Chapter 98: Three Great Monsters (II) - Akemi, Ryou, and Zephyrus

[Zephyrus Ziz POV]

"And that was the story of the three great monsters, it is said that after the Archangel Michael used that strange power, the three Monsters known as Leviathan, Behemoth, and Ziz were transported to Hell and got back their sanity." A woman flipped the page of the story she was reading and smiled at Zephyrus. "And that's the story of the three former Archdukes of Hell, what do you think Zephyrus?"

"It's sad... I can't believe that our Lords were suffering even before the war." Having heard of the story of how the three Archdukes first transformed into monsters, the young Zephyrus felt pity for them.

"Hey mother, I want to ask... What happened that made them turn into monsters?"

Zephyrus' mother could only smile at him and looked at the stars from the window. "No one knows... It is stated in the story that an incident happened that revolves around the second rebellion, thus why they became monsters to the Gods. It's all because of the Great God War that this happened, or in short the GGW."

"GGW... Sounds like a cool name..." Having been amazed by the history of the world, Zephyrus' eyes were shining like gems. "It's amazing and sad that our world has suffered from those wars..."

"Yes, it is indeed..."

Knock! Knock! "Zephyrus, you there?!"

A knock came from outside and hearing the voice Zephyrus became excited. "Then I'd got to go now mom, Ryou is waiting for me." Zephyrus excitedly went outside and left the house.

His mother could only watch him go with a smile, she looked at the photo that contained her, Zephyrus, and her husband happily together on the photo. "Kids grow up fast these days, I can't believe Zephyrus is already 8000 years of age."

She placed back the photo at the desk and looked outside to check the gate that connects this floor to the other floor. "Based on my calculation, today is already May back on Earth, which meant that today is-"

"Hey! Hey! Where are we going Ryou?!" Zephyrus was running after Ryou who ran to the place where they always play at. "What happened to you Ryou? You've avoided me for 50 years now, is there a reason why you decided to finally speak up to me?"

Zephyrus was a bit angry at Ryou for only talking to him now, but at the same, he was relieved and happy because Ryou showed up.

"*Sigh* Actually something happened to Akemi 50 years ago, which is why Akemi and I ghosted you for that long, so I'm sorry."

"No it's okay, it's got to do something about being the inheritor of Lord Leviathan and Lord Behemoth right? Because during the first day you two ghosted me, it was revealed in the news that Akemi became the inheritor of Lord Leviathan's will and name, and she also became the third-generation General of Envy right? It must've been amazing because you two siblings became an Archduke of Hell at short notice."

Zephyrus' was giving Ryou a forced smile when he said that, and Ryou noticed that on Zephyrus' face.

He knew that Zephyrus felt lonely during those days when he was doing his duty as an Archduke of Hell, and at that time Zephyrus could only be with Akemi but now that Akemi was chosen by the former Archduke Leviathan, Zephyrus would be lonely again.

Zephyrus and Ryou's parents were friends, which is why the three grew up together like they were already siblings, and when Ryou and Akemi's parents were killed during the last attack of the angels, Zephyrus' mother took care of the two.

This is why Ryou doesn't want to leave Zephyrus' alone, but at the same time, Ryou didn't want to neglect his duty as the Archduke of Hell. He was having a hard time deciding what to do and Zephyrus seems to notice this from Ryou's silence.

"Don't worry about me Ryou, if you and Akemi are happy ruling Hell with the King and Queen then I'm happy, if you and Akemi are trying your absolute best to make the citizens of Hell smile then I'm happy. After all, we citizens could only rely on the power that you Archdukes have."

"I'm glad you understand Zephyrus..." Ryou looked down at the ground in disappointment and he gave Zephyrus a sorrowful smile. "Then I got to go back now Zephyrus, I still have something to do on the 9th floor, I decided to come here because I wanted to see you. If you ever have any problems just send a letter to either Akemi or me. So, goodbye then."

Ryou created a portal from behind and left, Zephyrus could only give him a weak wave when he saw Ryou leave. "Goodbye then, Ryou..."

After Ryou left Zephyrus decided to go to the city for a walk to clear up his mind a little bit, he was walking very slow; not a single care about the people walking past him. 'In the end, I'm alone again... I could only rely on myself now, I have to do something to get stronger so that I wouldn't rely on Ryou and Akemi anymore, I want to get stronger.'

Zephyrus stopped walking and looked to his left, in that direction was a newspaper store, he looked at the content of the newspaper and saw the familiar headline of the newspaper. 'Is this Year the Day that the Lost Prince of Hell Haruki Hotaru would return?' That was the headline.

Throughout his entire life, Zephyrus has seen the same headline over and over again, which is why he kept on wondering who Haruki is. As far as he knows, Haruki was the son of King Jarren and Queen Xuntea.

Which is why he always asked himself. 'How strong is Prince Haruki?' That was the question that made Zephyrus interested in the lost Prince of Hell Haruki Hotaru, he knew that there's got to be something special in Haruki that made the people cherish his date of birth; even more cherished than the day Hell was created.

He wanted to meet Haruki Hotaru who he idolized and wants to show him that he is someone worthy to stand beside him, but he has no hope for that dream of his. "What am I even thinking? There's no way that a commoner like me can do something like that..."

