The branches of the World Tree, which held the mortal worlds together and connected them to the World Tree, were in fact in-between spaces through which one could wander from world to world.
However, these intermediate realms had only recently been discovered by the angels and were still a great mystery. So far, this place seemed to be nothing more than an empty void, similar to outer space, where, just like in the worlds, the laws of reality prevailed.
At that time, several expedition teams of angels were within this in-between space, researching what kind of place this truly was and what secrets it might hold.
Most of the time, they found nothing of significance in this realm. Yet the intermediate space was an unimaginably vast emptiness, which meant there was still much to explore, and it was very possible to stumble upon things or places hidden in its depths.
There had only been a few cases where they encountered deceased souls or restless spirits that had strayed into these places instead of entering Heaven, Hell, or the cycle of reincarnation.
A small group of six angels, including a leader, roamed through the void of the intermediate realm.
"Haah~ This place is truly bleak," sighed one of the angels.
"Yes, the Outer World is indeed a boring place, but it is much larger than we can imagine. Perhaps we'll find something interesting here, or maybe even new worlds," another angel replied.
The Outer World. That was the name the angels gave to the intermediate realm. It was quite accurate, for these spaces were within the World Tree, its branches, and the vines that held the mortal worlds, and yet they also existed outside the mortal worlds.
One could imagine it as a dense mist surrounding the flat worlds.
"Silence!" commanded the troop leader with a stern expression and a golden lance in hand.
The chatting angels immediately flinched when they heard the strict voice of their commander.
They had already been in the Outer World for several days, yet they had found nothing. All this time they had merely wandered about without signs of anything new or unusual in this void. It was only natural that the angels grew bored and tried to pass the time with conversation.
The leader of the group, Tariel, however, was a very strict man who took assignments and especially missions entrusted to him by the archangels with utmost seriousness.
It was an open secret among the group that Tariel strove to become an archangel as quickly as possible and one day serve as one of the twelve archangels of God.
After his ascension to Heaven, Tariel had also changed his name to Tariel to express the depth of his faith. It also marked the beginning of a new chapter in his life, as a loyal angel at God's side.
Yet despite being so strict, he too had his own thoughts about this mission.
Damn it! What am I supposed to do here? It's been days since the start of the expedition, and there's absolutely nothing here. If this continues, my chances of becoming one of the twelve archangels will dwindle, and eventually, I won't advance at all!
Inwardly, Tariel was quite agitated. But he clenched his teeth and carried out his mission resentfully, since it had been assigned to him personally by Michael, one of the twelve archangels.
After a while, however, something seemed to occur.
"Hey, what's that?" one of the angels suddenly shouted loudly and in confusion.
That finally caught the attention of the other angels.
The Outer World was like a gray void, filled with mist that concealed everything beyond a certain distance. This made exploration difficult and the surroundings endlessly dreary and monotonous.
When the angel who had called out earlier strayed a little from the group, he came across something behind the wall of mist that the others had not noticed before.
He beheld something that should not have been in this place. To be more precise—it was people they had not expected to see there.
When the other angels caught sight of these figures, one of them cried out in shock and anger:
"Demons?!"
Demons. They too were in the Outer World. Unbeknownst to the angels, the demons had also sent small groups to wander the void and explore this mysterious place.
"Huh?" One of the demons seemed to notice the angels and looked at them in surprise.
Although they were so close, they had not noticed each other at all until one of the angels approached and their paths crossed. Not even their respective auras could be sensed through the mist.
Such was the nature of the Outer World. It was practically a terror for those who did not know the way, resembling a labyrinth, which, to make matters worse, was filled with dense fog that obscured vision.
"Hah! Damn little brats!" mocked another demon aggressively, who had now also noticed the angels.
Tariel's eyes widened as he saw this opportunity. His eyes sparkled with joyful realization, and he acted at once.
First, a long golden spear appeared in his hand, followed by a golden armor with a helmet covering his entire body. He pointed the spear toward the demons and shouted to his comrades:
"Prepare yourselves! Here and now we shall cleanse the worlds of evil and eradicate these demons!"
When the angels heard this command, they immediately knew what was happening and what to do. Without hesitation, they readied themselves for battle, summoned their golden weapons, and donned shimmering golden angelic armor, just like Tariel.
Then, without further delay, the angels hurled themselves at the demons.
The demons seemed momentarily speechless and somewhat caught off guard, as though they had not expected such an abrupt move from the angels. But they were demons—fighting was in their blood. They quickly adapted to the situation and rushed toward the oncoming group of angels.
In the Outer World, a small battle now erupted, between six angels and six demons.
This fight lasted for two whole days before an end seemed near. But things would not turn out that way. For at the decisive moment, another group of demons, also searching the Outer World, joined the fight, giving the angels a significant disadvantage. Having been on the verge of victory, they were now pushed back and heavily outnumbered.
As the five remaining angels struggled to deal with more than a dozen demons, Commander Tariel decided on a drastic measure.
Exhausted and desperate, Tariel retreated from the front and ordered his comrades to buy him some time so he could call for help.
