A/N: Yes, I know I said I was going to upload next week, but lo and behold, my daemons pestered me all day with this and forced me to update. Ugh, the strength of Hallow's Eve. They just wouldn't leave me alone. Now I have a backlog of work that's been piling up thanks to this chapter. Anyway, enjoy? I hope? As always, dedicated to none other than my talented Pagan witch, ToktelasAndTea and to you dear readers, for sticking by me this far. Chapter 22 would have to wait, I'm a little behind in editing another 40-chaptered story. Thank you illi777 and my dear anonymous visitor for your reviews! Much love. Till next time, daemonicons.

Chapter 21: Light of God, Unleashed.

"FUCK! GET OUT OF THE WAY YOU IDIOT!"

Something dark and heavy collided with Masamune just as a blinding white light tore through what was left of his bedchambers, incinerating everything into flames. Whoever it was that grabbed him by the collar of his robe made its way with lightning speed towards the windows behind him. Masamune managed to cover his face in time realizing what it was the other demon was about to do. He tucked his face in the crook of his elbow as his sensitive ears registered crashing glass, splintering into the courtyard below.

Just as quickly as he was saved, the hands that held on to him let him go, pushing him off as if he was dead weight. He spurned around, catching the wind clumsily under his wings before righting himself back up. Poising mid-air, just under the balcony of his chambers, Masamune looked to his side, and saw who it was that caught him in the nick of time; a mirror image of him. He closed his eyes in relief at the other winged creature who looked at him with a face dark with disapproval. It was his sister, Raiu, in all her goddamned demon glory.

"Bloody hell, what kind of an idiot are you?! You don't just stand in front of the Light of God without protection!"

Masamune was not given a chance to reply. A scream of terror accompanied another explosion and his eyes snapped upwards. His heart beat in an erratic drumming, a feeling he had never felt before ignited like a flame aggravated by gasoline. There was a sharp slice in his chest as another scream accompanied the next explosion. Debris fell on top of their heads, showering them with chunks of marble and granite. It took a fraction of a second to blast away the hailstones with destruction spells.

The tower that overlooked Pandaemonium City was teetering in what was going to be a monumental collapse. The third explosion succeeded in creating a hole in the wall facing the twin demons and they swiftly dived out of the way before the balcony fell on top of them. By now, bright red and orange flames had licked the chamber walls greedily and black acrid smoke was billowing thickly into the crimson sky, obscuring the eclipsed moon. Masamune was caught in the throes of mind-numbing panic in mid-air as his vision caught sight of the boy he loved, trapped in the flames, confined to the bed, oblivious to the rampaging inferno around him.

It was as if Heaven had broken the seal holding the Light of God's locked powers. Ritsu's irises had turned the purest of whites, as God's damnable light poured forth from every core of his being. His hands grabbed both sides of his head as he screamed in a livid, mind-shattering pain. With every scream, the light grew brighter, a sonic wave that detonated everything within his range. Blood red tears escaped his eyes, his nose, his mouth, even his skin. He was bleeding from the inside out, he was… he was going to die! If Ritsu could not keep his powers under control, he would die! He must harness his powers! He must!

"I need to get to him, Raiu," Masamune whispered, loud enough for his sister to hear, "I need to get him out of there!"

"Wait– Fuck! Where the hell are you going?!" his sister's protest fell on deafened ears as Masamune zeroed in on his target.

"He'll die…" Masamune whispered, more to himself, unsure, unperturbed if his sister had heard him, "I can't let him die,"

Out of the corner of his eye, as he nose-dived into the flames that had consumed his bedchambers, he noticed Infernus's army had assembled beneath him. He needed to get Ritsu under control. His Father's army would obliterate the boy he loved without even blinking an eye. He couldn't let his Father do it; he couldn't let Ritsu be taken away from him again. He couldn't. He wouldn't allow it! Tucking in his wings to better torpedo his way into the inferno, Masamune had no time to think of a protection spell for himself as he held out his hands to grab hold of Ritsu. He would fly away from here, he would protect Ritsu with all his being, he would die if it means Ritsu would live!

The holy light emitting from the boy singed his skin, burning away flesh from bones. Masamune gritted his teeth against the unspeakable pain as he closed in on his beloved. As if the boy in front of him sensed his presence, he turned his face towards Masamune and slowly raised his hand towards him, a choked sob escaped his lips and fresh tears of blood flowed from his eyes, as if begging for deliverance from this punishment. Masamune reached out, emitting a roar from the depth of his core as his true demon form overtook his body, fighting the fiery sonic waves that threatened to consume his unholy being.

