Chapter 42 War of the Spirits
Wow. The end is almost upon us, but a few more chapters will be necessary. To clarify a question asked by a reviewer Demons and Angels are spirits. Spirits are spiritual beings, similar to human souls but not dependent on a body. Demons often pose as human spirits of the dead to deceive us either by pulling the whole "haunted house" trick (oldest trick in the book, the sad thing is it works) or by pretending to be sappy little spirits here to help people.
The Goddess glared down as Gotz got back to his feet.
"How dare you!" he shouted. "You kill with no remorse. You cut through anyone who opposes you. Kai is dead! You are no Goddess. You are a demon!"
The Goddess snarled. "I am the Harvest Goddess. I rule over this town. What I say is what goes. And I say this town shall die!"
The Goddess then turned and flew off towards Mother's Hill. Gotz chased after her, leaving the body of Kai lying on the ground.
"Julius!" Jordar shouted.
Julius slashed his sword through the demon in front of him, and turned around to see Jordar fall beneath a swarm of demons which jumped upon him, slashing through him with there evil claws. Jordar screamed as his body split apart, and he was cast away by the Satanic power.
"No!" Julius shouted, but it was too late.
Jordar had fallen. And where was Tarana?
'Julius feels alone. Julius feels alone. Julius is alone.'
Julius turned, and saw Darkfor walking towards him slowly. He was returning for the second time. The two of them had fought earlier, but then had been distracted from each other by each other's forces.
'Julius cannot ever return to being an Angel. He is still a demon at heart. He is still lost.'
Julius turned, and looked into Darkfor's eyes.
'I think that you of all spirits are not qualified to judge my position with God,' Julius said, speaking directly to Darkfor's mind.
'Oh ho ho! The reformed Demon still speaks directly into people's minds. He does not use the language of Angels!'
'No, I think you will understand me better if I speak to you this way. For it seems that when I use the tongue of Angels, you do not understand. So I will tell you the truth, in your own language.'
'Hmmm. Noble statement Mr. Noble Angel. But I remain unfazed.'
"You have lost the ability to speak in the tongue of the Angels, haven't you?"
Darkfor said nothing, but gave Julius a strange look.
"You can't lie to me about something like that. I was once a demon too, and I too forgot how to speak in the language of Angels as you have when I fell. But when I rose up again, my voice returned to me. As did much of the things which I loved most about being an Angel that I had lost when I fell from grace."
'Do not speak of that!' Darkfor roared, and slashed his claw into Julius' shoulder.
Julius roared in pain, and swung his sword at Darkfor. Darkfor ducked and the sword swung over his head. The demon then swung his other claw around, but Julius drew the sword of the Glory down, blocking the attack.
'Your denial of the truth is your weakness!' Darkfor sneered, glaring at his enemy. Julius turned his blade around, and slashed at his enemy again.
Darkfor caught the blade against his other claw, and grinned at his enemy.
'The only difference between you and I is you have wings, and look similar to a human. I can look like you too.'
Darkfor stepped back from Julius, and his body began to shift and change. He grew wings, and his face became that of an Angel, with long dirty blondish hair and soft green eyes. His form began to take the shape of an Angel's as well, and he was dressed in a shining white robe as before. But he did not hold the sword which shone with the Glory of God. He was beautiful, to say the least. Not beautiful as a man would say about a woman, but beautiful like the sight of a mighty mountain. The eight foot tall creature looked like he could bring down any man who came to fight him, but at the same time he looked like a friend.
"Your form does not matter to God!" Julius shouted. "Its what's in our hearts that does. And it is obvious that you lack the Holy Spirit in your heart. For you cannot wield the Glory of God, and you cannot speak in the tongue of Angels!"
Darkfor glared.
'What good is the tongue of Angels when I can torture people. What good is the Glory of God when I can wield the energies of Hell!'
'Hell does not even follow your command,' Julius said, before drawing his blade back, and swinging it at the Dark Angel before him.
Darkfor held his Angel hand out, catching the blade of God on it. But his hand was different than other Angel's hands. It glowed with dark purple energy which gave him his power.
