PUER MORTIS (Child of Death)

26: Faerai

Leilyn honestly wonders if she has somehow pissed off a Cosmic being and they're out there to get her, because for the love of all the gods on this f*****g blue rock she called home; what the f**k is this? She almost f*****g died just some few minutes ago, and now this?

Why? For f**k’s sake.

“Where is it?” The angel asks with an authoritative voice, making Leilyn to go stiff in readiness once more. “Where the Eldritch?”

“Where is what?” Leilyn narrows her eyes and arches a brow, a mirthless smirk on her lips. “You can’t just ask a question out of nowhere without introducing yourself. That’s considered rude.” Leilyn c***s her hip, crossing her arms, making her biceps to flex. “Especially when you’re an Angel, who, according to the lore, are the ‘center of goodness’.” Leilyn says with a dry tone, rolling her eyes at her last words.

‘Center of goodness, my ass.’

“Silence!” The Angel barks, her wings giving a harsh flap and making a heavy gust of wind to blow around her. She blinks when she sees the human in front of her, unbothered and wearing an unimpressed expression.

“Yeahhhhhh, I’ve seen worst.” Leilyn bats a hand with a snort. “From ‘nauseating’ humans, no less. Try harder, dear.” She huffs a snort when the glare of the Angel intensifies, as well as her killer instinct.

Her body goes rigid for a moment but she relaxes when she forces herself to remember Sensei’s look of murder. Heck, even his glance of disdain packs a punch. Yep. Sensei will forever be f*****g scary in his rare murder modes.

“You know, if you want to perfect this whole-” Leilyn motions at the Angel, “-stare of death, I should introduce you to Sensei. His look of death will want you to instantly combust that very second.” She snickers.

Suddenly, Leilyn finds herself face to face with the Angel. Her body moves on its own before she realizes what was going on. She jumps backwards putting some space – lots of space – between her and the Angel. Leilyn hovers in the air for a second or two, before her feet finally touches the ground.

Huh… it looks like she can utilize this flight ability to great use. Just now, her body felt lighter than before; she didn’t even feel her pregnancy bump, and her escape goes smoothly.

Well, she might not have a weapon, but she’s sure as hell isn’t a p***y. Sensei and Jinsei didn’t teach her approximately 100 fighting styles for her to embarrass them, herself and the Clan.

Leilyn slightly spreads her legs apart, her eyes narrowing into slits. Her left hand finds its way to her bump and she gives it a small caress before hurriedly dropping down her hand; nothing too obvious so as to draw the Angel’s interest to her abdomen.

“I highly appreciate if you don’t get in my face again.” Leilyn says in a flat voice, her face perfectly calm. She tries to slow down her heart beat, but that it comes as difficult. It will be bad in this situation if she acts on adrenaline.

The Angel looks at Leilyn with eyes full of curiosity. Her wings slowly folds and settles on her back. “Why do I feel the touch of not one, but two Eldritchs on your soul?” She tilts her head, her golden blond bangs covering an eye.

Leilyn blinks, her brows furrowing. Two Eldritchs? But she has only met Chibi and, from the looks of things, they’re the ones who gave her her flight powers. Unless…

“Look, lady.” Leilyn sighs out. “I don’t know who you are, much less what in the f*****g blazes you’re going on about. I-”

“Faerai.” The Angel interrupts, making Leilyn’s left eye to twitch in irritation. “My name is Faerai. Be thankful that I’ve blessed you with my name, mortal.” The Angel looks down at Leilyn with a sneer.

Leilyn feels her eye twitch again. A vein appears on her temple in annoyance.

‘Calm down hormones. So not the time to rear up your ugly head.’

She inhales, clapping her hands together. “Well, Faerai, like I said, I don’t know what the f**k you’re talking about. What you just said sounds like total gibberish to me and I honestly don’t give a f**k about it. So please, I suggest you leave.” Leilyn gives her a bright smile, which honestly doesn’t reach her cold, dead eyes.

Faerai huffs a snort, placing a hand on her slim waist. As she’s now closer, Leilyn could see certain details in the Angel’s appearance that she didn’t notice before. On her right bicep is a sliver band.

