Zodeen asked, “Regal, do you know the Zodiac’s current location?”
Regal answered, “No, but I would start this search underground if I were you. I assume the Pope has them heavily guarded somewhere secret. Looks like everyone could use some rest. You should all retire for the night. It’s going to be a big day.”
Natenal agreed, “Regal’s right. Tomorrow we enter the Underworld and put an end to this campaign.”
WITHOUT REQUEST, LUCIFER’S ARCHANGELS SAVED THE DARK GRADUATES FROM THE CHILDREN OF SIRIUS.
The Super Humans of Planet Sirius fled. They left their leader in the hands of their enemies. Vetrius faced judgment by the same people he had set out to destroy.
“Look how your own people abandon you! What failures!” Noah shouted.
Vetrius said nothing in his or their defense. Noah paid homage to the saviors of the night.
“I know who you represent, and we are indebted to you. Will the leader of this mission please step forward,” Noah asked humbly.
Her name was Helena, a Demon Master Archangel. Noah said, “But you’re only a child.”
To him she appeared twelve years old; she gave him a devious look. “My apologies, we the Dark Graduates are humbly indebted to you. Please accept our gratitude.”
She spoke, “My name is Helena. The reason for our deployment is simple. We have come for aid against the Kingdom. In the time of our victory, all those who are absent from our side will be remembered. Not only will they be remembered, but they will be considered traitors, put to death, and will be among the damned when Eternity has set its mark.”
Noah spoke, “Whoa, just a damn minute. We highly appreciate what you’ve done for us here, but we’re not going to join a war that we want no part of.”
Vetrius shook his head.
“Guards, hang this criminal and send him into space with the rest of its rubbish.” They grabbed Vetrius and hung him off the side of their ship, where he died moments later.
Helena spoke, “I see you’re a man of intolerance, and that is what we both have in common. We don’t like rules broken and orders ignored. However, I’m afraid you’re in no position to govern anything. So, see that our demands are met or you yourself will be hanging from your own ship.”
Noah replied, “Damn you! This is your second threat against the leader of the Dark Graduates, which is punishable by death!”
Helena said, “Well, make this my third threat. Go ahead and try to rebel, and we’ll see to it that there will be no more Dark Graduates.”
Soldiers of the Dark Graduates talked amongst themselves, enraged. Helena continued, “Hear how your men are just as eager to meet death.”
“Why you little…” Noah held his tongue.
Completely outnumbered and at Helena’s mercy, as hard as it was, Noah complied with the terms and swore an oath to assist them in this war. He and the rest of his lieutenants took the Mark of the Beast to further prove their loyalty.
Helena said, “There. Was that so hard? It’s settled. Wait on our call. Until then, this place is in serious need of some renovations.” She joked and departed with her army, leaving at least five hundred Demons to keep a watchful eye.
“Aghhh!” Infuriated, Exodus flipped over a table at a hotel bar. During their retreat, both Lucifer and Bishop’s surviving men seized a town in a secret Dimension. Scattered about, the injured took rest anywhere they felt comfortable. The whole town evacuated. The bodies of those who didn’t make it out on time lay scattered about the ground … their blood having met the pillars of Earth.
Exodus spoke, “That bastard Michael killed Amos!”
Leviticus tried to calm Exodus down and save the remaining furniture. “Settle down, no use stressing over it.”
Ezra broke in, “What’s our next move?”
Crusix answered, “My men are in need of rest and medical attention. After they are treated, we continue moving South.”
Genesis replied, “They’re slowing us down. Soon Michael and Raphael will arrive to finish the job.”
Crusix said, “Are you suggesting I leave my men here?”
Genesis answered, “Yes, they are as good as dead. Take a good look!”
Crusix backslapped Genesis, who fell across the table. “You dare touch me, Devil? I’m a Master Arch! I’ll kill you!” Genesis shouted while equipping his laser weapon.
Leviticus stepped in and stopped him. “That wouldn’t be wise, Genesis.” He continued with a warning as dozens of Crusix’s soldiers entered the room to investigate the commotion.
