Nikolai stared blankly forward as two more gunshots cried out behind her.
Constantine rushed towards her, but one of them hit him in his left thigh. He collapsed on the ground, but almost unphased, he kept crawling towards Nikolai, screaming her name. The second bullet struck her under her shoulder and the pain surged through her body, and she too found herself on the ground. Nikolai heard Katherine run towards the opening in the wall, but whoever shot her was gone. Her eyes looked up to the falling rain, and then turned to Constantine. He stood over her, his hand holding her head up. Droplets fell from his face on her chest and on her dress, once yellow now stained crimson by the pool of blood underneath her. More blood spewed from her mouth, as she choked and coughed.
“I… can’t… breathe.” She heaved.
Constantine was weeping softly above her. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry. I turned away for one moment… I’m so sorry.” He looked at her, his eyes drowned in tears.
“It... it hurts Constantine. Why does it hurt… so much? I… I don’t want to die. I don’t wanna die!” She cried out, hand clinging tightly to Constantine.
“You’ll be alright, you’ll get through this. Nikolai, you’ll get through this!” His voice was trembling.
“You… said, it will… all be fine, before. You said… you’d save me.” She said, not noticing the blood-red tears that fell down her cheeks. “But you didn’t... You lied.” She gasped in agony.
“I…” He choked.
“You left me…” She began. Constantine was writhing in agony as her words clawed at the deepest pockets of his mind. “...alone…” He grit his teeth and gazed away from her, ashamed, as the despair of realization washed over him. “...in the dark.” His eyes turned back to her and both of them pierced within the other, seeing their bare broken souls. “I fell … because of you...”
He was silent as the icy dagger of her words pierced his heart. She vomited blood while her body shivered and twitched for the last time. “...Constantine.” Nikolai felt life seep from her, and her body went cold and numb.
Katherine walked up beside him, sore and weak, looking down at Nikolai with a hint of grief on her face. She looked up at the sky towards the building and muttered a small phrase.
“We have to go Constantine.” She quietly said afterwards. “This place is gonna be swarming soon.”
“Nikolai… I-I’m so sorry” he whispered, bawling as dead love laid upon his hands.
“Constantine, we must go. Now.”
Constantine turned his head but did not look at her. He faked a nod and tried to get up with Nikolai’s body in his hands, but he just then noticed the wound and numbness in his leg. Blood was pouring out of it, enlarging the already large pool beneath him.
“Kath, help me take her... Please.” He heaved, lingering on his other leg, trying to stand up.
Katherine moved beside him and offered her shoulder, but when he put his weak hand around her, his body went limp and he fell on the ground, unconscious. Katherine quickly picked him up and ran towards the field ahead of her. After a few steps however, she stopped, and turned back towards Nikolai. She saw the scarred left side of her face and her burnt eye staring up into the dark sky above. Katherine frowned sorrowfully. A part of her wanted to bring her body too, but then she saw Her. She gazed upwards at the roof of the building, where a shadowy figure stood. Its arms were crossed, and its familiar empty gaze sent a knowing chill through her. Katherine’s frown turned into a sad yet understanding smile as she nodded towards it. A blaring siren in the distance made her turn back and run to the car.
“I heard gunshots.” Evan said, looking at her with worry. “W-where’s Nikolai? What the hell happened?” He shouted at her when he saw Constantine on her shoulder.
“Drive.” She ordered, gently placing Constantine on the back seat.
“WHERE THE FUCK IS NIKOLAI?” Evan shouted at her.
“I SAID DRIVE. DRIVE! THE FUCKING! CAR! IF YOU DON’T WANT TO END UP AS DEAD AS HER!” She snapped back at him, her eyes holding a glint of scarlet rage.
Evan looked at her, frozen in shock. When realization hit him, his gaze fell and he turned back. The engine roared for a moment before the car drove off. Katherine then reached back into the trunk and pulled out a first aid kit to patch Constantine and herself up.
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Azazel panted heavily behind the bar counter. He tossed the still smoking gun from his hand and looked up at the ceiling. The emergency lights were still on except for those that were blown away by the explosion. Azazel chuckled, and reached in his pants to his cigarette packet.
“God damn it!” He heaved when his hand came up empty. He then leaned his head back and closed his weary eyes, calming himself. A rumbling noise paired with the blaring of a siren suddenly was heard through the building complex. Azazel, curious of the sudden commotion, pulled himself up on the counter and saw as dozens of soldiers clad in black armor poured into the building.
