Choose a side now;
Alluring angels with their unyielding wings,
or
Daring demons with their unfaltering wings.
Allen felt the familiar aura pulling him back into reality, the comforting smell of musky old books and demonic powers clearing his vision and unveiling his messy thoughts. From his point of view on the ground, Lavi's back looked tremendously awestriking; the Demon Lord's back was broad enough to cover people and strong enough to lift tons. Lavi's black wings were sharpened, yet folded, so Allen had the opportunity to fully appreciate the magnificence of the demon wings. From behind, Lavi looked powerful.
"You're an angel," Allen murmured.
"Nah," Lavi laughed as he turned slightly to give his best friend a flaunty wink, "I'm just your demon in shining armour,"
"ATTACK!" Saint Earl shouted, pointing vehemently at the entourage of the Black Order clan.
Free from their restraints, Allen's main brethren joined the fray against Saint Earl and Saint Sheril's puppet army. Tyki tried his best to take command of his trapped warriors, but Sheril's magic was too strong and the Judgement Knight was forced to use his weapons against his very own brethren. The angels' hearts clenched hard every time they tried to retaliate by attacking, their angelic instincts screaming at them to stop fighting their own blood brothers. The Black Order clan tried their best to defend the defenceless angels because they do not feel the holistic bond that the angels had between one another, but there were so many controlled angels and only so few of them. They were dangerously outnumbered.
"Clown Belt!" Suddenly, white strips shot out from below ground and entwining the fighting angels like silk. The larger strips of white were entangling themselves with Sheril's thin strings, holding the angels' bodies in place. Allen was panting now, watching his magical ribbons immobilising the angels as if they were stuck inside an elaborate spider web. "Grahg!" Allen coughed out as the seal in his heart throbbed painfully, warning the angel that he was cursed and still unable to utilise his full powers.
Then, transparent boxes closed up around each angel. Rhode Kamelot was not one to back down without a fight, so she summoned her trump card as she took by Allen's side, "Dream Carriage!" Allen's white strips disappeared, but there was no longer need for his powers as Rhode's magic kept the angels in her magical boxes. In there, the angels fell into slumber and into their mirage of dreams until Rhode deemed it fitful for them to awaken once more. When most of the angels were asleep by Rhode's spell, Allen quickly got up to heal Lulubell once more.
While their young brother and sister aided the fallen archer, Wisely was defending them against the onslaught of Sheril. The nobleman swerved to the side to avoid Wisely's invisible scythe, but Wisely expected that and he used his failed momentum to roundhouse kick the noble angel instead. Sheril felt the weight of the wicked kick like a real hammer and he didn't have time to dodge Wisely's next slicing attack. The invisible scythe cut Sheril's left arm smoothly, leaving a trail of blood on the holy weapon.
Wisely wore a grim face that was so unlike in his nonchalant attitude, holding his scythe in a downwards position as he growled out, "what did he promised you until you would betray your own brothers?"
Sheril picked himself up carefully, his sharp eyes never leaving the scythe master. He knew better than to underestimate the Holy Guardian. Although Wisely concentrated his active skills towards the path of healing, there was no doubt that the angel's speciality was his expertise in scythe-fighting. To make matters more difficult, Father granted Wisely an intangible scythe to bear. Since nobody had ever seen the scythe's solid form, it was difficult to determine the size of length of the blade. The invisible weapon would throw every opponent into confusion before severing heads apart with a single slice. All in all, Wisely was not an angel to be messed around with.
Sheril swallowed his gut as he saw his blood trailing down Wisely's scythe, the blood looking as if it was moving through thin air. The blade looked menacing, curving all so seductively around Wisely's body. Sheril summoned his strings to stop Wisely's movements as he attacked straight on, "he promised perfection; just like Father would've wanted! Can you imagine it?" Sheril's strings turned into slicing whips, making Wisely fall back as he tried to defend himself against the hissing magic. Sheril continued his advance; his mind thinking of the great glory that he was about to be granted, "Nobody would disobey Father! Where everybody loves Him! Nobody would have to suffer or sin ever again!"
Wisely swooped his mighty scythe around, cutting many of the sharp whips that came too close to him. The Holy Guardian felt pangs of pain coming from his unarmoured arms and legs, seething when he saw that some of the whips had struck him acutely. However, Wisely held back his anger. He stubbornly refused to give ground to his brother, be it in their physical fights or in terms of words, "the utopia in which you speak of doesn't exist! Father wants them to choose Him. Father wants their faith!"
Wisely charged at Sheril with all his power, clenching his loyal weapon while yelling out as if words were enough to shake Sheril off his blind foundation, "Father wants their voluntary love! You've forgotten, brother Sheril, that Father's ultimate gift to His Creations-" Wisely's scythe came into contact with Sheril's main whip, the two brotherly angels glaring heatedly at each other as Wisely spat out in Sheril's face,
"-is free will!"
