The Seraphic System
Chapter: 93
Disclaimer: I don't own High School Dxd or any other universe used in this story. However, all original characters, plotlines, and world-building elements created in this story are my own.
Pa/ t reon details below the chapter if you're interested in seeing some content in advance.
(A One Way Trip)
-{Azrael}-
Azrael avoided a massive claw, sharp nails glinting in the light as they left a collapse of air in their wake. The titanic claw sent a gust of wind that blew like a hurricane.
The energy scythe in her hand crackled as it helped her concentrate her immense power.
She had always found it a bit cliche that her soul weapon was a scythe, but she supposed it was related to the perception that Humans had of her which unfortunately did make an effect.
Three thick black bolts struck out, exploding into a fizzling black mist that ate the Evil Dragon's thick-plated scales.
In turn, she was forced to move in a puff of black smoke as its tail slammed down.
She shot up as the attack was followed up by two twin beams of fire that ate at the very air as they travelled up.
Azrael dodged, spiralling through the air as the twin beams reached far. An unnatural dark feel from them makes her avoid even attempting to block the attack.
Azi Dahaka's body began glowing, the wounds inflicted by her were still present but healing at a rapid rate that made her pause. A mist burst out of him like a cloud, surrounding his body like some sort of shield.
A glance at his original body showed that Michael and the Dragon were faring well.
Azi Dahaka was known for being able to make one hundred clones but this time had gone for quality instead of quantity, combining those hundred clones into one super clone.
The Dragon King that was helping Michael showed herself to be immensely powerful. Almost deceivingly slow as her power reached into the super-class.
Whereas Michael was more of a pseudo-super class after the loss of his empowerment.
She couldn't focus on that for long, refocusing as the Evil Dragon took to flight.
Her hands waved out, her scythe crackling with death and holy power. Two forces that would seem like they shouldn't go together, yet they melded perfectly.
Four obsidian-black magic circles erupt beneath and above Azrael In a cross-shaped vertical tetrahedron, each one spinning with a different shape.
Life, Soul, Body.
A black Halo formed above her head, her golden wings contrasting starkly.
She put her hands together and the world around her pulsed.
The evil Dragon who had been preparing a massive attack faltered, a metaphysical attack made him roar in pain as he had his considerable soul slammed into.
Her true form appeared behind her, the massive hooded construct floating. Massive wings spread, light building across the previously white plane of Heaven.
She held up her hand and a ball of light formed,
Black-violet energies coming to wrap around it.
She threw the ball towards Azi Dahaka just in time as he unleashed a ball of mist.
The attacks passed each other and Azrael lost sight of him as the mist expanded, covering a mile's radius like a storm as black bolts began raining down on her.
Magical circles formed and as she lashed out with her energy scythe, the mist and magical circles both glowed in attempts to pick her attack apart as they tried to drain its power.
She narrowed her eyes, her form blurring and dodging the attacks.
The black halo atop her head started crackling with energy. From the middle of the Halo a beam of dark-violet light lances up into the epicentre, revealing a larger Death Halo. A writhing, thorned ring of reversed time and eroded souls.
She clapped her hands gently and an aura exploded out, the storm of eroding mist and magical circles dispersed.
Just in time, she saw the Evil Dragon flying back up to her furiously. Chains of black were bound to the plated scales of its skin, smoke wafting off them as they slowly burnt through.
The mist that covered him was attempting to lash out at the chains burning into him.
All three maws opened.
One prepared a chaotic spell of writhing black glyphs, one that coiled around itself like a pile of serpents.
Another had a massive storm of red energy spiralling upward, coalescing into some sort of miniature dragon that was joined by more magical circles forming in front of it.
The last head was aiming at the sky, a hollow ball that had a twisted fracture of air inside its bubble pulsed.
Once again, she had to wonder who had empowered this dragon. He was using forbidden destructive spells with major backlashes carelessly with no worry for the effects they caused to himself or the area around him.
She could sense multiple deathly self-empowerment rituals. Which was no doubt boosting him further. His insane regeneration factor was preventing him from dying.
That along with the forbidden attack spells was sufficiently allowing Azi Dahaka to prove a threat even with his power split into two clones. She could also sense the souls of lesser Dragon infused into the Dragon's foul body.
