by Daniel Caet
"Heaven or you? Stop excusing yourself in your father's mandate, you were free to choose. You could have refused to do his will.”
“Refuse? You really don't know anything about heaven, girl. The angels have never had a will or a voice, we were mere executors of the will of an old being who did not know what he was doing and who was corrupted with love for his little monkeys, and yet when one of us showed the same love, she paid for it with death. But I have taken care of that dictatorship.”
"I can't care less what you did or what your recriminations were towards God. As far as I am concerned, all the creatures of heaven have shown more than enough that your madness and cruelty have no limits. There is something in which you are right. Your father was obsessed with the perfection of his creation when that perfection does not actually exist. Heaven is the most corrupt place in creation and it is time for men to choose their own path.”
“You are wrong again, men will not have the option to choose because you were created to serve. I will give you a single god to worship on your knees where you belong, a god of heaven, earth and hell, an eternal and absolute god whom you will have reason to fear,” he replied, holding her angrily by the arm. “Heaven is already mine, and you, my dear Rebecca, you will be the instrument I need for hell to be mine also as soon as your father's head rolls on the floor! And once that happens, my hosts will sweep the earth and return the man to the place he must occupy under the sole of my sandal!”
Suddenly, two figures appeared next to Becca, a tall man with a shaved head, dressed in a grey suit and a woman with brown hair dressed in a red kimono.
“Take her to the Torii,” was Abaddon's only order. “I'm going to give you a priority place so you can see the end of the world as you know it. It will be the last thing you see, but I promise it will be something unforgettable.”
Abaddon's fingers gripped Becca's face tightly as he spoke and she could see the madness reflected in his eyes. He then disappeared and the two new creatures, without saying a word, each grabbed her by one arm and forced her to continue on the stone path. Becca thought that this was the ideal time to try to escape. If only she were able to find the energy, the rage that had unleashed her power against Jofiel, she would at least have a chance. She tried to concentrate, to look inside for that flame that destroyed everything, but she was unable to feel that power inside her again and, without that power, Becca knew she had no chance in front of her captors.
The angels led her to a long stretch of stone stairs that ended in a large wooden gate that opened to let them pass. On the other side, they found a large esplanade surrounded by a group of large wooden buildings and other figures of men and women with the same imposing appearance of their captors who seemed to be waiting for something. In the center of the esplanade a large wooden structure painted in red captured all the attention. It was something like a frame, with just four wooden posts. Two acted as pillars while the other two crossed the pillars, one at the top protruding from the ends and the other somewhat lower between them. Becca had seen images of these types of structures before and knew they were considered doors, but she did not quite understand what function it could have in the middle of an esplanade; until, suddenly, something changed in the structure. A kind of vibration followed by an intense glow in the center of the Torii caught her attention. In an instant the space between the side posts and the first top post became solid as if it were a mirror and a second later a figure, also in Japanese clothing, appeared out of nowhere through the glass with large grey wings deployed to ascend the esplanade and land elegantly on the grassy ground. The new figure did not pay any attention to her, he went directly to another of the figures present, in front of which he made a kind of reverence clearly indicating some hierarchy. Becca couldn't take her eyes off the magnificent wings of that being that were still spread around giving him an air reminiscent of the renaissance representations of angels. Her mind suddenly realised that this structure should be the door to which Abaddon had referred, the door of heaven created by Aniel. Se was so engrossed in that scene that Becca didn't realise what was going on around her. The two angels that accompanied her had completely turned away from her, it seemed at last that she was offered an opportunity to escape, but when her legs tried to move an intense pain traveled all over her body forcing her to sit on the floor. Alerted by her cries of agony, the figures around her turned to look at her and immediately laughed. The woman in the red kimono who had accompanied her there approached again.
“Truly, humans are pathetic creatures,” she said with a completely neutral accent. “Did you really think we would give you the chance to escape? Let me show you something,” she continued with a sneer as her hand reached out on the floor at Becca's feet and some drawing of an intense golden colour appeared around her. It was a circle surrounded by symbols that Becca immediately recognised as angelic language.
“This is an angelic bond, the most powerful that exists. There is no power in this world that can break it. If you try to move beyond the space delimited by it, pain will run through your entire body as if it were splitting you in two. And do you know the best? Each time you try the pain intensity will be greater until your little body cannot stand it anymore and simply die in agony. So,” she concluded, rising again and making the drawing disappear, “if I were you, I would be still.”
“What is your name?” Becca asked as the woman who had turned around with the intention of moving away.
“My name is none of your business, damn monkey!”
“You're wrong. I would like to know your name when I finish with you as I did with that daughter of a whore, Jofiel.” Becca said without knowing where that courage and arrogance came from, but clearly making the angel lose her temper and grabbed her by the neck crossing the angelic bond just like that.
“Jofiel was my sister, damn bastard. When my lord Abaddon ends your traitor father, I will be the one to skin you alive.”
“What makes you so sure my father will come here? Do you think he doesn't know that this is a trap?”
