The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 123: Volume 3 - Prologue

Chapter 123: Volume 3 - Prologue

- One Month Ago -

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The Son of Heaven, Angelus Apex of the Heavenly Host, Vinam Victoriam, stood atop the mountain Antenora, surrounded by resplendence befitting his station as he looked, with almost casual boredom in his blue eyes, shaded beneath flame-red hair that matched his wings, towards the battle bellow.

One legion... was that all that the infamous Duke of Heresy could afford to defend his city with? Or was he counting on a siege?

To mana-sight, the battle was a paltry affair. The legion held along the walls as the fliers warred, while below them the entrenched archers fired up - or down, if they were on one of the taller towers - upon the fighters. The real battle would be between the mages, once Vinam’s mages were finished taking down the shield wards keeping him out of the city.

The real prize was the hundreds of thousands of demons whose little lights Vinam could see beyond the walls, and the ominously familiar circle he spied near one section of the walls.

A remarkably easy turn of events, all things considered.

He was still watching the battle when a messenger arrived.

Vinam waited as his officers took the message before his seniormost general, Caror Truistiam, came to deliver the report. Vinam had appointed the man to handle the minutia of war; after the unfortunate death of Vinam’s father, Armitage Victoriam.

It was a death for which Vinam only felt annoyance at the political fallout he’d been dealing with. Vinam always said he would do what needed to be done. So why couldn’t the old fools just accept it? The answer he found was simple: None of them wanted to see the blood on their hands, whereas he held no such pretensions.

History was written in blood.

His father had said to treat him as if dead, all so he could duel his old foe. Vinam had simply fulfilled the man’s wish, and used it to the best possible advantage - locking down Wrath’s forces so that the weapon could do its work.

"Lord Victoriam," his general said, "Kainur, the Duke of Pride has arrived to negotiate."

"Ah! Perfect timing then," Vinam said. "Have the skull of Leviathan brought up. We’ll set the stage before he arrives."

"He’s outside the tent," General Truistiam said. "Apparently he arrived with the messenger."

Vinam tsked in annoyance and stood. Immediately the lesser angels that formed his staff rose, presenting him with his golden armor. "Tell the Duke to wait a moment, and attend to me when I arrive."

"Yes, Lord Apex," Truistiam said, bowing low enough for the tips of his wings to touch the floor before departing.

In the few minutes it took Vinam to be armored, he thought of what he would say to the Sin of Pride.

He was surprised when, stepping out of his tent, he looked down to find the Sin of Pride was quite... diminutive. But then again, size was hardly a telling factor with beings such as angels and demons... still why he would choose to appear as such was clearly meant to be disarming. Vinam reminded himself to remain wary.

Kainur’s face split with a wide smile, one that didn’t meet his eyes. "Ah, the Apex himself. That was quite the trick you pulled on Leviathan... and your own father."

Vinam clapped his hands slowly. "A remarkable display of intelligence. Are you thinking of being tedious about your sources? Or is this some attempt at blackmail."

"Hah-ha, no, no blackmail. Just an interesting notion... seeing as that would be your second relative lost to hell... I hope collecting Leviathan’s soulstone was worth the loss of your father..."

"Get to the point," Vinam growled.

"I have intelligence that suggests your sister is alive." Kainur said.

"Oh excellent, and you know exactly where she is? How she is?"

"I might," the devil replied. "For the right price. Leviathan’s soulstone, and your departure from Hell with the Heavenly Host."

"Hmph," Vinam walked Kainur closer to the edge of the cliff. "You’re proud of yourself, aren’t you?" He refused to take the bait. "But you would be. Duke of Pride. Proud of your little kingdom. Your children..." Vinam suddenly reached for Kainur’s arm, unsurprised when it passed through the illusion completely. "...your magic." He smirked. "I knew you wouldn’t come yourself."

"Pride does not make me a fool," Kainur said. "Unlike some of my predecessors... and yours."

Vinam turned away, gesturing at the city below. "Down there are a proud people. Tzal, the City of Fire... City of Heretics... Dark magics that have thwarted entire armies in the past... And yet it has fallen, several times. Tell me, what do you see there?" he pointed at the circle of stone.

"A portal," Kainur replied. "What of it?"

"What I see is the magic of heaven, bastardized for the purposes of the Duke of Heresy," Vinam snarled. "And in moments, all the magics of house Goetia will not stop my legions of angels. So tell me, how did the Duke of Heresy construct a portal gate? Does it work? Where does it go?"

"Perhaps you should ask him yourself," Kainur said. "Or those captains you captured on your way here... Such noble demons, delaying you to the last. Did they tell you all about Maledict?"

"Oh, they have. No demon can withstand an Executioner’s interrogation."

"Then you know the stories... That Heresy tortured your sister for years, extracting every little secret of heaven she had..." Kainur’s projection paced from one side of Vinam to another. "But unlike most, I know what drove her from Heaven’s holy light..."

Vinam’s hand went to his sword, but he forced himself to calm down, knowing it would be useless. He remembered the fight... every day. The horror in her eyes, the revulsion, the rejection of him... of what the past demanded... And for what? For the sake of the vermin crawling across worlds that deserved better masters...

Heavenly masters.

