Diego knew Juan was dead and the thought struck him with deep grief. He looked at the Morning Star and placed blame; in doing so, the grief transformed to a deeper rage.
He was exhausted from fighting the Morning Star but the rage renewed his strength. He had almost given up several times but the thought that Juan needed him to keep fighting kept him going.
Now, it was more than that: Juan’s death gave him the ire to fight.
He lowered his shoulder and ran into the distracted Morning Star. The Morning Star recoiled slightly but recovered and swatted Diego. Diego was hurled to the side.
Diego raised his sword and attacked the Morning Star again but the Morning Star connected with a left hand and Diego was sent flying. On his third effort, the battle-weariness was too much and Diego’s sword was knocked from his hand. He knew this was the end and he looked up at the Morning Star, waiting for the final blow.
The Morning Star grinned in such a way that only battle lust can bring. Juan was dead and without Diego, the others would give up. Mankind would have no more champions. Men would lose hope and free will would turn their worship to him. The revolution he had started eons prior would come to a climax and he would be victorious.
He raised his hand to strike Diego with the blow that would end his life. But before he struck, he gave out a call of victory that echoed throughout existence. He wanted all to know that creation had moved past God and that it was the Dawn of the Morning Star.
Diego watched the Morning Star raise a fist to end his life and prepared himself for the conclusion; but it did not come. Just as the Morning Star’s arm started forward, Azazel intercepted, reaching out and seizing the Morning Star’s arm.
Azazel’s rage was too much and the Morning Star could not sever his hold. He turned to face Azazel and gave up Diego in the process. The two angels grappled as Diego rejoined the battle.
Only a moment before, the Morning Star was sure of victory. Now he began to see that victory slipping away. Azazel would not relent and as such, his victory over the Sons of Cain was unsure.
The Morning Star managed to get his arm around Azazel’s neck and started to squeeze when a new force entered. The Morning Star recognized the victory that had seemed imminent was now complicated with the appearance of Metatron.
Diego’s eyes widened. He had only seen Enoch become the archangel once before and the consequence was terrifying, even to his allies.
The Morning Star shoved Azazel away and turned his full attention to Metatron. Diego then saw something he had not seen before in the eyes of the Morning Star: not quite fear but a silent respect.
Metatron moved towards the Morning Star and Diego saw that Metatron wielded a sword. Metatron swung so hard that the gust blew Diego backwards. He did not see the sword strike but at the moment of impact, all became dark and silent.
At first, Diego was not sure what happened. He became disoriented and squeezed his eyes shut to fight the nausea.
Once the feeling subsided, Diego opened his eyes and saw that they were back at the gateway to the garden. Faces revealed that everyone was just as confused as he. Then, clarity came and the Sons of Cain understood; it was over.
Creation returned to the way it was before the Watchers found the Ark. They still found the Ark, only it was the replica forged by Solomon. The replica was useless for the Watchers’ purpose and sat lifeless among the survivors. Without the true Ark, the Watchers had accomplished nothing.
The Morning Star, all observed, was once again merely a serpent crawling through feces.
Standing before the remaining Watchers, Metatron called for Shamsiel and Cherubim to join him. They did and the legions of angels fell in behind. With his face betraying the fury of the universe, Metatron looked out over the Watchers and declared, “Your sentence is death.”
The legions of angels came forward and commenced the slaughter. A few of the Watchers feebly attempted to defend themselves but most accepted their fate and were consumed by the fire that came from the swords.
The serpent was untouched, forced to watch the death of those he had led. It was not until the bodies of the Watchers filled the ground with lifelessness that Metatron approached the serpent.
The serpent looked up at Metatron and could feel Metatron’s rage. Where before the Morning Star looked in respect, now there was a true fear. Without speaking, Metatron drove his sword into the head of the serpent, ending his treachery once and for all.
CHAPTER THIRTY NINE
With a weary parting, what was left of the Sons of Cain journeyed back to their respected place in the universe and Diego returned with the priest to Ethiopia.
All of creation had experienced the Watchers but it seemed only a distant memory, as if everyone had shared the same bad dream that they just couldn’t recall.
When Metatron hid the Ark, undoing all the Watchers had done, he also undid time. His striking down the Morning Star was merely symbolic; plus, he had very much enjoyed the moment.
In the physical world, less than a day had passed. Diego and the priest returned to the cathedral and met with the investigators about the stolen Ark. The investigators were cagy and visible shaken but they could not explain their current state. They informed the priest that they had found no trace of the missing artifact but they would keep the investigation open and would inform them if they found anything. The priest thanked them, offering them a cup of coffee for the road and then