"Not wielding the Goddess' power?" Julius asked.
'Not against an Angel. This requires full energy. Satan energy!'
Darkfor's angel form faded away, leaving him as the dark shadowy being that he had been before. His claws extended, longer than the fingers of an Angel. He swung them around, catching Julius on the face, leaving a dark purple scar. Julius shouted, and swung his sword under Darkfor's guard, catching him in the stomach with the tip of the blade.
"Right Hand!" I shouted. "The darkness will not hide you forever!"
'Yes it will, I am a part of it.'
I didn't say anything. Silence reigned over the possessed building for a while as I tried to figure out what to do.
'But my job is to destroy you. So I will fight you.'
"I defeated you earlier."
'That's when we fought on your turf. This time we'll fight on my turf. And I will make the decisions mortal!'
I felt something in my brain, pulling me forward. The darkness surrounded me, and the room began to swim around me.
"Wha... what are you doing to me Right Hand?"
'I am taking you to my turf!'
I felt myself growing weak, and I stumbled backwards.
Darkfor swung his deadly claw at Julius' face, but Julius deflected it with his sword. He then kicked Darkfor in the chest, sending the screeching demon flying across the battlefield.
"Sir," a warrior Angel said, flying up to Julius. "The enemy has sent out every last Spirit on the island to fight us. This is our last chance to retreat. We are awaiting your orders."
"Tarana should make the call on that," Julius said.
"I'm sorry sir," the Angel said, "but I'm afraid Tarana has fallen again. It will be months before he recovers from his wounds, and returns to battle."
Julius looked over the Angelic legions. They were well outnumbered, and did not stand a chance against the demonic horde which had been prepared for them. And there wasn't enough time to call for reinforcements.
"If we leave then we leave Mineral Town to die," Julius said. "But if we stay and fight, we just might buy enough time for Zach and the other two disciples to conquer the Goddess. We're staying."
"Then you are ready to go through the falling process if necessary?" the Angel asked.
Julius did not want to fall, but he knew that his forces would eventually be overcome.
"Yes," he said. "We all must be ready to be defeated. For many of us will be."
Suddenly a small cloud flew over the top of Mother's Hill, and the Goddess jumped down from it. The Green Haired demon immediately held her hand out, and fired a bolt of neon green energy into the nearest Angel. She was a higher demon, so she had more power than her Spirits. She fired another bolt into an Angel which flew towards her. She then turned, and faced Elasian. Elasian swung his sword at her, but the Goddess fired a bolt from her hand, knocking his blade back. She stepped closer to him, glaring deep into his Angelic Eyes.
"Angel!" she addressed Elasian. "You fight for God, do you not?"
Elasian brought his blade back around, and slashed at the Goddess. She held her hand out, and caught his blade against it, causing neon green sparks to fly from the point of contact.
"Yes!" Elasian said, as the Goddess walked closer towards him.
He backed away as she approached. He then stabbed his blade at her chest, but the Goddess held her hand out again, stopping it in its path. Elasian then turned his blade back again, and swung it into her side. The Goddess fired another green bolt, knocking the blade back. Then the Goddess suddenly swung her hand out, knocking Elasian's blade far to the side. She then touched Elasian's face, causing a shock to shoot through him. Elasian shouted, and the Goddess released his face. The Harvest Goddess then knocked him to the ground, and pinned his sword arm down. Elasian struggled to overcome her strength, but he could not. The Goddess turned his face so he looked her in the eyes.
"And you will fight for him, won't you." Elasian just stared up into her face with fear. "Then die!"
The Goddess pulled her arm back, and her fingernails suddenly began to change. They turned dark purple, and began to grow longer. Her nails extended into vicious looking claws, which sparkled with the energy of darkness. The Goddess then shrieked, and her eyelids pulling back causing her eyes to light up with the terrible glare that only a demon could have. Elasian screamed under her terrifying glare, trying to believe that this was all just a dream. Then the Goddess plunged her fingers straight through Elasian's chest. His eyes shot open, and his hands clenched together tightly. His chest shattered beneath the mighty claws of the Goddess, and he exploded into a fury of shining bright light of the Glory of God, and was sent flying off of the physical world. The Goddess then stood up, her eyes glowing in anger, and she turned around, sending a blow of energy through the nearest Angel. She then extended the fingernails on her other hand, and began slashing through her enemies brutally. Five Angels fell before her mighty fighting skills within a minute's time.