“Oh, I'm sure he will come despite everything. Not surprisingly we have what he most want!”
The image of Helel's sword appeared in Becca's mind and she had to make an effort not to show the fear that had just crossed her body. If those creatures possessed the sword there was no doubt that Helel would try to recover it no matter what. Becca tried to hide it and pretend she didn't know what she was talking about.
“And what can that be according to you?”
“His daughter,” the angel replied and dropped Becca’s body who sat on the floor without knowing what to think about the security with which the angel had made that statement. “Besides, thanks to your aunt's little gift, there is no doubt that they will know where they should go,” she concluded, stroking the pendant that Sadith had given Becca and that shone brightly.
The hours passed and throughout the day the angels kept coming to the esplanade through the Torii. None of them stayed in that place, as if it were a ritual, all reported to any of the angels present there and immediately disappeared in the sky in the direction of what Becca assumed were the positions assigned to catch Helel. An immense concern began to cling to the muscles of her stomach. She hoped Helel didn't try to find her. If for any reason her father understood that it was Abaddon who had kidnapped her and Sadith was able to locate them, nothing and no one could avoid the bloodbath. A battle between Titans in which, in one way or another, those who would inevitably lose would be the humans. If Abaddon won his challenge to Helel, the world as she knew would cease to exist, but if it was Helel who was the winner, Becca dared not venture what the consequence would be for men when the lord of hell had no enemy to measure against.
The night came swift and cold and the angels lighted up some torches to illuminate the esplanade and distributed them throughout the perimeter. Becca was tired of sitting all day in the same position, but a couple of times she had tried to stretch had been enough for immediate pain to remind h
er not to move. No one had even given her water all day and her body was beginning to show the symptoms of dehydration.
“I hope you are comfortable,” Abaddon's voice snapped behind her.
“How not? It's a magnificent five-star hotel,” she replied to his mockery not wanting to give him the pleasure of knowing how bad she was. “If I were you, I would assume that if Helel has not appeared here at this point it is because he will never do.”
“Oh, don't worry, he will, I have no doubt! Helel won't let his daughter die without trying to rescue her, she's too human for that. It's just a matter of time.”
“You assume too much, he doesn’t even know where we are.”
“He'll know, even if your aunt doesn't tell him what that pretty pendant can do, we have a collaborator who will guide him in our direction.”
“A collaborator?” Becca asked, suddenly frightened by what that term implied.
“Of course! How did you think we knew where to find you? You are much more innocent than I thought. It is curious how easy humans betray each other without caring about anything else.”
“I don't believe you, you're lying to hurt me! No one in my family would sell me that way!”
“I understand that it is hard for you to believe it, it was really hard for me to trust he would keep his promise to give you to us and there was even a moment I was convinced he would betray us. I mean, after all, you carry his child in your belly.”
Becca couldn't hear anything else. Those words one by one stuck in her heart as if they were made of molten steel and sharp as a sword. Although she wanted to avoid it, Eustace's face formed in her mind, as real as if she had him in front of her at that moment. Her hands, unintentionally, grabbed her belly without knowing if they did it to protect the little child Abaddon had just announced or to contain the pain she felt for that betrayal, the one she could have least expected. Her mind did not want to believe it, she wanted to shout at Abaddon that he was a liar, that all that was false, that Eustace's love was unconditional and, however, a part of herself could feel the creature that lived inside her, the being that grew up by the minute and that somehow was shouting at her that it was true, that he was there.
“You see, my dear, the greatest pain will always be caused by those closest to you.”
From that moment on, Becca lost track of everything that was going on around her, everything stopped being important. Whether her father and the rest of the family bite the hook that Abaddon had so intelligently thrown for them, the same possibility of their death and what could happen to their world if Abaddon triumphed in their machinations simply vanished from her brain. A single idea persisted, Eustace’s betrayal. A single question, why? Her hands were still hugging her belly, but not even that creature that lived inside her was what occupied her mind, only the misunderstanding of the acts of the man she had fallen deeply in love with. And suddenly, in all that darkness that surrounded her to the point of making it impossible for her to breathe, a light appeared to shed some understanding. But it was a dark light. A light that was born inside, that fed itself without the need for Becca to desire it, a light that arose from a single idea. Revenge. Revenge on the man who had decided to play with her heart. Revenge on those who had destroyed the lives of so many innocent beings in their family. Revenge on the creature that had destroyed the only thing resembling happiness she had ever had. Revenge on the world itself if necessary.
Her legs reacted like a spring. Her hands left the belly she had been protecting until then to help her up. Her eyes stopped crying, there was no time for tears, it was time to observe her surroundings and find a way out.
The angels on the esplanade had increased in number. The great mirror that had formed between the Torii posts no longer existed, which made her understand that all of Abaddon's forces must already be in position, prepared for what might happen. Suddenly, Becca took a step forward. The pain ran through her body in a brutal way and the cry of pain broke through her lungs. Her body almost fell back to the ground, but Becca forced herself to stand. Once again her feet tried to move forward and the pain this time was even greater, but Becca did not succumb to it and a third time forced her body to move forward. Her screams filled the entire esplanade and finally one of the closest angels approached with intentions to silence her. It was the same brunette creature who had previously threatened her.
