Chapter 269: DEATH AND FLOWERS

Asmo's gaze struggled to never leave his opponent's,

But his enemy wasn't even challenged.

Every breath then suddenly came hurting like knives,

But the serpent king didn't even mind.

Between the two of them, only he, visibly struggled.

Oh, if only Asmodeus could see what lies ahead.

But since he had no such, he could only hope,

That he still be alive, by the time the angels won.

.

.

.

Seeing the worry, slowly spread,

Gave satisfaction to the serpent man's face.

His eyes suddenly glistened in bright red,

As his half-snake body slithered ahead.

Several limbs appeared from his long body,

With mouths and eyes, covering it proudly.

He quickly held out his hand, ready to devour,

But Asmodeus was still very hopeful.

He dodged, although his hooves bled from the desperation.

He would have been eaten, if not for his sheer desperation.

The servant of Satan, though pissed, was impressed,

"Fascinating, how much your life was lengthened by faith."

Giddily, it then proceed to taunt Asmodeus into giving up,

And continue being the underling that he was.

But the insults no longer affected Asmodeus in any way,

All that's in his mind was how to kill him,

it didn't even have to be torturous,

Just straight out finish him, whatever it is to be considered his loss.

But his deep want seemed useless with every second,

As it painted the serpent to be the future winner.

Faster, bigger, and agile with every slither,

Catching him in an open field seemed almost impossible.

His deep breaths were suddenly replaced by curses-

and qualms of winning his match against a king so ruthless.

Yet despite the burning feeling of his flesh,

He continued to endure, "A little yet..."

"Still moving, eh? Sorry to break your bubble then,

But nothing you do would stop me and my friends.

We waited so long for revenge,

And now, we're finally having a taste."

The serpent's voice were a mix of a dozen voices,

Voices filled with different emotions-

sadness, pain, anger, happiness,

All of which seemed to belong to those he ate.

"You're...truly an animal..."

Asmodeus said unconciously,

But than reply another insult,

The serpent king was stunned to silence,

And Asmodeus was hesitant if he is to attack or wait.

The voices soon stopped, as the snake seemed to back away,

He then stayed such way for three full seconds,

Before he let out a laugh so loud yet full of pain.

Tears ran down from its many eyes,

As it forced to make itself belief he was filled with joy.

But resurfacing memories were preventing him to do so,

As his fingers trembled, though he tried so much to avoid.

Asmodeus suddenly felt guilt that he tried to throw,

But no matter what he thinks, his compassion shows.

The childlike eyes, the hesitant breaths,

They all seemed familiar, though they're enemies nonetheless.

The serpent then looked at him, then shook his head,

"I am not an animal. At least, not then..."

And after that, he laughed again,

"But I'd rather be, than serve your God so unfair."

"You've hurt before, right?"

Asmodeus cared to ask.

But the serpent wasn't having any of that,

And continued to flash him its teeth,

But Asmodeus didn't flinched nor ran.

And that was when it was clear he wanted to understand.

And even if there were lots of chances to strike,

A part of the serpent was touched.

The souls inside him suddenly calmed,

Wanting to be heard, as for years, they were trapped.

Trapped in an empty wasteland, filled with nothing but hope,

Hope that one day, their Master would return.

But now that they've resurfaced, why haven't they felt fulfilled?

And even after all they've done, why did they feel cheated?

Why is it now, that they began to realize,

That they've turned into something, they used to despise.

More so, confusion marked their faces as they ponder on why an enemy would look such way,

Softly, worried, patiently, even though they were mere snakes.

Traitors, the epitome of lies and deciet,

And yet...in the eyes of Asmodeus, their words aren't any least.

Negundra, the lord of snakes, quickly overpowered their thoughts,

And convinced all those in his body not to oppose.

They quickly quiet down, scared to be perished forever,

As the demonic snake leader, then thought of a way to turn the tables.

"You used to be so much more than a demon in love.

Where's the chilling intent? the beast? the bloodlust?"

He then asked, wanting to pull out the monster in Asmodeus,

Something-anything! Anything that would rob the guilt forming in his soul.

But the green eyed demon knew better,

Knew that it was just a fake ploy.

He smiled at him but felt that something was wrong,

And realized too late, that the serpent king had bolted, "So long..."

The snake whispered its half-meant farewell,

As he plunged his strong arms into the demon's body.

Asmodeus quickly grew two more, beastly heads,

That bit and secured the shoulders, of the serpent king, himself.

The serpent tried to free itself, but Asmodeus didn't let that happen.