Ritsu, my love… the name of the angel was on the demon's lips as the tips of the demon's fingers brushed against the angel's bloodstained face, tracing the streaks of blood paved by the angel's tears. Kneeling in front of the Light of God now, the demon squinted against the holy light, his own eyes tearing up with blood, streaking down his cheeks in little rivulets. He cupped the angel's beautiful face between his large hands, gently caressing his cheeks. The angel looked up at the demon fighting valiantly against the blistering agony from the Light of God's inferno. He reached upwards to caress the demon's cheek in return. Though the angel's eyes were sad, he… smiled.

"Masamune…" he mouthed towards the demon, loud enough for only the demon to hear. "You lied to me…"

"I'm sorry… Ritsu,"

As if a switch had been flicked, a massive explosion rocked the foundations of the tower, unhinging it from its base as it came plummeting down onto the army waiting below. In the distance, someone screamed Masamune's name in enraged terror.

Emerald eyes opened to a blue sky and blinked the light away blearily. He was under the shadow of some unknown tree that bowed like a weeping willow, only that, instead of long tendrils of leaves hanging from its branches, it was filled with wondrous rose-blushed Sakura-like flowers. Ritsu wondered fleetingly how he got there in the first place but his mind did not wonder to long. The… odd surrounding caught his attention. He was in some sort of a field; greens met greens as far as his eyes could see, over the hills and over the horizon. Ritsu stood up and left the confines of the tree's comforting shadow.

The grass tickled his… bare feet. Ritsu looked down and noticed that he was wearing a white tunic over long white pants and a silver anklet encircled his right ankle. Slightly perturbed, as he never wore any form of jewelry in his lifetime – or of a life he could remember – he bent down to pick on the anklet. Somehow it refuses to come off, the more he tried; the stronger it seemed to… resist him. At last, Ritsu gave up and shrugged. His mind was blissfully empty of worries as he sat back on his haunches, drinking up the light that poured from the sun above him. Ritsu closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

"Ritsu,"

A shadow obscured the light behind Ritsu's closed lids and he opened his eyes, only to realize he was looking up into someone's shadowed face. The sun was directly behind this person. Squinting, Ritsu tilted his head sideways. Realizing this was not going to help, he got up on his feet. The ground shifted under him, as vertigo hit him hard. He reached for the body standing in front of him to find his balance and when he did, he realized something… something was not right.

His hands felt slimy and he pulled them away quickly as if he had been burned. His eyes opened wide with profound shock as they came off red, caked with chunks of thick viscous blood. Ritsu's eyes snapped up to the person in front of him only to find there was nothing there. His Elysian field slowly morphed and dissipated into a nightmare. The lone tree stood behind him now, its trunk burnt black, its branches still smoldering with bright red embers. The beautiful flowers were now gone, replaced by dark rotting ones, dropping to the ground with a poisonous hiss. The green field gave way to a red barren land, filled with cracks with what looked suspiciously of red-hot lava seeping through the gaps. Thick, acrid fog surrounded him, choking his very breath.

Ritsu looked at himself, and realized his tunic was stained red with… with what is this… Is this blood? The anklet on his right ankle glowed an eerie white, like a… like a beacon? What the hell is going on?! Where am I?! Where is this?! Ritsu's mind was a cacophony of chaos. It was not making much sense now with panic bubbling quickly up into the fragile surface of his consciousness. Just as Ritsu was about to let a cry of frustration out, he remembered… where did the voice who called out to him disappeared to? Ritsu spun around, taking in his surroundings with wide-eyed trepidation. There was no one there, nothing there, save the lone tree and… what… who… who is that?

As though his legs had a mind of their own, involuntarily Ritsu took one shaky step over another and made for the base of the tree he had vacated earlier on. Something dark was crumpled underneath it. There was a slight movement and a slurred voice that stopped him dead in his tracks. Ritsu sucked in a deep breath to calm what nerves he had control over and summoned up what was left of his courage to attend to the… person? It's a person? Who else would be caught in this nightmare with him? Courage nearly failed him but he gingerly walked forward, his right hand reaching for the mass of black lump sprawled inelegantly on the ground.

A voice in his head was screaming at him to turn around and run, run away as fast as he could but something in his heart stopped his wayward thoughts from winning him over. Bending forward on his knees, Ritsu touched what looked like a mass of burnt feathers and turned the person around. His eyes widened in avid apprehension as he realized who it was, protected under – what he knew now – massive raven wings. As the porcelain face was turned to him, memories assaulted his mind, like a dam bursting open, crashing to a halt at the forefront of his lobe – of what he had done, the fury he had unleashed, the blinding pain he had succumbed under and the weight of the guilt now consuming him…

"You lied to me," Ritsu mouthed the words only the demon could hear.

