CONTENT WARNING: blood/gore.

Zheng Zixin

“You’ve become cold, Cassiel,” Belphegor said, resuming her gnawing on the severed fairy’s arm. “Don’t you remember the good times we had? Remember that beautiful meal we had under the moonlight? You can’t just wipe precious moments like that from your memory instantly.”

“You mean the massacre in Aivrena? You nearly decimated a town because they wouldn’t hold a feast for you,” Cassiel replied, sighing in exasperation. “You always go too far to eat everything and everyone in sight. You’ll never put anyone before your hunger. Not even me. Can your new mistress even satisfy you?”

“What happened to ‘it’ll be okay, Belphie’ or ‘I’ll never leave your side, Belphie’? Have you written me out of your heart completely?” she asked.

He closed his eyes and shuddered, as though he held back tears. “I don’t have room for darkness, Belphie. You’ve made it clear you’re a package deal. If I accept you, I have to accept all of your dark deeds and the new Mistress you serve. It made me realize you never really loved me. You only loved what I offered.”

Belphegor waved her hand, making the disfigured arm disappear. Anger appeared on her face in an instant. “You were supposed to love me! Do you know what it’s like to lose your mate? You forced me to turn to darkness! You never took a moment to understand me. That’s where the Dark Lady came in. She accepted me for everything I am and offered me a home, a chance to be myself. When have you ever sacrificed anything for me?”

Cassiel shook his head in disbelief. “You always rewrite the story to your liking… and you’re always the victim. Will you ever reflect on your mistakes? It’s times like this I wish you were more like Sosuke. He is aware of his shortcomings and has learned from them.”

When Cassiel’s final words left his mouth, the tension grew thicker.

Belphegor’s eyes turned cold as her minion reappeared out of the darkness. “Luvart, take care of our guests. They must be famished.”

“As you wish, Lady Belphegor,” he said, teleporting to the rest of the group. The air became sweet, so sweet that it felt like I was drunk on its aroma. My senses dulled and just when I thought the fallen angels succeeded in getting their way, Yami’s fire and Hana’s vines cut through Luvart’s magic, shattering the illusion completely.

“How did you break the spell?” Luvart exclaimed. “No one should be able to repel sin magic.”

“You must have forgotten. We’re not like the other foxes. We’re fox demons. Your magic won’t have any effect on people like us,” Yami said. “You should have researched your enemy first.”

Hana’s whip cracked as she swung it towards Luvart. A devious smile flashed across her face, but she said nothing. She must have said something through the bond because Yami snickered while shaking his head. If I didn’t know any better, she asked if she could keep a part of Luvart as a souvenir or ingredient to some heinous experiment.

The scent in the air shifted from a sickeningly sweet scent to a strong spiciness that left me choking on the air I inhaled. My lungs burned as each breath felt like someone shoved pepper up my nose.

“Pray for absolution, Byakko,” Sayuri said, the glow from her grimoire growing stronger. “Usagiza.” An astral rabbit appeared, which looked harmless compared to the wolves she had summoned previously. I fought the urge to laugh, wondering what damage such a small animal could bring to our enemy.

A thousand stars rained down when the rabbit leaped through the air. Upon closer inspection, I realized the spicy scent wasn’t free form. It was a lesser demon made of smog. The rabbit’s nimble feet touched the creature, striking at its vital points every time its white pads made contact with its smoky form.

Sun Fang ran over to me, asking, “Are you alright, Taizi? Forgive me for not seeing through the Fallen’s illusion.”

“You’ll be training to resist that when we return to the Mainlands,” I replied with a snarl.

“Enough talking,” Belphegor said. “On with lunch.”

From her hands launched a gooey caramel, pinning Jin, Tui, Sosuke, Sun Fang, and I to the ground. I struggled against its sticky restraints, but no matter how hard I tried, it refused to let me break free. I partially shifted, hoping my scales would cut through, but it only clung to my body more.

“Stop this, Belphie!” Cassiel pleaded with his mate. “Your beef is with me.”

“There you go again. Worrying about others before your own mate!” Belphegor shouted.

My body grew tired from my struggling and my eyes flashed to Sosuke’s immobile body. For a split second, I wondered if this was how the great Crown Prince of Wuzhen and Hirayama Sosuke would meet their end. I closed my eyes, resigning myself to a disgraceful end.

Cold water splashed on top of me and I opened my eyes to see Sun Fang standing over me fully shifted. Beads of water speckled around his mouth. He had used his premature dragon’s breath.

“Not to worry, Taizi. Caramel washes away easily with a bit of water,” he said.

