An Evil Justice

Chapter 18 – King’s Sin (pt. 4)

--* Valley of Alexander, Underworld *--

“Hooh?” a spray of blood painted the air red as another elephant fell before completely disappearing into nothingness. The rampaging elephants continued to lose their morale as Beelzebub and Eve decimated their numbers with relative ease, but they knew they couldn’t give up. Only… what were they supposed to do? Continue their useless charge and quicken their deaths? Their only line of hope was waiting for the main army to notice their disastrous situation, and so they waited.

This gave time for the two Sinners of Gluttony to take a break from their feast and watch Grim’s battle. With keen interest, their eyes glinted from wonder. Strikes of orange flashed around the clearing like great balls of fire, destroying anything in their path, but just like the elephants, their options were limited. Compared to the darkness entangling them with its cruel daggers, they were like fish out of the water.

“That Emissary… how talented,” Beelzebub continued his hunt as he watched Grim fly into the air and dissect a demonic tiger into two halves.

“Eve, how long has the Emissary of Wrath been alive in the Underworld?” the green-haired prince’s curiosity was thoroughly spiked. An ordinary combatant would not be able to capture his interest, but the Reaper’s quick and decisive moves were almost impossible to execute without incredible skill. An inexperienced warrior would have accidentally stabbed himself if they fell to a single mistake, yet Grim’s daggers flashed perfectly.

“The Emissary of Wrath, Grim Reaper, as titled by the Prince of Wrath, has been in existence for two months since his death. Prior to his untimely demise, he has lived for over twenty-three years in mortal time,” a thorned whip captured an elephant’s neck and sucked it dry as Eve’s cold and robotic voice fed Beelzebub information.

Watching the elephant wither away, Eve’s mind was invaded by information. It was as if the blood of the elephant acted like bits of knowledge, filtering into her brain and sorted into categories of importance. In search for more, the Emissary of Gluttony’s whip snaked on the ground and scavenged for more blood-filled corpses. As for how this was possible, only the icy woman knew.

“Two months, huh?” Beelzebub’s cheerful smile widened both in happiness and fear. Hearing Eve’s words, he knew why Satan was hesitant to help the Emissary grow. When Satan forced Grim to partake in the mission to establish an information center in the mortal world, Beelzebub had happened upon his and Lucifer’s discussion. Naturally, the three of them discussed the happenings around the Underworld, from world-shaking events to trivial information.

One of the topics that had caught his utmost attention concerned the new recruit, the Emissary of Wrath. Even though he had shown most of his strength in the battle against Michael, the Emissary of Pride, Satan’s words lead him to believe that a much more fearsome strength lies deep within Grim. It sparked his curiosity and interest, and it was due to this that Grim’s body was riddled with black, bleeding marks.

“Emissary of Wrath, let’s see how well you handle yourself…” the Prince’s smiling face twisted into a fearsome grin, ‘It’s about time…’

‘Lean to the left and strike behind, then duck before…’ without knowing Beelzebub’s threatening thoughts, Grim’s own mind was flooded with information and instructions. Executing them all perfectly, he followed his instincts and experience in combat to defeat the tigers one by one. Listening to the order, the Reaper’s cloaked body suddenly tilted to the left as he brought his right arm back and stabbing a cunning tiger.

Letting gravity pull his body, Grim fell to the ground and crouched, narrowly avoiding a massive paw striking where he once stood. Just like his battle with Michael’s army, wherever Grim stepped foot into was eventually transformed into mountains of dismembered corpses and severed limbs. This, however, comes at a cost. The Reaper’s already scarred and rough skin was once more riddled with hundreds of gashes and cuts, dripping precious black blood. But, no matter what, he did not stop.

With every stab of his dagger, the more his body grew stronger, with every drop of blood, the more techniques he would develop, with every life he takes, the more he ascends into the pinnacle of strength. Like a crazed masochist, no matter how much pain he felt, he fought and fought, unwilling to give up. This was the awe-inspiring trait of his that the Prince of Wrath revered and feared at the same time.

“Graaaahhh!-----“ another demon fell to the now dark crimson soil into a puddle of its own blood. Its side was severely mangled and sliced into shreds by Grim’s mercilessness. The tiger’s sacrificed life was not taken in vain as one of the other hunters slashed its blood soaked claws into the Reaper’s back. Agonizing pain filled the Emissary’s head as his skin was roughly pierced and dragged down by the tiger’s natural blades along with his flesh.

Burning torture invaded his focus, but left enough grip as he pricked his own weapon into the guilty demon’s skull, crushing the sturdy skull and destroying its brain. Nevertheless, the damage has been dealt. Only time and medicine could heal the lines of missing skin and muscle, but who had access to that in the middle of a deadly battlefield?

Enraged by the attack, Grim ignored the wound and fought fiercer, ‘I lost my focus, I could have died permanently if the tiger was even remotely powerful,’ with wings made of dark liquid, the Emissary of Wrath’s body rippled with unrefined strength and took another life.

‘Faster,’ the dark ground cracked under his steps, bringing him to another demon in a flash, ‘stronger,’ sending down his elbow, the poor tiger’s spine was cracked into pieces, ‘die!’

At this moment, the tigers knew that they had attempted to prey on a metal wall. There was simply no way for them to attack the rampaging figure of Grim, who had lost all sense of restraint. It was not a matter of their pride or to spite their enemies anymore; it was the matter of preserving their own lives! Their bodies greened with regret, but the massacre had already begun. Fortunately for them, the two other ‘monsters’ stayed with the elephants, seeming to watch the one hunting them with keen interest.

Their only choices were to run away, forsaking their pride and contempt, continue fighting to their death in hopes of achieving a miracle or…

“GGGRRRAAAHHH-------,“ the tigers made their choice. They knew that there was absolutely no way for them to defeat Grim without the lost of their lives, much less the evermore fearsome individuals staying a distance away. So, they choose the third option.

Call for their army and bring their strongest warriors. Their roars echoed out through the whole valley, attracting the bloodshot eyes of the warring tigers and elephants. Now, there was only a single fate left to their three predators.

Death.