The Devil's son - 15. Endgame

“How dare you?!” Michael stuttered enraged. “You are a warrior angel while I’m an Archangel and your commander on top of that! How dare you raise your hand to me?!”

“I might have been impressed a while back, when you triggered my memory but this act is getting old really fast” Ar’Thurian said, while turning his back to Michael, facing Jayden. “Are you alright, baby?”.

“I don’t understand” Jayden said. “I saw the spear piercing your chest. I heard you breath your last breath. How can you stand in front of me unless your one of my father’s minions posing as an angel?”

“Trust me, baby, it’s me” Ar’Thurian said. “I had a long talk with Him and basically my mission is not complete yet. So I got send back”.

“And this time you’re going to stay?” Jayden asked, sounding more than a little childlike. It showed Ar’Thurian Jayden could not take much more. He was exhausted.

“Yes, Jayden. I’m here to stay”.

“Could we go back to what we were dealing with?” Michael asked. “What do you mean, you had a long talk with Him? Only Archangels talk to Him”.

“Well, Archangels and me, it seems” Ar’Thurian said, his back still to Michael.

“Ar’Thurian, turn around and face me when addressing me” Michael said. “I’m still the commander of the Armies of Heaven and, as such, your commander. You will give me the respect that is due”.

“I am” Ar’Thurian said. “This is all the respect I have left for you now you tried to kill the man I love”.

“I could not risk the Demon Lords to assemble” Michael said. “And besides, I don’t have to explain myself to someone who is bound to me by rank”.

“I’m not, Michael. I’m no longer your subcommander. I got …. transferred, by lack of a better word”.

“Transferred to where?” Michael asked.

“Earth. From now on I’m earth’s first line of defense to the powers of darkness” Ar’Thurian said. “And as such I only have to answer to Him and no one else”.

“He can’t do that! I’m the commander of the Armies of Heaven so any promotion, demotion or transfer need to be approved by me!”

“I think you’re just upset” Ar’Thurian said. “The way I just heard this you’re suggesting the Lord of all Creation needs your approval to reassign one of his angels.”

“I have carefully handpicked all the angels who are in the armies. Changing that endangers the entire army and, therefore, reality”.

“Well, if you want to save the earth and the rest of the universe I suggest you start doing your work, Michael. The Armies of Heaven are underway. They need their commander”.

“Ok, for now I’ll drop this. But this is not over, Ar’Thurian” Michael said.

“Bring it on, Archangel” Ar’Thurian mumbled. “Can’t wait”.

“The endgame is beginning, my sweet Belial” the dark shape said. “Oni, Beelzebub and Ereshkigal have materialised and Abaddon and Rahab are standing by. Once all of them are in the right realm and have adapted enough to use their powers the final seal will be broken and Lucifer will fly once more”. A dark laughter followed. Belial despised this dark figure but right now this person proved a better chance to leave earth and this damned realm than the power of light.

“Sir, I must point out I haven’t been able to contact Oni since he went after Jayden and Ar’Thurian” Belial said. “Something might be wrong”.

“Like what?” the dark figure asked.

“Well, Oni has quite a temper and is somewhat of a show-off” Belial said. “I can imagine him doing something stupid that got him killed”.

“His job was to retrieve Jayden so he can rule at his father’s side and, if necessary, finish off that warrior angel. What can go wrong with that?”

“I don’t know, sir. But we haven’t heard from Oni and one of the lower level demons told me an upper level demon was killing his own kind, together with a warrior angel and the Archangel Michael”.

“Well, demons have a tendency to turn against each other although for an upper level demon that is quite rare. Normally they have enough of a working mind to control themselves. Still, I’m not worried” the dark figure said. “About Michael, did everything work out?”

“Yes, sir. After I told the detective just enough to give him the feeling he understood what was happening I managed to contact someone in the old order that kept Angel’s Light and told them a demon was free and wracking havoc on New York City. The doubt I planted in Michael, together with a post-hypnotic suggestion concerning a demon and a corrupted warrior angel, made him confirm everything I told the order so they released Angel’s Light. I am concerned, though. The detective is mentally not that stable after losing two children so he might ruin things. And I needed to use more force with Michael than I thought so the post-hypnotic suggestion might be activated again”.

“What is the worst that can happen should the post-hypnotic suggestion be reactivated?”

