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Chapter 25: Betrayal

(Que Seven Deadly Sins Ost "Sky Peace")

(Raynare vs. Katerea)

"Usurping... motherfucking cockheads." Katerea Levithan grumbled, pulling herself to her feet.

Bullet holes were marked all over her body and burns still simmered from holy elemental attacks. The pain itself was numb in comparison to the rabid curses storming in her head. How she dreamed to have every last one of those lowlife scum at her feet, their spines hanging from the ceiling and their heads mounted on pikes. Especially that Sirzechs and that traitor of a Lucifige, Grayfia. That whore could spread her legs all she likes for the Crimson 'Lucifer' right up until their heads roll.

"Damn them, damn them, damn them." Katerea cursed maniacally, reaching a hand into a pocket. "I can't believe I had to use this so early."

The descendant of the original Leviathan fished out a small bottle, hardly the size of her palm. It was made of clear crystal with a simple cork, but inside was a small serpent. It was made entirely out of a golden energy, and continually bumped against the glass wanting to sink its fangs into Katerea. This was a snake gifted from Ophis, the Dragon God of Infinity, which will grant the consumer a significant increase in their power. Katerea wanted to use this as soon as she engaged with either Serafall, Michael, or Azazel, but its need was necessary.

With a chuckle, Katerea popped the cork off and the serpent leaped out of the lid. She didn't stop it from getting to the base of her neck where it latched its fangs upon her flesh. There was only a sharp pinch of pain before Katerea was overcome with the euphoria of overwhelming power. Her body glowed in a vibrant yellow, and not only her wounds sizzled away but she also felt her power increasing beyond what it was before. The devil could not contain the laughter of this rise in power, and in her high she thought herself invincible. Perhaps even Sirzechs will fall to her.

"This power of Ophis is amazing." Katerea laughed. "No one can stop me. Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

"How presumptuous you place yourself." A mocking, silky voice drew the Leviathan descendant's attention.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously at the sight of eight black wings slowly carrying down the daughter of Merlin and Escanor. A confident smirk was plastered on Raynare's beautiful face while her black wings released small clouds of orange embers giving her a more divine appearance. Sunshine, a grace of Yahweh, also known as the Power of Shine, oozed off her body like a wave and increasing the temperature around her. It was enough to make Katerea sweat from the heat, but she was no less deterred, if only bothered by Raynare.

"I'm in a better mood now, crow." Katerea sneered. "I suggest you fly away to whatever pit you fornicate while I still have it."

Raynare gave a mannered titter. "My, oh my. The pup still thinks that with a bigger roar it is suddenly the stronger one here. But the pup is still a pup compared to a lion."

"You know what." Hissed Katerea, her grip getting tighter on the shaft of her staff. "I think I'd rather have you turned into a puddle of your own blood and guts."

Magic circles flashed to life around her, their orbiting circlets of demonic glyphs giving an ominous pale light while in the center shined the symbol of the Leviathan clan. Her potent demonic energy blackened the ground at her feet and the air was deathly cold. Any average angel or lesser holy being would not be standing in the presence of the magic born from the original Leviathan famed. The very same being infamous for being the ruler of the dark waters of the abyss.

Katerea imagined the fallen angel before her to be on her knees from being actively sick from her magic. Raynare, however, still levitated in the air, her wings still beating with bright embers of some sort of flame. The only reaction Katerea received was only one raised eyebrow. That fact alone just made veins start popping in Katerea's forehead.

"You can just drown!" Katerea roared.

By the sharp prick of her power Katerea unleashed her magic. From the many black magic circles designated with the Leviathan clan sign, blasts of water gushed out as if unleashed from a water hose. This water was literally dense liquid demonic power and it lashed out towards Raynare like the tentacles of a beast wanting nothing more than to devour her.

Raynare's expression settled into a more serious tone. Idly, her left hand twitched near the sword resting on the left side of her hip, but the daughter of Escanor instead traced a crimson falchion in her right hand. The projection of light looked more as if the weapon was made of crimson metal instead of featureless hardlight. Such a more realistic holy projection was achieved through a mental exercise of 'sympathizing' with the components of the weapon she needed, making her hardlight constructs much stronger and durable.

