Celestial Hybrid

Chapter 5

David

The blast hit like a divine hammer, shaking the earth and throwing us all through the air. I barely had time to brace myself before I slammed into the ground. My ears rang. My chest burned. I could hear Scylla coughing beside me, trying to get up.

Then I saw him.

Remiel.

He rose—slowly, unnaturally—from the wreckage. His clothes were shredded, his body engulfed in eerie black flames that danced like they were alive. I froze, unable to move, barely able to breathe. Something was wrong—terribly wrong.

His fingernails twisted into long, silver claws.

The left side of his body turned black, as if it had been burned by darkness itself. Even his hair changed, half of it now shadowed like ink. Two horns broke through his head, curved and cruel. And then his eyes—those eyes I knew so well—burned crimson, no longer human. No longer Remiel.

I felt Scylla grab my arm. She was shaking. So was I.

From his back, wings burst out with a sickening c***k—huge, black and white things, monstrous and majestic. But even more terrifying were the eagle-like talons growing at the shoulder base of each wing, flexing like they wanted to shred anything they touched.

The assassins stared in horror. One of them whispered, “What… what monstrosity is this?”

Another barked, seemingly their leader. “Stop watching and get your weapons ready! We have a threat on our hands!”

“He’s outnumbered,” someone said.

“No turning back now,” their leader snapped.

They lunged.

Were they gonna fight this thing?!? So brave. If I survive this I'm gonna marry a brave woman.

And I watched my brother s*******r them like shadows.

He didn’t even blink.

Weapons made of black aura formed in his hands like they’d been waiting for the right moment. He took a single step—and in the blink of an eye, he was behind one of them. Her head hit the ground before the rest of her body realized it was dead.

Shit!!

I could hear Scylla trying to control her breathing.

Seems she doesn’t watch horror movies

Another tried to speak. She didn’t get the chance.

I watched, horrified, as she was sliced in two.

It was fast. It was brutal. It was inhuman.

And it was Remiel.

Within seconds, every assassin was dead. Blood painted the ground, body parts littered the area like fallen leaves.

Is that a left boob? Don't ask me how I know.

He stood over the mess he made, blades humming with dark energy. Then… his eyes turned to us.

Why the hell is he looking at us?

We didn’t move. We couldn’t.

His gaze was empty. Soulless.

He took a step forward. Then he spoke.

“Hyxarians.”

The voice that left his mouth wasn’t his. It was darker, older—like it belonged to something ancient and cruel that had crawled out of a place no one should ever reach.

Scylla clutched my arm tighter. “W-w-what’s he saying, David?”

I listened. I tried.

“I… I can’t hear him,” I looked at her. “It’s not a language I know.”

She looks cuter when she cries.

But then the voice twisted. Bent reality around his words.

“The offspring of chaos.”

He was speaking to us. About us.

“What elder god would be so foolish to bring beings like you into existence?”

He wasn’t Remiel anymore.

And somehow, he knew exactly what we were.

Heck!! I knew we were not ordinary from the onset. What the hell is an elder god?!?

“You’re not supposed to exist,” he said, his eyes blazing.

I felt the air shift—cold and violent—as the void itself responded to him. His blades lifted into the air like they had minds of their own, spinning, aiming straight for us.

Fuck! We're gonna DIE!! I didn't even get the chance to marry my dream woman.

This was it.

I shielded Scylla.

At least let me die a hero.

I couldn’t stop him.

I couldn’t stop my brother.

I closed my eyes, waiting to feel the searing pain that comes with death—I felt nothing.

I felt a presence in front of me as I opened my eyes.

A figure appeared out of nowhere, stepping between us and those flying blades. With a wave of his hand, he sent them clattering harmlessly to the ground.

Remiel froze.

I stared, heart pounding.

“Who are you?” he asked—his voice breaking, cracking. For a second, I heard him in there again.

But I knew… this wasn’t over.

Not even close.

My legs didn’t work. My brain screamed Run, but my body was as stiff as a rock.

The stranger hadn’t moved. He stood between us and Remiel—or whatever that thing wearing my brother’s face was now—like a wall of calm in a battlefield painted with blood.