“Go stand watch. There’s nothing to see here,” Crusix ordered his men. He sat down on a couch in the hotel’s lobby, making himself comfortable. “We wait until my men have fully rested. You are more than welcome to leave and take your chances. But if you’re caught, I highly doubt my men will offer sympathy or aid of any kind.”
Bishop’s four remaining Master Archangels released themselves from their armor and weapons and found comforters of their own.
Exodus wanted to restore some humanity. “At least tell your damn men to eat these people elsewhere. We are not accustomed to this disgraceful barbarism.”
Crusix replied, “You don’t like it, check yourself into one of the rooms upstairs. We’ve lost many colleagues here. How they decide to take out their frustrations is none of your damn concern.”
Exodus replied, “If you want this alliance to remain intact, you should watch how you speak to me, Demon.”
He retired to one of the hotel rooms upstairs, leaving everyone in the lobby. Ezra followed right after and joined him in his room. They fornicated and fell asleep.
Two hours later, an explosion followed by the shuddering of their room stirred Ezra and Exodus out of their sleep. A rocket struck their hotel. In pursuit, Michael and Raphael attacked the city. They looked out of their hotel window fifteen floors up to see Archangels entering the building. They hurriedly clothed themselves and grabbed their laser-powered machine guns leaning against the wall.
“How come we weren’t warned?” Ezra yelled.
Exodus conjectured, “They must have never seen them coming.”
They saw Archangels flying outside, inspecting each window of the hotel. Exodus and Ezra hid until they passed.
“Where is everyone?” He whispered.
“I have no clue,” Ezra whispered back.
They silently moved down the halls, guns drawn, covering each other as they headed up a flight of stairs to the next floor. They heard the exchange of firepower, gifts and iron clinking a few floors down.
“Let’s keep moving,” Ezra insisted.
They reached the next flight of stairs and encountered one Angel. Catching him off guard, they riddled him with laser fire, punishing him for his mistake. His partner moved towards them and received the same fate. He slumped and rolled down the stairs in their direction. To avoid further noise, Ezra stopped him midway during his fall and took his weapon.
“Okay, let’s move.” Exodus motioned Ezra to follow.
Ezra reached another window and saw injured Devils mustered out and executed. To her surprise, she witnesses Genesis’s body being dragged out, already dead. “Damn, they’ve killed Genesis!” She uttered.
“What?” Exodus moved to the next window to see for himself.
He saw Genesis lying face up on the sidewalk in front of the hotel. “Damn, you’re right. I still see no sign of Crusix or Leviticus. We have to leave this place.”
They heard a window break one floor up, followed by loud thumps, indicating a struggle. They moved fast up the stairs and came upon Leviticus wrestling with another Archangel. Ezra and Exodus ran to his aid. While Exodus and Ezra held the Archangel down, Leviticus ran his dagger through his enemy’s heart. “Aghrhh,” the Archangel cried out in pain.
Ezra covered the Archangel’s mouth to muffle his cry. The Archangel died, and Exodus and Ezra released him. They helped Leviticus up.
Exodus asked, “Where’s Crusix?”
Lev
iticus waited a moment while he caught his breath and answered, “I don’t know. Everything happened so fast. I saw his soldiers fleeing and the injured being put out of their misery. Next, missiles were dispatched and we all went our separate ways for cover. Genesis was right. We should have taken our chances and left this damn Dimension. They must have been tipped by the locals.”
Exodus, while keeping cover, said, “Okay, we can’t sit here like cows ready for the slaughterhouse. We must move.”
Again, they hit the halls and headed toward the roof. They saw three more Archangels flying by, and more above them scanning the area in search of adversaries.
“What are we going to do?” Ezra asked.
“We simply wait until their wings tire. It shouldn’t be long,” Leviticus instructed.
THEY ARRIVE, AND WITNESS GREAT THINGS.
On their return to the underground retreat, Cameron and Julius couldn’t help but notice new faces surrounding the Pope. They felt new power in the room.