"Full Counter."

Katerea heard the chink of the magic technique sing through the air, and for a split-second the world was still and water magic raging towards Raynare paused inches before her. When the world resumed after that small window of time, the Leviathan descendant had no time to react as her own magic was used against her. Its blasts of water were not only reflected, but increased in power twofold, and Katerea found herself washed by a tidal wave of black water. The properties of her own demonic water ate at her skin like a sea of needles, acid, sandpaper, and any such sort of agony.

It was over quickly when Katerea crashed into a wall where her magic dissipated. Her wounds were as clear as day with bloody gashes all over her revealed skin and tears in her clothes. The power of Ophis that she consumed worked to heal the damage on her body, showcased as her wounds hissed and steamed shut.

"I had an afterthought that little snake gave you a power boost enough to give me a challenge." Raynare playfully said, her feet touching the ground. "Perhaps I can't get my hopes too high. After all, I am quite powerful."

"You're an ant." Katerea growled, frothing at the mouth. "Nothing but an ant!"

Her brown hair untied itself whipping into the air menacingly, and the ground cracked at her feet with pebbles floating into the air. A small smile graced Raynare's face, not at all perturbed by the heavy magic from Katerea. One hand snaked down to the hilt of the sword at her hip, and a flick at the pommel unleashed a golden shine washing over her body.

"So you were hiding something." Raynare said, her feet creating scorch marks on the ground as she walked. "While I am glad I am not disappointed in fighting an actual Leviathan descendant, it is a grave mistake to underestimate me."

Raynare raised her left hand, and the cold in the air fled from an overwhelming heat. Each black feather of her eight were outlined in an unmatched lustrous gold, as if they were burning like the coals in a fire. This heat traveled up her arms to her palm where it surged into being as a miniature sun held in Raynare's palm. Katerea forced down the shiver of her body in the presence of the heat of condensed holy light, and Raynare's released magic drew attention from the people around her especially the rampaging demons that backed away from her.

"You brought your magic, so allow me to give you the same courtesy." Raynare said. "Cruel Sun."

A simple forward nudge and the holy sun raced towards Katerea. She responded summoning more of her black water to extinguish the holy light before it hit her. The demonic water only steamed on contact with the ball of burning holy energy and Katerea had no choice to jump back while holding her staff forward to project a defensive barrier.

On contact, the Cruel Sun exploded in a blast of tremendous heat and fire. A crater formed on the school ground scorched black with falling ash. Katerea was only a few meters away, relatively alive thanks to her barrier having absorbed the damage. Unfortunately, she could not escape the burns inflicted on her body. The Leviathan descendant felt a shift in the air above her, and saw Raynare with her falchion cocked back for a wide horizontal swing. Her own four pairs of devil wings, showcasing a black membrane, came out of her back and she took to the air to avoid the blow of Raynare's swing just in time. She should count herself lucky when that swing split the ground in two.

Her instincts flared again in danger, and Katerea turned around in time to have her staff forward in defense. She didn't have time to cast a barrier and instead use her staff to block Raynare's crimson falchion before it cleaved her head. Her muscles ached holding back the blow, and the falchion had cut halfway through the shaft. Glaring back at the fallen angel, Katerea was taken back by Raynare's eyes. In that moment, they weren't just cuts of amethyst, but were now two orbs of golden suns.

"Don't mistake yourself." Raynare stated. "Your death will not be an easy one. Burn with - Cruel Sun."

'FUUUUUCK!' Katerea screamed in her head as she was pushed down to the ground while holding back a Cruel Sun from burning her from oblivion.

(Rimuru, Erza, and Albedo)

"You filthy maggots will pay for ruining my time with Vali-kun." Albedo roared, the fallen angel/dragon hybrid flaring her feathery wings.

A purple magic circle opened at her feet and rose up her body to shower Albedo in a bright light. When it died down, she was no longer wearing her beautiful white dress and was now dressed in a full black plate armor. A massive battle-axe forged from black iron wa summoned to her hands, and thick tendrils of pale light danced off her body. Yellow eyes burned with hate at both mages and demons coming after her as she effortlessly hefted the giant axe above her head in high guard.

