abcnovels
Chapter 124 Veronica
Chapter 124 Veronica
Chapter 124 Veronica
The majestic capital of the Chaos Empire – Abyss, sprawls on ruined streets where buildings rise chaotically as if the embodiment of disorder itself. Here, amidst this chaotic symphony of destruction, demons of various ranks move as one, their powerful footsteps resounding through the air. At the same time, cries and pleas for help can be heard, but in this mad atmosphere, no one can hear each other.
And amid this cosmic chaos, the army marching toward the border with Avalonia – Varasima, presents a breathtaking and unified spectacle. It's like a nightmare painting created by a mad artist, and those who could capture this moment feel an irresistible urge to escape the inevitable danger.
Amid all this horror, a gloomy castle with towers piercing the clouds looms, surrounded by wyverns of various colors. The air is filled with darkness as if summoning a bloody clash, and not a single soul would dare to stand against these dangerous creatures in this place. Its imposing towers, seemingly reaching for the clouds, appear as gates to the heart of hell. The castle walls, covered in moss and stained with blood, resemble a giant monolith carved from the darkest nightmares. The castle, like a living being, exudes a bloody aura, as if always preparing for an attack, and even the air seems saturated with darkness and malice.
No one could dispute the greatness of this castle, and hardly an enemy's foot would step on its territory, considering the defenses it possesses. And as befits its appearance, the castle belonged to none other than the Demon Queen, Veronica. From ancient times, her name was synonymous, and every unruly demon, causing chaos, turned into a harmless kitten upon hearing her name. The queen's power was so firmly established that not a single soul would even dare to speak her name, and every demon referred to her solely as the 'Goddess of Demons.'
Though this status, or rather title, was always disputed by humans and the religions of other races, no one could make even 0.000001% progress in convincing the demons of their wrongness. Every demon ever born, in any part of the planet... and even infants. All knew one single, indisputable truth – the Demon Queen would rule over them, and they were her servants.
"Your Majesty..."
And so, in this intimidating castle, a deep and almost beastly growl echoed. It was barely possible to discern the words, as the speaker was a creature too unlike a human. It seemed to be a lizard one moment, and a minotaur the next – the speaker had the body of a lizard and the head of a minotaur. Its skin was dark purple, and it had long claws on its hands and feet. It stood 223 cm tall, and its eyes were black.
The situation was as follows – this creature, looking like childish scribbles with a more distorted appearance, bent its knees. Or more precisely, it assumed a dogeza posture, not daring to lift its head, as if fearing to offend the creature in front of it.
"Trash..." Suddenly, a cold and simultaneously seductive voice, belonging to the unknown creature hidden behind curtains, resounded. She took a brief pause, then continued with an accusatory tone, destroying the creature before her time and time again: "Your son was known as a talented demon. His titles shouted about a strong warrior, but all I saw was defeat. But even that wasn't enough, so your son..."
The person, apparently a woman, as could be deduced from her voice, took a brief pause, causing the demon before her to tremble with fear, while his brain melted from stress, and the fear for his life filled his demonic hearts, and his bovine ears twitched, showing his tense state. One of his horns, the left one, suddenly cracked, revealing black energy within. The demon's next reaction was a scream.
"AAAAAAAH!"
A cry filled with agony and pain grew more and more horrifying with each passing second, making those hidden in the shadows shudder with fear. The woman was indifferent to how much this demon suffered, completely ignoring him and continuing her speech, spewing poisonous words one after another.
"Your son... oh, your son! Bastard, a monkey's brat! Why the hell can't your idiot follow orders? Idiot, damn idiot!" The woman shouted, and along with her exploding emotions, her demonic energy, also known as miasma, burst forth, targeting the demon who began to melt under its influence, as if wax under heat.
"Mistress... have mercy!" The demon cried out, appealing to his mistress, who was in a rage, but his voice didn't reach her, and the demon's body instantly turned into liquid.
The demons, hidden in the darkness, swallowed, feeling how fear overcame their minds, and their hearts seemed to stop, not wanting their existence to be revealed. To their relief, by that time, the woman had calmed down, and her growing anger, which even the bravest demons and wyverns had been repelled by, began to subside.