The rooftop that covered the entire Sanctuary burst open, revealing the night sky and full moon. Demons were flying everywhere, their lust for battle and blood thickened the seraphic air heavily. Tyki cursed as he saw who was leading the new waves of demons.
"Can we join in?" Demon Lord Malcolm cackled as his demons came down to attack the angels and the Black Order clan. He landed on the ground before Tyki with a malicious grin on his evil face. The two legendary fighters summoned their weapons: one held the singing sword blessed by Holy Water and Heavenly Prayer while the other wielded the sword that burned from the deepest pits of Hell and has drunk the blood of enemies. The Demon Lord's shadowy wings sharpened so pointedly that it could easily slice through the hardest of metals. The Judgement Knight curled his white wings protectively around his armoured body; the feathery limbs hardened enough to withstand typhoons and natural disasters.
The two black and white appendages served totally different purposes, now each of them were facing with their own extreme oppositions.
"Come on! Let's see who's stronger:" Demon Lord Malcolm taunted as they charged at each other with all intent to kill, "A demon's unstoppable blades or an angel's impenetrable shield!"
Both angel and demon clashed mercilessly against one another, their internal hatred for the other was bubbling furiously as they exchanged blows. The power between both was suffocating, yet not either one showed signs of fatigue or weakness. With the combined force of discipline and precision, Tyki was an unstoppable force to behold. But Malcolm had centuries of experience and backhand tricks in his sleeve. Within a blink of an eye, Malcolm had seen through Tyki's attack form and teleported to the angel's unshielded back to finish the final blow.
But Malcolm was thrown aside by another new weapon that certainly didn't belong to any one of the angels. Lavi flew to Tyki's side as he was dressed in full armour and black halo; the newcomer's eyes glowed hungrily red for blood, "Yo! Remember me?"
"You should join us, Lavi!" Malcolm had to double his efforts now that both Lavi and Tyki were working together. Unexpectedly, both of the angel and Demon Lord were fighting in sync with one another. When Malcolm casted a Hell-fire spell against Lavi, Tyki would harden his wings just in time to shield both of them successfully. When Malcolm tried to get rid of Tyki by cutting his head off, Lavi's hammer would strike lightning at him. While one attacked, the other supported. It irked Malcolm to no end as he saw the teamwork between both warriors, "we don't have to fight!"
"You're going to destroy the world, you bastard! What makes you think I'll even joining you?!" Lavi helped Tyki up as he roared at their opponent. Both carried mild injuries, but those small yet many injuries were taking its toll as Malcolm's magic nullified healing powers.
Malcolm landed as he advanced slowly towards them, "We're not destroying it; we're remaking it! To perfection!"
Lavi pushed the tired angel behind him, blocking Malcolm's view of an injured Tyki. The Demon Lord faced the other Demon Lord with venom in his eyes and hatred in his voice, "no evil can thrive without light. No darkness without the presence of light. Nothing can exist without the other. You're a pitiful fool, Malcolm,"
Malcolm growled as he held his sword in a threatening manner, "No.. You're the fool!" Malcolm and Lavi attacked each other without restraints, both their pride and honour as Demon Lords were on the liberal line. Lavi had the vigour and energy of youth and was at the top of his power, so he had the slight upper hand against the age-old Malcolm. Alas, Lavi was also inexperienced when compared to the ancient Malcolm who had dozens of spells and experience at his beck and call. With Lavi's injuries unhealed, he started to lose his spirit and his movements began to lag terribly.
Malcolm detected the small opening in Lavi's stance and he took it without delay. Within a blink of an eye, Malcolm thrusted his sword into Lavi's side and pushed the impaled Demon Lord until Lavi was pinned onto the wooden cross that was hanging on the wall. Lavi vomited out black blood as he tried to push the weapon out of his body, but Malcolm held onto his own weapon with a monstrous cry of victory.
Allen cried out in agony as if he was the one who was impaled. All his energy left him weakened as he saw Malcolm taking out his bloodied sword and leaving the unmoving Demon Lord to fall to the ground unceremoniously. "LAVI!"
The fully recovered Lulubell only had one chance for assassination. Kneeling beside the distraught Allen, she notched her arrow into her taut bow and aimed with all the accuracy of a distinguished archer. The air around her turned colder and eerily calm, everyone moved slower as her vision became clearer and her sense of hearing turned dull. "Frost Arrow," she whispered deadly, her breath visibly clear as she fired her weapon towards the enemy.
The arrow directly hit Malcolm's chest, the force behind the weapon was brutal enough to break apart the magic armour and to pierce Malcolm's skin. But it was only a simple arrow, and Malcolm grunted as he pulled out the small arrow without much care. His healing powers was already covering his gaping wound and there was nothing left of Lulubell's arrow after that. The unaffected Demon Lord held his sword that was drowning with Lavi's own black blood, intending to end Tyki's life.
