70. Samael

Samael

T he female with the hair like fire disappears behind a line of old trees, leaving me alone in the cave.

Erelah.

That’s what she told me her name is.

Why did she save me?

I’ve never met an angel like her before, so willing to help me, a Nephilim. Doesn’t she know that I’m her enemy? That all I want is to destroy her and her world for the glory of Ophyr?

Maybe she saved me because she knows what I am and hopes that by doing so, she might make me change my mind about killing her.

Fool!

She will be the first to die by my hand.

I would have killed her by now if not for my foolish decision of forcing my way into this world, leading to my collision with the ground.

I should have waited for my soldiers to break the shield protecting this planet from Nephilim invasion. The shield is different from the ones we’ve encountered so far, making me believe it wasn’t Pandora who erected it.

Pandora was a fool when she thought she could escape me after dragging me to the darkest corner of the Universe and leaving me there to perish. It took my soldiers and me a long time to escape that hellish place.

Once I was free, I chased Pandora from one corner of the Universe to the other. She thought that by stealing our divine power, she would stop us. Nothing can.

After I killed Pandora with the help of Asa, my right hand, I shared her divine power with all my brothers. She took ours, so it was only right to return what was stolen to them.

Soon, I will do the same with Erelah’s divine power. Or maybe I will keep it all to myself.

But first, I’ll let her heal my wings. If my soldiers see me in this state, they won’t hesitate to kill me. Weaknesses of any kind are not allowed within the Nephilims. Once, I killed a female for stopping during a march to look at a flower.

I still snort thinking of that foolish female. Flowers are useless.

It doesn’t take long for me to get bored while looking at the ceiling and the falling snow. It’s the first time I’m forced to lay still and not do anything. It…disturbs me. I don’t even have my sword within reach. Erelah left it in the cave but I can’t get to it since she chained me to the wall. I was too weak to stop her.

Thank Ophyr, no other Nephilim is here to see me in this…state.

Once I gain my strength back and kill Erelah, I will search for my soldiers. They can’t be far behind me.

After a while, I fall into a dreamless sleep. I never dream because I have nothing to dream of. The only reason I exist is to serve Ophyr.

Pandora took Ophyr away from me, along with half of my army, and locked them away in a place I have yet to find. If I have to destroy the entire Universe to find them, I will do so.

Erelah returns sometime later. She has a small sack under her right arm, and she drops it close to me. As she rummages through it, her melodious—more like annoying voice—fills the cave. The language she speaks is not something I have heard before. The only thing I could catch was her name. She asked for mine, but I refused to give it to her. What use would it be to tell her when she will die anyway?

Erelah finally pulls out a white robe similar to the one she wears and hands it to me. Does my nakedness bother her? Strange. When I’m not wearing my armor, I’m usually naked around my soldiers or when I train. Especially when I train. If I bleed, everyone will know of my shame. So far, no one has bested me in combat. Only Asa came close once because he took me by surprise. I made sure to make him bleed many times after that.

Erelah scowls when I don’t put the robe on.

Since my armor is mostly useless until I repair it, I might as well use the robe. Erelah probably left my armor where I crashed, so I’ll have to retrieve it when I regain my strength.

Sitting on the makeshift bed is harder than I thought. What kind of a shield protects this world if it leaves me this weak? Even my divine power feels less than before.

Killing Erelah would be so easy.

Her eyes, full of stars, gaze into mine, and for a moment, I’m captivated. I have never seen such eyes before.

She keeps speaking while she helps me put the robe on. It is only now that I realize how cold I have been. The robe is made from a warm material that shields me from the elements.

While she fastens the strings in front of the robe, her fingers almost touch the scar on my chest. I gently push her hands away, not wanting her to know I don’t have a heart. If she has yet to recognize what I am, she will for sure realize it when she discovers the lack of said organ.

Once I’m dressed, Erelah helps me lie back on the blankets. Her gaze goes to the food and water she left for me. The scowl on her face deepens. I haven’t touched anything she left in case it is poisoned. Any precaution is too little. Especially when it is the enemy who gave it to me.

Erelah grabs one of the granola bars, takes a bite, and then offers it to me.

And what do I do?

I accept it like an obedient pup and eat it.

The stars in her eyes shine.

I have never seen something more beautiful in my entire existence.

Since when do I find something beautiful?

A growl of annoyance leaves me. What does she do? She laughs.

Who is this female who doesn’t seem to fear me, Samael, the General of all Nephilims and Conqueror of Worlds?

I have never been curious about someone else other than Ophyr…until now.