SERAPHIM

CHAPTER 03

~Demon realm (Hell)

“What happened? I cannot feel her human presence anymore.”

“I just got the news, the first prince. The ‘heart’ died today.”

“What?! impossible! How can she die? She’s one of us! Even more powerful than us. What’s happening?”

Prince Alastor, Daemon’s firstborn in terms of race but not related in blood. He, himself, needs the ‘heart’ to replace Daemon, his father, on the throne. His father gave them an opportunity to sit on the throne and replace him if they, siblings, get the ‘heart’ and let it stay in the demon realm forever.

As the firstborn, he would do everything just to sit on the throne. They knew that the ‘heart’ was the offspring of their king together with a Seraphim. She is real blood related to Daemon. But they didn’t know if the king would just want his daughter to stay with him or use his daughter to conquer heaven and the human realm.

“Search the whole human realm, it is impossible for her to die.”

“Yes, first prince.”

The servant bowed his head and went out of his place.

“I need to confirm it.”

Using his human form, he grabbed the stone and went to Muriel’s house. As expected, there are lots of people mourning for her. He went inside and saw her human parents sitting in front of an urn and Muriel’s picture. He smirked.

“As I thought, cremation is their way to hide her real body. Those three angels are really a pain in the ass.”

He went out of the house and vanished into thin air. Where could she be this time?

“Ho~ our first prince seems to be very busy.”

Alastor rolled his eyes when he heard his third brother’s voice. The third prince, Agramon.

“What are you doing here?”

Agramon giggled as if he was pissing his brother off.

“I saw you go out, so I followed you. What are you looking for?”

“None of your business.”

“Oh~? Isn’t it the half-ling that Father is looking for?”

Alastor glared at his brother.

“Don’t get in my way, Agramon.”

The latter just smiled at him and vanished into thin air. He gritted his teeth and went back to his place.

“We will meet again, Sollene.”

~~

“How about we bring her straight to our realm?”

“It’s fine, we just need to hide her so much.”

“Yes.”

The three angels were traveling up high to get to heaven, really heaven. Grim, the reaper, is holding Sollene’s body while the other two are on guard of their surroundings. They are all aware that some time from now, Sollene’s death will be heard in the demon realm. They need to leave the human realm immediately.

“We should hurry.”

Dimiter said.

“Why?”

“I have a bad feeling.”

Right after, she said that an unexpected power attacked Grim and he wasn’t ready for it. He stumbled and was dragged down with Sollene in his arms.

“Grim!”

Dimiter and Luthor ready their weapons to attack whoever attacked them first. In their front, they saw the second prince of hell together with his right and left hands.

“Hand her to me and I will spare you.”

The second prince’s cold voice sent shivers to them. There are rumors that the second prince is the most mysterious prince in hell. No one knows his plans, even his ‘father’, the king of hell. Even the other princes and princesses have no clue what’s happening inside the brain of the second prince, Andras, the grand marquis of hell.

“As if he will really spare us.”

“Shut up. Think of other ways to get Sollene out of here.”

Dimiter and Luthor whisper to each other. Facing an unknown prince of hell, they really had no clue how powerful this man was.

“We will not hand her to you.”

Luthor answered Andras and attacked first. He made himself multiplied into many and faced the second prince and his men. While the foe was busy, Dimiter slipped away and went to Grim and Sollene. She casts a spell and casts the two into somewhere where no one evil can easily filtrate.

“Take her to the sacred place and go back to the heavenly realm after securing her safety. We will try to escape this fight and go back directly to the heavenly realm. Take care.”

“Okay. Take care.”

Grim looked up and saw Luthor fighting the soldiers of the second prince and even attacking the second prince.

After finishing the spell casting, the two disappeared and Dimiter immediately went up to help Luthor to fight. When Andras noticed that the reaper and Sollene were gone, he stopped his soldier to fight and said,

“We will meet again.”

Andras and his soldiers vanished. The two Angels were confused. Why would the second prince spare their lives after helping the two escape? But they can’t be more thankful that they even have relief sighs. Luthor was badly injured even only after fighting for a short time. So they went back directly to the heavenly realm. There, they saw the other Angels who immediately helped them.

Minutes later, Emily went out of her chamber to look for them.

“What happened? Why are you injured? Where’s Grim and Sollene?”

The two bowed their heads and sought forgiveness.

“We are sorry, we failed to protect Sollene. While on our way here, the second prince of hell blocked our way and we fought. Grim is also wounded. I transferred them to the sacred place in the meantime.”

