Queen Of Adis

*Adis' demon eyes darkened and his scarlet orbs glowed in bloody murder. His fangs and claws were slowly drawing out, ready to snap the heads of the evil creatures inside the tent.

These feeble beings dared to talk about his wife as if she already belonged to them? If not for the several restrictions he was in, he would love to torture these insignificant fools to damnation.

"Achoo!"

His body stiffened and he was awakened from the violence he was about to commit upon hearing his princess' cute sneeze.

'Oh, shit!' he grimaced as he cursed in his head.

With agile movements, he took his head out of the tent and ran towards his wife and kids.

"I-I'm sorry," *Haru whispered nervously while gently rocking the twin flames in her arms.

"There's nothing to forgive. My princess has the right to sneeze," he exclaimed in one breath as his eyes look around for a possible hiding place.

His eyes lit up when he saw several wooden crates piled together beside a skeleton tree and just a short distance away from the tent.

"Who goes there?!"

He ignored the thundering voice as he embraced his wife tightly and teleported behind the crates.

As soon as their bodies disappeared, Malak's scrawny frame emerged from inside of the tent and cautiously surveyed the area. He creased his brows and glared at the pile of crates up ahead, contemplating whether to waste his time on checking what's behind it or not.

On the other hand, when they reached their hiding place, *Adis helped his wife to sit on the withered grass in a position that won't put stress on her belly.

However, his princess was already startled from the sudden shout earlier. She whimpered and ready to cry out as she thought she was scolded for sneezing. When Ciel felt his twin sister's distress, he also let out a small whimper.

*Haru immediately lulled both the twins in her arms to pacify them while whispering. "Sshh, it's okay, it's okay. No one is scolding my princess. Mother and father are just playing hide and seek. You two need to be quiet so we will not be caught, alright?"

When the babies heard the word 'play,' their cries abruptly stopped and obediently followed their mother's order.

All the while, *Adis was peeking through the holes of the crates while protectively pinning Haru with his right arm and preparing a dark spell on his left hand.

"Listen to me, love," he started in a low voice. "Hold on to me from the back and don't let go. Once that demon thief comes, I will teleport and bring him with us. You hear me?"

*Haru vigorously nodded her head and shoved the twin flames inside her cloak then carefully crawled to her husband's back.

His eyes narrowed upon seeing Malak was now slowly treading to their direction. He was more than eager to end his worthless life here, however, it may alarm Erebos and their existence would be discovered, something he couldn't afford at the moment.

Instead of completely escaping through the use of his teleport, he wanted to capture Malak alive, hence, he was patiently waiting like a starving predator.

"Heeey! What the hell are you still doing there?"

*Adis heard Erebos hollered at Malak which caused the latter to stopped in his tracks. Behind the fallen angel was Alfred who just woke up and currently covering his head with a scarf.

Erebos continued, "We're leaving. You better haul your a.s.s or the help I sent might leave you!" He didn't wait for Malak's reply and immediately took off.

And that was all he was waiting for. When his prey turned around to look at Erebos, he stood up and hit him with his dark magic.

Then, the abandoned area suddenly became quiet once more as all the ghosts who invaded it had finally left without leaving any trace.

*****************************

Elior leaned on the slimy wall and slid down to take a few minutes of rest. He felt a burning pain in his c.h.e.s.t each time he breathed the contaminated air in the sewer.

With shaking bloody hands, he fished out his gourd of water from his space ring and hurriedly downed it, spilling more water in the process. Afterward, he slowly inched it closer to Vesta who was seriously sitting on the damp ground while looking at a distance, anticipating the enemies lurking from behind.

"V-Vesta... come and drink. You... must be thirsty, too," he spoke in a trembling voice.

He g.r.o.a.n.e.d as he put pressure on the wound on his waist. He may be a capable seer but he failed to possess any basic healing magic.

His complexion and lips were now as pale as a ghost, his whole body was shivering and his eyelids were feeling heavy. But he was scared that once he closed his eyes, he won't see the break of dawn again.

He glanced up ahead, hoping to see a small light or any sign of salvation, but to his utter disappointment, it was all just an endless darkness.

'Am I going to make it? Or here will be my final resting place?'

In his delirious state, he saw his life flashed before his very eyes; from the moment he realized that he was blessed with a cursed gift, his despair when he saw his first vision, when he encountered the people that eventually became his family -- Camus, Triton, Regis, Elize, and the three kings, and up to the memorable day he finally met a sweet child who possessed the same amber eyes like his.

Then, different voices came echoing into his muddled mind until he could clearly make out two distinct voices; Adis and Haru.

"We may not show it all the time, but we are grateful to you. More than you ever know."

"You better not lose your life. I swear I will roast your beloved Vesta."

"You're a crybaby. I like you, nonetheless."

A contented smile formed on his lips. Ah, he had really lived for so long. But he was glad that he endured, for he had the fortune to meet the last of his own kind. He looked at the distance as though he could see that sweet child in front of him.

With a raspy voice, he mumbled the same words he said when he saw her the first time. "Haru, I'm really happy to meet you."

As if fate had deemed that his time was over, hair raising growls reverberated inside the cold sewers, and two shadows of enormous beasts could be seen on the wall while their breaths fogged and viscous saliva was trickling down from their wide mouth.

As their huge paws inched closer, Vesta stood up on all fours, with her hair and tail raised up. Her shrill screech almost caused his ears to bleed.

"Vesta, stop! Ngh! Y-you... have already involved yourself far enough... in the affairs of humans. I-if you continue, you can never go back to Heaven anymore."

Vesta's already large eyes grew even wider and her signature grin was nowhere to be seen. Her head rigidly looked at him and a shock expression was written all over her face.

"Y-you knew?" she croaked as she finally threw any pretense in the air.

"...Yes." Elior gulped before admitting the truth. Then he continued in a weak, almost inaudible voice. "I heard many rumors, but the first time I saw you, I knew you are no ordinary cat. Then one day, I heard you spoke in front of a mirror," he chuckled as he remembered how terrified he was upon seeing his own cat talk.

His face subsequently turned melancholic as he looked into her clear eyes. "You only have one chance, Vesta. Please don't use it. You must return to Heaven no matter what happens."