Chapter 135: Luceriel’s Vision
Azriel
I frowned, irritated by his relentless badgering about my past, which I had completely abandoned the moment Seraphel entered my life. "I intended to resolve it myself. I believed I could contain the core."
"Except you couldn’t," Raizel interrupted, lowering his golden fan to reveal a remarkably grim expression. When Greed abandoned his playful demeanor and spoke with such cold severity, it meant the situation was dire. "You allowed a mortal to slip past your defenses, got yourself sealed, and woke up only to choke your own vessel."
"I was not in control of my consciousness!" I snapped.
"Which is exactly why you should have informed us!" Luceriel shouted, taking his seat beside Lumiel. "Had we known about the deity’s curse, we could have combined our authority to purge it before it corrupted your core!"
I let out an agitated groan, throwing my hands up in frustration. "How many times must I repeat that the curse was dormant until I blacked out?!"
"Because you lowered your guard, brother!" Luceriel retorted fiercely. "You let your desires govern your judgment once again!"
"For goodness’ sake, I did not pursue that human out of lust!" I shouted, pacing the perimeter of the table. "I disbanded the entire harem! Seraphel is my mate—why on earth would I look elsewhere?!"
"You are the Sin of Lust, Azriel!" Lumiel roared, slamming his heavy fist onto the table with enough force to send fractures rippling across the surface. "You may believe you have reformed, but your nature remains! Right now, I can smell the suffocating aura of your unsealed demon, and your bloodlust is terrifying!"
He wasn’t wrong.
Even as my soul bled with remorse for hurting Seraphel, the monstrous entity screaming inside my core was urging me to return to his bedside and snap his neck.
My heart wanted to protect him, but my corrupted mind wanted to destroy him.
"I can see the black shadows coiling around your heart," Sariel added, his divine eyes piercing through my aura. "Your mind is being swallowed by your demonic core. Now that it has awakened, Elysium is the least of our problems. A single stray drop of your corrupted blood could break the seal on the Nether-realms and awaken the Demon King, Draca! If the high demons scent your blood and use it to revive Draca, every realm will burn!"
Taizel nodded, setting his food aside and leaning forward. "And the only anchor strong enough to suppress that corruption is your human. He holds Castiel’s divine light, and the child of prophecy he carries possesses an even greater authority. He must be trained immediately so his light can act as a shield against Elysium and your inner demon."
"Which is why the human must return with me to Verolona to begin his cultivation training at once," Luceriel declared.
I felt a violent surge of dark energy erupt from my core, my eyes flashing a dangerous, blinding crimson as I glared at my brothers. "So you intend to turn my mate and my unborn child into living weapons for your war against Draca and Elysium?!"
"Calm yourself, brother," Luceriel commanded calmly, raising a hand. "There is no ill intent here. Your bloodlust is leaking into the air right now. What happens if the curse flares again while you are alone with him? If you attack him while he is defenseless, will you be able to live with yourself? Besides, the human explicitly stated that Castiel instructed him to cultivate his power! Would you rather he burn out his life force channeling divine light until he dies?"
"Do not speak to me of his death, Luceriel!" I warned, my voice dropping to a demonic tone as the vivid memory of my fingers crushing Seraphel’s windpipe flashed through my mind.
Lumiel let out a harsh, mocking chuckle from across the table.
I snapped my glare toward him. "And what do you find so amusing, Wrath?"
"It is simply pathetic to watch you play the protective mate," Lumiel sneered, his eyes flashing purple. "Everyone in this room remembers how you executed my mate centuries ago, ensuring she could never reincarnate! Yet now we are expected to sympathize with your delicate consort?"
I lunged forward, slamming both palms onto the table. "Darille betrayed you! She was about to pierce your heart with a celestial blade, and I executed her to save your miserable life!"
"And you murdered her!" Lumiel screamed, his voice shattering the glass lanterns around the room. He smashed his fists downward, splitting the massive stone table completely in two. "Do not pretend you couldn’t have found another way!"
"It happened centuries ago!" I yelled back, dark lightning dancing off my shoulders. "Why are you still clinging to the ghost of a traitor?!"
A dangerous purple inferno erupted around Lumiel as his wrath flared out of control. "Are you the only Sin permitted to love his mate?! Are you the only one allowed to protect what is his?!"
"Enough," Taizel sighed.
He lazily flicked his wrist, sending a shimmering black cord shooting across the room. The rope wrapped tightly around Lumiel, instantly smothering his purple flames and draining the rage from his expression. Before I could even react, a second cord whipped around my torso, binding my arms to my sides. The moment the black material touched my skin, the overwhelming fury suffocating my mind abruptly vanished, leaving me lightheaded.
Raizel’s eyes widened as he stared at the bindings. "What in the seven realms is that?"
"The Rope of Restriction," Taizel replied casually. "I confiscated it from that Elysium assassin we caught earlier."
"Fascinating," Raizel murmured, his greed visibly sparkling. "To think your stomach could digest such high-tier celestial artifacts... I want it. Name your price."
"Not for sale," Taizel said bluntly.
"I will trade my Domain of Luxury for it," Raizel offered immediately.
Taizel paused, considering it for a second. "Deal."
Luceriel cleared his throat loudly, drawing everyone’s attention back to the head of the ruined table. "If you are finished with this infantile display, we have far greater matters to address. While holding off Caelum, I experienced a brief divine vision. And I assure you, Elysium is the least of our concerns."
A collective gasp echoed through the room.
"Your foresight has returned?" Sariel asked first, a mix of genuine awe and subtle envy lacing his tone.
Luceriel nodded slowly. "It restored itself the moment Caelum’s life thread snapped. It seems the seals he placed upon my core during my imprisonment back in ELysium were lifted upon his death."
Lumiel, now visibly calm despite being bound in Taizel’s rope, leaned back. "That is a monumental advantage, brother. What did the vision reveal?"
Anomas stepped forward from the shadow of the doorway. "What did you see that has shaken you to this extent?"
Every one in the room fixed their eyes on Luceriel. He folded his arms, letting out a long, heavy breath before raising his cold eyes to meet ours.
"I saw him," Luceriel said, his voice dropping to a terrifying whisper. "The Son of Draca that had been locked up even before his father.’’
’’Pazuzu?’’ I asked, my voice shaking.
Luceriel offered a heavy nod. "The vision was clear—he has awakened.’’