Chapter 71: Chapter 71

I whispered leaning to Xander in a shaky voice, "It was him Xander. It was him. We should run from here or he will kill us."

"Shhh! It's ok, Hazel. I am here. He will not be able to touch you as long as I am here. You calm down first," Xander spoke in a confronting tone while hugging me. But from his expression, I could feel that he was also surprised to see that sudden guest.

Looking in the direction of the stranger, Xander asked in a loud voice, "Who are you? What do you want from us?"

The person who was standing in front of us, burst out into laughter. Ignoring then that question he replied nonchalantly, "The daughter of great Amenadiel who is going to rule the whole Underworld is such a scared kitten. I didn't know that God had selected a coward to rule the underworld. Why are you so scared of me? Even your mother, a normal human, was braver than you."

The moment he spoke about my mother the flashback of my mother's death started to come back in my mind and my vision started to get blurry. Tears started to form in my both eyes. I replied angrily looking up in his direction, "Don't you dare to take my mother's name in your mouth. You killed my mother, a worm of hell."

The stranger still didn't react at all hearing my accusation. Instead of reacting or replying he laughed again. While scratching the back of his head with the devilish smirk on his extremely handsome face, he replied in a very polite way, "Xander, your father was a great king. I see the potential of your father in you. It was a pleasure meeting you. I am Armarous, the chief assistant demon of the great devil hell-king Lucifer."

Xander also asked as calmly as he could in that situation, hugging me tightly, "Armaros, What do you want from us? Why have you stopped us? Do you even know what a crucial situation we are in right now?"

"I am here to negotiate with you! Think like a wise king. I can help you in getting your revenge but I want something in return from you. I am here in the request of Cyrus to stop you and your Luna but if you will help me then I can help you to become the king of the whole Underworld killing Cyrus and his son. So the decision is yours only. Tell me, Are you interested?" Armaros spoke nonchalantly with that dreamy smirk on his face.

From his appearance, it was impossible to tell that he was a devil from hell. He was so handsome with that same young face which I saw in my vision where he brutally killed my mother with that devilish smile on his lips. I was trying to calm my heart as I knew fearing him was not a solution. The killer of my mother was standing in front of me. Instead of getting terrified, I should face him and give him his deserving punishment. I was constantly trying to suppress my anxious heart but tears were flowing down from my eyes and the bloody face of my mother who was crying in pain, was lingering in front of my eyes. An unknown fear started to bind me, making my whole body numb. If Xander didn't hold me in his embrace I would have fallen on the ground. I can't deny the fact that I was scared of him, extremely scared.

Xander asked, frowning his eyebrows in a calm voice, "Exactly what you want from me Armaros it is very obvious that you want something extremely precious that's why you are going to help me in return. A demon is never reliable and always selfish. So speak your hidden intentions already."

Armarous chuckled softly and charmingly in reply then taking a few steps closer to us, he replied nonchalantly, "I want your Luna, that angel girl. In return, I will make you the king of the whole underworld and I will even help you to rule it. If you are wise enough-"

Stopping him in the middle Xander growled, "Don't even dream of touching my Luna. Whoever dares to touch her, I will tear him apart." Then holding me, a little more firmly, he continued, "Well what else can we expect from a soulless demon though! You can join Cyrus and do whatever you want. We don't need any help from you."

Armaros explained in his casual tone while taking slow and lazy steps towards their direction think about it well Xander. You will be able to get your revenge for which you are waiting for so long along with that the whole kingdom will be yours. In return, I only want that girl. You will get countless beautiful and sexy girls after you become a king. Just think about it. If you want even I can give you one of the hottest demon slaves. What is therein

Interrupting him in the middle of the conversation, Xander growled in a loud voice, " Don't you dare to speak a single word against my mate anymore or I will tear your tongue." He pushed me behind him while glancing in the direction of Armaros furiously. Ben and Galaxy also came to check who was that sudden guest. They were standing exactly behind us. Though they asked our other soldiers to proceed towards the direction of the forest where Damien and Liam were waiting for us.

Armaros didn't show any trace of anger or dissatisfaction through his expression. Instead, his face was still glowing with that small smirk on his lips. Shaking his head slightly, he replied nonchalantly, "As you wish then I can't help you anymore which means you can't leave the palace alive anymore. Brainless low life!" Then sparing k glances towards my direction. Armaros continued, "No matter what I am going to get her anyway. But now I have to fight for it. Sigh!"

Then without any warning, he raised his one hand, and immediately a red small ball of energy formed. He threw that energy ball towards Xander and me. Though it was clear from his aim that he was aiming at Xander. It was so sudden that none of us realized. Luckily all of us successfully dodged the energy ball. Xander, Galaxy, and Ben transformed into werewolf forms and attacked Armaros. But he was still standing casually without showing any excitement. Ben and Gala jumped on Armaros at the same time but Armaros threw both of them aside like dolls. It was very obvious though. I could feel his energy which was way more than all of us. The dark energy of the bottom of hell. Ben and Galaxy didn't stop though they attacked, again and again, every time they were thrown on the ground brutally. Galaxy almost fainted but Ben again stood up for attacking but that time Xander signed him to stop and he leaped on him. I was standing motionless, though the vision of my mother's demise was still flashing in my mind but using a little bit of water energy I managed to soothe my anxious heart.

