Arc 1; Uplifted
===x===
"THY NAME BE RAGUEL."
There are many emotions one is likely to expect upon being regaining consciousness after death.
"I AM YOUR CREATOR, GOD. I LOVE YOU, MY SON, AND I AM JUBILANT TO MEET YOU!"
"ME TOO!"
There is already the relief to know there is life after death, but then to meet God, be told he loves you and feel the emotion exuded from the Almighty Deity and know it to be true?
The reincarnated being could only experience pure genuine joy.
It was why the newly born Archangel would later feel great shame, that their first coherent thought ended up being:
Wait. God is a girl? Like in the song?
The first time Michael met his brother the Last Archangel, he found him in His Father's Throne chasing his wings.
The sight was so...unexpected that he forgot to address His Father upon His personal realm.
"Ah, Michael, just in time. Come meet your youngest brother before I introduce him to everyone else."
"Right." Michael shoot himself from his startle. "Of course."
"Weeeeeeeeeeeee~"
Oh, he discovered flying. ...And he's still chasing his wings.
"His name is Raguel."
Michael blinked at the name and its meaning, wondering if a certain animal inspired Father in His latest creation.
"Ah," Michael made a noise.
"And his mind is well."
"Of course, Father." Michael gave a bow, realizing his brother was simply excitable, but he should teach him to act more disciplined in Father's presence.
The Creator chuckled, before He called to his flying newborn.
"Raguel, come me your brother."
"YES, FATHER!"
Michael expected Raguel to act as Gabriel did when they first met, with her immediately hugging him with love and joy. Upon landing in front of them, and actually looking at Michael, Raguel stopped, stunned.
Michael tilted his head at the reaction. Were his own might scaring his little brother? No, in the Creator's Realm, no one is to feel harm or fear of others, as His might would engulf all.
Raguel looked toward Father, then back at Michael. He repeated the action a few times, before finally speaking.
"Ha-" He stopped and cleared his throat. It should have been impossible for something to get caught in his throat, give he was one of Father's perfect creations. "Hi, um, I mean. He-Hello, brother."
Oh. Michael found himself smiling at Raguel actions. A shy Archangel.
"It's nice to meet you too, brother." Michael took the initiative and hugged his youngest brother. "While I wish it was in better times, I truly am glad to meet you." Michael pulled back.
Raguel breathed hitched, before look back at Father, and then trying to act casual. Which was odd, as that was a human action.
Meeting Raguel was proving to be a novel experience, while Michael was sure his brother would grow out of this phase, he would treasure the memory of this adorable meeting.
"B-Better time?" Raguel asked.
"Yes, with the Great War engulfing the world, I'm afraid I don't have time take you across the fields of Heaven, and have you meet all our brothers and sisters. But I will be there with you every step of the way, while we battle the evils who rebel, and the wicked who disparage against Father's Words." Michael said, comforting his sibling.
"I...I see." Raguel paled, before looking at Father once more.
Michael found the reaction odd. Did his brother, maybe, not want to battle in Father's name? ...No, the thought itself was ludicrous.
"Yes, my child." God said in an understanding tone with a hint of sadness. "I know."
Michael was treated to the odd reaction of worry, then relief on his youngest brother's face.
"Michael, gather your siblings," The Creator didn't need to elaborate which ones. "And wait in the Sixth Layer, I have a few things to speak with Raguel about."
"Right away, Father."
"You're going to die."
Right after the Archangel Michael had well and truly left, these words were uttered.
It's was probably not the best way to start one's second conversation with God.
"I know."
"Wha..." Raguel was taken aback. "You know!?"
"Of course," He, or should it be She?, chuckled. A sound like pure contentment and happiness, filled the realm. It was more like a concept, than a physical description of sound. "Why do you think I chose you and remade into one of my Archangels?"
Raguel felt joy, just from God being happy, but the knowledge of what's to come crashed that down right away.
"But..." The Reincarnated Archangel felt lost for words. "But, then why? Why not do things differently?"
"Some roads must be walked through. Even if you know what awaits you at the end." YHWH said with the patience of every kind parent.
"That's, but...that's not... Then why did you make me?!" Raguel couldn't help but shout, his voice echoing within the Throne.
"Because while the future you know may contain peace and the world would have it's guardians, humanity and Heaven itself will be lesser for it." Rageul's outburst wasn't even worth mentioning. "I made you to balance the scales, Raguel. To aid them be as Good as I love and believe them to be."
Them. Mankind and the Angels.
Raguel cried at the faith His Creator had in him, and His eventual death. Then he felt his throat was dry, even if it physically wasn't, from understanding the responsibility placed on him.
"Can't..." Raguel paused to gather his courage, even if it felt like the whining of a petulant child. "Can't you do that while being there with me?"
The God of the Bible gave a sad smile. The Throne was a tad less bright for it.
"Come with me, Raguel." He began to float away, and Raguel instinctively flew after Him.
"Where are we going?"
YHWH looked back and patted Raguel's head.
"I'm going to show you the Emperor Beast of Apocalypse."
Raguel knew what fear was.
He knew that lump of cold water that began in your gut, and then went up to your chest, before spreading out to the rest of your body through your nerves, while feeling like iced electric shock.
Raguel stood in front of an endless wall of pure luminosity that seemed to extended infinitely in all sides. The divine magic barrier was so bright, that the only color that could be attributed to it, would be whiter than white.
And yet Raguel could still see the Beast clear as day, just as it could see him.
If fear as Raguel understood as a human was a lump of cold water in one's stomach, what he felt now was like being punched and submerged straight into that frozen sea and slammed into its ocean floor.
The seven heads would smash into the divine wall repeatedly, over and over again, shouting, roaring screaming, exploding into pools of blood, only for a whole new Beast to be born from the pool and attack the divine wall. Attack the wall, attack itself, merge with itself, grow stronger, and repeat the process again and again and again and again.