Silence fell. For all the defenders of the queen, this silence was so tense that several of them lost consciousness, and the only thing that helped them hold their ground was the assistance of their colleagues who caught them before they fell to the ground. The demons didn't even want to imagine what would happen to those who lost consciousness. Death was unlikely to be what they would receive."
"Please, someone, help us!" they pleaded, not even considering that they were demons. Some even began to pray to the Goddess of Light, who, feeling the prayer from impure beings, nearly spat out her tea.
In one way or another, even demons had their superhero. And even if he didn't wear a cape, he was still a savior for those demons who had lost hope.
A creak sounded, and the door to the hall was opened by an unfamiliar face. As soon as this person approached within five meters of the throne, his face immediately appeared. The guest was a middle-aged man with short light hair and black eyes. Surprisingly, despite the miasma around him, he had a human appearance - the same state as Adam in his basic form. The man was muscular and bearded, dressed in classic knight's armor, except for the helmet, and a long knight's sword hung from his belt, somewhat resembling a saber.
His skin was brown, and from time to time, blisters appeared on it, but they burst and disappeared in a fraction of a second. This was noticed by the woman behind the curtains.
"Who did this to you, Azaroth? You're slightly strong, so an ordinary opponent couldn't have left such serious injuries on you. A curse or something else?" she asked, although it was clear from her tone that she wasn't particularly interested.
"Huh? Oh, this... just a mosquito bite, nothing more. Don't worry, Mom, I'll get rid of this sorry state soon," the man replied indifferently, showing no interest in the question, and then asked his own: "The demon you killed, Mother, Henry the Furious? His achievements were known throughout the Chaos Empire, and he was once one of the generals who contributed to the expansion of our territories. Can I know why he's dead?"
The man, whose name was Azaroth, asked this question with a sincere expression as if there was no ulterior motive behind his words. The woman, who was his mother, and upon further reflection, one could understand that she was the Demon Queen, Veronica, answered indifferently, her tone colder than the Arctic ice.
"Just another piece of trash. Her son, a pitiful worm, failed his mission and fled when I gave the order to execute him. And as you know, parents are responsible for the deeds of their offspring. That's why he got what he deserved," she replied, sneering. Her words were filled with venom and hatred, as well as resentment. "Besides... they found 'him,' even fought him."
"WHAT?!"
Azaroth suddenly shouted so loudly that the ears of some demons began to bleed. His appearance seemed to distort with each passing second, becoming horrifying and truly demonic. His emotions were unknown, but it could be said that Azaroth was shocked.
"Hahaha," Veronica's cheerful laughter rang out, and she mockingly pointed out Azaroth's exaggerated reaction, "You seem very surprised. Is something wrong?"
"N-n-no," stammered Azaroth, returning to his normal state. He bowed his head and apologized, "I apologize for such a reaction. I just got very excited that my brother was finally found."
He smiled happily and clenched his fists, either restraining his joy or something else. Veronica just snorted and fell silent, saying nothing more. Azaroth, noticing his mother's silent gesture, sighed and bowed before leaving. Silence once again filled the hall.
***
As soon as Azaroth closed the door to the hall, his facial expression immediately changed - the previous joyful smile disappeared, and black blood began to drip from his clenched fists. He clenched his teeth so tightly that they creaked, and his sclera turned black. His facial expression distorted with hatred, while black veins began to appear on his forehead, throbbing with each passing second.
"YOU AGAIN, INTERRUPTING ME!" he suddenly screamed, so loudly that everyone could hear - the servants, demons outside the castle, and even Veronica, who was not supposed to hear this, but Azaroth's scream reached her ears.
Turning her face towards a small window, she looked at the army moving towards Varasima. Her eyes narrowed, and madness appeared in them.
"My dear, my son, my love, my treasure, my life. I'll bring you back, even if it costs me my life. I'll kill all the gods and goddesses, destroy all races... and no one will stop me."
"Because of you..."
"Are only mine."
***
At the same time, Adam, who was on his way to a business meeting with a representative of the beastmen, after a long silence and conflicts, agreed to negotiations. And at the moment when he, accompanied by Elyra and Elara, was heading straight to the negotiation room, Adam suddenly sneezed.
"Ah-choo!"
Five minutes later...
"Ah-choo! Ah-choo!"
Raising an eyebrow, he looked around and suddenly felt as if danger loomed over his neck. But even after a long search, he found nothing, so he decided to put it off for better times and continued on his way."