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«Damian soon we must leave!» Dasmond said.
He relived that night very quickly, until the moment when Dasmond and Yulia died. Anger consumed him, darkness enveloped him completely and his power exploded, destroying everything that was once called Yilawid.
He returned, his face all sweaty, in the presence of Gilgamesh.
«You’re not going well, you must control it! Get back into your memory!» and sent him back using the Black Hourglass again.
All was repeated five times in a row. Whenever he destroyed everything, he returned to the Room of Time and Memory and punctually sent him back. After the seventh time he tried to use the Power of the Dragon to kill Lucius Furius Rufus, but it was all in vain. He could not alter anything in his mind and the past could not be changed. Later, he tried to warn Dasmond and Yulia of the impending attack, the next time he tried to make the villagers run away. Everything he tried to do always brought him back to the same starting point.
«You have to face it! You missed him for too long. When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks inside you. Come back with all of yourself, the dagger will be your guide!» Gilgamesh send him one last time.
He came back again, everything came back quickly and just as he was about to destroy everything, he pulled out his dagger and tried to hit himself in the abdomen, but something blocked his right hand.
«Stop! You wouldn’t want to hurt us» a strange creature said.
It was a black shadow that in a short time assumed the aspect of Damian as a boy, but it was all black and full of evil. Damian himself summarized his features and found himself at the bottom of a dark ravine, only a light white light illuminated them from above.
«Who are you?» Damian asked.
«I am you» the Shadow replied.
«Why did you stop me? What do you want?» Damian replied.
«You know what I want, the Dark Lord awaits you! You can’t escape forever. Look what you did, you destroyed this place. Who knows what else you will destroy!» the Dark Damian said with an evil laugh.
Damian gripped the dagger and ran toward him. He cleverly wounded him in the abdomen and stuck the Dragon’s Claw into that dark being.
«That’s all?» the other said with disappointment.
The Dark Damian looked at him provocatively, then pulled out the dagger and black blood spurted from the wound.
«Does it remind you of something? Do you think your stupid friends saved you that time? That wound you had in your chest, I healed her! You’d already be dead without me!» he shouted like a madman and attacked Damian with his hands. He threw him with great force on the ground, but Damian got up quickly.
«I didn’t ask to be like that! What should I say? Thank you? Yes, thank you for being inside me, thank you for having destroyed everything. You will never have me! If there is one thing that I have learned and that Evil must be defeated!» Damian replied with determination.
The fight between the two began. The Dark Damian pulled out a white-eyed and black dragon’s claw. The fight was impetuous, but they fought on equal terms. The wounds they got each other quickly healed. The blades clashed and repelled each other, as did the fists and kicks. Damian hit him and the Shadow hit him accordingly. His opponent had no blind spots, because fighting against yourself is the greatest challenge for every man.
«Accept it! You are him and he is you! In each of us there is evil, but there is also good. Without one the other does not exist» Gilgamesh’s voice echoed from above.
Damian continued to react to attacks from the enemy, which gave him no respite. The Dark Damian was his perfect copy, he equaled it in power and speed. At that moment he could not use the Power of the Dragon, but he relied on his black dagger. They fought to the end of their strength, but the fight could have lasted forever.
«Stop it, stop it! I can’t waste any more time here! What do you want in exchange for me? I accept you as you are, because I am you and you are me. I will defeat Satan! I’ll do it for everything that took me away! I destroyed Yilawid. I’m Man, Dragon and Demon! I accept you too!» Damian shouted loudly against his rival.
The Dark Damian stopped. He laughed and then began to talk: «Well, that sounds like fun. I will give you my help, but know that when you least expect it, I will have the upper hand! No one escapes from evil, not even the gods can!»
He turned to black powder and started traveling towards Damian’s dagger. He entered inside and the Dragon’s Claw turned into a sword with black blade fifty centimeters long and with a blue hilt, twelve centimeters long, which had a horizontal guard and at the top had the head of a blue dragon and with white eyes.