With a feral roar, she swung the axe in a horizontal slash. The ground exploded forth in a tidal mess of blown rock and the bodies of demons and wizards that screamed in pain. A bloodthirsty grin stretched Albedo's features, showcasing her array of sharp teeth. She looked even more demonic than she was actually half fallen.

The sight alone made one of her companions, the short bluenette Rimuru produce a sweat drop. Even so, the small teenage dragon swiftly cut through the charging demons in gruesome swaths of gore with her single-edged blade.

"Eh, calm down, Alby." Rimuru said with a nervous smile. "You don't want to have Vali see you like that, much less Ruby be... disappointed at your attitude."

"Gah, you're right!" Exclaimed Albedo, devolving into what can be described as a stuttering school girl caught in an embarrassing act. "I can't let Vali darling see me like this."

"Get your head back into the fight!" The stern voice of Erza cried over them.

Rimuru and Albedo watched in small fascination as Erza leapt over them. With her armor and twin broadswords shining in the light, she came down like a warrior angel upon the demons. They carried ferocious strength, sending waves of pure force to eliminate whole lines, and her dexterity was precise to the point she deftly deflected magical blasts aimed at her flanks.

"That's Erza for ya." Noted Rimuru, content with watching the slaughter. "Always has the head for the immediate situation."

"Remind me how she fell for... him?" Albedo said, pointing a thumb behind her.

Following her gesture, Rimuru saw the son of Igneel, Natsu Dragneel, jumping straight into danger without backup. Dragon flames of orange and red burned on his fists and blasted from his mouth, fighting the demons up close while they were swarming him at all sides. Yet despite lacking backup, Natsu looked like he was having the time of his life, added by his maniacal laughter.

"Ah, now that is a mystery we will never solve." Rimuru said, trying not to sound so offensive to Natsu.

Suddenly, instincts flared up in alarm and Albedo found herself pushed aside by Rimuru. She managed to angle her blade in time to block the massive overhead that came crashing down like a falling anchor. The winds blew away from the shockwave from the impact, and Rimuru felt her feet sink into the pavement. Still, the dragoness forced herself to look up at her attacker with a smile of recognition.

Rimuru's new opponent was a young woman seemingly in her early 20s standing at an impressive height of six feet, wielding a rapier grinding against her saber. She had her own tresses of blue hair going down her back like a waterfall to her thighs. A white coat covered her voluptuous body, only giving peeks of pale skin at her neckline and thighs. Icy blue eyes stared with bloodlusting excitement towards Rimuru's golden ones.

"Never thought I'd see you here, Esdeath." Rimuru greeted. "Then again, with such opponents and myself here, why wouldn't be here?"

"Pleasure is all mine, daughter of Veldora." Esdeath said, her voice so fine and soft that did not betray the raw malice within her.

Esdeath put more strength in their blade lock and Rimuru responded in kind. Their clashing strength crumbled apart the pavement at their feet. For a moment, Esdeath's eyes flicked to the side and she raised her right forearm to the side. It was enveloped in a thick frost that grew into a solid shield of ice holding back the cleaving axe of Albedo.

"Vile spawn of Nidhogger!" Albedo roared in fury, her golden eyes blazing.

"Oh, those white horns of yours..." A look of recognition went across Esdeath's features as she studied Albedo. "You're his daughter, aren't you? Tell me when I gutted your father like a pig, how did it make you feel?"

"I'll be sure I will let the crows feast on your head." Albedo hissed.

Esdeath cackled, her bloodlust expression turning into one of a killing psychopath. As if summoned from a limitless well of strength, she pushed back the half-dragon and the full dragoness at neutral distance. With her rapier in her right hand, Esdeath casted her deadly frost in her left to create a blue saber of ice for dual-wielding. Just for the sole purpose of facing her two opponents, one with deadly calm and the other with volcanic fury.

