Chapter 80: The Full Story
People began to go missing one after another within the city.
At first, the citizens suspected bandits were to blame; consequently, the City Lord led the populace to raid and dismantle every bandit hideout within a radius of several dozen kilometers.
Yet, the disappearances continued. Typically, the vanished maidens would have bid their parents a perfectly ordinary "good night" the evening before—only to be found nowhere within their private chambers the very next morning.
Panic and outrage spread unchecked. The townspeople began to gather outside the City Lord's residence, demanding a satisfactory explanation.
Amidst the clamor of the surging crowd, the City Lord—who had gone sleepless for days—stepped out, dark circles ringing his eyes.
His face bore an expression of profound grief as he gestured for the crowd to listen.
"I understand your feelings completely. Indeed, who could possibly understand this pain better than I? For just a few days ago, my own daughter—Astaroth—vanished as well."
Upon hearing that the City Lord's own daughter had gone missing, the people exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of how to react.
Then, a man stepped forward and offered his opinion to the City Lord, who remained steeped in sorrow.
"It is highly probable that people from the neighboring city are behind this."
"And why do you say that, young man?" the City Lord asked the speaker. The man possessed a plain, unremarkable face that would typically go unnoticed; yet, if one were to observe his keen, piercing eyes, one would instinctively feel that his words were worthy of belief.
"Respected City Lord," the man replied, "have you forgotten? Not long ago, emissaries from that city came to you seeking a marriage alliance. Lady Astaroth's renown for beauty has spread far and wide; her loveliness is enough to leave anyone utterly entranced."
The man's words jogged the City Lord's memory, reminding him that he had indeed rejected a marriage proposal sent by the neighboring city just a month prior.
"That's it!" he exclaimed, his deep-brown eyes flaring with rage.
"It must be them! Having failed to secure Astaroth's hand in marriage, they abducted her out of spiteful retaliation!"
In an instant, the neighboring city—located dozens of kilometers away—was deemed to possess a clear and compelling motive for the crime. The townspeople began to heap accusations upon them, condemning their treacherous intentions and ingratitude—as if they had witnessed the abduction with their own eyes. "Those despicable outsiders have seized the lands that rightfully belonged to us to build their own city; and now, they seek to steal the women of our city—our daughters and our sisters!"
The City Lord issued his rallying cry, and the people swiftly began stockpiling provisions and weapons, setting their sights squarely upon that town to the southwest—the very place from which the marriage proposal had once come.
Clearly, a great battle was now inevitable.
Amidst the rising fervor, the man who had first spoken quietly slipped away. He watched with a look of appreciation as the crowd brandished their sickles and hoes, then turned to address the figure standing beside him.
"Truly, you are peerless, my Lord of Wrath; you have so effortlessly seized control of their minds."
Samael stood motionless within the shadows; upon hearing these words, he replied coldly, "They have always been creatures whose thoughts are easily swayed by their emotions."
"In any case, from this point on, all we need do is wait," the demon Dantalion remarked, a smile of profound significance playing upon his lips.
God would indeed intervene in conflicts between different races—just as He had once bestowed the power of judgment upon Lucifer to bring an end to the Great War of the Three Realms.
However, using the hands of humans to slay other humans constituted nothing more than an internal strife amongst mankind.
"Thus, even God Himself would surely be left with nothing to say."
"Where are you going?" he called out, halting Samael as the latter turned to depart.
"Until this matter is concluded, it would be best for us to remain here."
"Lilith has been captured; my immediate priority is to ascend to Heaven and rescue her. I have no time to waste maneuvering against mere humans in this mortal realm," Samael stated dispassionately.
"You would do well not to defy His Majesty's decree," Dantalion warned.
"Are you suggesting I stand idly by and watch my wife suffer torment in Heaven?" Samael asked, gazing up at the sky—a sky that now seemed almost within reach.
Mammon had returned, yet Lilith remained behind.
It was an injustice; now that they were husband and wife, by every standard of reason and sentiment, they ought to be together.
*You certainly didn't seem this concerned when you were actually together,* Dantalion mused inwardly. Then, a sudden thought struck him, and he ventured a probing question:
"Are you bound for Heaven to rescue your wife... or is it for something else entirely?"