For some reason, her entire left arm is bandaged, and said bandage is stained with black like ink, as if she had a ghastly accident or something. Leilyn could feel Chibi’s familiar aura – or will that be Essence? – coming from it. It feels as if it’s being suppressed in those bandages.

“You say you don’t know what I’m speaking of, but I can feel a small residual of the Eldritch in you. More than one for that matter.” She takes a step forward and Leilyn does everything in her power not to flinch back. Faerai’s lips twitch in amusement, before she starts making her way over to the mortal, one slow step at a time. “If that isn’t intriguing enough, you didn’t have the look of shock or awe when you saw me. As if you have seen something more glorious than my beauty.”

Wow. Egoistical much? Leilyn looks at the Angel with a stoic and dry look.

“It’s as if you’re immune to an Angel’s Allure, and that’s only possible if you’ve come in contact with a higher cosmic being and they have blessed you with immunity.”

Shit. So, Chibi’s Immunity Spell wasn’t a one-time thing, huh? Or maybe it’s one of their gifts.

“Well, not my fault I’ve seen mortals whose beauty are more divine than yours.” She shrugs her shoulders with a smile, which only infuriates Faerai the more. “And those bandages clashes with your looks, hon.” She jerks her head at the bandaged arm.

Faerai halts in her steps, blinking at her. “Oh. This?” She raises her arm. “This is what happens when an Archangel level spell of Putrefaction is casted on you. Especially to objects bearing your Essence. It can be used against you.” She smiles sharply at Leilyn.

Ohhhhh s**t.

“I heard from a little birdie that you removed the collar from the Eldritch, as well as casted the spell. No one below a Principality can remove that collar. But you, a mere mortal, did. How did you do it?”

“Luck.” Leilyn grin is all teeth and sharp to the core.

“Hmm. So, you no longer deny it?”

“Denying it at this moment is futile.” Leilyn sighs out, raising her hands and gives a shrug. “If the princess spilled, and knowing how advance they are, she might have provided you with some videos.” She flicks a hand. “How is she by the way? From what I was told, that curse was pretty fatal. And if it also affected you, how are you still alive?”

Faerai hums, narrowed eyes scrutinizing Leilyn. “Questions, questions. How about we trade?” Leilyn folds her arms and c***s an eyebrow at her. “I answer yours, you answer mine.”

“Hmm.” Leilyn stares at the Angel with no hidden distrust.

If this will get the b***h to leave, then so be it.

Leilyn might be too proud to admit it, but she’s WAY outclassed by Faerai. A human vs. an Angel? She’ll get her a*s kicked into another Universe. If she were to be young again, she’ll be planning ways to end this b***h, getting cocky of it all, knowing either Shinji, Sensei or the others have her back. But she’s older now.

Not only does she have a baby to think of and protect, her Clan are seas away and she’s all alone. Heck, if Zoranne were to contact them, it will take like an hour maximum for them to get her. By then, she’s already dead.

It’s better for her and her child for her to just tell the Angel the news and get her to leave the f*****g planet ASAP.

“Fine.” Leilyn heaves a sigh, crossing her arms. “But you go first. What happened to Princess Uthaeria, and why is your arm leaking Eldritch miasma?”

“The useless princess is alive.” Faerai flicks her right hand with a look of disdain on her face. “Wanted to kill her for her absolute failure in keeping just ONE animal in line-” Here, Leilyn grits her teeth in anger and throws a hot glare at Faerai, not that the Angel saw it; and even if she did, she didn’t give a s**t. “But I have no intent of adding to those who’re already chasing me round the Universe. As for the arm, well, wouldn’t you like to know?” Faerai smirked at her.

“Yes. That’s why I asked.” Leilyn says drily. Faerai’s smirk melts from her face and she glares at Leilyn. “Look.” The dark-red-copper haired woman sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I really want this- whatever this is,” she waves a hand, “To be over. Like, right now. I need to get my beauty nap and pass out and not wake up until tomorrow. So can we just, I don’t know, fasten things up?” She spins her hand, bearing a look of tired exasperation. Faerai considers for a second, before nodding. Leilyn loudly claps her hands together, groaning out a loud, “Thank you.”

