Chapter 130: Sariel’s fated mate
Seraphel
I lowered my hands immediately, and the blinding sphere of divine light vanished as if it had never existed.
My heart hammered against my ribs as I stared at Sariel.
Why on earth was he shielding Zephyrus? If he hadn’t jumped in the way, I would have wiped that arrogant god off the face of the realm in a split second.
Yet, Sariel had stood right in front of my attack, completely unbothered by the fact that he could have been obliterated into dust.
"What the hell is happening, Sariel?!" I demanded, taking a heavy step toward him. "I could have killed him! He ambushed me, pierced me through the stomach with a light spear, and I literally died! I only got lucky because of the white lotus! And yet..." I gestured wildly at the space behind him. "...here you are, playing bodyguard for the man who tried to murder me! What the hell are you thinking?!"
Sariel dropped his defensive barrier with a flick of his wrist and pressed a hand over his chest, his jaw clenched tight. "I had to do it."
"Then why?!" I yelled, letting all my built-up panic and frustration spill over. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. "Are you secretly working with him? You wouldn’t actually betray your own brothers, would you?!"
"Oh, shut up, you human!" Sariel snapped back, his temper flaring. He darted a quick, sharp glance over his shoulder at Zephyrus, who was still slumped on the ground, leaning heavily on his sword and gasping for air. "You know nothing about me or my brothers! Just because you’re carrying Azriel’s Child doesn’t give you the right to throw around reckless accusations!"
I scoffed, my brows furrowing. The audacity of this man! He was deflecting the question and turning it on me, even though he was the one who had just risked his life for a traitor.
"I might not have known you all in the past," I said, lowering my hands as I forced my voice to stay firm. "But you need to realize that I am his mate now. I am his consort. I belong to this family, and I have every right to know why you are taking the side of our enemy! I deserve answers! He ambushed Azriel, he killed me, Uriel was dragged away by some lunatic I don’t even know, and—"
"He is my fated mate!" Sariel roared.
A sudden, blinding burst of golden light erupted across the entire ruined courtyard, cutting my words off instantly.
I froze.
My eyes widened in total shock. I looked at Sariel, then slowly turned my head to stare at Zephyrus, who was still coughing on the marble floor.
How could that even be possible?
"He... you two are..." I stammered, pointing back and forth between them. "How is that bastard your fated mate?!"
Sariel said nothing. He simply dragged a hand through his hair, letting out a frustrated breath.
Before I could process the news, Zephyrus let out a loud, mocking laugh from the ground. "Fated mate?!" he spat bitterly, his face twisted in utter disgust. "There is no universe where I would ever willingly accept a spawn of evil as my mate! I would rather slit my own throat than claim you! You and your brothers are repulsive!"
Driven by pure hatred, Zephyrus pushed himself off the floor. His sword ignited with radiant celestial light as he lunged forward, swinging the blade directly at Sariel’s neck.
"Look out!" I screamed.
Sariel didn’t even flinch. Blessed with divine sight, he had already seen the attack coming before Zephyrus even lifted his sword.
With effortless grace, Sariel slid beneath the glowing blade, using his momentum to drive a hard kick right into Zephyrus’s back.
As the god stumbled forward, thick, razor-sharp emerald vines erupted from Sariel’s palm, slicing deep across Zephyrus’s arm. Without giving him a second to breathe, Sariel delivered another brutal kick to his chest, sending Zephyrus crashing onto his back.
Sariel glided forward, planting his boot squarely on Zephyrus’s stomach and pressing down hard.
"Whether you like it or hate it, you and I are bound as fated mates," Sariel said coldly, staring down at him with dark disdain. "And there isn’t a single soul in existence who can change that. If you’re so eager to slit your own throat, I will gladly do it for you the moment I figure out how to sever this curse between us. I’ll give you the painful death you deserve, so hold your breath until I prepare your funeral, Zephyrus!"
With a sharp flick of his leg, Sariel kicked him squarely across the face.
"You evil spawn..." Zephyrus choked out, coughing up a spatter of blood and wiping his mouth with a trembling hand. "To hell with you..."
"Quiet," Sariel muttered.