"What exactly do you mean by that, demon?" Samael turned his head to face him, a storm of fury brewing within his crimson eyes. "His Majesty has acknowledged your existence, but that does not grant you the right to stand as our equals. Know your place—who are you to presume to dictate terms to me?"
Hell owes its current might to a period of radical reform—a transformation ushered in by the Fallen Angels. Samael held the native demons of Hell in utter contempt, deeming them a base and inferior breed; nor did he make the slightest effort to conceal this disdain.
At that, Dantalian fell silent.
The rage that seemed destined to consume his entire life—torn as he was between two conflicting affections—paled in comparison to His Majesty's; in terms of both vision and magnanimity, he fell woefully short.
Enoch was escorted by San to the city gates. Due to the imposition of martial law, the city had already begun strictly regulating the entry of outsiders.
He passed through the two-meter-high gateway into the main city and began making his way up the High Street. Suddenly, his gaze inadvertently snagged upon a solitary figure—and there he stood, frozen as if turned to stone.
He halted before a humble shed and remained standing there for a long while—so long, in fact, that the owner of the shed eventually emerged to ask if he was interested in purchasing a camel.
"Did you not see it?" he asked the owner.
"See what?"
"Over there."
The owner followed the direction of Enoch's pointing finger, yet saw nothing but a few camels placidly munching away on their fodder.
"Indeed, I see my own camels—fat, sturdy beasts—eating with gusto. So, tell me: would you like to pick one out to take home?"
"May I feed it?" Enoch asked, shaking his head slightly.
"Absolutely not! What if it gets an upset stomach from the grass you give it?" The owner shot him a glare. "Stop blocking the entrance to my shed! Move along, move along!"
Chivvied away by the owner, Enoch was forced to retreat a short distance; yet, he continued to glance back repeatedly at the humble shed.
For there, the angel Badri was tucking a bundle of hay into a camel's mouth.
The owner—who had previously appeared so solicitous regarding the welfare of his camels—remained utterly impassive, behaving as if he could not see the scene unfolding before his very eyes.
An inexplicable surge of elation welled up within him; it had been a very long time since he had last laid eyes upon an angel.
Or, perhaps more accurately, he had never imagined he would ever have the chance to see an angel again.
Once the owner had retreated back inside, Enoch returned to the spot. Driven by his eagerness, his footsteps were perhaps a shade more hurried and excited than usual; yet the angel—possessed of keen eyes and ears—seemed to remain utterly oblivious to his presence. It wasn't until he drew near that Enoch noticed Badley's brows were tightly furrowed, giving him the look of a man deeply troubled.
"Lord Badley," he called out.
Badley was visibly startled; he gave the camel's fur a vigorous ruffle—nearly toppling the towering "ship of the desert" in the process—but upon recognizing the newcomer, his spirits immediately slumped again.
"Oh, it's you."
"You seem quite distressed. Has something happened?"
"Yes, I *am* distressed, so could you kindly stop bothering me?" Badley snapped irritably, though he immediately ceased his frenzied stroking of the camel's neck fur.
"Wait—how are you able to perceive my current state?"
Enoch remained silent, for he did not know the answer himself.
"Edna claimed you were the Chosen One—a notion I initially found hard to believe," Badley said, narrowing his eyes as he gave Enoch a thorough once-over.
"But now... I'm beginning to get a distinct feeling that she might be right."
As he spoke, the camel—impatient for the fodder to be delivered to its mouth—craned its head forward, poised to gobble up the bundle of hay along with the angel's hand holding it. Enoch spotted the impending mishap and quickly gave Badley a tug; the resulting motion made it appear as though Enoch himself were the one feeding the camel.
"Hey!" The owner of the house came storming out; upon seeing Enoch, his face turned crimson with rage.
"It's *you* again! What do you think you're doing to my camel?!"
...
"Why are you just standing there? Let's go!"
Badley grabbed Enoch and bolted. The angel was as light as a cloud, his movements swift as the wind; swept along in his wake, Enoch experienced—for the very first time—the sensation of soaring through the air.
"Is he... is he flying?" The homeowner rubbed his eyes in utter disbelief.
The angel and the human sped through the somewhat desolate streets at superhuman velocity. They escaped the notice of the ordinary passersby, yet they did not escape the gaze of several pairs of blood-red eyes.