Asmodeus felt that his limit was up, and his conciousness slipping away.

He felt his mouths, turn excited after tasting the oozing blood of his enemy,

And he felt like going feral, until he heard the cries of his lady.

Horrified and in deep misery, Sellena cried on the top of her lungs,

Words that Asmodeus couldn't ponder, because of the distance.

He smiled however, knowing that someone deeply cherished him despite his flaws,

And he took a glance at her,

and his smile faded,

After being slapped by the reality that she's too far off.

Too far to embrace and seek for comfort...

But he scraped the idea of sadness as he thought this was the best scenario,

With Sellena being far away, being safe.

He then muttered one last "I love you," before he proceeds,

Releasing chains all over his body,

That held the snake in place,

"It's not over for me!!"

The snake continued to fight and wriggle,

But Asmodeus used his last resort to eliminate other options.

His body turned to chains themselves,

Tightening the grip with unimaginable strength.

And to ensure that the enemy never escapes,

He turned into a tree of iron and flames.

His green eyes looked at the stars and connected the dots,

Seeing Sellena's image before he lost it all.

After the morphing had ensued,

There was no more screams and bodies that endured.

A tree with shining chains and snake-limb branches-

Was all that remained of the two.

The sight was enough for Sellena to fall down.

But Lluming quickly held her up, especially her arms.

Sellena, in pure shock of what had just occured,

Was so close of being mad, crazed by her sudden number of loss.

She felt her tears streaming down uncontrollably,

As she recall the first time she had met him,

She felt useless that all she had done was watch him lose his life,

This man, who loved him with purity and innocence, that could be the envy of wives.

"ASMODEUS!!! ASMODEUS!!!"

Her cries almost deafen the angel beside her.

But she didn't care,

She recited his name like a prayer.

But truth be told the tree didn't changed,

It remained frozen, sturdy, in place.

And she wondered if what would become of her now that none was left.

Her brothers, her friends, her husband,

All taken away by this unjustly war started by a god-pretend.

She kept shouting,

until...

Her throat suddenly fails her, and no voice come out,

And now her chest doubled its tightness,

Knowing she'd have an empty house.

Lluming then tried to console her, wiping his own tears as he shout.

He yelled his name in behalf of Sellena,

And it made her stop crying, somehow.

She was then reminded of the atmosphere,

This is war...there was simply no time to grieve,

And so, even if Lluming did it voluntarily,

Sellena urged him to stop, and he did so,

Even if the sadness in his heart made him continue to weep.

"Asmodeus, I never thought he'd end such way,

Yet this is what your fate had been, Sellena,

Burdened by the responsibility of not being able to do what you want,

Burdened by what you will see in the entirerity of war.

I'm sorry for everything, but you were his last words to me.

He told me to stay by your side and protect you,

You were his strength whenever or whatever the opponent is.

And I...

I'm sorry I watched him do this to himself,

I'm sorry I couldn't share his place.

He isn't an angel, but his actions showed that he was once-

Just a pure and innocent brother of mine."

Sellena tried to fight the surge of tears tempted to come out,

But Lluming only held her cheek as he spoke about.

"You are a warrior, Sellena. Chosen to fulfill this important duty.

So you shouldn't break down like this, nothing is ever easy."

He then cut a part of his hair and used it to tie Sellena's reddish brown locks,

Hoping that her hair won't stick to her wet face,

As she can't move her arms.

"You're going to do great things, Sellena.

No matter where you are, or who you are with."

"And so will you, so just go and leave,

Lend your strength to those in need."

Sellena's gaze pointed at the impending battle between Satan and the angels,

And seeing that, Lluming quickly went ahead.

Before that however, he looked back at her with worried eyes,

But her smile pushed him to hurry on,

"Good. She's fine."

.

.

.

Sellena's entrance was then suddenly wrapped in chains,

And the realization that Asmodeus used his remaining magic to create that,

Melted her heart and set it aflame.

She kisses the sole chain that came across her glassless window,

And muttered "I love you," with greater affection.

She felt herself crying again as her nose picked up the scent of blood and iron.

And would have never thought that she'd long for the metallic odor.

She used to hate the smell, but now it felt like smelling flowers,

Better, way better, than what it used to smell like before.

She cried softly again, as she prayed her heart to calm,

She had hoped he hadn't been this kind,

For she misses him terribly,

If only she knew from the start.

...

Yet her chest seemed to be forbidden from taking a break,

As she saw another heartache, suddenly take place.