“Oh, my God. How is she? How is Sollene? She hasn’t recovered yet from the changes in her body after suffering death.”

“I told Grim to secure her safety before going there. Rest assured, higher Seraphim, the heart will be safe.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Dimiter, and Luthor. Take a good rest for now.”

“Thank you highest Seraphim.”

~~

“She’s so cute!”

“Sssh! Don’t make noise! You will wake her up.”

“I can’t help it. She’s like an angel.”

“I know, right? But we should let her have some rest.”

Sollene winced and slowly opened her eyes when she heard some unfamiliar voices.

“Oh my goodness! She’s awake!”

“It’s your fault!

“What’s the commotion here?”

“Ayt! Good day, Bishop Lance, bishop Pollux, bishop Castor.”

The three bishops who had just arrived warmly smiled at the three young women dressed as nuns.

“Good day sister. What is happening here?”

“We are so sorry, Bishop Lance, we can’t help it. She’s just so cute that we caused a commotion and woke her up.”

Lance and Castor chuckled while Pollux sneered. Sollene, on the other hand, was just looking at the unfamiliar faces in front of her.

“What’s being cute with this brat- Ouch! What was that for Lance?!”

Lance and Castor glared at him and ignored him.

“Do you feel better now?”

Lance asked Sollene with a smile on his face.

“Y-yes, but may I know where I am?”

“Don’t be afraid. You are safe here. This is a church protected by the twelve gods. No evil can enter this place.”

“Why am I here? What happened?”

“We just saw you lying on the ground while patrolling around the area outside this church. We still don’t know you.”

“I see.”

Sollene stood up and planned to leave the place, but Lance stopped her.

“What are you doing?”

“Thank you for taking good care of me, but I need to leave.”

“Where would you go then? Who are you with? It is dangerous for a lady like you to wander outside this place without protection from the Gods.”

“But I need to go now.”

“Just rest here until you are fully recovered.”

Sollene looked at them. They are smiling at her with a warm welcome but she doesn’t know what’s happening. She can remember it all. She must be dead by now. But here she is recuperating and slowly getting energy, alive and kicking.

“I am bishop Lance. These are bishop Castor and bishop Pollux.”

“Hello, we are twins, just bear with the temper of my twin brother.”

“Tss. She’s just a brat.”

Sollene frowned at Pollux. He doesn’t resemble Castor at all.

“I am Muriel, Astera Muriel -”

She stops when she can’t remember her surname, but she is sure that there is another name after it.

“Astera Muriel, that was a wonderful name.”

“Indeed. Just like her.”

Lance cleared his throat and introduced the three nuns.

“These are one of the nuns here in the church. Sister Jen, sister Aya, and sister Ellen.”

“If you need something, you can just tell us.”

“Yes, feel free and feel at home.”

“You are welcome here.”

She just nodded and thanked them.

“It’s late now, you can just go back to rest. We will take our leave.”

Lance and the others left the room. There is only silence in the middle of the night that Sollene can hear. She slowly opened the door of her room and looked outside. No one, maybe because everyone was taking their rest. It was the night after all. She went outside and walked in the hallway alone. She could see the peacefulness of the place and the water fountain in the middle just added a magnificent ambiance. She went near the fountain and looked at her face. The water was so clear she could see every detail of her features.

“Who am I? I can’t remember anyone. Just a name. Why can’t I remember anything?”

She touched her head and forcefully tried to remember something but she couldn’t.

“You will just suffer if you try to remember things that your mind can’t remember.”

She was startled and looked behind her just to see Pollux. He was not wearing the clothes of a bishop, instead, he was wearing casual clothes in all black and black gloves.

“Why are you here?”

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that question? Why are you here in the middle of the night?”

“It’s none of your business.”

Sollene started to walk back to her room when a sudden attack stopped her in her tracks. And an inch of space between her face and the chain blocked her way.

“What was that?”

Pollux was also stunned.

‘She can see it?’

He withdrew the chain and looked at Sollene who was also looking at him with wide eyes.

“What was that thing?”

“What’s happening here?”

Lance and Castor were in their pajamas.

“What’s with your chain?”

“Did you just attack someone?”

The chain that Pollux summoned was now gone, but Lance and Castor could still feel that he had been using his weapon. Pollux didn’t look at them, his eyes still locked with Sollene’s eyes.

“She can see it.”

That was the time that the two bishops saw Sollene standing not so far from them.

“What?”

“She saw it.”

Lance summoned her sword and Castor summoned her strings.

