Chapter 582 - Ba`al Continued.
The raindrops felt like they were made of metal as they ceaselessly battered Hao Xuan's body, creating loud thwacking sounds against his sturdy physique.
The mud felt like it was alive, trying to drag him down and swallow him whole. It was getting harder and harder to move as if the elements themselves wanted to stop him.
But Hao Xuan was so absorbed in other thoughts that he didn't even notice any of these strange happenings.
"Welcome Ba`al-Zebub, Lord of the Flyers. One of the eight Kings of Hell. He is here!" Hao Xuan exclaimed loudly.
Baracus went silent once again for a short moment.
"And what is your plan? What will you do once you stand in front of it?" Baracus inquired calmly, making Hao Xuan slow down.
"I...don't know. I don't know what to do. Before I knew it my body was already moving towards it..." Hao Xuan said with a shake of his head, "What do you think I should do?" he asked, getting an immediate response.
"Leave the planet immediately."
"You know that's not an option..."
"Then could you at least not to go after it? Even if it's just a temporary vessel, you are no match for it."
"But I knocked it out!"
"Did you? Or did it make you believe it did? If indeed that human is currently being possessed," Baracus asked cryptically, successfully making Hao Xuan come to a full stop.
Hao Xuan looked towards the sky and in the darkness he couldn't even see the clouds anymore. The sound of raindrops hitting various surfaces drowned out any other possible sound. He could barely hear himself think under the constant pitter-patter.
"Do you have any information about it? Everything I know is from myths and old religious texts from my old world."
"Affirmative, but it is classified."
Hao Xuan frowned, "Classified? Even from me?"
"Affirmative. All information related to Apollyon-Class entities is classified by Progenitor due to their anomalous memetic effects until a certain realm is achieved where you are able to create appropriate safeguards against them."
".....What? What does that even mean?" the confused Hao Xuan asked. He didn't even know the meaning of most of the words that Baracus had just used.
Baracus took a moment to restructure the sentence in the most simple words available to him, especially considering the time restraints of their current situation.
"An entity with memetic effects is able to spread its power and influence through the passage of cultural information. That means if you talk about it, you are marked by it. If you believe in it, it gets stronger. All of the Demonic Kings of Hell are classified as Apollyon-Class God-Level entities with powerful memetic abilities."
"Apollyon-Class entities are spiritual beings that are seemingly immortal with immeasurable power. They have no true forms and their arrival on any world is considered to be the start of an Apocalyptic Event."
"The most appropriate response in such a situation is the immediate withdrawal of all forces and forced administration (if necessary) of the highest grade amnestics available on all individuals that came into direct contact with the entity."
Listening to Baracus's simplified explanation of the powers of one of the named Demon God's seemed to calm Hao Xuan down a bit. The jittery tension he was feeling a movement ago subsided to a certain degree after listening to the specialized jargon in Baracus's statement.
There were many creatures that claimed to be demonic or fiend Gods but very few of them had their names known throughout the cosmos. Logic dictated the better known they were, the stronger they would be.
And as one of the Eight Kings of Hell, Beelzebub was as strong as they came.
The etymology of his name yielded the mix of two words, Ba`al and Zebub meaning Lord of the Flyers, seeing as one of his most infamous recorded forms even back on earth was a giant winged creature of demonic origins.
But others believed that 'flyer' was mistranslated from 'flies' since quite often death and disease were spread among the populace through winged animals preceding his arrival.
That's why his name was synonymous with disease and other demonic entities that used similar methods.
"So I can't ask anything or know anything about it?" Hao Xuan asked just to be sure.
"Affirmative," Baracus confirmed.
"Then just answer yes or no. Do you think it's the actual...."thing" that's here?" Hao Xuan didn't even want to utter the name again.
"Negative. The arrival of an entity of such magnitude would not go unnoticed. Unnatural phenomenon and large scale killings are some of the most common indicators."
Hao Xuan extended his hand, letting raindrops gather in the palm of his hand.
"The killing part has already been taken care of," he mumbled to himself, "As for the unnatural phenomenon, what do you think qualifies for that?" he asked in a solemn voice, rubbing his fingers together.
"Anything not found in nature," Baracus responded as a-matter-of-factly.
"Would blood rain qualify?"
"Of cour-" Baracus stopped mid-sentence, realizing what he meant.
Blue lights lit up under the skin of Hao Xuan's palm as the nanotech gathered, illuminating a red pool of liquid.
Hao Xuan couldn't help but recall a biblical phrase he had heard back on earth, "The end of days begins with the rain of blood."
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Authors notes:
The amount of research I had to do for this, I swear. I hope the intro of one of the main antagonists was good enough.
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