He could feel the snap of the locks in his mind being thrown open hastily. He could feel the surge of unbridled powers forcing their way out of him. In the distant, at the back of his mind, he could hear the Heaven Hymn being sung. In a flash of clarity, Ritsu saw his beginnings, how he had been created for this one sole purpose. Alas, he now understood. He smiled sadly as he caressed the Demon Prince's lips.

"I'm sorry… Ritsu," Masamune had whispered, sadness accompanied the half-hearted smile as he pressed a tender kiss on the angel's forehead, "I didn't count on falling in love… with you, Light of God,"

"I was created to destroy you, Demon Prince," Ritsu replied, his voice just slightly above a whisper of pain, "Run… Masamune, before… before I kill you,"

"Then I… welcome your punishment," Masamune answered, engulfing the blinding light in a tight embrace as he closed his eyes and welcomed the flames burning his flesh to the bones, "I love you… Ritsu,"

"What have I done to you… Masamune," Ritsu whispered in a shaky voice as pearly tears pricked at the corner of the angel's eyes, "What have I done…"

Of their own accord, his fingers reached forward to caress the face of the boy he loved with all his heart and as a sob of regret choked his throat and escaped his lips, Ritsu pulled the unconscious demon towards him. The sight of his flayed skin, stripped into bloodied shreds with chunks of his flesh torn right off from the bones only deepened his unbridled agony. He curled his arms around the Daemon Prince's shoulders, his face pressed against Masamune's cold cheek. More sobs escaped his lips as he cried to his heart's content. He had killed the only person that had ever mattered to him. He had been duped by the heavens, by the archangels, into believing that Masamune was out to destroy mankind. A Destroyer was not capable of love...

"Let my brother go, Light of God," a soft voice whispered insidiously and Ritsu looked up from his teary-eyed position, "If you value his life,"

Ritsu looked up to see the glinting tips of sharpened spears aimed at him. He looked up to see the acrid fog that had surrounded him earlier on had disappeared. In its wake was a massive legion of demons, some on foot, some on winged nightmares stomping the ground with fiery hooves and some on chariots but all were armed to the teeth with every manner of weaponry one could think of. He looked around and saw whom it was who had spoken to him. He blinked twice; the female demon was nearly an exact replica of Masamune. Glorious black raven wings unfurled behind her and Ritsu had to appreciate its dark beauty.

The demoness looked at him as she poised mid-air, in battle ready stance, her eyes vacant of any emotions, if she had any at all. She bore similar markings on her face to Masamune and this only added to the confirmation that this was indeed the Daemon Prince's sister. Ritsu swallowed as his eyes trained on the weapon she was wielding in her hands. It was in the shape of an enormous scythe, its blade glinting sharply in the crimson light of the eclipsed moon, giving the effect of blood dripping off its tips. The handle was wrapped in what looked like strips of red and purple satins, and above it, ruby-colored gems and onyxes glittered under the same moonlight. She was a sight to be held.

"I said, let go of my brother, Light of God," she repeated and Ritsu was snapped back into place, "If you value his life. Your keepers are here to collect you,"

That odd announcement rang through him and Ritsu quickly turned his head around. Beyond him, several meters away from him were seven beautiful winged creatures – the Archangels of the Kingdom of Heaven, flanked by their Sentinels. A glow caught his eye and Ritsu looked down to his feet. The anklet he was wearing was now a bright white, with sapphire like halos emitting from it.

"But – But I," Ritsu started, he had to think fast, he couldn't leave Masamune, he couldn't!

"No buts, child, go before anymore damage is done," a melodious tenor rang through Ritsu and a cold icy dread seeped into his bones. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt who this voice belonged to.

Ritsu swallowed for the umpteenth time as the beasts and warrior demons surrounding him parted down the middle. Unconsciously he held Masamune tighter to his heart. The imperial court of the Kingdom of Hell ascended, lead by a strikingly beautiful ethereal man, cladded in nothing more than a loose black coat billowing around his ankles, a pair of black leather pants and knee high riding boots. Six equally beautiful men flanked him on both his right and left, dressed in the more formal attire of dark suits, your vision of menace and grace blended together perfectly.

A double bladed crimson scimitar, slightly dragging on the ground, etched with odd runes and encrusted with rubies and onyxes similar to the demoness' scythe hung loosely in a holster around the lean hips of the King of Infernus. Arrogance leaked from the Devil's pores, evident in the smirk on his lips and the sway of his steps. As they approached closer, Ritsu's heart nearly stopped in terror as with every step they took, the humane façade disappeared in favor of their more beastly forms.

