Hellbound Second Advent

by Decoyar Brown

  “These mortals are so ungrateful.” Crouzer said as he continued to look out the window. “They go on with their daily lives, living freely without any care or beliefs.”

  Peter walked in, and the door slowly closed behind him.

  “When this world is consumed by fire and darkness, they will cry out for help,” Crouzer continued. “They will call on their heavenly Father’s name, begging for forgiveness and mercy.”

  “But that does not give us the power to judge or discipline them. That is the Almighty’s responsibility. He gave them free will—the will to choose what to do and what to believe in. We cannot look down on them for that. Were we any different? Weren’t we the ones who took the Almighty’s grace for granted?” Peter drew closer to him.

  Crouzer turned to Peter and smiled. He rubbed his goatee, and took a few steps forward. “Yes. We were ungrateful … and greedy. Adonai was a merciful father, but he banished us for eternity. Was he so lenient when he banished us? We’re never to return to our posts. Ablis has the final key to raise the tower toward heaven and lead an army from hell to the gates of heaven.”

  “And you believe that you can succeed? Is your army stronger than the forces of heaven?”

  Crouzer rested the glass on his desk, laughed and walked forward with his hands behind his back. “It’s inevitable. The war is bound to happen. Christ promised to return and judge this world.”

  “Why not wait till then? Why sacrifice thousands for something inevitable. Why slaughter hundreds to fuel the tower and use an eleven-year-old to read the words of the first?”

  Crouzer smiled wickedly. “You know of the first? Of course you do. The first was one of the first humans Adonai created. Azasel was his name, wasn’t it? He was the first to influence the book to be written. He told the people of this world that your God existed.” Crouzer walked over to a small refrigerator and took out a bottle of champagne. “The boy will read the first’s words and raised the tower.” Crouzer poured the champagne into two glasses.

  “Where’s the boy?”

  Crouzer raised the champagne glass and offered it to him.

  Peter shook his head.

  Crouzer placed the glass on a table and walked back to the window. “The child is on his way to Sheol as we speak. He should be there in a couple of days.” Crouzer turned his head to face Peter. “It is too late to stop us now.” He took as sip of champagne after he snickered at Peter’s facial expression.

  Peter’s look was discontented. He walked to the window to look out as well.

  “I heard your son has returned to you.”

  “Yes. We’ve found each other at last.” Peter said with a smile.

  “Found each other?” Crouzer scoffed. “Do you believe your son found you coincidentally?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We allowed it to happen. We allowed your son to find you.”

  A ball dropped from Peter’s chest to his stomach. “You knew about my son’s whereabouts all this time?”

  “Of course. We were trying to find the other child but we found Claudius first, along time ago. You believe you could’ve just walked away without consequences?” Crouzer shook his head. “After you walked away, we had no other way of changing your mind. We took him in as your replacement and raised him as one of us. Due to the fact that he aged slower than his human teachers, he outlived them. I had to teach him how to use his powers. When the boy reached his seventieth birthday, he fled to America. He had heard that his dear old dad was living here. We hoped that the rage within him would cause him to hunt you down, but instead, he wanted to reunite with you. The Order was being mobilized around the same time he was looking for you, and we found him before he found you. We erased his memories and started him over. The other day, I ordered Garrison to let him leave and pretend to only seek the glove … or should I say, the gauntlet from him, letting him believe that was our main concern.” Crouzer began to laugh. “And now, you both are finally reunited.”

  Peter raised his hand and held the hilt of his sword. “It was you all along … playing us for fools!”

  “Yes, this was planned and necessary. Let me fill you in on something. You see, nothing that you do at this point will change anything. It never did, and it never will. You’ve slain hundreds of demons—but thousands more return. Fate cannot be concealed at this moment, Gevurah. Nothing you do will change our goals. Nothing.”

  “I don’t understand a thing you’re saying to me.”

  “The good book explained our rise in the book of Revelations. I’ve also witnessed the end of this war. In the end, heaven will fall. Fate cannot be concealed, and we will enter the gates. Nothing will change because it was already written.”

