Chapter One (Blood of the Gods)

  The story takes place in 2008.

  Narrated by Joseph Renlanton

  On a beautiful evening, I was running through the alleys of the city. I wasn’t running away, but I was trying to reach the meeting point for the mission. The soldiers of the gods were chasing me through the narrow alleys. The smell of blood filled the air. The good thing was that the soldiers weren’t carrying any cursed weapons.

  I turned my head to see what was happening behind me. I saw the soldiers shooting at me. I placed my hand on the ground and began releasing electricity into the earth. The electricity started to crawl towards them through the ground. After a few seconds, the bodies of the soldiers began to emit steam, as though they had turned to roast meat.

  I ignored them and continued my way.

  I reached a large square surrounded by buildings from all sides. It was the meeting point. A smile appeared on my face the moment I saw my brothers. I laughed and stood in the middle of them. I was the last one to arrive.

  My brother Nikolai began laughing and said to me, "Why are you laughing? Is there something funny about invading enemy territory?"

  I smiled at him without saying anything, placed my right hand on the ground, and began releasing lightning from the earth. The lightning struck the enemies, causing them to explode into blood while they were standing.

  We were waiting for our brother Dwayne, as he was supposed to bring an army with him to invade the area. An army of monsters and giants.

  My brothers began placing their weapons on the ground, and Nikolai took off his jacket. We were all muscular and tall.

  Nikolai ran towards them, his long black hair flying behind him. It was truly an impressive sight.

  I stopped the lightning, pulled out two swords from my belt, and ran behind Nikolai, screaming like a madman. I started slicing the enemies like butter, with blood covering my face.

  Nikolai had the skill of the God of Wisdom, and he could summon two extra arms and a third eye. He activated his skill and began crushing the enemies’ skulls with his bare hands.

  The rest of my brothers, Jason and Stalin, didn’t come with us but stayed back and watched. Stalin was very short, only 145 cm tall, unlike all of us, whose heights ranged between 180 and 210 cm. His height and our different appearances were a big secret because we didn’t look alike, yet we were all blood brothers from the same father and mother.

  The soldiers began retreating, scared and terrified, screaming like madmen. Some of them were crying as they ran like lunatics. It was strange, as if they didn’t want to fight at all. Well, I don’t think anyone would willingly walk towards their own death in the end.

  My brother Dwayne arrived on the back of a dragon, with armies of monsters and giants behind him. The giants were massive stone giants, each reaching a height of 300 meters. The natural giants, like tree giants and flesh giants, were no taller than 100 meters. It was truly a terrifying sight. The monsters were real monsters, not ghouls. They had no specific shape; they were like smoke taking on whatever form they wished. It’s impossible to describe their shape, as the monsters were darkness taking on any form they desired.

  Dwayne’s power was that he could control all mortal beings except humans, with some exceptions.

  The monsters began devouring the soldiers viciously, eating them alive while I heard their screams. Our hands were covered in blood, and the smell of blood and fire burned my nostrils. I had gotten used to it, but it was still unpleasant.

  Dwayne landed with his dragon and said with a smile on his face, “Look at this cute dragon!”

  Nikolai approached him and said, “Did you know that we’re going back to the headquarters after this mission? If you want to take this dragon with you to the headquarters…”

  Stalin started shouting at Dwayne, “Get down now, you piece of meat, off that filthy dragon!”

  Stalin was always angry, probably due to his height, which made him feel inferior, but I don’t think he was immature enough for that. I knew him well; this was just his personality.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Dwayne’s face showed signs of sadness as he got down and said, “Fine.”

  I laughed loudly and approached Dwayne, saying, “Dwayne, you know we’re going to ride the dragon to get back to the headquarters, right? Because our car crashed.”

  A smile appeared on his face again, and he climbed back onto the dragon, saying, “Let’s go, come on, get on, Jojo is our way back to the headquarters!”

  Nikolai looked at Dwayne and said, “Did you really name her? Will you leave her after the mission?”

  Dwayne began laughing and said, “Don’t worry, she’ll stay with us forever.”

  We climbed onto the dragon and safely returned to the headquarters as usual. I looked at the city burning, with all the soldiers in it being killed. Well, more accurately, they were being eaten alive by the monsters or burned by the fire-wielding demons. The demons looked more human than any other monster. They were like extremely thin humans, covered in a ragged, poor-quality cloak. They had very long, sharp claws that could pierce your skull. They were truly terrifying.

  After we arrived at the headquarters, we saw the rest of the team waiting for us: the leader Natasha, Maria, and Elena.