“Ah, here they are.” The Pope embraced Cameron and Julius and introduced them to Virgo and Scorpio, who sat in the Counsel Hall. Already infuriated over the imprisonment of her Son, he left Aries alone fearing they might incite her to do unkindly things. “Aries is not in the best of moods … not that anyone can blame her, so let’s move forward.” The Pope walked the final steps to his golden throne and sat down.
The Pope resumed his conversation. “I understand you two just arrived, which is why I’ll give you a day of rest. But, after that short reprieve, I must send you on another very important mission. Capricorn must go. There is no compromising with that little brat. He’s a vigilante roaming the Universe, just doing as he pleases, and Lucifer wants none of that. The two Reptilian assassins I’ve sent have failed me. Using one of our fascinating Super Satellites, I’ve sent a decoy to lure him to the Mountain of the Seven Moons. The hologram program was my Plan B if the Reptilian’s failed. I’m confident you two will get the job done.”
Loyal to their Pope, the two humbly accepted their mission and retired to their rooms for the night.
Unexpectedly, Aries took the opportunity to approach the Pope, who motioned his guards nearby to stand down. “I want to see my Son, you bastard.”
The Pope answered, “I assure you he is fine. No more harm will come to your Son. Soon it will be time to set fire to those tears, so get it together, Zodiac.”
Aries replied, “I’ll be setting fire to a lot of things if you are wrong, Pope.”
The Pope said, “Just do what you’re told, and I’ll see your Son returned to you. Thanks to you, I have to wait a few months until they complete renovations to those cathedrals you’ve destroyed. We must sit here confined underground, absent, in a World that needs to be ruled!”
Aries retorted, “And that is the problem. You Mortals want to rule a World that has no interest in your decree.”
She walked back to her section of the hall and collapsed with immense pain, holding her heart as it glowed.
“What the Devil is wrong with you, woman?” The Pope asked. He knelt down to examine her. She appeared deathly pale. “Oh, this is not happening, not under my watch. If anything happens to you, Lucifer will skin me alive!” He called for his best doctors. When they arrived, he heard even more disturbing news, Taurus, Virgo, Libra and Scorpio underwent the same distress. “What the Hell is going on? I might as well cut my own throat.”
Taurus yelled, “Bastards! Another Zodiac is dead!”
The Pope recognized the connection between all the Zodiacs when one endured death. “So, that’s what this is about?”
Virgo said, “Who is it this time?”
The Pope replied, “Ha-ha. Well look forward to experiencing this pain again. That little shit Capricorn will be dealt with soon.”
The Pope heard the door open and saw one of his couriers entering the hall, who, judging by his body language, carried some important news.
“My apologies, Sir, but our spies are here with a report.”
The Pope said, “Hmm, send them in.”
With more tricks up his sleeve, the Pope could not be too careful. His spies consisted of five extraterrestrial beings: one Reptilian, an Alien Grey, a Super Human from Sirius, an Annunaki and, last but not least, one Demon.
The Pope asked, “What news do you bring?”
They informed him, “The Pursuers have arrived in the city and plan to attack first thing tomorrow.”
The Pope replied, “Excellent, let them come. It’s time we got rid of these pests once and for all.”
Chapter 29
MANIFESTO
“These testing days will bring out the coward in most, and the deliverance in some.”
— LUCILLE
“Murderer! Death will come to you, traitor!” Spirits harassed the traveler from a distance. Grenad ignored the extreme verbal outbursts and exited the Dimension to Bishop’s Kingdom. The soldiers guarding the entrance gate knew him on sight and opened the fortress doors to let him in.
“You’ve returned, Grenad!” Nevil, one of the Advisors, said as he handed him water out of a fine golden cup.
After drinking from the golden cup, Grenad spoke, “It’s been a while, but I’m back home.”
Nevil added, “Your name will be added to the bookshelves of these great walls when we are victorious in this final war. Also, I see an elevation in rank in your near future, Grenad.”
Grenad answered, “Yes, it wasn’t easy concealing my identity for so long. There wasn’t a moment when I didn’t think death would wake me as I slept by the fine blades of The Pursuers.”
