CHAPTER 477: HORSEMEN

—Four days prior—

Peace flew up into the bright Gateway. Her white wings darkened from the massive explosion, as the purifying golden flames burned her feathers.

They could barely carry her weight, but she didn’t care. Since they failed at killing the Last Angel, she needed to report her existence. Her boss will love this new information.

War did the same, but he entered the Gateway below ’heaven’. The two places were polar opposites, yet also similar.

’Hell’ was a dark Realm, with volcanoes, flowing lava and burning fields. The air smelt of smoke and toxic plumes. A normal human would die within seconds, since the temperature was high enough to melt their skin.

’Heaven’ was a bright Realm, with large floating islands, flowing clear rivers and fields of green. The air smelt of flowers and fresh dew. From the outside, ’heaven’ looked like a perfect paradise. However, it was just as deadly as ’hell’.

The Pocket Realm had extreme elevation, which meant the scarce air would suffocate any normal humans. The temperature was also freezing cold. The greenery only survived because someone artificially kept it alive.

Peace entered through the gates of heaven. The guards stationed there looked surprised by her miserable state, but nobody dared question her.

She walked straight to a large island with a bright castle built on its surface. From wide holes, water flowed down its walls. The waterfalls created a misty ground at the foot of the castle, which fractured the bright light into a dancing rainbow.

The castle looked whimsical even for Peace. However, its beauty didn’t bring comfort to anyone, including the light blue knight. She knew what beast dwelled inside that castle... Her boss. The leader of ’heaven’...

With a sigh, she stepped through the enormous gates of the castle. Inside, a long staircase led up to a massive hall.

Tall pillars held up a mirror-like ceiling, while the ground was so clean, it reflected everything perfectly. Peace glanced down and saw thousands of her reflections staring back.

The hall was empty except for the person seated upon the large crystal throne at its end. A tall man wearing a pure white robe, with golden embellishments. He looked bored and played with the silver-like crown in his hand.

Peace watched the crown with fear as the man tossed it from one hand to another. The crown was one of the few surviving relics they had from Aerin. They forged it from Divine Metal, and it was made by their first king.

The man continued looking into the emptiness with a bored expression until Peace arrived before him. His bright whitish-gold eyes stared at Peace with curiosity, acknowledging her poor state.

"What happened, Peace? Did War play a little too rough?"

The light-blue knight knelt before the crystal throne. She kept her eyes focused on the reflections below as she answered in a joyful voice.

"It wasn’t War... I’ve arrived bearing great news, Lord Castiel! I’ve found the Last Angel!"

Castiel’s eyes went wide as a light chuckle escaped his lips. With one hand he brushed his short white beard, while he placed the crown back on his white-haired head.

He stood up from his seat and spread his crystal, glass-like wings wide. His reflection above reflected his movements a moment later. Each one held a different expression on their perfect face.

Some looked happy, others enraged. Some full of greed, others gleaming with desire. While the reflections moved on their own, Castiel’s eyes moved back to Peace, his face split into a wide, scary grin.

The robed man lifted his hands and clapped three times. A moment later, three other knights appeared kneeling beside Peace.

One was a tall man covered in luxurious golden armor. His glowing, bright golden eyes reflected wealth, abundance and greed.

Next was a short woman wearing dark green armor covered with leaf-like embellishments. Her glowing light green eyes gleamed with beauty and carried the heart of nature.

The last was an average-height man. He wore plain, pure-white armor and had a simple white cloth draped on his shoulders. His white eyes glowed with devotion and virtue.

Castiel chuckled again as the four knights assembled below his feet. His reflections moved within the mirror-like floor until only four remained, each watching a separate knight.

"Horsemen of Genesis! Your sister, Peace, came back from her mission with amazing news!... She found the Last Angel!"

The green, gold and white knights all glanced at Peace’s battered state. They didn’t ask how the battle with the Last Angel turned out, since she didn’t bring the Last Angel’s head.

"Enlighten us, Peace! How does the Last Angel look like? How strong are they? What are their abilities? What Rank are they?..."

Castiel continued naming more questions, which gave enough time for Peace to think. She couldn’t say she had lost the battle, since that would entail heavy punishment and embarrassment.