"An angel?" Asmodeus looked toward the scene in astonishment, only to hear the black-haired King of the Fallen Angels beside him utter an unfamiliar name in a peculiar, lilting tone. "Enoch."
"I've never heard the name of that angel before," Asmodeus remarked; yet, seeing that Lucifer had already begun walking slowly in that direction, he could only turn to face his companion beside him, seeking to alleviate the awkwardness of being ignored once again.
He had already explained it all to His Majesty—he absolutely hadn't played any pranks on him! He wasn't Mammon, after all; where would he find the audacity for such a thing?
Why wouldn't he just believe him?
"Alright, he won't be able to catch up to you now," Badri said, releasing the panting Enoch.
"But... we really... didn't need to run..."
"I can't be bothered to listen to you humans prattle on," Badri huffed.
Enoch steadied his breathing and, ignoring the angel's look of disdain, asked him once again what had happened—why he looked so troubled, and why he hadn't been seen for days.
After that inexplicable sprint together, a brief sense of camaraderie had formed between them; Badri's attitude toward Enoch softened considerably as he replied:
"Astaroth has gone missing."
Enoch appeared somewhat surprised—not by the fact that Astaroth was missing, but rather by the fact that an angel was actually unable to locate someone.
"Even *you* cannot find her?" For an angel, locating a specific person was usually a effortless task—much like how Edna could always find *him*.
"It seems Edna has told you quite a bit," Badri remarked, choosing not to dwell on that point. "True enough; given our tracking arts in Heaven, finding someone ought to be a task of no difficulty whatsoever."
"But I cannot pinpoint her location." A look of worry resurfaced on his face.
"Just like those missing girls."
After a moment's thought, Enoch relayed to Badri the information he had learned from Acrylicman.
"According to that leader, those girls were abducted by vampires."
"Vampires...?" Badri frowned upon hearing this. Had God created such a species?
Clearly not.
"So they are humans who have undergone a mutation! No wonder—no matter how I investigated, something just felt off..." He realized with a sudden epiphany.
"I was preparing to report this matter to the City Lord... only to run into you on the way," Enoch said. "Don't go seeking out the Yabakhai right now," Badri stopped him. "They are currently busy preparing for war against the neighboring city."
"Why?"
"They believe that the disappearances were all the doing of that city to the southwest."
"Then all the more reason for us to hurry and tell them the truth!"
"Don't waste your breath; they won't listen to you," Badri said. "Their animosity toward that city goes back a long way—it's not a recent thing."
"Seizing any pretext to stir up trouble... isn't that the very nature of humanity?"
"Poor Astaroth... it seems I am the only one who can save her now."
"Forgive my rude interruption, but your understanding of humanity is flawed." He sternly corrected Badri: "No one *likes* conflict."
Ever since their departure from Eden, humans have ceaselessly yearned to return to that primordial paradise. "Do you want to give it a try?" Badley asked him. "I guarantee that if you tell them about this vampire business, you'll be thrown out within moments."
"Who would believe you?"
"You are far too naive, Enoch—you understand the true nature of your own race even less than an outsider does," Badley said, pointing toward the city walls in the distance. "This city is steeped in nothing but negativity, rage, and panic."
"They are already at their breaking point. If Abahai doesn't announce an attack on the neighboring city soon, it is *his* city that will fall. He has taught his people to worship a savage Beast God; they have become brutal and bloodthirsty, just as he intended—and eventually, that evil will come back to bite him."
"He will be overthrown by the very mob he cultivated."
"And Abahai knows that better than anyone."
"Attacking the neighboring kingdom is merely a pretext. He cares nothing for Astaroth; to him, his daughter is nothing more than a treasure awaiting appraisal. Astaroth herself told me this."
"No," Enoch countered. "No father could ever be so cold-blooded toward his own children."
"Even if what you say is true, I do not believe this is a matter solely for the City Lord's family. It concerns the millions of people within the walls of Hormah, and it concerns the very lives of the people in that other city."
"I must tell them the truth: the danger comes from the vampires, not from each other's blades."
Badley offered no further resistance; instead, he followed close behind Enoch, watching with the detached air of a theatergoer as the young man stood outside the City Lord's residence, requesting an audience.
