Decadence

by Matthew Ashworth

  Once again Adelais nodded, but didn’t respond.

  - “We will need to warn other sectors about it too.” Lazarus added.

  - “And additionally, there is still a murderer running loose in the External World.” Ethel reminded them about Garridan.

  After that, none of them said anything and just continued gazing far ahead into the distance, contemplating and imagining what would happen next. Adelais’ face still remained grim, but somehow he kept feeling strong and refused to give up all hope.

  Malakai finally arrived at the first Western gate in Pandemonium. The guards there recognized him, but did not budge to open the gate doors.

  - “Open the gate!” Malakai demanded, “I’ve done what was asked of me and need to see Alastor immediately.”

  The gate guards obediently rushed to open the gate. As the gates swung open, Malakai went through and headed for the next gate. Alastor told him that once the mission was complete he was to meet with him just past the second gate. He didn’t specify where exactly, but Malakai was confident he’d find the demon general.

  When he approached the second gate, he yelled at the gate guards again, demanding they open it. One of the guards rushed off somewhere to confirm that Malakai was allowed entry. Malakai was getting impatient, but he could understand their protocol. When the guard came back, the second set of gates opened, and Malakai proceeded inside.

  When he entered into the grounds past the second set of gates, he began looking around, wondering where Alastor could be. To his surprise, Alastor was standing on a roof of one of the smaller structures. He didn’t signal to Malakai, but just stood silently and watched. Once Malakai spotted him, he flew into the air and headed for the roof as fast as he could. Alastor continued standing motionlessly and watching him. As soon as Malakai landed, he saw Aurora on her knees, not far from where Alastor was standing. She looked rather ailing and weak.

  - “What did you do to her?!” Malakai asked Alastor with intense anger when he saw what state Aurora was in.

  - “We forced her to enter that same cave you did after you left.” Alastor replied indifferently.

  - “Why? She is not yet ready for that. Her mind is very fragile.” Malakai got perturbed.

  - “Good. Then it would put up with less of a fight.” Alastor responded.

  Malakai turned away from Alastor coldly and knelt down to see how Aurora was doing. She kept shaking abnormally and staring at the same spot. Malakai tried to catch her gaze, but she wasn’t responding.

  - “Aurora, can you hear me?”

  No reply came from her. Malakai felt exceedingly enraged with Alastor, but tried not to show it. He just knew that he had to keep a closer look on Aurora and to make sure that he never left her alone with the demon kind. They were not to be trusted, even if he was now working with them.

  He tried calling Aurora again, but she continued gazing blankly into space and shaking from time to time.

  - “She will snap out of it soon.” Alastor suddenly spoke again in a nonchalant manner, “Just an initial shock.”

  - “What is that power exactly?” Malakai asked as he stood back up and walked over to Alastor.

  - “It’s the profane energy of the Void itself, one that manifests itself when someone is deeply suffering or in great torment, which is then accumulated in specific locations in the Underworld.” Alastor disclosed to him, “The more times you’re exposed to it, the more deeply rooted it will be, and therefore the longer its effects will last.”

  - “I see. So now that I killed Beelzebub, what’s next?” Malakai changed the subject.

  - “It’s too bad that we had to eradicate him. We could’ve used another ally. Nevertheless, there are still other sectors remaining. As far as I am concerned, the action has only begun.” Alastor declared triumphantly and struck the bottom part of his hammer’s handle against the ground as he often did.

  Malakai took his words on board and then walked away from him, leaving Alastor to rejoice to himself. He then walked up to Aurora and tried to pick her up from the ground. She wasn’t shaking as much now, but she continued to ignore what was happening around her. He realised that he would have to start taking responsibility, even though he hated doing that. Since he technically still was Aurora’s commander, he had to help her advance in fighting and also to see what special ability she showed the most inclination to. On the surface, the two of them were in the same team as Alastor and all the other demons, but in reality, Aurora and he were only on their own team.

  END OF PART 1

  Bonus Feature

  Sectors of the Underworld

  Key:

  Name – the name of the Underworld sector

  Leader – the deity in charge of the sector

  Guards - infantry guardians native to the sector

  Name: Abode of the Corrupted

  Leader: Astaroth

  Guards: Oni, reptilian crawlers

  Name: Abyss of Nightmares

  Leader: Paimon

  Guards: Shadow warriors, void varmints

  Name: Den of Retribution

  Leaders: Mantus and Mania

  Guards: Custodians – scouts and wardens

  Name: Dis

  Leader: Dispater

  Guards: Imps, fiend sentinels

  Name: Erebus

  Leader: Hades

  Guards: Machai, erinyes, hellhounds

  Name: Gehenna

  Leader: Moloch

  Guards: Goblins, troglodytes

  Name: Helheim

  Leader: Hel

  Guards: Valkyries, landvaettir, dark elves

  Name: Infernal Pit

  Leader: Beelzebub

  Guards: Giant flies, spiders, locusts, hornets, centipedes, reptilian crawlers, and bipedal reptilian guards

  Name: Limbo

  Leader: Mammon

  Guards: Rock golems - small and big

  Name: Netherworld

  Leader: Belphegor

  Guards: Black serpents, acephali

  Name: Pandemonium

  Leader: Lucifer

  Guards: Demons (various types)

  Name: Purgatory

  Leader: Yama

  Guards: Yokai – assassin, archer, aerial

  Thank you for reading.

  For more information on the series or the author, visit the Facebook page: ‘Melancholy Wings’.