Lying also wasn’t an option; those reflections below their feet weren’t just for show. They could detect minor disturbances in their facial expressions with utmost precision.

"She has beautiful golden locks of hair, combined with fierce golden-green eyes and a perfect body. She’s an insane woman with nothing but hatred in her heart. She’ll destroy us all if we let her grow any stronger..."

Her words technically weren’t a lie, but deep down, Peace knew they weren’t correct either.

"She has three angelic wings! The first is made of pure white feathers and has yellow eyes growing on its surface, the Angel of Despair’s own. The second is made of golden, purifying flames, like the phoenixes of Aerin. The third is made of Divine Metal!"

The last sentence surprised even Castiel. Nobody, not even the Empyrean Angels, could control or make that substance. Aerin had only a limited supply hiding deep within the floating islands.

Next, Peace began naming the Last Angel’s abilities...

"I think she’s only a Transcended, but even then she held her ground against me, which speaks of her mad resilience and extreme power..."

She continued speaking in half-truths and exaggerations as she listed everything she witnessed...

"She can control light, summon golden cleansing flames and can control Divine Metal! Her chosen weapon is a pair of gauntlets, which can crack reality and explode the world! She wears no armor and would rather kill herself if it meant taking down her enemies!"

Every knight’s glowing eyes widened, while Castiel simply stared at peace in disbelief. However, she wasn’t done yet...

"Also, I’m fairly certain she captured a World Tree in her soul, which further empowers her body. She probably has near-unlimited essence, strong regeneration and some degree of immortality!"

Castiel’s crystal wings seemed to deflate as his whitish-gold eyes stared at his reflection below. The handsome, bearded man on the floor grinned widely, and moments later, the tall angel reflected the smile.

"I didn’t expect anything less impressive from the Last Angel!" Exclaimed Castiel, as pure greed appeared in his eyes.

"Horsemen of Genesis! Bring me the Last Angel alive! I’ll use her to Evolve into an Ethereal!... I can finally complete my Challenge..."

He muttered the last part, and all four knights ignored it. They simply stood up, bowed, then moved towards the exit.

Their wings fluttered once reaching open air. Each wing had distinct tinges of color, but without looking closer, they were all white.

The Horsemen of Genesis flew into the sky. The sound of whistles echoed in the Pocket Realm, and soon four winged-horse came flying towards the angelic beings.

Peace sat on a deep blue beast. The golden knight’s horse was pure silver. The green knight’s light brown. And lastly, the white knight’s, a beautiful black winged-horse.

Together, the Horsemen of Genesis flew out of the Pocket Realm, and began their search for the Last Angel.

...

In ’hell’ four different horsemen galloped away. The Horsemen of the Apocalypse...

War, wearing his crimson red armor, sat on a giant warhorse, whose mane was made of crimson flames. The terrifying man’s blood-red eyes glanced to each side at his brothers and sisters.

To his left rode a sickly-looking woman. A filthy white robe covered her body and face, revealing nothing but a pair of pure white, pupilless eyes. The air smelled of rot, and endless numbers of insects danced around her.

She rode atop a disgusting, seemingly dead horse with hundreds of infected wounds, dripping with pus and blood. On her saddle, there was also a quiver full of horrific arrows.

The other three horsemen stayed away from their sister, since even they couldn’t bear her toxic aura.

On War’s other side rode a malnourished man, like a skeleton wearing human skin. He wore a long black cloak, which revealed his hands and sunken face. A pair of black eyes without whites, gleaming with eternal hunger.

He rode atop a similarly malnourished black horse. The beast’s eyes stayed focused on the ground as it took one hesitant step after another. Each step should’ve been its last, yet the horse kept running.

Next to the starving man rode the last Horseman. A tall woman in pale armor covered with black embellishments. Her eyes, similar to those of a blind or dead person’s stared out ahead, without focusing on anything.

She rode atop a dead, pale horse, which lacked any eyes. A strange, invisible energy danced around the corpse, reanimating it.

They rode together, out of ’hell’ and into the destroyed city of Rome. The four Horsemen of the Apocalypse separated and followed their mission. The same mission as the Horsemen of Genesis received... Bringing back the Last Angel alive!