Chapter 292: Against The Demon King Pt.3: Retrieving The Grail

Thyron acted without hesitation as she swung her large tail forward with tremendous force, aimed directly at Samael’s suspended form.

The strike connected and the impact sent Samael’s body hurtling backward toward the portal.

His wings were limp and his limbs unresponsive and his body crossed the threshold of the gateway, passing into the swirling colors of the space between universes.

But just as he was about to disappear completely, awareness returned to him.

His eyes had snapped back into focus and his wings flared outward instinctively, catching the strange currents of energy within the portal.

He twisted his body mid-flight, trying to halt his momentum.

But it was too late, for je had already gone through.

Aiden immediately released his control over the portal and the massive gateway began collapsing in on itself.

The edges of the portal folded inward, shrinking rapidly as the connection between universes severed.

But just before it sealed completely, a figure shot back through the narrowing gap.

Samael.

He moved at a such a speed so insane, with his six wings propelling him forward with explosive force.

He flew through the tiny opening that remained, barely making it back into their universe before the portal closed shut behind him.

The moment he emerged, he didn’t slow down.

He flew directly at Thyron, with his right fist cocked back.

The force of his punch connected with her massive torso, and thyron’s enormous form was shoved backward violently.

Her feet left the ground, and she crashed onto her back with a thunderous impact that shook the ground and made it rumble like an earthquake

The ground beneath her cracked and splintered outward in every direction.

If Samael had been even one second slower, he would have never made it back.

The dragons stared at him in shock with expressions of great disbelief.

Syqora had whispered in a low voice, “No.”

Samael hovered in the air above them, breathing heavily but grinning widely. Then laughed so loudly that the sound echoed across the battlefield.

“You nearly had me with that one,” he said, still catching his breath. “I’ll admit it. That was close.”

Then his gaze shifted toward Aiden, and his grin widened further.

“Now that’s a new trick,” Samael said, pointing at the black dragon. “Destroying my thoughts like that. Clever. But you see, even I have

grown stronger since our last battle.”

Aiden stared back at him without speaking.

He had the memories of all four dragons within him and knew every attack they had thrown at Samael during their last battle a hundred years ago.

And given the nature of Samael’s Grace of Adaptation, Aiden had used an attack Samael had never encountered before.

He had hoped it would take Samael longer to adapt, which would in turn buy them more time to force him through the portal.

And based on the memories he carried, Samael’s adaptation should not have worked this quickly and he should not have recovered in time.

So it meant that something had changed.

Below them, Thyron’s eyes opened. She groaned as she lifted herself off the ground, pushing her massive body upright. Her wings spread out behind her as she rose to her full height once more.

Then Syqora’s voice echoed directly into Aiden’s mind through a telepathic link.

“Open the portal again.”

Aiden was silent for a moment. His red eyes remained locked on Samael, who floated above them with that taunting grin still on his face.

Then Aiden replied into the minds of all three dragons.

“No.”

Syqora’s countenance shifted in surprise, but Aiden continued before he could respond.

“Samael already knows we intend to send him through the portal,” Aiden said. “He’ll fight back with that in mind every time we try.”

He paused, then added firmly.

“The only option now is to throw everything we have at him. And in the moment he least expects it, that’s when I’ll open the portal and send him through.”

Silence followed for a brief moment.

None of the other dragons replied, but Aiden could feel their agreement through the link.

Then the black dragon stepped forward, walking past Thyron, Syqora, and Orlien as he positioned himself at the front.

As he walked, he turned his head toward the avatar that still hovered at his side.

“This is beyond you,” Aiden said, and with a single thought, the avatar vanished.

Above them, Samael watched the dragons regroup. His eyes moved briefly toward Orlien, and he noticed the Longinus still floating beside her.

She held it suspended in midair through the grip of her consciousness, preventing him from recalling it.

She wouldn’t be able to harm him with it, but she was making sure he couldn’t use it either.

Samael smiled at that.

“What are you filthy creatures going to do now?” he asked mockingly.

In that moment, Aiden roared a sound that carried the full weight of his power as Dragon King and hiswings spread wide as he launched himself into the air, flying directly toward Samael.

Thyron, Syqora, and Orlien followed immediately behind him, their massive forms ascending in unison.

