​THE HARVEST

CHAPTER THREE: HELL UNLEASHED           p.13

Colonel Howland had heard it straight from the president—these beasts weren't enemies. They were kin to her two generals, Six and Victor. At her command, the base was moved back from high alert to standby, but that did little to settle his unease.

As he stood on the tarmac, he turned westward. A shadow had begun to stretch across the horizon, it swallowed the remnants of the sunset. He frowned. There had been no reports of storms, no signs of an approaching front; yet, the darkness thickened like a wave until—it moved.

The realization struck him like ice. This wasn't a storm; the cloud was alive, and it was a blitz.

Ebon's beasts dropped out of the sky, wings spread wide, and they dropped on the base with eerie precision. Howland didn't wait—he sprinted for the nearest manhole, yanked it open, and dove into the drains below.

The creatures landed in perfect formation, their upright figures eerily human in stature. Their wings stretched wide, reminiscent of giant vampire bats. Their skin was a lacquered void. It was a cold, ebony texture that neither absorbed nor reflected light. Most disconcerting were the eyes—large, golden, and they glowed with unnatural intensity—and the moth-like antennae that rose from their heads. They twitched as if they sensed the air for quarry.

In Washington, D.C., the war room became the new focal point, where Claire and her generals stood before the screens and witnessed the massacre unfold. The airbase, once deemed secure, was now nothing more than a slaughterhouse. Reports flood in, fragmented and frantic, voices crackled through the comms as Ebon's creatures move with brutal precision.

Six and Victor realized, to late—they weren't here to join the President, and what's happening on the ground tells another story. They don't fight for anyone. They fight against everyone. Their movements suggest no allegiance, no loyalty, no greater cause. The war wasn't about sides—it was about destroying all, to eliminate life.

The President saw the patterns in their destruction, the cold calculations, the relentless precision—she turned toward her generals, and a heavy weight settled in her voice as she began to understand the situation. What had begun to unfold wasn't a battle between armies. It's a purge.

―――――

William Alderman and Walter Morgan, the two heads of the Temple of the Voice Intelligence Headquarters, alerted all elders and Ruth to report to the intelligence office. TDOM was there. She brought along Paul Wecott, a former deputy director of the FBI. Ruth arrived shortly after; the elders were the last of those summoned to arrive.

William, the one who was enlightened by the daughter of man, spoke first. "There has been a major development. The creatures from Beelzebub's realm have been released from the dark realm."

TDOM interrupted. "Lucifer has found a thin area where it is possible to move his creatures out of the prison I put him in."

William Alderman took a slow breath. "We underestimated Beelzebub's reach. The breach isn't an accident. It's deliberate."

TDOM barely glanced up, and her hands traced patterns through unseen dimensions. "Deliberate, yes. But not entirely his deed." Her voice was measured, distant. "Something else weakened the veil. He merely took advantage."

Paul Wecott, ever analytical, folded his arms. "You mean there's another force at play?"

Ruth watched TDOM carefully and asked. "Then what do we do? Is it contamination, or are they allies?"

TDOM tilted her head as she heard something no one else would hear. "It is a slight infestation," she murmured. "We are never on the side of my betrayer."

Walter Morgan frowned. "Aren't we on the same side—to end the world?" 

Ignoring Walter, TDOM turned to her companions. "Stay and help out. I need to talk to someone."

Walter turned to Ruth and asked, "Ruth, with whom would she seek counsel?"

Silence followed. The elders looked at one another and returned to their duties.

Then William spoke. "Then we prepare for the inevitable."

Ruth quoted the Bible, Isaiah 65:17, "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."

―――――

TDOM's quantum portal opened into the ancient Temple of the K'punaka people on the apex of Sinclair Mountain. 

Laida felt her presence before she arrived. "Yes, Adonai, you seek my counsel, or have you come to see our daughter display her full self?" Angela joined them.

TDOM hugged them both. 

Angela said, "Come see your remains." She pointed down at the mummified corpse of Levi. "We were about to wrap the body. Would you like to help?" 

"His remains will wait an eternity, my wives. Beelzebub has sent his demons to wipe all humans from the earth."

Laida replied, "His goal is to preserve life as it is, wicked and worthy of him. You know he only wants to spite you. Why don't you go to him and ask him?"

She replied, "I will," and with a thought, TDOM was in the presence of Lucifer.

TDOM stepped through the quantum portal, and the light fractured as she entered Beelzebub's domain. The air was thick with ancient power, the weight of old resentments pressed against her skin like a second atmosphere.

She was expected.

Beelzebub slumped on his throne, neither triumphant nor wary. He would not rise, would not react beyond the slow flicker of his gaze, one golden iris narrowed in mild amusement.

"You've come at last," he mused, his voice like distant thunder. "I wondered if you would."

TDOM didn't waste time on pleasantries. "Your demons have breached the veil."

Beelzebub leaned forward slightly, resting his chin against one hand. "A necessary correction. You sealed away what should never have been locked. The world belongs to its wickedness—always has."

She stepped forward, unbothered by his casual arrogance. "You don't believe that. You believe in control. And Ebon—she threatens that."

The name shifted something in his expression, just for a moment, just enough to confirm what she already knew.