Chapter 300: Unraveling the Angel’s Schemes.

The bindings were coming undone…

Rummel Abellion could feel them unraveling, thread by thread.

The ancient seals that had held him prisoner for millennia were finally beginning to break.

The ritual had worked perfectly…

The human boy had played his part beautifully as well.

And now the power was returning.

The blue flames from the fungus-covered floor began to rise, as streams of luminescent fire that flowed across the chamber toward Rummel Abellion’s four-armed form. The flames swirled around its body, drawn inexorably toward the white wooden mask, into those empty sockets that housed an endless abyss of darkness.

The flames poured in.

Rummel Abellion’s soul fire was ignited once more.

For the first time in centuries beyond counting, the Angel felt whole.

The hollow emptiness that had defined its existence in this… this putrid prison began to fill with something closer to true consciousness.

It had been so long.

So impossibly long…

Rummel Abellion had been a being of significant power once, before his binding.

He had once been an Angel, not one of the great Grigori that had taught humanity the forbidden arts, but something much older. Something that predated even their fall.

It had watched the Divine Will shape the world, perhaps…

It had seen the angels march to heralds of war, perhaps…

It had witnessed the war between heaven and the depths.

Perhaps…

And as with the case with all heavenly wars and whatnots, he had chosen a side.

The wrong side, as it turned out.

When the Demon Wars ended and the victors began their purges, Rummel Abellion had fled. Fled to the forgotten places where the divine light could not reach him. And for a time, he had been safe.

Until the hunters found him.

They had been relentless, those dogs. They had tracked him across continents, through worlds and even between dimensions, until finally cornering him here, in this pocket realm— A place compared to a puddle of mud, or a ditch.

In the end, he had been sealed here.

When he considered the treatment some of the others got, then perhaps he got of lightly. However, he was still aggrieved.

Nothing was meant to find this place.

And anything that did find it should have been incapable of setting it free.

Fortunately, his jailers had underestimated the heights of human potential, curiosity, and folly.

The boy was his long awaited key.

He still did not know how they had been able to reach this place, but he couldn’t care less.

Perhaps there was something special about the boy. He could sense the faintest wiffs of stain and the terrible, putrid, black rot of corruption on the human, but he paid that no mind.

The human was shrouded in a thin veil of mystery. One even he, Rummel Abellion, didn’t truly understand.

But that was insignificant…

The flames continued to pour into its mask, and with each moment, more of its power returned. Not all of it. His complete release would require more blood, death, and sacrifice. But this was enough.

More than enough to get rid of all these shackles.

Once fully freed, Rummel Abellion had plans. Grand plans…

The world above had changed during his imprisonment, he reckoned.

The heavenly orders were also sure to have changed greatly, with the Divine One’s grip loosening as the corruption spread like a poignant rot through the foundations of existence. By now, most of the angels should have retreated to their crystalline palaces, abandoning the earth to seek safety themselves…

It was chaos up there now, he reckoned. Beautiful chaos…

And he intended to fuel those chaotic flames even more.

All of everything was a broken mess. A discordant, blasphemous shell of its former state.

There were all sorts of horrors and nightmares being birthed every passing day, with each one being even worse than the next.

Very soon, the heavens would be unable to ignore this festering pot of its own creation.

Then, will it open its doors once again?

Regardless, it didn’t have a choice.

It was either that, or the darkness would pry open those golden gates itself, no?

***

Jacob’s axe descended toward Nero’s skull.

’Fuck, fuck, fuck!’ Nero’s mind raced as he threw himself backward, the blade passing close enough to shave hair from his head.

He’d almost been had!

He had almost, fallen for the obvious deception. It had been so close.

But he’d trusted his intuition, in the end.

Before agreeing to Rummel Abellion’s terms, before shaking that terrifying thing’s clawed hand, Nero had done something the creature hadn’t anticipated.

He’d consulted the Oracle one more time, using his daily question on something crucial…

’Would it be wise to agree to this being’s terms without contingencies?’

The Oracle’s response had been immediate and unequivocal.

