Chapter 744 - Earthquake

Newest Chapter for Highest Tier (October 2021)

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Archdemon Empress Luna

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Apollyon had to crane his neck and squint at the door to check if someone other than the Council Members and the Cadre barge in, and Luna followed suit.

After witnessing that no one was there—no demons—Luna exhaled a sigh of relief. 

She felt this underlying dread that the Autumn Courts would be overpowered by the dark forces today, and the knowledge overwhelmed her.

Her desperation began to set in as her fingers twitched in alarm.

It made her feel like her heart was about to burst similar, reminding her of the time in the past where she called Apollyon's name in her mind by reflex, asking him to save her from the evil clutches of Princess Ourania-- but there was no answer.

Luxen's Legion is coming straight towards them in a primitive struggle of dominance over the Fall Courts.

It felt like a fight they couldn't win… or was this fear causing storms in her thoughts?

Yet, there was no option for a strategic retreat when they needed to defend Queen Morgan's Kingdom from the demonic beasts.

Where else would they run to safety when they don't have time left?

They had no choice but to face them and expect this demonic Legion to raise Hell in the Autumn Courts. 

"Wife." Her husband stared her down  as his deep baritone became more intimate, "Are you alright?"

Luna blinked a couple of times before she could latch onto her husband's words which were constantly interrupted by the constant howling of the winds.

"Yes." Luna replied in a high-pitched voice as she settled her palms on her stomach to protect her unborn babes. "Thank you for keeping me safe here, beloved. I didn't see this coming." 

Apollyon was resolute as he observed her with a clenched jaw.  The blue rings on his eyes seemed to intensify when he said, "The Dark Prophecy of the Three Fates is correct. That you are getting weaker as the babies in your womb grew." 

Luna's mouth opened to respond to Apollyon, but the walls and the floor of the Council Room shaking with tremors interrupted her.

"Hold on to me, tight, beloved."  As soon as Apollyon had spoken, the earth tremor shook the ground underneath in an explosive force.

The Autumn Palace shivered and convulsed up and down with turbulent strength.

Her back was shoved to the wall multiple times, and Apollyon decided to settle a hand on the curve of her hip to keep her from tumbling sideways, similar to the Council Members.

At first, she thought they were just mild disturbances.

But it was wishful thinking on her part.

There was no such thing as mild when demonic beasts were involved.

It wasn't only the hurricane that made things fall out of the tables, cabinets, and shelves in a loud bang, but they quickly realized that the earthquake was at fault—that it was the one to blame. 

Ravin and Sloth hadn't alerted her either.

Not yet.

That will not change the fact that the horrid winged serpent had sent them an earthquake after the hurricane!

Apollyon's worried eyes dropped from her eyes to her chest, and then, it wandered to her baby bump before turning into electric blue.

"It's fine." Her husband continued to reassure her as he tried hard not to grind his solid abdomen against her baby bump by caging her in with his outstretched arms on either side of her head. "The foundations of the  Autumn Palace was built upon the rock to keep us safe."

Apollyon insisted that she stand with her back against the wall while he covered her delicate form to prevent her from landing in an unceremonious heap on the floor as he shielded her from the 

hurricane and stabilize her from the earthquake.

The ground and the wall continued to move in ripples, but later, it started making a circular motion.

From the intensity of this earthquake, Luna wouldn't be surprised if some land areas in the village have raptured from losing their strength, tilted and swallowed by the hollow pits that had opened up from out of nowhere.

It did come true.

Unfortunately, the largest bridge in the Fall Courts that their builders worked on had fallen apart without warning as it gave in from the deluge.

Most of the people in the  Council Room could only witness the tragedy in the open window. 

The collapse of the bridge had damaged the river dams, which caused flooding unto the drylands.

It was also heartbreaking to watch the stone-built structures at the city square—the heart of commerce in the Autumn Kingdom-- disintegrate before her very eyes when it came crashing down.

Luna recalled how Queen Morgan's told her with pride that all of their buildings were strong enough to withstand disasters.

It was unfortunate that fate had quickly proved her wrong.

The rain from the gaping window began to pour so thick that Luna couldn't see what was on the horizon.

Heavy dark clouds hang low where only a sliver of light promised a little hope.

The change will come into the  Material Realm.

Hopefully, the universe will go out of its way to tip the scales in their favour in exchange for helping the Fall Courts.

All of the council members present in this meeting will contribute to the success of their mission given by Hecate.

After all, Luna and Apollyon weren't doing this for selfish gains.

If their group find the Tree of the Four Seasons, and the Queen and her loyal subjects would allow them to pluck its produce and give out controlled rations to the rest of the Realm's inhabitants, then that strategy itself had already thwart seventy-five per cent of the Moira's Dark Prophecy.

It also increased their chances of defeating Luxen's Legion by ruling out demonic possession as the cause of death of the Autumn Fair Folk. 

"Kotari, announce to the entire cities and villages in the Autumn Courts that the upcoming Mabon festival we had been preparing for months now will be canceled."