“What do you intend, damn fool, to end up dead before your father can see you again?”
“Actually,” Becca replied, recovering her breath, "all I wanted was a little attention.” Her hand crossed the invisible barrier of the circle that imprisoned her and grabbed the kimono of the woman who did not expect that movement and, pulling it hard, managed to place her face in front of hers. “And by the way, my father is already here.”
Becca's eyes ignited immediately with a fire that she remembered well and that the angel recognised immediately. Her efforts to get rid of Becca were in vain and her screams filled the air attracting the attention of her companions that took a second to understand what was happening. But Becca didn't need more than a second. The woman's body fell to the ground in the flames of hell and Becca simply walked over the body wrapped in flames to leave the bond circle. The woman's body disappeared almost immediately, only an intense light remained, which, as had happened with Jofiel, died out without a trace. Two other angels ran towards Becca screaming, but suddenly they were absorbed into the sky in a ball of light and Becca knew there were only two people in the world who could have done that. Suddenly she noticed how someone grabbed her hand and turned ready to fight back, but she found her mother's face looking at her tenderly.
“Don't be afraid, honey, I'm with you, always by your side!”
Becca didn't answer, she just melted into a brief hug with her mother. On the esplanade the chaos had suddenly unleashed and new angels had arrived alerted by the noise, but it was no use. One after another the angels fell to the ground, their bodies split in two or their heads rolling freely across the esplanade. The lucky ones were simply claimed back to heaven as it had happened to their brothers without being able to explain what was happening or where the attacks they received came from. Terror began to be reflected in the faces of all the angels who kept coming in legion, but who were unable to do anything against an invisible enemy that destroyed them mercilessly.
Suddenly, the flow of angels ceased and silence filled the esplanade. Becca looked around for a new attack, but none happened. A tall figure suddenly entered from the forest in the circle of light. It was Abaddon himself. His slow steps led him to the center of the plain dodging dismembered bodies he did not even look at. In his hand he carried a large silver-coloured sword that shone in the torchlights as if it were itself made of light. His head was lowered so that Becca could not see his face until he stopped and raised his hand to remove the hair that fell over his face and Becca could see that he was smiling.
“Predictable, you're still extremely predictable little brother. Didn't you learn anything from me?”
“On the contrary, Abaddon, I learned a lot. Specifically, an enemy that has to hold his guts so that they do not leave the body does not have hands to handle a sword. Don't you think the show I've given you is worthy of your teachings, brother?” Helel's voice rang out from the right side of the esplanade and Becca's eyes went there to meet his father's eyes, looking at her seriously, holding the black sword she had seen him use earlier. “Are you alright?” his voice echoed this time in his mind. Becca wanted to answer but Abaddon came forward.
"Oh, she's better than good! We have taken care of her and the little bastard perfectly. Wow, I almost forgot to congratulate you on the new addition to the family!” Helel looked at Becca without saying anything and seconded that silence simply by squeezing her hand tightly.
“What?” Eustace's voice shouted from the other side of the esplanade where he had appeared next to Sadith and Charice. “A son? Our son?”
“Well, Dad didn't know either. Too bad, now I
feel guilty for having spoiled the good news. Not that it matters, of course, since you are all going to be dead soon and that damn bastard is not going to see the light of day.”
“No! Eustace yelled away from Sadith and headed for Abaddon. You promised me you wouldn't hurt her. She must be safe and sound in exchange for Helel.”
“Eustace, what do you say? Come back here!” Sadith yelled and Becca could see how at the same time she tried to concentrate to extend the invisible barrier of protection that surrounded them to protect Eustace, but he was already too far away.
“Does the traitor dare to recriminate me not to keep my promises? You are the best example of the rotten nature of humans. The safety of your family mattered little to you when you made the deal with us. Oh, yes! Then you were willing to do whatever it took to get your prize, right? Why don't you tell them what you wanted us to do for you in exchange for helping us capture Helel?”
“Oswald, what are you talking about? What have you done, son?” Sadith interrupted, unable to believe what he was hearing.
“This will be the most fun. Finally, I will be able to tear off your mask. Your son, damn witch, stirred heaven and earth for centuries trying to find a power that no one could offer him, the power to bring the dead back to life. And all why? Simply because of his obsession in recovering the whore that was his wife and the bastard lost with her death. Go ahead, tell your mother the whole truth! Tell her how in your despair you turned to me offering what was necessary in exchange for having your wife and your son back in your arms again. Tell her how you were more than happy to accept my price that was none other than the death of Helel and his last direct descendant. Have you not wondered how we knew that the bastard was in the house in Scotland, or how we could find your faggot sailor’s family or, how could Jofiel find you? For heaven's sake, you are so innocent!”