Azrael looked over to the large blue western Dragon radiating Draconic and a subtle amount of Divine power in realisation. The super-class Dragon's identity forms in her mind.
So that's who that was.
Tiamat.
Azrael couldn't focus on that realisation further. The attacks shot out and towards her in a defeating bang instantly, with a massive amount of power packed into it.
The massive Halo above her shot down, coming in front of her.
Azrael sent it towards the first attack.
The writhing black glyphs flew through the air chaotically and impacted the Halo, the Halo exploded with power and both the Halo and the attack vanished.
The next attack followed immediately, a supernova of draconic energy filled with corruption and something else that bent the air around its approaching beam.
It looked back, and yet she knew a basic barrier no matter how powerful it would be shredded through.
Which was why her next actions were performed.
Azrael extends a pale-grey translucent barrier made of coalesced souls. The souls of those who were the vilest of humans were used and the powerful energy that all souls held made the barrier surface come alive.
The barrier folded and became a dome that she shot out to the supernova of energy.
It wrapped around it and diverted its path.
Her other hand snapped out, the Halo of energy released above the Dragon and the tendril of shifting black energy exploded into an eldritch horror that clawed at its scales with sharp tentacles.
Azi Dahaka's rapid approach was halted and he was sent back down to the ground.
A pulse of draconic energy surged out from his body, fighting the tendrils that lashed and attempted to him. Two of the heads focused on that as the middle head glared up at Azrael.
She prepared for the next attack. Which came and fractured the space around her.
Shards of energy began staggering through and she found herself imprisoned.
As Azi Dahaka began to recover, she flicked her hand and the beam she had hijacked slammed into his side with a burst of soul energy. The pure decaying and corrupting energy created unhealthy veins in his skin. Scales began to fall off as he was dealt a major blow by his own attack.
With the Black Halo floating above her head, a violet energy began crackling around her alongside holy power.
Heavenly Domain: Death's Core
The black Halo lost its physical form, it shifted with golden, black and violet energy like some sort of living universal energy. She curled it up like a ball of energy as the cracking closed in on her, blades of fractured corruption attempting to stab her like blades.
She let go and it exploded out, forming an aura of holy power and death around her that pushed the shattered dome away. She held her hand open and the energy gathered back into a halo.
Azrael pushed herself to the side, able to avoid a raging Dragon. With most of its scales gone leaving a bloody Dragon that had festering wounds covering its body.
All eyes were lost in rage, elemental attacks immediately pouring out of all their mouths. The sky lit up in a chaotic whirlwind of immensely powerful elemental attacks.
She flashed back through the air in an arc of holy power and shadow.
The energy that was swirling in a Halo once more quickly surrounded her scythe, she sliced at the air and above her, a slit opened as if peering into another dimension.
The Evil Dragon merely roared in defiance as its power thrummed. More attacks started gathering in its mouth.
In this brief clash that followed thousands below died from the aftereffects, mostly enemy monsters with the way Azrael positioned herself.
-{Kai}-
My eyes snapped open. The feeling of using Dulio's body faded and I immediately sat up. Only briefly noticing my head in Aphrodite's soft lap as she stroked my head before I pushed myself up.
I watched as more cages materialized around the battlefield, trapping any unsuspecting Angel who had been fighting moments before. The cages were drawn into the air before any of the nearby Angels could intervene.
The Architect was retreating. Yet, he was taking Angels.
Anger once more flooded my heart.
Even in defeat, he couldn't leave without trying to take from me.
A quick look at the cages showed the Angels inside unable to escape. They had been created specifically for them. He had planned this from the beginning.
"Aphrodite," I called out, pointing toward the far end of the battlefield where several cages hung in the air. "I need you to free those angels. I think the Architect is retreating and he doesn't want to go without anything gained. I won't be able to reach all of those in time. I'll handle the ones closer to us."
Aphrodite paused before she shook her head immediately. "I'm not leaving you alone with him still here."
"I'll be fine," I promised, meeting her eyes. "But those angels won't be if we don't move fast. Please."
Her cheeks flushed slightly before she nodded. "Fine, but be safe. I'll be watching closely. If you're in danger I'm coming to get you immediately."
I nodded and flew toward the nearest cluster of cages, cutting through the massive spiders that tried to block my path. My sword carved through their chitinous shells easily enough, but there were dozens of them.
