Adonai:
We're currently standing at the entrance of the main 'attraction' of this damned city.
A big tower, and I mean it's literally just a tower, gray with an area of walls surrounding it in an unsymmetrical manner, waves like. It almost looks like a tower in the middle of a lake, and the walls are the water forming a circle from one end to the other, trying to protect this.
Amidst the countless battered tents, and destroyed half homes, this tower is the best construction. No visible sign of ruin whatsoever, it's not of a small radius either. Probably some of the important staff of her majesty stays in it.
At the top of the tower you can find a huge light that spins around. It is a watchtower, made to watch over these doomed people.
At the doors stayed 2 guards which nodded solemnly to Cipher as he waved them to make haste and let us pass through.
Impatience could be feeled through the muddy, disgusting air we are inhaling.
From the rush he's displaying and the vague worry he displays through his one eye and corporal movement I can only guess Zariel is not the most patient entity in the world.
But there are no elevators so we have to walk what seemingly is a mountain of stairs.
"Roughly 2000 stairs" Cipher said unamused.
*Sigh*
I sighed, at least I could, my 2 companions looked somewhat in pain when they heard 2000.
I guess I just got more used to bullshit by now to be surprised by this.
And so we started walking. Cipher told us that we should not use any type of Magic while in the tower, Zariel can sense it better, and she might mistake it for a threat, and even if she doesn't mistake it for a threat, she'll sure take it as one.
Such an impatient angry majesty I thought to myself, shooting a glance at my companions who looked exasperated.
To a degree I'm glad the sight from earlier didn't render them completely useless, but this is such a mood shift that is hard to grasp. Maybe it is some couple chemistry that I don't understand that keeps them going.
Or maybe they are both insane... Love is insanity anyway.
Going upper and upper my suspicion got confirmed. Through different parts of this place there are indeed rooms, and in the most impractical way imaginable you would have to jump from the stairs to the entrance of the room. This signaled that the rooms had no doors.
This design is utterly idiot or perhaps for someone as her majesty is completely amusing.
After a few more minutes of walking we are standing in front of the only door, a steel door that is connected to the stairs.
The door opened without us even making our presence known, and inside it is a big circular room. decorated with gold, silver, a prestigious and luxurious room even for some nobles... but the walls are decorated with heads and guts of demons. Each head having a name plate above, signifying a trophy perhaps...
Standing right above us, a 'lightbulb' is what I would like to call it... but in reality is just a rotten head having multiple horns spreading from it... some unnaturally attached, visibly forced inside the skull of whoever the poor fella is.
A bit higher than the floor of the room stands a throne, made out of flesh and bones where her majesty resides, Zariel.
To say she holds herself up would be nothing short of an understatement.
High silver heels, with silver decorated bracelets and a chestplate are what made most of her armor. Her skin visible, muscles in plain view. If I didn't know better I would've guessed she's a male but her hilariously big chest, unfitting for the rest of her appearance made the opposite obvious.
Short hair, fully purple eyes, with no iris inside them, just a couple of blue circles, the trait that set the Angels apart along with her 4 fully white wings and the halo standing right above her head, one halo. I don't recall Adam having any so maybe he was hiding them or my memory is just bad, either or.
"Come forward" She said, in a rash tone.
Until this point we didn't step inside the room, as Cipher instructed us.
Once we made our first step into the room we were forced down by what seemed to be gravity itself.
"I can't breathe..." Stella said in a barely audible voice.
But Maverick couldn't help her as he was no better.
I instead enhanced my body with pure mana more on instinct and was able to stand the gravitational pull to a much higher degree.
But Zariel didn't seem impressed, instead she looked at us with one eye, before retracting the spell and letting us in.
"Weak, I'm not impressed."
She said and sighted.
"Your majesty, I brought the three of them as you requested." Cipher said bowing to her.
But instead of thanking or dismissing him she looked... irritated.
"I can see that myself you one eyed FREAK!" After saying that a whip spawned in her hand that went right on Cipher's eyes, flames appearing from the scar made contact. "Ha... hahahaha!"
A laugh, a maniacal laugh.... This doesn't seem right to the description Cipher had of her as someone 'obsessed with military discipline, honor through strength'. Or maybe that's how she treats everyone who's weaker than her.