“Muriel, what are you doing here?”

“Bishop Lance, what’s with you all? What are you?”

Their eyes widened.

“You can really see them?”

“That guy just attacked me, his chain almost pierced my head. And now, you and bishop Castor, why are you holding a sword? Then, what’s with the strings connected to the bishop's castor?”

Sollene looks so confused yet there’s amazement in her eyes. The three bishops looked at each other and made a move. They made Sollene lose consciousness. Sollene fell into Lance’s arms.

“What is this? Why can she see our weapons?”

“She’s not an ordinary human.”

“Yes, I think there is something behind her personality.”

“Should we tell the archbishop about it?”

“Yes, I will tell him.”

Lance went back to Sollene’s room to lay her down on her bed. Then they went back outside to meet Castor and Pollux. He saw Castor scolding Pollux for recklessly using his chain.

“You brat! Why did you use your chain over a kid?! What if you really hit her head? She must have been dead by now!”

“She didn’t die! Don’t overreact!”

“Even so! And now, look what happened?”

Pollux became serious.

“I am also stunned. The moment I summoned my chain, she suddenly stopped walking like she felt my summon. Just to confirm, I threw my chain at her. Then you know what happened next.”

“She’s something.”

“Indeed.”

~~

Sollene woke up with her head aching. She then recalled what happened last night. She loses consciousness right after the three bishops attack her.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

She looked at the door just to see Lance, Castor, and Pollux. They are holding food.

“How are you feeling now?”

“I am fine.”

“That’s good to hear. We have your food and medicine here.”

“Why are you still keeping me here?”

There was a moment of silence before Lance answered her question.

“No matter who or what you are, this place is for someone who is trying to find themselves.”

Sollene didn’t answer after. She ate the food and medicine and cleaned herself. She wore the clothes that the sisters gave her. It was a clean white gown that the nuns were wearing with black linings for design. She went outside and saw the whole place. This was her first time looking around the place since it was nighttime when she was awake.

‘There are so many people right now. Why is that?’

She could see people walking in one direction. She got curious and followed them. She was then dragged inside the main chapel where a mass was being held. Many people worship and pray peacefully. She can feel it, the strong faith and hope for God.

“May God be with you.”

From the center of the chapel, there are 13 people wearing clothes like what Lance and the others wear. But the one in the middle wears a different headdress. They seem to be giving blessings to people. She saw Lance, Castor, and Pollux also giving blessings to people.

“Bishops! Archbishop! Please help my son! He has a mark of the curse.”

A woman with her son in her arms barged in and caused a commotion.

‘A curse?’

Sollene went near the woman and saw the man in the center assisting them.

“Archbishop. Please help my son.”

‘So that guy is the archbishop.’

“Calm down, your son is safe now.”

The archbishop ripped open the shirt of the young boy and the curse mark appeared. Placing his hand in front of the mark on the boy’s chest, the mark suddenly disappeared and a small black gem arose from the chest. The archbishop immediately sealed the black gem using his mana.

“May God be with you.”

“Thank you so much, archbishop and bishops.”

Sollene couldn’t help but be amazed at what had just happened. She was just staring at the archbishop when their eyes met. He just smiled at her and went back to his place. The mass and giving of blessings continued. On the other hand, Sollene went out of the chapel and went to the fountain.

“They are awesome. But what are they? What is that black gem that came out of the young boy’s body? What is that curse?”

“Aren’t you being pesky for having too many questions?”

Sollene looked at the man wearing all-black clothes with a black coat with a hood. She couldn’t see the man’s face.

“Who are you?”

The man suddenly disappeared into thin air.

“What… was that?”

“What are you doing here alone?”

Sollene was startled when she heard the voice from behind. Pollux was standing behind her. She snorted.

“None of your business.”

She stood up and was about to step away from Pollux, but his arm was now above her shoulder.

“What’s your problem?”

“This day is the fest for one of the Gods who are protecting this place.”

“So what?”

“There are so many stores lined up here to sell, why don’t you go to my store instead?”

Pollux was making a weird face so she decided to give him a punch, enough for him to get out of his arms.

“Aww! Ouch! You!”

She ran as fast as she could just to lose Pollux. She had a bad feeling about his so-called store. She keeps running until she found a garden. There are so many flowers and it seems peaceful.

“This place is better than being around that weird punk.”

She sat down on the fine grass and closed her eyes. The place reeks of a very calming scent. No wonder she was surrounded by flowers of many variations.

“This place is beautiful.”

“Right, isn’t it?”