Genesis [malexmale]

Chapter Forty-Nine

Chapter Forty-Nine

The first thing to return to me was my vision, and it wasn't a quick return either. It came on gradually, from the darkness to blurry. My ears rang, but nothing else could be heard beyond that. And as my vision became clearer, I could smell smoke, ash, fresh dirt, and the ocean air like a thick blanket over the field.

I found myself laying on my side, with someone's arm around me... No, their body was on top of me, covering me like a shield, and they were breathing, their breath a hot blast against my face and I blinked slowly, turning my head to see Zeus on top of me. Blood splattered his face, his blonde hair a wicked mess of dirt, blood, and sweat, and his eye twitching from the pain of an injury I couldn't see. He was breathing hard, propping himself up and looking at something over my head. I turned my head around, pain snapping up through my back and into my head.

Across the field standing on the shoreline of the beach, in front of a sea turned red, Hannibal stood like a menacing shadow, his mismatched eyes glowing bright red and his fangs elongated as he breathed raggedly, his claws flexing at his sides.

The beast.

I blinked and took in our surroundings. The ground beneath us was broken up into pieces, like a fierce earthquake had ripped through the land, and most of the soldiers had gone down with the shaking, or into the deep trenches created in the earth that were filled with hot bubbling lava that appeared to be coming up from an underground volcano of some kind.

Anexius was laying nearby unconscious, with Cerberus on his knees beside him, clutching at his side where a sword was buried deep in his flesh, having torn through his battle suit. Lucifer was right next to him, touching his shoulder and saying something I couldn't hear. Not too far away, Hades was draped over top of Menoetius, still alive, still breathing, and in obvious pain, but he wasn't about to expose Menoetius to the elements with his chest laying open. He'd also put up his own second barrier around the two of them, tight and cozy, but it did the job of protecting them from the explosion.

I turned back around to see Lea laying on the ground, unconscious.

Suddenly, I remembered Akin and I snapped my head around, cursing under my breath at the pain, and my stomach shrank in on itself as I spotted Akin laying on the ground, unconscious. I could feel his life force, but he didn't look like he was breathing. He was laying like a discarded doll on the ground, blonde hair fanned around him, blood leaking from multiple injuries. And standing over him, facing Hannibal, was Atlan, who appeared all too calm, all too comfortable with this situation.

The ringing in my ears began to fade as Atlan opened his mouth and spoke. Hannibal, who was now possessed by the beast, did nothing, but snarl and snap his teeth like an animal. Atlan smiled pleasantly as he stepped away from Akin and came to face Hannibal directly, who growled.

"My, my," Atlan mused, scanning Hannibal from head to toe before meeting those red eyes, "You've been neglecting my gift, hybrid. How is the beast, by the way? Probably hungry after all those years of being ignored?" Hannibal hissed and stalked toward him. Atlan didn't move, simply smiled with a confidence that made my stomach sink with dread.

Why was he so content? What was he playing at?

Atlan waved his hand, and a group of soldiers appeared in front of him, a mixed pot of both his own soldiers and those of ours. It only took one stupid demon to rush Hannibal and set the beast off. The beast roared, a monstrous inhuman sound that echoed over the ocean and sent chills through me.

He caught the first soldier and literally ripped the thing's head off. He ripped its arms off and used them to catch a soldier in the midsection, knocking him head over heels. Blood sprayed across the white sands, staining them red. The two soldiers from our forces screamed and took off, but the beast teleported before them and snatched one right off the ground like nothing more than a gingerbread cookie, one that he broke clean in half before casting aside.