Shadow of the Abyss

On the morrow, Altair glared at the King's Guards at his doors, shooting daggers at him. They seemed surprised, as if what he had done went against everything they stood for. But what did they expect?

"Will you not kneel before the Royal Decree?" the tall man in the golden frame breastplate uttered rather incredulously, his half-cloak fluttering gently in the stringent air.

"Unless you'd rather me cut your cocks off and feed them to our bloody dogs, you will speak the decree." Altair snapped, in no mood for such nonsense. What king knelt before another? Even if he was disguised, kneeling before another was no different than drinking piss. "If you've nothing to say, then leave. I'm a busy man."

The level of outrage reflected across the King's Guard showed in the flutter of killing intent bleeding into the corporeal realm. They were all transcendents. Men of such stature, it was practically suicide to speak to them as such, and yet Altair head remained high and his eyes low as if he were looking on at a pair of rabid dogs rather than men.

The old duke's jaw was wide opened in the way he gawked; attending him, the Dutchess was no different. Their poised expression shattered.

In front of such killing intent, Altair showed no reaction. If anything, he appeared more disdainful. "Attack me if you dare. Just hope you kill me, or your entire nine generations will be placed on pikes across Vastroph."

It was the tall one who took a step forward but was quickly pulled back by his long-nosed companion, flushed with either embarrassment or rage. It didn't matter much; Altair had wasted enough time. He turned.

"Wait!" a bitter voice pleaded. "I'll speak!" Unfortunately, Altair did not slow his step. "His Majesty has invited you for dinner!"

"Sure," Altair voice echoed as he entered his office, breathing a sigh. "I am starving…"

"Then perhaps you should eat my Lord," Raven, who had followed after him, replied.
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'She is literally offering herself up,' the Vale King shouted, but Altair ignored him, quite sure Raven didn't understand what type of hunger he was experiencing.

"It's fine… What is going on in Vastroph?"

"Two things," Raven said. "The Saintess was last seen with a Novice. Some have speculated she is her disciple."

"Is she pretty?"

"Please keep it in your pants. The next piece of information is that it's basically confirmed that the Saintess is above the level of Transcendent. Possibly a Deva or a God. I believe she is a God due to how easily she destroyed that pillar of light. Making her one of the most powerful entities on this planet."

Ignoring the Gods in heavy debate in his Chat, Altair nodded, figuring it was so. He doubted the rank of Saintess was so easily given out. The only question is, how many oaths of Sepith had she taken?

A Data Pad appeared in Raven's palm as she made a few gestures over it before looking up, "Shall I inform the others of this? It makes no sense we keep this a secret. It's best we keep an eye on this Saintess of Ariandel."

A sudden jolt stirred through Altair as his eyes opened wide. "Saintess of Ariandel…" He repeated. "Do you think that every Pillar of Sepeth possesses a single Saintess for every Angel? If it is only one in all of the Myriad Heavens, then that one woman might be stronger than anyone I've met till now."

****

"Reina Blackwood, Third Disciple of the Lady Moon, Lunafreya," The Saintess muttered incredulously. "You've got to be shitting me! Shit!" She covered her mouth. "Fuck! I'm not supposed to be cursing! You're not lying, right?"

It was Syris who shook her head, "She not, and I'm the disciple of the Second Infernal Monarch, Lord Arsene Snow."

Watching the Saintess practically pulling out her hair, glaring daggers as the both of them, Reina giggled into her palm. "Is that a problem?"

"Problem? I don't want to meet any of them! Especially that bloody devil, Lord Snow. He's the worst! Or maybe it's the Silver Devil… He's done some evil things."

"Uncle Zariel?" said Syris.

Reina bit her lips, annoyed that Syris had met someone from Arsene's family before she had.

"He's a sweetheart. I've not seen a more polite man."

"Polite? It was his bloody plan to destroy the 33 Heavens, Paving a Path for Lord Mephistopheles to destroy the Twelve Realm in his pursuit to find Eden! Do you understand the concept of killing infinity? He did that! Entire realities gone in a blink of an eye."

"... He's also a good cook…" Syris added in a smaller voice.

