Chapter 125: Protecting Seraphel
Seraphel
The collision between Zephyrus’s divine lightning spear and Raziel’s glittering golden weapon triggered a catastrophic explosion.
A blinding flash tore through the sky, followed by a deafening boom that rattled my very bones. The shockwave shattered Luceriel’s defensive barrier into thousands of glowing fragments, instantly vaporizing the swarming demons caught in the blast radius.
Before the searing heat could reach me, a soft, ethereal force lifted me off my feet. I blinked, wiping ash from my eyes, only to realize I was floating securely atop a dense, swirling cloud of pale mist. I looked down, expecting to see Taizel or Uriel steering the magic, but neither was near me.
For a fleeting, desperate heartbeat, my mind screamed that it was Azriel—that he had swept in to save me at the last second.
But as the thick smoke from the explosion parted, three familiar figures strode out from the haze. It was Thamiel, Anomas, and Malachi.
A bitter pang of disappointment weighed heavy in my chest. Azriel was somewhere in grave danger, yet my foolish heart had hoped he would magically appear just to hold me.
I scolded myself silently—how could I be so naive? Eiren was the one who had taken him.
Eiren.
The moment his name crossed my mind, my eyes widened in sudden realization.
My thoughts flashed back to the day Sylven was executed—how he had screamed with his dying breath that he had never planted that cursed tree beneath my bed.
What if Sylven had been telling the truth? What if Eiren had been pulling the strings all along, playing us like fools while we walked right into his trap?
I ran a hand through my hair, letting out a shaky breath as my mind raced. I was so consumed by the terrifying thought that I failed to notice a stray demon lunging at me from the dark, its razor-sharp claws reaching directly for my arm.
Before its claws could graze my skin, Malachi blurred into motion. He stepped smoothly in front of me, his long blade cutting through the air in a single, elegant arc. The demon didn’t even have time to shriek before its body split in two before bursting into a cloud of fine ash that vanished into the wind.
"Malachi..." I whispered, clutching my robes.
I looked past his shoulder, taking in the full, breathtaking scale of the battlefield. The royal Sins were moving like gods of war through a sea of nightmarish beasts.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of dark-winged demons swarmed the palace grounds, but the princes cut them down effortlessly.
Blades flashed like fallen stars, dark blood sprayed across the marble, and demonic bodies disintegrated into dust at every turn. Through it all, Malachi remained a steadfast shadow at my side, casually slicing through any creature foolish enough to draw near.
I squeezed my hands into fists, desperately praying for the hidden power inside me to wake up. I wanted it to burst forth the way it had when I faced Mirevale, so I could tear through these monsters and protect the people fighting for me.
But no matter how hard I reached deep down into my soul, I felt nothing.
There was no spark. Not even a trace of divine energy. I was completely powerless.
"Listen to me, everyone!" Luceriel’s voice echoed across the courtyard like thunder. He danced through the enemy ranks with powerful grace, summoning thick, emerald vines spiked with deadly thorns from the cracked stone.
The massive tendrils burst from the ground, coiling around dozens of demons at once, crushing their spines before grinding their bodies into sparkling dust.
Luceriel ducked smoothly under a giant club, sliding across the bloody floor to slice a demon’s back wide open. "We are fighting an endless ocean of these pests! The Tower of Prosperity should have triggered the moment the realm was breached to warp us out of here—so why the hell is the array not activating?!"
He turned his head toward us, his expression dark. "Is it stalled because Azriel is missing? Where in the damn world is he?!"
I remembered flying into the grand Tower of Prosperity just hours ago, but in the middle of this bloody chaos, I didn’t even know what to ask.
All I knew was that if that tower was supposed to save us, something had gone horribly wrong.
"The Tower of Prosperity is automated!" Malachi called back, smoothly spinning around to shield me as three more winged demons dropped from above. "His Highness set the ancient array to teleport the people of Katula automatically during a catastrophe, whether he is conscious or not! If it isn’t working, someone is intentionally holding the tower hostage!"
"Then go find out who is holding it!"
In the blink of an eye, Sariel appeared right beside my floating cloud. He reached up, his slender fingers wrapping around my wrist to draw me closer. "Malachi, take whatever royal guards and shadow soldiers are left standing and march straight to the Tower of Prosperity! Clear out whatever is jamming the system and get this kingdom teleported into the secondary domain!"
Sariel gently pulled me behind his back, his sharp eyes narrowing as five demon warriors charged us together. With casual elegance, Sariel raised his free hand and flicked his fingers.
Brilliant beams of golden light shot from his fingertips like lasers, piercing straight through the chests of all five demons simultaneously.
They burst into ash before their bodies even hit the ground.
"Understood, Your Highness," Malachi said, bowing his head sharply as he raised his blood-stained sword. "Please protect the Crown Consort... and find Prince Azriel."
Malachi pleaded before turning into a streak of blinding lightning. He zipped across the courtyard in a fraction of a second, the electric shockwave of his speed tearing through dozens of demons in his path, scattering their remains like dry leaves in a gale.
Once Malachi was gone, Sariel placed a cool hand against the side of my face. He waved his arm, weaving a thick, translucent green barrier around my floating cloud.
A blinding golden radiance erupted from Sariel’s body, and before my eyes, his form split into four identical, shimmering figures.
"My shadow sentinels and this barrier will keep you hidden," Sariel told me, his real self stepping closer. "I am getting you out of this warzone right now until the tower activates."
"What about Azriel?!" I cried out, grabbing the edge of the barrier. "We can’t just leave him behind!"
"Your safety is the only thing that matters right now!" Uriel roared from across the blood-soaked field. He was surrounded by a wall of flames, swinging a massive double-bladed broadsword that cleaved through demon armor like paper. "If Azriel were standing here right now, he would drag you out of this hellscape himself! It doesn’t matter what you want, Seraphel—keeping you and the baby alive is our absolute priority!"
Anomas and Thamiel stepped up beside my cloud, their weapons drawn and dripping with dark blood. "We will track down Azriel’s soul trace and bring him back," Anomas said firmly. "Now get out of here."
Lumiel landed heavily beside them, his giant battleaxe resting over his shoulder, his body covered in demon blood. "Luceriel, Raziel, Taizel, and I are the heavy hitters," Lumiel grinned, a wild, hungry look in his eyes as he stared up at the sky. "We will fly straight up and take on Zephyrus directly. The rest of you split up—half search for Azriel, and Sariel and Uriel will escort Seraphel to the safe zone."
I opened my mouth to protest, but the overwhelming resolve in their eyes choked the words right back down my throat.
They were risking everything, throwing themselves into a deadly siege just to ensure I stayed breathing.
A heavy, suffocating wave of guilt settled over me.
I was the Crown Consort, yet I was completely useless, forced to hide behind their strength like a fragile prize.
"Go now!" Taizel bellowed, smashing his fist into an incoming demon’s skull. "These demons are nothing more than endless, annoying flies! Zephyrus is the head controlling them! We will hold the god off, so guard the human and the Child of Prophecy with your lives!"
Sariel and Uriel gave firm, synchronized nods.
"Until we meet again," Anomas murmured softly, glancing at me one last time before he and Thamiel leaped off the roof, vanishing toward the western side to hunt for Azriel’s trail.
Sariel, his three shadow clones, and Uriel formed a tight guard around my floating cloud.
Enclosed inside the glowing green sphere, I was swept away into the dark, smoky sky, looking back helplessly as the brothers threw themselves straight into the heart of the inferno.