Chapter 58: Cass (Part III)

"Lilith, do you truly intend to become an enemy of the Heavens?" Michael finally spoke, his expression peaceful.

"From the moment she fell from grace, that has been an obvious fact." Samael stood beside me at some unknown point, smiling arrogantly.

But I could no longer hear anything clearly. Lilith, falling from grace... I didn't know, I didn't know any of it...

I truly couldn't hear anything; everything before me turned into a void.

I was hungry, so very hungry. I needed blood. I wanted to drink blood.

Countless terrified faces flashed before me, but I couldn't see them clearly. I only saw Cass—I saw Cass drenched in blood.

Do you know? Do you know! You destroyed my only chance to be human! You destroyed my only faith...

Cass is dead. My Cass is gone...

The only human who accepted me, the person who treated me better than anyone else in the world, was nailed to a cross because of me...

Because of me, that gentle man died.

And my tears, the tears I shed for him... were five years too late...

He died five years ago... while I still didn't know.

With a crisp "crack," my hands were stained with gore.

"Stop! Stop! Have you gone mad!" Hino Wuma shrieked.

"Yes, I’ve gone mad." Licking the scarlet blood from my hand, I smiled.

The air was thick with the metallic, sweet scent of blood.

"A sorrowful undead soul..." came an ancient sigh.

I laughed, watching those white-robed elders surround me.

"O Divine Spirit,

The monster that feeds on men has crawled from its tomb,

It vents its rage upon humanity,

It feeds upon blood,

It seduces the Son of God, leading him to fall,

We pray for its banishment,

So that it may never return to his side,

Its eyes shall never see him,

Its hands shall never touch him,

Its mouth shall never call his name..."

I looked at those white-robed elders. They wore white cloaks like ghosts, their faces solemn and grave as they chanted in unison.

From beneath their white robes, hands like withered branches gripped scepters. Those scepters pointed straight at me as countless beams of white light wove into a dense net, binding me suddenly and tightly.

"In the name of the Heavens, we banish you!"

"In the name of the Earth, we banish you!"

"So talkative." I sighed as flames ignited across my entire body.

"You demon! God will punish you!" The elders, their white robes and beards scorched by the intense heat, shouted in fury. "You will go to hell!"

"I thought... I was already in hell."

From the moment Cass died, I was already in hell.

The corners of my mouth curled. "So, all of you should come and keep me company."

With a wave of my hand, blood sprayed across the sky amidst a chorus of endless wailing.

"Lilith, stop." Michael’s voice rang out from above. He raised his hand, extinguishing the raging, roaring flames.

I looked up at him. He clearly had Cass’s face, yet he possessed the bearing of a deity.

Seeing me lost in thought, the furious Hino Wuma took the opportunity to lash her whip toward me.

"The final war of the prophecy is approaching. The signs and omens have already appeared. What awaits you is the Final Judgment."

Michael looked at me, informing me gently.

I smiled without a word. I reached out lightly and snapped Hino Wuma's arm.

"Ah!" Hino Wuma screamed. "Cass, Cass save me! Cass..."

"What are you saying?" I froze for a moment, looking down at her. "Didn't you hear? He isn't Cass! He isn't Cass!"

Hino Wuma also looked up blankly at Michael, tears gradually gushing from her eyes. "Cass... Cass..."

"Stop shouting!" My eardrums throbbed with sharp pain. I gritted my teeth.

"You demon! Why would Cass willingly be nailed to a cross for a demon like you!" Hino Wuma glared at me, her eyes filled with deep loathing and disdain.

I suddenly felt a bit cowed.

"Cass is a child of God! Cass must have left because he regretted being with you! Cass's death is all because of you! Demon!"

My hand trembled, and I took a sudden step back.

"You're lying."

How could it be! How could Cass ever regret... how could he regret...

Dazed, I looked down at my feet and was horrified by the mangled corpses covering the floor. Severed limbs and broken bodies were everywhere, as if ravaged by a wild beast. The exorcists of the Inquisition, including those dozen elders, were all missing limbs, their faces unrecognizable, with blood flowing everywhere...

I pulled my feet back in terror, my innocent expression almost making all the demons present believe that the carnage on the floor had nothing to do with me.

I feared nothing, but I feared Cass leaving me most of all—I feared the look of disgust in Cass’s eyes the most...

Cass wouldn't treat me like that.

He wouldn't...

Michael looked at the carnage, pulled up Hino Wuma—the sole survivor sitting on the floor—and turned, vanishing into the air.

I stared blankly at that familiar face.

Suddenly, he looked back at me, and a flash of sorrow and tenderness crossed his eyes.

I was stunned.

That look... it was clearly Cass...

With just that one glance, he returned to his expression of universal mercy.

"Alastor..." Seeing Michael disappear, I felt lost and began searching around.

Alastor, who had been frightened by me, immediately scurried to my side.

"I'm here, I'm here. What's wrong?"

"Do you have any candy? I want to eat candy..." I licked my dry lips, my voice as faint as a mosquito. "...White Rabbit creamy candy."

Alastor reached out and actually managed to pull out a piece of candy.

And so, the Queen of the Demon Realm stood among a field of wreckage, lowering her head to carefully peel the wrapper and place the candy in her mouth.

The sweet taste was very familiar.

The Inquisition, which had lasted for thousands of years, was destroyed in an instant by a vampire named Aurora.

The name Aurora became a legend in the Demon Realm.

Not Selene, not Lilith—just Aurora.

Cass once said that Aurora means the break of dawn; it is a new beginning.