He raised his sword to the sky, with his left hand, and returned in front of Gilgamesh who welcomed him with applause. The room began to shake and the hourglass door swung open.
«Gilgamesh that’s happening?» Damian asked.
«It’s time for everything to be destroyed. It is the last thing I will do on this Earth, the God Shamash would never have deserved all this. Everything will be destroyed and also the Hell Gate will be closed forever. Take this flying carpet, it will take you to Jerusalem. I place all my hopes in you to fight against Evil, so perhaps I will have expiated my sins» Gilgamesh said, who with his powers changed Damian’s clothes. He was now wearing a blue short-sleeved tunic where a small hourglass was drawn at the top of his chest, black trousers that left his ankles and gray calcei on his feet uncovered.
Damian took the carpet without even a moment to understand the situation.
«Thanks for everything!» he said to Gilgamesh as a gold belt appeared around his waist. In the center of the latter was a medal with a dragon drawn above. Furthermore, a white scabbard tied to his new sword and a black bag containing his statuette appeared tied to his belt.
«Be what you want to be. You won’t be the Armageddon, I’m sure of it! “Every victory is in vain if the end that awaits us does not change”. I used to say these words, you changed my way of thinking. Now that you’ve tamed your inner demon, you’ll be able to tame all the others! Go and fulfill your destiny!» the Legendary King said as he protected him from the rubble.
The two came out, the whole garden seemed to sink into the earth. The Anibri Demons were screaming with rage, the end had come for them too. Damian climbed onto that strange carpet, two meters long and three meters wide, of red color and with a blue diamond in the center. He hovered in the air and set off into the sky at great speed, so much so that Damian was about to fall, then he regained his balance. From a distance, he saw an enormous explosion that destroyed the entire Garden of Shamash, along with the Hell Gate, the Demons and with them the Black Mountain. After a few moments the Oblivion Gate appeared and Damian saw Gilgamesh’s soul cross the threshold and disappear with it.
«Goodbye Gilgamesh, Legendary King of Uruk! I will defeat Satan and I’ll be the Demon Tamer!» Damian with great courage, raising his sword to the sky with his left hand.
On board the magic carpet he felt great joy because he knew that he would take him to his friends.
11
The Egypt - Jerusalem
«Let’s go back 3 hours, when the other heroes arrived in Jerusalem».
The five suddenly found themselves in a crowded market.
«Are you all here?» Tanya asked.
«Yes» the others replied.
«Let’s move soon, the crowd could split us! Stay together!» Mohat said.
The market had many stalls and every merchant sold something special: fish, clothes, fruit, precious stones, jewelry and pets.
«Come here! We buy some clothes!» Tanya suggested.
They bought clothes from an old lady, using some money donated to him by the Emperor and abandoned old clothes. They wore very long tunics and leather straps at the waist. Green tunic for Diosmed, white for Emmanuel, gray for Mohat, red for Tanya and lilac for Shayla. The two girls also wore a veil on the head of the color of the dress worn. On the boys’ tunics t
wo pairs of black lines were drawn, parallel and vertical, on the right and left sides, while Tanya and Shayla had no designs on the tunics, while on the veils were drawn flowers, among which stood the white lily.
«We always change clothes! Now where do I hide the sword?» Diosmed complained.
«Come on, let’s move! We must look for the Hell Gate» Tanya urged them.
They walked along the market like ordinary citizens. The great city of Jerusalem excited Emmanuel, he had come by pure chance to his mother’s hometown.
Jerusalem was surrounded by turquoise walls twenty-five meters high and with pointed battlement. Inside there were many houses that presented only the lower floor. These stood on Mount Zion and were very grouped together. The city had a polygonal layout, presenting large squares surrounded by trees, large arched porticoes, some roman temples, large markets and large buildings where the most important functions for public life were held. The walls had seven main gates and tall towers guarded by soldiers. However, the hanging banners were not those of the Romans, but of Naav. In the City of David they were in contact with great beauties, one in particular hit Emmanuel in the depths. As soon as he saw her he opened his eyes in great astonishment.