So he began to pray:
"Oh great Archangel of the Hunt and Wisdom, I beseech Your aid in this dark hour! Our holy troops of Heaven are about to fall to our arch-enemy, the malicious demons. Thus, I implore You in this dire time—grant us Your help, oh revered, highest power, deliver us from this peril." Tariel ended the prayer, radiating a holy aura.
After finishing his prayer, and reopening his eyes with a glimmer of hope in them, Tariel seemed to expect something—but nothing happened.
The battle at the front between the angels and demons raged on, the situation growing more dire by the second. The angels were being pushed back further and overwhelmed by the demons.
They stood on the brink of defeat.
But suddenly, a glimmer of hope appeared when a spark of divine power burst forth from the angelic commander Tariel, shooting upward like a firework into the sky of gray mist.
With a loud bang, the spark formed into a round portal, through which a graceful figure stepped and entered the gray void of the Outer World.
She was surrounded by holy light, a shining halo above her head, and four wings upon her back.
An archangel had appeared in the Outer World.
Kronos, the summoned archangel, also known by the name: "Throne of Wisdom Revealed," observed the scene with calm eyes and scrutinized the demons.
From above, he gazed down upon the battling angels and demons, who had already noticed his appearance and abruptly halted their fighting to look up at the newcomer.
While fanatical joy spread across the faces of the angels, the demons' expressions twisted into resentment and loathing toward this exalted archangel.
"Hmpf," snorted Kronos, and proclaimed indifferently: "Vile demons, how dare you disturb and attack the angels of Heaven in their mission … die!"
Kronos stretched out his hand, and a bow appeared in it.
He drew the bow, and a shaft of condensed light appeared in the string. Without hesitation, he fired the arrow at the demon troops, intending to annihilate them all in a single blow.
Yet something else happened instead.
Before the arrow of light could reach its target, the demons, a violet rift suddenly tore open in space.
The rift spread rapidly, creating an opening through which a long arm reached out and effortlessly caught the incoming arrow mid-flight, halting it.
Then the hand that had stopped the arrow snapped it in two, and it dissolved into glittering stardust.
"Tch," clicked a voice from within the rift, annoyed. "Damn flies of Heaven. You think you're something special, but you're nothing more than chickens abandoned by your god."
Out of the rift stepped a roughly two-meter-tall, rather lean yet well-built, demonic figure.
This figure had a long tail, two gray horns upon his head, and unlike most other demons, a third, vertical eye on his forehead, which stared directly at his enemy as though it could pierce into his very soul. At his hip hung a slender sword, so thin it almost resembled a rapier.
This demon was none other than the Demon Duke Kyros, also known by the name: "The Demon Who Yearns for Power."
"Hmpf," Kronos merely snorted disdainfully at the sight of the Demon Duke.
Kronos dismissed his bow, spread his hands to the sides, and summoned a dagger into each hand. He had no interest in conversing with a despicable demon and clearly intended to make short work of him.
Kyros felt much the same. He had little taste for long conversations when one could just speak with body and blade and hammer one's opinion into the opponent.
He drew his sword and prepared for confrontation.
The one who made the first move was, surprisingly, the archangel. Kronos vanished from sight and reappeared almost instantly, as if he had teleported, right in front of Kyros, swinging his daggers.
Kyros reacted swiftly, yet calmly, parrying the strike with his sword.
The two began a rapid exchange of blows, with Kronos repeatedly taking the initiative, attempting to stab Kyros treacherously with his daggers.
Kyros, however, remained calm the entire time, responding with the poise of a seasoned warrior to every attack.
Their blades clashed, producing faint shockwaves that echoed through the Outer World. Sparks flew again and again, and with every exchange, the two combatants grew faster and faster, sweeping through the realm.
The other angels and demons had already ceased fighting, choosing instead to step back and give space to the clash of these two powerhouses.
They watched the battle in awe, reverence reflected in their eyes.
Kronos vanished once more, reappearing directly behind Kyros, swinging his daggers, threatening to ambush and cut down his foe from behind.
Kyros, however, had already discerned Kronos' fighting style through their brief exchange and had anticipated such an attack.
He spun swiftly, countering with a powerful strike of his sword.
Kronos, seemingly unprepared for such a reaction, found himself on the receiving end of a counterattack. He shifted quickly from offense to defense.
He blocked the sword strike with both daggers but was flung back several meters by the impact, nearly losing his balance before quickly recovering and regaining his stance.
"Tch," Kyros clicked his tongue in disdain. "For an angel, you fight more like a filthy rogue."
Kyros' taunt seemed to have no effect on Kronos, for he already knew that some might consider his fighting style deceitful or dishonorable. Yet he felt no shame in it—for this was how he had been trained, and it was the best way he knew to wield his skills.
"Silence, demon!" he commanded in a haughty tone. "Had I truly given it my all, you would already be fallen. So be silent and entertain me a little longer!"
Kyros furrowed his brow at this arrogant tone—one hardly expected from an angel, sounding far more like something a demon might say.
"Haah~" He let out a weary sigh, as if this entire encounter with the angel was bothersome to him, and raised his sword once more.
The battle between the two slowly escalated.
*
*
***
Thanks for reading, please visist my Disord Server: https://discord.gg/2GXMeqmb