Esdeath is the one to approach the duo like a predator, her blades slicing in the ground in her apparent pounce. Rimuru moves first while Albedo stays back, moving to the side. She goes on the offense in a horizontal twirl, using the force in the acrobatic spin for more force. The older bluenette responds twisting all the way around and parrying Rimuru's saber with the rapier in her right hand, sending Rimuru's blow off course. Esdeath spun around in a dance of death, forcing Rimuru on the defensive with lightning-quick deflections to avoid death.

Albedo took her chance to leap in the air and smash down her axe while at the same time Rimuru swung a swift downward strike. Esdeath crouched down and held both her blades out to block the duo's strike. Her insane smile was still plastered on her face, as if Rimuru and Albedo weren't fighting for their lives and they were her newest toys to play with. Such is the maniacal viciousness that is the daughter of Nidhogger.

(Aurora, Xenovia, Irina, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang)

"This is a bigger mess than Budapest." Aurora noted nonchalantly.

"You have to tell me what happened about that." Ruby retorted.

The nephilim and godling angel stood back to back, weapons at the ready. Her arms brandished two white swords made from her Power of Creation while her palms crackled with holy lightning. Aurora wielded a broadsword of winged golden guard and gleaming steel and a revolver in her left hand fed by her power solidifying into bullets in the chamber. Beside them were Irina and Xenovia, also standing back to back their swords out for the ready.

"Let's just say Hungary is lucky to still be on the map." Aurora quipped, letting out a near endless bang of 'bullets' from her revolver on the white demons.

Dashing around them were Weiss, Blake, and Yang managing as best they could against the horde encroaching upon them. The three were not used for their attacks resulting in snapping bones and bloody gore, but the adrenaline brought on their need to survive. For Yang, it was more so to protect her sister as she was the first to notice the demons rabid attention on Ruby. It was on an instinctual level for the demon race recognizing the light that was Yahweh dwelling within her, and it was instinct that demanded them to snuff it out.

"Kill the new light..." One of the white demons snarled, pointing a gnarled finger at a tense Ruby. "Pluck out her eyes. Eat her guts. Rip out her o-"

The demon's maniacal listing of eviscerating Ruby was met with due punishment as Yang, her eyes filled with rage, grabbed the monster by its pale, cold head with her robotic arm and crushed it without mercy in gory mess of black blood. Yang didn't hesitate firing her dwindling rounds of Dust from her gauntlets on the horde around her.

"Nobody threatens my sister." Yang growled, her nostrils flaring and her Aura dancing like embers from her golden locks.

Glyphs of white served as platforms to hop in the air for Weiss while black and blue glyphs forced the waves of their enemies down in their tracks through heavy gravity or being frozen in ice. Her showcase of her Semblance drew attention from the older devils, making them assume she was casting high-level magic due to the appearance of her glyphs. Jumping one last time, Weiss aimed her rapier, Myrtenaster, towards the ground and with the use of a blue glyph crashed back to the ground, sending off a wave of ice on impact that either froze her enemies or impaled them. To the Schnee's irritation, the demons simply climbed over the corpses of their brethren without care, only to kill.

"There is no end to them." Weiss hissed.

Jumping from the protrusions of ice above Weiss in black blur was Blake Belladona, using her kusarigama function of her Gamble Shroud to strike from above. The blade cut through flesh of the demons surrounding Weiss, the blood almost invisible on her weapon's black steel. The Schnee gave her teammate a thankful before focusing back on her fight, and dashed forward in a lunge to assist Irina and Xenovia.

For Blake, the fight not only served for the survival of her friends, but to test her new body in what really happened into her. The moment she went into battle, Blake was not prepared for how much better her body felt. She felt lighter than before, her limbs carried more strength, and she had greater endurance. This was not her original body of a Faunas, but a supernatural race of the yokai. By the gods, Blake almost felt invincible with the new changes to her body.

'So this is what it feels to be a nekoshou.' Blake thought, two black tails swishing behind her. 'Okay, I can dig this.'

She had been able to keep her Aura in check, as it somehow changed to produce those ethereal flames. The very nature Blake felt from her power born from her soul felt so alien compared to how an Aura should feel. It was more like a lingering flame that dared not to burn her, and she could feel as if her surroundings were just waiting to provide more fuel unless she opened herself up to it. Fervently, Blake pushed the notion away, not wanting another incident repeating itself from the ORC.

