Chapter 389 - Gone

*********************

Vampire King Apollyon

*********************

Immobilized by the severe burns inflicted by the sword, the snake spirit strangled the griffin's neck with its form before opening its jaws wide enough to swallow it whole.

It was a good thing that his wife was quick enough to pull her heavy sword out of the griffin's neck before prancing back to the serpent's head and settled up there!

The griffin's wings sprawled as it flapped at the roof of the snake's wide-open mouth, and its hind legs continued to kick at the seams of its muzzle.

"Luna!" Apollyon bellowed in anguish, wishing that she heard him in her mind.

He moved about, unable to stand still and settled in one place.

As his gaze returned on the giant serpent, Apollyon's muscles jumped under his skin as he clenched his fists.

He desired to be with her on top of the serpent's head, but he wasn't sure if he would land there correctly because it was moving.

"No. No." Apollyon muttered to himself as he paced like a maniac, convincing himself that his wife had it under control and there wasn't a need to mess it up with his sudden presence.

Apollyon trusted her.

It was the last kick of the dying hose, anyway— but in this scenario, it was a griffin.

The griffin must have believed in its capability to defeat the great serpent.

They didn't break into black shards from their merged shadow form, or maybe…the serpent's jaws had prevented their escape since its fangs had already sunk deep into its corporeal form. 

The serpent's muscles twisted and turned as its hook-shaped fangs shoved the demonic griffin inside its throat.

There was a gigantic bulge on the snake's body where the shadow griffin passed through.

Everyone, including the spring faeries on the ground, could monitor its progress.

Red and white electric sparks shoot off the lump to defend the serpent's insides from the Legion' onslaught engulfed in its digestive juices. 

"You can do it, wife." There was audible stress in his voice and tone as he grounded his teeth, muttering to himself. "I'm right here waiting for you."

His hands clenched into fists, not letting his gaze of the serpent.

What was happening to her at the moment?

Apollyon knew that his wife was hurt from making herself a container for these demons after the giant serpent ate them.

He had witnessed how Luna clawed at her throat when the dark apparitions formed a thick band to choke the Demon Snake Spirit she summoned.

After all, his wife and the giant serpent were one.

The evil spirits hadn't given up yet, tearing the insides of the snake's thick flesh with its beak and claws as the lump moved, demanding to be freed.

Rubbing his arms as a slight chill caressed his bare chest, Apollyon's gaze scanned his surroundings, searching for more evil presence on the rest of the spring faeries just in case there were demons left to eliminate after this shadow griffin…but there was none.

No one was attacking the other.

Apollyon nodded at the untainted faeries, who were brave enough to meet his gaze.

The spring faeries were finally rid of their fears.

Luna's serpent had these evil monsters subdued so that they couldn't feed on negative emotions.

They could finally see the truth.

Everyone's eyes remained fixed on the colossal red snake as they stood frozen in place, their mouth hanging wide open, slack-jawed in amazement.

Like him, the faeries of the Spring Courts watched and waited with bated breath, wondering what will happen next.

Can the dark apparitions still pull off a surprise attack inside the serpent's body for good, or were they finally defeated? 

Apollyon and the spring faeries waited for another long, agonizing minute until the shadow griffin came to rest on the serpent's stomach for good.

As he heard a collective sigh of relief and the release of tension in the atmosphere, Apollyon clutched his sword tightly as he scowled. 

His wife…

Apollyon was bothered that he decided to teleport at the top of the giant serpent's head to check up on her, but his mind link with his wife connected abruptly.

He strained his ears to listen.

'Save me.' A weak, breathy voice said at the back of his mind. 'No. Strength. Left. I—'

The ink-black heavens of the night changed into breaking dawn, bringing a sunlit crown to encompass the starlit sky. 

Will it succeed to bring life after death in Ostara?

"Wife, hang in there," Apollyon said out loud, and his tone came out cold, hard and dangerous from concern. "I will be there in a second."

The snake basked in the golden rays, absorbing the sunlight into its red scales. 

Closing his eyes, Apollyon's mind focused on the snake's moving head to find where his wife was.

A soft warning. "Don't come here, Apollyon."

Confused, Apollyon forced his eyes wide open and witnessed the giant lump of the serpent's body where the griffin was, glowed orange before it vanished. "Why?"

He sensed her mind shutting down before she whispered brokenly, 'I love you—'

The colossal serpent shook before it exploded into fragments like the shattered glass of a broken mirror. 

Luna and the thousands of black and red shards floated in the midair for a while before they morphed back into thin wisps of smoke and entered Luna's mouth. 

Luna fell from the sky, and he teleported at the right time to catch her in mid-air.

Both of them fell as he carried her in his arms, cradling her as if she was his most priceless treasure.

Apollyon landed them to safety.

"Wife." As Apollyon glanced down at her,  he screamed in his rage when he noticed that her back was shattered and her bones were strangely twisted. "Wake up."

How did a joyful aerial dance during the dusk end up into desolation and ruins?

"WAKE UP, LUNA."Apollyon bellowed as tears rolled down his face when he noticed she wasn't breathing. "DON'T LEAVE ME AGAIN."

Welcome to the celebration of Ostara, the first day of Spring, and like every celebration, it will be a day to remember for the rest of the living and the dead.

The Massacre of Krinoniapolis.