It had been close to a millennium since Hein last entered the Demon Realm or Strahgris as what most demons call it in local dialect. The late king of the demons banned him from entering all simply because Hein rejected his proposal to unify the two realms. Now that the ancient king was dead, he was granted entry by his successor, Crown Prince Andrei, who agreed with his ideals.
Thunder, lightning and nimbus clouds heralded Hein’s presence in the demon sky. He hovered above the castle like a dragon ready to lay waste on the land. The last time he visited, the foul stench of decaying matter combined with acid permeated all over the kingdom and despite the Ruler of Death himself who had been accustomed to such ghastly odor, still, this sickened him. But now, under the rule of a new king, it changed. The air was lighter and the overall aura had improved, at least in his point of view.
Aware that King Andrei was expecting him, he disappeared from the clouds and materialized inside the castle throne room directly. Black and red, red and black and nothing but these two-toned colors greeted him then. They were the basic shades painted all over the decorative walls and arched ceilings. He would have cringed at the boring sight but realized his castle was no way better with its all-black-shades theme.
“Welcome, King of Sattus,” far on the other side of the room spoke the new ruler.
Hein snapped his head to that direction and simply blinked before finding himself on the base of the dais. Here, he was able to get a closer look of his counterpart: long, midnight hair, perpetual impassive face, piercing blue-green eyes with felid pupils, high cheekbones and sharp jawline, and lastly, ramrod straight back just like him. He was a stark contrast of his foolhardy father who had a waistline beard and protruding stomach.
“King Andrei, I see that you have grown accustomed to the throne,” Hein remarked after carefully examining his royal appearance.
The latter awarded him a brief grin.
“A throne that all demons desire, King Hein, including my bastard brothers. My life is hanging by a thread as it is.”
“Speaking of brothers, you know my purpose of coming here. Where is he?”
There was a slight pause in between them. Etched on the face of the King of Strahgris were pure disappointment and bubbling anger.
“If I had known of his transgressions in the mortal realm, I would have detained him already,” he started which in return placed a scowl on Hein’s face. He instantly knew where this was going.
“But sad to say, I was informed too late, Your Highness. Unfortunately, Amon remains at large, and to make matters worse, he is skilled with hiding. I have very limited ways of tracking him down.”
Hein’s hands clenched.
“With the gravity of the situation, I need to pin him down and asap, Andrei. Would you mind if I kill your brother the moment I find him?” A flash of wickedness appeared in his eyes and the latter saw it and took pleasure in it.
“You have my blessing, Hein, but I would prefer a piece of his corpse too,” he answered.
“You’ll have his shitty corpse. I just need his fucked up soul to torment for life.”
“Agreed,” Andrei scoffed. Talking about murdering his brother was just another normal day in Hell. They had been at each other’s throats since their father exhibited signs of decay. They knew he wasn’t immortal. None of them were. But the fact that he was the legitimate son of the late king made him the easy “x mark” among his seven brothers.
To have the King of Sattus as his ally meant great opportunities in the future, albeit like the one they just agreed.
“I’m aware you found your mate?” he questioned after remembering his own in the form of a female mage.
Hein’s expression lightened. “I have and she—” But this changed to horror instantly.
“Fuck!” he cried out and without any preamble, disappeared in Andrei’s front.
Hein felt it: Solene’s life essence depleting quick. It was the one thing that connected him to her while he was on demon soil and it was what informed him of the immense danger she was in.
Rushing to save her, he teleported inside Ursula’s plane in less than a second.
“Solene!” He barged inside the hut hoping she was still alive but it was already too late.
Meanwhile, Anklet, seeing the dark clouds forming overhead, quickly left the sunflower pot she just finished planting. She sensed a different vibe inside the plane and she thought it was either her Mistress had caused it or somebody else was affecting the environment.
Once she stepped inside the vestibule, she found the answer and it was because of her master standing gloomily in front of Solene’s lifeless body. She was still on the couch and the grimoire on her feet. Blood, fresh and bright red, had oozed from a gaping hole on her chest.
“Oh my god! Milady!” Her eyes almost popped out of its sockets. She sank to her knees and hit the ground feeling quickly depressed.
“Anklet, go and bring Ursula to the hospital,” Hein’s low but precise voice cut through the silence they were in.
“Lady Ursula?” She stared at his back with brows knitting. “I don’t… understand. It’s the Mistress we need to take care of, Master!”
“Solene is dead,” was his painful reply. He didn’t spare Anklet a look as his eyes were glued to his wife.
He hated himself for not sensing her panic, her anguish, or her pain earlier.
Henri, his other half, being in the human realm, would have protected her from any danger but since the demon realm’s numbing effect on the senses also affected him, he was unable to sense her dire situation too.
Lady Ursula’s plane added to the problem. It was designed to be impenetrable to demons and other evil spirits unless… a possession happened and one coming from a demon royal ass.
Amon, his thoughts confirmed.
Fucking shit.
He grimaced when everything made sense. Cassandra’s demon-induced foul odor had leaked from her lifeless body somewhere on the estate. It was probably left by the Demon of Wrath while hastily escaping… or so it would seem…
“Ursula is dying because of a high-class demon that successfully infiltrated this house,” he stated. “She’s in the fields nearby. Go and help her before it’s too late. I don’t want her to end up like Cassandra crossing my death gate.”
“Yes, Master!” exclaimed Anklet this time; her heart filled with worry for the old lady and anguish for her friend. If she was dead too like her mistress, could she actually consider herself a good bodyguard and a good friend?
Tears streamed down her eyes and it continued on when she saw Lady Ursula’s laceration-riddled body lying on her own pool of blood.