Back to Ruby and Aurora, the former was shooting out holy lightning conducting through her dual sabers like a wand. The potent holy properties of the white electricity immediately disintegrated the rabid demons on contact and dealt third degree burns on the human exorcists. Her attacks chained from one to the other, keeping back the flood that kept pouring out of the hell gate. As she continued to cast lightning, she took a quick study of the battle around her.

So far, Aurora and herself were acting as the impenetrable wall being Ultimate-class beings. Yang, Weiss, and Blake were fighting very well despite the situation due to being used to fighting hordes of enemies of Grimm in Remnant and their own natural teamwork. The same could not be said for Irina and Xenovia, both of them only having stayed alive due to Xenovia's use of Durandal. Unfortunately, her complete lack in connection with the holy sword of Roland kept it locked away from using its miracles and destructive power to push back the tide overwhelming them. Ruby's silver eyes glanced to the bandaged sword on her back.

"Aurora, I need to go give some help." Ruby said. "Think you can hold yourself here?"

Aurora playfully scoffed. "Do you forget who I am?"

The nephilim daughter of Asura emphasized her point by simply swinging sword, sending a pale yellow light outlined in solid black. The power in it alone was enough to one-shot any High-class entity, and it showed as the arc cleaved through swaths of enemies. There wasn't even ash left of their bodies. Ruby tentatively chose a glance to Aurora's mismatched eyes now glowing in their respective colors. In that moment, Aurora simultaneously felt like the dreaded flames of hell and the morning warmth of a golden sun.

'Right, three hundred year old nephilim.' Ruby thought, turning her attention back to Xenovia and Irina.

The two paused in their stride at the sight of basically Biblical royalty sprinting towards them with a spectrum of rose petals in her wake. Her eight bright silver wings outstretched as Ruby took the air just above the duo. First, she overflowed the broadsword in her right hand with holy lightning, turning it into a bomb, and threw it to the horde in front of Xenovia to explode in a mess of white lightning and hot steel disappearing into motes of light. Next, she channeled holy fire into her now free hand and blasted out in a full circle to create a protective wall of holy flame for the trio.

Irina almost went into a bow before Ruby. "Lad-"

"Please, for the love of the late Father, call me Ruby." The heiress of Heaven pleaded. "Now's not the time for honorifics and whatnot. Irina, I was saving this for you after the summit, but I guess now is a better time than ever."

"W-What is it?" Irina wondered.

Ruby didn't say anything, but she reached her right hand to the blade wrapped in linen and hefted it into the air with one pull. Her hand held the end of the ribbon, letting the sword within it unwrap itself. As more layers of the linen shed away, Xenovia and Irina were caught up by the brilliant light that began to come to the surface. Irina and Xenovia, despite being a freshly reincarnated devil, felt inexplicable warmth heightening their spirits as the light shined down upon them. Once all the linen was unwrapped, the sword finally came down to be perfectly grasped in Ruby's hand, allowing it the sword to be showcased in its majesty.

The blade extending forth in a traditional bastard sword style was made of burnished steel, giving it a very misty dark grey look to it, and its edge shined like fine silver. The guard was short in a golden ridged design, and the hilt itself was a dark shade of jaded green where a blue diamond was fitted in the center. It was capped by a pommel of burnished steel gilded in gold.

While Xenovia studied the sword in great interest, she also felt Durandal react in her hand and the bond they shared from the oath she took to wield it. It was almost as if Durandal was happy in the presence of the sword. Irina on the other hand widened her purple eyes in recognition.

"But he took it with him when he retired." Irina muttered.

"I could not keep myself from making a personal request to give something to you." Ruby said, presenting the sword forth. "I know it when I look at you, Irina Shidou. You have great courage, a rigid truth to your oaths, and above all else a kind heart. In search of something to reward those qualities, it came in the form of your father who was almost too eager to hand this in. I believe in all my heart that you are worthy to grasp this sword."

With shaky hands, Irina grabbed the sword in her hands and held it close to her chest. The blade gave a soft glow of light as if waiting for Irina to do something. Irina and Xenovia noticed it immediately; it was the same when Xenovia was first given Durandal.

