Angel Monarch
Chapter 482 482: Know Thy Enemy
The name Castiel reminded Sera of something, but she couldn't quite remember. Luckily, her trusty high priestess was there to remind her.
"Castiel? As in Castiel's Pet? The Horror of the 1st Tier Sera scanned near Havel, which resembled a giant eagle? Sounds familiar?"
Lilith's words made Sera's eyes widen and caused a shiver to run down her spine. It wasn't a fun memory when she met the massive beast.
"They're probably connected. Remember those giant eagles that came through the Angelic Gateway?... Maybe we should head back to Havel and kill Castiel's Pet! It might learn something useful!"
As the Angel spoke, both her devout followers turned away with heavy blushes, while Will burst into laughter.
"It's a great idea. However, I already ate the eagle, so we shouldn't waste time traveling back to that dump!" Said Will with a grin, causing everybody to stare at him with dubious expressions.
"Me and Will used two creatures you discovered there to Evolve into Transcended. I used the Dream Weaver spider, and Will used the Deep Lurker. Afterward, he wanted to test out his powers on a Horror... Sorry!"
Sera shook her head and chuckled upon hearing Lilith's answer. She already expected something similar, yet she hoped her feelings were wrong.
In the end, she dropped the subject and let Professor Collins continue the explanation...
"I didn't find much about Castiel. He's often referred to as Heaven's Executioner, but he seemed to work in the shadows, out of sight. His abilities, weapons, etc. are a mystery, but he's definitely dangerous!"
This news didn't surprise anyone. Evolved often kept their abilities and capabilities hidden. It was shocking how carefree these previous primordial gods were, using their powers with so little care.
"Anyway, that's the Angelic Faction. I also gathered information about their footsoldiers and such, but you can read through that later. For now, let's move on to the Demonic Faction!"
The Professor turned the page, revealing pictures of different drawings, each depicting either demonic creatures or a hellscape with rivers of lava and ash-filled air.
"The demons have a very similar leader structure as the angels. However, they also have a lot of infighting within the middle echelons. Their strongest leaders never change though, because they're simply too powerful."
The next page revealed a monstrous figure with a dozen arms, each holding a different weapon. His three demonic heads breathed fire on a group of angels, turning them to ashes.
He stood in a seemingly eternal darkness, while his black eyes burned with the need to destroy. Such a horrific depiction sent shivers down everyone's spines.
"The Demonic Faction's leader, Abaddon, the King of Hell. I wasn't certain what depiction to use. This one seemed the most reliable. He can control darkness, summon and use any weapons, and his very presence carries destruction within."
While everyone stared at the terrifying demon with mixed emotions, Leslie's face stayed between a state of anger and disgust. Even this powerful demon felt wrong in his eyes, and he couldn't understand why.
After everyone glimpsed Abaddon's monstrous form, the Professor swiped to the next page.
The next depiction revealed an alluring dark-skinned woman wearing a short dress made of chitinous shells, which left little to the imagination. She smiled seductively, her dark pink eyes glinting with desire.
Two pairs of insect-like wings kept her afloat. Around the curvaceous lady, thousands of flesh-devouring flies flew as she spread her six insectoid limbs. Her long hair danced in the air, unaffected by gravity.
"Beelzebub, Lady of Flies. Abaddon's right-hand woman. She can summon and control hordes of flies. They're hard to kill and can devour dozens of people in under a second. She's also often depicted as a seductress, and some works even refer to her as Abaddon's Whore."
While everyone stared at Beelzebub's picture, a haughty snort echoed inside the room. They all turned towards its source, to the alluring Succubus, who watched the picture with contempt.
"Seductress, my ass! Her looks are barely above average! Everyone inside this room is more beautiful, even Lilith!"
As the words left Cass's mouth, her eyes turned fearful. She glanced at Lilith, whose swirling purple eyes began glowing. A small smirk appeared on the Dreamweaver's lips as Cass fell asleep.
David sighed, and before his partner could topple over, he gently laid her head on his lap. While she continued sleeping, the Professor turned to the next page, revealing four horsemen.
"The Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They're the opposite of the Horsemen of Genesis. War, Pestilence, Famine and Death. Each is a dangerous general leading the Demonic Faction's army."
For the next few pages, the Professor introduced all four horsemen. Their abilities were pretty self-explanatory. At the outposts, they saw the result of their power firsthand.
"So these eight horsemen caused the deaths and strange events at the outposts. But how? The locks on the Gates hadn't broken yet!"
Leslie's words plunged the room into silence. Everyone began thinking about how these creatures could've affected Earth, without actually being in the same Realm. The answer was actually fairly simple...
