Chapter 12
2029 Words
Ray, Haven, and Isabel laughed as they walked around the castle corner and immediately stopped in their tracks. A group of six Duggers and the Basilis stood in the courtyard, waiting for them.
“Izzy, where are your goggles?” whispered Ray.
Slowly, Isabel reached up and pulled the goggles over her eyes.
“On my face,” Isabel whispered, slowly putting her arms down.
“Haven, when I give you the signal, go find a hiding place,” whispered the guardian, and the fairy nodded.
Ray threw his arms out, and the claws and golden face mask appeared. He cracked his neck and looked at the Duggers angrily.
“Alright. This is the main event, guys. Time to fight!” growled Ray.
Isabel stepped forward and cracked her whip in the air.
“Ready when you are,” she said, not taking her eyes off the monsters, and Ray nodded as he looked up at the giant serpent.
The Earth Guardian knew he was in the fight for his life.
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The demon army of the Underworld Realm gathered in front of Catalina’s house, and they looked at her in question. With a flick of his wrist, Belhazur made a small stage and podium appear. The king of Chaos took Catalina by the hand and led her onto the stage and behind the podium.
The gathered demons fell silent and looked at Belhazur and Catalina. The demon king raised his arms, and Catalina looked at her people.
“Welcome to you all, and thank you for coming,” he stated, and the army nodded.
“We come when our queen asks us to,” said one of the three demons closest to the stage.
Catalina smiled and gave the demon king a smug look. The demon army looked at her in question, and she nodded to the king of Chaos. Belhazur cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the army.
The army was made up of many different species from the Underworld Realm. Some had claws and sharp teeth, and some didn’t have any claws or teeth. Some were solid, slick black humanoid creatures. The monsters were all shapes and sizes, but Catalina accepted them for what they were.
“For those who don’t know who I am, my name is Belhazur. I am the king of Chaos. When I am stuck in the Realm of Chaos, my magic, along with the queen of Order’s magic, creates balance for all the realms of the world. Now that I have escaped, that very balance is tipped, and it makes all the realms vulnerable,” the demon king explained, and the army talked among themselves.
“That’s nice to know, but why did you summon us, my lady?” asked one of the humanoid demons, looking at Catalina.
Before the warlock woman could respond, the king of Chaos cleared his throat and raised a hand. The demon turned his head and looked at the man.
“The reason why she summoned you was because I asked her to,” Belhazur stated, and the demons only nodded.
A tall, black humanoid demon stepped forward and crossed his arms over his chest. Catalina recognized the creature. He was one of the three that made a deal with Saberus, the God of Death. Hellish-looking monster that rules the Passage of Ending. Whatever world a soul was from, when they died, everyone went to the Passage of Ending, and they would find themselves facing the God of Death.
Saberus offered everyone a choice. They could either cross over and watch over their loved ones with their ancestors or be reincarnated in the Underworld Realm and live a life of servitude.
Two men were soldiers in their past lives, and a woman had arrived recently, and Catalina appointed one of the men to be the general of her army.
“Well, we are here. What do you want?” asked the general in a distorted voice, and Belhazur gave him a clever look.
“What is your name, soldier?”
The tall general laughed, and the other demons laughed with him.
“Sir, I am no soldier. I am the leader of the Underworld Army, and I only answer to my queen, Catalina,” stated the demon general, and the king of Chaos sneered at the demon.
“As for my name? Well, I was once called Damian. King’s guard and right-hand man to the king in Nemiph,” the general stated, and Belhazur smiled.
“Sounds like Catalina made the right choice about making you a leader.”
The tall demon nodded.
“You have not answered my question. Why did you summon us?”
Belhazur looked at Damian thoughtfully and smirked.
“Well, there is a great war going on in the other realms, and I need your help with one of them. They are more difficult than the others, and I need backup,” stated the demon king, and the army started whispering to each other.
“Silence!” demanded Damian, and the group fell silent.
The tall demon took a step forward, and his face began to change. The slick black skin pulled away from his human face and stopped at his neck. Belhazur stared in awe because now he was looking at a man.
“Now that’s a surprise I didn’t see coming,” the demon king stated, and Damian and the others laughed.
Then Damian put his fist in the air, and the army was silent again.
“So, which realm is giving you trouble?” the general asked, and Belhazur looked at him thoughtfully.
“The Magical Realm.”
Suddenly, Damian’s heart sunk as he closed his eyes and sneered. Memories of Ashta flooded his mind, and his heart began to hurt. He missed her so much, but a new feeling came over him as images of Roman invaded the ones of Ashta. The last memory Damian had was when he and the arrogant prince were in battle, and the look on Ashta’s face right before the bastard snapped his neck.
Damian growled loudly, and Belhazur looked at him in question.