"W-What-"Malcolm tried to move, but his legs were not obeying his muscles at all. Then, he felt his energy seeping away from his legs, the strange magic crawling to the top of his body. Out of nowhere, beautiful crystals of ice began to hold onto Malcolm's lower half. The ice crawled upwards as Malcolm felt his entire body froze up, helpless to defend himself as he looked around in confusion and animosity. He dropped his sword onto the ground as his top half started to form icicles.
"My arrows freeze from the inside out. Nobody can stop my meltless magic," Lulubell notched another arrow towards the angered Demon Lord, and her tranquil demeanour was covered by a thin veil of deception. Malcolm only had time to open his mouth before his entire body was encased by a coffin of ice. The Demon Lord frozen with his face in a permanent silent scream. "May Father have mercy on your soul, demon," She released her arrow to break apart Malcolm's iced body into tiny pieces, thus ending the Demon Lord's reign of violence.
Allen quickly rushed to Lavi's side, already summoning his healing powers. "Lavi! Lavi! Wake up!" He begged through teary eyes, his hands glowing red as he tried his best to revive the unconscious Lavi. But the gaping wound was not healing as fast as Allen expected, Lavi had lost way too much blood to be recovered instantly. For the first time in his life, Allen's prayers were left answered. The distressed angel called out as he slapped Lavi's unnaturally cold face, "Lavi! WAKE UP!"
Meanwhile, Sheril had retreated to Saint Earl's side while holding his wounded side, "What're we going to do now? Malcolm's dead!" Wisely had hit him more than once, the damage was staggering.
Saint Earl stole Malcolm's bloodied sword before he turned to Sheril with pitiful eyes but with the enormous grin in place, "I'm sorry, brother," he said sorrowfully. Before Sheril can comprehend the meaning behind his brother's words, Saint Earl took both of Sheril's tattered wings and ripped them apart from the angel's body. He ignored Sheril's cry of anguish as he gathered the remaining ingredients of his hard-work spell. The blood from Malcolm's sword was poured into the Holy Chalice, tainting the chaste equipment with its dark sins. Together with a betrayal-brother's wings, Saint Earl lifted the Holy Chalice up high to face the bright moon to signify the midnight battle orchestra.
It was Christmas Day. The day where it all started. The day when God made Creation.
"The day where it all ends and begins anew," Saint Earl poured the hexed blood onto the torn wings and a giant magical circle exploded from the earth below.
"NO! STOP HIM!" Wisely screamed desperately, his wings racing towards his traitorous brother.
But he was too late.
The spell initiated.
Aaaaand I shall stop here! Muahahaha Suffer in agonising suspense! I'm quite surprised that I uploaded this new chapter just recently, but I'm going to be quite busy starting next week since it's going to be Chinese New Year week~ Now that I've introduced the angels and demons, I'm sure you've gotten the picture of how they look like. Heck, I've even drawn their wings so that I've got a gist of what they actually look like haha I took Allen and Lavi as reference hehe (I may or may not have developed a wing kink because of this story)
Allen, as an angel, has wings smaller in size as compared to a demon's one. Although their smaller, they're much more bulkier in weight. Especially when they're in their hardened forms. As a result, an angel has more stamina in flying because their heavy wings weigh them down quite a lot. When they're not hardened, they're actually quite poofy and fluffy like a stuffed pillow. Angels are more to the defensive characters when they're in battle, since their duty on Earth is to protect God's creations and not to kill demons. So when they're in battle, they don't need to carry shields. Because what better shield do they have other than their impenetrable wings? Those hard wings works like a efficient safe zone. Reinforced with their holistic powers, those wings can withstand anything anyone can throw at them without receiving a single scratch. They're the only things that can go up against a demon's unstoppable wings.
Lavi's (and all demons') wings are larger in size compared to the angels', but theirs are much more on the slimmer and lithe shape instead of bulky and muscular. Also, a demon's wings are permanently sharp. This is probably because they're constantly finding battle or watching out for traitors/attackers. After all, they live in Hell.. But their wings have some degrees in sharpness also. In the presence of their clanmates, their wings are normally sharp, but not sharp enough to accidentally cut them. The same cannot be said when they're in battle, of course. Their wings become so sharp, they can easily slice through the most delicate of silks and the thickest of concrete buildings without stopping. A demon's wings are like an extension to their primary weapons, almost working like a fail-proof plan against any enemy. Coupled with their dark, demonic powers, the wings are given a burning edge that stops their enemies from healing when inflicted. Yes, the demon's wings work as their irreplaceable instrument in fights.
Ah, but there is only one time a demon's wings would soften to their relaxed form, indirectly showing their weak side to the outside world...
I'm not telling you! HAHAHA You'll just have to wait until the next chapters, huh? Again, your reviews and comments are greatly appreciated. Love them, treasure them, adore them. You guys are AWESOME! We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, so give yourself a niiiiiice pat on the back, yeah? Have an awesome time, guys! =D