"STOP! EVERYBODY STOP! DON'T EVEN MOVE A MUSCLE OR YOU WILL LOSE YOUR LIFE!"
David's scarlet hair had suddenly stopped swaying in the wind as his three children wondered what was happening.
Snowflake looked at Iblis silently, wondering if the threat was also aimed at him. In doubt, he stood still. He didn't want to find out. The Devil looked really pissed off.
In the stillness of the time block, even those who could move remained still. Silence flooded the entire Colosseum, but a distinct sound reached the ears of the Devil and the Heavenly Star Tigers.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Alexander and Bucephalus continued to calmy chew their popcorn, completely ignoring Iblis's anger; he shot them a deadly look, but his problem wasn't them. He headed for David and Snowflake's three brothers, Nathal, Shamms, and Soba.
The Patriarch of the Heavenly Star Tigers quickly flicked his eyes from his son to the Lord of Destruction, who had come back to life for some strange reason. Why was Snowflake with Iblis?
How could he not have noticed it before? The Seal he had hidden in Snowflake's blood had been removed. His eyes widened. Among those present, Iblis was surely the only one who could have destroyed his work. Not only was that a Seal used exclusively by the Patriarch of the Celestial Star Tigers, but only a couple of people in the entire universe could have destroyed it.
A malicious thought crossed David's mind like a flash. "Why did you bring us here, what do you have in mind?" David asked, without hesitation.
Bucephalus nearly choked on popcorn with laughter and his coughing fits filled the heavy silence of the Colosseum. The fact that David thought it was all part of a specific plan was hilarious. Moreover, seeing Iblis's frown, Alexander nearly choked too.
How could Iblis explain what had happened?
The greatest monster in the universe accidentally broke your son's fucking White Crystal Seal, ignoring the fact that it was a Seal of Location, Alexander thought. He burst out laughing uncontrollably, until Iblis gave him yet another death-threatening look.
“There was an accident, it wasn't my intention to summon a bunch of shit piles here,” Iblis said.
Now David was even more confused.
For one thing, how could it be a simple accident?
If he had wanted to eliminate him, Iblis would not have hesitated to do so. But David couldn't understand how the most feared Devil in the universe could make such a foolish mistake.
And second, who the hell were those two who dared to laugh at Iblis? Was there really anyone besides Amaterasu, if she was still alive, who could survive such an offence? What kind of monsters did those two have to be?
Or maybe… Iblis was weaker than in the past?
“David, don't even think about it. If you move you will not only cause a universal war in a split second," Iblis said, as if he had read his mind, "if you'd like to know, those two idiots are Alexander and Bucephalus, and that is the only reason they are still there. I no longer have a body, there is no need to hide it from you. But if you think anything changes for someone below Amaterasu's level, then you are really underestimating me."
David frowned.
Alexander and Bucephalus? Who the hell were Alexander and Bucephalus, maybe their name should have told him something-
Oh.
"Alexander and Bucephalus. The legendary Alexander and Bucephalus?"
David avoided swearing out loud so as not to lose face in front of his children, but what the fuck was the day turning into, was it the dawn of the dead and no one had warned him?
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Why did the greatest monsters that had walked the universe since its creation seemed to have been exhumed all together? Was it the curses his ex-wife had thrown at him that had finally come to life?
Massaging his temples, Iblis turned to the Heavenly Star Tigers.
“I have no intention of revealing my presence to the whole universe yet and you have just complicated my life. If you hadn't come here to fuck us over, we would have all saved ourselves a good bit of trouble."
David avoided pointing out that if he hadn't "accidentally" destroyed his son's Seal this would not have happened. Did Iblis think he was enjoying himself in the presence of the greatest Devil, King and horse in the history of the universe? Probably, he would have preferred to spend his days listening to his children's boring stories about their latest military conquests or his wife's complaints about which wings of the building needed renovation.
"Could we just pretend nothing happened?" David suggested, abandoning his arrogant and tyrannical tone.
Iblis rolled his eyes, as if he had just heard the biggest bullshit in the world.
