by Drako
Cronus’ face contorted in rage. “You insolent fool. I allowed your continued existence with all your random creations and this is how you repay me?!”
Jarel cocked his head to the side. “I’m sorry, I must have misheard you. Did you say that you allowed my continued existence? Did you forget who I am? I am black fire embodied; the flame that burns for all eternity. I’m the one being both your father and mother never dared to piss off, and your mother is notorious for pissing people off. But you have the audacity to say that you allowed my existence.” Power emanated from the Black Dragon God, a power that made everyone shrink back from him. “I allowed your rule simply because I had no desire to rule. I did not personally rise against you to make sure you had a fighting chance against Zeus. Had I chosen to do so, I could have destroyed you myself and taken the throne of heaven before Zeus was even a thought. Now you will learn your place once and for all.”
Cronus gathered his own power, clearly bracing himself for the confrontation. Jarel struck first with a right hook to the jaw that staggered the other god. As his fist met Cronus’ jaw, the ground shook and a loud boom rang throughout the realm. Clouds gathered as Cronus struck back in the same fashion, and with the same effect. As the two gods began to exchange blows, the ground continued to shake and the temple began to crumble slowly but surely.
“Well, we’re free to move,” Brandon commented as he pulled Demun to his feet.
“Should we be helping him?” Krazas asked.
Andreas, Kazarian, and Ares appeared before them.
“I wouldn’t bother,” Ares told him. “Our job is to keep everyone off Jarel’s back. So basically, we can just sit back and watch.”
The doors to the temple opened as demons began to pour in.
“Or we can start slaughtering everything that moves,” Andreas said as he drew his sword.
Victoria had finally joined the group. “So, we’re keeping the demons off Father, right?”
“And trying not to get caught in the backlash of his fight with Cronus,” Kazarian added, drawing a straight sword.
Ares conjured a sword of his own. “It’ll be easier to do this in pairs, back to back in separate areas.”
“We have uneven numbers, dumbass,” Andreas told him.
Ares shrugged. “I guess someone will be the odd man out.”
“We really don’t have time for this.” Victoria pointed toward the oncoming demons. “Let’s just start killing them.”
Jarel had easily gained the upper hand on Cronus. With several more shots to the face, he caught the Titan by the head with both hands, and then smashed his head into Cronus’ face. Cronus stumbled back and fell to the ground. Jarel drew his sword, his attention seemingly solely on the Titan King. However, he gripped the sword and swung it back, blocking the sword of Lucifer from connecting with the back of his head. Swinging the sword up to free himself, he quickly delivered a back kick to Lucifer’s stomach, his power clashing with the Dark One’s this time to continuing the quakes running throughout the realm. His senses on high alert, he placed a hand on Lucifer’s head to keep him doubled over and swung over him, kicking Desdemona in the face hard enough to knock her into the now empty pool. Landing in front of Lucifer again, he struck him hard across the face, knocking him flat on his back. He turned once again and raised his sword, parrying an attack from Cronus with his infamous scythe. Metal met with a loud clang and the most violent tremor yet hit the realm, actually knocking several demons off their feet. They parted again and Cronus was first to attack again. He went low and Jarel flipped high up over him to avoid the scythe. The Black Dragon God landed behind him and turned, delivering a slash across Cronus’ back. Cronus actually cried out and stumbled forward, his hand going instinctively to his back as he used the scythe to keep standing. The slash burned and as he looked he saw flames coming from the blade of Jarel’s sword.
“I command all forms of fire, not just black, Cronus,” Jarel told him. “And you have gotten slow.”
Cronus clenched his teeth and went on the attack again, this time with more precision. Few could wield a scythe as a weapon, but Cronus was the first to do so. Jarel, however, was still able to parry each attack. The tremors rocked the realm continuously now, growing more and more violent. The demons found themselves unable to keep up their assault, as most had never been present during a battle of the gods. Lucifer rose again and charged in to join the assault.
