Crimson and Furs 2

Chapter Thirteen: Bermuda Triangle

The Leviathan roared, sneezing primordial energies from its nostrils as it glared at the ship which was as tiny as an ant. Suddenly, another body began growing from underneath its neck. It expanded till there were two bodies under the neck of the Leviathan.

"Just what the hell is this..." Dantes moved back in fear as he looked at Mr. Stark.

"Don't worry, we'll get out of here..." Mr. Stark said immediately. "Please you all should stop staring at the Leviathan or it's..."

He had not finished his words when most of the members of his crew exploded into blobs of wriggling flesh. These blobs immediately transformed into countless tiny snakes, rushing towards the very few who had not been staring at the Leviathan due to fear.

"That's the Mutating ability of a Path four, Mutant of the Demon Cursed type," Michael said within my mind. "At this level it has evolved into something very frightening. If not for me casting an angel level Purifying on this ship then the ship itself would have transformed into organs."

"Then what are you waiting for?!" Mr. Stark immediately yelled at Michael. "Get us out of here before it attacks us!"

The Leviathan was yet to attack the ship because it seemed very insignificant. It hadn't even unleashed its aura before the anomaly on the ship erupted. But then the waters around it boiled as vapours emanated from them, space cracking and time becoming haphazard around it.

"Let me borrow your body for some while so that I'll be able to escape from here before the Leviathan takes the initiative to attack us," Michael said. "Its intelligence is too low and it doesn't even see us as a threat."

Before Mr. Stark could say anything, a holy light enveloped him as six wings made of pure light spread out of his back. His hair transformed from brown to golden yellow as bits of golden metals appeared in the air around him. These weren't just metals but primordial ones forged before the dawn of creation!

Soon a burly figure dressed in a full body golden armour appeared, six large wings spread forth from his back. Every part of his body was concealed, including his face which was covered by a helmet. The figure stretched forth his right hand, a blazing broadsword materializing from thin air. This was none other than the Archangel Michael who had completely possessed Mr. Stark's body, using it to descend to the world in time.

The other remaining crew members immediately became very afraid when they saw him. But instead of running away they bowed and began worshiping him as if a Deity had arrived.

"Do not be afraid for I am here!" Michael said as he raised his broadsword, thrusting it into the ground. A powerful aura immediately emanated from him, engulfing the entire ship. This made him look pure and holy but chaotic and terrifying at the same time! What Michael had done was temporally elevating his status to angel level.

After the battle with Abyss' incarnate, he and Uriel had been greatly injured more than before. This led to them regressing in their Cursed paths, becoming normal Path six Cursed despite being angels of their respective Cursed types. And right now Michael had used Boosting which belonged to the Path one, Elf of the Cursed type he belonged to to augment himself, climbing thousands of times from Path six to the status of an angel!

The Leviathan sensed this change, itd zeroing in on Michael who had thrust his broadsword into the ground. It immediately roared as one of its bodies lashed out towards the ship, attempting to pulverize it instantly.

Shrinking!

Michael immediately used an ability corresponding to the Path three, Fairy of the Cursed type he belonged to. It allowed him to miniaturize figures in order to escape from danger. In this form his abilities would double significantly. Not only could this ability shrink figures, it could shrink attacks as well, causing them to be halved or nullified.

Michael shrank into the size of an ant, his six wings becoming very transparent like those of an insect. In this state his abilities doubled once more and he was able to resist the aura of the Leviathan which was beginning to seep out its body. And before the other body of the Leviathan could hit the ship it shrank rapidly till it vanished from sight.

Every member of Mr. Stark's crew couldn't help but show shock as they saw strange objects spinning around them. They seemed to be glowing strings which moved in strange manners.

"Where is this..." Mr. Stark managed to ask within Archangel Michael.

"This is the quantum foam," Michael replied immediately. "Fairies can shrink to any size, including quantum size. I just hope the Leviathan doesn't break through and get us..."

Suddenly everywhere began collapsing as a bright light filled everyone's eyes. They soon found themselves in the ship rocking over the turbulent waves. The Leviathan was hundreds of meters away from them but it was now charging towards them. Obviously it had decided to attack!

At that moment something began spinning in the sea, creating a very large hole which was as black as night. This hole was very black and seemed not to have an ending, going on and on. But there was one thing very strange about this hole. It kept on sucking everything around into itself!

Everyone watched as an aeroplane which had been flying in the air was sucked into the large hole, exploding as it was devoured immediately.

"No one should panic because I'm here," Michael said as he let go of his broadsword and pressed his hands together, his head bowed in prayer.

A pillar of light soon tore through this large hole just as it sucked the ship into it. Instead of been devoured by the hole, the pillar of light shone brightly and prevented the ship itself from been affected as well.

The ship descended rapidly into the large black hole which was devoid of everything except the white light, going at the speed of light. If not for Michael protecting everyone on the ship they would have already been disintegrated from moving at such a great speed.

It was unknown how long the ship descended down the hole. Well, nobody actually cared because they were busy screaming their lungs out as they kept on figuring out a way to survive. It might have lasted for a couple of minutes or hours even. But no one knew how long the ship descended down the hole.

