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Living Souls of the Realm

"(So, he's Asdal?)" said Itresil when the group returned to Alhen's home. "(Doesn't look that tough to me)."

"(I can still burn you into crisp if you keep doing that)," said Asdal. "(I am still an Infernal)."

"(I am not talking about your kind, Asdal. I am talking about how you don't look like your prince back there. Had an enlightenment?)"

"(What are you...oh, wait, now that I look at you properly...you're a demon, aren't you?)"

"(Born and raised in the Third Circle of hell)," said Itresil. "(Until I left it all behind)."

"(You and me both)."

Zardes then walked towards them and said, "(Let's stop the chat and start the planning, shall we? Time is of the essence)."

"(You're right)."

Zardes egged the group on, even stopping Gehen's training so that everyone was inside the home for a meeting. When everyone was inside (except Itresil, who would be forced to stay within the fear-inducing boundary field to listen in along with her claiming that even a demon had fears), the hellhound then said, "(Alright. Now, we got the demon who made this whole adventure possible. Everyone, meet Asdal)."

Asdal made a rather awkward smile while waving his hand, causing Belial to glare towards the Infernal. Zardes cleared his throat and said, "(Now that the writer of the journals is here, we can hear from himself on how to defeat Barbatos. Asdal, if you may)."

"(Thanks, Zardes. As you all may have known at this point, I...was forced to write the journals due to my knowledge of Barbatos's involvement in the ashen kingdom. The kingdom was established as a forward base for the Circle demons desiring the surface world. The ashen hounds were once slaves to these demons, until they revolted and established a society that was not as advanced as the kingdom, but more effective. However, that was not the only thing I found. You may have noticed something strange about Ammon, especially if you came from the Outer Ring region and knew demon bats before)."

"(That's what made me think when we first met him)," said Malkar. "(Demon bats do not look like him at all. He has no fur, his face looks different, and he's a vampire that feeds on blood and take control of their bodies and mind. Demon bats do drink blood, but they don't have that power)."

"(There is a reason for that, and it's obvious. Ammon was created by the dark lord as his 'body' once the invasion started. Barbatos has no form, so he needs a body, strong enough to withstand the full demonic power of his darkness)."

"(But if he did not have any bodies, how did he end up making me?)" said Ammon. "(A sudden inspiration?)"

"(I don't know where he got the idea from, but whatever it was, it resembled a demon bat, albeit looking appropriately demonic. Also, that mind control power of yours is one of his basic powers. However, from the look of it, I think you've grown well, and that's the problem)."

"(Why's that a problem?)"

"(There was an idea from the surface world. Something about selection in nature. Barbatos may not have a body, but even he cannot possess all his vessels. He needs one vessel, strong enough to hold his will)."

"(And that's why the Temple took away the others, and pitted them against me)," said Ammon. "(Now, I understand why Abellor warned me about this. But, then, are you telling me that my defiance was part of his plan, too?)"

"(That's where we come in)," said Asdal. "(Barbatos's plan for his vessel has several flaws. In order for the vessel to grow strong enough to contain him, he must let them mature. To let them to mature, they must have a free will)."

"(And with free will comes choice)," said Zardes. "(We can use that. Ammon made his choice, and we will make sure it's the right choice for us)."

"(My only problem with this situation is Barbatos)," said Belial. "(I may not know him enough to tell what he's thinking. Hell, even I can't understand my other siblings, either. However, don't you think even a Circle demon knows what they are doing? They may not have control over it, but I sure don't want my plan to go south just because one of my minions are rebelling against me)."

"(That is the part I still don't know about. I was supposed to find out about it, but then...)."

"(You got yourself a victim of lust)," said Belial with a sigh. "(Well, that's about it. Now that we've heard everything from you, what's the plan? Go find Barbatos and bring the fight to him? As you may know, we don't have any plan aside from Ammon, and don't get me wrong. With your explanation, he has become a liability)."

"(How am I a liability?)" asked Ammon.

"(I am confident with your ability to protect yourself, but we are not fighting with claws or fire. We are fighting a demon who can possess you and you have no idea how to fight that. No one else in this room or even the demon dragon out there knows how to combat that. Barbatos is as unknown as your knowledge of the hell Circles. You know its form, but you don't know what it is)."

Everyone went silent with that remark. Before that point, they had not assumed that Belial would be the one stating the flaw of their plan. At this point, Barbatos's true powers were unknown, and if one of those powers happened to be able to quickly possess Ammon unceremoniously, it would spell trouble for them. In fact, their efforts to fight Barbatos was without a plan, and they were basically fighting a battle they were not sure of its outcome. Even with a fellow prince by their sides, the chance was still pretty slim.

