Disclaimer: I do not own Angel Sanctuary, although I wish I did. All names, characters, etc. having to do with Angel Sanctuary in my fanfic is the property of Kaori Yuki. So, please don't sue me!

Author's Note: This story takes place in an alternate realm, where Alexiel is not yet sealed, and where Lucifer's soul is trapped in Alexiel's sword. Setsuna, Sara, Kira, and any other human characters in the manga do not exist in this realm. Only the non-human characters from Angel Sanctuary play a role in this story.

WARNING: Rare use of mild language (F word, B word), occasional scenes of mild violence and gore. You have been warned! Also, please don't criticize about my grammar, because I already know it's not that good, especially having to do with thetenses. Read at your own discretion!

Paradise and the Eternal Nightmare

Chapter 01: The Calm before the Storm

Prelude to the Fourth Holy War, 2999 AD

Assiah – Heaven Outpost of Anagura (1st Layer of Hell)

The stench of Assiah was foul and dirty as usual, or as the humans call it, Earth, thought Michael, one of the four great archangels and the elemental angel of fire. The hotheaded angel surveyed the block-like, human structures that were within the outpost's range of view. He criticized the humans' dull sense of design before he walked away from the view. The seraphim, Sevotharte, who he absolutely despised, ordered him to watch over the gates leading to the first layer of Hell. He claimed that Metatron, the youthful prime minister of Heaven, had a terrible nightmare where the denizens of Hell will revolt once again very, very soon. Since the young prime minister occasionally has a premonition or two, Sevotharte did not dare risk ignoring the possibility. Thus, Sevotharte sent a messenger to Michael's throne, assigning him to his new task.

Michael grinned with pleasure as he recalled charring the messenger into molten metal, since, as usual, Sevotharte used an android to give out his orders. Michael knew from past experiences that Sevotharte was a coward, giving out orders but never going himself. Michael even suspects him of using Metatron for his own selfish ambitions.

"Talk about paradise", snorted Michael. The humans, who believe that heaven is paradise, are far from the truth. No matter where they go, heaven or hell, there will always be despair, corruption, and endless suffering. The only things that make heaven better than hell would be the fact that it appears to be cleaner, and that God is the most powerful being in existence. Unfortunately, he has been absent for thousands of years, which may explain why heaven is so chaotic now. Other than that, Michael really had no damn clue why people should be overjoyed about going to heaven after death. Humans are foolish, mere creatures created by God, Michael thought to himself.

After that little bit of pondering, Michael walked away from the view and headed to his living quarters here in the Assiah-Anagura outpost. The outpost was a cloaked fortress that floated above the entrance between Assiah and Anagura. The gate, which can only be seen by demons and angels, was a massive, round door forged from unholy ether. Demonic writing was encrypted along the rim. Furthermore, it was protected with powerful enchantments from the Zodiacs of Heaven. Therefore, only the strongest of demons or angels could break this seal, and anyone who dares to do so would pour all the demons into Assiah, and then potentially into the heavens.

In history, the demons have broken it only three times since the beginning of time, and every time the ones who broke it were the Seven Fallen Angels and... to Michael's dismay and anger, his former brother, Lucifer. Michael never forgot the day when Lucifer, known in heaven as Lucifel, turned into a fallen angel and was banished to Hell for all eternity. This not only shocked him, but it also scarred his reputation in Heaven, since Lucifel was his older brother and the morning angel, which was the second highest possible rank in Heaven for an angel, apart from Adam Kadamon. Michael's comrades began to lose trust in him, because of his brother's actions. Michael hated him for that. So, when the First Holy War broke out many, many years ago, Michael was determined to regain his reputation and honor by defeating the one person he cared most... his brother. After a long, exhausting duel between his blood-related enemy, he killed Lucifer... temporarily, for he knew that it was impossible to kill a demon that was immortal. Angels and demons of high rank naturally reincarnate themselves once they have been slain, and slowly regain their original powers. So, after slaying Lucifer, Lucifer disappeared and never appeared again since that one, fateful day. After the war ended, all of heaven praised Michael as a hero for vanquishing the great "Prince of Darkness".

