"Monarch of Gluttony... I see. I shall call you that." Raphael nodded respectfully.
"Yeah, you can stand now. Don't be so formal. If you're going to be working with me, don't do such things." Azekiel smiled as he reached out his hand.
Raphael caught the hand of Azekiel after staring at it blankly for a few minutes before standing up.
Grr~
As soon as Azekiel helped Raphael up, his stomach started growling once again, as if warning him.
"You are hungry..." Raphael let out, frowning. "The Monarch of Gluttony should never be hungry. You'll be weakened otherwise."
"I know, this hunger is really torturous. But there are guards protecting the food stock. I can't go there. I'm already weak. I haven't absorbed any Soul Energy yet. I also haven't killed anyone to strengthen myself. Currently, I'm just an ordinary human." Azekiel frowned. "Wait! You're here now! You look strong as well. Can you take out those guards?"
So what if he hadn't received a weapon just yet. That was only a matter of time. With evolution, he was sure he was going to get a weapon of Sin. There were some King of Sins like that who didn't have a weapon of Sin on the starting floor or didn't use it. For now, he had something even better. He had Raphael! The General of Gluttony who could fight in his stead as he ate!
Raphael shook his head in disappointment. "I can't."
"Why not?" Azekiel asked, stunned. Did he overestimate him? Was Raphael weak like him?
"Currently, my body isn't in material form. I'm not in your realm entirely. So far, only you can see me and touch me. To be summoned into your realm, I need to use your Soul Energy. Only then can I help you," Raphael explained. "Until then, I can't help you physically, only in other ways."
"You need my soul energy? Material Form? Wait a minute. The Soul Energy bar... Now I understand. It said the more soul energy I absorb, not only will my stats improve, but my Soul Energy bar will also start filling up. I could use that to summon... Is that what you're talking about?" Azekiel inquired.
Raphael nodded. "That is it. Currently, you don't have any Soul Energy that I can use to materialize my body to help you. If you had, I would easily be able to do it."
"So in the end, I'm all alone. I need to find another way myself." Azekiel sighed as he glanced toward the guards in the distance.
First, he thought he could use the weapon of Sin, but that plan failed brutally. Then he thought he could use General of Gluttony, Raphael, but that also wasn't going to work. He had no option left but to do something on his own.
"Any ideas how I can get inside that tent without dying?" he asked Raphael.
"Distraction," Raphael instantly answered. "And you'll need a weapon."
"Explain?"
Raphael started explaining the plan to Azekiel. So what if he couldn't help him physically? He was still a really clever person. He was a General and an amazing strategist, after all. Not only did he need the strength to reach where he was but also brain.
"This... Might just work," Azekiel repeated. "However, it won't be easy. I've never done something like this."
"Don't worry; I'll be there with you." Raphael comforted Azekiel, giving him more motivation. However, it wasn't as if Azekiel lacked motivation. His hunger was already enough. He couldn't wait anymore.
Azekiel took a deep breath as he ran back to an unknown place. After a few minutes, he returned. There was a strange look on his face as if he didn't know what he was doing, but he was sure that this was the only way. If he asked them nicely, they weren't going to give him anything to eat. These people were ruthless, after all! Especially the guard that stood at the front.
Azekiel was never going to forget the face of this man. After one year from now, he was going to join as a Porter with the King of Pride, and five years from now, he was going to be the one whipping Azekiel.
If he had to do this to anyone, Azekiel was happy that it was this man.
Twelve guards stood before the tent at a significant distance from each other, each carrying a Sword with them. Even though they were sure that no one was going to dare attack something that belonged to the King of Pride, they could never be too safe.
Azekiel stopped before the massive tent, standing right before a guard who glared at him.
"What are you doing here?" the guard asked.
"I brought a message," Azekiel answered respectfully.
"What message?" the guard inquired, confused.
"The King of Pride has arrived!" Azekiel exclaimed, pointing towards the back.
"He did? So fast?" The blonde guard hastily looked in the distance. He thought he was going to taste more delicacy now that the hunts were brought here.
Unfortunately, he was quite wrong. Not only was he not going to eat any delicacy now, he was not going to eat any delicacy ever.
As soon as the man was distracted, Azekiel brought out the knife that he was hiding behind him and swung him.
He had never killed anyone... He had never even hurt anyone or hit them, let alone kill them. He thought all lives were precious. But after being tortured and being whipped even as he cried for forgiveness, he had understood something important. Not everyone was good.
None of them hesitated twice before killing him, so why should he hesitate? And if he hesitated now in taking the life of someone who was partially responsible for his death, how was he going to kill Michael? He knew he had to leave his naive mindset behind and become something else entirely! He needed to embrace his gluttony and his hunger for blood!
"You gave me something I'll never forget… let me return the favor!"
The knife came swinging. By the time the blonde-haired man realized what had happened, it was already too late. The knife had already stabbed the throat of the man.
His eyes opened wide as a sharp knife impaled his neck. He immediately lost his life. His limp body dropped to the ground, lifeless as soon as Azekiel pulled the knife out.
The other guards were stunned at the sight of what had happened. Even they hadn't expected this. As the stockpile tent was really big, all twelve guards were standing at some distance from each other and couldn't immediately come to stop Azekiel.
In the meantime, Azekiel bent forward. He placed his palm on the chest of the dead man as he muttered two simple words, "Soul Snatch."