“He-ey! Over here!” His voice cracked as he tried waving his arm in the air towards them. A couple of them ran over to him, shining the flashlights that were fixed on their rifles in his face.
“Jesus, chill it with the lights.” He covered his eyes while speaking.
“Sir, are you alright? Sir?” One of them asked.
“Yeah, My leg’s busted and my shoulder too.” He replied as the other one moved to help him out.
“Could you tell us your name sir?” He continued.
“Azazel.” The demon said with a sigh of relief.
“Alright we’re gonna take you t-”
Gunshots suddenly erupted outside. The gurgled screams of a few soldiers were heard before their bodies were smashed through the walls. Azazel cowered behind the counter at the soldier’s instruction. He heard more gunshots fired followed by the fluttering of wings and then by silence. Azazel looked over the counter again and saw the soldier turn back to him.
“What the hell was that?” The demon asked, mildly concerned.
“We don’t know sir, some creature. It seems it was interested in the body some of our men were inspecting. The body’s gone along with it and let's just say, those men won’t be doing any inspecting soon.” The soldier said, his voice almost robotic.
“Well that’s relieving.” He sarcastically replied.
“We have to get you out of here, let’s go sir.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Azazel found himself inside a special ambulance with two people bandaging and fixing his minor wounds. He didn’t even notice until they bandaged his left hand that a few of the fingers were twisted and broken. He couldn’t help but chuckle again.
“Could I have a phone call?” He asked one of the EMTs.
“Sir we need to take care of-”
“Just give me the damn phone.” He said.
The man pulled out a small cellphone from his chest pocket and handed it to Azazel. A deep rough voice answered once he dialed it.
“Boss?”
“Belial, I hope you’ve heard the news.” Azazel said cheerfully
“I just have, how-”
“I’m fine. Listen, tomorrow, I want you and all the others at the hospital. We need to take care of this, these pests have pissed me off long enough. Send Baphomet a message.”
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Nikolai looked up at the falling drops of rain as life poured out of her and everything turned to darkness around her. She felt herself fall into it. At some point however, she just stopped. Nikolai was conscious once more. She stood up, her eyes adjusting to the void. There was nothing around her, just black emptiness.
Where am I? She asked herself, standing up.
Her hand reached on her back under her shoulder, and she only felt her skin.
What happened to me, why is it all… so hazy?
A sudden sob was heard, as Nikolai looked up to where it came from. A girl was weeping, her arms wrapped around her knees, her head resting upon them. Nikolai stepped forward, her foot touching the filthy water underneath. She immediately pulled back, disgusted and terrified. It was a visceral hate, her body sick and nauseous at the touch. She looked down at the water and then her foot, wiping it compulsively with her hand. The girl in front of her shrieked as a large man grabbed her by the hand and pulled her up.
No… Please no… Anything but this… Nikolai begged, as the memories slowly trickled back in her mind. She dropped to her knees when the man grabbed the girl in front of her by the neck, violently slapping her repeatedly before throwing onto the muddy floor and forcing himself onto her. Nikolai’s eye was fixed at its reflection in the water, her hands clawing at the sides of her face as the maddening screams of suffering echoed in her mind.
PLEASE. MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE ANYONE, MAKE IT STOP!
The scene repeated over and over and over again endlessly, each time more violent, more brutal, more painful than the last, until the girl in front of her could not even whimper as she lay there, tortured and broken. Nikolai felt hollow, it felt like months, years stuck in that black inferno. She could not run, wherever she turned to, the aching memories were there in front of her. She fell on her knees again and the puddle of water was still in front of her, inches from the iron bars. The scene repeated itself once more, this time Nikolai watched it through unblinking. Searing pain surged through her scars once it ended, yet she endured it, the agony turning to ecstasy inside her. Her eyes dropped down to her reflection once more, and she saw Constantine, as he was seemingly forever ago. Anger poisoned her mind, anger at herself, anger at her friends, anger at her love. There was only hate and anger for those that abandoned her and left her to die. She raised her hands, curved them into fists and brought them down upon the ground, screaming with it shattering like glass.
Everything turned to darkness around her. She felt herself fall into it. At some point however, she just stopped. Nikolai was conscious once more. She stood up, her eyes adjusting to the void. There was nothing around her, just black emptiness.
Where am I? She asked herself, standing up onto the cold cavernous ground.
“No. No. No, no, no, please. Not again. Not again please, please! MAKE IT STOP!” She begged, wailing and crying into eternity.
