The Seraphic System

The Seraphic System

Chapter: 59

Pa/ t reon details below the chapter if you're interested in seeing some content in advance. I'll keep posting regardless. If you have any suggestions you would like to see added, I will try to incorporate what I can :)

(Hell)

The heat was suffocating, even through the thin veil of protection my mask provided. 

I adjusted it carefully, ensuring it sat snugly over my face. 

Motes of blue light fizzled around my form akin to the way fire would act. Just as it activated the shadow that was cast by massive wings of light began to spread I deactivated my angelic form. 

Perhaps I should think about what I was going to do first. 

I had underestimated how much light my angelic form gave off. That couldn't be blamed since I hadn't been able to use it much. 

Something about the atmosphere told me that if my aura wasn't concealed I would be in deep trouble. I ignored the discomfort, focusing instead on the wasteland stretching endlessly before me.

The ground for the most part was cracked and spread out like a spiderweb, veins of molten fire glowing faintly in the deep fissures. Ash floated lazily in the air, settling on the jagged rocks and crumbling ruins scattered across the desolation. 

In the distance, the horizon shimmered with heat, broken only by the faint silhouettes of twisted structures that jutted skyward like broken teeth.

This was the literal definition of Hell.

I had to wonder how the demonic beasts came to be. 

Despite what you would think, the texts I had read in the library hadn't mentioned anything about them being related to Angels, many myths used Fallen as Demons but that obviously had no credibility considering the Fallen had their own Faction. 

The closest creature's I could find were Devils. 

I crouched behind a fractured boulder, my fingers brushing over the hilt tucked securely at my side. The first fragment. I sensed it once again and then put it my inventory in case someone senses it.

This was going to be tricky. I was going to assume the part I was looking for contained the same energy. So I would be able to sense it if I was close enough. 

That was all I could go on, my chakra sight was limited due to all the residue power. 

I exhaled slowly, my breath hot against the mask. 

This wasn't a place for open conflict.

Movement caught my eye and I paused, pressing myself tighter against a boulder I found nearby. 

Had the light of my angelic form drawn in creatures? I wasn't too bothered. My strength had grown exponentially. I could deal with most things but the point was I didn't want to draw attention. 

My eyes glanced over to my status page nervously. 

{Name: Kai}

{Power level: 14,615}

{STR: 246

{DEX: 231

{VIT: 176

{MAG: 278

{CHA: 50

It was safe to say that my progress in growth had been explosive to say the least.

The Two Tree's strange blessing had turned out to have given me a power boost when I had checked my status. Along with my training and smithing with Uriel. My status page had shot up. 

There was also the power boost I had gotten after the inheritance process had fully completed, giving me a smaller stat boost. All of this had led to my angelic mana pool nearing the God class or Satan class as Gabriel had called it. 

This fact hadn't gone unnoticed from Uriel, Gabriel and Seraphiel. The main Angels I spent time with. 

I had no doubt they noticed my rapid growth. Uriel had even referred to me as a monstrous prodigy. 

I watched as a shadow flitted across the cracked ground, it was fast. Around the high-class area of strength if I had to guess. I tilted my head slightly, peering around the edge of the rock.

A figure, hunched and clawed, prowled along the ridge a few meters away. Its skin glistened, dark and rough like volcanic rock and its glowing eyes scanned the terrain with a foreign look in its eyes. 

It almost felt like some sort of scout with the way it was looking around. 

My aura was definitely being concealed so I don't know why I would be searched for. 

'Appraisal'

{Name: None}

{Title: Demonic Scout}

{Race: Demonic Beast}

{Power level: 5,760}

A high-class demon? 

That was even coincidental or something was going on. 

I had learnt about demonic beasts. 

They often leaked into the underworld through entrances that were normally sealed and guarded. 

Some were able to escape through and normally when one did, many followed along through the brief breach. These were called demonic beast tides. A problem that many Devil cities had to deal with on the occasion it did happen.

I had learnt all this from the surprisingly knowledgeable heavenly library. Over the few days I had needed to wait, multiple visits had been made in secret. With the Angel I had befriended there, who somehow always found me, helping me out.

