A Hell Called Serestral - Chapter 8

Aries emptied all the bottles of holy water given to him by Pieffer and managed to free fifteen children from the corrupted souls.

But there were still at least twenty children swarming at him, with knives at hand and slashing mindlessly at his direction.

He returned Vermillion to its sheath. He cannot kill those possessed children. He cannot hit them that hard either. His sword was heavy enough to cause some serious damage to those little bodies. He can only slash his sword lightly in front of him to stop anyone from advancing.

“Sir Aries…” the first boy he had saved had finally awakened.

“Wake them up and hold on to me tightly,” Aries commanded without taking his eyes from the swarm of possessed children.

“Aries!” Sunrei was running towards him, carrying two unconscious children in his left arm while his weapon hand was busy waving at the swarm of children.. He also had his sword sheathed and was careful enough to reach Aries without killing a single child. “We have to retreat! Hold on to me!”

Aries still hated the Sunrei who stabbed him to death but for the children clinging on to him, he grabbed Sunrei’s overcoat as the latter shattered a crimson bracelet on the ground.

Hell had finally triumphed to have him play his part in that silly game.

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Children had crammed in the chamber of Aries. Most of them were crying, a few were wide-eyed with fear, and two were unconscious.

“I’ll call Miko.”

“No,” Aries grabbed Sunrei by his arm and pulled him away from the door. “I will call Miko. You stay here and take care of the children.”

“Okay.”

Aries hated the teasing smile that curved on the lips of Sunrei. But he left without saying a word to his killer-look-a-like.

He went straight to the kitchen and found Miko teaching a batch of children with different cooking techniques.

When Miko glanced in his direction, he quickly motioned for the cook to shut up and approach him in silence.

Aries quickly walked out of the kitchen and sat on the empty dining area. He heard Miko left instructions to his students before leaving.

“Sir Aries,” the cook gazed at him with concern. “You’re back…”

“Sunrei and I had brought a few children back from the House of Lion,” he quickly interjected.

“I’ll take care of them,” Miko instantly offered as if understanding the entire situation. “If you need to return to the House of Lion, you may do so. I’m nearly done preparing dinner. I’ll pack a few boxes for you. This will be quick.”

“Miko,” Aries cleared his throat before saying, “Your cooking is excellent,” the awkwardness he was enduring had doubled when the muscular chef blushed and smiled with tears in his eyes. But Aries had to say it. “Can you pack more food for us?”

“Of course, Sir Aries!” Miko eagerly answered. “You can wait in your room.”

“Okay,” Aries said as casually as he could before leaving the dining area.

Instead of returning to his room, he looked for a place where he can be alone. He found an empty balcony not far from the room he had left. He sat there and gazed at the setting sun.

Ever since he arrived in that hell called Serestral, Aries never had the chance to be by himself and think things through. That was the first time.

Sunset was his favorite time of the day. His blood comes alive as the sun disappears from the horizon. Darkness had given him a lot of money. Now that he was dead, all his earnings will only come to waste. But his boss will probably take it all back.

I should have visited as many countries as I can.

Aries knocked the back of his head lightly on the wall. There was no use regretting.

At least hell made him a leader. He was living in a mansion. He had his own room. Pieffer was with him.

Was it truly because he had served the devil for a long time and without a single complaint or remorse that he had been given that kind of hell?

But the devil had to put everything on the verge of destruction because that was still hell and everyone in there should still be tormented.

If I manage to survive this hell, will the devil allow me to have an eternity of happiness with Pieffer? Will it be possible? Or am I placed in here just to suffer all kinds of death?

Aries rummaged his head in frustration. He never expected hell to be so confusing.

Can anyone explain all of these to me?

“Miko is looking for you,” Sunrei entered the balcony and sat beside him. He was holding two bamboo containers.

It was also strange how all his rage against Sunrei had been lessened by a great deal. His killer-look-a-like was no longer making his blood boil.

Was it all because of Pieffer? Because she seemed happy with the hell’s version of her older brother? Was he ready to accept everything in that realm just because Pieffer was with him and she was smiling despite the danger that surrounds them?