Nevil replied, “Yes, Brother, but here you are standing accomplished in thy duties. Bishop will be proud. Get some rest. I can see you have hardly slept at all.”
Before going off to rest, Grenad asked, “Any word on Bishop? I understand he’s with Lucifer.”
Nevil answered, “Not sure when he’ll return, but it shouldn’t be too long.”
Nevil showed him to his room and left. He later returned to find Grenad relaxing in a warm bath. Nevil signaled the women waiting in the hall, and they entered his room half-clothed with food and wine. As Grenad attempted to thank Nevil, Nevil interrupted, “Not a word, Grenad. Enjoy,” he said while closing the door.
Emmanuel, a Master Archangel from God’s Kingdom, accompanied Sabrina to test the strength of Bishop’s fortress. They’ve taken an undisclosed wormhole to avoid Bishop’s armored Super Satellites manufactured to destroy enemy craft. They brought a team of their best snipers equipped with revolutionary force field-penetrating ammunition. They stealthily set up a perimeter around the compound and waited until they saw opposition. A group of Archangels exited the compound. The snipers unleashed a barrage of heavy cannon fire. The bullets penetrated the force field of the fortress. Archangels plummeted to the ground, and those who were lucky escaped back into the fortress. The security systems sounded.
Grenad and his two female guests awoke after hearing the security alarm. The two women panicked and raced out the room while struggling to put on their robes.
“Damn! What’s this! I haven’t been here a full day, and already there’s chaos,” remarked Grenad.
Grenad saw Nevil holding his head, running towards him. “Your head, it spills blood. What happened to you?” Grenad asked.
Nevil answered, “I bumped my head. They’ve somehow breached the walls. There are already soldiers inside the compound.”
Grenad said, “What? That fast? How is that even possible?”
Nevil replied, “These are no ordinary soldiers. They possess great gifts. Some are capable of walking through walls.”
Grenad said, “Walk through walls?” He put on his armor and ordered Nevil to keep watch.
Meanwhile, more laser fire crashed against the great walls of Bishop’s Kingdom, but the walls refused to budge. Thousands of Bishop’s soldiers returned laser fire while giving chase to the Archangels who were capable of walking through walls. Sabrina called to one of th
em for an estimate of how many soldiers were inside.
The soldier answered, “My estimation is over ten thousand. Could be more.”
Sabrina commented, “Thank you. You’ve all done well. Now, return to your posts.”
Before leaving, Emmanuel gave his assessment of the situation. “Even though their numbers are greater, we will continue to take out as many as we can until they decide to come out. Their walls cannot hold against us forever.”
They continued to punish the barriers with relentless fire. With no answer to their opposing force’s laser cannons, Bishop’s men took the fight airborne.
Sabrina said, “Excellent! Bishop failed to teach his men some patience. Fire the secondary cannons.”
They obeyed her orders. And just as the two Master Archangels anticipated, thousands of lasers met Bishop’s incoming soldiers. Hundreds plummeted from the sky onto spears fixed around the battlefield.
Bishop’s men trusted in their greater numbers and met them on the battlefield before the laser cannons destroyed their walls.
Dark figures appeared on the skyline. They resembled birds from a distance, but their massive wingspans belied a threatening appearance. Sabrina watched as Bishop’s fleet of domesticated flying Reptiles soared, swooped and crushed formations. Their laser canons had no affect against their thick, scaly coating.
To avoid further punishment, they sounded off the trumpet that signaled retreat and headed for multiple secret Dimensions hidden from the eyes of their enemies.
Grenad gazed over the guardrail of the great wall. “These were mere tests of our strength, not a full-fledged attack. A bold move, if I must say so myself. But if they think they have us figured out, they will meet death soon enough.”
Bishop’s men destroyed some of the last remaining classified ACGM’s … or Automatic Century Gun Machines … that had helped Sabrina, Emmanuel and the rest of their fleet escape.
“Hmmm, fascinating. Take some of these machines inside, and have our engineers look at them,” Grenad instructed others while examining one of the machine’s infrastructure dismantled on the ground.
Pursuit of the Zodiacs Page 37