A high-class demonic beast wasn't common, normally acting in charge. Besides the rare cases of ultimate-class demonic beasts appearing, the reason I was being so careful was because Satan class or God class demonic beasts had been registered before. 

They were extremely rare but they had been registered as breaking into the underworld. Meaning there was a good chance there was more of them down here, in their actual home. 

I waited patiently, ready to kill it as the creature moved past, its clawed feet crunching against the brittle ground. When it disappeared over the ridge, I shifted, keeping low as I slipped between the rocks.

The creature screeched before leaping away. 

I waited a moment before moving. Every step I made was light, my boots brushing softly against the strange red soil to avoid making even the slightest of sounds.

I wasn't the only one with supernatural senses.

My eyes scanned over the wasteland that was almost deceptively quiet, that was only broken by the occasional screeching or rumble of the shifting of ground.

Ahead, the terrain dipped into a shallow valley, the ground more jagged and uneven. Pockets of blackened grass smoldered faintly, releasing wisps of smoke that curled into the air.

I descended carefully, my eyes scanning every shadow and crevice. 

Yeah, I don't think flying in the sky like some sort of falling star with the way my angelic aura wrapped around me was a good idea. 

I sighed in annoyance. It seems I would have to go by foot. That wasn't as bad as it sounded but I couldn't go super fast either without making a lot of noise. 

I suppose my best action would be to look for any structures, I knew that Angels had made temporary bases down here. Not that they had lasted very long. Even finding one of them could help out in finding any clues.

It wasn't an ideal situation but I would have to make do. 

A faint sound reached my ears. 

A wet tearing noise, followed by a low clicking growl. My hand instinctively moved to the weapons at my side. Creeping forward, I crouched behind a jagged outcrop and peered around it.

That's just bad table manners.

Was the only morbid thought I had when looking down at Two massive demons loomed over the mangled body of a smaller creature. 

Their grotesque forms were hunched, their leathery wings folded against their backs. One had horns spiraling upward, its jaws smeared with blood as it tore into its prey. 

The other had elongated limbs, its clawed hands holding down the carcass as it snapped bones with sickening ease. 

A quick appraisal showed they were both in the mid-class. 

So these were demonic beasts, I wonder if they had some sort of actual race. The appraisal simply showed them as 'Demonic Beasts' yet they appeared to share no similarities.

I shook my head. 

I needed to focus. I only had six hours to get out of here and if I didn't find the second segment I might be stuck here. Temporarily since I was confident I would manage if I really had to.

With that thought, I slipped further into the wasteland. 

The fragments of molten fissures snaked around the valley floor, spreading their ominous glow as I crept through the jagged landscape. 

Occasionally, faint sounds reached my ears, mostly distant roars.

This place was much more oppressive and freakish than the Familia Forest in the underworld had been. 

The terrain shifted again as I ventured deeper into the valley. 

It was in some sort of weird imitation of a Forest that I found the first thing of interest. The trees around me were thin, leaving the forest easily open and without much place to hide beside the occasional thick bush. 

I crouched down, looking at the object that had stopped me in my tracks. 

A sword. 

Appraisal showed it wasn't anything special, it had obviously been sitting there for a very long time. 

To be more specific, it was a basic angelic sword. 

It didn't exactly help, but it was something. 

My ears twitched and I caught sight of trio of smaller demonic beasts roamed nearby, their bodies sleek and wiry, with elongated limbs and sharp, jagged claws. Their glowing wide eyes darted back and forth. 

They caught sight of me, not that it was a particularly shocking revelation.

Their maws opened up. In what I assume was going to be a howl or some sort of roar. Perhaps an attack? It didn't matter as they were obliterated in the next moment. 

{Name: None}

{Title: Poison Fang Beast}

{Race: Demonic beast}

{Power level: 4560}

{Name: None}

{Title: Sky Stalker}

{Race: Demonic beast}

{Power level: 4665}

{Name: None}

{Title: Ember Hunter}

{Race: Demonic beast}

{Power level: 5310}

Black blood with purple specks sprayed from their forms. 