It was a new dimension of Fear, Raguel wished he had never new about, or ever even envisioned to have existed. He could only stare at the Beast and know the inevitable. His coming death and the annihilation of everyone and everything, over and over and over-
"What do you think it is?"
Yet, just as Raguel's thoughts began to spiral to despair's oblivion, God's voice swept all that Fear away, with assurance of Their Light and Love, like a bad dream.
"Eh?" Raguel blinked a few times, finding himself able to think and focus again.
"It." God gestured with His head.
"Death," Raguel said the first thought in his mind. "Destruction incarnate. Just..." Looking at the Beast without the Fear made Raguel see not just how Pure Evil it was, but how disturbing and disgusting it looked as well. "Savagery and violence given form."
The Creator chuckled. "Good guess, but no."
"EH!?" Raguel shouted in exaggerated form, to which God found amusing.
"Which do you think came first, the Great Red or mankind Dreaming it into existence?" God looked back at the Beast without a care, as He began adjusting a few things upon the barrier.
"Huh?" Raguel tilted his head at the non-sequitur.
"Has Great Red's existence caused the world and thus all manner of beings in it to be created, so they could Dream and add to its existence, or has all living beings' Dreams solidified into creating it?" God looked back to Raguel.
"Chicken or the egg?" Raguel held his chin and closed his eyes in thought. "Given that the Dimensional Gap is atemporal, if it was born there, I think only You would know." He opened his eyes and answer, before a thought came to him, causing his eyes to widen. "Or is it both!?"
"Good job." Raguel preened under the praise, almost forgetting the Beast was close by. "Given that hint then, what do you think this thing embodies?"
"Hmmmm..." Raguel crossed his arms and pouted in deep thought.
Death. Was the first thought that came to him, before he dismissed it. That was his first answer, but it wasn't that.
Savagery? That didn't seem right either. 'Savagery' as a concept seemed too small, or rather not big enough, to explain the Beast.
...destruction? That didn't seem right either. Raguel felt he might be too focused on stuff that were 'in your face' bad.
His thoughts kept cycling into many similar concepts. 'Annihilation', 'Disaster', 'Decay', 'Corruption', or just plain 'Evil'.
But those concept felt too small, too vague, too childish, or too obvious.
...What if it is the obvious answer?
"Is it 'Evil'?" Raguel asked, while jumping up and down. Or rather floating up and down.
"It can be mistaken as such, but not necessarily."
"Hmm, then..." Raguel thought about it some more, then shrugged. "I dunno. Could you please tell me, Father?"
"Of course, my son." YHWH smiled and explained. "Look at that over there. At that cluster there."
God pointed, and Raguel followed along, finding his sight showing things much further than he thought. Then again, he's a newborn just discovering everything he can do with this new body now.
Far deep in the plains of flesh being destroyed and remade, where parts of the Beast's body was chaos of birth and death or monster took place, Raguel saw a single isolated spot...with a person in it.
"That's a child!" The Archangel shouted and moved to act.
"No, Raguel." His Father placed a hand on his shoulder, then Raguel felt God's power suffuse his being, empowering him. "Truly Look and Feel."
Raguel calmed down and focused, knowing his Father would never misguide him. Looking not just at the physical relam in front of him, but the spiritual, and Feeling it with God's sensing, Raguel flinched back.
He could see a cord, about an atom wide connecting the Beast to the child. More than that, he could Feel what the child truly was on a magical level. It was still the Beast, or a part of it?
It had its own emotions, innocence, terror, despair.
But those were surface emotions. They weren't real, more like pretend emotions.
The 'child' was besieged on all sides by serpentine heads, grinning at the 'child' who flinched back.
The 'child' turned it's head, and stared directly at Raguel. The Archangel flinched back. The 'child' cried out a plea in fear and hope, in words that belonged to no language that exists. Like it hadn't learned what words or language were yet.
But God showed Raguel the truth within. The emotions of mockery and glee under the surface emotions.
The serpentine heads lunged at the 'child', tearing it to pieces, one bit at the time, as the human child facsimile screamed. It almost seemed like the monster heads wanted to prolong the figure's death but didn't have the patience for it. The child body was gone. One of the heads roared in satisfaction, the rest overwhelmed with screams of frustration.
Then the vision was gone, and Raguel could only look at the part of the Beast in front of him behind the barrier. The Beast was still attacking the barrier, never a pause.
Yet, Raguel could swear he could see relishment in one of its many eyes at his inner anguish.
"W-Why?" Raguel paused, gathering his strength to speak. "Why would it do that? What's the point?"
God looked at His son with a somber look.
Raguel began to suspect the answer, but didn't want to voice it. It should be wrong. It has to be wrong. A being like that shouldn't exist. It's too cruel for it to exist.
"Because it is the Embodiment of Suffering."
Yet the truth didn't change his wishes.
Raguel grew quiet. He took in this information, reviewing everything he knew about High School DxD, thinking about the future and what this new information add to it.
"But," looked back to his Father, his resolve slowly building. "In the future, in the..." He struggled with the proper, polite word for what he wanted to say.
"You can say 'canon timeline'." God said with mirth, easing His son's struggle.
"In the canon timeline," Raguel nodded. "The Beast being released from its seal wanted to just destroy the world."
"It wanted to destroy anyone with power. Any of those that could protect any who are weak or innocent. Anything and anyone who could fight, who even has the will." Then God looked back at the Beast and glare. The barrier shined somehow more, and burned all the monster's body, reducing it to its mere cores. A moment later, the Beast returned, but seem lesser somehow. "And then it would have remade the world in a design similar to that of the Allied Mastercomputer."