As I reached the first cage, I swung my sword and let a powerful blade of cursed light cut into the cage. Surprisingly, the cage rejected and withstood my power. But that didn't last as I used mokuton to drain the ambient energy in its material and used an even stronger attack.
"My Lord," one of them said as I cut through his prison bars.
More angels gathered around me as I freed them from their cages. They formed a protective circle, helping me fight off the spiders while I worked on the remaining prisons. They coordinated expertly to shield me from attacks.
"Thank you for coming back for us," another whispered as I released her.
I felt a brief surge of happiness at that, but it was drowned out by the festering anger that was burning in my veins. Even as the war raged around us, my Angels gave me beaming smiles as I released them and joined the large force following me.
It only served to make me feel worse. I attempted to return their smiles with a weak smile and they all gave me kind sympathetic looks as if they knew exactly how I was feeling.
By the time I reached the large cage, I had hundreds of Angels rallying with me. Cherubs shielding and blasting through the monsters attempting to claw up at me from below.
I suspected that if they weren't so trained all of the heavenly army forming a practised wall would have joined me as well. I'd probably have all of Heaven asking me if I asked.
I sent a quick glance at everyone fighting.
It was a mess.
With so many God-class battles the sky was still trying to recover. Attacks were sent out in the dozens by the second and blurs occasionally flickered across the sky, followed by pure destruction.
I frowned as I felt holy power raged through the air and looked up to meet the eyes of Gabriel.
My eyes widened and a coldness shot through my entire being.
-{Gabriel}-
Gabriel sent another torrent of holy water crashing into Tlaloc, the Aztec rain god stumbling backwards through the sky as steam rose from his burned flesh.
He was barely floating now, most of his divine power already spent trying to counter her powerful attacks.
Even with this, Gabriel showed no mercy as she spun, narrowing her eyes as the Rain God's eyes trailed down to her chest. A blast of holy water shot out and surged around him, coming to quickly circle his body.
Spirals and blades of holy heated water formed, essentially forcing the God to avoid them lest his skin be torn by super-heated blades of bubbling water.
It took immense control not to let the water outright evaporate. Something the God tried to take advantage of as he attempted to take control of the water.
Gabriel took a brief moment to glance around the battlefield, her clear emerald eyes scanning around worriedly. The Solar God was in even worse shape, reduced to desperately dodging attacks from the other angels.
Hestia was fighting Ammit with surprising ferocity for someone who claimed to hate violence, her divine flames keeping the crocodile-headed goddess at bay.
She dodged another dark blast of divinity, using fire to propel herself away at even greater speeds in a technique that reminded her of Uriel. Gabriel shook her head.
The battle was almost over. The massive dragon was being systematically destroyed, and she'd caught a glimpse of her elder sister fighting alongside the others. That had been a shock she couldn't process right now, not while Tlaloc was still breathing.
Michael and Tiamat were coordinating their assault on the dragon's other body, their combined power overwhelming its defences. Leaving only the architect remained unaccounted for.
Her eyes trailed to Kai. The hurt of losing Uriel was hard to distract herself from. It was a deep pain that had been receding. It took everything not to let her sadness show.
Uriel wouldn't be able to be revived as of now. Kai simply didn't have the power yet. And that didn't mean it hurt any less. She knew Uriel went with the intent of dying permanently.
Gabriel clenched her fists, holy energy crackling around her fingers.
The grief threatened to overwhelm her focus, but she pushed it down. Uriel wouldn't want her distracted during battle. He'd want her to finish this and make sure his sacrifice meant something.
Tlaloc managed to destabilise the water with a lot of effort, the massive swirling mass of holy water burst into steam. He blew it away and immediately went on the attack.
Gabriel turned back to Tlaloc and unleashed another wave of holy water. It was like a dam opening as the battlefield below was turned into a swamp.
The Angels below found themselves healing in the water while monsters on the other hand burnt with screeches.
Tlaloc blocked with visible effort, then hundreds of gallons of water were formed into ice shards, and he sent them to swarm her in a desperate attempt.
A wave of water formed in front of her and acted as a shield, with golden words and holy power flaring against the surface of the water shield. An angelic spell reinforced it further and the small ice drops exploded as they came into contact with the shield's surface.