“I’m taking a hot shower when this is over,” I said, turning my head away in disgust while he continued to free the rest of my limbs.

He moved onto the others, freeing them one by one while Cassiel and Belphegor engaged in battle. When Cassiel raised his sword, Belphegor released blasts of an acidic carbonated fluid that smelled like grapes. Everything it came into contact with corroded instantly.

A thousand stars rained down when the rabbit leaped through the air. Upon closer inspection, I realized the spicy scent wasn’t free form. It was a lesser demon made of smog. The rabbit’s nimble feet touched the creature, striking at its vital points every time its white pads made contact with its smoky form.

Sun Fang ran over to me, asking, “Are you alright, Taizi? Forgive me for not seeing through the Fallen’s illusion.”

“You’ll be training to resist that when we return to the Mainlands,” I replied with a snarl.

“Enough talking,” Belphegor said. “On with lunch.”

From her hands launched a gooey caramel, pinning Jin, Tui, Sosuke, Sun Fang, and me to the ground. I struggled against its sticky restraints, but no matter how hard I tried, it refused to let me break free. I partially shifted, hoping my scales would cut through, but it only clung to my body more.

“Stop this, Belphie!” Cassiel pleaded with his mate. “Your beef is with me.”

“There you go again. Worrying about others before your own mate!” Belphegor shouted.

My body grew tired from my struggling and my eyes flashed to Sosuke’s immobile body. For a split second, I wondered if this was how the great Crown Prince of Wuzhen and Hirayama Sosuke would meet their end. I closed my eyes, resigning myself to a disgraceful end.

Cold water splashed on top of me and I opened my eyes to see Sun Fang standing over me fully shifted. Beads of water speckled around his mouth. He had used his premature dragon’s breath.

“Not to worry, Taizi. Caramel washes away easily with a bit of water,” he said.

“I’m taking a hot shower when this is over,” I said, turning my head away in disgust while he continued to free the rest of my limbs.

He moved onto the others, freeing them one by one while Cassiel and Belphegor engaged in battle. When Cassiel raised his sword, Belphegor released blasts of a brown acidic carbonated fluid that smelled like grapes. Everything it came into contact with corroded instantly.

Midway through her attacks, she switched to baguettes that had a tough exterior powerful enough to slice through anything it went through. Cassiel deflected each attack with ease, relying on his wings to grant him agility. Her attacks became frantic, her anger for him overpowering her reason.

I half-shifted, trying to block every baguette that came my way. When one of them grazed my shoulder, I heard a crackle. I glanced down and noticed one scale had cracked. I should have been worried that it was strong enough to break through one of the strongest armored suits any magical creature could have. But the thought of being pushed to my limits excited me, just as it did with Sathanas.

And then I heard Tui’s anguished cry. “Master!”

Watching Sosuke’s crumpled body made my heart fall, my breath frozen in my throat as I struggled to make sense of what happened. My dragon pleaded for us to go to his side, thinking it would save him somehow, but a small pool of blood flowed around his head.

My mind pulsed with memories of the past, of the man I swore to never think about again. The source of all my unhappiness and the reason I became who I was to this day: Yu Meng, the first man I’d given my heart to.

I covered my mouth with a hand, fighting the urge to vomit. Images of Yu Meng’s body being run through with my sword, the look of betrayal in his gaze as the light left his eyes, and an unforgettable amount of blood. It was almost as if I relived that terrible moment, but it was magnified one hundred times because of the mate bond.

My skin burned agonizingly, my heart calling out to my fallen mate, but my mind willed me to never sway from my position. Sosuke’s eyes remained closed, and his thoughts were blank since he fell unconscious. I focused hard and long until I could finally isolate his weak heartbeat amidst the white noise. Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

‘He’s alive,’ I told myself repeatedly, using those words to calm my dragon. When I looked up to meet Belphegor’s gaze, I saw red. Everything else around me faded away, and I felt myself nearly relinquish all control to my dragon completely.

“I don’t have a problem with you, little dragon,” Belphegor said. “My issues lie with Cassiel and that mate of yours.”

“When you attack my mate, you attack me,” my dragon replied.

“A technicality.”

“Who do you serve?”

“Why do you wish to know?” she responded, sounding bored.

“It’s proper to know the name of the being whose heart I intend to rip out. You knew the consequences when you struck down my mate and you will pay for it with your life.”

“Dragons are so temperamental when it comes to their mate.” She stepped forward, circling around me with her lips pursed and eyes narrowed in scrutiny. “You don’t have to do this. You can still walk away. The Light Court will fall one day, with or without your involvement.”

