Book 2: Seven Demon's Hearts

Episode 11: Checkmate

Episode 11: C h e c k m a t e

"Y-You're...Abraxas?" My shoulders slumped down with disappointment.

"Hey! I just saved your ass you know! You ought to at least give me some thanks or credit." His knees were literally trembling against each other. "And why do you sound so disappointed! Do you think I'm pathetic? Why I'll have you know that I used to serve the heavens in the good old days!"

I stood up with Sera and cautiously walked up to him, ignoring the rest of his rambles. "How? How did you make them disappear?"

"Well, it is I, after all, Abraxas! I know all the secrets of the holy land!" He sure did speak highly of himself. Consider that his knees were still shaking.

"Get to the point, they might come back again!" I really didn't have time for him to continue joking around with us. Sera and I were both in danger in a foreign country with nowhere to go.

"Well, you see, there's this special formula to make any angel fly back to heaven," he pointed towards the brick wall. A fresh painting of "777" was sloppily drawn with a handprint smacked onto the middle seven. He wiggled his white palm and grinned. "You find those three digits called the septum tribus, and boom, smack your hand on it! Just like that, the angels are no more. Gone. That's how I've made it alive all these years. Well...on some occasions. I mainly try to stay hidden from them. That helps."

"So, it's as simple as that..." I glanced at the numbers. "Then why doesn't anyone know about this?"

"Well, it's not easy drawing out three sevens mid-battle, it all depends on your experience. For starters, the symbol can't be farther than 7 feet in diameter from them or else it doesn't work. That needs perfect eye coordination to spot this, as I clearly possess. Second, during battle, planning that out isn't easy, especially when your opponents are three fierce angels leaving you no chance to guard yourself while you plan it out. Oh, man, do they love to attack in groups. Don't get me started, you barely have time to even breathe! And, for the most part, not many know of the septum tribus because angels like to keep their weaknesses guarded, and are usually successful in their assassination tasks. But, I, the great and mighty Abraxas have managed to---"

"Let's go now Sera." I took her hand and cautiously studied our surroundings before taking my first step.

"Hey, wait! Go where?" He quickly called out to us. "You have nowhere to go right?"

"It's better than chatting with a pretentious madman like you. What makes you think I'd trust someone again after what just happened to me? No thank you. We'll find the airport and book a ticket back home!"

"Uh, did you forget that I just sard you both? Besides, there's no way you'll get there alive. The warding doesn't protect you from the angels forever. It only lasts for seven minutes."

"What?!" I turned around and faced him. "How much time do we have left?"

"Three minutes."

"AND YOU JUST KEPT BLABBERING AWAY!" He stumbled back as I lost my cool.

"Well, you don't need to go so far anyway if you just follow me!" He argued. "I have the best hiding place where they won't even dare to find us at."

"Oh, and where exactly is this secluded hideout of yours?" I rolled my eyes. Seriously, just looking at this Abraxas dude was a letdown. With how mighty and dangerous he sounded from the stories I heard I would have thought that he would at least look the part too. If anything, he looked like he'd lead us right to the angels again and have us all killed!

"Don't worry! I'm Abraxas the great legend across the three realms! Follow me!"

"Wait, aren't you going to even tell me why you're helping me out? I mean, aren't you suppose to be in hiding too? You don't seem to be the heroic type judging by how scared you were either. Why...just why are you doing this?" My suspicions only continued to rise.