"You know nothing," Vinam snarled.

"Perhaps I didn’t know... but you just confirmed it," Kainur chuckled. "What a terrible brother you must have been to her, Vinam the Vindictive... And yet you loved her... in your own sick, twisted way... as no brother should..."

"Speak another word and I will end you..." Vinam spat.

"Such childish threats... Tell me, was your mouth this full of venom when you grabbed your sister by the throat? When you broke her wing? Oh I know all about those times..."

He’d done what he had to. Inflicted pain to make her see... If only he’d had more time with her... He could have fixed her... Suddenly Vinam realized- "You aren’t Kainur..."

The devil beside him began to laugh. "You are not nearly as sharp as Aelaes," Maledict, Duke of Heresy said as his illusion twisted and reformed, towering over Vinam in a war form as grandiose as it was deadly-looking. "She knew me right away."

"Did you come here for parlor tricks? Or to see your city destroyed?"

"By your weapon? Now that brings up the question... an unstoppable force against an immovable object... cliched as it may be." Maledict swung a finger around before poking it against his balled fist, letting the two clash and part.

"You will not see it today, Heresy Sin. Why would I deny my legions their entertainment?"

"Oh, you child... you shouldn’t have marched on Tartarus and Disith. All you did was give me time to prepare. I’m insulted you think five legions is enough to take my city."

"My mages already report that your barriers are failing. Once I have your head, I’ll make sure your people see it every day as they are slaughtered. But before that, your death will be slow... every moment a torture one thousandfold what you did to her!"

Maledict laughed again. "I’m going to tell you a secret, angel... one that I have been wanting to share for a long, long time... Not because you deserve to know, but because every day that you know will be anguish for you. Every day you will wonder why life in Hell was better for Aelaes than ruling Heaven by your side... And why she chose my side to live by... And you will keep this secret because that is just how weak you are..."

He leaned in, and whispered, "I never captured her. I never tortured her. She came to me... And I loved her, and she loved me... And what we have made together will end everything you stand for, Heaven’s Son... Even if she is no longer-"

A split second later, Vinam slashed through the illusion with twin blades sheathed in darkness, drawn from the halo above his head. Maledict laughed as his form dissipated.

At that very moment, the world around them filled with the sensation of shattering magic. The barrier was down.

Vinam turned to his general. "Send in everyone. Open that gate, and tell me where it goes. Kill every demon- But bring me Maledict alive."

"Yes my lord," General Truistiam said. "I’ll lead them myself."

Vinam flicked his arm in annoyance to hurry him along.

Re-entering his tent, he went straight to his room and grabbed a bottle of wine, drinking straight from it as he eyed Tzal.

Part of him wanted to fight the devil... to drive his heavenly swords through his guts and watch him die as his magic failed him...

Grinding his teeth together, Vinam let his swords dissipate.

No... that thinking would play right into Maledict’s hands...

He needed to let the army do its work...

He couldn’t even be sure Maledict’s words weren’t lies...

But what if they weren’t?

Only Aelaes could have known...

Only she had seen his heart...

And when she disappeared...

’I know who I will love... who I will bear a child for...’

She’d said those words to him, the day before she vanished...

He’d been so happy to think that she’d finally come around-

Had she? Vinam knew it was possible. He also knew that if she bore a demon’s child, the abomination would need to be killed... Nothing could be allowed to challenge the will of heaven.

She would not be forgiven. Not be allowed to return...

"No... No it’s a lie... IT’S A LIE!" he roared, heedless of his officers nearby.

He knew the truth. Aelaes had been his. Should have been his... The future and past united for the supremacy of heaven... for all eternity.

Moments later, his legions took flight. From their positions surrounding the city, they flew for its heart, the citadel that was the seat of its power.

For an hour he watched.

Watched as the paltry legion of demons fell screaming. Watched as throughout the city, traps and wards burst and flared and stabbed into the troops that blundered into them...

When one of his officers dared enter to report that the demon-signs were fake. That all the mana Vinam sensed was mere illusion, meant to lure soldiers into traps, he shouted, "Tell me something I care about! Can the perdition gate be opened or not?!"

"Our mages are powering it now, my lord," the captain replied. "We’ll know-"

The world went white.

A massive blast unlike anything Vinam had ever felt tossed his camp - which was more than a dozen great measures away from the city - into disarray.

Everything became chaos and a roar so loud it pushed the ashen clouds of hell away from its source.

When the shaking finally stopped, Vinam pulled himself to a stand, casting about until-

Where once Tzal had stood, now there was only a crater. The great citadel lay in ruins, its stones cast far beyond the walls, and from all around, the shattered ground started to seep with lava.

The city was gone... his victory, gone... His legions...

"HERESY!" he roared, unable to hear himself through burst eardrums.

A burst of mana from within him cleared what remained of his war tent, cratering the mountain around him as he raged.

First, he would destroy Hell itself... before the perditions let more demons escape.

Then, if it was the last thing he would do, Vinam swore he would destroy everything Maledict had made...

Everything the Duke of Heresy called his.

Down to the last stone...

The last bone...

And the last drop of blood.

Until then, he would never know peace.

Until then, he would not let any of the Triune Worlds know peace.