She Belongs To The Devil

The arena was well-lit even though not a single source of light could be seen. As this place looked like it was another illusion, Adeline was unable to tell whether it was day or night, she didn\'t know how much time had passed since she fainted in her room.

She was unable to keep track of the actual time that was passing. As the previous illusion was very convincing, from the pain that she felt and the emotions that it stirred inside of her, Adeline was sure that the passing of time could also be controlled by the Deity.

As no one else was inside the fighting arena yet, Adeline used this time to realign her mind so that the Deity would not be able to trick her as easily as before.

She recalled what her father had said to her, "The second level of the test is the Test of Strength. At this level, you will have to fight against the Deity himself. But do not get confused by the name of the test. It isn\'t just the test of Strength but also other things like how well you would be able to fight in a war, how fast you could change your fighting tactics to match or counter your opponent\'s tactics, and how well you can survive."

"How long will the fight go on for?" Adeline had asked her father to which he had replied, "It depends on how the Deity evaluates you. If he is satisfied with your performance then it can end sooner. But if he is not satisfied and if he feels that there is something more that he needs to test you for, then the match might go on for longer."

Adeline began taking deeper breaths so as to calm down her nerves. Her heart rate was slowly escalating while thinking that she would have to face the Trickster himself. She wiped her palm on her training uniform because it was sweating.

And she thought to herself, "I suppose he wouldn\'t be using any tricks like earlier, would he? This level is supposed to test the strength so I hope that I can just focus on using my strength rather than going through the whirlwind of emotions at the same time."

She again resumed inhaling and exhaling deeply. She had to be at the finest state of her mind if she was to fight the Deity himself. Slowly, her heart rate began to shimmer down a bit. She recollected each and every technique of hand-to-hand combat that General Osmond had taught her to date.

And she recalled what the General had told her before he taught her the defense techniques, "The Deity must be too powerful for a mere mortal to go toe-to-toe against him. So it is better that I teach you how to dodge his attacks rather than how best to attack someone who is untouchable."

Adeline nodded to herself and gave a motivating talk to herself, "You can do this Adeline. The General has taught you well. All you have to do is dodge the attack long enough and wait for the Deity to announce that the match is over. Just believe in your abilities and skills and hold on."

Adeline was startled when she heard an enchanting voice all of a sudden, "Ah! The last-born of Dragomir."

The Princess gazed in front of her and saw an extraordinary man hovering in the middle of the air. That man was so breathtaking that Adeline could not help but admire him, "Oh, Heaven! Is this what Gods look like?" Adeline thought that she was thinking that to herself but she was actually speaking out loud.

The Deity chuckled and slowly landed on his feet. He gave an enchanting smile to Adeline and stepped a little closer to that spellbound kid. "I know I look really Godly but I have to burst your bubble. I am not the God, I am a fallen angel."

Adeline\'s face went red when she realized that she had commented on his looks loudly. She tried to tear off her gaze from the fallen angel but she was unable to do so as if something was not allowing her to do that, as if something was pulling her and was making her look at his face.

He gave a mischievous smirk and said, "But people of Wyverndale started to call me their Deity and I liked the sound of it, so I didn\'t deny it. I mean I practically take care of this huge Kingdom. I think I deserve that title."

He leaned closer to Adeline and narrowed his eyes at her. And he spoke sarcastically, "A young lady said to me earlier that I was really horrible at doing my job. She said that I should at least know the name of my victim."

Adeline widened her eyes and finally came out of her daze. Though his tone was sarcastic, his face looked really serious right now. And Adeline feared that she might have offended their Deity.

So she quickly fell on her knees and bowed to the Deity. Then she asked for his forgiveness, "Please forgive me, Your…" in her nervousness, she forgot how she was supposed to address the Deity and kept on mumbling and spewing some random words, "Your… Deity… Supreme… Heavenly Being?"

However, instead of getting angry at that rudeness, the Deity began to chuckle softly. And he ordered, "Rise!"

Adeline stood on her feet again and was intensely staring at the Deity again.

And the Deity gave a soft smile to Adeline and said, "I forgot your name and you forgot how to address me. So, let\'s say that we are now even, okay?"

Adeline nodded her head. She could feel her cheeks and ears burning out of embarrassment.

The Deity ran his slender fingers through his golden hair and as he did that, glittering golden dust fell down of his hair. Adeline was amazed by that and stared at those dust as they fell down.

The Deity looked at Adeline for a while as though he was trying to remember something but he gave up. And then he asked, "Last-born of Dragomir, will you tell me your name?"

And without even shifting her gaze from the golden dust, Adeline blurted, "I\'m Adeline."

The Deity didn\'t mind that Adeline had answered while her attention was somewhere else. He was rather fascinated by her, not because she looked like an angel and he was interested in her, but because she had managed to soften the stone-hearted brother of his.

"Adeline…" he whispered to himself and made sure that he would remember this name. Then he snapped his fingers to get Adeline\'s attention and when she looked at him, he said, "I would like to introduce myself to you, Adeline.. I am Azriel."