Tlaloc perked up, a slight smile on his face as if something had changed.
Her eyes narrowed and she started scanning around. Attempting to see any subtle traps or techniques in the making. After confirming that her quick scan showed nothing, she went to press forward.
However, before she could move, something slammed into her mind. Not a physical attack but something else. Foreign and invasive. Her concentration wavered for just a moment. Her emerald eyes dilated as the foreign invasion was crushed by her holy power.
Tlaloc's eyes blazed with the last of his power. Spectral chains burst out of him and wrapped around her arms and legs, holding her in place for barely a second. Sparks of power rumbled through the chains like lighting as she resisted them.
Gabriel broke free in a mere moment, golden power erupting from the stormy chains and she instantly lashed out with a blade of holy water.
Tlaloc's form began to blur as he attempted to escape through the storm clouds with the last of his physical strength, preparing to scatter across the winds as clouds gathered.
But Gabriel's emerald eyes locked onto something deeper than his magic or his form.
She concentrated fully, both of her hands out.
The golden ichor that pulsed through his veins suddenly stilled.
Tlaloc's escape stuttered as the ichor in his body rebelled against him. The golden fluid surged backward through his arteries, creating crushing pressure that made his form convulse.
His eyes widened in pure shock.
His attempted flight through the clouds collapsed as his own blood anchored him in place.
It wasn't long, a mere moment as his hands stretched out.
A blade that severed both of Tlaloc's arms at the shoulder.
He screamed in pain.
She realeased him, as an insane amount of angelic magic was spent on the forbidden technique.
She went to finish the job, only for a containment cage to materialize around her before she could react. Thick bars of some unknown material, covered in demonic runes and other symbols she didn't recognize.
Gabriel flinched back in surprise.
That didn't last long as she immediately unleashed her full power, holy energy flooding out in waves and causing the area to shake. The bars gained a layer of frost and water spun powerfully around the cage.
The cage held.
Gabriel's lips pressed into a thin line and power ran rampant around the cage. That only became even more rampant as she witnessed more cages appear around the battlefield, trapping several of the weaker angels.
She watched as she was pulled upward by some invisible force.
That force wavered as she glared.
Gabriel had enough of this.
Heaven had suffered through so much, but yet again someone else was trying to destroy her family. They interrupted her time with Kai, just when she was close to fulfilling a major wish.
They killed her siblings. They killed Uriel.
The pain she had held so long seemed to take that moment to finally unleash. Tears streamed down her face even as she became angry. Her pure beautiful white wings slowly began turning pitch black.
How much more does she have to suffer?
The containment paused, glowing insanely as it tried to contain her power. Her perfect face was morphed into a look of fury as years of resentment and pain welled up.
Gabriel looked at the cages, desperately wanting to help and her eyes widened in relief as she watched Kai move.
The other cages were cut apart in seconds. Kai moved between them with his sword, freeing the trapped angels one by one. He looked up and their eyes met.
His eyes widened in alarm when he saw her predicament.
Gabriel looked at him, entranced. Her rage was suppressed, the pain welling up uncontrollably lessening and vanishing in place of love. The slow shift of her wings that had been turning black stopped and slowly reverted.
She gave him a soft smile.
Unfortunately, that brief pause allowed the cage to move once more.
She regained her focus and slammed her fists against the bars again. Her fists became a blur as loud clangs rang out, shockwaves erupting from the impact.
The cage was masterfully crafted, combining demonic artefacts with divine binding runes and what felt like draconic magic. There were multiple instruments that attacked her angelic mana and holy power.
Whoever had built this had planned it specifically for her. Which meant that it was made by the Architect himself… with some help. The sight of demonic artefacts gave her a brief pause and made her eyes narrow.
The whole situation felt like Lucifer's.
Random demonic artefacts? Maybe back then… But finding them now would be so hard, next to impossible. Heaven had made sure of that.
Gabriel couldn't focus on that much longer though as she tried to break through the bottom of the cage. The mental attack had been perfectly timed to catch her off guard during the cage's manifestation.
It had been perfectly planned, that alongside Tlaloc unleashing the rest of what he had.
She didn't stop attacking the cage, even as she could only watch through the glowing bars made of questionable metal as Kai raced towards her, blitzing through monsters.