“Always difficult to predict but since the suggestion is about an upper level demon and a corrupted warrior angel I imagine he starts killing both demons and warrior angels”.

“So, he’s either going to continue doing what he’s doing already or he’s going to turn against his own kind” the dark figure said. “Either way, it can only have a positive effect for us and the Prince of Darkness”.

“I’m going to try to find Oni, sir” Belial said. “It’s time for him to get to the Gates of Hell in order to destroy the last seal”.

“Samuel, please go and leave this to those who are trained for this” Ar’Thurian pleaded.

“Sorry, Arthur, not gonna happen” Samuel retorded. “In case you haven’t noticed I killed more demons during the time you were dead than you did while you were alive and kicking”.

“Please don’t make me order you to leave” Ar’Thurian said.

“Somehow I think you can’t, Arthur. Otherwise you would have done this already. I think your hold on me is broken”

“Ok, you caught me” Ar’Thurian said. “But I really want to keep you safe and the best way to do that is to get you far away from here”.

“Let me ask you this, Arthur. If the last seal breaks, is there a safe place in the whole of creation then?”

“No, there is not” Ar’Thurian confessed.

“I knew that, Arthur. It was a rhetorical question. There’s one positive thing about all of this, though”.

“Which is?”

“Dr. Wall’s diner in Brussels, with the secretaries of health in the European Union, will be cut short if the world comes to an end”.

“You really hate him, don’t you?”

“With a passion, my friend. With a passion”.

During their conversation both had continued killing demons but no matter how many they killed more came their way. For the first time Samuel felt they weren’t going to win this. And just as this defeating thought entered his mind a terrible noise came from the skies. Looking up Samuel and Ar’Thurian saw thousands and thousands of angels in the sky. The Armies of Heaven had arrived, causing Jayden, Samuel and Ar’Thurian to cheer and the demons that were present to scream in terror. In the mayhem that followed no one saw Rahab materialise out of Hell.

“Commander Michael, the Armies of Heaven reporting ready for your orders, sir” one of the warrior angels said. “Where do we start?”

“Sa’Sander, right?” Michael asked. In the past he dealt with Ar’Thurian mostly but apparently those days were over.

“Yes, sir. I was told I will act as your right hand for this mission, although I’m confused since Ar’Thurian is standing right there”.

“Don’t break your head over that, subcommander. Right now we have bigger worries”.

“That much is obvious, sir” Sa’Sander said. “What is our main objective?”

“We have several, Sa’Sander. First, we have to kill as many demons as we can. Besides killing them, we need to prevent them from leaving this part of Manhattan so they can’t start a killing spree so the Gates of Hell will not remain open. Killing them as soon as they materialise is easiest because they will be disoriented during the first couple of minutes. Unfortunately they do not all materialise at the same spot”.

“That seems easy enough. If we keep them from spreading over New York they can spill less innocent blood so the Gates will be resealed” Sa’Sander summarized. “What else, sir?”

Michael wasn’t happy. This angel, Sa’Sander, should know the same things Ar’Thurian knew which was only a little less than Michael knew himself so he should know what the rest of their objectives were. He missed Ar’Thurian already as his subcommander.

“The only other way the Gates can be kept open and that is with the help of the five Demon Lords”.

“When flying over I saw Beelzebub and Ereshkigal and I might have seen Rahab materialising, sir ”.

“Are you sure you saw Rahab, Sa’Sander?” Michael asked. “That means four of the five Demon Lords are here now”.

“I only count three, sir: Beelzebub, Ereshkigal and Rahab. We miss Oni and Abaddon”.

“Oni is dead”.

“But than the five Demon Lords cannot be destroy the last seal so we’re in the clear”.

“Unfortunately, the Demon Prince is here and he has killed” Michael said, leaving it to Sa’Sander to come to the right conclusion. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Sa’Sander looked at him with a blank look on his face.

“That means the Demon Prince can take his place as the first Demon Lord, the five Demon Lords can break the final seal, let Lucifer out and end the universe”.

“So, how do we stop that from happening, sir?” Sa’Sander said. Michael sighed. This idiot would not remain subcommander of Heaven’s Armies.

“Right now we can’t afford to lose the Demon Prince but if the other four Demon Lords are here we have to make sure they cannot break the seal. You have a standing order to kill any of the Demon Lords and, if needed, the Demon Prince. Oh, and I’d keep an eye on Ar’Thurian if I were you”.