"The who?" Raguel looked confused.
"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream."
Raguel's eyes widen in horror and he instantly understood what was being referenced. "...Oh fuck."
"Quite."
God turned to leave and Raguel followed.
"Okay," Raguel said, mostly to himself. He stood next to his Father, rather than behind him. Having done so instinctively to be closer to his Father's protection and away from the Beast. God patted his head. "Okay, okay, okay." He repeated psyching himself up. "Alright, what's the plan? What do we need to do?" Raguel looked back at his Father, leaning into His hand. He threw a couple of punches forward, like he's shadow boxing. "How do we win?"
"It requires a bit of work." God removed His hand. Raguel pouted but kept quiet. YHWH lips twitched, holding back a laugh, and returned His hand again, making Raguel instinctive smile. All along the space around them was moving in unimaginable speeds as they headed back to Heaven. "Endless Shounen Firepower won't be enough. Neither will the Powers of Love and Friendship."
"What do we need?" Raguel jumped to asked.
"We need to reduce it. To lessen the Beast, from a Great Evil or even a Challenge, into a stepping stone for Mankind."
"...I don't get it." Raguel frowned as he was lost.
God chuckled. "You are young. You'll understand with time and experience."
"Okay!" Raguel nodded with a happy grin.
For a little while, the two traveled in silence.
"Where were we, by the way?" Raguel asked.
"The End of the World." The Creator replied.
"O...kay." Raguel pouted at that answer. "I know what that's what the Light Novel said, but what does that actually mean?"
"We were at the edge of the universe. I stopped the Beast from entering, and then trapped in a cage that grows in strength, the more it attempts to pierce into this reality." God casually explained.
"...Holy shit." Raguel was gobsmacked. Then he looked around, finally noticing they were passing stars and galaxies along the way. Guess I was so nervous about seeing the Apocalypse Beast I didn't notice. Then again, the teleportation spell barely took a few minutes. "So, no one can actually get here, right?"
"Hmm, technically people can find this place by heading to the 'end of the world', however as humanity progresses and maps the globe, that concept will ceases to be functional, and thus the path to the Beast's Cage will stop existing as well. However, since I tied the Beast and its Cage to the concept of the 'end of the world', when that ideas ceases, so will the Caged Beast from the physical realm."
"Wait, it will stop existing?" Raguel cried out at this new information.
"Yes and no. It will no longer physically exist, but it will continue on in the Realm of Forgotten Dreams. A section of the Dream Realm equivalent to the Dimensional Gap." God explained. "Sadly, as you know, it would still be possible to reach it with the right tools. Hopefully I'll make the seals even more difficult to break this time."
"...God OP, plz," Raguel took a glance back from where they came. "Never nerf."
"Hahahahaha, you still have much to learn young padawan." The Creator's laughter was a single eternal moment of ringing joy.
"Heh," Raguel grinned, then after a moment, realized what his Father just said. "Wait, you know Star Wars!?"
"Omniscience, my boy. You still have much to learn, but I have faith that in time, you'll git gud. Now, let's go meet your Archangel brothers and sisters."
"Did you seriously just use the words 'git gud'!?" Raguel exclaimed.
God smiled mysteriously.
Gabriel was ashamed to admit, to herself and to anyone who would asked her later on, that her expectation of her Father's Last Archangel, may have colored her opinion of Raguel before she ever met him.
"HELLO EVERYONE!" Raguel waved his arm above his head cheerfully, once Father introduced him. "LET'S WORK TOGETHER TO SAVE MANKIND!"
Unlike Raguel's enthusiastic greeting, he was met with silence. It was only for a moment, before Michael took in the reign of the situation.
"Yes, Raguel, we are happy to meet you too. Let me introduce you to everyone." Michael smiled back, and began doing as he said. "These here are Metatron, Sandalphon, Sariel, Remiel..."
"Gabriel," a voice spoke next to The Strongest Woman in Heaven. Gabriel looked to her side to see the Untouched Seraph, labeled so for having never sustaining a single injury all the length of the Great War.
"Raziel." Gabriel nodded.
"You noticed it too." Raziel said.
"Yes." Gabriel replied. The reason why Raguel was first met with silence, wasn't due to how he looked or his attitude, but rather his power.
Or rather how weak he is.
"Father had spend quite a long time creating him." Raziel commented.
What all the Seraph had noticed about Raguel right away, with their angelic sight, especially within the Sixth Heaven adding to this senses, was his wings. A single pair.
A set of wings weren't some functional limb, angels don't need them to fly. Rather an angel's wings were a measure of their power, how much Holy Light they can channel from their connection to Father and His Throne.
For Raguel to be made with only a single set was odd. From sight alone, one could mistake him for a simple angel. It's only the present Seraph's power and senses that let them see Raguel's true self as an Archangel, just like the current Nine (or correction, Ten) Seraphs.
While Raguel felt as strong as the strongest six-winged angels, it was a vast gap between him and any of the Seraphs.
"It is likely that his growth would be his strength, or maybe Father made him strictly for an administrative role." Gabriel reasoned.
"With how the War is going, and that...other issue Father constantly needs to attend to?" one could see the raised eyebrow in Raziel's voice.
"Father makes no mistakes." Gabriel said with certainty.
"Hmm." Raziel said nothing.
Back with Raguel surrounded by his brothers, Uriel was laughing as he lightly hit his youngest brother's back.
"Hahahaha, Father you're small. Father, can I take him to the Paradise fields so he can get something to eat?" Uriel said boisterously. Uriel was a giant of an angel. Raziel had often hear her other siblings wondering what he would look like with a beard.
"Brother, please take it easy on him. He's just a newborn." Raphael chastised. "Are you feeling well, Raguel? Uriel sometimes forgets his strength." Raphael was oddly enough usually seen alongside Uriel, even though he's the Archangel of Healing and is known for his Water Magic.