A storm of crimson rose petals descended from the air, swirling rapidly around Zephyrus’s body. The soft petals turned into razor-sharp blades, inflicting dozens of small, agonizing shallow cuts all over his skin as Zephyrus screamed in helpless fury.
I watched the brutal scene with wide eyes. Fated mates? They looked more like mortal enemies. I had never seen a pair of fated mates hate each other with such burning intensity—weren’t mates supposed to be drawn together by love?
If I had actually read Sariel’s love story in the original web novel instead of skipping his Chapters, I probably would have known all about their dark, messy history. But I had always disliked his arrogant character, so I had skipped right past his entire plotline.
"The absolute last thing I would ever do is betray my brothers," Sariel said softly, bringing me back from my thoughts as he walked toward me. "I would never turn on them. But if you kill Zephyrus while our souls are still tethered, I will die along with him—with no chance of reincarnation. So until I find a way to sever the bond, he stays alive."
I let out a long, heavy breath, feeling the panic in my chest finally subside. Thank goodness I hadn’t let my anger blind me. If I had killed Zephyrus, I would have killed Sariel too, which would have devastated the remaining Sins and broken Azriel completely.
"We need to interrogate him..." I started to say.
Before I could finish, Zephyrus suddenly pushed himself off the floor with a desperate howl. He thrust his hands forward, sending a volley of glowing light spears flying straight at my chest.
"I told you not to touch him, you arrogant fool!" Sariel yelled angrily.
In a flash of motion, Sariel leaped between us, deflecting the spears with his blade before instantly closing the distance. He slammed Zephyrus against a crumbling marble wall, pinning him by the throat. Sariel’s pale eyes glowed with a terrifying, absolute authority.
"Sleep," Sariel whispered coldly. "When you wake up, you’ll be rotting in a cold dungeon where you belong."
With a swift, merciless twist, Sariel snapped Zephyrus’s neck. The god’s eyes rolled back, and his body went completely limp, dropping toward the floor.
"Is... is he dead?" I asked, my heart skipping a beat.
Sariel rolled his eyes, turning back to me. "Don’t be silly. That idiot isn’t dead—if he were dead, I’d be lying on the floor right beside him. He’s just unconscious."
He stretched his hand out, summoning a glowing golden portal in the air. With a casual flick of his fingers, he lifted Zephyrus’s limp body with his telekinesis and tossed him straight into the rift. "He’ll be locked securely in my personal dungeon until I figure out how to break our bond. Besides, we can squeeze plenty of information about Elysium out of him later."
"Wait, but I wanted to demand where Azriel is!" I said, stepping forward. "We should have questioned him before locking him away!"
Sariel pointed his finger up toward the dark night sky. High above us, the heavens were illuminated by brilliant, explosive bursts of colorful magic—fire, shadow, and lightning tearing through the swarm of flying demons as the other Sins fought relentlessly.
"Since we’re finished down here, we need to join them," Sariel said, his tone shifting into pure, focused resolve. "We’ll figure out where Azriel is together. I already know Zephyrus isn’t the one holding him."
"How can you be so sure?" I asked. "He led this whole attack!"
Sariel tapped the corner of his glowing eye with a smirk. "My divine sight sees everything. Now..." He paused, pointing ahead to a dense horde of low-tier demons that had gathered at the edge of the courtyard, snarls echoing from their throats as they glared at us. "...what do you say you use that weird divine light again and clean up these pests?"
"I... I don’t know if I can summon it on command," I admitted, looking down at my hands.
"Focus, Seraphel," Sariel commanded, stepping up beside me. "I can still feel that ridiculous, overwhelming power buzzing inside you. I don’t care how you ended up with Castiel’s powers—we can figure out that mystery later. Right now, all I care about is wiping out these demons and getting my brother back!"
Looking at his confident stance, a fresh wave of courage bloomed in my chest. I nodded firmly. "Let’s do this."
I closed my eyes and focused on the warmth deep within my soul. Instantly, the torrent of blue and golden light surged forth, rushing through my veins like a tidal wave. I snapped my eyes open, thrusting both hands forward.
A magnificent wave of iridescent, radiant light exploded from my palms, sweeping across the stone floor in a wide arc. The oncoming horde of demons didn’t even have time to scream—the moment the divine light touched their bodies, they dissolved into fine, harmless gold dust, clearing the path completely.