“Due to the spell you casted, and using the collar as a conduit, I am slowly dying.” She inhales sharply, looking at Leilyn with hatred in her eyes. “Unlike the useless princess, my Essence was in that collar, seeing as I am the one who kept the Eldritch in check.”

“And you stole their powers along the way.” Leilyn inputs. “So that’s why Chibi felt so weak even after the collar was loosen a little bit. It was already loosed, allowing you to drain what little power you can from the little c***k. Due to you being their parole officer, you latched onto them, empowering yourself on the little you could. And you did so because, let me guess? You were part of the weak faction in jolly good heaven?” Leilyn snorts. “Looks like there’s trouble in paradise.”

Faerai growls, her glare short of nothing murderous. “For a mortal, you’re quiet perspective.”

Leilyn shrugs her shoulders, a mirthless smirk on her lips. “Comes as a bonus of being a genius.”

Faerai hums before continuing. “Yes, what you said are true. I managed to loosen the animal’s collar a little bit and started taking some of its power as mine. It was… elating. Even from half way across the Universe, I still took from it, more so when it collar was released more on its way here millennium ago. But then, you freed it. And not only that, you casted an Archangel level curse using the collar. The princess managed to escape due to her not being a High Divine-”Here, Leilyn snorts, highly doubting that statement. “-like me and her Life Force not being wrapped up in the collar. As its watcher, my Essence was the one mostly on it, and so, it affected me the most.”

“So, let me guess.” Leilyn raises a hand up, closing her eyes with a sigh. “Chibi’s Eldritch Essence is suppressing that curse from ravaging you, and so you have come to collect them, and possible drain all their Essence in what you guess is a weakened state, in order to maybe surpass your current status and also stop the curse from killing you. Did I guess right?” Leilyn c***s a brow.

“Yes.” Faerai grits out, getting a snort of amusement from Leilyn. “I’ve answered your questions, now it is your turn.”

Leilyn bats her hand, her face bored. “Shoot away.”

“Where is it?”

“They.” Leilyn corrects, getting an owlish blink from Faerai. “Their pronoun is ‘they’. And they are dead.”

“What?! That’s impossible!” Faerai shouted. “Eldritchs don’t die!”

“Everything dies. Even the Immortals of old.” Leilyn runs her fingers through her hair. “Existence to some becomes dull after countless of eons. From your looks, I’ll say you’re young.”

“I am thirty million, eight hundred thousand, eight hundred and twenty-five years old mortal.” Faerai snaps out. Leilyn couldn’t help but gape, internally of course. Outwardly, she just silently chokes in shock. “Do not perceive me with your mortal eyes.”

Leilyn couldn’t help but roll her eyes in exasperation. That old but yet, she still behaves like a child. “All I’m saying is not everyone loves immortality. The Eldritch is dead.”

“You lie!” Faerai snarls.

The trees starts to sway in an unearthly wind and the sky starts to darken. Leilyn drops her arms and goes stiff in readiness for an attack. She gulps when she feels Faerai’s oppressive energy weighing in on her. Her left hand settles on her abdomen, her eyes narrowing.

“Why would I lie, especially when it comes to death?” Leilyn says in a cold voice. In her ear, Zoranne is breaking off, yelling out concerned words. Whatever Faerai is doing, it’s disrupting her A.I’s communication to her.

“Simple: you want to take it from me. Well, you won’t! It is mine!” Faerai shouts, causing the ground to quake and a strong wind to blow. Leilyn winces in pain when a small cut suddenly appears on her face. She moves back, eyes going wide in shock. 

“How?!” Leilyn growls out, finally snapping. Damn, crazy much? “If you haven’t noticed, I’m quite mortal!”

“Silence!”

Leilyn reels back in shock, which is then wiped out by anger.

“If you don’t want to give it to me, then I’ll take it from your corpse!”

Faerai outstretches her right hand and ten small ice-green circles appear besides her, which fire red, blue and white blasts at her.

Leilyn hurriedly enters fight mode and she evades them, taking off into the air.