"They must've tried slipping through the locked Gates after Bran damaged the barrier. However, they affected Earth for only a few days before the barrier repaired itself. That's why after the initial reports, nothing happened in the outposts!" Said David.
They all agreed with his statement, even though they hadn't fully understood how the eight horsemen done it. With the mystery solved, the Professor turned the page, showing the Demonic Faction's last leader.
The picture depicted a handsome young man. His dark, nearly black crimson eyes revealed immense confidence, while his beautiful expression gave him a charismatic, trustworthy outlook.
His long, midnight-black hair gave him an aura of mystery, while his smirk suggested playfulness. A pair of abyss-black, feathered wings spread behind his back, while his dark robes billowed in the wind. He held a dark longsword, made of some strange metal.
"Lucifer, the Fallen Angel. He's depicted hundreds of times in both texts about demons and angels. Supposedly, he was Michael's younger brother, who betrayed 'heaven' and joined the demons..."
"His old titles are: Light-Bringer and Morningstar. However, those are from before he joined the demons. Strangely, I have found nothing concrete about his abilities. There are hundreds of mentions of him using different powers, but I found no proof of them."
Sera read a few paragraphs of the text, which described Lucifer's abilities. They all sounded surreal with seemingly no correlation. As if someone simply made them up!
For the last few pages, the Professor collected generic information about demons. It described the abilities they might possess, their fighting style, weapons, armor, and even a few interesting facts about their history.
"Overall, they're just as dangerous as the Angelic Faction. Luckily, they've a history of killing and warring between each other. We can maybe use their hatred to our advantage by letting them weaken one another."
Everyone felt hopeful after hearing the Professor's words, except Bea and Sera. The Angel simply leaned back on the sofa while sighing with exhaustion. Her expression looked troubled, which quickly dismantled any sense of calm her friends gained.
Sera noticed the curious expressions. She smiled and shook her head with self-deprecation...
"I doubt they'll continue their war. They probably killed and fought only because of boredom. However, in revealing my title, I gave them a reason to work together... They want to either kill or capture me. Just like all the other factions!"
She brought everyone up to speed about Rehael's Prophecy. When she mentioned the words, Last Angel, they all looked shocked, and reluctantly believed her words.
The entire conversation felt unreal, since Aerin and Rehael had existed before humans walked Earth. It wasn't easy to accept that all these primordial creatures came here for one person... Seraphine...
However, while everybody felt unsettled by the news, Valerie just grinned widely...
"The Realm of Angels? Aerin... How have I never heard about it? I read through all the records collected by every European city-state, yet nobody mentioned this name! Even the accounts of different intelligent races said nothing... How strange..."
It was indeed weird, but Sera's patience was running out. A small tremble went down her spine as the bloodlust began reawakening in her mind. She could stay for maybe half a day before losing control.
"Sorry to be rude, Professor, but I need you to skim through these other factions. I'll read their descriptions later. For now, could you introduce them quickly and concisely?"
The Professor looked surprised at the request, but he saw the struggle behind Sera's golden-green eyes. He smiled gently, nodded, and then turned the page. Nobody else complained either as he began the introduction.
"The Greek Pantheon, located atop Mount Olympus; led by Zeus, the King of the Gods. He can control the weather and lightning... The Norse Pantheon, located in Northern Europe; led by Odin, the Allfather. He possesses great wisdom and powerful magical power..."
He turned page after page, revealing more pictures of strange beings. Some resembled Kim; others looked like Astrid.
They both made disgusted expressions, like Sera's upon seeing the angels or Leslie's when glimpsing at the demons. Lucy and Melinda also looked similar when they saw Death and Pestilence.
"The Egyptian Pantheon, located in Northeast Africa; led by Ra, the Sun God. His powers relate to the sun and light... The Hindu Pantheon, located in the Indian Wastes; led by Shiva, the Benevolent One. He embodies destruction itself..."
The Professor introduced everything so fast that a few of Sera's friends weren't even paying attention anymore. They would rather read through everything twice, then get confused by the overly rapid introduction.
"The Chinese Pantheon, located near Vuan; led by an assortment of primordial deities. Yuhuang, the Jade Emperor; Shangdi, the Supreme Deity; Yuanshi, Lingbao, and Daode Tianzun, the Three Pure Ones. They're all dangerous with different deadly abilities..."
"Finally, the Shinto Pantheon. The Gate leading to this Pocket Realm already closed, and there's a chance no primordial being came through. Either way, Amaterasu, the Queen of the Sun, led the Pantheon. She has power over the Sun, light, heat and spirits."
After reading through everything, the Professor leaned back on the sofa to take a breather, while Sera thanked him and soon after left the room without a word.