-{Kai}-
I shot through the air toward Gabriel, my group of Angels left behind as I pushed myself to full speed.
My form was a blur as I watched a spectral chain drag the cage up. She was rebuking its attempts with fervour, power crackling around her and shockwaves lancing out from the powerful punches she was unleashing.
Her face was determined, her curly blond hair whipping and glowing with an unnatural beauty as she attempted to find any weak spots.
My eyes flickered up.
The Architect was above and with how close he was, I got my first clear close-up look at the Architect.
The man was tall and gaunt, with pale skin that looked partially decomposed in places, which showed itself in the form of unhealthy pale flesh.
Half his face showed exposed bone beneath unhealthy flesh, while the other half appeared almost healthy. His eyes burned and tainted divine energy radiated from his form like heat waves.
He sent me a truly hateful look, one my sword showed as it shimmered from the hate directed its way, absorbing it greedily.
That energy crackled along the surface of my skin as I didn't hesitate to send an attack towards him.
With my light embodiment being so high level, I used a more powerful attack.
A mandala forms in my hand and spins rapidly, I let it charge with my power before sending it flying towards the Architect, to which it left a spiralling trail of light particles that radiated immense heat.
The attack was quick, flickering towards the Architect. Who was barely able to respond by holding up a glowing ring that created a sphere of blue around him.
Upon impact, the attack unfolded in a brilliant display of light and stretched out akin to an origami flower made of light, expanding into a three-dimensional cage of intersecting light beams.
The three beams pushed the Architect back.
The brief push allowed me to gain immense air coverage.
The attack dispersed after, leaving the air wafting with heat and the area brightened in contrast to the dark ash clouds that had taken residence in the sky above.
As I got closer, he let out a click of annoyance and quickly pulled a chained figure from behind a pillar.
Some kind of bound captive he'd been keeping hidden. The Architect raised his free hand and the man screamed, a shimmering barrier began forming around himself and Gabriel's cage.
I poured everything into a burst of speed, diving through the barrier just as it snapped closed. The magical wall was sealed behind me with a sound like breaking glass.
Aphrodite immediately came to slam into the barrier behind me but to no avail.
The Architect scowled, revealing sharp inhumanly pointed teeth. "Why must you prove yourself to be such a pain?"
The Architect didn't wait for an answer and immediately attacked, two floating turrets appeared on either side of him.
The rings on his hands glowed brightly and he waved them out.
Multiple glowing formations formed on the twin cannons and the building charge they had rapidly gathered was seemingly amifplied.
Another circle formed in front of it and rapid-fire came my way, powerful charges of pure energy showing themselves to be powerful as they streaked through the air.
I pushed forward, my angelic aura still clinging to me, more faintly now and lacking the overwhelming presence of my semi-Divine form.
My reserves had taken a serious hit earlier, leaving little room for high-cost spells. I tried to avoid anything too magically demanding. As a primarily magic-user it wasn't ideal.
The Architect retreated, activating something as the cannons provided cover fire.
I dodged what I could, weaving through them as massive explosions formed around me. A shield formed around me as I vanished in a zap and reappeared closer to him.
A quick slash of cursed light left the two machines in two pieces each.
The Architect raised a hand and a wave of pure force blew me back. He waved a hand back once more, multiple illusions of him forming to fly towards me. I gave them a bored look and my power crushed them instantly.
I sent multiple disks of light towards him in response. Unfortunately, just because my magic had reached the God-class it didn't mean my physical strength was on the same level.
I had no doubt gotten a boost merely from having my magic reach into the God class, especially with my perception but that didn't push my strength up enough.
A dome formed around him with the flash of another ring and a rotating sphere in the air with some sort of strange pattern that dissolved my light disks into nothing.
Another ring glowed and multiple portals tore open above me, releasing torrents of water that clearly weren't from Earth. The pressure was powerful and its colour was unnaturally dark, the sheer force of it flooded the entire area in moments.
I noticed though, that half of the portals hadn't opened and I realised that the domain that allowed them to teleport so freely was nearly all but destroyed.
The wards and barriers of Heaven were coming back to life.
Angelic power thrummed to life and holy energy surrounded me with an aura of scorching air, making the water turn into steam around me as I blitzed through the large wall he had tried to create.