Their bodies fell to the ground with multiple cuts made from wind blades, I didn't want to use any light or holy magic just in case. This place was giving me a strange feeling.

It was wrong. 

I hadn't seen much of Hell, beyond endless landscapes with multiple regions that were all just as twisted but it definitely lived up to its name. Even my system had acknowledged it as Hell and I can see why the demonic beasts are all so twisted.

The place was suffocating and I could feel it weighing on me. 

From the corner of my sight caught an insanely tall thin creature watching me. As soon as I turned to face it the thin creature disappeared around one of the thin dark purple tree's.

This place was fucked, I'm leaving.

I left the strange open Forest, storing the broken angelic sword within my inventory for later appraisal. 

It wasn't long as I picked up the pack that I stumbled across something else that made me stop in my tracks.

Both because it blocked the direction I had decided to go in and because it was creepy…

A River of crimson. 

It didn't take a genius to guess what the liquid that ran down in a stream was. 

The river shimmered dark red along with other colours mixed into it, including golden, blue and even black, its sluggish flow almost hypnotic as I crouched at the bank. 

The air around it felt heavy with a scent that invaded my nose, metallic, like the taste of blood in my mouth after a fight. 

A shiver of disgust genuinely travelled through me. 

That was a lot of blood. 

"Appraisal."

A faint window appeared, the words clear but impossible to believe.

{Name: None}

{Type: River of Blood}

{Composition: 14% Angelic Blood}

I paused, my eyes widened under the mask. A true shiver of disgust and anger flooded me, my angelic instincts making itself known. The normal soothing presence raging in disgust. 

I couldn't help imagine the amount of Angel bodies that the amount of blood I was seeing would take to produce. Gabriel's and Uriel's corpse flashed in my mind.

Imagining that they were a part of this list. Fourteen percent wasn't a big number until you saw its sheer size. 

My jaw tightened. Angelic blood? Here? In this hellscape? It didn't make sense but I didn't have time to sit and question it. Was this where all those armies of Angels had gone to? 

What was the purpose of having a massive blood river? It was obviously created, but what was the point of making such a thing? 

Suddenly Hell was feeling a lot more dangerous than it had already felt. 

The blood rippled suddenly, the sluggish flow breaking as if disturbed by something massive below. My hand immediately went to my Tempest Chakram and I stood, muscles coiled like a spring.

A bulge formed on the river's surface, then burst with a sickening splash, spraying thick droplets in all directions. A fleshy, pale appendage shot out, writhing and slick with blood.

I didn't need to think as I moved. My body reacted and I became a blur, leaping back just as the thing slammed into the ground where I had been crouching. The impact cracked the jagged rocks, sending shards flying.

The tentacle twitched, coiling like a serpent before slithering toward me. My instincts screamed at me to end it before it could attack again. 

I lunged forward quicker than it could react, my body travelling at my full speed as my eyes burned with killing intent. My Tempest Chakram sliced through its slimy surface with a satisfying schlick. 

The severed piece writhed violently, spraying thick, blackened liquid that hissed and smoked when it hit the ground. The river of blood began to churn violently, more tentacles bursting from its depths, each one larger and more erratic than the last.

"Seriously?" I growled, stepping back to give myself some space.

Another tentacle lashed out, faster this time. I twisted, easily avoiding the strike as it carved a deep gash into the ground beside me. My Tempest Chakram was thrown, cutting through five tentacles that tried to pincer me. 

More appeared. I spun on my heel, bringing my Chakram around in a wide arc, they cleaving through the appendages in one clean motion. The severed pieces flopped to the ground, twitching like a dying fish. 

Two more tentacles shot toward me from different angles.

I ducked under the first and sidestepped the second, the force of their strikes shook the ground. Rocks cracked and fissures spread out from where they hit.

I surged forward, blade raised and slashed at the nearest tentacle, severing it at its base. Another one came for me but I pivoted sharply, the tip of my Tempest Chakram easily tearing through its flesh.