«The remains of the Temple of Solomon!» and as he spoke those words he heard a scream coming from behind them. He didn’t even have time to admire the beauty of the golden-colored wall.
«A thief!» a woman cried.
Someone had robbed an old lady of her money. The thief ran quickly and passed between Diosmed and Emmanuel, who promptly set their eyes on him.
«Let’s chase him!» Diosmed ordered and everyone started chasing him in a desperate race.
They were not the only ones, behind them appeared warriors covered by the face on their feet, armed with sabers. Not even the eyes could be seen, since they were covered by their red tagelmust.
Those men wore the Symbol of Naav in red on their clothes in black.
«They are the Shadow Demons! Run! We can’t fight among the people!» Mohat ordered.
They crossed the market, then climbed on bridges suspended over the void, and then passed below large curved arches that led to very narrow alleys. Of that thief no trace, much less that of Diosmed who was in the lead of all the others, but he too could no longer see it. The Demons of Naav on the other hand, continued to chase the boys.
«Come here!» a female voice said.
As soon as they came out of an alley, they turned to the right. They saw a hole in the middle of the road and everyone, one by one, went inside. Then a girl put the stone back in its place, thus closing the passage that appeared from nowhere. The demons remained with nothing as the boys took refuge in an underground channel dug beneath Jerusalem.
«Who are you?» Diosmed asked.
«Give thanks before asking questions!» Tanya scolded him.
«I am Shadim. It is no longer safe to walk around with these monsters. What did you do?» the girl asked.
«Ayin».
«Nothing» replied Emmanuel in Hebrew, the language spoken by the girl.
They heard footsteps behind them, turned and saw a man with money in his hands.
«Stop!» Diosmed said as he grabbed him from behind.
«Miserere mei!»
«Have pity on me!» he said in a bad Latin.
«Who are you? You aren’t from round here» Tanya asked, then lit a fire on her hand.
He was a man of about thirty, with western characters. He had a gaunt face, fair skin, black eyes and raven hair, short and wavy. He wore a simple ruined black robe and worn shoes. He had a long and not very large nose, thin eyebrows, small lips and a beard that had not been treated for days.
The girl, on the other hand, was young. She had brown hair and very sweet black eyes. She was of simple beauty, wrapped in her sky-blue dress that contrasted with her slightly dark skin. She had a slender body, a small nose and oval-shaped lips.
«He hasn’t eaten in days» Shayla pointed out.
«Who are you? Are you hungry?» Tanya asked.
«Ita»
«Yes» he answered weakly.
«Tanya, speaks a particular language. It looks Latin, but his way of speaking is different» Diosmed said.
«You’re right. Emmanuel speaks to her, Hebrew is a language that belongs to you. The Language of the Gods will help us talk to him» Tanya said.
«All right» Emmanuel replied.
«Let’s take it with us, but let’s first tie it as a precaution» Diosmed suggested.
«I’ll watch over him» Mohat said.
«Did you understand all our talk?» Tanya asked in amazement.
«Yes, I too have understood enough of your language, I can see the melody of words. I have known Hebrew for some time, even Latin, but not that of this man. The same goes for Shayla, doesn’t it?» Mohat said and Shayla nodded.
«Shalom, I am Emmanuel and these are my friends. Thanks for saving us» the boy said.
«It was a pleasure. Now come with me. We must go away before they find us!» Shadim said with concern.
«Let’s follow her!» Emmanuel said to the others and the boys obeyed.
They quickly ran into that tunnel illuminated by the tiny light that entered through the holes in the stone floor above. Arriving at a certain point in the route, Shadim climbed up a small wooden ladder and raised the boulder above.
«Come here!» the girl said.
They all went out, the last were Diosmed with the bound prisoner and behind them Mohat.
«I had to bend to get through, this tunnel is narrow and low!» Diosmed complained.
«Of course, what did you expect?» Tanya replied, annoyed.