“I take it you know this realm well?” he asked, and Damian glared at the demon king.
“It’s where I came from. I was murdered by the Guardian of Air and made the decision to serve my lady. I didn’t want to look down on the girl. I lost,” the demon general explained and looked at the ground.
“You are perfect for the job. Now, you can get your revenge and take over your world.”
Damian studied the king of Chaos. He had a new life down there. He wasn’t sure how he felt about going back. Without a word, Damian turned to the other humanoid creatures beside him and nodded.
The slick black skin peeled from their faces to their necks, and Xavier and Lashanna looked at him. Damian turned back to Belhazur, gesturing to the two demons.
“Not just my world. It was theirs too,” he stated, and the demon king chuckled.
“This is more than I could have hoped for. Help me take down the guardian’s barrier and take what is yours,” he growled, and Damian, Xavier, and Lashanna looked at each other.
Lashanna looked up at the king of Chaos in question.
“Did you say the guardian’s barrier?” she asked, and the demon king nodded.
“Just give us a second,” Lashanna quickly said.
Belhazur raised his hand and tilted his head.
“Take all the time you need.”
Lashanna turned back to Damian and Xavier and looked at them seriously.
“That means Ashta, Roman, and the other two will be protecting Halondelle. We can’t show our faces to any of them,” she whispered, and Xavier nodded.
“No problem. It’s him we have to worry about,” whispered Xavier, looking at Damian.
“Are you going to be able to hold it together when you see Ashta?” Xavier asked, and Damian shot him a knowing look.
“After I send that bastard prince to the Passage of Ending, I will reveal myself to her,” he stated, and Lashanna shook her head.
“No, no one sees our faces, no matter what! You got that! Maybe when we take over the kingdom, but until then, no one is to know!” she stated, and Damian sighed heavily.
“I’m sorry, but this is the way things have to be now.”
Damian searched her eyes and only nodded. He looked up at Belhazur and nodded to the demon king. The king of Chaos laughed, clapping his hands together, and stepped in front of the podium. He looked at Catalina and beckoned her to join him. Quickly, she glanced at her army and sighed, walking over to him.
Belhazur wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against him.
“Demons of the Underworld Realm,” Belhazur called out, raising his free hand, and the army looked at him.
“The guardians, gods, and magical creatures have ruled the world long enough. It is our time to rise above them. It is our time to rule the world. We have been hidden in the shadows long enough. It is time for the world to see us and truly know what we are capable of,” the king of Chaos announced, and the demon cheered in unison.
Belhazur smiled, gently squeezing Catalina, and then snapped his fingers. The warlock looked at him oddly. Suddenly, Damian, Xavier, Lashanna, and the rest of the demon army began to glow and scream in pain. Catalina looked at the demon king wide-eyed and pulled away from him.
“What are you doing to them?” she demanded, and he smiled an evil smile at her.
“It will be over soon. I am just giving them more power,” he stated flatly, and she looked at her people, crying in pain.
Her heart broke for them.
“Stop this! Can’t you see you’re hurting them!” Catalina snarled, and the demon king rolled his eyes.
“It will be over soon!” he said again.
Catalina angrily growled at him, and the demon king drew his hand back. The impact made a loud smack, and Catalina landed on her backside. The demon army stopped screaming in pain, and Xavier roared at Belhazur. The king of Chaos laughed at him and flicked his wrist.
Xavier felt pain in his chest and fell to his knees, gasping for air.
“Xavier!” cried Lashanna, kneeling beside him.
He looked at her as he gasped.
“Xav, breathe!” she commanded, and Damian roared at Belhazur.
“Let him go! It’s funny how you asked for our help and then treat us like this,” Damian growled, and the demon army snarled.
Catalina turned and saw Xavier struggling. She looked at the demon king angrily and growled.
“Let him go! The army will do as you ask, but you can’t hurt them. You need their help, remember?” Catalina noted, and Belhazur rolled his eyes, flicking his wrist.
Xavier inhaled deeply as the pain stopped, and Lashanna patted him on the back. Damian looked at the demon king suspiciously and then glanced at Catalina. He crossed his arms and looked at the king of Chaos smugly.
“We will help you as long as you don’t harm my lady or us anymore, but once we are done, you need to leave the Underworld Realm and its people alone!” Damian demanded, and Belhazur shot him a clever look.
“We will see how you feel after we take over the Magical Realm.”
Lashanna shot Belhazur an angry look, and the demon king chuckled.
“Things would be a lot easier if you didn’t try to fight against me,” Belhazur sneered.
Damian looked at Catalina’s bruised, tear-stricken face, and she only nodded to him. The general sighed heavily as he and the army listened to the rest of what the king of Chaos had to say.
- Writer