*****
Hein and Henri now in one body neared Solene’s lifeless form, but before he could pick her up, Cassandra, now half morphed into a man, jumped out of nowhere and attacked him from behind.
Hein expected this however and so, he summoned an energy blast from inside his body, surrounding the whole room and hitting the demon right on the face.
From the blinding light, Cassandra’s pained shriek emerged and then a loud crash against the wall.
Hein turned to face his attacker with a disgusted face. “Do you really think you can do the same trick twice, Amon?”
In reply, the demon cackled before it stood from the rubble. “I was just trying my luck with this body, but I know without my full strength I wouldn’t be able to kill yo—”
Hein didn’t bother listening anymore. He summoned his great scythe in less than a nanosecond and sliced Cassandra’s body using it in a hundred strokes.
It was a direct hit, but he didn’t celebrate.
The weakening haughty expression on Cassandra’s face told him the possession had ended. Amon had escaped just as fast as he was and as cowardly as a mouse like he expected he would.
“Tsk, fucking demon,” he muttered under his breath, disappointment crossed his face.
With a deep breath, he turned to face Solene again. She was untouched and undisturbed. Good. He lifted her from the couch and kissed her forehead. Extreme sadness marred his handsome face earlier. Now, it was gradually replaced with hope.
“My wife…” he muttered softly while he gazed at her bloody chest. “Don’t worry, I’ll find your soul in the Afterlife and bring you back to life.”
With that, he disappeared from the hut with her in his arms and materialized in Sattus, inside the castle’s Holy Room specifically.
‘Kelios, there’s a new soul who just entered the spirit realm,’ he stated through telepathy to his head chancellor. ‘I want you to find her and hurry. She’s very special to me and to this realm.’
He could have done it himself, but he prioritized attending to Solene’s body.
‘Is it the queen, Your Highness?’ the latter questioned.
‘Yes,’ was Hein’s curt reply.
‘Right away, Your Highness.’
Once Kelios agreed, Hein knelt at the edge of the glowing pool, kissed her lips first before releasing her body on the water. The waters of the River Enyd was known to be both destructive and therapeutic depending on the type of life energy it fed. Solene was of pure energy. Hein was confident her body would be preserved while waiting for her soul. He was confident she’d live again…
Minutes later, Kelios appeared behind him and said, “Your Highness, I have located the queen’s soul.”
Straightening up, he faced the man and nodded for him to continue.
Kelios expanded the glowing ball he was holding and showed the pictures inside, specifically Solene’s soul wandering on a barren, monster-riddled desert.
“In GEHENNA?!” Hein’s voice rose and created a thunderous roar around the room. “Why the fuck is her soul in there?!”
Kelios lowered his head and clasped his hands over his abdomen.
“According to the records, she was killed using a demon weapon, Your Highness, so her soul immediately went to Gehenna.”
Hein’s jaw clenched.
Amon sending his low-class lackeys to harass, scare, and kill her on Earth was bad enough, now he did it himself and fucking used a blasted demon blade of all weapons! She didn’t deserve this kind of treatment! She didn’t deserve to suffer in Sattus too!
“She’s the Queen of the Underworld! She’s meant to cross the Afterlife safely, not suffer in the land of the damned!” he voiced out; anger, potent and destructive, rose from under his skin.
His great scythe materialized next to him. He grabbed it and then crashed the end of the staff against the black floor. The blade glowed a soft blue indicating he was summoning her soul to his side right away but seconds turned to a minute and yet nothing happened.
Kelios lowered his head even more; hiding his face filled with concern.
“Your Majesty, I’m afraid that can’t happen yet. You know very well why,” he reminded with as much submissive voice as possible.
With that, Hein hissed, tightened his hold on the scythe, and ended the summoning.
Yes, he knew exactly why. Damn it.
No jurisdiction.
He fucking had no jurisdiction over Gehenna. As the Universe would have it, his influence couldn’t reach there. It was the land of the forgotten; the land of no hope. The land filled with endless sorrow; the land where sinful souls were meant to be just as they rightfully should. As the King of Sattus, Gehenna was designed to gain no favor or absolution from him.
Solene could easily escape that damned place since she was the Queen over it, but to make matters worse, she hasn’t taken the holy waters of the River Enyd. She was yet to become a full-fledged Queen of Sattus and Sattus was yet to recognize her as its true resident and not just a passing soul.
The more Hein thought about it, the more his rage sky-rocketed.
“I can’t just stay here and do nothing! What’s the purpose of being king if I can’t bring my wife’s soul to safety?!”
“Before a queen, she’s a St. Fair conjurer, Your Majesty,” from the doorway, a man announced.
Hein flashed a glare in his direction, but then it softened when he realized who it was.
“Jacob.”
“Put more trust on her,” Solene’s father continued. He was dressed in a plain white buttoned coat and the same-colored pants and boots. His face was a picture of confidence and solitude; a father proud of his daughter.
“I’m sorry to barge in unannounced but with the amount of rumble happening all over the castle walls because of your voice, Your Majesty, I figured you’re in a tight mess.”
“A fucking tight mess indeed, Jacob,” Hein replied, his temper lowering.
“She’ll be safe. Don’t worry. I can feel our bond as family strengthening. She’ll be able to escape Gehenna. I’m confident about it.”
Hein huffed, closed his eyes, and counted his anger away.
“I’m confident too, Jacob. What I’m worried about are the entities imprisoned there.”
“I know what you’re thinking,” Jacob replied, nearing the king. “All you need to do is ask, Your Highness, and I’ll help you.”
Hein raised his scythe and pointed the head of the staff within Jacob’s reach.
“Do it,” he said.
The latter did so, touching the blade with his glowing hand full of the manipulation spell.
Three.
Two.
One.
And Hein was enveloped in the brightest light ever seen on Sattus.
The End.