As Zain and Verity wake up the next
day ready for their victory over Lampada, the angel comes down to them and
says, “You have done marvelous, Zain and Verity. Your victory against the
hypocritical kingdom is at hand
“It’s all thanks to you,” Zain says
with a bow.
“You’re welcome. I’m here to tell
you what you should really be targeting in the hub so that your victory and
its effects will last longer. Underneath the center of the city is a small
glass container that is cursed by demons. The people that drink it gain
intelligence and strength from it while also further destroying their soul. This
is where the corrupt gain an edge on others from. Destroy the glass container,
so this will no longer happen. Moreover, doing this will show them that you
received your information and powers from an angel because very few in the
kingdom know about it.”
“I will. In fact, we’ll go there first,
so no one has the chance to drink from it.”
“Good. Your ways are true and good.
After that, do what you want with the kingdom.”
The angel disappears as Zain walks
to the gates of the hub with confidence and excitement while Verity follows.
“Verity, can you get your spiders
to dig us a tunnel under the city?”
“Yes. The shield is low enough for
me to find the place the angel mentioned.”
“Then let’s get to it. God’s
justice can wait no longer.”
While Verity lets her spiders dig
underground, Zain bangs on the shield to get the attention of the people in the
hub. People come out of hiding scared of him, but even more scared to not know
what he could be doing.
“The time for justice and judgment has
come!” Zain announces, “For all your crimes against God. For all your crimes
against your fellow man, you will be punished for what you have done! The
corrupt will receive death. The people who aided them in preventing their
execution will also receive death, even the faithful. You will all receive the chance
for final repentance, which may or may not change my mind in sparing your life.
Think of what your excuses are because I will be deciding your fate shortly.”
“We have our tunnel,” Verity informs
Zain.
He goes to the tunnel and enters it
as Verity follows him.
Unsettled by his speech, Verity
says, “You sure scared them with that speech. You even scared me a bit with how
intense you were.”
“I’m sorry if I scared you, but
that was just how things are going to be. If I didn’t tell them what was going
to happen, then they wouldn’t know that they should be repenting right now.”
“Yeah…right.”
Zain and Verity make it through the
tunnel and find themselves in a hallway with paintings of demons and angels fighting
each other with God, the Queen of Heaven, and the saints participating in it.
This hallway leads to a room with a glass vial in it that has a red liquid in
it.
“This is it. This is where we win,”
Zain says.
Before he knows it, he hears people
rushing down the stairs. These people happen to be Alain and Valentino.
“So you knew about this vial too,
friends? I knew you were corrupted, but I didn’t know it was this bad,” Zain says.
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s the
wrong idea. That vial contains the power of a great demon that causes confusion.
It’s been kept safe and secret in the walls of the hub so that the demon could
never get its power back. I’m guessing that the angel that you’ve been talking
to is this demon,” Alain says.
“The angel told me that this gives
the corrupt in this kingdom increased intelligence and strength. Why would I believe
anything that you say after what you did to me?”
“Because we were wrong,” Valentino
says.
Zain is surprised by Valentino’s admission
of guilt.
“We were wrong to push you away when
you needed us most. We’re part of the reason why you are the way you are. I’m
sorry, Zain,” Alain adds.
Zain doesn’t know what to say and Verity
looks at him with sympathy in her eyes.
“Please, Zain. Give this up. We’ll
both do our penance for our sins and make this right,” Alain says.
“…no…no! This is a trick! I won’t
fall for any more of your lies! This entire kingdom will face judgment!”
“Zain, wait! You can’t do this! You
can’t judge us like this!”
“My tribe was the law enforcement
of the kingdom! I enforce justice! I know the difference between right and
wrong! I am the law!”
Zain breaks the glass vial with his
sword that unleashes a wave of power that sweeps away Alain and Valentino out
of the room.
The angel appears in the room and
says, “You’ve done it, Zain. Come, and let us see God’s judgment on this
corrupt kingdom.”
Zain nods to Verity and they go up
the stairs to see the people in the hub fighting against one another. Among the
crowd is Alain and Valentino who are trying to calm down everyone. The sky is ominously
red and black with a feeling of dread in the air.
“Watch as the corrupt kill the
innocent and the innocent show their true nature,” the angel says.
“Wait…this isn’t right. This doesn’t
feel right. They’re supposed to be repenting. Not giving in to sin,” Zain says.
“That’s it. I’m not playing your
games anymore. You are the demon those two were talking about!” Verity says.
“I’m an angel. Always was. Always
will be.”
“Zain, look at what we’ve done. We
fell into the demon’s trap because of our thirst for revenge.”
“Zain, you did what was right. You
followed my advice and did what you felt was right. You did your own will.”
“But I didn’t do God’s will, did I?”
“All will be well, Zain.”
“This isn’t right. Change things
back to the way they were! Have mercy on them!”
“God will not have mercy on these sinful
humans! They will receive death for their works and you too will receive it for
yours, but at least you did what you thought was right.”
The angel goes to the top of the
building they’re in as Zain leans up against the wall and falls to the ground.