More portals formed and noticeably more of them failed to open. Without warning, flames erupted, not from the ground or sky, but from between the seams of space itself, cracks of burning gold and red tore open around the area.
Calmly, I navigated a way through the curling flames.
Even as my skin began burning from the sheer heat the fire radiated.
'Appraisal.'
These flames were those of Muspelheim. The Norse realm of Primordial Flame. So they had an in with the Norse?
That didn't matter for now.
I found myself shooting towards the barrier. The Architect had already pulled Gabriel inside and was in the process of entering himself.
As even MindMaven struggled with a path, something happened.
The consciousness that my Divine Shard seemed to have stirred and the Heavenly System connected to me for a brief moment. It was a connection I hadn't experienced yet and something was channeled into my mind.
In a flicker, everything became clear as my MindMaven was seemingly supercharged.
I focused on the barrier, chakra eyes activating and surveying the energy it was composed of. Even as flames closed in on me as I flew directly towards it, I formed a temporary barrier.
A barrier that instantly began crackling,
Divine energy, coming from his status as a technical Demigod. Then, presumably, energy came from the rings he used. Was demonic power.
Since coming to Heaven, the subject of energies and what they were had been a subject that I had studied within the Heavenly Library. The result was a basic understanding of what they were.
At its base, it was just energy. Before all these different magical energies were formed or created there was only Energy. Then came all of the other energies that tied into aspects and excelled in different forms of magic.
The difference between energies is the density, attribute and the way it can be manipulated. Angelic energy is tied to light and purity, which expresses itself as golden. It excels in producing light and purifying effects which extends to all the domains connected to that.
Fundamentally, all magic energies come from simple energy. Energy is everywhere. And it was the original source of magic when beings of old played around with it.
Demonic energy is born from chaos, emotion, and instinct, often tied to the Hell. It's destructive, corruptive, and boosts physical or dark magic.
Divine energy is special, from the fact it was from Conceptual origin akin to Primordial's Authority, aspects of reality itself which allow the Gods to take on domains. Which in turn gives them special skills.
God-class beings were unique because they acted as their own ley lines, generating and cycling energy directly from themselves. In contrast, those below that level could only convert existing energy into the type aligned with their body.
All this thought led to now, mokuton erupted from me as my chakra pulsed.
Holy power and light spread along the roots with it, coming to combat the demonic energy. The holy energy instantly weakened the demonic energy, the chakra coming to smash into the barrier's surface and Mokuton beginning to drain the divine energy.
The process was slow, and if I had been forced to drain all the divine energy it would have taken a while. Luckily? I had done enough and a crack opened up within the barrier.
The portal was already closing.
I attempted to use zapping light, a zap briefly flickering across my body before I was rejected. The portal was too small for my body to enter, a glimpse of what lay on the other side was the only thing provided to me.
My eyes met Gabriel's soft emerald orbs.
I focused, my mind flickering through all my options. I kept the fear that was trying to claw at me at bay, my mind operating at a level that almost put me above it.
Zapping light formed again and I tried to brute force my way through, it was the only way. Yet, my attempts failed and the portal was now the size of a coin as it began to slowly flicker out.
I gritted my teeth. My shard was equally as alive, thrumming into my body like it was trying to provide me encouragement. It had only been this alive for a few times since having it before and I tried to reach out.
Once more, the Heavenly System came to my aid, flooding me with a strange power. My entire body burnt. The Zapping Light around me turned into orange flashes that cut through reality.
Pain erupted and a massive boom filled my vision as a zap blew through the portal at the exact moment it closed.
My grip landed on the cage Gabriel was in and in a move I didn't even realise I could do, I transported with my zapping light and focused my entire will on transporting the cage into Heaven.
Gabriel watched me with wide eyes as the cage flashed in the strange orange zaps. She tried to reach out for me, only for the cage to disappear and the portal to slam shut behind me.
The energy cut off instantly, leaving me hollow and shaking. My legs nearly gave out, but I forced myself to stay upright.
The Shard slept once more.
My breathing was heavy.
The Architect stood in front of a medieval castle of some sorts. He turned, his face in pure disbelief and his confident expression cracked and falling apart.
There was a brief moment of silence around us. It took me a moment to realise that it was just the both of us now.
