They held on well. Seraphille was almost done with her spell.
As Dae struck the ghouls down, his eyes never stopped moving. He glanced over at Dean and nudged his shoulder.
"Look out for Mom and the others!"
"Where are you going?"
"To find Rayshel. She must have gotten separated from us. But as crazy"—a smile formed on his face—"as she is, there's no way she's dead."
Dean opened his mouth, worry on his face, though it quickly shifted into a bright expression.
"Bring her back!"
Just then, Dae separated from the group, and when Abbadon saw it, he went after him, briefly turning to the others.
"You've got this without me. I won't be gone long!"
He went to Seraphina, kissed her, then cleaved a path for himself with a single swing of his sword and left the group.
Some kilometers away from the army
Vareth had taken the battle farther away, yet the king and queen did not look flustered at all and had followed him without issue. Naturally, this piqued Vareth's interest.
"What are you planning?" he asked.
While the queen remained indifferent, the king tilted his head toward the sky. The crack in the heavens had widened and continued to spread with every passing second.
"I see," Vareth said, no worry in his voice.
Then dozens of rockets thundered across the sky, their flames lighting up the heavens. They were gigantic, and one thing was certain—if they hit, America was done for.
Fortunately, Seraphille had finished her spell.
With her power, she lifted the entire White House and launched it at the rockets. Immediately after, a golden energy surrounded America like a wall.
In that moment, everyone ceased fighting and watched the impact.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!
It seemed like an endless firework.
During the explosions, one man did not stop.
That man was Dae.
He found Rayshel with the Irregular, and when he saw the tears in Rayshel's eyes, he completely lost it and lunged forward. His tackle alone was enough to shove the surrounding ghouls aside.
He crossed the distance in mere milliseconds.
When Rayshel spotted him, she was about to say something, but Dae had already swung his leg downward.
The Irregular caught it with such ease that it did not seem real to Dae.
Then Dae glanced at Rayshel, who quickly closed the distance after the Irregular released his leg.
"Dae, he is not an enemy!"
"Then who is he? Wait—" His eyes widened. "Is he your lo—"
Rayshel yanked him toward her and kissed him.
Their tongues, their souls, melted together.
When she finally pulled away, her face brighter than the explosions above their heads, she whispered:
"You are and always will be my only lover."
Dae simply stood there, trying to process everything. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and exhaled in one breath.
Then his lips trembled.
He suppressed his smile, his joy—but Rayshel closed the distance again and wrapped her arms around him.
"Damn, that felt good, right, Dae?"
She lifted her head.
Dae answered, though he averted his eyes.
"Yeah… it did."
"You're lucky your skin is black right now, or I'd see you blushing."
The happiness on her face faltered.
Dae noticed immediately.
"Rayshel, what is it?"
"What if there were no way to save everyone here? What if the world were destined to be destroyed, and you had to choose—stay with your family, or come with me? What would you do?"
Dae pulled away from her.
"What is going on?"
His gaze immediately shifted to the man, rage beginning to boil within him, but Rayshel's voice brought him back.
"It's not his fault, Dae! Since I was little, I've been seeing visions. I never understood them, and they always came in different orders—some were even blurred. But with time, the visions became clearer, and I was able to see the Truth."
She spread her arms wide.
"Dae… we were never meant to live for our own sake. All of this—this is meant to happen!"
"Rayshel, I can't follow!"
The explosions had ceased, and America still stood.
However, suddenly—
A green light exploded in the sky.
"He's here," the Irregular said.
Dae stared at him for a moment before turning back to Rayshel, whose tears had begun forming again.
"Rayshel!"
"Dae, please. I can't do this without you!"
"Do what?"
"Change everyone's fate!"
"Rayshel, I'm completely lost. Whoever is coming, let's fight him together!"
He turned to the Irregular.
"I don't know you, and it's shameless to ask—but could you help us? When I attacked you earlier, I felt it. You're strong. Damn strong."
The light in the sky dimmed.
"I am sorry, Dael," the Irregular said, his voice drenched in sorrow. "Right now, I am in no condition."
He coughed.