I wanted to say something—anything—but all I managed was a wheeze.

Scylla leaned closer. “Who is he?”

I don't really know but I'm glad he came.

We couldn't see his face with his back facing us.

The figure didn’t move.

He just stood there—still as a statue, hands calmly folded behind his back, his entire body cloaked from head to toe. We couldn’t see his face. Couldn’t even tell if he was breathing. But something about him… felt unnatural. Like the air bent around him.

Then I heard it—Remiel’s voice, low and shaking.

“Who are you?”

I turned just in time to see my brother—no, the thing he’d become—summon those black, cursed blades back into his hands. He lunged at the cloaked man, fast as lightning, like he meant to cleave him in two.

I couldn’t even scream. It happened in seconds.

The man didn’t flinch.

He just raised one of his hands—and caught the blades.

Did he just stop those blades with his hand?!?

No shield. No weapon.

And then… he broke them. Like they were nothing.

Before I could even process what I was seeing, he stepped forward and gently touched Remiel’s forehead with a finger.

“Sleep,” he said.

That one word carried something unreal—calm, ancient power.

Remiel’s body went limp, the flames around him dying out as he dropped like a puppet with cut strings. I watched him fall into the cloaked man’s arms—completely unconscious.

Then a strange light bloomed beneath us.

I looked down and nearly screamed—some kind of glowing symbol was spreading out the ground in a perfect circle. Lines. Runes. Shapes I couldn’t begin to understand. It looked alive.

Is this a magic circle!?

“Wait—what the hell’s happening?!” I grabbed Scylla, but there was no time to run.

The light flashed—

And we were gone.

~~~~~~~~~~

A man walked into the scene with two black-winged figures behind him, their gaze fixed on the aftermath of the m******e.

“He's awakening.” he said, a big grin plastered on his face.

“Does that mean…?”

“Yes, Zagrul.” he interrupted. “Our Lord will be coming back soon.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

A magic circle lit up inside a large, expensively decorated room, followed by a sudden flash of light as four figures emerged. Two lay on the ground, glancing around in confusion, while a young man in a hooded cloak stood cradling a teenager in his arms.

Scylla looked around the room. “Where are we?” she asked, still clinging to David, as she stared at the beautiful paintings on the walls.

Not getting any response, she turned her gaze to David, who was busy gawking at the painting of a scantily clad and endowed woman riding atop a giant winged lion.

A big hit on the head interrupted his ogling session. “Ouch.” he winced, shooting her a glare. “What was that for?”

“After all the weird crazy s**t we've seen today, you still find time to flirt with a painting?" Scylla shot him a glare and smacked him on the head again.

“Stop it!!”

The figure, no longer in his cloak, looked at the two, a warm smile graced his countenance. “Can you kids stop joking around and stand up already?” he spoke, his calm voice laced with gentle amusement. Remiel laid on a sofa beside him, soundly asleep.

“Who are you calling…” David's words froze as they turned toward the source of the voice, their eyes widening and mouths hanging open in awe, still seated on the floor.

Before their very eyes stood a man of perfection. He was tall—easily 6’9”—with golden skin that seemed to glow under the light. His eyes shone a bright green, almost like they were lit from within. A sharp jawline gave him a strong, commanding look, and his long green hair flowed down to his middle back like a calm river. Everything about him felt powerful and divine, like he wasn’t meant to walk among mortals.

“W-w-who are you?” Scylla stammered, her gaze fixed on the figure before her, her cheeks flushing red.

“Now who's the one flirting.” David spoke, staring at his best friend with a mocking grin.

A hit landed on his head again. “Scylla!!”

“I think it's best you guys know what you truly are.” The figure spoke once again, his smile growing wider.

“Come closer.”

They stood up and cautiously walked towards the man.

“Don't fret. I'm not gonna hurt you.” He said, gently placing his hands on their foreheads.

After they saw what he telepathically showed them, they stood still, like stupefied zombies, unable to utter a single word.

“WHAT???” Scylla screamed, having found her voice.