Limitless The Strongest Revenant

My Northerner lover took a step back while Jas replaced her. Jas changed the slides again. They showed Africa reapers fighting the undead. I wonder where the girls got these pictures. Did they hack some African server or something?

"It is human nature to seek pleasure and happiness. But Reapers do not have such luxuries. Induna Nomvula, you should know what happens next. The only ones who remain unbound to the princes are the truly weak.

"The strong are shackled to a country's standing army. Fortunately, among the princes, many of them remember their duty and aim to get stronger. The prince you serve is among them. Sadly, the path of the just is, as always, fraught with danger."

The slide again changed to show a video clip of African reapers subduing a demonic being. It was enormous, about twice the size of a dream demon. Nomvula was in the clip. Her tiger form heroically lunged for the demon's neck and severed it.

Yet the response to that majestic feat was Nomvula's shaking voice: "Please stop. Please do not show any more."

Surprised at her sudden change, I turned to see her shedding tears. Jas then shared more background information.

"Those that remain upright and grow stronger almost always are used as vessels for malice. The prince you served was one of them. And his clan, the warriors he raised with care, were given the task of ending him."

"That's horrible." "Nigga, that is just sick." "But why?" "Girl, say less." "Yo, that's savage." "I can't even." "That's heavy."

The Wolves and the Seraphs all couldn't hold it in and spoke among themselves. Even the Specters expressed their opinions about the abominable practice.

"Tsk, I never really understood why Africa loved that rite so much. They have it like every year." "The Rite of Apep." "A pity."

Jo then slammed her foot on the stage, which caused everyone to shut up. She exchanged places with Jas and continued the explanations.

"Yep, Carlos said it right. The Rite of Apep. The entire reaper community knows of Africa's infamous malice-cleansing rite. Hundreds of powerful African reapers died in this ceremony. But did you know that it is not limited to princes?"

"W-What?!" "That can't be real!" "That must be a mistake!"

At Jo's explosive comment, some of the Elders expressed their surprise. I turned to the African princes. They all furrowed their brows in agitation. My Darling, who couldn't care less, continued to speak as if she were describing the weather.

"I know, right? Amari and Olamide didn't even tell us; we found out by accident. Basically, all the strong people are raised by princes to fatten up with malice, then they are fed to the prince by mini versions of the rite. When the prince gets full, then it's his turn to get butchered!

"Hahaha! Crazy! Most of the princes alive aren't even part of the Immortal's bloodline! The true princes all died in the 400 years that passed! The ones still alive are bastards with fake lineages certified only by Onye! For all we know, they're all his!"

The crowd turned silent. They must have been trying to digest the bomb Jo just dropped. My Italian lover then took a step back while Robyn replaced her. My Aussie had an angry expression as she went next.

"You hear all that, ya niggers? Instead of trainin' to get stronger, your bloody leeches've been usin' your royal niggers like band-aids for the whole damn continent's mess. And before ya start spoutin' some crap about not havin' a choice, let me remind ya…

"The malice your princes are cark-ing it for? Yeah, that comes from both the Reapers and the humans. Which means, if the humans' misery is makin' it worse, that'll speed up how quick your Reapers hit the chopping block."

Robyn's harsh words caused the temperature in the room to drop. It was bad to comment on another country's decisions; after all, they were just making do. But there was a fine line between having no choice and choosing the worst possible option.

"Funny thing is, the only ones copin' it are the ones goin' up against that bastard Onye. The rest of 'em? They're sittin' pretty, livin' large, and holdin' the top spots. They've got all the power and pretty much run the joint. Bit bloody unfair, don't ya think?"

When none of the elders or Nomvula could say anything back, Robyn silently retreated. Lilly then came forward with the elegance of a queen.

"Each battlefront has its own manner of handling malice. But Africa's is quite convoluted. The heroic few die for the peace of millions. Yet no one praises them; instead, people vilify and slaughter them like cattle. If we didn't intervene, six more would have joined them.

"As Africans, you all should know the negative manner in which these heroes are painted. 'They succumbed to demons.' 'They are traitors of humanity.' 'They forgot their honor as sons of Africa.' I couldn't believe the sheer audacity of Onye's group."

As I heard more of Lilly's words, the more I grew angry at Onye's actions. But a greater question lingered in my mind.

'What the fuck was the Immortal doing all this time?'

"With each enemy prince that fell, Onye praised the strength of his princes. It was brainwashing on a continental scale. Repeat this for centuries and you end up with the current state of your homeland. A land divided. A land rotting from the inside."

Amari then raised his hand. Lilly gestured for him to speak.

"Lady Lilly, most of what you speak of is true. My brothers and I are forbidden to speak of it. But it is a duty given to us. And the main reason I have yet to take in any followers. This unfair cycle ensures that I will be killed once I can no longer handle malice.

"This was why I decided to sell myself as a slave just to shed my right as a prince. But how did you and the Sirens find out about it? I know my mother would not speak of it. May you share why you know of secrets no one outside my family knows?"

Hmm. That was a good point. Just how did we find out? Before I could ask, Exa answered it for me.

[My lord, when Amari and Zanele ingested {Call My Name}, the ladies had all their memories archived. I tell the Soldat's I can only get their surface thoughts. But this is a lie. Anyone with {Call My Name} cannot keep any secrets from me.]

[Once the ladies finished investigating the digital memories, they had Lady Jas confirm them with {Insight}. It is there that we learned of the terrible {Fate} of Africa's heroes.]

"…"

I couldn't help but close my eyes and make a silent prayer. This insane practice has gone on for hundreds of years. Only the immense heroism of Africa's noble sons has kept her afloat. Yet even their names were tarnished.

'May you find peace. I will do what I can to make your sacrifice worth it.'

My prayer was cut short by Bella's sharp retort, "I fail to see why we should even tell you, Amari Soldat."

"B-But…"

"Does it matter if you know how we came upon this knowledge?" my Brazilian lover again provocatively challenged.

"I-its…"

"Make no mistake, Amari. We are not equals. Without Hells Eden, your people cannot get yourselves out of this. This briefing is for our forces; we will proceed with or without your help. If Honey wishes, we can destroy your Africa overnight. But instead, he chose to save it."

"…"

"It matters not how we know. Only that we will act to end it. To summarize everything my sisters discussed. The answer to saving Africa is to annihilate Onye's group to the last man. Only once they are all gone can Africa recover."

And so, the meeting continued. I didn't understand why Mike and Isolde were resolute. But now I did. After hearing the results of the Siren's investigations, it gave a grim picture of why Africa was in such dire straits. And why such drastic actions were necessary.