Chapter 5: 5: First taste of gluttony!

"The Monarch of Gluttony... I see. Very well, from now on, I shall refer to you as such." Raphael nodded respectfully.

"Good, you can stand now. No need to be so formal with me. If you're going to be working alongside me, don't do such things." Azekiel smiled as he reached out his hand.

Raphael caught the hand of Azekiel after staring at it blankly for a few seconds before standing up.

-Gurgle -Gurgle

As soon as Azekiel helped Raphael up, his stomach started growling once again, as if it was warning him.

"You are hungry..." Raphael let out, frowning. "The Monarch of Gluttony should never be hungry. You'll be weakened otherwise."

"I know, this hunger is quite sickening, but there are guards protecting the food stock. I can't go there because I'm still weak. I haven't absorbed any Soul Energy yet, and I haven't killed anyone to strengthen myself. I'm just an ordinary human right now," Azekiel frowned. "Wait! You're here! And you appear to be strong as well; can you take out those guards?"

So what if he hadn't received a weapon yet? It was simply a matter of time for him to obtain one. And Azekiel was certain that with leveling up, he would obtain a Weapon of Sin. There were some King of Sins who didn't have a Weapon of Sin on the first floor or didn't use it. For the time being, he had something even better. He had Raphael! The General of Gluttony, who could fight in his place as he eats to become stronger!

Raphael shook his head in disappointment. "I can't."

"Why not?" Azekiel asked, stunned. Did he overestimate him? Was Raphael weak like him?

"Currently, my body isn't in material form. I'm not entirely in your realm. Right now, only you can see and touch me. To be summoned into your realm, I need to use your Soul Energy. Only then can I help you," Raphael explained. "Until then, I can't help you physically, only in other ways."

"You need my soul energy? Material Form? Wait a minute… The Soul Energy bar... Now I understand. It said that the more soul energy I absorb, not only will my stats improve, but my Soul Energy bar will also start filling up. I could use that to summon... Is that what you're talking about?" Azekiel inquired.

Raphael nodded. "Affirmative. Currently, you don't have any Soul Energy that I can use to materialize my body to help you. If you had, I would be able to do it easily."

"So in the end, I'm all alone on this one... I need to find another way myself." Azekiel sighed as he glanced toward the guards in the distance.

First, he thought he could use a Weapon of Sin, but that plan failed brutally. Then he thought he could use Raphael, but that also didn't work… so now Azekiel had no option left but to do something on his own.

"Any ideas how I can get inside that tent without dying?" He asked Raphael.

"Distraction." Raphael instantly answered. "And you'll need a weapon."

Azekiel raised a brow. "Can you explain further?"

Raphael started explaining the plan to Azekiel. So what if Raphael couldn't help him physically? He was still a really clever person. As he was a General and known as an amazing strategist, after all. Not only did he need strength to reach where he was but he also needed to use his wits.

"This... might just work." Azekiel replied. "However, it won't be easy. I've never done something like this."

"Don't worry; I'll be there with you," Raphael reassured Azekiel, boosting his morale. However, it wasn't as if Azekiel lacked motivation. His hunger was already too much for him. He couldn't wait anymore.

Azekiel took a deep breath as he ran back to an unknown place. After a few minutes, he returned. He had an odd expression on his face, as if he didn't know what he was doing, but he was certain that this was the only way. Even if he asked the guards nicely, they wouldn't give him anything to eat. After all, these people were ruthless! Especially the guard that stood in the front of the wide tent's entrance.

Azekiel was never going to forget the face of this man. After one year from now, he was going to join as a Porter for the King of Pride, and five years from now, he was going to be the one whipping Azekiel.

If he had to do this to anyone, Azekiel was happy that it was this man.

Twelve guards stood before the tent at a significant distance from each other, each carrying a Sword with them. Even though they were sure that no one was going to dare attack something that belonged to the King of Pride, they could never be too safe.

Azekiel stopped before the massive tent, standing right before a guard who glared at him.

"Oi! What are you doing here?" The guard with Blonde hair asked.

"I brought a message." Azekiel answered respectfully.

"What message?" The guard inquired, confused.

"The King of Pride has arrived!" Azekiel exclaimed, pointing towards the back.

"He did? So fast?" The Blonde haired guard hastily looked in the distance. He thought he was going to taste more delicacy now that the killed beasts had arrived.

Unfortunately, he was completely wrong. Not only was he going to be unable to eat any delicacy now, he could lose way more.

As soon as the man was distracted, Azekiel brought out the knife that he was hiding from behind and swung it over to the guard.

He'd never killed anyone before... He'd never even hurt nor hit anyone, let alone brutally murder them. He believed that all lives were valuable. But, after being tortured and whipped while pleading for forgiveness, he realized something crucial. Not everyone was good.

Why should he hesitate when none of them did before killing him? And if he was hesitant to kill someone who was partly to blame for his death, how was he going to kill Michael? He knew he had to abandon his naive mindset and become something completely different! He needed to accept his Sin of Gluttony and desire for blood! Azekiel reminded himself.

"You've gave me something I'll never forget… let me return the favor!"

Azekiel swung the knife quickly. By the time the blonde-haired man realized what had happened, it was too late. The man's throat had already been pierced by the knife.

As a sharp knife impaled his neck, the guard's eyes widened. He died almost immediately.

As soon as Azekiel pulled the knife out, his limp body fell to the ground, lifeless.

The other guards were taken aback by what had occurred. Even they were absolutely shocked! Because the stockpile tent was so large, all twelve guards were separated and couldn't immediately come to stop Azekiel.

Meanwhile, Azekiel leaned forward. He placed his palm on the dead man's chest and muttered two simple words, "Soul Snatch."