Chapter 916 Paying The Price (Part 4)

Newest Chapter of Highest Tier (May 2022)

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Vampire King Apollyon

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"---yet, you gave me an opening to negotiate." Apollyon cut him off with a growl. "Are you raising my hopes up for nothing, then?"

So, the old man really wanted to play with fire, huh.

Apollyon willed his Hellfire to appear by magic and poke holes on his wife's funerary boat.

His aim was to make the ferryman sweat a little so that it would be easier for him to call his bluff.

"I assume you are already aware that I am the Archdemon of Lust. I will not repeat myself once again." Apollyon stated in the most authoritative voice that he could muster. "Is there a way for my mate and my children to be with me in the Vampire Kingdom?"

"There is. But you have to offer your memories left of her to the River Styx."

Apollyon breathed hard, his anguished soul had demanding that he bled an ocean through his eyes.

He didn't want to oblige.

He made his blue flames disappear in a snap of a finger.

"Let's hope that your sincerity will reach the Goddess of the Underworld and accept your offering." Charon added with nonchalance. "That is the only thing you could use as a payment if you want me to take both of you back to the shore."

Apollyon wanted to rage inside, finding it unfair that he was sacrificing his memories.

Yet, he was aware that it is infinitely better than being separated for good.

As a crafty Archdemon, Apollyon had planned other alternatives and one of them was to visit his mate in the Underworld once he figured out how to return to his physical vessel in the Material Realm and travel back to the Spiritual Realm.

But what about their children?

Who would look after them when both Ravin and Sloth were sent back to Hell the instant Luna had lost her body?

It was too dangerous to bring such fragile babies anywhere and he didn't trust himself to take care of both.

He couldn't leave them to Queen Morgan's care when she had a lot of things on her plate.

"No, I can't." Apollyon blinked slowly as he turned his gaze away from the ferryman and observe the moon at the far horizon in mind-numbing sorrow. "Losing my memories of my mate is equivalent to death."

"That was the whole point, Vampire King."

Apollyon admitted that the sacrifice made sense.

Losing his memories of her will feel like his beloved had died... or she really didn't exist in the first place.

"The payment that the gods and goddesses require is a much better option. You will only become oblivious of her at the start but the mating bond will always be there. If you forget her, that special connection would already solve half of your problems."

Apollyon shook his head in frustration, not fully erasing the posibility that it was all a trick. "Don't make it sound easier than it seemed."

Apollyon still couldn't figure out if this bargain had other traps that he couldn't pinpoint yet.

He didn't know Charon well but he was a suspicious character, he would give him that.

"You will fall in love with her again and create better memories compared to the past." Indeed, Apollyon agreed that some of the memories he had in the past were full of hurt, wounds and scars and he wished there was a way he could forget them.

Was this the chance he needed?

"Both of you will rebuild the new Vampire Kingdom with your daughters and live happily ever after." Charon added he paddled the long pole in his right hand and steered them to the left side of the river.

"Will, Luna..." Apollyon turned away from the ferryman so that he could look at his wife for the last time. He desired to commit her image to memory, hoping against hope that a miracle would happen and he would recognize her after losing her memories. "Will my wife forget me as well?"

'No. She will make the effort this time and keep the family together and take care of the children." Charon replied. "That would be her sacrifice to bear after I had returned her to shore and let her live again in the Vampire Realm with no physical vessel."

Apollyon faced the ferryman again with a glower. "How do you know that? It wasn't like you could predict the future that the Three Fates had planned."

'The Three Fates wouldn't have a final say in everything." His tone was a-matter-of-fact. "We still had to make our own choices that had nothing to do with them."

Yes.

'We are the one in control of our fates.' Apollyon thought. 'Not those three old hags.'

He ran one his fingers through his dark hair. "So the burden will be entirely up to her."

"That would be the worst case scenario if the Vampire King who had no memories of her, refused to accept her as his wife even if he felt the mating bond."

"That wouldn't happen." Apollyon was certain about that even if he had known himself to be unpredictable as the Vampire King before he met his wife. "Both of us hadn't come this far for nothing."

"The gods and goddesses will be so impressed of your sacrifice and will choose to protect your love for eternity----"

"---or maybe, these promises are false and you find it amusing to see an Archdemon fall for it." Apollyon interrupted.

The old man assumed an innocent expression and gave him a half-hearted shrug. "Well, if you believe that, then please continue. Who am I to stop you?"

Now he was confused and it must have been evident in his countenance.

Charon noticed the face he made and spoke, "I am not trying to confuse you. I also ask that you don't let yourself be persuaded by my words so that you couldn't blame me if things go wrong."

Apollyon folded his arms over his chest. "So, you want to trick me."

"That all depends on your perception. Everything is entirely up for you to decide. The River Styx is also called the River of Oaths. If you want to, I will swear an oath that I am telling you the truth. That is, if you still planned to offer your memories to the god and goddess of the Underworld."

"Apollyon had thought about doing it but he had another problem.

"What is bothering you, Vampire King?" Charon inquired nosily.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "My wife had another mate."

What if Ravin found a way to remain in their Realm and steal his wife away from him because Apollyon wasn't the man she used to love in the past?

"Do you trust her?"

He couldn't bring himself to answer that question.

Apollyon simply stared at him in silence.

Deep down, he really didn't know if he still could trust her after Luxen, the past Archdemon of Lust, tricked her by using his image.

It was divine retribution that he was able to become an Archdemon Prince with Archangel'ss help.

He didn't plan to rule the second circle and neither will his wife stay there as his princess.

if Apollyon would push through with this sacrifice, he would live peacefully in the Vampire Kingdom with his wife without knowing that, right?

Ignorance was bliss.

Annoyed, Charon waved one hand in dismissal while the other one rowed Luna's funerary boat faster. "If you don't trust her to stick to you, then there is no point in discussing this further. We are almost there."

Trust.

So, all of this shall boil down to blind faith.

Apollyon was glad that Luxen got stuck in the Ninth Circle of Hell.

His bastard child with Luna was his sole responsibility now as the new Archdemon of Lust.

If he also forget all of his past memories that involved with his mate, perhaps, he could take care of their daugter without anger and resentment.

Luna and Apollyon will have the happy family they wanted as long as those Archdemon Familiars know their place.

"I---" Apollyon opened his mouth to speak but close them when he thought about his life-altering decision for a minute.

As he closed his eyes again to focus, he allowed his demon wings to ease out and spread, reminding him of what he had become.

He had transformed into a type of man who had sacrificed everything to keep the love of his life.

He wasn't the same Vampire King before he had met Luna.

Perhaps, losing his memories would be good for all of their sakes.

Change is good because it had given him the chance to turn over a new leaf.

Apollyon would have this rare chance to be reborn.

Then, he will have to present the best version he could be in front of his wife without carrying the baggage of the past.

Apollyon finally opened his eyes and said. "Please turn the boat around."

"Are you ready to accept the conditions?" Charon prompted impatiently.

He still had hopes that tommorrow would be better for him and his beloved even if today felt like Hell.

There was no guarantee that their future would be perfect but he wanted to be with his beloved with or without his memories.

Apollyon exhaled a sigh and answered the ferryman. "Yes. I accept your conditions."

[A/N: Hello, my readers. This is the end of my story followed by an EPILOGUE. The next chapters will be side stories about Luna and Apollyon's family life with the Archdemon Familiars. Thanks for reading my story. At last, I finished it. I hope you enjoyed it. If you don't like the ending, sorry for the disappointment. I'm just happy that it ended and I can finally relax]