He felt Ragnarok use the opportunity to search her mind for something. She tried to resist, but she was too upset to put up much of a fight mentally. Her love was going to die right before her eyes, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Nothing she could do.
Michael instinctively knew there was only one thing he could do, although he risked killing them all doing it. The energy potential of the nuclear bomb he had absorbed had to still be inside him. It couldn’t have just disappeared. If only he could harness that power and use it. He had no way of knowing if demons could even be harmed by such power, since they absorbed radiation automatically, but maybe if it was concentrated enough…
Trying to remember what it felt like when he had woken up from death, he held out his right hand as all nineteen of the freed demons began converging on him, including Ragnarok’s partner, Pandora.
Instantly, Michael’s hand and forearm exploded with energy, tearing his limb to shreds as a massive white beam with a wide angle erupted from his arm, blowing all his assailants over a mile away.
Suddenly, what had once been a forest before him was now an empty wasteland stretching out for miles. His vision was much sharper now, and in the distance he could see their mangled bodies as they began getting up. All of them looked like they had been nearly burned to death, with sections of their skin completely obliterated. Yet the muscle underneath remained relatively unharmed.
However, one thing was certainly different – they all looked at him from over a mile away with fear in their eyes.
He, on the other hand, was completely maimed. He briefly glanced at his right arm to see that it was entirely gone below the elbow, destroyed by the eruption of energy. It wasn’t bleeding, possibly cauterized by the heat of the blast, but it was little comfort given that he no longer had a right hand.
Not having time to mourn the loss of his limb, he quickly held up his other hand and pointed it at Ragnarok and Miriam.
Both of them were completely shocked, Ragnarok most of all, but he also recovered the fastest once Michael had his good arm aimed at him.
“You wouldn’t.” He scoffed, sneering at the half-human.
“We’re already dead.” Michael pointed out. “No reason to hold back now.”
Ragnarok eyed him, sizing him up, before retorting. “That won’t kill me, and you’ve only got one good arm left.”
“No,” Michael agreed, suddenly remembering something Miriam had told him. “But I’ve got two very durable horns and enough power hidden inside me to make sure you don’t leave here without a few holes of your own.”
Ragnarok was silent for a long moment, before finally responding. “I thought she sank her teeth in you last night.”
Surprised by the change of subject. He tried to keep his focus, prepared to fire again, while tentatively answering the odd comment. “She did.”
“Then why do you have horns?” He asked suspiciously.
Michael was quiet for a moment before answering. He knew what Ragnarok was getting at – he shouldn’t even be functioning right now, let alone having already grown horns. “Maybe because my body wants to be with Miriam just as desperately as my heart does.”
Ragnarok laughed at that – a humorless laugh, as if he had been given the stupidest response possible. “Then I have nothing to worry about. You aren’t going to attack me when she’s in the way.”
“You’re wrong.” He said quickly, not wanting his advantage to be lost so easily. Then to prove his point, he continued the conversation mentally. My mind is strong, opening within an hour of having been bitten. I can control what my energy harms – she is no shield for you. The only reason I hesitate is to allow you the opportunity to leave us while maintaining your dignity. After all, we will be working together in the near future, no matter how you decide to finish this fight.
Michael was thankful he still had the ability to effortlessly keep his mind closed off from others, because otherwise Ragnarok would have been able to see his bluff easily. In truth, he had no idea if he could control his energy like he boasted, but he did know that blasting and harming Miriam was better than them both dying – as much as he hated to have to choose between the lesser of two horrible options.
Surprisingly, speaking mentally to Ragnarok did more than anything else had thus far. It really was the last thing that usually happened during the transformation, which meant their assailant had no reason not to believe him. If Michael could already communicate mentally, even though a full day hadn’t passed yet, combined with the fact that he had horns and was using radiation in a way no one else did, then that only left one option for the monster to believe – it wasn’t a bluff.
When Ragnarok didn’t respond, Michael continued, now understanding the full scope of the situation from Miriam’s mind. You know, just like you share no affiliations with Miriam, I similarly share no affiliations with anyone other than Miriam. Familial ties mean nothing to me in your world. Yet, you have already made a bad impression for yourself. You fear that Gilgamesh has too much power already, yet you are pushing that fate into existence by making us your enemy. You thought you were preventing it from happening, but instead you are forcing it to become reality. If you abandon this futile endeavor now, then possibly we can reconcile one day, but if you force me to show you the full extent of what I’m capable of then you’ll have me as an enemy for all of eternity. And that wasn’t a bluff.
Michael wasn’t sure what Ragnarok was going to decide, but he realized from Miriam’s mind that he had delayed long enough.
The monster abruptly released her and took a step back, just before her brother appeared in front of Michael. Then, after another second, the other shadow, Enkidu, along with his angelic appearing partner Lilith – her white wings and horns almost appearing to glow – appeared alongside Gabriel. Enkidu was the one to speak first, talking in the language Michael actually understood.
We have decided that it is forbidden to slay Miriam’s partner no matter his current state, human or otherwise.