A laugh escaped my bloody lips. Not one of amusement or any design, but one of relief.
Relief at the realisation that it was just the two of us here.
He had no allies. No more people to hide behind. And with Gabriel safely returned to Heaven, I only had one objective left.
"You!" The Architect was shaking, his face twisted with an inhuman rage. "You just continue, again and again and again and AGAIN. I've spent so much time…"
I didn't care to let him finish.
My muscles strained, I pushed forward with my angelic form blazing. Ignoring all the pain the action caused me, I went directly towards the Architect.
-{Kokabiel}-
Kokabiel stood among the rubble of what had once been enemy fortifications around the Vatican, his black wings folded tightly against his back.
The irony wasn't lost on him, a fallen angel fighting to protect the very seat of faith he had once turned away from. The seat in the mortal world in any case.
Metatron and Sandalphon had worked quickly, their combined power clearing most of the threats. His own group of fallen had done their part, though the tension was thick enough to cut with a blade.
They all knew this was a desperate gambit for redemption.
When Kokabiel was finally done, cutting down the last monster with a wave of powerful light that made the air fizzle. He turned surveying the area with narrowed eyes only to land on a figure.
Kokabiel's eyes widened in shock.
Standing among the angelic reinforcements was a figure he thought he'd never see again.
Golden hair that seemed to catch light even in the dim aftermath of battle, and those unmistakable features that had once been as familiar to him as his own reflection.
"Oh, Kokabiel," Jophiel said. "Fancy meeting you here. I'd say long time no see but that feels a bit on the nose, doesn't it?"
Kokabiel flushed. "Jophiel, it's... well, it's good to see you again, actually."
"How terribly awkward this is," Aziraphel piped up cheerfully from beside Jophiel, having appeared with what looked suspiciously like a creamy scones balanced on a napkin. "I do so hate family reunions. Would anyone care for a scone?"
Kokabiel sent his brother a flat look.
They were surrounded by dead bodies.
Jophiel shot him a look that was half exasperation, half fondness. "Aziraphel, we're having a moment. How can you even eat."
"Oh yes, quite right. Carry on." Aziraphel took a delicate bite of scone and pretended to be very interested in the rubble nearby, ignoring the comment about eating.
Kokabiel felt strange, this was exactly like the old days.
And Aziraphel…
Was still a glutton.
Jophiel turned back to Kokabiel with that complicated expression. "So then. How did it happen? The whole... you know." He gestured vaguely at Kokabiel's rather dramatically black wings. "You didn't strike me as the type, brother."
Kokabiel shuffled, akin to when Father had found him trying to draw a naked portrait of him enjoying the baths of Heaven. He really hadn't meant anything bad by it "uh. Anger, I'm afraid."
"Ah." It was a simple word that somehow managed to convey his understanding. "That'll do it, at what, specifically?"
"Father's passing," Kokabiel replied shyly.
Jophiel's ancient eyes peered down at him with the sort of understanding usually reserved for people who've spent too long in customer service.
"Well, if there was ever a reason to have a tantrum, that would certainly qualify." He nodded. "And no wonder you feel so much weaker. Along with your choice in wardrobe. It seems both aspects have taken a hit."
Kokabiel looked down at his robes.
Aziraphel hummed. "If you want to continue with this style, maybe Azrael can give you some advice. She's really going for that gothic look. It just looks… well. Good in comparison to you."
Kokabiel wondered how his life had amounted to this.
"Still, on the subject of falling. It's better than when Azazel tried to steal Gabriel's knickers. Then in a pouting fit of Azazelness going down to sleep with a mortal woman, then trying to come back into Heaven only to get kicked out. Naked." Aziraphel mused.
"Have you tried some scones? They normally sooth those sorts of feelings." Aziraphel said from besides him.
Kokabiel glared. "No, Aziraphel. I don't want try any scones."
"Still fell though, didn't you? Mind you, I'm hardly one to lecture on questionable life choices." Jophiel said, expertly ignoring his brother.
Aziraphel nearly choked on his tea.
Wait… Tea? Where had he pulled that out from?
"That's rather the understatement of several centuries." Aziraphel muttered.
"I beg your pardon, I was being supportive and like you can even talk," Jophiel protested. "Maybe you can do something other than offering some scones?"