"Ahem! Excuse me, my guests. I wanted to test you a little before going into details. As you just saw this is what happens through everyone who's weaker than me... meaning everyone in this god forsaken place really. Those failing to even make me sweat are not deserving of honor, and they need to be corrected... disciplined."
... So it's a twisted form of his description. Ridiculous.
Looking at my companions, they are still taking heavy breaths from what just happened earlier... I had no choice but to step forward.
"Your Majesty!" I exclaimed, taking a step forward. But I was not able to go for long.
Angered she enacted the gravity spell again but this time only on me, forcing me to kneel on one knee.
"Speak, since you're new here I allow you this mistake, but remember... next time you only speak when I allow you to."
She hissed.
"Can you explain what trial we have to do in order to pass and return to our own world."
No emotions displaying on her face anymore she got up and started heading towards me. Looking down at me like I'm the lowest of the scum of the earth she turned her back and started walking to the throne again.
"Kill me." She said, nonchalantly, sitting back on her throne. "The quest is simply to kill me."
That's what I feared the most.
"You see, when I arrived in this wasteland to end the war I didn't realize that I got sold... Adam sold me to this place, to Asmodeus in exchange for information. The initial mission was for the newcomers to end the war which changed when I arrived. So rejoice, for you to leave this place just got impossibly harder."
Giving us a big evil smile she looked overjoyed at the turn of events.
"What happens if we fail?" I asked.
"You'll become laborers of this world until you die, for my domain specifically. That is if I deem you strong enough to be of use... if not then I'll just kill you. So to put it bluntly slavery or death."
"Such an angel you are."
I said in my head... or so I thought.
"What did you just say?" She stood up again, infuriated, and came down to me.
I didn't realize I was speaking my mind loud there and this might be my most fatal mistake.
"You know how much I got stuck here?! I shed a lot of blood, SO MUCH BLOOD that I could fill the stomaches of these fucking civilians for ages. I'm an Angel, THIS IS SALVATION. This world didn't need the war to end peacefully, they just needed a tyrant to hold them in contempt forever. That's what my lord chose for me, he had FAITH in me that I'll be the tyrant and so that I am."
Heh. I thought?
"You're still as wicked as ever, just to clarify something for you Zariel, it wasn't because he had faith in you. It was because he viewed you as a madman who's too hard to control and brings little to no benefit to be worth keeping around. You're not even worthy to kissing Adam's feet let alone become a tyrant in his name"
My voice said... but these aren't my words...
"WHAT DO YOU EVEN KNOW ABOUT ME, HUMAN?!"
She said while putting her hand on my arm, and with a swing of her other arm she was ready to bring a fist right into my face.
But I already lost vision in my right eye. All I see is white.
And then a thought entered my mind.
'I don't know how I can do this, but it is perhaps because of my strong resonance with Angels and the unnatural law of this place that I can come out... so let me loose for a bit.'
My right arm moved on its own, completely blocking the incoming fist Zariel sent towards me.
Being able to move freely now my body got up and stood face to face with the Tyrannical Majesty.
"You! Who are you?"
"I guess you can't recognize me through this body, and unfortunately for you if you were to kill this boy that would be the end of you. So take my advice and surrender on your own, otherwise... you'll die Zariel."
White Flower
He thought and the weapon listened to his command... he's commanding my soul.
"You might not recognize me but you'll surely remember the embarrassment this pose gave you."
And so my body struck a pose which seemed to instigate utmost fear in Zariel.
"You.... you can't be!" Zariel exclaimed, scared. "But even if you are... as long as I don't kill this boy you seemingly can't manifest... So all I have to do is just keep him alive. By the laws of magic you should not be able to do this right now, this is akin to possession... but in this world where time flows unnaturally I guess the backlash won't hit that body anytime soon. But still he doesn't share your power... I see."
Seemingly she made up her mind.
"I'll give you two months, boy. Prepare yourself and find a way, any way for you and your friends to kill me. If you can do it without the help of that Angel inside you then I'll give you something more than just your way back home... I'll give you an audience with Asmodeus itself. That I swear on my soul."
With a swift turn she returned to her throne and gestured to Cipher.
"Send them back to the main city and return at once... their quest has just begun."