{That would be monumentally stupid. A Contract of Binding would be the minimum appropriate precaution}.

Nero had never heard of such a thing, but he’d learned to trust the Oracle’s guidance.

’What’s a Contract of Binding?’

{A Contract of Binding is an oath upon the pillars of the true name. It cannot be broken or circumvented. Both parties must agree to specific terms, and violation results in punishment by the heavens themselves—or allows the offended party to demand recompense regardless of the violator’s power. It is activated through a specific chant and the speaking of both parties’ true names by either one of the two parties or both}.

True names.

That had been the gamble…

Nero had no idea if “Rummel Abellion” was actually the being’s true name, or just a simple name the thing. But he’d decided to risk it, speaking the words of binding while the creature had been distracted by its own theatrical declarations.

The Contract of Binding also allowed that one, or even both parties needn’t be aware of the contract. So long as terms were established, the true names were spoken, and the chant was said, then the Contract could be created.

When Nero thought about it, he realized truly how terrifying such a contract was. It was, for lack of better words, a sure method to guarantee that a word was kept.

The contract had been simple; neither party could directly harm the other or cause the other’s death through deliberate action. In exchange for completing the three tasks, Rummel Abellion would wake Arthur and Jacob, and provide safe passage out of the chamber.

Nero had spoken his own name—his true name, Armageddon, Angel of Judgement, and gambled.

Now he just had to survive long enough to see if the gamble paid off.

***

The final binding snapped.

Rummel Abellion felt the last chain of power that had held it dissolve into nothing. The blue flames surged one final time, a torrential flood of essence pouring into its form until it blazed with soul fire that cast the entire chamber in brilliant azure light.

It threw back its head and let out a soundless cry.

“Finally!” The words echoed through the cavernous hall, resonating with power that made the walls tremble. “After millennia… I, Rummel Abellion… I am freed from my chains!” He said in the Divine tongue.

Liberation. It was sweet and intoxicating.

Then the boy’s voice cut through its triumph.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that if I were you.”

Rummel Abellion’s head snapped toward Nero.

Then the ceiling exploded.

An enormous golden chain, as thick as an ancient tree, smashed through the stone above and slammed into Rummel Abellion with the force of divine judgment. The impact drove it to the ground, pinning it beneath impossible weight. The chain blazed with light that burned like tongues of fire, licking the ground and turning it molten, searing Rummel Abellion’s essence into it.

“What is this?!” Rummel Abellion screeched, its four arms clawing at the chain, trying to pry it loose. “Does the heavens wish to bind me once again?!” He roared.

“No, you damned bastard,” Nero said, walking forward despite his injuries. Blood dripped from multiple wounds as he gazed up, his voice steady and filled with spite. “This is what you get for being a slimy prick that goes back on his words. We made a Contract of Binding.”

Rummel Abellion froze.

The words sank in slowly.

Contract of Binding.

“How does a mere human know about a Contract of Binding?!” Rummel Abellion roared, thrashing against the chain. “Impossible!”

It should have been impossible.

No human, living or dead, should know of such a thing, he was certain.

After all, the being’s I the heavens, regardless of their love, or their hatred, would never wish to be subjugated by the humans. Such knowledge is not one they would release. That, he was very certain of.

The chain tightened, and Rummel Abellion felt his newly regained power being locked away again. However, it was not complete this time. The ritual had still worked, and his seals were now broken.

But the Contract of Binding created new constraints, with a new set of limitations that it couldn’t circumvent without facing punishment from forces even it couldn’t defy.

It had failed.

After millennia of planning and patience.

Of waiting…

It had finally gotten close to freedom only to be outmaneuvered by a boy not much different from a beast.

Rummel Abellion would have laughed if it weren’t so enraged.

***

Arthur and Jacob collapsed to the ground.

The moment the golden chain struck Rummel Abellion, whatever had been controlling them seemed to vanish. They dropped like puppets with cut strings, both unconscious again but thankfully still breathing. But they were both bleeding rather severely from their wounds.

Nero sagged with relief, his legs nearly giving out.

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