“The Heavenly Star Tigers are equally oriented towards Life and Destruction. There are those who freely choose one or the other, but you have decided to side openly with Qinguang- "
“With Amaterasu, Iblis. We have chosen to side with Amaterasu”, David interrupted, risking his life for that clarification.
"As you prefer. You have sided with Amaterasu, betraying the neutrality you kept for years and years. The Heavenly Star Tigers are noble creatures and detached from world affairs. But if I'm not mistaken, a couple of Generals of Destruction died at your hands during the war."
Taking a deep breath, David seemed to regain confidence in himself and held the penetrating gaze of the child.
“You have killed too many innocents. What should we have done? Your Generals, starting with that slut Tsukuyomi- "
Iblis's pupils immediately shrunk to a slit.
"Oh-oh," said Alexander, nudging Bucephalus with an elbow.
“He didn't really say that,” Bucephalus said, elbowing Alexander's side too.
"Oh yes he did."
"Wrap the planet and everyone with your Mana, let's try to prevent them from dying from collateral damage," Alexander said, starting to spun his Mana all around the planet.
David blinked in what felt like an eternity, suddenly burdened by an Aura of death and desolation. As soon as his lids closed, in what would not have been even a fraction of a millionth of a second for a normal person, there was a moment of darkness.
And when the eyes were opened again, a three-meter tall Devil stood facing the Patriarch of the Heavenly Star Tigers. The Devil's huge wings, fully spread, had an opening of seven or eight meters. He was shirtless and his arms were completely black from the forearms to the fingertips. He was wearing only a pair of dark trousers.
"Iblis. You have destroyed a series of planets for stupid and childish reasons. Kill me, but it won't change the fact that you've taken the lives of far too many innocent people. The Heavenly Star Tigers have very specific etiquette in this regard. The innocent are not to be killed, nor it is allowed the weak to be crushed. "
“Your filthy etiquette has been the same since the dawn of time. You keep telling yourself that what it says is what is good. But there will come a day, David, when you will find that to follow your etiquette you will have to turn into a monster, like me. When to do good you have to do evil again, as you and your cowardly Covenant with Life have already done, the time has come for another war.
“As I said to Amaterasu centuries ago, even those who are part of Life can commit atrocities. But, unlike you, when I skin shitty children, I do it with a very specific reason. And you? You have continued to hide yourself behind the conventions, behind the dogmas and above all behind your fucking etiquette for millennia. Do you want to gut someone and have to wait for the etiquette to let you do it? Pathetic."
“War is war. and the lives of the innocent must be avenged." David did not change his positions by half a millimetre.
Soba lifted his chin, proud of what his father had just said; only after a few moments did he feel Iblis's burning gaze upon him and realized what he had just done.
"Shit," Soba swore.
In a split second, the frightening figure of the Devil was standing over David's son. At that point, the Patriarch of the Heavenly Star Tigers couldn't help but intervene. He could not leave his son in Iblis's claws.
Iblis simply moved his hand with a cutting motion towards Soba.
There was nothing but a thick blanket of Mana of Destruction covering his fingers.
David materialized between Iblis and Soba, wondering what he had done wrong in the present life, in the previous one and in the one before that to deserve such foolish children and a mad Devil as an enemy.
He grabbed the Devil's wrist without thinking twice, first covering his own with all the Mana he was able to extract from inside his body. The Heavenly Star Tigers possessed an Affinity for Lightning Mana superior to all other races.
There wasn't much force behind Iblis's blow, but David shivered like a leaf.
The purity of the Mana of Destruction around Iblis's hand would have been enough to split Soba in two, like a red-hot knife through a stick of butter. Although the Devil no longer had Meridians to manage his Mana, at his level he could do without them, at least until he met someone at Amaterasu's level.
David felt the Mana of Destruction begin to erode his own, layer by layer. And while the most powerful Heavenly Star Tiger in the universe possessed terrifying power, in that exact moment, nothing would be effective enough to stop Iblis's blow.
If he reacted, he knew he would start a universal war, a second one, because of his stupid son.
"A contract!" David screamed a few words and took Iblis by surprise. "Let's make a contract and you'll let us go!"
David didn't like the idea of letting Iblis win so easily, but there wasn't much else to do.
“Cunt,” Bucephalus muttered.