  “So it was you who took my son away from me?”

  The fallen angel smiled. “Yes. His mother was happy to give him up to us. She knew it would hurt you deeply.”

  “You brainwashed my son?” Peter pointed his sword at Crouzer’s throat.

  Crouzer continued to smile and stepped closer until the tip of the sword was touching his throat. “So what? Sacrifice is necessary in a war.”

  Peter looked away with tears in his eyes.

  Crouzer grabbed the edge of the sword, and Peter’s eyes flashed back in his direction.

  Crouzer said, “Like I said before, nothing you do at this moment will change anything.”

  Peter tried to pull the sword from him but could not.

  “It’s all up to fate and destiny. I’ve witnessed this world and the war at an end. I’ve seen the Apocalypse, Gevurah. I’ve seen you all falling and kneeling before Ablis. I know what’s going to happen before it does.”

  “What are you—a psychic?” Peter struggled to get the sword away.

  “Something like that. I’ve journeyed through time and back. I’ve seen Adonai’s face and his son’s face. They will fall by our hands.”

  Peter managed to pull his sword from Crouzer’s strong grasp, but he lost his balance. He managed to regain his footing and swung his sword in a three-sixty motion. With both hands, aiming for Crouzer’s head.

  Crouzer blocked the blade with the back of his wrist and grabbed Peter by the throat with his right hand. “You should’ve known better, Gevurah. My strength exceeds yours.” He slammed Peter into the wall. Peter’s sword fell from his hand. “I’m one of the strongest lords of Sheol—and you dare challenge me?”

  “I’ll never forgive … you for what you did to … me and my family … you took … my son from me.” Peter held on to Crouzer’s hand.

  “Your son is the key to all of this. He’s valuable to our goal.”

  “What? Then why … did you take the child? I thought your ultimate goal was to gather the five parts of that … armor you were looking for?”

  “Gathering the armor is still my goal, but for now, Ablis’ plan is to raise the tower. My ambition is at ease for now. Don’t worry—your son is not needed… yet. When the tower rises, we will seek him out.”

  “So my … son is just a pawn in your plans? We are all puppets in your show?”

  Crouzer squeezed a bit more. “Yes. It’s too bad you won’t be around to save him from his destiny.”

  Peter felt Crouzer's grip tightened. He closed his eyes when he felt as if they were about to bulge from their sockets. He grabbed onto Crouzer's forearm and squeezed from fear.

  The fallen angel smiled at seeing Peter in pain. Though Peter was four inches taller, Crouzer still lifted him off the ground with one hand with ease. Crouzer saw Peter reaching for his pistol and he knocked it away with his free hand to the corner of the large room.

  But then, Crouzer felt Peter's hands began to get warm and steam was rising from them. He saw Peter's skin began to burn away like a dry leaf by small bright blue flames. Crouzer's hands began to burn even more and he slowly loos­ened his grip on Peter.

  A loud explosion occurred on the top floor. The people in the streets below looked up in wonder. Some of them ran from the falling debris.
r />   When the dust settled, the roof was blown off and the furniture and broken antiques were scattered all over. Crouzer had suffered some minor bruises and burns. He looked up and saw that Peter had a significant look to him. His skin was white as snow, and he sported a pair of white angelic wings while he hovered above the building. His tattoos were blue, his eyes were white, and his hair was fiery red. Peter’s coat, pants, and boots had transformed into a metallic armor.

  “Of course,” Crouzer said. “You are able to access your angelic powers. You must’ve hidden them in the sigil markings on your body.”

  “Did you see me in this form when you journeyed to the future, Gabilon?” Peter’s voice echoed throughout the atmosphere. He reached out, and the Redeemer shot toward his hand. When it reunited with him, it morphed to be much broader—close to five feet long and fifteen inches wide. The designs on the base of the sword resembled magic symbols and a pair of dove’s wings. The hilt was as thin as a candle and had a ball of spikes at the end.