"The Goddess has come!" Julius said. "This is not good at all."
A demon suddenly shrieked, its eyelids pulling back revealing skeleton like eyes beneath them. Then it launched itself towards Julius. The Mighty Angel swung his blade up, and cut down the Spirit which had leapt at him, and then swung it around, cutting through a second demon.
Gotz saw the Goddess fly to the top of Mother's Hill, so he began running up to the top of it. But as he ran, he felt things touching his soul, as if he were surrounded by Spirits. Gotz stopped, and focused in on the area around him, trying to see with his soul and not with his eyes. Then the battle between the Angels and the Spirits of Mineral Island became visible to his human eyes. It was a sight that few ever saw, and it was so great, that those who saw it never forgot what it was like. Gotz watched the Mighty Angels swinging there blades of the Glory of God around in complete awe. And then the Dark, Shadowy Spirits of the Island made him feel as if he were in a Nightmare. But he was not.
"Mortal," a voice said, causing Gotz to shriek, and turn towards it.
A Mighty Angel stood over him, the Glory of God in its hands shining brightly. Gotz fell to his knees in fear at the sight of the mighty being. But the Angel shook its head.
"Do not fear me, fear God," the Angel said. "My power is nothing compared to his."
"What do you... what do you want?" Gotz asked.
"You are one of the three disciples, are you not?"
"Y-yes," Gotz stammered, his eyes filled with fear and awe.
"The first disciple has gone to fight the Right Hand," the Angel said, "but where is the second one. Two of you should be up here with us."
"The second one," Gotz looked at the ground, and tears began coming to his eyes. "I'm afraid that he is dead. The Goddess killed him."
The Angel turned to the Angelic Legion.
"One of the Three Disciples has come to help us!"
"Help you?" Gotz looked at the Demons and Angel cutting through each other with there weapons. "I don't think I could provide you with any help."
"Nonsense," the Angel said. "We need you more than any of our warriors. We need a Witness of God up here with us. We can't, and won't be able to defeat these Demons without you."
"What help could I possibly supply?"
The Angel's eyes flashed with the Glory of God. "You can rebuke these demons. You are human, we are not. The Spirits can't defeat you unless they tear your soul from your body. But I know a way you can protect your soul much easier. Pray to God, pray for the Holy Spirit to fill your soul. I will go see to the second disciple, but it is crucial that you help us!"
The Angel then spread its mighty wings, and took to the sky. Gotz closed his eyes, and prayed that God would fill his soul with the Holy Spirit, and would give him some means to fight these Demons. He opened his eyes, and the prayer began to take its toll. The Demons suddenly seemed frightened, and the Angels seemed to grow stronger. But more amazing than any of these, the clouds above Mother's Hill Split open, and a light from heaven shone down upon one spot on the hill. The light then began to fuse together, forming a shape. The light itself became an elaborate spear, which had its end stuck in a stone which protruded out from the ground. It had elaborate designs on it and was painted Gold and Silver. Its pointed end shone with the power of God. Then a mighty voice erupted from the sky.
"TAKE THE WEAPON MY SON!" Gotz put his hands to his ears. "STRIKE DOWN THE EVIL WITH IT, FOR IT SHINES WITH MY POWER!"
Gotz stepped up to the spear, and gently touched it with his hand. He felt unworthy to be given such a weapon, but he knew that he was not unworthy, for God himself had given him the weapon. Gotz put his hands on the spear, and pulled it out from the stone which it rested in. As it left the spear, a shock of golden light shot up the weapon. Gotz then turned towards the battle, and looked at the spear he held in his hands.
"Time to play," he said.
He then charged towards the enemy side, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"For the Cross!"
The demons turned, startled by him mentioning the power which they feared most of all. What they saw when they turned scared them beyond anything else. A Witness of God was coming.