Black blood was all around me.

This was some sort of demonic beast. 

The river itself seemed angry now, its surface bubbling and churning like a boiling cauldron. 

A deep, guttural screech echoed from below, the sound wet and unnatural. Whatever was down there didn't appreciate me turning its limbs into pieces.

Another tentacle erupted, this one thicker and faster, aiming straight for my chest. My body moved mid-dodge and swing my Tempest Chakram. The tentacle split in two, the halves flopping lifelessly into the river.

I had enough, swiping both blades outwards multiple thick blades of wind parted the river of blood. Giving me a glimpse inside, a creature that could only be described as Eldritch stared back.

I stared back, pointing my finger at the creature in a primal disgust that I could place my finger on. 

Raising my hand, I swiped down. 

The entire river split into two and it was cut in half. 

I wiped the black blood of my Tempest Chakram in disgust. It was best I leave before drawing any more attention. I didn't wait to see what would happen next. I easily jumped into the air and over the large river of Blood.

My eyes were alert as I pushed them to try to see anything different besides the foul demonic energy in the air. 

I went to open my sub-dimension only for the skill to fail. Blinking in confusion, a notification popped up.

[This part of Hell is sealed but as the holder of the Key to Hell you can override it. 

You can override it by using the Hell's Key together with The True King's Ring.

Although opening your realm will be noticed.]

I frowned, but nodded.

Perhaps this was for the best, moving around was a lot easier alone. Then again, having such back-up would make me feel much more comfortable with my Angels and even Tiamat. I'll summon them if I've to but let's not attract any unnecessary attention right now.

I would have all the time to speak to them once I completed this quest.

As I pressed on, the landscape began to shift. 

The jagged rocks and fissures gave way to a barren expanse, the ground unnaturally smooth and devoid of the molten veins I'd seen before. The horizon seemed to warp, a faint glow illuminating the distance.

A sudden scream tore through the oppressive air.

I paused. It was guttural, raw, and layered with a haunting chorus of agony. 

It wasn't just one voice but hundreds, maybe thousands. They were all screaming in agony and blending together. They pierced the air and were only heard due to my supernatural hearing. 

My grip on my chakram tightened 

Against my better judgement, I turned toward the direction of the sound. My eyes caught sight that there was a different type of energy that way and it was the only new source of energy I had found. 

Then I saw it.

A vast altar stood in the center, illuminated by an unnatural light that seemed to have no source. 

The structure was massive, carved from a dark, unrecognizable material that pulsed faintly with a sickly green glow. It rose like a monolith, its surface etched with ancient symbols that seemed to writhe and shift when I tried to focus on them.

Surrounding the altar chained with some sort of weird translucent chains were thousands of translucent figures, their forms faint and hollow. 

Souls. 

The realization hit me like a physical blow as I activated Appraisal.

My breath caught in my throat.

{Name: Sara}

{Type: Soul Fragment}

{Status: Bound}

Souls. Thousands of them. 

The sheer scale of it was staggering and deeply unsettling.

Atop the altar, a massive being stood, its presence eclipsing all the souls bound around it. 

{Name:𒀀𒇠𒂠𒁀𒄀𒀭}

{Title: Demonic Preist}

{Race: Demon}

{Power Level: 13,200}

A demon? The books hadn't mentioned that real demons actually existed. Demonic beasts? Yes and the detail they had on them was impressive but the word 'Demon' hadn't even been used. 

Its form was a grotesque amalgamation of twisted flesh and pulsating energy, an ever-shifting nightmare of limbs and eyes. 

It moved with unnatural precision, the flaws in most sentient being seemingly absent as it moved and stopped in an unsettling way. Its body is able to stay perfectly still. 

The Demons massive hands hovering over the altar as it performed some dark ritual. The air around it shimmered with a strange energy, different from anything I'd felt before. 

It wasn't demonic but it was definitely dark. 

My frown deepened as I hesitated. I watched the being raise one of its hands. A soul was dragged from the crowd, its faint form struggling futilely as it was pulled toward the altar. 