  Crouzer unbuttoned his jacket slowly. “You’re not the only one with a few tricks up the sleeve, Gevurah.” The fallen angel raised his hands and looked up at the stars above. A beam of light shot down on him, and black and purple energy surrounded him.

  In the streets below, people felt a tremor as Crouzer’s body began to undergo a transformation.

  His body expanded to a story and a half. His neck widened to seventeen inches, and his arms were long and strapping. He transformed into a five-headed dragon. His armor had the texture of a Komodo dragon. He grew a long tail and a pair of bat-like wings.

  Peter began to glide around Crouzer, ready for anything Crouzer would throw at him. Each time Crouzer stepped to follow Peter’s movements, the building trembled under his feet.

  Peter stayed on guard for a possible attack. He hovered about thirty feet away, giving himself enough room to be prepared for a surprise attack.

  All five heads lunged forward and shot a wave of fire at Peter, but he used his broad sword to shield himself. The flames heated up the blade to five hundred degrees.

  The Redeemer was glowing from the intense heat. Peter held the sword with both hands and spun around. He struck at Crouzer, and a reddish light shot toward him.

  Crouzer did not notice it in time. He attempted to dodge it, but two of his heads were detached. He fell to his knees, and the severed heads twitched as blood poured out.

  “Not bad, Gevurah.” Crouzer’s monstrous voice boomed. He stood and gazed in Peter’s direction. “You’re as strong as a full-fledged angel.”

  “This is half of my previous strength, Gabilon. You’re lucky I cannot access my full powers.”

  “Lucky? Do you believe a wound like this could stop me?” The severed joints twitched and vibrated. Crouzer’s body began to tremble, the severed heads grew back in place, and he began to flap his wings.

  He began to levitate and blew away all the dust and broken furniture in the damaged area.

  The fallen angel began to channel a purple energy in his hands. Purple lightning began to emit from them, brightening their surroundings.

  Peter raised his left hand and searched for his pistol. Upon sensing it, he pulled it toward him telekinetically. The handgun began to change when it reached him. In a spark of light, it changed into an angelic gold firearm that resembled a XM-8 rifle. Peter began to spray Crouzer with bullets, but the bullets ricocheted from Crouzer’s body as he channeled his horrific purple lightning.

  “ You fool! That weapon cannot hurt me. I’m the one who gave it to you, Gevurah. I helped to create it.”

  Peter focused his remaining power and transformed his gun into a rocket launcher.

  Crouzer’s eyes widened, and he shot his energy blast at Peter.

  Peter released his rocket, and both tremendous forces shot toward each other. When they collided, the explosion rung out in the night sky. The powerful energy blew Peter and Crouzer away. The sinister explosion damaged a few of the buildings.

  Civilians scattered when the fire alarms rang, car alarms squealed and debris rained down from the buildings.

  Peter reverted to his regular form after the blast knocked him into the middle of the street. He lost consciousness instantly.

  Chapter 17

  Departure

  Peter opened his eyes, lurched upwards from where he was laying down, and looked around fearfully. When he did he saw Claudius, Gedulah, Zack, and Ella had surrounded him.

  Gedulah sat beside Peter and said, “Relax. It’s okay,”

  “Dad, are you okay?” Claudius asked.

  Peter noticed he was back in Connecticut, lying on the couch. “How’d I get back here?”

  Gedulah rested his hand on Peter’s shoulder. “How do you think? I brought you back here.”

  Peter rubbed his hands through his hair and sighed.

  “That was awesome!” Gedulah shouted. “I didn’t know you had access to your angelic powers.”

  “You saw me in my angelic form?”

  “Who didn’t? The entire city was watching you two clashing above the city. It was like the Forth of July after that explosion. I didn’t get there in time to see the start of the battle. What happened?”

  “I hid some of my powers in the sigils.”

  “I was wondering why you had those strange tattoos,” Ella said. “That’s interesting that you did that.”

  “Dad, I thought you lost your powers. How were you able to do all that?”