"I had planned only to take Rayshel with me, but she asked me to take you as well. She said that even if you cannot see the Truth, you could still become part of us."
"Part of what?"
Beside the dimming light, more lights erupted—smaller than the first.
Rayshel grabbed Dae's arm.
"Dae!"
"You want me to abandon everyone? Just like that? My brother, my mother, my father—everyone? Rayshel, would you have done it?"
"I… I never truly had a family. So I don't…"
At last, Abbadon arrived.
He remained calm.
"So you do exist, Irregular."
"Dad, what do you mean?"
Abbadon glanced at Dae, then at Rayshel.
"Then it must be you he has come for."
"FATHER!"
Abbadon looked toward the light.
"Fuck. We are in deep shit."
Rayshel ran over to him.
"Are you one too?"
(Dae: What the fuck is going on here?)
"No. But long ago, I met one—and he told me many things. I thought it was all foolishness. But seeing this…"
He looked to the sky.
"I know now that man did not lie."
The light finally subsided.
The beings emerged.
To some, they looked like saviors.
To others, like threats.
But in truth—they were far worse.
The Irregular turned to Rayshel.
"What do you choose?"
"Is there really nothing you can do? Nothing?"
The Irregular looked up.
"I'm sorry. There isn't. Not with them here now."
Dae looked at their faces and understood.
"So that's it? We all die now?"
The Irregular's jaw hardened.
He turned to Dae.
"Your woman"—Dae blushed—"told me you would be a great help. I cannot help the people here, and it pains me more than you can imagine. But we have a greater fight ahead of us."
He stepped closer.
"If you follow Rayshel—if you follow me—you will walk into a war that may never end. You will see things, suffer things, you would not wish upon even your worst enemy."
His voice deepened.
"Is your body ready? Is your soul ready? Will you stand when everyone else falls?"
For the first time since birth, Dae was utterly speechless.
Only when Abbadon stepped beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder did Dae return to himself.
"Father?"
"Son. Go with him."
Dae's eyes widened.
"The others—your mother, your real father—they will understand. They know about those monsters in the sky. They learned of them long ago by accident, but they knew there was nothing they could do."
He turned to the Irregular.
"I assume they are here for you and Rayshel. If you leave, they should follow."
He paused.
"It's not guaranteed. And even if they do, we may gain only a little time—but we will use that time to find a solution. I assume we would not be the first to defeat such monsters, should it come to that?"
"You are right," the Irregular said. "Still… nothing is set in stone."
Abbadon smiled.
Then he pulled Dae into a hug.
As Rayshel joined the Irregular, a woman suddenly appeared beside him.
Without looking at her, the Irregular walked toward the beings in the sky and ordered:
"Prepare it. I will hold them back. Sadly, we cannot save this planet—but I shall be damned if I cannot save its living beings!"
The next moment, he vanished.
And where the figures stood in the sky—
Explosion after explosion shook the world itself.
The heavens cracked.
The woman wasted no time and began chanting, the ground glowing with sigils beneath her feet.
Rayshel and Dae still wanted to speak to their family, but Abbadon forced himself to step away from them—even yanking his arm from the one he loved.
He moved beyond the glowing circle and whispered:
"I… we will always love you."
He pointed at Rayshel.
"And you better treat her well. She's a fine woman—honestly, too fine for you."
The earth cracked violently, lava erupting from the splitting ground.
"If what I was told is true, then your fight will be long… cruel…"
His voice trembled.
"But you will fight for more than your own survival. You will fight for the survival of countless others."
He smiled through the chaos.
"I wish you the best of luck. And may we meet again in another time."
Just then, the Irregular reappeared—
But he was not alone.
He held one of the beings by the arm.
That being radiated power itself.
When Abbadon looked to the sky, he saw no one left.
Nothing.
Then he looked back to the Irregular, who said:
"I can only prolong the time you have left to live. I'm sorry."
At once, the light swallowed them.
And they were gone.
The End
I thank you that you followed this story so far. I've started another story called The One Uniting. If you wish to know about me and also the second story I'm posting I invite you to my personal website: https://rtblack.com/