“The Hierophant won’t allow it,” Cassiel said.

“And yet you seek to break a curse that was ordered by your precious saint, Cassiel,” Belphegor gestured to Sosuke’s body before adding, “Are you sure the Serpent is your only threat? Even Hell has heard its fair share of tales about the great Hirayama Sosuke’s conquests and what he did to achieve those accomplishments. How can you stand by someone who dares to thwart the balance of the realm? Is it the lesser of two evils?”

I moved in front of Sosuke’s body to shield him from Belphegor’s scrutinizing gaze. Jin and Tui tended to his injuries as best they could while remaining vigilant in case Belphegor switched her attention back to Sosuke. His blood was a scent I would never forget and would certainly have nightmares about.

“You don’t seem as insistent on impeding our quest as your fallen comrade, Sathanas,” I said, trying to control the shift. I didn’t know if I could control it with Sosuke so close.

“Yes, well, there is always time to crush hopes and dreams. When you’re immortal, you’ve got nothing but time. If you break this curse, a worse one will appear later.” With a wave of her hand, an extravagant table appeared in front of us with a variety of food and glasses of wine scattered across its surface. “The journey must have been tiring. Shall we eat?”

“Eat? You attacked my mate and you want to eat?” I asked with a scoff.

“I am gluttony,” she replied rather sarcastically. “Besides, wouldn’t you like to enjoy one last meal before you die?”

“You know what? I am actually quite hungry. Do you happen to have osmanthus tea?” Sun Fang asked. I shot a venomous glare towards the water dragon and he bowed his head before moving back behind the rest of us in silence.

“Why are you stalling? Don’t all the Fallen want to please their master? Your way of dancing around the subject is laughable, cowardly even.”

“It’s important to replenish your energy before a big fight.” She took a large bite out of a fried chicken leg before gorging herself on generous helpings of potatoes. “I don’t understand how the mer live here. Don’t they grow tired of the seagrass and kelp? I suppose food is food.” She continued to stuff copious amounts of food in her mouth.

“Who the hell cares?” My left eye twitched in disbelief. I couldn’t help but feel disrespected by the angel’s disregard for me. Did she think I was so weak that she couldn’t waste her time on someone like me? “Listen here, you witch—”

“Belphegor. You can’t delay the inevitable. The second trumpet will be blown. Don’t you think we’ve fought against each other long enough?” Cassiel said, trying to reason with his mate.

She turned her head to meet Cassiel’s gaze, her eyes like daggers. Without a word of acknowledgement, she charged forward. Her dark form looked reminiscent of a shadow as their forms moved quickly against each other in a battle of death. They used a combination of magic and physical combat as fists and fireworks bounced off the walls with each side’s attack.

My dragon was itching to join in the battle. He craved battle more than anyone ever should. Luvart blocked the entrance, preventing anyone from leaving. Behind him was a wall of ocean, so it was either fight to the death, drown, or create a diversion. “Jintui, Cassiel and I will hold off Belphegor.”

“Are you insane? Cassiel is only here because Sosuke is. If he leaves, you’re on your own. Are you strong enough to fight off one of the Seven?” Tui said.

“We have the Inari Defensive Forces. Luvart should be defeated soon enough. While Belphegor is distracted, take the rickshaw and leave this place. You must take Sosuke to a safe location to be healed. I’ll come find you after this is over.”

“You have me too,” Sosuke said weakly. “As long as I power the bond, Cassiel will stay long enough for you to kill Belphegor.”

“That’s suicide!” Tui exclaimed. “You’re too weak to sustain him. You’ve already lost enough blood from your wounds. Why are you putting everything on the line for someone who doesn’t even want you?”

“He’s still my mate,” Sosuke replied quietly. “Do as I say, Tui.”

She sighed in defeat and said, “Fine. But Jin will stay with you, Zixin. If Master is willing to expend the last of his strength, we mustn’t dally. Every second is crucial.”

“Very well, but don’t get in my way,” I replied.

“I will stay with you too, Taizi,” Sun Fang said.

“He will prove his uselessness soon enough. He is but a dragon with little cultivation, an amateur,” Tui said with a snort. Sun Fang shied away in response. “Do you remember how Sosuke expelled Sathanas from this world?”

I nodded. We had to rip Cassiel’s heart out and merge it with Belphegor’s, summoning the second trumpet. By combining good and evil, it released a powerful surge of energy, giving us a glimpse into the power of the Hierophant as it expelled the greatest evil in the realm.