"I felt my spine was gonna break." Raguel wheezed out.
"And finally," Michael continued, gesturing to the last two Archangels, who stepped forward. "These are your sisters, Raziel and Gabriel."
"H-Hello," Raguel greeted, only stumbling for a moment upon seeing Gabriel's beauty.
"Hello, little brother, I hope together we can spread Father's mercy to the world so it would finally have peace." Gabriel said, connecting to Raguel's earlier sentiment of saving humanity.
"I am Raziel, brother, and I hope we get the chance to spend time and talk together." Raziel nodded.
"Now my children," Father spoke and all listened. "As you can see, Raguel is young, so please be an example to him, and teach him about your duties so he may learn to fulfill his own. He is going to be following and working with all of you, on your various missions. While carrying out your missions for the War, you may teach and guide Raguel, yet ultimately how he chooses to operate in those missions are up to him, as long as it doesn't cause harm to other angels or innocent humans."
""Yes, Father."" While the present Archangels replied in agreement without hesitation, they still couldn't help but feel surprised at how free Raguel was allowed to operate.
"Now Raziel, I believe you have intel gathering mission in the British Isles. Make your preparations and take Raguel with you." Father spoke.
"Eh?" Raziel blinked, surprised being given responsibility of his youngest brother so soon.
"I know time is somewhat of the essence for your trip, so just teach Raguel the basics of combat. That would be enough."
"As you will, Father." Raziel turned to Raguel and smiled. "Looks like we get to spend time faster then I thought."
"Looks like it," Raguel grinned. He then blinked and turned to Father as he remembered something. "Err, Father, what, um, time is it?"
The Archangels looked at Raguel in confusion.
"Late 5th century."
"Ah, got it, thank you." Raguel smiled again.
The Archangels were lost at this exchange, but understood that Father's all knowing, and understood the intent of Raguel's question.
"By your will, Father." Raziel bowed her head, and Raguel copied her. She suddenly raised her head in haste, giving Father a surprised look before turning and leaving. Gabriel had felt that Father than sent a telepathic message to her younger sister, but didn't dare peak into what it was.
"Father," Michael spoke after the two left. "I wish to ask for your knowledge... What is Raguel's role?" It was something that their Creator never elaborated upon. Michael hadn't asked for need of knowledge (If God didn't want to tell them, then they wouldn't dare question Him), but rather wanted to avoid confusion or have any of Archangel's Yoduties clash with Raguel's.
"You will understand his role as you come to observe him. His duty however, is something that will be carried out once the Great War is finally over."
With that grim reminder, God and His Archangels returned to their plans and next moves against the enemy factions.
In the Isles of Britain there lives a blacksmith of great skill who created many powerful magical swords. No one knows who they are, only the latest rumors from a batch of failed magic swords, pointed to their latest pursuit.
The British Blacksmith is attempting to make Holy Swords.
Their skill was already high enough that even the God of the Bible made note of it.
Now with this latest piece of information, Raziel was sent to ascertain the identity of the blacksmith, and convert them to Christianity. Barring that, make an alliance with them.
For Raziel it was a simple intel gathering and negotiation mission. Normally, adding a completely newbie to, well, everything such as Raguel wouldn't be a big deal, as long as the youngest Archangel followed Raziel's lead.
However, there was a complication that made Raziel's mission much more difficult, and require a lot of stealth to carry it out.
Azazel had heard of the mythical blacksmith as well, and was sighted in the skies of Britannia, with a squadron of Fallen Angels.
Don't bother with stealth and when you confront Azazel and your fallen brothers, let Raguel respond to Azazel's first move.
While that were Father's message only for Raziel, she was still surprised by it. Giving odd commands like that, while any angel would follow them without question, Raziel tends to look forward to them, as those order tend to have the most moments of Father's 'mysterious ways' manifesting.
Precognition just isn't enough of an explanation to Father's omniscience. Raziel by her nature had an aptitude to divination, or mentally simulate possible events, but even so, the Creator just seemed to operate on a whole multiple levels of higher dimensions in planning.
She could perceive and sense everything in an omnidirectional space around her, and not just in the physical dimension but all the higher and lower ones as well. She is the Untouched Seraph precisely because nothing can ever blindside her. She had even trained her danger senses to the point of seconds of precognition warning to an unexpected attack upon her.
So while almost all the Fallen Angels were focused on Raziel, throws arrows after spears of Light upon her, even if those attacks would have been as plentiful as rain within a hurricane, she would be pure as the dawn's rays, unmarred by even a drop.
Her brother however, Raziel with her divine analytical abilities and spending time with him could tell, he would not do well in battle for a long time to come.
"Ah! Eee! Ooooh! Eeeeek! Too close!"
...At leas that's what she originally concluded.
No, Raguel didn't suddenly reveal some heretofore untold amounts of power. He didn't reveal some secret new power. He was just using the basic Light empowerment techniques Raziel had time to show him, to move with greater ability to not get hit, and fire his giant waves of Light to push away any assailant that closed in on him.
...Actually, the way he's moving, is he...copying me? No, not important right now.
However the power behind Raguel's attacks were too wide to have any substantial power behind them. At most they would singe any Fallen they hit.
Raziel's eyes widened before they softened into a sad look.
No, he simply doesn't want to hurt the Fallen, even if he had never met them as brothers and sister.
"Hahahaha, my, this kid's reaction is a comedy show." The Leader of the Grigori, the Fallen Angel Faction, laughed.
Raziel sighed. And then there is Azazel. She felt an instinctive need to move in and protect her brother, but remembered God's words and held back for now, the attacks on her ceasing, but the Fallen surrounding her made a blockage between her and her youngest brother.