No one had a better suggestion, and in the end, despite their earlier enthusiasm, they realized that they needed more information. They had been traveling in search of a journal and found the writer, but they had never considered that the adventure turned into a world-saving adventure. Zardes and Malkar, especially, did not even think about the bigger conspiracy from their pursuit of knowledge.

At least until Malkar, the one who remembered most if not all of the journal's entry, said, "(What about the road? You said 'all roads lead to darkness'. What does it mean?)"

"(Road? Did I write that? It's true that the ashen kingdom had an extensive road network ahead of its time, but why would I write about roads?)"

"(You can read it yourself)."

Malkar handed Asdal the Infernal Text containing the journal entry with the phrase. Asdal then read about it intently.

"(I'm sorry)," said Asdal with a sigh. "(This is my handwriting, but I don't remember ever knowing anything about roads or anything)."

"(Ah, it's useless)," said Belial, annoyed. "(We are trying to keep my brother from taking over all the Circles and you have a memory problem!)"

"(Oh, come on, Belial! You can't expect me to remember all the details I wrote down!)," said Asdal.

"(That's why it's called a journal! And it's 'prince' to you!)"

"(Oh, so you're a jerk now? I still prefer the trash-talking, violent son of a bitch prince than a jerk who reminds everyone that he's a prince! It makes things easier and make you easier to understand instead of you acting smart!)"

The group bore witness to the banter, though it was clear that Belial slowly lost his temper, which became worse when Belial said, "(You wanna fight? Is that it? Thousands of years trapped, and you want someone to stretch your muscles and sharpen your claws who happened to be me?)"

"(Come on, then! Let's do this outside!)"

"(Hey, you two, this is not the time to fight!)" said Zardes. "(I know it's your way of life, but we can't risk destroying this town because two Infernals are starting a fight club!)"

"(More importantly, you two are going to attract unwanted attention we don't need right now)," said Alhen.

Asdal seemed to understand what the group meant, but Belial was already in his 'violence' mode and punched Asdal out towards the fear-inducing boundary field. Both were quickly affected by the illusion of fear they imagined, which was what the group hoped.

Unfortunately, the two were already too agitated that the boundary field did not work on them. In fact, for an Infernal, fear was something to conquer, and in fact, it made them grinning like the true demon they were, which was rather unsettling for the rest.

Both Asdal and Gehen, using their knowledge of ash manipulation, tried to stop the two combatants before the fight became uncontrollable, but they had no experience handling two Infernals locked in a fierce combat. It made everyone remembered the fight between Belial and Azazel, only Asdal was nothing against Belial, who clearly dominated him early on.

However, far from it being over, Asdal fought back, though with deception instead of a show of strength. He showed the group of his delicate control of hellfire that, instead of causing damage, it let out a bright flash that blinded Belial for a moment, which was enough time for Asdal to slip from Belial's grip and counterattack. However, Belial managed to recover just a split second before Asdal's claw managed to do meaningful damage, only leaving a scratch. Belial quickly retaliated by grabbing Asdal's wrist and threw him over his shoulder, causing the Infernal to fly towards Itresil. Itresil tried to stop the Infernal, but the attack was strong enough to cause Itresil to roar in pain, something Zardes had rarely seen from his dragon partner. The throw must be strong enough to hurt a dragon demon and would kill a regular person. Even Asdal showed that he was in slight pain.

"(Gehen! Alhen!)" shouted Zardes, clearly panicking when he saw Itresil hurt. "(Do something!)"

"(I am trying, young hound! I'm trying!)" said Alhen, clearly straining. "(Their heads can no longer process fear! All they want is to kill that fear!)"

"(Is that even possible? I thought your fear field is...)"

"(It can affect everyone. It clearly affects them. But, they embraced their demonic identity and that's bad news for us)."

"(It's bad news for Tresi!)" said Zardes. "(I must get to her!)"

Gehen made some signs towards Zardes and threw his ashen poach. Zardes turned to Damos, who said, "(He said, 'I'll teleport you there')"

Zardes nodded and opened the pouch. He poured the ashes over himself while Gehen pointed towards Itresil's side. In just several seconds, Zardes disappeared as the ashes covering him fell around where he once stood, and the hellhound appeared beside his dragon partner. Zardes nodded towards Gehen and tended towards Itresil.

"(That was a bad hit you got there)," said Zardes. "(You alright?)"

"(He broke some of my bones)," said Itresil while groaning in pain. "(This is the first time that ever happened to me. Do not worry, Zardes. We are still in the Underworld. I will heal in no time)."

Zardes was glad for this, though he was still worried with the Infernals, who until that point had their fights contained within the boundary field. He was worried that it would intensify and cause damage, especially since their fights had started to attract attention to Alhen's hut.

