Chapter 398: Good-bye Clara
Meanwhile...
The moment Hazel, Racheal and Ruby emerged above Damian’s California estate, all three froze instinctively. Their gazes drifted toward the distant horizon where two overwhelming presences stood facing one another across the skies of Lebanon.
They watched in horror as Damian walked toward Kaizer with calm, measured steps, as though he were approaching an ordinary opponent instead of one of the Seven Sins.
A slow gasp escaped all three women almost simultaneously and their expressions gradually turned pale as they slowly shook their heads.
They understood exactly what Damian was facing.
A God inhabiting a demigod body could never be compared to an ordinary demigod. Even if both parties were restricted to the same realm of power, the difference in combat experience, authority, techniques and understanding of their inheritances was immeasurable. Damian’s overwhelming inheritance could bridge many impossible gaps, but this was different. He wasn’t fighting an ordinary demon. He was fighting another Sin who possessed an inheritance every bit as terrifying as his own.
They knew better than anyone how quickly such a battle could end horribly.
"You finally understand, don’t you?"
Corbin’s calm voice pulled their attention away from the distant battlefield.
The massive priest remained suspended peacefully in the air, completely untouched by everything that had transpired. Clara and Linda floated quietly beside him while, behind his towering frame, another figure overlooked everyone with absolute indifference.
The angel stood over fifteen feet tall, his entire body encased in magnificent golden armor engraved with holy scripture. His blazing hair flowed like living fire, illuminating the heavens around him, while three pairs of enormous golden wings spread proudly behind his back. Resting effortlessly within one hand was a massive sword engulfed in brilliant golden flames that distorted the surrounding air through sheer heat alone.
Neither the angel nor Corbin paid much attention to the demons. Their dull, almost unimpressed gazes rested upon the gigantic seven tailed fox looming over California like a calamity straight from humanity’s darkest nightmares.
Upon the fox’s broad back stood Loth, carefully supporting an unconscious Rah whose face had become frighteningly pale. Around them, hundreds of demons had already abandoned the human bodies they had been inhabiting. Having returned to their true forms, they now stood silently upon the fox’s back, their expressions tense as they awaited Faceless’s next command.
Corbin slowly folded one hand behind his back while the other rested loosely against his side.
"Right now, all you can do is return to your true body and hope you can hold your brother off long enough for your wives to create a gate capable of taking all of you off this planet. You no longer have the luxury of choosing who you save."
Faceless’s enormous fox eyes narrowed violently. A low growl escaped his throat as purple flames flickered beneath his fur.
Just before he could answer Clara slowly raised her hand. The simple gesture immediately caught his attention.
Tears had already gathered within her eyes.
"I already told you that’s enough." Her voice trembled despite her efforts to remain composed. "I don’t think... I don’t think I can live with what you’ve become, so stop fighting for me already and defend yourself!"
The seven tailed fox remained completely silent. His enormous ears lowered ever so slightly. Even Corbin glanced toward Clara briefly before returning his attention to Faceless.
After several long moments, the fox finally spoke.
"Clara..." His deep voice was unexpectedly gentle despite the monstrous body he now possessed. "Don’t be silly. This isn’t the time to play games.If you don’t come with me... we may never see each other again."
The sincerity in his voice caused Clara’s lips to tremble. She wanted to answer yet every word remained trapped inside her throat. Corbin calmly stepped forward, positioning his enormous body partially between them.
"That’s enough. Leave. Now."
His golden eyes became noticeably colder and the flames surrounding the angel’s massive sword tripled in intensity, bathing the entire sky in brilliant gold.
Before anyone else could speak, Hazel’s anxious voice rang across the battlefield.
"Babe, we need to leave now!" she called desperately. "Rah needs help! We can’t waste any more time!"
Faceless’s expression twisted violently. His eyes erupted with brilliant violet light.
"CLARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
His furious roar shook the skies as every one of his seven tails ignited with a different infernal flame. Crimson, violet, black, emerald, pink, silver and azure fire spiraled around him, illuminating the heavens like seven celestial rivers.
He raised his enormous head toward the sky and his jaws slowly opened.
The seven burning tails curled above him, each pointing toward the empty heavens as torrents of different colored flames streamed upward before converging into a single colossal sphere.
The atmosphere immediately changed and a terrifying windstorm erupted. Clouds were ripped apart and trees bent violently as everything within miles began hurtling toward the growing sphere suspended above Faceless’s head.
The very space around the attack distorted beneath its overwhelming pressure.
"Cough..."
Rah’s weak cough echoed softly from behind him. It was barely audible, yet to Faceless it sounded louder than his own heartbeat.
The gathering infernal flames immediately dispersed and the terrifying sphere vanished before it could fully form.The brilliance within his violet eyes gradually faded as reason slowly returned and his shoulders lowered.
Only then did he remember there were still people depending on him. People who had already chosen his side. Protecting them, had to come before everything else.
Puff!
The gigantic demon fox disappeared within a cloud of dark purple smoke. When it cleared, Faceless stood alone in midair once more. His white mask was gone and his bare face was finally exposed.
His empty purple eyes rested upon Clara one last time.
"Very well then... From this day onward we are strangers."
Clara flinched violently. Her eyes widened as though something inside her had shattered. She instinctively reached forward, yet Faceless was no longer looking at her.
His emotionless gaze had already shifted toward Corbin.
"I will return for my home and when I do, I will slaughter every single one of you in the most gruesome way imaginable."
His eyes narrowed into thin slits.
"There will be no exceptions."
Corbin never reacted. Instead, he calmly raised his right hand and traced the sign of the cross toward Faceless.
"I sincerely hope you let go of all this pain and resentment in the afterlife."
Buzz!
Everyone standing behind Faceless frowned deeply. Even Clara slowly looked toward Corbin with disbelief before instinctively turning back toward Damian’s distant figure.
"Like I said..." he spoke quietly. I have already seen your fate. Damian Hill will not live past today." His glowing golden crosses shone brilliantly beneath the white cloth covering his eyes.
Swoooosh!
At that exact moment, the massive emerald gates Ruby had summoned burst fully open. An overwhelming spatial storm surged from within them as winds roared violently across the estate.
Without hesitation, the demons immediately began retreating. One after another, they disappeared through the gateway.
Loth carefully carried the unconscious Rah inside while Hazel and Ruby remained close, refusing to leave her side.
Faceless never moved. He remained suspended in place, silently watching Corbin until nearly everyone had escaped. He understood exactly why he had to stay.
The last thing he could allow was Corbin attacking his people the instant he returns to the main body.
Calling everyone together had never been an admission of defeat. He didn’t believe Kaizer would kill him. What Damian feared was something far more realistic.
Damian he would barely survive after defeating a God only for the Church to descend upon him before he could recover.
No matter how today’s battle ended, he already understood one undeniable truth. Earth could no longer remain his home.
If they wished to survive what was coming they had to run. The days Damian spent living peacefully upon his home planet had finally come to an end.