“I’m getting sick of them ganging up on Gramps.” Brandon grabbed his chakram and let it fly as Lucifer raised his sword. The chakram flew true, striking the sword and actually breaking the blade before flying on for Cronus. It struck the scythe and rebounded back to Brandon’s outstretched hand.
Jarel used the opportunity to blast Cronus through the thrones and then the wall behind them. Quickly he turned and back handed Lucifer, staggering the dark god again. Jarel lowered his sword and slid it along the ground, flicking it toward Lucifer. A large stream of flames shot towards Lucifer, striking him head on. The stream sent Lucifer through another wall, actually taking out half of the temple in the process. As it did so, Jarel had already vanished.
“Where’d he go?” Demun asked.
The ground shook violently again. It continued to shake and bright flashes of light went off with each tremor.
“Kill the damn demons,” Andreas ordered. “Father is fine.”
Victoria flipped over into the midst of the horde of demons, sword in hand.
“I gotta say, your sister is quite a ball of fire,” Ares told Andreas.
“Shut the hell up and fight, Ares,” Andreas replied.
The group charged in, fighting from the rear to make their way to Victoria. Victoria, however, was holding her own. As the demons approached, she easily cut them down or knocked them out of the way, using her body effectively as a weapon. Drawing her second retractable blade sword, she made her way through the crowd with a fierceness that rivaled her father’s in his battle with the gods.
Ares found Victoria to be alluring in the heat of battle and quickly made his way to her, tossing demons aside with the ease only a god could possibly possess. As he reached her side, Victoria rolled her eyes.
“Do me a favor and actually kill something,” she told him.
“No problem,” Ares responded.
The two fought back to back, carving their way through the horde of demons. Likewise, Andreas and Kazarian had gone back to back to make their stand against the demons.
“Screw this.” Demun opened his mouth and flames burst from him, engulfing the demons surrounding him. The stream was continuous, and he turned his head, directing the flames in different directions to get rid of the demons. Those not engulfed by the flames began to retreat, the power of Demun instilling fear in them.
“What the hell was that?” Andreas asked.
“Your nephew has quite a bit of power of demonkind, and there’s only one explanation for it.” Ares flicked his hand and his sword disappeared. “It seems to me that we’ve finally found the replacement for Desdemona.”
Demun folded his arms across his chest. “You have a big mouth.”
Ares shrugged. “Hey, I call it like I see it, kid. You have power like your grandmother. Normal fire wouldn’t make demons run. God fire, though, will always do the job.”
“Worthless wretch!”
The group turned as Jarel appeared with Desdemona, backhanding her hard across the mouth. The goddess fell to the ground beside him, holding her face. The Black Dragon God sheathed his sword and his expression was filled with fury.
“I should gut you here and now and bathe in your entrails, then cover this world with your ashes.”
Ares laughed. “That was a nice one. Too bad you can’t without being stuck here.”
Jarel glared at him. “I’m well aware of the consequences I’d suffer should I give in to my urges.” He held up his hand over Desdemona and a strange ball of white light came up from her chest and to his hand. “However, I can more than
punish you. I have allowed you to do as you pleased for ages beyond memory. You have built a race of creatures and poisoned the better part of their hearts, giving them your vile nature. You have protected your position from the Moirae’s prophecy by eliminating all of your direct bloodline. It was you that aided the former goddess of discord and the rogue vampires to end the life of the beautiful son you gave me.”
Desdemona’s eyes widened in shock, not the outrage a normal mother would have at such an accusation. Andreas’ heart skipped a beat and Victoria’s beautiful face filled with rage.
“You bitch, you killed your own son!” Victoria stormed forward and kicked the goddess in the face, knocking her to the floor. “You let them horribly mutilate him. Do you have any idea how much they tortured him?! And you helped them. You took the best of us away, and for what?! To protect a throne he didn’t even want?! Even if his soul mate hadn’t been human, he’d have never come for you. He hated you, but he didn’t want to be like you!”