  “The Almighty didn’t take all my powers away. Though he cursed me to walk the earth till the End of Days, he was merciful enough to allow me to keep some of them.”

  “Your creator allowed you to keep that power you used tonight?” Zack asked.

  “Not exactly. Over the years, I’ve stored auxiliary energy in the sigil symbols. I haven’t used it in a while. I was planning on using it the day Father Davis captured me, but Paul intervened.”

  “Intervened?” Gedulah said. “I heard you praying—and that was why I showed up to save your ass. If you were gonna use it, why did you pray for help?”

  “Well … I didn’t want to use it because it’s temporary.”

  “What do you mean by temporary?” Zack asked.

  “My stored angelic powers are only temporary. It lasts for about five minutes, and it drains me after I use it.”

  “That explains why you never used it against Minosa,” Gedulah stated.

  Peter nodded. He got up out of the couch and walked in the guest bathroom to wash his face. He analyzed himself in the mirror. “Did you see what happened to Gabilon, Paul?” He gargled some water in his throat and spit it out.

  “No. After the explosion, he vanished. I know you didn’t kill him. He’s too powerful to be harmed by that blast.”

  Ella said, “What about my son? Did he say anything about my son?”

  Peter walked from the bathroom and knelt before Ella while she sat on the sofa. With sympathetic words he said, “I’m sorry Ella but your son was on his way to Sheol.”

  “Sheol? I don’t understand.”

  “Sheol is another name for Hell or the Underworld. He’s taking your son there as we speak.”

  “What do you mean?” Ella began to weep with her face in her palms. “Why’s this happening to me? Why’s this happening to my son?”

  Peter rubbed her shoulder to comfort her.

  “Does that mean it is over, Dad? The tower has not risen yet. I mean, we still have a chance, right?”

  Ella looked in Peter's direction to here his response. She was still sob­bing a little.

  “I don’t know. What do you think, Paul?”

  Gedulah looked away to think. “Did Gabilon say when the boy left?”

  “No, but he did say it would take around two days to get there.”

  “Then we might still have a chance. We might be able to catch up with them. He may be on the trail to Hell. It may take him a day to get to the gates of Sheol.”

  “And a day or so to journey into Hell,” P
eter said. “We may still have a chance to prevent the tower from rising. Ella, we may have a chance to save your son.”

  “Really?” She stood and hugged Peter in excitement.

  Claudius asked, “How are we going to get to Hell—and who’s going?”

  Zack said, “I think Garrison had been there before, but I’m not sure.”

  Gedulah said, “I don’t think so. A living human cannot enter Sheol. Only the dead can pass through there to be punished for their sins.”

  Ella screamed, “What? Does that mean my son is dead?”

  Gedulah said, “Not necessarily. The child is not going to be any good to them dead. They must have a way to sustain his life while he’s there. Maybe they are not venturing into the deeper parts of hell.”

  Peter said, “We might be able to get to him before he gets there. He may not be going to where the dead are condemned.”

  “Maybe one of us can get to him without going directly into hell.” Zack suggested. “But who?”

  Everyone looked around to see if anyone would volunteer.

  “I can’t go,” Gedulah said. “Here on earth is as far as I can go. Going to Sheol is against my jurisdiction.”

  Claudius said, “Zack and I can go. He has the antibiosis armor to protect him, and I can withstand the heat because of my abilities.”

  Gedulah said, “Actually, from what I’ve been told, hell is not all fire and carnage. I’ve seen numerous nippy demons—and some are water ones. It may be okay for you both to go.”

  “No. I’ll go,” Peter declared. “I’ll go and get the boy on my own.”

  Everyone turned to look at Peter.

  Ella sat beside him and held his hand. She could see that though he was being brave he had a bit of dismay in his heart.

  “Are you sure about this?” Gedulah asked.

  Peter nodded.

  “Dad, I will go with you.”

  “It’s too dangerous. Your uncle told me about your first encounter with one of the Hellbounds in the train station. There are more dangerous demons in Sheol than Minosa and Bolverk.”