And just as Badley had predicted, no one believed the story about the vampires.
The City Lord remained adamant in his resolve to wage war against the southwest—a war that would continue until they agreed to return his daughter and the other captive girls.
Someone recognized Enoch as the youth who had recently taken to the public debate platform to preach the doctrine of the True God. Enraged, the City Lord unceremoniously had him thrown out.
"That guy really is a simpleton," remarked one of the Demon Kings who had been tailing them, unable to hold back his opinion at the sight.
"He looks even dumber than Adam," Asmodeus said with a roll of his newly dyed blue hair, utterly exasperated. "It is exactly what He desires, isn't it?" Pride narrowed his eyes, gazing at the crestfallen youth.
"Cain has always been a cautious man; the fact that he actually uncovered this secret comes as quite a surprise to me."
It was as if a pair of invisible hands were constantly steering every event.
He cast a glance toward the heavens, then addressed the two Lords of the Seven Deadly Sins standing beside him.
"Gentlemen, how about we make a wager?"
"Splendid, splendid! Your Majesty, you shall serve as the bookie—you set the odds!" Asmodeus gleefully whipped out his pouch of treasures. "I'm more than willing to put up the cash."
Beelzebub sensed something intriguing; a rare flicker of interest sparked within him as he pointedly ignored Lust—whose fawning sycophancy had become too cringe-worthy to even watch.
"I am eager to hear the details."
"The wager is simply this: which of us can succeed in drawing him into our world?" Lucifer declared, pointing toward the figure standing opposite the angel.
Badri and Enoch remained locked in a standoff for quite some time. Unable to find any way to sway the stubborn human, Badri finally conceded defeat.
"Fine, you win. I won't try to outlast you in a battle of endurance. Now, tell me—and tell me fast—where is that female leader?"
Enoch looked up, his eyes conveying a silent question.
"I don't care if you want to keep stalling the City Lord's Manor; I'm in a hurry to find Astaroth. That means I need to seek out the person who actually knows what's going on and get some detailed intelligence."
"The physical forms bestowed upon humans are not so easily altered. If her claims are indeed true, then they must have enlisted the aid of demonic forces."
Demons? Enoch froze for a moment. Of course—if angels truly existed, then demons—their polar opposites—could not merely be the stuff of legend.
But if that were the case... a faint unease stirred within his heart.
If demons had indeed become involved, could Edna still be as safe as he had hoped?
"Have you seen Edna?" he asked Badri.
"No." Badri cast him a curious glance. "You two didn't actually have a fight, did you?"
Enoch ignored the question. He checked and re-checked the area several times, finally confirming beyond doubt that Edna was nowhere to be found within the city. "Then are you able to pinpoint her location?"
"How curious. She usually guards you more jealously than anything else; I wonder how she could bear to abandon you and vanish like this?" Badley remarked. However, seeing that Enoch's expression was genuinely troubled, he ceased his teasing and turned instead to offer comfort.
"There is no need to worry; she has likely returned to Heaven."
"Are you certain? Is she truly in Heaven?"
"Er, well, that I cannot say for sure... Why are you so worried? It's not as if she's going to be snatched away by vampires."
"Edna is different," Enoch said, feeling a surge of anxiety. Yet, he could not articulate the reason why; deep within his subconscious, he felt that the fewer people who knew about the striking resemblance between Edna and the City Lord's wife—a woman named Avan—the better.
But what he did not know was that, at that very moment, three Demon Kings of Hell were standing right beside him.
His every thought was utterly transparent to them.
*Identical!*
As if stung by that very word—and by the unpleasant memories it dredged up—Lucifer's gaze instantly sharpened. He loathed that word.
"Asmodeus!" he called out.
"Yes," the Demon of Lust replied, his mind instantly grasping the unspoken command.
He cast a glance at the angel who, having finally yielded to Enoch's persistence, was preparing to establish contact with Heaven.
If their involvement had begun merely as a game, it was now—unquestionably—deadly serious.
They had to lure him eastward, into their own territory. It was imperative.
A human youth bearing the same name as the City of Cain; an angel whose face mirrored that of a daughter of Adam.
Whether this was mere coincidence or a deliberate orchestration by Jehovah, he would ensure that they both fell under his absolute control.