"Oh, Dear Lord," said the Saintess, palming her face. "Let me get this straight." She pointed at Reina, " Your master created the Ultimate Fallen, Mephistopheles,' then pointed at Syris, "and yours is the Second Infernal Monarch, Consort to the Abyssal Queen, and literally the most influential man in both the Myriad Heavens and Arcadia. And you're both… Intimate with… Altair…"

Suddenly reigning in her other evil half from showing herself, Reina tsked before she said with pride, "I am his wife."

"And I, his Saintess," Syris added, bowing her head though her ears did turn a deep shade of pink.

"And you both are on the hunt for a traitor in my organization who works for some mysterious organization I've never heard of… The Court of Shadows?"

A knock at the door turned everyone silent as eyes turned as the door opened. A maiden stepped in iron face with an ivory gold spear in hand.

"Forgive the intrusion, Saintess, but two maidens have fallen in the streets of Vastroph?"

The Saintess rose. "Dead? How? Why?"

Hesitantly, the Maiden glanced at Syris and Reina, back to the Saintess. "they appeared to be torn to pieces by some manner of beast last night. All that remained were torn robes, alongside their iron mask."

"Did they have children or families?" The saintess asked.

"But I thought the Oath of Iron forbade intimacy," Syris said before Ren could stop her. Not that she would."

"Aye," the Iron maiden said coldly. "But you forget. People have past. Not everyone is born into Sepeth monetary. Some come to use with children or pregnant women seeking aid. The two that died, Taramar and Julifar, both came to us in their youth, nearly sixty years ago pregnant."

"Prepare a funeral… even if their bones are gone, their soul belonged to Sepith."

"Of course. And shall I employ the crusaders?"

Ice filled the Saintess' voice, "Yes, and have seven Sisters of Silence join them. If two Maidens were felled, then the killer is above the average combat prowess."

"Killers. We spotted at least twenty footprints.

"Investigate well Gadria. And may the light of Sepith be with you."

"As with you!" Gadria saluted palm to chest, departing with a face of stone.

"Well…" the Saintess growled, throwing her head back. "And you two wouldn't happen to know anything about two dead Maidens?"

"We've literally been scrubbing floors in this blasted monetary. When would we have time to do as such?" asked Syris matter of factly.

Cool-faced, Reina sighed, drawing In on the Eight Form, Arctus. Channeling the forces of the divine, a trace of divinity and serenity kissed her flesh; motes of profundity filled her eyes as her once-black hair turned Snow white.

Seraphine faded to reveal her true appearance, alongside the true nature of a Nephilim.

Shaken to her core, The Saintess drew a few steps back, her knees buckling like a newborn fawn. "I had heard rumors…" she muttered before straightening herself up.

Something of a giddy smile slipped over Reina's lips as she threw her arms up, leaping into the Saintess' embrace. The feeling of familiarity was even more present. It was almost as if this woman she had only met twice was akin to a sister she had known all her life.

"Call me Ren from now on, Big Sis!"

The Saintess azure's blue eyes practically sparkled, reciprocating the hug. "You feel it, too!"

Ren nodded. "You're a Malakh!"

"So… we are hugging strangers now?" Syris interrupted, snatching Ren by the collar like a mother cat snatching up her kitten.

Despite how much she disliked the woman, Ren found herself helpless in the way she pulled her out of the Saintess's arms.

Cheeks flaring, Ren glared, "Don't touch me!" she said, slapping that wretched hand away. "Y-Y-You man stealer!" It was almost impossible to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. They felt so cold. She had tried to ignore the entire matter of her betrayal, but each time she looked at Syris, anger hammered at her chest.

Syris's cheeks could catch sparks the way they reddened. "I…You… Reina I…"

Unable to hear more, Ren snapped, "Have you no shame? No honor? Your… You're no different than your Father!" Regretting that last bit, she turned her head and folded her arms beneath her breast. "You're a terrible friend. If you can even be called that anymore."

Head bowed, Syris did not speak as tears struck the floor.

Clasping her hands together, the Saintess beamed. "Now, Now, let this big sister remedy this drama! Hehe, I'm pretty good at it. Whose up for a bit of therapy?"