming with me. I"m tired after following them for so long."

"I"m afraid you can"t even touch a single strand of their hair... Or mine."

The smile on his face disappeared. What replaced it was anger. I almost burst up laughing at his pitiful emotions flaring up for no reason.

"If you kneel and beg for forgiveness, I might think of letting you die a painless death," the demon dressed in Yellow said in a high tone. He then walked towards me. I guessed he wanted to fight me but with bare hands? Wasn"t he just too careless?

"Jean. Let me show you how to do it right," I told the kid and walked forward. Jean looked like someone who practiced fighting physically too. I didn"t mind giving him a demonstration of a correct uppercut.

The demon in yellow increased his speed and clenched his fists. When he was right in front of me, he moved his right arm to punch my face. I gave him a handicap and let him hit me as a form of mercy.

His punch connected... but like always, it was just too weak. The hit couldn"t even make me turn my head. I couldn"t help but sigh thinking of these pitiful creatures. He withdrew his arm and looked at me in disbelief.

"My turn," I warned him before I started.

I moved my fist towards his jaw for an uppercut. When he realized it, he wanted to draw back but he was too slow... All of the momentum from my arm was transferred to his head in one instant and he fell back on the ground, unmoving. I could have killed him in one punch but I didn"t want to go back home with b.l.o.o.d.y fists. So I held back, a lot.

I turned back and asked Jean, "How was it?"

Both the kids looked at me in disbelief. It was only a while later when Jean exclaimed, "Awesome!"

I turned my head forward again.

"You should come out too," I called out for those hidden demons loudly, hoping that they would come out from their hiding. Well, I shouldn"t say that they were hiding. I had already known that they were on the top of the building on left.

Just after that, someone jumped down in front of me. The ground where he fell crack in a spider web-like fashion. That demon was wearing a brown long coat. He was much more muscular than the yellow devil. But this one looked middle aged and more mature than the yellow one. My intuition told me that he had some physical enchantment ability. I was surprised to find out that this person was a higher demon.

"You got some guts boy. To dare hit my brother so badly in front of me," The demon in brown bellowed.

"Oh! He was your brother. No wonder you look so similar."

"You gave him a free hit. Right? I give you a free hit now. Come!"

I guess he wanted to sate his pride by doing so. Or perhaps he too was trying to show off just like his brother. Sigh... Heredity problems. Both had disgusting behaviour. He should have at least tried to ask me about my ident.i.ty before saying that.

"Thank you. Don"t regret it later." I didn"t deny his generosity and just earned him.

I stepped forward in front of him. He too was looking down on me. Without wasting any time I swung my hand to punch his face, just like his little brother punched me a while ago. Before my punch hit him, I saw his skin turn a little yellowish. I knew he was using his physical enchantment ability for defence but I continued with the same speed. His ability wasn"t strong enough to worry me.

I hit his face and the expected thing happened. He fell down on the ground, unconscious, just like his little brother. If he defended properly, he wouldn"t have been knocked out this easily.

And at that moment, I felt four short knives flying in my direction all pointed at my vitals. One heading towards my head, second towards my heart, third towards my abdomen and fourth towards my neck. I"d be instantly killed if I didn"t dodge them. I could move and my reaction time was fastest than the speed of those knives. But there was one problem.

The knife coming towards my neck would hit Jean if I dodged. I used the leap of time and instead of dodging them, I caught them between my fingers and threw them to the side.

Another devil jumped from the same building the second devil had jumped from. I should better call it descending instead of jumping because her speed of coming down was very slow. I was surprised when I saw through the life force of that demon. The life force was radiating out like the surging waves of a river. I never could have thought that someone like her would be here. No wonder I was forced to use my ability.

"I didn"t expect miss Asmodeus to be here."

They called themselves lords of sins or the seven kings of Gehenna. They were the absolute rulers of Gehenna. Even hundreds of higher demons couldn"t hold a candle against one of the lords. Even those arrogant higher demons would have to respectfully bow down their head in front of the lords. But I never met them before. I had only heard about them. It was my first time meeting one of the lords. In front of me was the queen of l.u.s.t, Asmodeus.

Her large black bat-like wings were spread afar as she descended. I had to say she was a looker. Her deep blue eyes that looked like an endless ocean and those perfectly arched eyebrows above them can literally steal your heart. Her lips, coloured with redness that would make you want to kiss them. Her white unblemished snow-like skin appeared like nothing could be fairer. Her face was at the peak of perfection.

Then there were her bewitching curves hidden by a light blue dress and something like skin-tight trousers. Her hair was long and dark as night. She was wearing high heels. This seductress could steal anyone"s heart in a heartbeat.

"You"ve got sharp eyes little angel," Asmodeus" giggled and her voice was soft as if it was embracing me. Even though she was standing a couple of meters away from me but I could feel that sweet smell a.s.sault my nostrils. That smell made me feel like I was in paradise.

"I ask miss Asmodeus to let us go."

"Would you like to work for me?"

Her voice was even softer this time. Like I could hear her whispering those words in my ears. She looked so fragile and still so beautiful. I wanted to s.n.a.t.c.h that lady and take her for myself. I felt like I should agree to whatever she says otherwise I"d regret it to death.

I took a deep breath. I had enough of such tricks. She had used her ability to charm the moment I laid eyes on her. Yeah, her ability was much stronger than others but it wasn"t irresistible to me. Yeah, she was beautiful but she really didn"t stand any chance in h.e.l.l in front of my Eve. I experienced those things because I let her charm me. I was curious about those so-called lords and their strength. But it was disappointing...

"I"d have to deny miss too."

"What?" Asmodeus was startled.

"Miss Asmodeus. I"m immune to such abilities. And I already have someone whom I serve." I truthfully told her. The abilities that target mind and heart aren"t rare. Like creating hazy thoughts or inducing mental confusion. To prevent hidden attacks, some beings place traps in their mind. But these traps could be solved by someone skilled enough.

In my case, it truly was immunity. My all-seeing eyes could see through all lies and all mirage. Sometimes, I feel that this is my strongest ability which has kept me alive till now.

"You"re very strong, little angel... " Asmodeus" voice was still calm and composed. Her surprise had only lasted for a while and she still was trying to charm me. "What a pity that this little boy is not as strong as you." As her words. .h.i.t my ear and I realized she was talking about those kids behind me.

Before I could turn back, I felt a sharp pain in my right leg. A knife had been slashed behind my right knee. The muscles were torn. My leg couldn"t support me and I fell down on my knees. But that wasn"t all. Another knife was stabbed in my back. The second one was stabbed so deep that it almost came out of my abdomen.

I turned my head and saw Jean who had excitement and madness in his eyes. Jean was still holding the knife handle, trying to stab even deeper.

"What have you done!?" I heard Jeanne scream.

I flicked Jean"s forehead hard with my finger and he fainted.

I felt pain again. This time in my chest. Because my head was turned, I didn"t see Asmodeus stabbing me. This stab was near my heart. Two of my ribs broke with that strike. I groaned in pain. This might very well be the second heaviest injury I suffered in my life.

Asmodeus sure was fast. Bringing her knife out and covering a few meter distance in such a short time and making such a lethal strike. It was praiseworthy. Even though I never let her know about my ident.i.ty as the strongest angel, she still used despicable means to backstab me. As expected of a demon king, such despicable nature. It might be the second deadliest injury I ever suffered. I admit that these lords weren"t as weak as I first thought. But...

Because of her actions, I lost it... My sanity...