The Seraphic System

The Seraphic System

Chapter: 114

(The Sleeping God - P2)

"We're nearly there," Annabeth said, looking up from the book in her hands. "If this is correct, the exit should be just ahead."

I glanced at the long spiked path stretching before us.

The other base had naturally belonged to the Khaos Brigade. It hadn’t contained as much, but burning it down had been worth the detour along with the many formation circles that had been created.

I didn’t know how many bases the mazes housed but two of them were burning.

I focused on the sight of a massive gate carved into the Labyrinth's stone. Spikes protruded from the walls at irregular angles, some rusted, others gleaming with fresh metal.

The maze had continued sending monsters at us at a dwindling quantity, falling to Michael’s or Mahoraga's swords as for the first time I had truly not lifted a finger.

A fact that Michael was getting increasingly pleased with.

Percy let out a relieved breath beside me.

"Finally, staring at a bunch of walls while Annabeth figures out a bunch of riddles was becoming boring.” Percy sighed.

Considering we had probably killed hundreds of monsters in our time here, travelled through multiple strange rooms and had found two Khaos Brigade bases.

I couldn’t say this had been as boring as I had thought it would be.

“I’m pretty sure we’ve done more than that Percy,” I replied with a faint smile. “And don’t be too happy, we took this path to sneak past all the hassle before going into the real problem.”

“You’ve done more than that.” Percy huffed. “And, yeah. I get it. But I’m pretty sure you have some sort of plan or Michael wouldn’t be as relaxed.”

Percy’s smile became slightly nervous.

Michael merely regarded him curiously.

“Do not wish for trouble, boy,” Zoe said with narrowed eyes.

“I guess we shouldn’t pray for it either, considering your Goddess wouldn’t answer.” Percy’s snide remark came instantly.

Zoe and the hunters reacted explosively, while

Annabeth giggled.

In the middle of it, a gate stood thirty feet tall, carved from black marble streaked with bronze. Ancient Greek letters ran along its frame in vertical columns, weathered but still legible.

Two massive doors made up the gate itself. Steel reinforced with bands of celestial bronze.

“That looks like an exit if I’ve ever seen one,” Percy said excitedly. “Good job Annabeth.”

Annabeth smiled, her cheeks warming.

“Percy is right. Well done.” I said sincerely. “We’ve got a lot done while we were down here and you managed to get past most of the puzzles with ease.”

“T-I’m glad I could have been of use, the maze having a way to traverse it was a welcome surprise even with its constant movements,” Annabeth said excitedly. “But I admit I was a bit too hasty, I hadn’t realised how strong the beings down here would be…”

“Pride is an easy attribute to pick up, don’t mistake it for confidence,” Michael interjected. “Be careful to assess your options, but don’t bring yourself down.”

Annabeth nodded, looking starstruck.

We began to move toward the gate.

The chamber was empty, except for a large statue.

I raised an eyebrow.

Then the statue moved.

The decorative pillar beside the gate cracked and shifted.

Zoe frowned. “It seems this gate has a guardian. I had heard that such things happen.”

Stone grinding against stone.

A massive figure unfolded from its pedestal, easily fifty feet tall. Bronze plating covered its chest and arms. Empty eye sockets flared with pale blue light. It raised a sword the size of a tree trunk.

“Oh come on," Percy groaned. "Of course, I activated the secret passage. Why wouldn't I? It's not like we have anywhere important to be or anything."

The guardian took one thunderous step forward.

Michael launched a powerful attack and the statue exploded. One moment it was moving, the next it was rubble scattering across the chamber floor. Chunks of stone and bronze clattered harmlessly around us, prompting Percy to kick one of them lightly as if it would move.

The hunters almost seemed used to the casual display of power.

Percy stared at the debris. "And it looked so epic too. I guess the power didn't match the design."

"Can we just leave?" one of the younger Hunters asked quietly. “I do not wish to stay in this place any further.”

"Indeed, let us make haste," Zoe said, already moving toward the gate.

I walked up to the doors and pushed. They swung open easily, no resistance, no tricks. Cool air rushed in from outside, carrying the scent of pine and earth.

We stepped through.