Miriam quickly bridged the gap separating them, immediately wrapping her arms around him the moment he was within reach. He finally dropped his good arm, as she pulled him tightly against herself and further encased him in her wings protectively, just as a final demon appeared next to Gabriel.
This one was tall too, having gray skin, red eyes, and white hair…Michael knew immediate who he was from how his presence felt – it was her father, Gilgamesh.
And now that all six of the demon rulers had gathered, five against one, to protect the soon to be seventh, their struggle was finally over.
Chapter 20: Checkmate
Ragnarok didn’t stick around to talk, taking his small army away with him, which happened to be the nineteen strongest of his familial lineage. It was clear he could no longer pursue his goal, so he left without incident.
Once Michael saw that their assailant had retreated, his knees buckled – more from the emotional stress than the physical exhaustion – and Miriam lowered him to the ground. Michael cradled what remained of his missing arm against his chest, as she continued to encase him in her comforting embrace.
It will grow back, love. She reassured him.
He looked up at her in shock. It will?
She nodded, looking at him tenderly. You grew horns, didn’t you? Why not grow a missing arm? Don’t forget, you’re not human anymore my love.
R-Right. He said, looking down at his maimed limb again. It felt like it was still there, even though it was obviously gone. He almost felt like he could still move his missing fingers.
Miriam then abruptly leaned into him, locking her horns with his as she pressed their heads together. You did it love. You saved us both. Her thoughts were full of compassion, and he had to admit that her horns interlocked with his was slightly arousing.
We did it. He corrected her. I couldn’t have done anything without you. You fed me, allowing me to grow these horns, and you protected me. I would have died this mornin
g if not for you, and I would have died just moments ago as well. Ragnarok couldn’t easily attack me himself, because of you. Even while you were restrained by him, you were still my shield.
Miriam untangled their horns and passionately pressed her lips against his, pushing her mind into him and blurring the line between them again. They remained like that for a few moments, before unexpectedly a third mind imposed on them. Miriam released him from her mental grasp, unlocking their lips as well, to glare at Lilith, the angelic queen who was interrupting them.
“Calm down, sweetie. I just wanted to apologize to your beloved.” She then locked eyes with Michael, her icy blue irises intense but sincere. “We’re sorry for trying to kill you. There’s a reason behind it, as I’m sure you’ll learn about soon enough. It was against our laws to create more of us, and we just didn’t want to see Miriam become too attached and kill herself from us inevitably killing you. She’s much too valuable for that to happen.”
Miriam chimed back in, sounding annoyed. “I was already too attached the moment I sensed him eighteen years ago.” She retorted.
Lilith visibly leaned away, surprised by Miriam’s confession. Suddenly the other three were looking at her too – Gilgamesh, Gabriel, and Enkidu all were attentive now, all of them just as shocked. Lilith recovered enough to respond. “But…but you haven’t been to the human world in over a century…”
Miriam agreed. “Yes, I sensed him from our home.” Then, in response to their disbelief, she revealed the memory she had been concealing from everyone for almost two decades.
Miriam was standing in the middle of a lake of lava, that appeared liquid but was too thick for her to sink in. The glow from the yellow and orange molten rock filled the air with a red hue, reflecting off a continuous layer of clouds above. She was at peace, enjoying the warmth under her feet while watching the ebb and flow of the lake of fire.
Abruptly, Miriam’s head snapped to her left as a beacon of light erupted in her spatial perception, demanding for her to come immediately. It was very far away, but it was illuminated in her mind more brightly than even how she perceived her own family, including her brother and father.
Never had she sensed another’s presence so strongly. It was as if gravity had shifted entirely, and she was instantly high in the air threatening to fall effortlessly towards her new foundation. It required every ounce of her self-restraint to keep from immediately bolting towards her new purpose in life.
As she struggled to remain stationary against an all-consuming desire that threatened to crush her, she felt her priorities shift permanently. Now, nothing mattered except this light, and nothing would stop her from protecting it from being extinguished. She realized she couldn’t go to it now, for doing so would endanger it. Thus, she would watch over it carefully until it was her time to visit the human world; however, if it dimmed or flickered even for a moment then she would abandon everything to meet its aid – to protect it.
Otherwise, she decided, so long as it continued to burn strongly in her mind, she would wait patiently to meet it. To meet him.
And so began the next eighteen years of her life, which felt like the only years that had ever mattered. For eighteen years, she resisted the urge to respond to the beacon that called to her so forcefully. For eighteen years, she desperately longed to meet the object of her intense love.
And thus began her own time in hell, away from her heaven.
Seeing the memory, Lilith’s eyes were wide as she began trying to make sense of it all. “That’s…that’s never happened before…never.” She then paused before continuing. “Not even Enkidu perceives me that strongly, nor was the desire to turn me so powerful.”
“Not turn him,” Miriam corrected. “Exist for him.” Michael couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by her intensity. He had no idea the extent to which she loved him, even prior to meeting him.
Now he realized the emotions that had overwhelmed him were nothing in comparison to what she must have experienced after they first met. He thought he had understood before, but what he had seen in her mind previously had only been the tip of a very massive iceberg of powerful emotions.