The Demon let out a low, guttural sound, almost a chant and the runes on the altar flared brilliantly. The soul disintegrated in an instant, its remnants absorbed into the being's hulking form.

I clenched my fists, my angelic instincts roaring in protest. 

This was beyond evil. This was annihilation on a scale I couldn't comprehend.

How had it even gotten all these souls? The demonic pits were sealed and the known entrances guarded or at least surveyed. Unless the Devils were in on this but I highly doubted it. 

Despite their reputation I knew they were at least trying to be better.

In terms of pure power, I could take the Demon but I had learnt clearly that power wasn't all that was to be had. I didn't doubt that the Demon probably had some fucked up powers.

A quick appraisal into the weird formation the Demon was making gave me only a bit of information but it seemed to be some sort of battle array. More specifically, an array focused on defence. 

The demon was using souls to power a defence formation.

It couldn't hurt, could it? To strike it down while it was unaware. My eyes travelled to its title 'Demonic Priest' that didn't sound like a title of a being that's death would be dismissed. 

Perhaps it was the amount of time I had been in the care and love of the Angels, but this sight bothered me more than I would have expected. I had done my fair share of dark actions but using and making souls suffer was beyond me.

If I looked hard enough, some of the silhouettes even looked like children. 

My eyes watched as the Demon raised its hand again. 

The soul of a younger looking girl who couldn't be older than twelve was pulled. The girl screamed in pain as whatever dark magic took its hold upon her.

A cold anger pierced into my heart, for the first time in a long time I acted without an intent for a reward. 

Just this one time, I could make an exception.

I watched the girl's soul writhe in torment. 

My breath slowed, each inhale controlled. Time around me slowed and my mind cleared until there was only one thought.

'Judgment.'

My finger rose, glowing faintly with golden light. 

The demon froze mid-chant. Its grotesque form trembled, its massive hands faltering as it let out a whine. The Demonic Priest fell to its knees with a guttural cry that echoed with raw fear. Its many eyes widened as its sins were laid bare. 

A scowl formed on my face as I stepped forward, raising my hand higher. 

A bow of pure light formed in my grasp, its golden glow piercing through the unnatural darkness and oppressive aura of Hell. 

My angelic mana poured into a single, massive arrow of holy light. The demon let out a guttural roar, its many limbs flailing in desperation as it tried to move but it was too late.

I released the arrow. The arrow shot forward with blinding speed, streaking across the altar like a falling star. 

The Demonic Priest let out a final, soul-wrenching wail as the arrow pierced its chest, embedding itself deep within its blackened heart. For a brief moment, silence reigned.

Then, the arrow detonated into a blinding explosion of holy power that vaporized the demon's twisted form. Its remains were reduced to nothing as was most of the altar around it, the sickly glow of the altar extinguished in an instant.

Without wasting another second, I jumped down and reached out with my power. 

My body glowed faintly and my body blurred as I reached forward with my hand, touching the soul I stored it into my inventory. 

Thankfully it worked, I hadn't known if them being seemingly conscious would allow me to keep them in my inventory or not. I quickly moved and went through the process of storing the thousands of trapped souls into my inventory, the translucent figures pulled toward me like rivers flowing into the sea.

One by one, the souls disappeared into my inventory, their chains breaking as they found refuge within my being. 

The last soul vanished and the barren expanse fell silent.

I didn't wait to see if anything else would emerge. 

With a burst of speed, I launched into the air, the ground cracking beneath me from the force. 

A thunderous boom echoed behind me as I pushed forward, leaving the strange altar in ruins. 

This had been stupid, I should have stayed out of it but not allowing someone peace even in death was something that strongly correlated with me. 

I had to hope I wouldn't be searched for, I had checked with my chakra sense and I had been on the lookout. I hadn't seen anyone else so I could only hope this death wouldn't be discovered for a few hours.

-Scene Break- 

Once I was pretty certain I wasn't being followed or chased I slowed down, my chakra eyes straining to see through the smog of demonic energy that permeated the air. 