Verity goes to him and says, “Come
on, Zain! We have to fix this!”
“How? I’ve done so much evil and
now look what’s happened. I really was the villain the kingdom was making me
out to be.”
“But it’s not too late! You helped
me change into a better person even though I thought I was too far gone.”
“I helped you cause all this death
and destruction.”
“But we helped people repent. Even
the worst sinners can repent and become great saints, right?”
“…you’re right. Where did you hear
that from?”
“It’s something that my parents
told me and it’s something that you made me believe with your actions, even
though they were misguided.”
“Thank you, Verity. Let’s go and
stop that demon. I think I have an idea on how to.”
Zain goes back down and retrieves
the vial while looking around the room and hallway for any hints as to how it
contained the demon’s power. He then sees that the answer involves the person
that the demon used as its slave has to ingest the vial in front of the demon as
an act of penance before throwing it up. Knowing what he has to do, Zain looks
at Verity who also knows what has to be done and nods to him who nods back. He
then takes the vial and heads up to the top of the building to find the demon
orchestrating the violence on the streets with the undead and spiders aiding in
the chaos.
“You tricked me into being your
puppet, demon. I was never really leading an army of my own, was I?” Zain asks.
“You were your own man,” the angel
responds, “Your undead legions did as you commanded even when they could barely
control their bodies. I can give you ten thousand more legions if you continue
your sacred duty and throw away that useless vial.”
“I’ve been a slave of my own desires
for too long. I’m changing that right now.”
Zain swallows the broken vial and
the demon is sucked inside with it. He can feel the broken glass and demon cut
him up from the inside even as they do no real damage. Verity holds his hands
to help him bear the pain and says a silent prayer for everything to be okay. Even
she shares the same pain he does since she also shared in the demon’s powers. The
sky turns back to morning while the undead and spiders evaporate into the air.
As everything begins to calm down, Zain throws up the vial that comes out
completely repaired as if it had never been broken. Furthermore, Verity’s
appearance has been changed back to that of a normal woman. She wears a long
blue shirt, with a blue skirt, and black boots. The same things she wore before
she made a deal with a demon.
“You did it, Zain!”
“It’s still not over yet.”
With Verity’s help, Zain stands up
and they make their way out to the crowds of people who are still alive in the
hub. This includes Alain and Valentino. Zain then Verity lay prostrate on the
ground before them.
“Please, forgive us for what we did.
We have no excuse for what we did other than we thought that what we were doing
was right in our weakness,” Zain confesses.
“Please, forgive us,” Verity says.
The crowd of people is unsure about
what to do with the two that caused them so much trouble until Alain and
Valentino step forward.
“Your confession seems honest, so…we
forgive you,” Alain says.
“But you have to prove it with the
penance of helping to repair the damage you caused,” Valentino adds.
Zain and Verity both thank the two
with smiles on their face.
“Don’t thank us. Save your thanks for
a priest who will give you absolution. Besides, we’re at fault too for not
helping you when you needed it.”
“And for not taking your concerns
about the kingdom seriously. Our sins have cost both of us a lot.”
Again, Zain and Verity thank the
two. Since it’s a Sunday, Zain and Verity aren’t given much work to do for
their penance after confessing to a priest as the hub puts together a party to
celebrate the peace. While everyone is getting their things together, Zain
takes Verity aside to a jewelry store.
“What are we doing here, Zain?
We should really get back to work.”
“Don’t worry about it too much. It’s
a Sunday. We also got absolution so we’re fine as long as we take our penance
seriously. Also, I told you I’d get you a ring, right?”
“Zain, do I look like the same girl
you fell in love with?”
“Looks aren’t everything, remember?”
“Zain…I-”
“Here it is!”
Zain gets the ring from underneath
the counter and drops the amount of money that it costs on the table since the
owner isn’t around.
He then gets on one knee and asks, “Will
you marry me?’
“You’re really pushy about this
marriage thing, aren’t you?”
“Is that a yes or no?”
“Tch. If you’re really serious
about it, then yes! I will marry you-”
Zain kisses Verity and doesn’t stop
until he sees Valentino and Alain watching them outside the shop.
“Haha, hey! I, uh, just promised
Verity this ring, so I had to get it for her,” Zain says as he exits the shop. Both
Valentino and Alain continue to look at them with a weird expression on their
face. “I paid for the ring in the shop if you’re wondering. Oh, and I’m also
giving back whatever I stole from the other tribes if you’re wondering about
that too, haha.”
Alain sighs then says, “I guess we
have to throw a celebration for your engagement.”
“What? Really?”
“Even though you did a lot of
damage to the hub, this occasion deserves a celebration,” Valentino admits.
Zain and Verity are joyful about
having a celebration for their engagement. Everyone else is confused by this
when they hear it, but once the celebration starts, everyone acts as if nothing
happened. Despite Zain and Verity’s actions, they managed to pull themselves
out of their sinful ways, repent, and do some of the good they set out to do, to
begin with. They may have a long road
ahead of them in repairing the damage they did, but at least they’re doing what’s
truly right while promising never to do evil again no matter how right it may
seem.
The End
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