"Yeah, well..." Raguel panted, stopping as the attacks paused, panting as he took the chance to catch his breath. "Your goatee is stupid." He shouted.
Azazel just sighed mockingly. "Aaaah, children. They really just don't understand the charm of an adult." Azazel began to stroke his facial hair, showing it off. "I don't remember you though. I guess your one of Father's newest angels. Well, why don't you come with your big brother Azazel, to show you there's more to life than the Old Man's boring repetitive ways."
"Like what?" Raguel said, unimpressed.
"Like this for example." Azazel pulled one of his Fallen subordinates near him by the waist, then grabbed and squeezed her breast, causing her to moan. With the buxom Fallen's mouth open, he then proceeded to deep tongue kiss her.
Such heavy display of carnal lust, along with the emotions thrown by a magical being's aura, could disorient a normal Angel, even tempt them enough to make their wings flicker black.
Raziel had no reason to worry though. Raguel continued to give Azazel a deadpanned look.
Such unaffected display caused the Grigori Leader to stop, and throw the Fallen woman aside, who whined as she floated away, and examine Raguel once more.
"Well now, aren't you a tough cookie. New trainees are usually too thrown off by something like that." Azazel said with an interested grin at this new puzzle. "Oi, Raziel!" Azazel addressed the present Archangel. "Is there something special this new one?"
"Why don't you tell me?" Came Raziel's detached reply as she observed everything.
"Hmmm..." Azazel leaned forward as he actually looked at Raguel, trying to see him with his angelic senses. His eyes widened in recognition. "Oi...oi, oi, oi. Are you kidding me?" Azazel threw his head back, a hand on his forehead and laughed out loud. "This kid is actually an Archangel!? He's so weak, no wonder I couldn't notice when I first saw him. What? Did dear old Dad finally lose his touch?" The other Fallen joined in with Azazel's laughter.
Raziel saw Raguel was no longer looking stoic. His eyebrows now actually tighten in angry.
Sadly, his childish face wasn't helping angry look. Some of the Fallen actually aww'd.
"You Fell because of some boobs, didn't you?" Raguel began.
"I'm surprised you even know that word." Azazel fired back. "And not just 'some boobs', but the biggest, bounciest, juiciest and squeezable damn boobs I have first seen on a mortal woman. Man, the fun I had with those-"
"So, it's 'large boobs' that are your favorite, huh?" Raguel cut him off, having a conspiring raised eyebrow.
Raziel wasn't sure what his youngest brother's strategy was here. Talking about carnal temptations was Azazel's forte. Yet, she followed her Father's command and let Raguel act as he wills for now.
"Yeeeeah? Didn't I just say that?" Azazel was thrown off momentarily by the young Archangel's sudden confidence, before easily playing it cool.
"Is that so?" Raguel closed his eyes, smirked, before opening them with the confidence of a detective that solve a case. He pointed dramatically at the Fallen Leader and spoke. "Big Brother Azazel, as this is our first meeting, and because I don't wish spill blood if I can avoid it, I will give you the option to take all the Fallen Angels here with you, and leave here today."
Azazel snorted. "Reeeally?" He chuckled. "Oh, I gotta hear this. Or else what, little brother?"
"Or else this!" Raguel raised hand to the sky and a large projection of a holographic cube was made. It rotated like a large TV with the giant blocks of text. The Fallen Angels tensed up for a moment, preparing for what might happen.
"A lightshow?" Azazel said unimpressed.
"Ultimate Move!" Raguel shouted, the words appeared as he spoke them. "Revealing Azazel Secret #1."
""...Huh?""
Azazel and Raziel without noticing, at first, both held the same tilted head look of confusion.
"You said that your favorite type of breasts are the 'biggest, bounciest, juiciest and squeezable' and all that, right?" Raguel cried out like an interrogator.
Raziel wondered if she should be worried that Raguel was using Azazel's words without any hesitancy. His wings showed not a single iota of color change. So...it was all good?
"Yeeeeah?-"
"That's a lie!" Raguel cut Azazel off.
The Fallen Angels present gasped.
Azazel himself looked at Raguel in surprise.
There was a certain truth known to all Three Biblical Factions. It was that Angels, more so Archangels, can't lie. It was against the very core of their being. Even if they learn to do so and manage it, their wings will give a very obvious tell of flickering black.
Raguel's wings never changed.
Azazel was a very smart person. As an angel empowered by God, he was able to think and analyze thing much faster than a normal human would. Upon hearing Raguel's words, he was able to think on them and apply their context to past events and experiences, in the span of a few seconds, and see what that comparison would bring him.
"While it was breasts that made you Fall, the large size was just a distraction. A lie you made yourself believe. Because the truth is..." Raguel continue.
Upon realizing his preferred breast size were, Azazel considered what it meant about himself. Then his eyes widened in horror. More so about what that information would do to his image as the Leader of the Grigori.
Azazel then noticed Raziel had a teleport spell and a shield-attack-combo spell ready, in case he thought to attack Raguel mid-speech.
"Azazel's true favorite breasts size are-"
"RETREAT!"
A forced mass teleport spell, available only to someone of Azazel's authority activated and took all Fallen Angel along with their leader from the Human World and back to the Underworld.
Raziel was stupefied.
"Holy shit, that worked!?"
She looked back to an equally shocked expression from her brother.
Both couldn't believe it.
Back in the Grigori Headquarter, Azazel's Cadre found him in a lake made out of all their booze, with their leader trying to drown himself in it. He failed and drank it.
Upon receiving the report of what transpired, it was decided the Archangel Raguel was an info-hazard threat to be mostly avoided and if forced to engage, don't let him talk.
It was added a bit too late to the report, when it was amended, that Raguel wasn't just pleasant to look at ("he's kinda cute...actually really cute...like I wanna snuggle him forever cute," said by one of the female 'survivors' of the failed mission), but also have a nice voice.