Lilith was completely baffled as she continued to try to comprehend Miriam’s experience. Enkidu took the opportunity to join the conversation. “To think you saw him from so far away. That’s a miracle in itself. No one has ever sensed a human outside of the human world.”
“Yes.” Gilgamesh responded in a deep voice, causing Michael to look up at him and meet his gaze. “And look at him. His mind is open to us, and he has horns already. Not to mention what happened right after my daughter bit him.”
Michael recalled that this large grey demon with white hair standing before him was the same one whose eyes he had seen in his vision the previous day. Somehow, he had allowed Miriam’s father to communicate with all of them, even though he was too far away to do it normally.
“Furthermore…” Enkidu added, “I’ve never seen someone so composed while in so much pain, let alone able to hold a conversation. And that blast of energy…” Enkidu then gave Gilgamesh a meaningful look.
“Yes…” Gilgamesh responded. “It came to him so naturally, and he’s not even fully transformed yet…”
Michael abruptly felt Gilgamesh and Enkidu withdrawal mentally from the rest of them. It was clear they were still having a conversation, but no one was allowed to hear their thoughts. Michael glanced at Miriam for an explanation.
“My father and Enkidu, along with Ragnarok, are the three originals. They are the oldest of all demons – over five-thousand years old – and there are many things they keep to themselves.”
“So…” Michael began tentatively. “Then the six rulers don’t truly hold power equally, do they?”
Lilith was the one to answer. “Well, sweetie, in a way we do. When making decisions, our opinions are generally given equal weight out of respect for our power, but it is true that knowledge is not exactly distributed evenly. There are many secrets that they keep to themselves – something that they had decided unanimously when it was just those three.”
“Does that mean all demons come from them?” He wondered.
“Well…” Miriam began, uncertain of how to answer. Lilith decided to chime in for her.
“Yes and no.” The angelic queen responded. “All the…demons, as you put it…who currently exist did come from them. I’ve been with Enkidu for over four-thousand years, and all of our direct children come from me primarily – I was the one who bit most of them. However, it would be incorrect to say that all demons originate from them.” When Michael didn’t understand what she meant, she added allusively. “After all, someone had to create them – it’s one of their many secrets.”
“Oh…” Michael wanted to ask more, but his mind was becoming distracted quickly. He tried to identify what he was feeling, when Miriam suddenly noticed.
“Watch him for a moment Lilith,” she said urgently. “He’s becoming ravenous – probably from his injury. He needs to eat immediately.” Lilith nodded, and Miriam immediately vanished…but it was already too late.
Michael felt his mind become consumed with one thing – suddenly nothing else mattered. He needed to eat. His sense of hearing abruptly heightened far beyond the capacity of his other senses, and he subconsciously picked out the sounds that were most likely to be a source of food. Without hesitation, he dashed to his feet and began running as fast as he could, which was much faster than his human version had been capable of. However, he quickly discovered that he could run even faster by pushing energy out of his back – an invisible burst of radiation to propel him forward.
Lilith was close behind him, following to keep her promise to watch over him. However, she didn’t try to interfere.
Michael found his target quickly, colliding into it with enough force to break its bones. He immediately wrapped his legs and arms around it, just before it slammed into the ground, and sank his teeth into its neck, slurping up the blood in large gulp
s. The warm liquid flowing down his throat helped him gain some of his higher cognition back, and he realized he was wrapped around a doe. Its fast heartbeat was pumping the blood forcibly into his eager mouth, and he continued to drink until the heart faltered and stopped.
Miriam found them just as he was pulling away, about to sink his teeth into its leg. She was shocked that he had moved locations so rapidly. She instantly wrapped herself around him from behind and held up some kind of meat to his face.
Her thoughts seemed extremely mournful, causing him to force himself to stop for a moment to make her his priority. “It’s alright love.” She whispered with sadness in her voice. “Eat this.” She gentled pressed the meat against his lips, encouraging him to bite it.
It required all of his willpower to resist, as he made himself pay attention to her. No. He said in a hard tone, more so to himself. Miriam, what’s wrong?
She hesitated for a moment and then she let him see it. This had happened to her once, when she was first transforming…except the closest source of food had been a person…It was the only person she had ever killed who wasn’t already dying.
Michael could feel the grief and guilt she had felt once her ravenous hunger had subsided. She had eaten most of their body, and her higher cognitive functions had awoken her to a true horror scene. It was her worst memory, and it still haunted her to this day after almost fifteen-hundred years. She had only been seven years old…
Michael twisted his torso, leaning far enough away to wrap his arms around Miriam. He then quickly pulled her from behind him and swung her around into his lap, cradling her against his chest. She squeaked in surprise, but then rested her head against him allowing him to comfort her. He hadn’t realized he had gotten even bigger already, but it was clear that Miriam was smaller than him now.
After a few seconds, she looked up at him, taking the meat still in her hand, and held it back up to his lips. Here love. I know it’s hard to resist. Thank you…but please eat.
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