«Bruchim habaim!»
«Welcome!» a woman said in Hebrew.
She was tall and slender, with heavy black eyes. She was forty-five years old, with long brown hair and a very similar appearance to Shadim. She was wearing a long gray dress with red flowers drawn on it.
«Mom, I saved them from those monsters!» the girl said.
«You were good» the Mother answered, then embraced her.
At that moment he saw Emmanuel and his eyes were full of tears and joy.
«Jesahèl! Is it you, Emmanuel?» the woman said, then she approached him and hugged him crying, to the great astonishment of the boy and of all.
«Yes I am. But who are you?» he answered.
«Emmanuel, maybe you don’t remember who I am, but I do. You are the son of my sister Miriam. You have his own eyes and I would not confuse them with anyone else in the world!» the woman said.
«Aunt Mag... Magdalene» Emmanuel said sobbing, then hugged his aunt tightly and cried, thinking of his mother.
«Shadim, he is your cousin Emmanuel!» Magdalene said, and the girl joined the moving embrace. The others watched with joy the happy event, except the prisoner.
«Soon enter the house, Emmanuel’s friends are welcome!» the aunt said.
The house was in a small very poor neighborhood with many rectangular houses with domed roofs and two windows per floor. Magdalene’s house had only the ground floor, two windows and had brownish walls. As soon as they entered they found themselves in a small kitchen where there were a small table and carved wooden chairs, pots and tools scattered here and there. A small pantry was on the wall that isolated the kitchen from the bedroom, slightly larger than the latter, which featured two small wooden beds with mattresses filled with wool.
Magdalene took unleavened bread and handed it to each of them.
«Eat well» she said in Hebrew.
«Thanks!» the boys answered.
«Emmanuel still remember when you were born. What brings you here? Where’s your mother?» her aunt asked.
The boy crumpled his forehead in a sign of sadness, then replied: «Aunt, the Romans persecuted us, then we discovered that they were not human beings, but demons. My father and mother were captured, but they helped me to escape. Nevertheless, I was captured
and later saved by my friends» Emmanuel explained.
The aunt became sad and cried bitterly.
«I... I... I always said it, she doesn’t have to go away!» Magdalene said sobbing.
«I’m sorry, but what would have changed? The Demons are all over the world, in Egypt, in Jerusalem and soon all of Africa and the East will be destroyed by Naav if we do not do something!» Mohat interjected.
«They are monsters! They govern in a despicable way! Every evening someone from the city disappears and I’m sure they are the cause!» Shadim said.
«We must close the Hell Gate!» Tanya said.
«No one can», Magdalene said embittered, «that Black Sea appears suddenly and surrounds the whole city. It extends from Mount Zion, fills the Gehenna and reaches the foot of Golgotha».
«We must find something that can seal it!» Diosmed said.
«It’s useless. The most powerful object that had to be here now is no longer there» the prisoner intervened.
«What do you mean? Do you understand my words? Explain yourself better!» Diosmed asked.
«“The Holy Grail” is not here, the ancient treasure of Jerusalem has been stolen. I searched everywhere, even in the “Garden Tomb”» the prisoner explained.
«The Holy what?» Diosmed said.
«The Sacred Chalice» Emmanuel replied.
«I don’t think he understood your words, maybe from your gestures he realized you were looking for something» Tanya said.
«What are you talking about?» Shadim asked and Emmanuel explained the speech to his family.
«Who you really are? And what do you need to find it?» Mohat asked in Latin.
«Now to nothing more. Many left for the “Holy Land”, in the last Secret Crusade that was organized by the Doge of Venice, the Pope and the powerful Kings. We had to free the city from the infidels and my assignment, together with other companions, was to find the Holy Grail, lost for centuries, but we did not get success. There were huge defeats and so I decided to run away with a ship to return to my hometown, Venice. When I left for the crusade, my wife was expecting a baby. I spent time with my son, but a year after my return home I became seriously ill» the man explained.