That wasn't the last time Raguel and Azazel would meet on the field of battle.
"How did you know that?" Raziel asked with a small smile on her face.
It had been a few hours the two Archangels confrontation with the Fallen. They had hid to lay low for a while, so they were just about to continue their search for the blacksmith in a stealthily manner, to not draw attention.
"Know what?" Raguel asked back.
"About Azazel's 'secret'." Raziel replied. "You didn't use some hidden spell, nor did some holy energy automatically act out in some instinctive ability Father granted you." She explained. "So that information was something you deduced all on your own. So how did you figure it out?"
Raguel suddenly felt on the spot. There was no way he could say 'I knew by reasoning it out of metaknowledge'. Because...I just really don't want to get to the topic of my reincarnation and the details of it. Now how do I answer this?
"I knew about the reason Azazel fell." Raguel spoke clearly, not bothering or stopping to explain how he knew. "I noticed that he wasn't surrounded by as many large breasted Fallen as I thought he would have. From there, I had a hypothesis on the reason why that might have happened, and more importantly how it would look on him if it was true, so I...just bluffed." Raguel smiled and scratched the back of his head.
"Bluffed?" Raziel raised an eyebrow. It wasn't lying, but it wasn't a tactic she expected an angel, a newborn at that to use.
"Yeah, because honestly, thinking about it now, what if Azazel was just having an off-day and wanted to change up the women around him. I would have looked really silly." Raguel chuckled. "Good thing I was more annoyed by him though. Even more silly would have been Falling on my first day in the Human World because someone acted lewd." Raguel imagined the situation, and dropped his head, letting out a sad sigh. "...Actually it would be pathetic since it's my first day of being born."
"That's not likely to happen." Raziel shook her head.
"Huh?"
"We're not human, Raguel. Things like 'losing interest' or 'getting bored' don't come easily to us, and subsequently to our Fallen brothers. Father had made us with immortality in mind after all." She explained.
"...Huh." Raguel blinked a few times at that. "I see." It was an odd information to realize and internalize.
"More importantly, where did you get that weird idea?" Raziel asked with an amused look. Seeing her brother's confusion she continued. "That you could Fall from seeing a lewd act."
"...What?" Raguel stopped moving and floated in place, prompting Raziel to do the same.
"Hmm?" Raziel waited for him to continue.
"I mean, you Fall if you are tempted into sin, and act out with that intent, isn't it?" Raguel asked.
Raziel laughed. "Where could you have heard that?" She laughed some more, before calming down. "Angels don't Fall to something that trifle."
"But...we Fall if we have sex." Raguel pointed out.
Raziel's shoulder shook again. "N-hahahaha-No. No, that's not how that works. Yes, technically but not because you had sex, hahahahahahaha." She took a moment to regain her bearings.
"Okay listen well, brother. One, to follow and spread God's Word, upholding the virtues of heaven, denying the vices of hell and maintain Heaven. Two, to protect, guide and aid mankind so that they may exalt and seek all that is good and succeed in combating the temptations of evil. As long as you don't hold a desire above those two, then you'll never Fall. In short summary, as long as you value Father, his works and humanity above other wants or desires, then you're good."
Raguel was stunned silent. It was actually a worry of his at the back of his mind, how easily it might be for him to Fall. Something he was most definitely against, as he liked his life as an Archangel so far. I mean, I get to work along side God Himself, well Herself, fuck it, Himself. How rad was that?
"So then..." Raguel slowly gathered his thoughts. "It's not actually having sex that's the problem. It's thinking physical pleasure is better and more important than anything else. Same with other sins. Being angry isn't a problem, it's letting it consume you. Simply indulging in the pleasure of exacting your rage on others, that's the problem."
"Exactly." Raziel nodded, glad for her brother's quick mature understanding. "Of course that doesn't mean you can have sex with anyone without a care, you know." Raguel looked back attentive and curious. "Committing any sin opening way to temptation, or it's best to not do so ever. If you do, acknowledge that mistake, vow to correct it and try to be better next time. Dwelling on mistakes and regret could also lead to Falldom, so be careful not to let that consume you either."
"Huh... This is both easier and more complicated than I thought." Raguel said, feeling a lot more relieved with this new understanding. "What about marriage though?"
"What about it?"
"What if an Angel marries?" Raguel asked.
"..." Raziel gained a sad look. "An angel and their married partner, or two married angels can act as they please within the bound of marriage, and would have none of the normal fears of Falling when it comes to carnal delights."
"I'm sensing a big exception coming." Raguel said warily.
"But...what about the child they produce?" Raziel asked.
"Are..." Raguel gulped. "Are Nephilims forbidden?"
"No," she shook her head. "Miracle Children aren't forbidden but celebrated, however what if someone harmed that child? Or kidnapped them? Would should the Angelic parent or parents do? Would it be wrong of them to prioritize their offspring?"
Raguel was starting to realize that some of those who had Fallen, hadn't done so due to agreeing with Azazel, or due to rebelling against God.
"Father tends to leave those whose mourning overtook them. They would lead lonely lives, or in the better case they would come to Father wishing to return to His embrace. They are never turned away of course." Raziel said, giving some positive news, before the sad look returned again. "But then there are those who return, not wishing for absolution, but for the pain to end while being of use to Heaven."
At Raguel's melancholic silence, Raziel turned and began to fly away.
Her brother followed without a word.
The search for the blacksmith continued, the Archangel pair working tirelessly.
Literally tirelessly. Raguel noted. Although that might be because angel's stamina threshold is much longer than a human's.
During their travel, the pair stopped at a village by the name of Carmarthen, and witness a disgraceful sight.