Desdemona laughed. “Miserable fool. Everyone desires power. If you thought you could take your mother out, you’d do it in a heartbeat. Who wouldn’t want to upgrade to the status of god? The power we wield with such ease is something you can only dream of.”
Victoria hit her with a right hook to the jaw that knocked her back to the floor. “It seems to me that I’m pretty close to you in power. We don’t all think like you. I don’t desire to be a goddess, and Julian didn’t want to be a god! He wanted only to be happy with his wife and sons and you took that from him!”
Jarel merely watched the exchange. The rage simmering in his eyes actually dwarfed Victoria’s small tantrum. He’d only just learned this piece of information and frankly Victoria’s way of handling it was best. He’d already made it clear what he wanted to do and as he stood, his mind was wandering onto other forms of torture. Frankly, he didn’t even care when Victoria launched herself at Desdemona and began pummeling her.
“Aren’t you going to stop her?” Ares asked him. “It’ll complicate things if she kills her.”
“Give her a few minutes. Desdemona deserves far worse for what she’s done.”
Ares rolled his eyes. “I’m always up for a good fight, especially a cat fight. But you were in the middle of passing judgment.”
Jarel sighed. “Enough, Victoria.”
Victoria got one last shot in before she stood up and moved away. Jarel looked down at Desdemona.
“It’s time for you to pay for your sins, finally. From this point on, you are trapped here, with no release other than death or summoning to honor our age-old agreement. And you cannot kill yourself. You will live as my grandsons were forced to live; no convenience given to you. You will have no ready-made safe haven. Every day will be a fight for survival. You will continue the cycle until you die at the hands of a demon, or your successor comes forward to take your throne. You will know the pain and suffering that you have inflicted upon those that were undeserving before finally being granted death.” Jarel’s power flowed from him, spreading knowledge of Desdemona’s punishment throughout the realm.
Ares whistled in awe. “And here I thought only Dad could punish her like that.”
“I’m capable of a great many things, and Zeus says demons are closer to rule than anyone else’s.” Jarel waved his hand over Desdemona and she vanished. “Now it’s time to get the hell out of here. There are other things to attend to.”
Seven
Back home in the mortal realm, Jarel took a seat in the armchair in the living room in front of the window. Andreas, Kazarian and Victoria all took a seat on the sofa, while the boys took the loveseat. Krazas stood leaning against the railing next to Demun and Ares conjured a chair to sit across from Jarel.
“So, I’m assuming this is the part where you start giving orders.” Ares seemed genuinely amused.
“Is there a reason you’re still here?” Jarel asked irritably.
“Well, I am the god of war and we are going to go to war with Cronus again. It seems fitting for me to be in the loop.”
Jarel rolled his eyes. “Well, there’s no point beating around the bush. The war of the gods is upon us and there’s no stopping it. What’s worse is that I had a visit with the Fates today and what I heard was pretty disturbing. Apparently, the time of the Moirae is at an end. I’m not really sure how the universe isn’t unraveling because of it, but apparently they were supposed to have met their end before Zeus’ reign and I was maneuvered into stopping it.”
“So how are the Moirae going to be destroyed?” Ares asked. “We’ve always been lead to believe that they were all-powerful.”
Jarel snorted. “I’ve always known I could destroy them. I can change fate at will, though I normally won’t bother doing so. Anyway, the point is that they told me that this time I can’t afford to sit on the sidelines. I’ll be consulting with Zeus shortly. In the meantime, it’s obvious that Cronus will amass an army of followers. Any of my rogue creations are likely candidates for joining him, and he will resurrect or free the other Titans. He’ll go for those that can help him the most first. Most likely he’ll start with Atlas.”
“So what do we need to do?” Victoria asked.