“Ar’Thurian is one of our own, sir. Surely he is no threat” Sa’Sander said, shocked.

“Ar’Thurian in the Demon Prince’s lover, Sa’Sander. I do not know where his loyalties lie”.

“But Ar’Thurian always chose the greater good”.

“And Ar’Thurian was also dead and subcommander of the Armies of Heaven. Right now he’s kicking demon butt over there and you are my subcommander so nothing is forever. If the Demon Prince, that’s that big one over there near Ar’Thurian with the large fangs, by the way. If the Demon Prince becomes a risk and Ar’Thurian tries to interfere with your orders Ar’Thurian is to be killed as well. We cannot have corrupted warrior angels running lose”.

“Yes, sir”.

“Master, Oni is dead” Belial said when he reappeared at the dark figure’s side.

“What?! How did that happen? And what about Jayden?” the dark figure asked.

“He was beheaded so I think it was either Ar’Thurian or Michael. Jayden is more ferocious. He would not have beheaded him this cleanly but he would have slaughtered him”.

“So the rumour might be true and it might be Jayden who is killing his own kind” the dark figure said. “That is certainly not according to plan. How is this possible?”

“Well, a few weeks ago I ran into an angel but at the moment I didn’t know what kind. It wasn’t until you told me there was a warrior angel here in New York that I realised that must be the one I ran into. I saw him with Jayden in his human form a few days later and they seemed to have a good time. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they were in love”.

“Demons cannot love, Belial. I thought I taught you better than that”.

“With al due respect, sir, pureblood demons can’t love but Jayden is not pureblood. He’s a human/demon hybrid, a half-breed. And, rumours are his mother was a pure soul. We don’t know the things Jayden is capable of”.

“You have a valid point there, my dear Belial. Tell me, is Jayden’s soul pure or did he wash in blood?”

“He killed several, sir. Even if you do not take the plague into account he killed at least six men over the last couple of months and in at least four of these killings he used his powers”.

“Than Oni’s death is unfortunate but nothing more than just that. Like you said, Oni was always ill-tempered and he probably bit of more than he could chew. Jayden will claim his role as first Demon Lord and will break the last seal”.

“How can you be so sure about that, master?” Belial asked, most intrigued. Maybe he was kissing up to the wrong person.

“Because, frankly, he has no choice. If he gets close enough to the Gates and the other Demon Lords his demonic nature should take over and otherwise both the place, the other Demon Lords and the spell itself will. As soon as Jayden stands on top of the pentagram he will have no other choice than to be a part in the spell that sets Lucifer free”.

Jayden couldn’t get closer to Arthur or Samuel. Every time he tried the demon assault changed it’s direction, leading him away from his lover. Also, he was led to a certain spot near the crossing of Broadway and Wall Street. Jayden found that odd. He understood the demons didn’t want him near Arthur and his other allies, uncomfortable as those alliances proved to be. But he didn’t understand why a steady stream of lower level demons were willing to go against an upper level demon in order to guide him to a certain place. It just didn’t make sense. It made even less sense when, all of a sudden, the stream of lower level demons parted and made way for a large upper level demon, a demon Jayden knew very well.

“My dear nephew, it’s been too long” Beelzebub said.

“Not long enough for my liking, Lord of the Flies” Jayden retorded, knowing very well Beelzebub hated that name. However, this time his “uncle” only laughed. Jayden knew he was in trouble. Normally he would be strong enough to take on Beelzebub but now, while he was feeling so tired …. not so much.

“I see you finally embraced all you are” Beelzebub said. “Are you ready to rule as your father’s right hand?”

“I have no intention of returning to Hell, Beelzebub. And since Oni is dead and I have no desire to participate in your little ritual my father will stay just where he is”.

Immediately there was a change in Beelzebub. Where the demon was first smiling (at least, I think that was what he was doing) his face distorted with anger. It almost seemed like he got even bigger and before Jayden knew what had happened, he felt himself flying backwards, towards Trinity Church.

“You ungrateful hound!” Beelzebub roared. “Your father has done everything for you! He even allowed you to leave Hell when you felt your place was no longer with us. That we weren’t good enough for you anymore.”