  Natasha slowly approached us. She was a tall girl with long black hair. She was truly beautiful. She came up and said, “Good to see you alive, once again.”

  Jason began laughing. My brother Jason was bald, black-skinned, and had thick mustaches. We were all so different from each other, like we were from different lineages, even though we were blood brothers. It was a strange thing.

  We entered the headquarters to go to the commander’s office. This man had truly earned our respect and admiration. He was a kind man, only concerned with protecting his family and city. I really respected that.

  I was lost in thought until I stopped in place in the dark hallway. My brothers were walking ahead of me, and they had already reached the commander’s office.

  I was lost in thought when I felt a tap on my head.

  It was Elena, a girl of medium height with long purple hair. She was the girl I had always wished for. The perfect girl. She smiled at me and said, “You piece of meat, you’re standing in the middle of the hall. It’s not like you to let anyone touch you. Is something on your mind?”

  I laughed and said, “Nothing important, just a few things on my mind. I think a cigarette would calm my mood.”

  Elena turned her back to me and started walking toward the commander’s office.

  I started walking behind her, smiling because these were the moments you couldn’t replace—the moments spent with people who mattered to you.

  We reached the commander’s office, and I kicked the door open. The commander was discussing the mission with my brothers.

  They all looked at me. Natasha’s face showed signs of anger.

  I smiled and said, “Sorry, I got a little too excited.”

  I approached Jason and asked, “Can you give me a cigarette?”

  He took the one in his mouth and put it out on my forehead, saying, “This will calm you down a little.”

  Natasha thanked the commander, and we all left the office.

  Natasha approached me and slapped me, saying, “You’re too old for this childish behavior. You’re twenty-one now.”

  I laughed in her face and said, “Sorry, I just felt today was a little strange for me.”

  Natasha walked toward the exit door, saying, “Come on, you’ve got three days off. We have a party.”

  I started laughing and said, “Good.”

  8:00 PM

  The party began, and we started drinking a lot of beer—too much.

  We were dancing and singing all night long.

  I was sitting in a chair when a man from another team came to me and said, “We’ve heard a lot about you, the Devil’s brothers. Why don’t you tell us about your abilities?”

  I started laughing and said, “Well, my power is the simplest. I can use electricity and shape it however I want, but only in limited amounts. If I use too much power, I’ll faint or, worse, die.”

  Dwayne came closer and sat near me. “My power is to control any mortal being by simply looking at them, except humans, with some exceptions. I can also understand and speak the language of animals and other creatures.”

  Jason came toward us and said, “My power is very simple. I can open an entrance gate using my hand and an exit gate within my line of sight. Anyone can use it, or I can open an exit gate anywhere I want, but only I can use it, not outside our planet.”

  Stalin fell near us. He was really drunk and said, “My power is simple. I can manipulate the age of anyone. I can hit them, but they must feel the blow and suffer from it. But size doesn’t help at all.”

  Nikolai sat in front of me and said, “My power is that I can summon two extra arms and a third eye that can see things that no one else can, like weak points in things, people, ghosts, and other things.”

  The man was terrified. He stood up and said to us, his face drenched in sweat, “Thank you for your time.”

  Natasha sat next to me and said, “Let’s go to the match.”

  She grabbed my hand and took me to the bar.

  Natasha brought a big bottle of the most terrifying alcohol I’d ever seen—the red liquor. It was expensive and extremely strong.

  She took out two glasses and filled them with the drink. The smell was incredibly strong. She looked at my face and said, “Let’s begin.”

  Natasha drank the first glass. I looked at her, and I saw her face turn red. By the time she finished the sixth glass, she collapsed on her back.

  I said to her, “I’ve been working with you since I was 14. How do you not know that I’m the strongest of my brothers when it comes to handling alcohol?”

  The thing is, I manipulate my mind because I can control electricity, and since I can control nerves, what I do is shut down some nerves and cancel the signals that make me feel drunk. I know it’s dangerous, but I won’t pay the price for an old bottle of demon liquor.

  I stood up and said, “As we agreed, you’re paying for the bottle.”

  A look of sadness appeared on her face as she looked at me. It was more endearing than sad, especially considering how drunk she was to the point that I didn’t know if she could even stand. I reached into my jacket, pulled out enough to pay for half, and said, “It doesn’t matter, I can pay half.”

  She smiled at me, stood up, and went to pay for it while I spent the rest of the day in the bathroom from drinking too much.

  I am Joseph Renlanton, and this is the story of Blood of the Gods.