Jarel looked at his daughter. “It’s impossible to directly track Lucifer and Cronus, but I know Lucifer has been building their number of followers recently. For now, there’s nothing more you can do outside of your usual missions. You can’t stop him from resurrecting the Titans, but you can prepare yourself for it. As such, I am revising my law against you all being able to kill gods. You are free to attack any Titan with everything you have. But remember, the Titans were by no means weak.”
“What are the odds of us being able to take out a Titan alone?” Andreas asked. “After all, Zeus’ reign was well underway by the time I was born. We don’t know much about them.”
“You took out Eris fairly easily, son. Dragons can hold their own against Titans. It’s up to you whether you win the fight or not.” Jarel paused. “Victoria, you’ll need to go see your mother. She desires time with you.”
“Do you mind sending me to her?” Victoria asked. “I’d rather get there and get it over with quickly so I can get to work.”
Jarel waved his hand and she vanished. Ares cleared his throat.
“I suppose I’ll head to Olympus to give my father the report.” He vanished.
Jarel turned to Krazas. “Well, you’re now free again. I do hope you don’t turn to the baser nature of your kind. You helped my grandson, so I’d hate to have to kill you.”
Krazas smiled. “I’ve never been like the simpler demons. I was stuck in Shevat because of Desdemona.”
“Well, I suggest you take human form. We’re long past the days where humans know your kind exists and can accept a huge blue demon walking down the street. Although, you don’t have to change your hair color. That’s rather normal.”
Krazas closed his eyes and a bright light flashed. When it cleared, his skin had turned from blue to a human bronze color. His hair remained the same, and so did his build. His teeth looked normal and his nails were short and matched his skin color. He still didn’t wear a shirt either. Jarel flicked his hand and a simple black t-shirt appeared on him.
“Wear clothes when you go out in public. Humans have gotten somewhat modest over the years.” Jarel looked to Demun and Brandon. “I’m sure you two have things to do and people to catch up with. And you’ll need to decide whether or not you’re going back to school or not.”
“We don’t have to go to school anymore?” Demun asked.
“We had to say you were homeschooled in order to explain your time with your grandmother,” Andreas answered.
“So you can continue with that or return to finish out school,” Jarel added.
“School really doesn’t sound appealing to me personally,” Demun replied.
Brandon closed his eyes, his mind being tugged outside of their home. Jarel’s gaze locked on his grandson, following his line of thought. Brandon op
ened his eyes, finding himself under the piercing gaze of his grandfather.
“I have to go,” he told him.
Jarel nodded. “Hurry and get to him.”
The room went pitch black for a second, and when the light returned, Brandon was gone.
“What the hell? Where’d he go?” Andreas questioned.
“Your nephew has the ability to teleport now,” Jarel answered.
“So the room went dark because he teleported?” Andreas asked.
Jarel nodded. “Demun has a similar ability as well. Their powers have advanced rather rapidly in Shevat.”
“Not rapidly enough,” Demun muttered.
Jarel raised an eyebrow. “I take it something is bothering you, child.”
Demun sighed. “It’s not important.”
Jarel chose to ignore that topic for now.
“So, what will happen in Shevat now that Desdemona isn’t technically its ruler anymore?” Demun asked his grandfather.
“Essentially the demons are unorganized on their own. They’ll be busy clamoring amongst themselves to seize control of the realm, something none of them can truly have. They may be able to crown themselves as king or queen, if they slaughter enough of their own kind. But Desdemona is a goddess and can only truly be replaced by a god.”
“Wait, I thought you said only one of her descendants could replace her?” Andreas questioned.
Jarel nodded. “That is true.”
“Well that means I couldn’t possibly have taken her down. I’m not a god, so I can’t replace her,” Demun commented.
Jarel smirked. “Sadly, you’re all a bit slow on the uptake, but that’s okay. Now’s not the time to point out the obvious. I have to go meet with my brother and plan for the role of the Dragon Gods in this coming war. Be on alert and do your usual job until we find out what the Titans have planned.”