"Lucifer, we are here to collect what you have stolen from us," another voice, although melodious in nature, bit down with annoyance in what the Archangel thought was a flashy show of power.

Ritsu thought he had imagined the slight rumble in the Devil's chest until he realized the Devil was actually laughing sardonically at the Archangel standing before him. A deep bassist voice accompanied this laughter, a complete change from the melodious tenor he had heard beforehand.

"You came this far, Michael, why bother with courtesy?" there was a snide tone in Lucifer's voice. He turned his glowing midnight eyes towards the boy who was holding on to his son tightly that this child's knuckles had turned white. In a softer voice he ushered the boy away, "Child, go. Your time will come. For now, Masamune will be safer without you,"

Ritsu was taken aback by the soft gruff of the Devil's tone. What's this? Weren't demons suppose to be evil and cold and unfeeling? Without understanding the reason behind the Devil's unusual action, Ritsu nodded, swallowing audibly and took one last look at Masamune's serene face as he left the body of his lover. Standing up gingerly, Ritsu walked backwards and watched as the Devil picked up Masamune as if he weighed no more than a feather. This was a trade. Now he understood what the demoness had said, if he valued Masamune's life, he would let him go. Now he understood, but it didn't mean he had agreed to it.

After ensuring that Masamune was now out of harm's way – out of the Archangel's bull's eye target – Ritsu turned around and walked towards the legion of angels waiting for him. As he reached the Archangel Michael, he was quickly pulled sideways by one of the Heaven sentinels, an emerald-eyed angel, just like him, who winked at him apologetically before covering him in a white robe. No doubt to hide the stench of the Devil's lair as they ascended Heaven. Ritsu sighed. Just as he thought they would leave the lion's den already, the Archangel Gabriel stepped forward.

"Lucifer, I demand my Sentinel be returned to me as well," Ritsu heard her say.

"Raiu, bring forth your angel," Lucifer drawled, as though he was growing tired of this courtesy call.

"But Father–" a slight protest came from the demoness who landed with a slight thud on the ground next to the Devil.

"Now, child," Lucifer cut the demoness off. Ritsu saw with awe how she gritted her teeth, and bowed. The power the Devil had over his demons was unsurpassable. This demoness looked like she could be one of the strongest demons in Infernus.

Ritsu watched, from the confines of the Sentinels protecting him how the demoness held her hand up, palm facing forward toward the archangels and mouthed a quick incantation. She swung the scythe in an infinity loop before thrusting the butt of the scythe's handle into the ground in front of her. Ritsu's eyes opened in awe as a dome like figure appeared by her feet with a beautiful angel in brusque chains caged in it. He saw how the angel woke up, as if the spell that had been casted over her had dissipated. She was a beautiful angel, with long silver hair cascading down to her waist though shoddily dressed in a dark tunic that barely covered her. The exposed skin was marked with scratches and bruises. A well of compassion rose up in Ritsu's throat as the chains disappeared and the angel stood up, racing towards the Archangel who waited for her with open arms.

"Milady, Gabriel!" the angel's breathy voice cried, "You came for me,"

"Of course, child, I would," Gabriel held the Sentinel in her arms tightly, but something didn't seemed quite right. As immediately as she held her, Gabriel pushed the angel away from her, holding her at arm's length, anger evident in her voice and the narrowing of her eyes, "You've been… soiled,"

"But, Milady, it wasn't my fault!" the angel begged, as she was flung further away from her Keeper, towards the demons.

"You shouldn't see this, my lord," Ritsu heard a whisper behind him, it was the emerald-eyed angel again, "A true angel, soiled by a demon has no place in Heaven, my lord. Aki-senpai is now a Fallen,"

The irony, Ritsu thought bitterly as bubbles of white light appeared, encasing him and the angels in a spherical crystal bubble. As he turned around again, he saw the Devil frowning and shaking his head at the black winged mass in his arms and disappeared into the mouth of the castle with the imperial court on tow. He saw the demoness, the one with similar markings on her face to Masamune, watching them with acute anger in her eyes before leaning down to pick up the discarded angel who was crying profusely into her arms. Ritsu looked away from the odd scene, tucking it into a corner in his mind where he could take it out for further examination later on. His eyes met the curious contemplative gazes of the Archangels before a pure white light engulfed his vision. The crystal bubble was clearly making its way back into the Kingdom of Heaven.

What awaited him this time? Ritsu, the proclaimed Light of God, dared not spare a thought, as he retreated further into the recesses of his mind.