29th of Marsie, 0000 AC

Evening (8.55 p.m.)

President’s Safe House, Barnes Road, Ravissant Brotherhood.

Jacques felt extremely powerful. The pure energy dancing at his fingertips gave him a rush of euphoria he had never felt before. Racing across the apartment, he slashed at Lucifer with his blades, which he coated with lightning.

Lucifer remained motionless under the onslaught, while Roi gaped open-mouthed at the display of power.

Having exhausted his strength, Jacques took a step back. Lucifer didn’t budge. Jacques went over to the president and untied him. “You’re free to go,” he smiled.

“Jacques,” Roi gasped. “I think that all the nobles…”

“They’re dead,” Jacques frowned. “I know. And it’s all his fault. Who was that by the way?”

“His name…” Roi struggled to get up. “Is Lucifer.”

Lucifer…

Hearing the name, Jacques immediately looked shocked. So this was the first man to receive a god’s powers?

Suddenly, Jacques fell to his knees. He couldn’t move, and gasped as his muscles started tearing themselves apart.

Lucifer got up. “What an idiot,” he commented. “He dares go against me? The man who received powers from the God of Armageddon?”

“Deteriorate,” he stated, and Jacques began to convulse in pain.

Roi started to plead with him, “Please don’t do this.” Laughing, Lucifer kicked him down and started to beat him up.

While he was distracted, Jacques managed to contact Raitoningu by meditating through the pain.

How do I defeat him? Jacques shouted mentally. The Goddess of Lightning answered, He is using the power of Armageddon. So he can enhance or remove a person’s abilities, absorbs souls and control the flow of blood through a person’s body.

And I only have lightning powers? Jacques was thoroughly annoyed.

It’s more than enough to stop him, Raitoningu answered. You can paralyze him. Up until now, all you did was hit him with lightning based attacks on the surface. If you make contact with him, you can overload his sensory and motor neurons and temporarily shut him down for long enough for us to take him.

From a medical standpoint, it made sense. There were pain receptors all over the body, with the highest concentrations being the extremities such as fingers and toes.

Using his lightning abilities to command his remaining muscles, Jacques crawled over to Lucifer, who was now kicking the president with his shoe, and grabbed his foot, sending millions of kilowatts through him.

Singed, Lucifer fell to the ground. At the same time, Jacques heard sirens. The police who were stationed at the Central Bank had arrived to check on the nobles.

“It’s a bit too late for that,” Jacques said out loud. With a whoosh of energy, Raitoningu appeared before him. Roi shrieked and hid behind his desk.

“Well done, Jacques,” The Goddess smiled, as she made Lucifer teleport to the God Realm. “All the gods are proud of you.”

“What about the God of Armageddon?” Jacques grinned.

The Goddess scowled. “He is currently in remand. He will undergo legal prosecution soon.”

“Wow, even the gods have a judicial system,” Jacques laughed. Looking a bit sombre, he asked, “Is there a way to bring the nobles back?”

Raitoningu shook her head. “Unfortunately, even we don’t have that kind of power.” As she turned to leave, Jacques asked the one other thing on his mind. “Don’t you want my lightning back?”

She shook her head. “Keep it. You earned it, Jacques. Use it for good.”

She started to disappear, slowly. As she vanished, she grinned and said, “It was nice working with you, the first enchanteur.”

“Enchanteur,” Jacques grinned. “I like it.”