Chapter 143 - Crunch
There was no greater enemy of people than their selves. The Elven Ruler was no different, and it has been proven countless times before. Therefore, Nikolai needs to use her as a distraction as he sneaks into Celestia and steals Val's powers.
For every god, whether ancient or celestial, there is a medium for their powers. That is why there was a chance to steal their powers, as long as the gods were weakened or distracted.
Nikolai was confident about his ability to obtain Val's inheritance, but there was minimal time left before the coup, the apocalypse, and the beginning of his suffering.
He wanted the power to rule over the dead, one that the gods dreaded.
Even though Val was supposedly a vile god, hated by the other celestial beings, he was still a part of Celestia. Therefore, when the gods descend, they will declare that Celestia protected all.
Nikolai seems to be the exception now. As a dark fae, he suffers the curse of being hated by Celestia and every divine power.
Curse of The Banished.
The gods have banished his race, and Nikolai didn't even know why. All he knew was that he was now cursed. These were his only thoughts as he jumped from one roof to the other, feeling as if his stomach was going to devour him if he didn't sate its hunger.
"They are bound to notice my absence," Nikolai muttered as his crimson eyes scanned the city's alleys for any thugs he could devour.
It was easier to devour any random person that he laid his eyes on, as it would save him time and energy. However, it would strain his conscience, even if he sometimes questioned having one.
His foot landed on the edge of the building before he pushed to jump toward the next one. Since he was in his stealth, no one saw him.
However, the curse came worse than before because he devoured the dark spirit that inhabited his weapons. It felt like a worm took his stomach as a home, and it would eat his flesh if he didn't feed it.
'I need to hurry, hurry, hurry,' Nikolai repeated as he looked through the city. Vendors were clearing their carts, and they were tempting him to devour them. However, he restrained himself.
He was more than just a monster.
As he landed on another building, Nikolai's eyes noticed a familiar flash of light. The light bounced from one building to the other before disappearing in a specific direction.
It has been less than an hour since he made his report to Saint Maria and precisely two hours since he last saw this flash of light. With no other option left, Nikolai prayed that there was someone he could devour without feeling guilty.
Otherwise, the innocent blood will spill tonight.
His body blended into the darkness as he rushed after the flash of light. However, like before, he lost it. Nikolai was pissed, but he kept looking in the direction the light disappeared, hoping to see it again.
The shops closed down, and people went to sleep with a smile, not knowing that a hungry monster was looking for something to eat above their roofs.
The monster in question was getting more frustrated than hungry because of the sneaky light sphere. Nikolai found nothing as he looked above the roofs, through the alleys, or in the sewage.
Anyone would think he was crazy to chase a sphere of light in his life-or-death situation, but there was a feeling that compelled him to follow. Furthermore, the sphere looked tasty.
'Growl,'
His stomach protested, but his intestines weren't empty. Instead, it was a cry from within his soul. He needed to devour a soul, or he would devour himself.
'There are bound to be bandits in the surroundings,' Nikolai had an epiphany to solve his dilemma, so he began running atop the walls at once.
Nikolai did not bother to descend slowly but simply jumped. As the wind raced past him, his fangs grew more prominent, and his horns almost ripped through the headband.
There was no pain when he landed, but it was hard to say whether it didn't exist or if the wrenching pain of his soul masked it. Before he knew it, Nikolai was looking through the forest like a ferocious monster.
'At least, I am away from people,' Nikolai thought as he watched his actions from the sidelines as if something else had taken the wheel now. Then, as he thrashed through the forest for any lowlife thugs, Nikolai saw the flash of light again.
"There!"
His voice was hoarse, coming out as a roar of hunger. Luckily for him, he was in his stealth, and the light didn't seem to notice his crazed appearance.
Nikolai bolted toward the light, reaching it when the light stopped to look around. As he was about to grab it, the light dodged and bounced off a few trees, heading in a different direction.
'Damn you!'
Nikolai was furious as he rushed after the light, not caring about the branches he broke with his body. The light seemed slower now, but it was still looking for something in the forest.
Then, it stopped.
Nikolai's instinct screamed for him to stay away. An eerie aura came out of the light as it began changing shape, turning into a tiny fairy.
With an arm-long body and wings that kept flapping, the fairy landed on the ground to look at the traces of blood. Nikolai snapped out of his hunger when he saw the blood on the ground, and he watched as the fairy slowly rose into the air and followed the trail of blood.
"Where are you..." the fairy eerily whispered as she landed every few seconds to lick the blood. "Show yourself, puny human..."
'Is it looking for someone?' Nikolai followed after the creepy fairy, which kept licking the blood for some reason. The blood was increasing the more they followed the trail. Then, the blood stopped at a tree.
"Found. You," the fairy said with a wide grin on its face as it looked at the tree. It slowly floated toward the tree as Nikolai rushed to the side, looking for the person behind the tree. However, there was none.
A figure jumped from the tree toward the fairy, bringing a claw of light toward it. The ambush took the fairy by surprise, and it tried to run away, but it was too late.
"Ah!" a high pitch scream rang in the forest as Nikolai got to see the ambushing figure. Taly had a pale face as she tried to rip through the fairy's body, but the sphere around it prevented her from doing so.
"Leave me alone, you monster," Taly spat before jumping backward and taking out a small cylindrical device, which she pressed before throwing it toward the fairy.
A prison of light appeared to surround the fairy, which cried in horror and tried to flee. However, the prison made it in time, and the fairy was caged by bars of light coming out from the device.
"Let me out!" the fairy shrieked, but Taly only had a grin of victory on her face. The archeologist fell on the ground, huffing, as she pressed on the wound in her abdomen.
"I have finally... caught you... you annoying fly," she said through labored breathes and a sweaty face. "I will figure out the person behind you even if I have to gut you alive for it,"
"Please, no, don't hurt me," the fairy began to cry inside the prison, shedding tears upon tears out of fear. "I will tell you anything, please, let me go!" it begged.
"Tell me who is following me," Taly demanded, looking rather desperate for an answer. However, the fairy kept sobbing without giving a reply. Finally, "Tell me!" she roared, and it was then that the fairy raised its head to reveal a devilish grin, its long teeth spanning the length of its face.
"You have been fooled!" the fairy said as another light emerged from being Taly, striking her in the back. The archeologist had a lock of horror as the sound of flesh ripping rang in her ears.
"A fool!"
"A fool!"
The two fairies chanted as the archeologist fell to the ground, bleeding her life away. The fairy tried to rescue its friend as the woman struggled to stand up, but the prison didn't break.
"Annoying human! Look at what you made me do! Master said to bring her alive, what should we do?"
"What should we do?"
The fairies mirrored each other with their high pitch sound. Then, as if reaching an agreement, they stopped talking simultaneously, and a grin appeared on their face.
"A knowledge buried is better than one lost, hehe,"
"Hehe,"
The fairy flew toward the archeologist, who turned over in her attempt to struggle. Then, as its arms turned into swords of light that wanted to cut through Taly's neck, a hand emerged from the darkness and grabbed the fairy's body.
"Wha..."
Crunch.