“My father only allowed me to go because it suited his plans! His decisions had nothing to do with how I felt. He would have sent me to earth anyway”. But nothing showed Beelzebub was even hearing what he said.

“And now you’re here while Oni is dead, claiming your “rightful” place as the first of the Demon Lords, the first among equals, a place that was mine since the Rebellion” Beelzebub continued. Yep, Beelzebub was definitely getting bigger. He was now at least one and a half times the size Jayden was and Jayden was already pretty big, even for a demon.

“I have no interest in being a Demon Lord or taking your seat at the dinner table. You can keep it, as far as I’m concerned. Just call off the demon attack on this realm and we’ll let you leave in peace”.

“If we didn’t need you for the ritual I would execute you right here and now, Demon Prince” Beelzebub stated, now towering over Jayden at least twice his size. “I’d wish I had listened to Oni when you were still an infant. Than we wouldn’t be having this conversation at all”. And with a speed that’s uncanny for something that big Beelzebub moved towards Jayden and picked him up like Jayden was nothing more than a toddler. Jayden tried to break free but it was no use. Beelzebub was the strongest upper level demon Jayden knew, except for his father and, although Jayden could take him on a good day, this was nothing like a good day. Jayden expected his spine to snap any minute now, leaving himself helpless and at Beelzebub’s mercy.

That didn’t happen. Beelzebub put Jayden down at the entrance of Trinity Church. Jayden wanted to attack Beelzebub but found he couldn’t move. He was frozen in his place, only able to move the upper half of his body. When Jayden tried to call on his black lighting he found out his powers weren’t working either. He was, in any way that counts, helpless.

“What did you do to me?” Jayden demanded from Beelzebub, who was now his original size again.

“I prepared you for your role in the coming events, Jayden. You are now standing at the top of the pentagram from where you will help us to free your father, whether you want to or not”.

“Release me or I swear you will regret this” but Jayden knew it was an empty threat, just as Beelzebub knew.

“Save your strength, Demon Prince” Beelzebub said. “You’re going to need it. Don’t you feel your energy reserves being replenished?” Beelzebub was right. Jayden already didn’t feel as tired as before. Unfortunately that meant bad news now. That meant he would have more energy to break the last seal.

“And now we wait for the other Demon Lords, nephew”.

“Arthur, something is happening over there” Samuel said, pointing at Trinity Church. Arthur turned around just in time to see a bright blue flash as Beelzebub put Jayden down in front of Trinity Church. Ar’Thurian knew something was terrible wrong and tried to contact Michael telepathically. However, he found out there were also downsides to not being Michael subcommander anymore. Their telepathic link was gone.

“Samuel, I need to talk to Michael. Will you be okay by yourself?”

“I’ll be fine, Arthur” Samuel said. What Samuel didn’t say was that he was down to his last two clips of ammo. After that he would be helpless, useless and defenseless. Still, if he would tell Arthur that his friend would probably stay with him and right now there were other things to worry about. To quote a famous line from a not so famous movie: “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one” and the needs of all were on the line right now.

So Ar’Thurian took off and flew towards the building Michael was standing. But that wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

“We’re sorry but we cannot allow you to pass” two warrior angels said when Ar’Thurian approached Michael’s location.

“What are you talking about?” Ar’Thurian asked. “I’m one of you”.

“You were one of us” one of the younger angels said. “But you have been replaced by another warrior angel as subcommander and the commander himself declared it was unsure where your loyalties are”.

“My loyalties are with the people of this planet” Ar’Thurian stated, boiling with anger inside. This, however, only confirmed the suspicions the two warrior angels had. They never saw Ar’Thurian angry in all those eons creation was old. Ar’Thurian had changed and they could see why the commander decided to replace him.

“We’re sorry but you won’t pass” One of them said, only fuelling Ar’Thurians anger.

“I’ll give you two till the count of three to get out of my way. Any damage done to you if you do not comply is your own fault” Ar’Thurian growled. “One ….. Two ….. Thr..”

“What’s going on here?” Michael asked.

“These two idiots refuse to let me pass” Ar’Thurian said in a tone of voice he would never have dared in the past.

“And why should they? You made it perfectly clear you’re no longer one of Heaven’s soldiers”.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Michael” Ar’Thurian said. “I’m still a warrior angel with all the powers, abilities and responsibilities. I just take orders from someone else now”, again fuelling the suspicions the other warrior angels had.