Sunlight hit my face.

Real sunlight, not the dim glow of the Labyrinth's bizarre lighting.

The sky stretched overhead, blue and clear.

I took a breath of fresh air and felt... underwhelmed.

After everything we'd seen in there.

The corrupted Pan. The shifting walls. The endless monsters that died before they could even attack. It had all been too easy. Excluding the situation that had transpired with Pan, which I had put to the back of my mind, something felt wrong about that.

But that was probably because he was used to fighting for his life.

Being the King of Heaven seemed not to allow for that in the job description.

"It seems we made it," I announced.

We both looked up at the massive mountain looming before us.

That was easier than I thought.

-{Rizevim Van Lucifer}-

Rizevim crouched beside the multiple bodies that had been left behind, curiosity pulling at him more than disgust. His crazed eyes looked over the scene with a sort of pleasure.

The broken remnants of the forces that had been stationed to guard this location were sprawled across the stone corridor. Too cleanly. Whatever had killed it hadn't struggled. Hadn't even broken a sweat, probably.

So a powerful figure.

He ran a finger along one of the cuts. The flesh was still warm.

Recently, then.

But something else caught his attention. A faint shimmer in the air around the wounds. He leaned closer, inhaling deeply.

Holy power.

His grin widened.

Angels?

The kind of energy that made devils itch just by being near it.

It was pure.

Rizevim straightened, his mind already working. This wasn't just any angel's work. The efficiency, the lack of collateral damage, the absolute certainty in each cut...

He pulled dark energy from his reserves and let it pool in his palm. Magic twisted and writhed, reaching out toward the lingering traces of holy power.

Then, he shifted to the fading soul of the monster in front of him and grabbed it. The soul resisted, but not for long and a strong orb came to hover in the palm of his hand.

He inspected it lazily, before shattering it and diving into the information it had collected most recently.

The scene unfolded before him in fragments.

The forces he had left at one of the two bases had made a valiant attempt, but that hadn’t done much against the admittedly powerful amount of holy energy in the air.

The holy signature was strongest around those kills.

Rizevim's eyes narrowed as recognition sparked.

An image formed, the image gave his mind confusion and a hint of wariness… the confusion and slight amount of shock from knowing a certain Arch-Seraph had been so close pierced even his mind.

Michael?

He didn’t bother remembering the weaklings that surrounded him, his eyes glancing over them until they settled on a familiar figure. The figure who holds the last fragments of the holy Grail.

An Angel.

The one who'd slipped through his fingers by being surrounded by such powerful Angels.

He let the magic dissipate and stood, brushing dust from his hands.

A laugh bubbled up from his chest. Genuine amusement mixed with anticipation.

"Well, well," Rizevim said. “What are the chances of such luck coming my way? Perhaps bathing in the blood of a luck God held its merit after all.”

Rizevim liked this feeling.

It was rare for something not to come about by the strength of his own ridiculous amount of power.

It was less lucky that the infected God had been stolen away. Moving him had been too troublesome and risky. He had to wonder how the Angels had managed, but he was sure the God gave them a sufficient amount of trouble.

Suddenly, Daedalus and his irritating maze seemed a lot less annoying. The old inventor had done him a favour, actually.

If he had gone and killed the Angel he would have robbed him of what was rightfully his.

Now, he knew the Angel was outside of Heaven.

Rizevim tilted his head back and sniffed the air.

His senses spread outward, tracing the lingering holy power. It was faint but present.

A trail leading deeper into the maze, unfortunately it faded pretty quickly but he was sure he could make do. He could follow it, especially with Daedalus having kept an eye on them.

His grin widened until it hurt.

The hunt had just gotten interesting again.

This was the reason he had joined this bothersome chore after all.

Now he had a direct path.

Excitement burst through his chest like fire. His heart pounded faster than it had in centuries. This was what he lived for. The chase. The moment when prey realised they'd been found.

Rizevim turned toward the exit, already calculating. The angel had left the maze.

Perfect.

"It looks like the Holy Grail is within sight once more," he murmured to himself, demonic power already gathering around him in a mass that ruptured the air.

Lucky indeed.

-END-

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