"Of course, to wield a a true holy sword of phantasmal levels requires an oath to be made." Ruby said with a smile, and Irina automatically went on one knee before the angel. "Irina Shidou, do you swear to protect the innocent and to guard those who can't protect themselves?"

"I swear." Irina said automatically but in full honestly, and the glow from the sword grew brighter.

Ruby continued. "Do you swear to be pure in heart and righteous to all who are in need of it?"

"I swear."

"Do you swear to root out corruption from both encroaching threats and those within our own homes?"

"I swear!" Irina exclaimed with all of her conviction, the sword she hugged now almost a bright beam of white light.

"Then stand proud and tall, new wielder of Hauteclere!" Ruby proclaimed.

By Ruby's announcement, Irina stood back to her feet, feeling the sheer acceptance of the holy sword towards Irina. The holy flames that have protected them dissipated for the pale demons to come forth, but it didn't matter. The shining light of Hauteclere in Irina's hands intensified, and the exorcist raised her sword above her.

"Purge, oh Sword of High Wisdom!" Irina called forth.

Like the swords of Excalibur, Durandal, and Joyuse, the sword known as Hauteclere was a construct of the heavens forged through means beyond mortal creation. It was noted in "The Song of Roland" as the favored blade of Oliver, Roland's brother in all but blood. As Durandal's invincibility exemplified Roland's reckless courage, Hauteclere was the same for Oliver's personality of poise and wisdom. Hautelcere was the sword of slaying those of the black heart and the undeniably wicked, and the mindless demons that personified Hauteclere's nemesis turned to ash in its light only comforting to the worthy and the kind. Even the devils like Sirzechs, Xenovia, Rias, Saji, and Vali to an extent felt the gentle warmth of Hauteclere's light, serving as just a peek of the realm of Heaven.

Irina gave a few practiced swings and settled into a stance with the sword held at her side, as if she had always wielded Hauteclere. The holy sword saw her worthy as new guardian, and it practically sang in the presence of Durandal. Already Irina felt she had wielded the holy sword for years and can trust her life on it.

"Thank you, Ruby." Irina mumbled with a smile as she and Xenovia stood back to back.

"You look good with it." Irina snapped her head to the side to see her aunt, Integra come forth, her hand resting on the sword at her hip. "Let's see how you fare with Oliver's legacy."

Integra drew out Joyuse, the sword of Charlemagne. The duet of holy light now turned into a chorus as three of the famed swords of Charlemagne and his paladins were finally together after centuries apart. Joyuse was aimed forward by its tip and out it shot a bright blue light, piercing through the swarms of demons. It went so far as to punch a hole straight through one of the Red Demons being held off by the Seven Deadly Sins, only to be replaced by two crawling out of the portal.

Integra scowled. "There's just no end to them."

"Not until we can close that portal." Ruby said. "I think I may be able to do it if I focus enough light-"

Her words died in her throat when everyone was suddenly blinded by a bright flash of light from above. A light so bright it turned night into day for just a second before being splintered off. It was such at such an instant that just seeing the flash was already too late for what came next. Several spears of light were thrown with perfect accuracy upon specific targets.

At the front line where the ORC, the Student Council, and the Seven Deadly Sins fought, Issei saw one of those spears heading down to their group. His eyes followed the trajectory to his shock Asia of all people, who was busy casting barrier spells to protect her friends. His feet moved before he even thought, pushing his entire body on Asia to get out of the way. Then all he knew was a very familiar pain in his chest and looked down to find a spear of light.

'Ah... fucking figures...' Issei thought.

[Issei, hang in there!] Ddraig screamed desperately. [Bring forth the Commandment. Quickly!]

Asia's shrill screech drew the rest of the ORC and the Sins, their eyes widening at the Red Dragon Emperors fall. Rias Gremory, was shocked in place, seeing her lover on the ground with a horrid wound. To her, the world was starting to fall apart.