Aziraphel paused. "Tea? Books?"
They both ignored him.
Kokabiel managed a weak smile.
"That's... actually why I'm here. To repent. I figured helping out would be a good start."
"Why didn't you like… go crawling back to Heaven? I mean I get the magical wards would resist your presence in Heaven but I'm sure there's a way around it." Jophiel questioned curiously.
"Yeah, I doubt Uriel at the very least would have minded. He's like one breakdown away from falling himself." Aziraphel said, chewing on a scone. "I mean, I love him and all but he's always had a fiery temper."
"I-" Kokabiel started, then stopped. "Didn't think of that…"
His head lowered, eyes downtrodden.
Slowly, Aziraphel attempted to hand him a scone and Jophiel slapped his hand away with an audible crack.
"I would have been too ashamed in any case." Kokabiel finally decided.
"How refreshingly honest," Metatron announced, materializing next to them with a sort of dramatic flair.
"Did you seriously just do the Holy presentation number on us?" Jophiel asked incredulously.
"I remember when Father caught you trying that in front of a mirror." Aziraphel snickered.
Metatron had the wind taken out of his sails for a moment, before seemingly erasing the fact that he had just been called out from his mind. "Speaking of questionable life choices and lengthy absences, where exactly have you been, Jophiel and Aziraphel?"
Jophiel had the grace to look sheepish, which on a Seraph that just killed hundreds of monsters in some of the most brutal manners possible was rather like watching a lion attempt to hide behind a daisy. "Ah. Yes. Well. I, er, followed Azrael to look for a way to resurrect Father."
"And that couldn't be managed from Heaven?" Metatron's voice carried a particular brand of disappointment. "With Heaven's resources you might have had an easier time of it."
"Heaven was rather in shambles, wasn't it?" Jophiel said defensively. "All that loss... Terrible for concentration. We needed somewhere quiet to work."
His tone was light, but the sentiment behind it was serious.
Aziraphel nodded sagely. "It wasn't easy." He briefly sounded serious. "But Azrael was the only one who knew how to make a proper cup of tea."
Jophiel wanted to slap his forehead.
Metatron looked at him flatly. While Kokabiel felt like a small child again.
Jophiel stared at him. "Aziraphel, that's not... we didn't follow her for her tea-making abilities."
"Well, no, obviously not entirely," Aziraphel said, looking slightly wounded. "It did help in the persuasion though, only Father knew how to make a cup like that. Like that twenty- I mean ten percent of the decision. Father obviously was top priority."
Metatron tried to maintain his stern expression, but was obviously failing in that department as a wistful expression spread across his face, "I suppose that does make a certain amount of sense. Not the Tea part."
Aziraphel frowned.
They embraced all a moment later, and Kokabiel felt rather like a third wheel. Still, there was something oddly comforting about watching his family be dysfunctional in the same old ways.
Aziraphel and Jophiel hadn't changed…
It made him want to tear up a bit at how much he had missed this.
"Right then," Jophiel said, pulling back with sudden excitement. "Is it true? Is He actually back?"
Kokabiel perked up like a dog hearing the word 'walkies.'
Metatron's face split into what could only be described as a grin of epic proportions. "He is indeed back. Though He's rather different now. for starters."
"But He is back?" Jophiel pressed, bouncing slightly on his toes.
"Yes."
Kokabiel felt joy bubble up inside him.
Aziraphel perked up. "Does he still know how to make that Tea of his? Azrael is good but Father's was divine."
They all ignored him.
Despite the joke, Aziraphel was grinning, his eyes glinting with pure happiness.
"So," he said, trying to sound casual.
"What's the current situation in Heaven? Please tell me someone's been watering my plants." Jophiel asked lightheartedly.
"Yes, why aren't they down here to help?" Aziraphel questioned, slightly more serious. "The Vatican being attacked is rather serious, don't tell me Uriel got stuck in the Heavenly Vaults again? We had to wait until Father returned for the last time."
The both of them paused and Metatron quickly used some sort of communication device.
His grim expression made them all pause.
-END-
Note: Azrael has 14 wings as she's in the super class. It's the final form of Angels.
if you wish to read up to sixteen chapters in advance among my stories and other things please visit pa/t reon * / Snipez818, the app is charging a lot more for some reason so I suggest using the website.
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