Despite earning back his reputation and despite gaining more control of heaven, he still regretted killing his own brother, the one who helped him become a skilled fighter in heaven. If it weren't for his brother, he would have been some unrecognizable angel like the majority of them. It was because of his brother's former status that people knew about him. He truly regretted what he did to his brother to this very day. No one in heaven, or, Michael suspects, in hell, knew the whereabouts of Lucifer since his defeat in the First Holy War. The lower ranks assumed that he was gone for sure, while those higher up in rank believed that he was merely bidding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to rise up to the Heavens and overthrow God. Michael, however, had no damn clue what to believe. His brother, at least when he was an angel, knew that he could never defeat God, or even the six-winged angel, Adam Kadamon. However, if he changed completely when he was marked as a fallen one, it's possible that all his logical thinking became twisted. That could explain why there was a Holy War in the first place. Then again, what if he did that on purpose, knowing that he would lose? What if he had achieved something in the long run? The next two Holy wars were caused by the Seven Satans, and those wars were quickly put to an end. Without Lucifer, the beings of Hell didn't stand a chance at overthrowing Heaven. So Michael wasn't sure whether or not his brother's "other" plan had succeeded. Michael's mind became so confused that he decided to stop thinking about it. The only being other than Lucifer himself who knows the true reason as to why he fell would be God, the creator of everything.

Michael continued walking to his living quarters while thinking of something else until he unintentionally overheard a conversation between to angel guards.

"Did you hear about the rumors going on in Heaven? It's unbelievable..." whispered one guard to the other. The other guard nodded.

"Yeah, where do you think that person disappeared off to...?"

Michael, who hated things he didn't know about, walked towards the two guards and glared at them with a pissed off expression. "Would any one of you care to tell me what the fuck you're talking about?" he said dangerously, cracking his knuckles to emphasis the situation the guards were in.

The two guards stared back at Michael with fear, fully aware about his short temper that can make any problem turn ugly... and burnt. They straightened up and saluted him nervously.

"S-sir! Uh, we mean- Oh great and mighty Michael, the great archangel of-"

"Cut the crap, and get to the fucking point you assholes! I don't need be greeted like that every damn time!" Michael warned frustratingly. The guards quickly nodded and began to explain the conversation they just had.

"Sir, there's a rumor spreading in all of Heaven, claiming that the organic angel, Alexiel, has suddenly disappeared and no one knows where she is!"

Michael stiffened. Alexiel, the organic angel who is ranked the same as her brother, the inorganic angel Rociel, and is one rank below his brother's former position, the morning angel, has disappeared... Why, and, for a being with such presence and power, how can no one find her? Something was definitely odd...

Mere seconds after he heard this interesting revelation, Michael and the two guards heard loud rumblings underneath them. Sensing something wrong, they quickly dashed to the place where Michael viewed outside just a few minutes ago. The three angels looked down and saw the ground rumbling and shaking violently, opening up fissures around the round gate. The human structures nearby collapsed and fell one by one, blowing up lots of smoke into the sky. The humans' death wails echoed throughout the sky.

Bright, hot fire blasted from the cracks on the ground hundreds of miles high, beyond the clouds. The sky darkened as more and more black smoke bellowed from the human city and the fissures on the gate. The demon writing along the rim of the gate began to glow orange. Michael had only one explanation for this: Someone opened the gate of Anagura.

The doors of the gate opened up slowly from the ground, and to the horror of the two guards beside Michael, thousands upon thousands of hideous demons poured out of the gate, overflowing onto the surface like an army of ants, or spiraling towards the floating outpost in a chain-like formation. The screams and war cries of the demons rumbled through the sky, and they grew louder and louder as more of them rose from the gate.

Michael had a good idea as to who unleashed these foul creatures from Hell. In fact, it all made sense, and the rumor he just heard from the two guards pretty much confirmed it. Alexiel has begun a fourth uprising of Hell, resulting in the Fourth Holy War. Michael merely smirked from this. He was finally going to get some action after so many years of the so-called, "peace". Michael unsheathed his massive sword, and wiped it with a cloth from his pants' pockets, until it shined brilliantly. He turned towards the other two guards and grinned at them.

"Well, are you two assholes coming or not? We've got some demon slaying to do!" grinned Michael as he leaped high into the sky, spreading his magnificent wings, before descending towards the ground where he'll come face to face with the horde of demons. The two guards looked at each other, then grinned as well as they too leaped out of the outpost and spread their wings, trying to catch up with Michael, their leader, their hero, their savior. The descent of Michael caused nearly every other angel within the outpost to follow after him, brandishing weapons ready to spill the blood of those who dared to oppose them, in the Fourth Holy War between Heaven and Hell.

To be continued...