"Please Father, this is all the money I could save up till now. It's been three years already." A woman was begging a priest while handing him a bag of coins. He was holding the hand of a three year old, whose lazy sight seemed to zero in on the two Archangel's in disguise.
The priest looking bored, counted the money inside, then shook his head.
"I'm sorry my child, but this isn't enough for a blessing strong enough to undo your boy's curse." The priest said, all while putting the money bag in his robes. "But you have come close, with a few more coins, I should buy the needed resources to make a blessing powerful enough to baptize your son."
"T-Thank you, Father, but how much more do I need to bring? I don't know if I have anything else to-"
"What's going on here?" Raguel barged into talk between the woman and priest.
They were standing in front of a church house where the two Archangels were planning to spend the night, but the argument they witnessed halted any thought of rest.
"Oh, are you two youngers lost? Do you need a place to stay for the night-" The priest's eyes lit up upon seeing the duo, as under their shaggy travel cloaks were clean refined clothes.
"What seems to be the problem, Miss? Maybe we can help." Raguel cut the priest off, addressing the woman directly.
Seeing the youth speak with such authority was odd, but the woman didn't let that stop her.
"I...I made a mistake when I was young. My child...my child couldn't be baptized. Father Blaise said I had to pray and give many donations so that he could gain special holy water to purity my son from his curse." She said desperately.
"Curse?" Raguel asked.
"The devil's power runs through this child. You may not believe it, but it is true, and sadly beyond my current recourses to handle." Priest Blaise answered on his own. "So you see, travelers, this is not something for you to meddle with."
The two Archangels gave a slow look to the very well decorated large church.
"Would a normal baptism have not worked?" Raguel asked, not to the priest, but his sister.
"No," she shook her head. "It would have worked just fine. This man is simply a liar profiting off your suffering, child."
"Wha..." The priest sputtered out. "I'm a man of the cloth! How dare you levy such vile accusations against me? You must repent for that sin, traveler."
"Hey," Raguel ignored the priest and turned to his sister. "Can you quickly tell me how to do a baptism? It's not long, right?"
"You dare! You think anyone can do the work of god? I carry His word. On whose authority can you do this, authority that surpass mine!" Priest Blaise shouted.
"The only one that matter. The authority of whom I am His messenger." When Raguel spoke then, his volume didn't change, but the power behind his voice was unmistakable, even for the humans that couldn't sense the supernatural.
Huh, so he can act as an Archangel without prompting. Raziel smiled with fondness. Then looked to see that the handful of people that were around the church in this hour at the evening, were transfixed on the scene as well.
The priest stared with awe and growing terror, as he began to understand who, what was before him. The mother looked in awe, some fear and a growing hope. The boy seemed amazed, yet there was a linger discomfort in him.
That's likely from the demonic power in him. Raziel thought.
"Raziel." Her brother drew back her attention. "The baptism."
"Ah, right." She quickly explained it. Raguel nodded and moved to work.
"It's going to be alright." He said to the mother.
"Thank you, thank God, thank you!" She held her hands to her face as she cried tears of joy and relief.
"What's your name kid?" Raguel kneeled a bit, to look the child eye-to-eye.
"Myrddin. Myrddin Emrys, I was named after the town." The boy said excited. The two Archangels noticed how he spoke clearly without the usually stutter and stumbling of that age.
Of course he is. Raguel thought in amusement.
"Very well, Myrddin, listen. Have you ever had thoughts of causing mischief or harm, and instead of them staying thoughts, you acted on them without realizing it?" The boy looked down in shame and nodded. "I'm going to fix that. You might still have those thoughts, but how you act from now on, that will be determined by your own free will. Do you understand?"
The boy nodded with enthusiasm.
Raguel took some water from a nearby fountain in his cupped hands, blessed it with holy power and baptized the Half-Devil.
"I baptize you: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
"You do know this is gonna bring trouble for us, right?" Raziel said, once they were miles away from the town.
"Didn't you place some spell to hide the town a bit from demons, and erase our presence there?" Raguel asked.
"That doesn't change that people will talk, especially that priest during his travels." She replied.
"...Ah," Raguel looked to the side, blushing.
"Since you seem to have forgotten the role you took up child. Leave this luxury, travel the land, and do works of good!"
Raguel had not intended to scare the priest into following his order, but his anger at the blatant corruption, may have let him forget to reign in his holy energy fully. The priest barely gathered some stuff to eat, and left the church and the town running.
"It...hopefully will be okay, right?"
Less than two weeks later, Raguel met a devil for the first time.
"HAHAHAHAHA, this is the new Archangel I hear about, that slayed a whole army of Fallen scum! How pathetic."
What the shit, Azazel! Is your organization security so leaky, that even the devils know about me in less than a month?
In the moments he had between dodging tentacles of water, Raguel considered that, it was more likely that Azazel and his group released information about Raguel as revenge.
"And not just a new fresh Archangel, but also Raziel, The Archangel of Secrets! Oooh, today really is my day. Once I capture you both, I, Serilina Sitri, will rise to be most favorite by the Satans." The Ultimate Class Devil and her entourage were an unexpected problem for many reasons.
The humidity of Britain in the current season made it conductive to the Sitri's Demonic Waters. The coastal town the devils found the two Archangels in gave them another advantage. And above all, Raguel had come to realize the difference between him and an ultimate class devil.
Raziel sighed, as she weaved between attacks, then took the chance in the pause between enemy strikes, to send a single ray of Light through their bodies. Simply making a thin laser beam, from her finger, striking at their vital areas.
"I can not begin to count the number of time I've heard some upstart Devil saying they will catch me." Raziel said in a bored tone.
"Oooh, I would say it would definitely be different this time!" The Sitri devil shouted, as she raise her hand to the sky.