Meanwhile, as Gehen and Alhen tried to catch the two fast-moving Infernals, they tried to use the souls within the ash to strengthen their ash manipulation abilities. Alhen had taught Gehen how to utilize the soul within the ash to empower the ashes, as Gehen had once determined, along with his usual habit of carrying at least a pouch of ashes empowered by both his magic and the souls of the Ashen Lands for better control and increased lethality.

However, it wasn't there.

The souls weren't there. The ashes were as empty as a regular ash. Both ash mages realized what's wrong. Gehen turned to Malkar and Damos and frantically gestured signs, and both became surprised.

"(Is it true?)" said Malkar, remembering what Gehen told him about the souls. He realized that Gehen, despite of being mute, could clearly let out a grim expression, along with him frantically making signs. The two did not understand what happened, until Malkar remembered the purpose of the ashen kingdoms. He became disgusted.

"(That son of a bitch!)" he exclaimed. He quickly ran towards Belial and Asdal's fight and said, "(Stop! For fuck's sake, stop! I know what Barbatos is planning!)"

The first Infernal who heard this was Asdal, who stopped and managed to say, "(What?)" just before Belial punched him in the stomach. Asdal was hit with the full power of an Infernal, one that would clearly kill a regular Underworlder, but only cause Asdal to cough out blood and groan. He quickly held his prince's arm and said, "Belial, stop! Barbatos has made his move!"

Belial was a berserker, but he was not a complete berserker. He heard Asdal's demand to stop and did so. He did not retaliate and slowly pulled his punch from Asdal's stomach, who groaned in pain.

"He...what?" said Belial.

Gehen explained with signs, and Malkar, while translating, said, "The ashes around us...they are the remains of the ashen kingdom and those living in it. These ashes have souls within it, and that's Barbatos's plan. The souls are his power. He has been side-tracking us this whole time!"

"That's bullshit! Do you know how big this wasteland is?! Even he cannot take everything! He'll blow up like a fucking balloon!"

"Unless he bottled them in different vessels," said Asdal, also realizing what happened. "That's his plan. That's why he made the vessels. It's not just for a body...it's also for power."

"But then, why didn't he stop us from killing the other Vessels?" said Belial.

"I...don't know. Gehen?"

Gehen made signs, though Malkar knew that even the mute ash hound was not sure. The ash hound only knew that the ashes around them were no longer the same, as they were simply ashes with no inherent powers or souls.

Just as they were trying to understand anything they talked about, a strong tremor hit the area, and everyone either lost their balance or tried to get to safety, away from buildings. The earthquake was strong and damaging, causing Alhen's home to start toppling and the other buildings in that town to be damaged by it. Even the ruins that Asdal was sealed in were also damaged to the point of sealing the entrance.

As the dust cleared, everyone recovered from the rather shocking earthquake. Zardes was the first to start standing up and said, "(Is everyone alright?)"

"(That was one hell of an earthquake)," said Malkar as he helped Ammon stand up. "(Never knew the Underworld can have earthquakes)."

"(Because there's never one as brief and as strong as that)," said Alhen. The old ash hound then turned his head and, while surprised, said, "(And also that)."

Gehen was the first to turn. He could only express his surprise through his look, which no one but Alhen could see. The old ash hound, comprehending Gehen's surprise, said, "(So, you know what this thing is, then, young one. That's the easiest expression I can read from a mute: surprise and horror)."

Malkar, who was looking at Gehen, saw what the two were looking and was surprised, and quickly realized what the object meant.

"(It has begun)," said Malkar. "(He has made his move)."

Before them was a gate, similar to the one Malkar had been studying for the past three months. He had forgotten about the gates ever since his research turned to the Infernal Texts. He had never thought about one simple, logical thing.

To invade the surface world, one Crossing Gate was never enough. The failed invasion one hundred years ago made it apparent that more would need to be made for the invasion to work, and to have more soldiers other than hellhounds. While the enemy was not a group of demons forgotten by time this time, it was better planned, and had clearly been something in his mind for so long.

Somewhere in the ashen lands, Barbatos watched the group, especially Ammon, who was shown to be in shock. The demon of darkness then turned towards one of his minions and said, "What is the situation with the Gates?"

"It is progressing as planned, master," said his minion, a hellhound. "We will invade the surface world soon."

"Good work, Bathelen," said Barbatos as he stepped out of the shadow. "Now, let me be."

The hellhound walked away. Barbatos looked into a nearby reflection and admired his new body. He had always wanted to have a body, something that his father, the current king of the Fifth Circle, did not give upon him. The body was perfect, just like his creations. He had purposely give each Vessels he made to be able to withstand a demon's power, for the preparation of his invasion.

"Now, Ammon," said Barbatos while chuckling. "How do you plan to take my throne now?"