“What do you want, Ar’Thurian?” Michael asked.

“Look over there, in front of Trinity Church. Beelzebub just put Jayden there and it seems he can’t move away from that spot. Look how he’s struggling. He can’t break free although nothing seems to be holding him”.

“The top of the pentagram” Michael mumbled.

“What?” Ar’Thurian asked, having missed the conversation between Michael and Jayden because he was dead at the time.

“This is really bad news, Ar’Thurian. It means the Demon Lords are taking in their positions to break the final seal”.

“The Demon Lords? What do they have to do with this? And what does Jayden have to do with this? Jayden is not a Demon Lord!”

“Oni is dead. Oni was one of the Demon Lords. As the Demon Prince Jayden is the first in line of succession of Oni but only if he had killed someone” Michael quickly explained.

“And Jayden killed several people” Ar’Thurian finished the train of thoughts Michael had started. “How do we stop this?”

“I tried to stop it when I tried to remove Jayden from the equation but you stopped me”.

“I will not let you kill Jayden” Ar’Thurian said. “Isn’t it possible to kill the other Demon Lords? After all I already killed Oni when he threatened Jayden”, leaving the unspoken threat hanging between him and the Archangel.

“Do you think you can do that again?” Michael said. “Killing one of the Demon Lords”.

“I think so. Why not?” Ar’Thurian asked.

“Because it takes an awful lot of strength to kill a Demon Lord” Michael said.

“I beheaded him with one strike of my sword” Ar’Thurian said. “If that was a Demon Lord I’m a little disappointed. I thought they were stronger”.

“They are and either Oni was still not adjusted to the circumstances on earth or you are far stronger than I ever thought. Come with me” and together they flew to the rooftop where Sa’Sander just arrived to give Michael an update.

“Sir, we can still keep the demons contained to this part of the island. It almost seems like they do not want to leave. We do have several angels suffering from mild injuries but no fatalities yet, sir …”. Sa’Sander was interrupted by two bright blue flashes. Further down Wall Street Rahab and Ereshkigal had were frozen into place, each at exactly the same distance from Jayden. Right now the three of the formed a elongated triangle.

“The two feet of the pentagram” Michael stated. “Beelzebub seems to be guarding Jayden but as soon as Abaddon materialises and is adjusted to earth’s climate and gravitational pull they will take their place in the pentagram, ending all of creation. Abaddon’s arrival must be soon”.

“You’re wrong, Michael. I’m already here” and with that Sa’Sander hit Michael with all his strength, sending him flying. “You have no idea how long I wanted to do that” Michael’s latest subcommander said.

“How?” Ar’Thurian asked, hoping to stall Abaddon long enough for Michael to recover from that blow.

“Ah, poor Ar’Thurian, falling in love with the Demon Prince” Abaddon said. “I must say you have a poor taste in men and are an even lousier judge of character”.

“Yeah, I didn’t see through you. Where is Sa’Sander?”

“I’m afraid Sa’Sander hasn’t been among us for several millennia. I had little choice but to let him take my place in the Pit, something I doubt he survived”.

“How?” Ar’Thurian asked again.

“Have you forgotten the King of the Pit can change into any and all who enter the Pit? As soon as I was free from Hell and Sa’Sander was safely locked away in the Pit I could transform into him and enter Eden and the Kingdom of Heaven. But I think I wore this look long enough now” and Abaddon changed back into his own appearance.

“Traitor!” Michael screamed while charging against Abaddon with his sword drawn.

“Ah, poor little Archangel. Enjoy your final moments in creation because as soon as Lucifer is free the universe will look quite differently”. Abaddon spread his own wings and headed from Trinity Church, where he landed next to Beelzebub and Jayden. A few words were exchanged between Beelzebub and Abaddon before both demons went their separate ways, presumably to take their positions in the pentagram.

“We have to stop them!” Ar’Thurian said and he spread his wings, only to find out Michael didn’t follow him.

“It’s no use. We can’t touch them as soon as they are in position and there is now way we are fast enough to reach them before they do. We lost”. And almost to demonstrate how true Michael’s words were two blue flashes indicated both Demon Lords took their places in the pentagram.

“Look, the lines of the pentagram start to glow. Soon the final seal will break and Lucifer will be free. We failed”.