Xander scratched his chest leaping on him but immediately he punched Xander on his face which made Xander throw some blood on the floor but he was fast to heal and pushing him away Xander attacked him again from behind and bit his throat holding his both hands behind. Though Xander was still weak, his wolf was fighting like a beast. Xander's attack made Armaros bleed from several places. His calm and relaxed expression already disappeared and his face started to change into a monster with sharp nails and bright fiery red eyes. His eyes were burning like the fire of hell. He hissed angrily towards Xander in his demon form then jumped on him with demonic anger.

An obstreperous fight was going on between the two of them they both were constantly punching, kicking, and scratching each other frantically. Both Ben and I didn't dare to meddle in their fight. Ben was trying to wake Galaxy up who had fainted.

I was anxiously staring in their direction. Their movement was so fast that it was hard to see but I was worried for some other reason that I didn't have much time anymore. I couldn't control time much longer anymore. I was afraid that time would start at any moment. Armaros was not even looking tired when Xander already started coughing blood. His weak body couldn't stand against the dark energy ball that threw him on the ground. Xander started coughing more blood while he was bleeding badly. There was a huge cut on his belly too. He needed some time to recover. Though Armaros was also bleeding, he was not that injured and he was healing way faster than Xander.

Seeing Xander in such a situation I couldn't suppress my anger. My energy started to burn in extreme anger. I collected all my fire in a red fireball and threw it aiming at Armaros. But Armaros fluttered his huge black wings and flew away dodging the fireball. The fireball collided with a tree behind him and the tree started burning. Armaros burst into devilish laughter. Then looking at the fire he stated mockingly, "So much anger! Anger can decrease beauty sweetie. Better you come with me. I will let your mate live or all of your companions will die today."

I angrily;y started throwing red fireballs constantly towards him while I shouted angrily"STOP SPROUTING NONSENSE."

But Armaros dodged my every attack admirably. I barely managed to hit him twice or thrice. That also was not that effective.

Exactly at that moment when Xander was still struggling to stand up and I was trying my best to fight with Armaros, I heard the sound of loud winds, and the next moment a miracle happened. A blue energy ball hit Armaros from behind and he fell to the ground.

All of us looked in the direction of the exit and found that Rebeca was standing there, wearing a light blue gown. Her white wings were visible and glowing in the red moonlight of the night. The blood moon started to rise in the middle of the sky already, spreading its reddish light. I looked in her direction with a bright smile on my lip and slightly nodded towards her. I thanked her for coming and saving us. In return, Rebeca flashed a beautiful smile as usual and then again focused on Armaros who already stood up from the ground. I also focused on him and started to attack him again, using my energy of fire and water at the same time but he was extremely fast. He was dodging both of our attacks easily as if he was playing with two little children.

But his dark energy balls were really hard to dodge. Armaros's devil form was scary as his eyes turned into black there was no sign of white anymore and I could see his sharp fangs. Exactly in the middle of our fighting, I started feeling like that within a minute the time would start again so in no way we would be able to leave the palace anymore. My grip over time started to loosen. So I couldn't hold time any longer.

Using mind link I talked with Xander, I asked him, "Xander, are you ok?"

He replied immediately, "Yes, I am better. I am sorry I cannot help you right now because I need a few seconds more to heal my wounds than I can stand again."

"Don't worry. It's alright. You take your time. I can hold him until then but I feel like the time will start again within a minute or something. We have to think about something. We are still inside the palace and in the middle of our enemy," I answered worriedly.

Xander answered back, "Don't worry. Let me talk with Ben. I am thinking-"

"Ouch!"

Xander asked anxiously, hearing my cry in pain, "What happened? Are you ok? Shit, Hazel!"

"Agghh!! It hurts." Then after a little pause, I replied to Xander, "Don't worry Xander. I am fine. You better talk with Ben."

I focused back on Armaros again who was constantly attacking us and even for both Rebecca and me he was too much. I already started bleeding from various places as a result of the dark balls of his energy and his sharp nails. In the meantime, I noticed that all the guests, soldiers, guards, and members of the royal family started to move again slowly. Their movements were becoming normal. It was very obvious that they were going to attack us soon so we had to find a way to contact Liam and Damien. From the corner of my eyes I noticed that Ben ran out of the palace and on the other side, Xander also stood up and was about to attack Armaros when from nowhere another black werewolf attacked him from behind and I found ourselves in the middle of the armed armies of Cyrus. When my eyes were checking my surroundings all of a sudden I felt extreme pain in my stomach and immediately I fell on the ground and my vision blacked out. The pain was so intense that I vomited some thick blood, pressing both my hands on my stomach.

I tried my best to stand up but my body was not responding to my call anymore. I could hear everyone but I couldn't see anything. Darkness engulfed me for a few seconds. I could hear the footsteps and buzzing sounds of the people around me. I heard the sound of hasty movements between Xander and that black wolf and on the other side the energy fight between Rebeca and Armaros.