Samael’s grin widened. He spread his six wings fully and flew toward them as well.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

———

Right where Adam and Lilith fought…

Red miasma flared outward from Lilith’s body and Golden divine energy radiated from Adam.

At Adam’s side was Aiden’s avatar, who remained calm and without an expression.

Lilith was currently breathing heavily as she tried to catch her breath. Her eyes moved between Adam and the avatar, unsure of how to deal with the situation.

Adam had a taunting smile on his face and the avatar simply stared at her with condescension.

Earlier, just after the avatar had relocated Asahel away to a distance, he had also immediately locked space around the half-angel, trapping him within a confined spatial barrier.

The avatar’s power, even as a copy, was more than enough to deal with Asahel, and despite the boost from his fourth wing, the angel could not break free from the confinement.

He remained trapped within that locked space, unable to move beyond its boundaries, while the other Archons, Umgadi, Gaia, and Orion, stayed nearby to watch over Asahel and ensure he did not interfere.

With Asahel removed from the equation, the avatar had joined Adam in his fight against Lilith.

And from that point onward, the battle had shifted to quickly becoming an unfair matchup.

Even though Lilith could have stalemated Adam on her own, she could do absolutely nothing against the avatar.

Time and again, he thwarted her attempts, countering each attack before it could land.

And Whenever she tried to escape Adam’s assault, he used his authority over space to reposition her back to the same spot.

Adam’s smile widened as he looked at her now.”It’s over, Lilith,” he said. “With the dragon here, you can’t win.”

He paused, letting his words sink in before continuing.

“And this time, your new prison will be one you will never be able to get out of.”

He turned his head toward the avatar and nodded.

The avatar stretched its hand forward toward and space warped around her instantly as Invisible barriers formed on all sides, locking her within a confined spatial prison.

Lilith noticed immediately. Her eyes widened as she raised both hands and fired red blobs of energy at the barriers surrounding her.

Each blast struck the walls of the prison with explosive force, but they only bounced off harmlessly.

Then she saw Adam speaking and glowing runes began materializing in the air around him.

Lilith recognized those runes at once.

These were the runes that had bound her to the edge of the universe, and terror flooded through her as the runes drifted closer toward her prison.

The trauma of that experience surged back into her mind all at once, overwhelming her with such dread that she screamed.

“I’m never going back there!”

With that desperate cry, she made the Holy Grail appear at her side. It materialized within a red blob of energy, hovering just within reach.

Lilith grabbed hold of it tightly with both hands and opened her mouth to speak a wish that would save her.

But this was exactly what they had wanted.

The bait had been set, and Lilith had caught it.

The very moment she summoned the Grail, the avatar dropped the space lock barriers surrounding her.

And in that same moment, Adam’s voice rang out clearly across the distance between them.

“RETURN!”

The Holy Grail vanished from Lilith’s hands and settled gently into Adam’s outstretched palm.

Lilith’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“How?!”

Adam looked amused.

“You see, as the bearer of this artifact,” he began calmly, “I always knew of the possibility that one day I might lose it.”

He paused for effect before continuing.

“So I set up a failsafe. A simple wish asking the Grail to immediately return to my hands the next time it heard my voice say the word ’Return.’”

Lilith’s expression twisted into frustration.

“Lies, Adam!” she shouted back at him. “That is a complex wish! You wouldn’t make a wish like that because you know complex wishes cause unwanted effects!”

“Oh, Lilith,” Adam said mockingly. “But you see, it’s not complex at all.”

He gestured toward the Grail in his hand as he explained further.

“It is a simple wish. One with a condition, yes, but still simple: to return to me at the sound of my voice saying a specific word.”

He paused again before adding:

“Of course, this wish was made a long time ago. But the Grail registered it still. And now that it’s heard that voice again, it has drawn its energy to fulfill it.”

The Grail had used the last of its energy to grant that wish. The artifact would now take another hundred years to recharge fully enough for three new wishes.

But it had still been the right move pulling it out of her hands.

This had been the plan Adam put together, one which Aiden had agreed to.

The avatar could have easily put Lilith down this entire time. But based on that plan, it only needed to frustrate her efforts and drive her into a corner.

And once Lilith saw that she had been cornered with no way out, she would be forced to use the only item that could possibly save her.

The Holy Grail.

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