He let out a deep sigh and took some money in his pockets. "Can I buy one newspaper Mr." He handed the money to the vendor and took a newspaper.

"Now, where to go nex-" Bang! Out of nowhere, a large explosion appeared in the city.

One of the soldiers who was patrolling the street shouted. "It's the angels! Everyone go inside your home and stay underground on your bunker!"

Everyone panicked upon hearing what the guard said, so they immediately run inside the houses even if it's not theirs so that they could b safe from the angels, Zephyrus seeing where the explosion came from froze upon seeing it.

"Mom!" He immediately ran in the direction where the explosion came from because that's where they live, he was full-on adrenaline from worrying about his mother's safety that he didn't care that angels are flying above him.

Zephyrus kept on running as fast as he can and he stopped when he saw someone blocking his way. He looked at the person in anger and shouted. "Move out of the way!"

The person turned behind and was shocked to see Zephyrus. "What are you doing here little boy? Didn't you hear the announcement?" The woman said to Zephyrus.

Seeing who the person was she immediately knew that it was Archduke Gremory. "I'm sorry my Lord! But excuse me-"

"What do you think you are doing Zephyrus? Are you stupid?"

Seeing who the person was, Zephyrus was shocked to see Akemi with Gremory. "There's no time to talk, I got to check if my mom is safe!"

"*Sigh** You go hide in one of the buildings, we'll save her-" Bang! Another explosion came from the direction of Zephyrus' house.

Zephyrus became more bewildered seeing the explosion occur, so he immediately run and escaped from Gremory and Akemi. The last thing he could hear from Akemi was. "Wait Zephyrus!"

He decided not to listen to Akemi and kept on running, and eventually, he finally got home. Seeing what his house was like he froze from disbelief.

His entire house was completely destroyed and in front of him was his mother crushed by the ruins of the house, just by the sight of his mother you can easily tell that she's dead, after all, half of her body was crushed by the house only leaving her chest up to her head.

"Mo-mom..?" Zephyrus' mind became dark seeing the corpse of her mother, he doesn't want to believe it but he knew that her death was real. "Mom...Mom... Please don't leave me...

He went closer to his mother's corpse and held her hand; tears were falling endlessly from his face. "Mom... Mom... Mom..! Why..? Why did you and dad leave me..?"

"Zephyrus..." Coming from behind him were Akemi and Ryou who were speechless after seeing the death of Zephyrus' mother. The two felt like crying from the death of someone who's like a second mother to them, but they knew that griefing for someone's death now could only bring them more harm.

Ryou went closer to Zephyrus. "Let's go, now is not the time to grief... Akemi and I have our duty as an Arch-"

"Shut up!" Ryou and Akemi were shocked when Zephyrus shouted.

Zephyrus slowly stood up and looked at Ryou in anger. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I don't care about your stupid position! Because you're a failure! You failed to protect my mother, you failed to protect someone you owe a debt to!"

"Are you stupid Zephyrus? Do you really think we can save your mother's life from that explosion? Look at your surroundings, tons of people were killed!"

"Shut up! You're just saying that to protect yourself! Because in the end, you didn't give a care about me or my mom at all! Every one of you just wants to see someone like me suffer! I knew that I shouldn't trust you the moment we met, because I'm stupid enough to believe that someone would accept a devil like me who has a cursed name! In the end, you're just a massive fake!"

Ryou was bewildered by what he had heard and Akemi was hurt by Zephyrus' words, Ryou was gritting his teeth and clenching his hand. "You stup-"

"Oh, what do we have here?" Crash! A person fell from the sky and landed on Ryou. "What are you kids doing here?"

The moment the person appeared both Zephyrus and Akemi was shocked to see what it was, and the two were shaking from fear now knowing that the person who crashed-landed on Ryou wasn't an ordinary angel.

The angel was wearing armor far stronger than the armor that Ryou and Akemi have, but what caught both Zephyrus and Akemi's eyes is his appearance. Instead of having two white wings, he has four, and instead of a normal halo, the angel has a golden halo shaped like that of a crown.

The moment the two saw those features that the angel has, they knew that he was an Archangel, and above him, the two saw that the Archangel has many angels above him that were watching them.

Ryou wasn't unconscious by the landing of the Archangel but he was trapped, Akemi was shaking from fear after seeing that they are trapped, and Zephyrus was afraid but was hiding it.

Zephyrus looked at the dead body of his mother and shed a single tear, he could only clench his hands in anger and look at the Archangel in front of him. "You... What is your name..?" He asked the Archangel.

The Archangel was impressed by Zephyrus' bravery, so he responded. "Me? I'm the Archangel of Fortitude Camael, it's nice seeing that you have bravery on you boy. So what's your name?"

"Zephyrus... My name is Zephyrus Karpos..."

Camael along with the other angels were surprised by Zephyrus' name, so they laughed. "I'm sorry Zephyrus, *Chuckle* But nice name you got there especially for a devil *Chuckle*."

"Thanks..." His thanks felt empty when he said that, and the moment Akemi and Ryou heard him talk they knew that Zephyrus is planning something. "Archangel Camael... Can you do me a favor?"

"As an honor of your bravery, I'll accept this favor of yours." Camael happily replied.

"Please end me, please can you kill me painlessly?"