“Believe it or not, I know how confusing your situation is,” Sunrei handed him one of the bamboo containers.

Aries took the container and opened it. The aroma of beer filled his nostrils.

Poisoned or not, at least, I can still drink this.

“When I was a child, I got into an accident,” Sunrei took a gulp on his container and looked reminiscently at the setting sun. “My head had been terribly damaged, but I survived. My memories were once as chaotic as yours. Pieffer was the only person who kept me sane. She was the only one that felt real to me.”

Aries stared at Sunrei as he swallowed the last drop of his beer. He was wondering if that was the truth or hell only wanted to give him some comfort.

“Pieffer…” Aries whispered as he gazed hopefully at the setting sun. “I think we should return to the House of Lion and check on her.”

“My sister can take care of herself,” Sunrei got to his feet. “Let your house healer check on your wounds first.”

“These are all minor cuts,” Aries returned the empty bamboo container at Sunrei.

“Will Pieffer think the same? Or do you want her to worry?”

“Are you not worried about her? That place is filled with possessed people,” Aries was looking for a red-orange bracelet from his pocket.

“We have a promise to each other,” Sunrei grabbed Aries by his arm and dragged him back to his room. “We will not die until we restore the shield around Serestral. Pieffer will not allow herself to die until then. Siorre is also aware of that promise. They will be fine. Worry about your chest wound first. It was still bleeding though not profusely.”

“Fine. I can walk on my own,” Aries pulled his hand away from Sunrei and marched back to his room.

He was a little surprised to find it empty except for a young man sitting on the couch.

“Sir Aries, let me check on your wounds,” he quickly got up on his feet and motioned for Aries to sit on the couch.

“Where are the children?” Aries wondered.

“Miko will give them a room where they can rest well,” Sunrei answered as the young healer magically mended all the cuts Aries had. “Don’t worry about them. Miko likes to take care of the children.”

“Sir Aries, the previous wound on your chest had not been fully healed. You should be more careful,” the healer anxiously sighed. “Deep wounds will take a few days to heal completely.”

“Just stop its bleeding like the last time,” Sunrei took an overcoat from the cabinet and gave it to Aries. “You can heal him again later.”

“Yes, Crown Prince Sunrei,” the healer was nearly out of breath by the time he had successfully stopped the wound from bleeding.

“Thank you, Paul,” Sunrei gave the healer a light pat on the shoulder. “You should take a rest.

“Be careful on your journey,” the young healer bowed to Aries and Sunrei. “May you find Sir Leon.”

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Aries and Sunrei were expecting to be transported near the walls but after the light that swallowed them had vanished, they found themselves inside a cozy room.

“You’re here at last,” Pieffer was sitting on a queen-sized four-poster bed.

“We took the bulb from the gate and placed it here in the Mane’s Inn,” Siorre was sitting on the couch and the red-orange bulb was glowing over the center table.

“You didn’t know we brought the bulb here,” Pieffer squinted as she got on her feet and approached Aries and Sunrei. “Have you been cornered?”

“Yes,” Aries honestly replied. “Possessed children swarmed on us. I already used all the holy water you had given me. We only managed to save a few children and they are now resting at the House of Ram.”

“Sorry, we could not find Leon,” Sunrei sat on the window railings.

“It’s okay,” Pieffer smiled nervously. “Siorre and I had already found him.”

“Where?” Aries and Sunrei were both amazed.

“Not far from here,” Siorre seriously answered. “But we cannot go near him. He had surrounded himself with flames and his mansion had been burned down to ashes.”

“I can feel his desperation,” Pieffer said. “He is losing his soul. If this continues…”

“Then why are we still here?” Aries snapped at them. “Let’s go before he dies.”

“Corrupted souls are all over the place,” Pieffer said. “That corrupted soul with an enormous axe had stopped us from reaching Leon.”

“Sunrei and I will take care of the corrupted souls,” Aries said. “You and Siorre should focus on getting Leon.”

“Okay,” Pieffer agreed with a nervous sigh. “Let’s get Leon this time.”

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