Finally there was a white light which appeared in the depths of the hole where the ship was descending towards. It was so bright that Michael's light paled in comparison to it. This made Michael to furrow his eyebrows beneath his visor as a sense of familiarity hit him. And before he could even think of doing anything the ship was sucked into the light.

~

The Apostate appeared on another part of the sea, sailing as if nothing had happened. The other Witches, Horrors and Demons onboard resumed their usual duties, casting the anomaly from before from the back of their minds. The only person who seemed disturbed was the Soulless Emperor.

"That aura..." the Soulless Emperor said as he clenched his fist, several ghastly pale faces appearing all over his black robe. It was as if they were threatening to rip him apart for the gruesome deaths they suffered at his hands. But no matter how they tried, they could not achieve their goals and could only wail in eternal agony.

"Emperor, should we still go after that ship?" Hand of Death walked towards the Soulless Emperor. He was the first mate of Soulless Emperor crew, a Path four, Specter of the Horror Cursed type.

"I can't sense their souls," the Soulless Emperor replied in a cold tone. "It seems they have been erased from the surface of the Earth."

"What?" Hand of Death was surprised. "You can't find them? They should be in the Spirit Realm. There is no how—"

The Soulless Emperor shot him a cold gaze, causing whatever he wanted to say to be stuck in his throat. He immediately politely bowed, "I'm sorry for asking too many questions."

"Do you happen to know that man from before?" the Soulless Emperor asked Hand of Death, ignoring his apology.

"I know him," Hand of Death replied. "I've read about him on several news articles."

When he said this he brought out his smartphone for the Soulless Emperor to see, "This man has already created so many buzz on the internet."

At this moment the Soulless Emperor's face began cracking as several pale faces appeared, overlapping each other. Blood seeped out as ghastly veins popped all over his face but Hand of Death wasn't terrified. Instead he watched as the Soulless Emperor pressed his right hand to his face, causing everything to become normal.

"Tell me more about this man," the Soulless Emperor said.

"He goes by the name Mr. Stark and already has a family," Hand of Death said. "He's an adventurer married to a staff nurse. They both of a kid named Daniel Stark or something who's friends with Orpheus Rodolfo."

"Orpheus Rodolfo? The wealthiest person on Earth right now?" the Soulless Emperor asked.

"You know of him?" Hand of Death was surprised. He had thought the Soulless Emperor wasn't the type to be abreast with the latest news.

"He's a Crimsone of the Rodolfo family," the Soulless Emperor said. "I once worked with Dracula to kill members of the Rodolfo family travelling on sea."

Interesting, Hand of Death said inwardly when he heard what the Soulless Emperor had just said. He then said, "Well, this Mr. Stark seems to have a lot of connections somehow. And he's not weak himself..."

The Soulless Emperor nodded as he said, "I felt a holy presence radiating from him. He's a bane to our Cursed type."

"Exactly," Hand of Death said. "No one knows if he's a Cursed or not. But no one who tried to kill him has ever survived.

"Also he's explored the Abyssal Nodes which links to the Abyss, gone to the Realm of Degradation and now...now he's looking for the Gates of Hell."

When the Soulless Emperor heard of the places which Mr. Stark had explored he couldn't help but narrow his eyes. He had heard of the Abyssal Nodes but even himself didn't dare venture there. This was because it was connected to the Abyss, the absolute nothingness and corruption which stood atop the Horror Cursed type. Unlike other Deities, the Abyss had no thought or consciouness. He was just as He was, absolute nothingness.

The Abyss always indiscriminately corrupted and assimilated reality till there was nothing left. And this was why the Soulless Emperor couldn't venture there. This was because even angels of the Horror Cursed type couldn't resist the corruption of the Abyss. Hence when he heard that Mr. Stark had actually ventured into the Abyssal Nodes and the Realm of Degradation, he was shocked.

"He's not ordinary by the looks of it," the Soulless Emperor finally said. "He shouldn't be a Cursed because I literally felt it from the beginning. He also doesn't seem to have any Cursed weapon so there is something really mysterious about him..."

Hand of Death didn't say anything as he listened to the Soulless Emperor. He then watched the latter turn around and vanish into wisps of wailing souls.

~

Mr. Stark opened his eyes slowly, a bout of sunlight blinding him instantly. He immediately shut his eyes and turned over so that he wouldn't be facing the sun. His entire body felt very groggy and he almost wanted to throw up immediately. He could hear the distinct voices of his crew members, signifying that they were alright. This made him to heave a sigh of relief as he opened his eyes. And when he did he saw the most shocking thing of his life.

He found himself lying on the beach, several metallic chunks around him. Sea waves crashed to the shore, carrying hundreds of debris from what was once known as a ship. And before him was a jungle with exceptionally gigantic as well as miniature trees. Everything was so strange that it made him narrow his eyes.

"W-where are we, Michael?" Mr. Stark asked as he looked at his crew members who were observing the environment.

"This..." Michael's voice rang out in his ears. "This is the Bermuda Triangle."