I managed to open my eyes, collecting all my energy. My body was too tired because I had already used a huge amount of energy. But trying my best I forced myself to open my eyes and immediately I saw, lying on the ground numbly, Xander lunged at the black wolf, his claws slashing his chest. The wolf tried fighting back but he wasn't up to the mark to fight with him. Very soon with another snap, Xander killed him. My vision was blurry but no doubt Xander was an amazing fighter. I heard a slightly familiar tone of a male little far away from us. The voice cried out loudly at the top of his voice, "No Caliban! My son!" Then again Cyrus growled, "You bastard! I will kill you." I could see Cyrus who already started to change in his wolf form. Next to him stood Luxian and King Ralph. They also attacked us at the same time. But before they could attack Xander they were blocked by Ben, Damien, and Liam.

I heard Rebeca's voice from the other side. While running in my direction. Rebeca shouted looking at Xander, "Xander, handle Armaros. I have to help Hazel in healing. She has blacked out."

"No worries. You go see her. I am here for him," Xander replied while running to stop Armaros. Xander pounced on Armaros. He let his sharp teeth dig deep into his shoulder.

At the very next moment, I felt a warm feeling in my heart. Soon my body started to move again like before. I saw Rebeca was sitting kneeling next to me pressing her hands on my wounds and the green light was reflecting from her hands. I started feeling normal again. There was no pain or numbness. I immediately sat up and thanked Rebeca. Nodding her head, Rebeca was about to say something, but a dark ball hit her directly on her heart which threw her far away from me. Looking at the direction of attack I found that Xander was lying down on the ground, blood-soaked while gasping for air and Armaros was coming towards my direction. I immediately threw a red fireball towards him which hit his belly but surprisingly his body absorbed that fire in a blink of an eye.

He looked scarier than before. He was wearing black armor at that time which was absorbing all my energy attacks without even leaving a single injury on his body. Even the bite mark of Xander started to heal so soon. Trembling, Rebeca sat on the ground and shouted looking in my direction, "Hazel, don't attack him. He is getting stronger, stealing our energy. We have to think of something else."

The surroundings were not at all in our favor. Everywhere fighting was going on. Our alliances were fighting with the guards of Cyrus, King Ralph, and other supporters of Cyrus. Cyrus's supporters were thrice in number. Though Damien killed Luxian, both Ben and Liam were having a hard time controlling King Ralph and Cyrus.

The gorgeously decorated garden with beautiful flowers and costly trees turned into a battlefield. Everywhere all were fighting with each other. All I could see was blood and corpses. Our situation was not any good. Both Liam and Ben were knocked down again and again by King Ralph and Cyrus. They seemed like kids in front of them, though Damien was trying to help them but seeing their struggle I clearly understood that it was very obvious that they wouldn't be able to hold them back for long.

I was loosing my calmness. Everywhere all I could see was our defeat. Exactly at that moment, I heard the coughing sound of Xander which grabbed my attention back to him. I found out that Xander was coughing out thick blood. But surprisingly his injuries were again not healing anymore. I immediately ran in his direction and dragging his head on my lap started calling his name. But he didn't even bother to respond to my call. His eyes were closed and he started transforming into his human form again. He got several injuries all over his body and he needed immediate healing. I looked in Rebeca's direction and found that she was still struggling to get up.

"Ok, little angel. Now it's time to come with me. Wish your mate good luck and let's go. I don't have that much time to waste here anymore," I heard Armaros' voice exactly behind me. Armaros grabbed my wrist firmly and started dragging me along with him. I was screaming at the top of my voice.

"YOU BASTARD LET ME GO. DON'T YOU DARE TO TOUCH ME." At first, I was trying to threaten him but all my words went in vain. He was not even paying any attention to my words and started dragging me away from Xander. Xander was still lying numb but all of a sudden I felt Xander's warm touch on my other hand. I immediately found that Xander was staring at me in his half-opened eyes, grabbing the wrist of my other hand. His grip was not that strong but I could feel his anxiety, pain, and helplessness. His lips slightly parted and he mumbled faintly, " HA-ZE-L."

But Armaros pulled me away forcefully from him which set my hand free from Xander's grip.

Tears welled up in my eyes and started to roll down from both eyes, soaking my eyes. I could see Xander was struggling to get up but couldn't. He was helplessly staring in my direction with watery eyes. I couldn't suppress my tears anymore and started begging Armaros.

Armaros was fluttering his wings as if he was going to fly with me.

Soon my body started to rise above the sky. I couldn't feel the ground under my feet anymore. I could see Xander was still lying and Rebeca was trying to heal him with a green healing ray. e

All of a sudden my hand reached to my neck and immediately I felt the cross that was hanging from my chain. Without wasting a single second I inserted the sharp end of the locket into my thumb and immediately crimson blood-soaked the ending of the locket, which turned the whole locket red.

The next moment a white ray of light blinded me, the light was so bright I couldn't manage to open my eyes anymore and it filled the whole garden area with its white light.

After a few seconds when I opened my eyes again, I saw a tall and muscular silhouette standing in front of us while fluttering his white wings. I didn't make any mistake in recognizing my father.

"YES, MY FATHER."