Hope - a fateful moment (Vol.4) ✅️

Chapter 17

No one said a word, there was silence. Everyone was tense, waiting for the sign of attack. Sereph's Third and Fifth Divisions were on the large field, on standby. Facing them was the Second and Sixth Divisions of Astaroth, led by Lucan and Pavel. Everyone was ready to fight, waiting for the leaders to declare war.

Astaroth was tensely waiting on the front line. He won't come. It shouldn't have come to this, but now they couldn't do anything about it. Lucan looked over the field with a searching look – no trace of Nix. Now they had no choice. Time was almost up.

With a grim face, Astaroth finally ran forward. Sereph came to meet him. He looked horrible. Darkness sat in his eyes, his skin pale, as if he hadn't slept or eaten in weeks. Which was most likely the case. If anyone imagined that this would have been an advantage for Astaroth, it was a mistake. Sereph's inner demon lurked close to the surface and no one wanted to make acquaintance with it.

Sereph had been through his personal condemnation for the past four weeks. He could hardly sleep through the night. The clothes and the bed in which Hope had slept had gradually lost his smell. It had driven him and his inner demon crazy. He had stopped eating, nor had he fed himself.

Jaden was almost crazy with worry. He had never seen Sereph in such a miserable state. The hatred and darkness grew with each passing day until they almost devoured him. Like a living corpse, he had planned his attack on Astaroth for the past three days and had gone through it with his commanders.

They were horrified by his condition but followed his instructions without objection. When asked about the reason for this war, Sereph had spoken in a dark voice with, "He stole something from me." A hunch had crept up on them, but they hadn't asked any further. Now they were standing here.

Astaroth spoke as they stood directly in front of each other. "Sereph, it doesn't have to be war. Be reasonable."

But Sereph's empty eyes spoke volumes. "Time is up."

That said it all. Nix had kidnapped his heart a month ago, now the deadline had passed. Sereph would carry out his threat. But Astaroth couldn't allow Serreph to harm Aleksander and Belial. So Astaroth drew his sword and took the fighting position. How had Nix let it get this far? This mess would cost the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of demons senselessly, and all because of a single human soul. Fate was really a lousy asshole.

Sereph let his scythe appear and brought himself into position. Everyone held their breath, no one dared to breathe. Then Sereph shot forward, but before the scythe hit Astaroth's sword, it was repelled by a katana and deflected to the side. Light blond hair fluttered in the wind. Everyone looked spellbound at the princes of hell who had stopped. Between them, a stranger had appeared out of nowhere.

He was wearing a black battle suit and with a fluid movement he knocked the scythe out of Sereph's hand. His fighters gasped in shock. What was their prince doing? Why didn't he move?

"It's enough," came a bright voice that belonged to the stranger. "There will be no war."

Astaroth cautiously took a few steps back. But gave his leaders the signal not to attack. Everyone was waiting.

Soft hands rested on the back of Sereph's head and pulled him down. Soft lips met his and released his lethargic state. He instinctively wrapped his arms around his conqueror and pulled him tightly to him. The smell of peach and a hint of almond enveloped him and his body began to function again. Life returned to them and the darkness disappeared.

The commanders looked stunned at the two. Who was this stranger and what did he do with their prince?

Astaroth was the first to raise his voice. "The agreement has been honoured. I hereby declare the declaration of war null and void. May peace continue."