Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

“Yu Jing is dead.”

My heart soured at those words, followed by the sobs of Arkanos, Ty, and Cleo, as they fell to their knees. Bellowing in each other arms as they huddled close, I sucked in a deep breath of cold air, chilling the core of my being.

Resisting the urge to cough up blood, I glanced at the neural expression of Lilith, who knew Yu Jing was going to die. Yu Jing, like me, was a soul bender, so there was no escape for her soul with those deadly injuries. Cursing my luck, I sighed. 𝗯𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝐯𝗲𝐥.𝗻𝗲𝐭

I wonder if Zanris would work as a replacement? She is technically a resident of the Bed of Chaos. No, that won’t work; her soul has already been tainted far too much by the hells. With Cleo and the others, the blood of the devils they collected has not fully turned them into devils. They are still a half-breed of sorts.

FUCK!!!!! What am I going to do?

Shooting my eyes to Freya, whose head was low, I sucked in a deep breath and approached her a little ways from everyone. ” I truly wish to kill you.” Her head dipped, and her shoulders trembled. “You overstepped, Freya. You not only screwed me but my brother, my sister, and all my other brothers.”

Hearin myself speak those words; anger erupted in the back of my throat as I simply wished to scream my head off. There was no good solution. I was fucked.

Passing my hands through my hair wet with perspiration, I grunted, ” How I wish to kill you.” I repeated, sinking my head low. ” But enough people have died.”

Freya’s head raised to meet mine; tears filled her eyes as she trembled, covering her mouth so as not to release a sound. My gaze chilled, and a bitter laugh sounded. ” But you need to be punished. My first thought was Odin—

“NO!!!!!” She screamed, breaking my command as she fell to her knees, pressing her head against the grass, “anything but that! PLEASE MASTER!!”

“Have I been too nice of a Master?” I barked, bearing down upon this foolish woman, ” Did I allow you to speak?” Words seemed to be caught in her mouth as she covered her mouth. “This was a betrayal on your part, Freya. But it is I who holds fault. I thought I could cheat the system, and fate seemed to have used you as a pawn.” Beckoning for her to stand, I continued, watching her slowly rise to her two feet,” But I’m a petty man. So you will be working with Zanris, the biggest child murderer I know. Your new job is to create for me a powerful race. While still relieving me of any stress I feel, at any given moment.”

I lifted Freya’s chin and peered deeply into her eyes, stained with a broken heart, ” I need you to understand, Freya. There will be no more chances, none. You fuck this up, and ” I paused, and chilling laughter rippled out, ” Well, I’m sure you can imagine. Do not overstep again.”

Releasing my hold over her, the strength in Freya’s legs gave out, and she plummeted to her knees with a loud thud. Having seen enough of her, I snorted and walked away.

“Was the body preserved?” I grimly shouted, walking towards Avar, who shook her head, making my heart drop to my stomach.

“The Necrotic Qi destroyed everything. We, however, did gather a few blood samples. Do you want them?”

“Me? No, but Freya and Zanris will need them.” I coldly stated, sending a deep glance towards the confused-looking Zan, ” everything will be explained later in private. There is a new mission for you two.”

“I have a question!” Ezra suddenly said, ” Why the hell am I even involved? None of this shit has anything to do with me.”

“Then leave. Go into the wild by yourself and die. If you think your all-powerful where you can do whatever you want, then go out and find your own path.” I snapped, letting my eyes fall upon her. ” The simple fact is Ezra. Your father is at war with the angels and pretty much everyone else. So go out there and die, or stay with me and follow my fucking will.”

Silence fell, and her cheeks turned a bright red at my public humiliation. I swear she was asking for it. Maybe she likes it because that was the dumbest question I have ever heard.

“Now we need to find Kurt and Sig. One Chosen’s death can be salvaged, but not anymore.” I said, trying to lie to myself.

“Already done.” Rey Nala uttered, “My father has found them. He will be here in a week.”

“Some good news, finally. ” I said, nodding in approval. However, I did have more questions about this father—one thing at a time. Lilith had already been helping me with the tarnishing, and three souls that had died in the battle with Baphomet were almost fully formed. A few more months, and I will be whole once more.

“Cleo,” I said, noting her teary face and frown. Glancing at Lilith taking care of Ty and Ark, I snorted, sending a flicker of qi to knock her out of her weepy state. Ty and Arkanos had the right to cry, they were kids, but I will be damn to see Cleo, who holds the blood of a devil, cry. Have some damn pride.

Darkness flared like a burning pit of rage as she shot toward me. Feeling the dao of lust rippled from out of her, I felt a sensation trying to guide my action, trying to force me to leave myself open, as she whipped towards me, punching forward. However, I couldn’t even be bothered to move.

Landing a punch that didn’t even break the flesh, much less cause even the slightest of damage, I sneered, watching the shock appear over her delicate appearance. ” You done? Cause like spiderman, everyone gets one.”

Cleo staggered backward, and I pressed forward, grabbing her wrist, “You know your job, right? I have been rather merciful as of late. More so than I should be, but times are dire. We had a deal. I expect you to follow on your end and take care of Kurt and Siegfried. Clear?”

Biting her sweet cherry lips, stained with tears streaming down her cheeks, she nodded,

“Clear,”