The reason I was so suspicious was because it felt too easy, no fight or objective since I had come to this life had been so easy. 

Especially since the Demon had been of considerable power.

It just felt like that should have been harder, that had been my first encounter with a Demon. A species I had assumed was just a different name for the Devil's. 

Who used to abuse contracts with humans to steal their souls. 

I had done my research. Nothing in the underworld section I had read thus far had mentioned the name 'Demon'.

Restricted knowledge? 

I didn't think so. Perhaps I hadn't gotten to that section yet, it was a massive library after all. I was pretty sure there was also a species section so it could also be within there. 

I continued my exploration and search, a grimace on my face as I realised I had already been here for an hour and a half. 

It was safe to say that Hell was massive.

It took me a considerable while before I eventually spotted something in the distance, a structure rising from the ground. It was partially hidden by jagged rocks and the shimmering heat waves but it was unmistakably artificial. 

It was artificial. 

From a glance I could tell that the ruins were ancient, with their stone walls blackened and crumbling. It had been sitting here for a long time I would presume. 

Time and the elements had taken their toll, leaving little more than a shell of what might have once been a temple or fortress. 

Still, the parts that weren't damaged didn't seem all that bad. 

Most of all, I could sense a faint angelic energy coming from within. It was weak but again, I had no better leads and I needed to search for every possible lead.

My senses were on high alert. 

The large rocks around it made the terrain difficult to navigate, forcing me to hop from one outcrop to another. 

My feet landed silently on the blackened stone as I kept a hand on my Tempest Chakram.

When I finally reached the ruins, the faint angelic energy became clearer, though it was almost buried beneath the oppressive demonic taint in the air. 

The ancient structure was massive, far larger than it looked from afar. Its walls rose high, etched with faded symbols I couldn't recognize and broken pillars lay scattered like fallen sentinels.

I quickly realised that it was built as a Fortress. 

I stepped through what used to be a grand entrance. 

The remnants of two thick doors hung crookedly on rusted hinges, one side completely missing. The gates were torn off and left discarded to the side. 

Inside, rubble covered the ground, but traces of its former glory were still visible. 

I crouched near one of the murals, brushing dust and grime away with a quick swipe of my hand. 

The figures depicted had a mark and some sort of banner, the banner held a crest. One that I had seen much of late. 

The crest of Heaven. 

This wasn't just a random ruin. It had been an angelic fortress.

Standing, I scanned the area. 

The space was massive, with multiple crumbled archways leading to different sections of the fortress. 

Most paths were blocked by collapsed stone, but one hallway seemed relatively intact.

I moved carefully, my boots crunching against debris. The angelic energy was stronger the further I travelled in. 

Honestly, with the way it looked. I had expected to see many bodies and skeletons like the Fortress I had travelled to within the Familiar Forest.

I passed into another room. The hallway opened into what looked like a central chamber. The walls were lined with alcoves, many of them holding shattered remnants of what might have been statues or weapons. 

One, however, caught my eye.

A pedestal stood intact near the far end of the room, its surface etched with angelic script. 

Resting on the floor next to it was a golden feather, looking pristine despite the passage of time. I reached out and touched it briefly.

I pocketed the feather and continued onward, noticing a staircase hidden in the shadows of the chamber. 

The stone steps descended into darkness, the air growing cooler as I moved deeper. The residue angelic energy intensified. Along with the faint signs of demonic beasts, with claw marks and other indents clear on the wall. 

The staircase led to a sealed door, its surface covered in carvings. 

I pressed my hand against it and the door easily creaked open slowly as I pushed it open, revealing a hidden chamber.

The room was small, circular and devoid of rubble. 

In the center was a crystalline pod, its surface glowing faintly with an inner light. 

What really caught my attention was inside, a figure rested.

I stepped closer, the pod's glass-like material allowing me to see the being within. 

He was motionless, his facial features looking blank. 

The biggest part of the male that was motionless within was the partially folded wings.

My eyes slowly widened as realization hit.

An Angel?

-END-

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