Raguel looked up to see a giant dark clouds have gathered. He looked around, now noticing how the sea water were rising further away and turning into clouds that moved overhead. It was done slowly on such a wide scale that he hadn't noticed till down. He could feel and see a massive concentration of water coated in demonic energy in that cloud. The rain that began falling seem less intentional but like leaks from that massive spell.
"When I capture you two, I'm going to rip your wings out, Raziel. I'll pluck you feather by feather, flay your skin, take out every secret in your mind, before I cut off your head and shit down your throat." Serilina laughed in triumph.
Raguel stopped, he floated in shock, his open-mouth expression not hiding any of his emotions at all. Thankfully other devils had flown away to get out of the blast zone.
"Lord save me form the vulgarity of you Devils." Raziel rolled her eyes, as she gathered her holy power for not just a shield spell, but one to teleport her and Raguel above the cloud.
"I'll take your head rub it all over my ass before I put it up on the wall. Then there is you, cute little Raguel, I'll...why are you looking at me like that?" The sheer look of shocked disgust on the young Archangel's face, caused Serilina to momentarily pause in her tirade.
"...Are you for real?" He ended up saying.
"Ha! What are you scared, now that you face a real devil? Don't worry, I have different plans for you, before I kill you, I'll-"
"No, no, I get the torture and killing us bit, but...do you seriously go around talking like that? Do you think it makes you look cool?" Raguel couldn't help but inquire.
"Oh, was my water too warm for you? Do you want to see how cold it can be?" Serilina said in a low menacing voice, at the perceived insult.
"No, I meant 'cool' as in, you know, like a role model. Like someone people look up to." Raguel clarified.
"...Huh?" Serilina was so confused she halted the launch of her spell. Raziel seeing a pattern decided to wait, and watch the show.
"You know, like, do you think little boy and girl devils look at you and go 'when I grow up I'm gonna poop like big sis Serilina'." Raguel said, even doing a girly voice for the 'little devil girl' character.
Now it was Serilina turn to look shocked. Raziel snorted in her fist to hide the sound.
"'And when I grow up'," Raguel said in a deep-ish voice to play the 'boy devil' character. "I'm gonna have a massive poop, just like big sis Serilina', 'Oh yeah well, I'll have the biggest poop of all, I'll be the Queen of Shi-'."
"WILL YOU STOP SAYING THE WORD, POOP!?" Serilina cried out, red in the face. "That's not the point of the threat you little...bird!"
"You were just about to say shit, weren't you?" Raguel deadpanned.
"I WASN'T GONNA SAY 'SHIT'!" The Sitri devil face was heating up.
"Seriously, what I am suppose to think with a threat like that. You didn't even sound sarcastic, like you're just saying it to insult Raz here. You said it with a moan, like you were into the idea-"
"I'M NOT INTO THAT STUFF, I'M JUST SAYING IT AS A THREAT!"
"And that other part, 'I'll rub your head all over my ass'. Are you pent up? Did you never have anyone eat you out in foreplay? Or are you just into gore and rubbing blood and body parts all over you? What if you have guests over? That stuff smells, and they would be smelling it out of your ass-"
"STOP TALKING ABOUT MY ASS!" Serilina was beginning to cry now.
"The worst part is, you said that with such conviction, it sounded like you did that before. I mean, even for a devil that's a bit..." Raguel trailed off and look to the side, like he was ashamed of seeing the Sitri devil.
"IT'S JUST A THREAT, DAMN YOU!" She shouted, tears running down her red face.
"Okay, yeah, you're right. My bad, let's just continue, you know..."
"You were gonna say something." Serilina said with narrowed eyes, and what Raguel didn't dare point out were pouty lips.
"No, no, let's just carry on with killing each other-"
"NO! You were about to say something. Say it!"
"L-Lady Sitri, maybe you should-" One of the devils with her tried to get Serilina to go back on the attack.
"SILENCE! You! What! Were! You! Going! To! Say!" Serilina roared every word out.
"..." Raguel seemed to struggle within himself, before sighed. "Look, you seem like a tough opponent and a strong devil, but I thought to myself 'If I was a young devil in the Hell, would I want to follow Lady Serilina Sitri', and well..." Serilina seemed to smile at the hidden praise before Raguel continued. "The answer is no. I would be glad to have you on my side, but I would never want to interact with you. I mean, character-wise, you're not really charismatic or presentable."
Silence permeated the area as Raguel gave his reply.
The Sitri devil's face was shadowed by her hair. Her shoulder were shaking, seemingly in restrained rage.
"I FUCKING HATE YOU, YOU MEANIE!" Serilina bawled as she turned and made a portal to the Underworld.
""LADY SITRI!"" The devils with Serilina ran in panic after her.
The devils left and the portal to Hell closed afterwards.
The clouds began to disperse with no magic holding them.
"I...I kinda feel bad now." Raguel said.
"There, there." Raziel patted his shoulder. " Let's just take a break and go back to Heaven and report to Father."
"Yeah, okay."
"DAAADDDYYY!" Serilina crashed into her father's massive study and immediately hugged him.
"Wha-! My sweet baby, what happen? Why are you crying? Since when do you cry?"
"Th, th, there was this Archangel, and, and..."
"What!? What did he do my darling?" The Sitri Head asked in panic.
"HE SAID I WASN'T COOL!"
"...I don't get it."
Serilina proceeded to explain to her father the encounter in detail.
A shout was heard throughout the Sitri castle.
"RRAAAAAAAGGGUUEELL! I'LL HAVE YOUR FUCKING HEAD ON A PIKE, YOU DAMN ARCHANGEL! HOW DARE YOU MAKE MY DAUGHTER CRY!?"
God was chuckling after Raziel and Raguel returned and gave their report.
"Father, that battle wasn't particularly funny."
God laughed louder.