“Your soul has finally shattered, hasn’t it, Dear one?” A whispery voice called out from the dark.
Nikolai peered into it, but she could not see where the voice came from.
“Listen carefully now, I will ask one thing of you and only one, in return I offer you a chance for vengeance upon all that wronged you.”
Vengeance. Nikolai thought to herself, looking up at the shadowy figure that was slowly revealing itself before her.
“All those years ago, you escaped from me, you alone achieved what legions could not. You were meant to die that night along with your sister, and be reborn as the cleansers of this world.”
Sister…?
“So I ask you this, will you accept my gift willingly, and cleanse the world of the filth that plagues it? Or shall I let you burn in this black chaos forever?” The being’s silver cape gleamed as it fluttered in the tufts of wind.
“But, b-but how?” Nikolai asked, crawling towards the Goddess that stood towering before her. “How do I cleanse it, please, I accept… I will do anything please…”
“With fire, dear one. You were purged by the flames and yet you lived, for that, I will gift you the fire with which to burn the impure.” It continued.
Fire. Her scars crawled at the thought. Yes, purge with fire… Nikolai nodded. “I accept. Please...” She looked up, her eye red with tears.
“Very well, I offer you my gift, power… in exchange for your humanity.” The being’s metallic, armored arm pierced Nikolai’s chest, and when it pulled back, it pulled back a red haze along with it.
Nikolai fell forward, choking at the sudden pain. She stood back up, pressing her right hand over her chest as the shock wore off.
“Farewell, we shall meet again someday. In the end, all will face their inescapable demise.” It waved its arm upward and a blazing pyre engulfed Nikolai. The ear-shattering scream that erupted from inside her was unlike any that came before it.
Nikolai jolted upwards from the stone table upon which she laid. Her mouth agape as she inhaled air once more. She collapsed over it, down the few steps of the altar. Her bloodshot eye looked up at the stained glass of the cathedral as she lay on the stony floor. She pushed herself up, noticing the small shards that littered the graves next to her. She scrambled to pick one up and looked at her reflection. Her hair was beginning to take on a pristine white color at the roots, and as she looked at her left eye, she saw burning flames around a red ball that seemed to scorch hotter than all of them. The glass fell from her hands, as she looked towards where her scars once were, now alight with molten fire that coiled around her arm like a snake. Nikolai screamed in terror, scrambling to put the flames out. But she quickly realized they were part of her now. No matter how she struggled, the flames coursed through her veins. She looked at her fingers curiously once she calmed down, flexing them to regain her strength. When she opened them, a small tongue of fire was resting at the center of her palm. Her frightened look managed to reveal a smile beneath tears of overwhelming joy, and the smile became a wide toothed grin. She laughed. Her cackled madness echoed through the cathedral, louder than the tolling bells of midnight.
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The ride was slow and silent, not one of them dared utter a word. Katherine switched between looking out the window and turning back to Constantine’s unconscious body. A sharp pain passed through her chest as she looked down in her lap, filled with grief. Evan was the first to get out of the jeep once they reached the mansion. Katherine followed soon after.
“What the hell is happening?” He asked, looking up at the red clouds and mist that seemed to envelop the house like a mirage. “U-Uriel?”
On the front porch farther ahead, was Uriel. She was forced to her knees, her arms, wings and legs, all enveloped by thorny vines and black chains that cut deep into her smooth skin. Her mouth was bound by a patch with a red pentagram on it that seemed to bleed into her skin. She looked up at Evan, her weary eyes going wide when she noticed him. She tried to scream but not even a mumble came out. Evan looked at her, unable to move as if in a trance.
“I am sorry Evan. This is where we part ways.” He heard Katherine’s remorseless voice say behind him. As he turned back towards her, she smashed him over the head with the blunt side of her halberd. His limp body fell on the pavement beneath with a silent thump. Uriel tried to shout, and squirmed within her bonds. Katherine stepped over the body. Her red-and-blue eyes fixed on Uriel. “You should have stayed inside, Uriel. Why did you try to play the hero?” She traced the pentagram on the seal, and removed the patch from the angel’s mouth.
“You. You fiend, how could you?” Uriel looked at her with white, hateful eyes.
“You wouldn’t understand.” She kneeled in front of her, their faces inches apart. “What I did, is nothing, compared to what I will do, nor what I am willing to do to end this misery forever. Now be silent. We must go, my sister is waiting.”