Chapter 21: fire demon
Lily ran back to the abbey. She could already hear the Angel's song. Luckily she had bothered to change from a dress to a pair of shorts and an oversized shirt, because she wouldn't be able to fight in a dress. She rolled her sleeves up and slid her jackknife into her pocket. Her eyes, now glowing red, narrowed as she neared the abbey. Demon or not, this would be her first fight, and she would win no matter what. She ignored the consistent pain in her hand as she kept running.
*at the abbey*
The leader's body lay in a coffin on the front desk. All the clergymen and nuns sat on benches, their heads bent, hands clasped together in prayer, mourning.
"What should we do now that our leader is gone?" One nun asked.
"You don't have to feel sad" A new voice said, coming from the stained glass painting of the angel. Everyone looked up as the window shone with a light. Angela slid through the window, her hands clasped together like everyone else's, a pretty smile on her perfect face. "Because the time has come for the coffins to serve their purpose."
"A-an Angel?"
"Yield everything to me" Angela said as she landed gracefully in front of the coffin. "And give me your thoroughly sullied doomsday books that will never record the future!" The people began to writhe in pain. "All of you who have gathered here are impure souls. Souls who lean on honeyed words, souls who lean on god, who have given up writing the future with their own hands." She lifted her hands higher. "Snuff out the unclean, snuff out the unnecessary!" Everyone screamed in pain.
"STOP!" A high clear voice rang through the hallway. Distracted, Angela put her hands down, and the pain was lifted from everyone. The doors were open, shining light as bright as Angela's. A shadowy figure walked through the door.
Lilyanne Alyssa Cordelia Middleford slowly and confidently walked down the aisle through the abbey. Though Angela's light had disappeared, Lily gave off her own light. A bright blue light that encased her form and made her seem twice as scary. Her very long white shirt sleeves were rolled up, the hand marked with the demon symbol clutching the jackknife. Lily's long hair fanned out behind her, even though there was no wind.
"Who are you?" Angela asked, her eyes narrowed. "Who do you think you are to stop the purification of an abbey?"
"Purification?" Lily laughed. It was a high cold laugh unlike her usual pretty laugh. "More like destruction and pollution" she said mockingly as she got closer to the angel. "Either way, you don't need to know my name. All you need to know is that you will die by my hand. You are alive, like anyone else. Therefore, that life can be taken away."
"You are overconfident, demon girl. You believe a demon can kill an angel?"
"It's possible. And I'm not a demon… yet."
"Yet" Angela repeated. "You willingly turned yourself into filth? You willingly cast away your own chances to go to heaven someday?"
"Heaven is hell to me without him. I will go anywhere he goes. Humans have the ability of doing anything because of love. And that love is the reason I will kill you today."
"Tch… I should have known. Not only has he placed his mark on you, you also smell like him."
"Naturally." Sebastian appeared right beside Lily.
"Sebastian!" Sebastian took her hand.
"What pious demons you two are, to wish to die at the hands of an angel… Sebastian Michaelis, Lily Middleford."
"We can always try" Sebastian said, and jumped. Angela jumped out of the way and flew around the walls, dodging the knives Sebastian threw at her. She landed across from them.
"Do you really think two regular shadow demons can compete with an immaculate winged angel?" She asked. "Wingless shadow demons are chained to earth, for eternity."
"Oh, is that so?" Sebastian asked. "In that case, may you be chained to the heavens." Angela looked around, but too late, William's death scythe caught her around the throat and she was pinned to the wall. She broke it in half and slid to the ground. Lily charged at her, but Angela flew out of the way.
Lily was about to move again, but suddenly, she was caught in a crystal like dome. She banged on the glass, to no use.
"Lily!"
"It serves her right." Angela said. She was about to say something else, but stopped. A white light shone from inside the jewel. Angela stopped and stared. Sebastian smiled.
"Angela, you're about to witness the birth of a new demon. The demon that will eventually take your life." He said.
"You don't mean?" Grell asked.
"Yes. Her transformation has just finished" Sebastian looked expectantly at the dome. The light got brighter and brighter, illuminating the room.
"Hmm… an immaculate winged angel, huh?... Perhaps a regular demon might not be able to compete with an angel, but what about one with wings?"
The entire dome burst into flames. A huge towering pillar of fire extended from the floor to the ceiling. A dark shadow rose out of the fire.
Lily's outfit looked like it was made of black leather bandages, thickly layered over one another. She had a pair of shorts and a sleeveless top that looked like that. Her feet and hands were covered in black bandages, held in place by little white strings. She had a black tail that resembled a cat's, and wings that were entirely made of fire.
"An ifrit… a fire demon… I thought they had died out!" Angela cried.
"No, they exist. A few of them, I'll admit, but there are some of us left." Lily said as she grabbed Angela's throat and slashed her pretty face with three fire daggers. "That was for Catherine. I promised her I'd make you look as bloody as you made her body!" it was too bad Sebastian didn't hear her. He would have killed Angela on the spot. Lily flew out of the way as William's death scythe slammed her into the wall again and held her there.
"Grell Sutcliff" He said as he threw another death scythe at Grell.
"Yay, a real death scythe!" he said as he impaled Angela's hand to the wall.
"Why you…" She spit.
"Wash it and give it back to me when you're done." William said.
"You're so mean…"
"This is an entertaining diversion." Sebastian said as Lily landed beside him, her wings disappearing into smoke.
"Let's treat ourselves to a little game of darts, shall we?" She asked as Sebastian threw a knife. It hit Angela in the arm.
"Hmm… I missed. Now, where shall I hit her now?"
"Ooh, I want to play!" Grell said.
"You have such a sick mind" William said.
Angela grinned. She opened her mouth and began to scream, her body glowing with a white light. The building began to crumble.
"What is this… does she mean to destroy herself along with us?" Sebastian asked.
"Boys, the ceiling is falling!" Grell said. "And girl" He added, looking at Lily.
"You're free to run if you like." Sebastian said, looking at Grell. At all his words, all the people ran out of the abbey, screaming.
"We'll retreat as well, Grell Sutcliff" William said as a boulder destroyed the leader's coffin. Grell ran out of the building. William, Sebastian and Lily calmly followed.
"Well, really… never mind overtime pay, I'd like to request a day off…" William said in annoyance. Sebastian paused and stared at Angela.
"Sebastian, come on!" Lily yelled. He ran to catch up as the entire abbey collapsed.
* at the undertaker's shop*
"By the way, why were you in the library?" William asked the undertaker as Grell gave him a drink, batting his eyelashes. "I thought you'd retired from active service."
"Well, you see, he reminded me of something. There were some cinematic records I'd neglected to return."
"Oh, please…"
"Come to think of it, the two books I checked out were about the earl and countess Phantomhive" Ciel looked up. "Their true cinematic records, with no alterations by angels. Do you want to know what they said?"
"No, I don't." Ciel said. "Let's be off, Sebastian, Lily"
"Yes" They left quickly.
"Are you sure that was wise, my lord?" Sebastian asked Ciel. "If you read the books, you would know who to take revenge on."
"It's fine."
"Feeling sentimental?"
"Like you haven't been…" he muttered. "That's not it. It's only… it's not my custom to disgrace the dead."