Over with Raynare, she saw the spear in time to deflect with Full Counter, but it prevented her from finishing off Katerea who fled as fast as she could. In the sky, Vali watched as one spear headed off course directly to - Ruby! His battle lust gained from this massive slaughter of magician and demon instantly vanished seeing it coming closer to Ruby. He pushed his power to the wings on his back to his limit, becoming a streak of blue in the air. Still, it didn't seem he was going to make it, and time for him began to slow.

'No, no, no, no!' Thought Vali in desperation, images of his mother aiding him to escape despite the threat on her life. 'Not again! NOT AGAIN!'

Ruby could only see the light, and the spear was coming too fast for Ruby to dodge out of the way in time. She didn't need to when she felt someone push out of the way, and there was a shtick sound reaching Ruby's ears. Unknown to her, blood was splashed on her face. Her silver eyes looked forward, and widened in horrid shock that Yang stood over there having taken the golden spear to her chest in her place. Vali, who was mere meters away, stared in a mix of shock and slight relief that someone else had taken the blow for Ruby. Despite the burning pain and the blood spilling from her throat, Yang could only smile at Ruby.

"I... always protect my sister..." Yang said.

She coughed a mouthful of blood before the blonde Xiao Long began to fall to the ground, but not before Blake arrived to catch her. Her amber eyes were brimming with tears and it was at that point that Blake let out an anguish cry. Weiss was sprinting forward, her eyes wide in panic and uncaring of the black blood marring her battle dress.

To Ruby, everything seem to have muffled. She could stare morbidly at Yang's body, her blood pooling on the ground. Her heart hammered in her head, and she couldn't tel if she was actually breathing.

"Yang..." Ruby mumbled, tears already crying down her cheeks.

Staring into those lilac eyes that were losing life, it broke something in the angel. As if there was a dam in her mind that finally broke. From it came the flood of memories belonging to the human of Ruby Rose.

The superiors of the Biblical factions used to higher speeds saw the spears and easily tracked the flight of the spears. It was obviously a pure angel, one who had decided to be the very traitor that has sabotaged the summit. Sirzechs' eyes were narrowed with flecks of red to signify his rising Power of Destruction. Azazel and Ludociel stared at dimming light of the arrived angel impassively, but masking barely held malevolence for the vile traitor. Michael and Eliza were rooted to the spot recognizing the owner of the light.

"No..." Whimpered Eliza, tears of betrayal running down her face. "Why? Why would he do this?"

Michael said nothing, and some small part of his mind hoped that the light was some farce. That not one of his siblings that he stood beside in Heaven. He, who stood valiant for the good of their Father, had now broken to ally with criminals and become the traitor. But those hopes died down, and all Michael could feel was shame, disappointment, regret, and finally a rising anger for having trying to strike down Ruby.

The light died down to reveal an angel of Heaven dressed in golden cloth and white armor, similar to Michael's attire. Twelve wings shining light showcased him as one of the remaining Seraph. His skin was mocha brown and his hair was shaved to leave his head bald. His eyes, a startling electric blue, looked down on everyone with cold indifference. The appearance of the angel served to confirm that another Seraph has turned traitor against Heaven and has even joined the Khaos Brigade.

Seeing the truth before him, Michael ducked his head. It was not in shame however. Slowly, a tremble resonated at his feet, cracking the pavement and picking up bits of rock to float around him. His golden wings splayed out glowed a golden light more intense than usual. The Biblical leaders standing beside him could hear the bones of his fingers straining as they tightened into a fist.

"Why!?" Michael snarled with barely restrained wrath blazing in his green eyes. "Why would you do this?! Why would you now betray almost two thousand years of loyalty and devotion to our Father's dream?! Tell me why you are going back on everything you have stood for - RAPHAEL!?"

Well shit. This isn't good for the Heaven faction now that a Seraph has now defected and joined the Khaos Brigade. Just another twist I wanted to put into the story. Michael is certainly not happy about it, and you will see the new spin I put on him and his power. Its characters like Michael that I want to be more prevalent in the story, and you will see why. Especially that another bigger threat is on its way.

It is at this point you have to realize that my update schedule is complete shit. So I urge you to be patient.

Up next is Chapter 26: White Wrath, Dark Menace.

Stay in touch. Please, please leave a review.