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Chapter 164

Angel vs. Devil

Mira gazed grimly at Angel while the former stared back, unmoving, as she prepared for battle.

"So, you're my opponent, the woman known as the She-Devil, if I'm not mistaken," said Angel. "Your strength is well known and renowned, but it is nothing against a maiden of an angel."

"Is that so?" scowled Mira. "I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you. Racer learned that the hard way, and you're going to as well. Once you're down, there will be four of you left, and you can count on my friends beating them, too."

"I hate stubborn women like you," Angel spoke in a calm yet condescending demeanor. "I won't be defeated by a child of the devil. I will cleanse your sins as well as your existence with the power bestowed upon me by the angels themselves."

Angel raised her hand, opening her palm, and four floating gold coins materialized from it, glowing brightly with magic power.

"It's amazing how much can change over the course of seven years," Angel continued. "I was nothing more but a mere child back then, but now I am literally an angel. I will show you the beauty and power of my Angel Magic, one that not even the celestial spirits can deny. The mere sight of it makes people fall to their knees, lose heart, and give away their own lives."

Her coins began to levitate into the air, and from them, a strong and bright pillar of light erupted forth, causing Mira to shield her eyes as the floor shook.

"NOW, THE COST IS FORTY!" commanded Angel. "COME FORTH FROM THE LIGHT, AND IN MY NAME, REVEAL AND EMBRACE YOUR HOLY MIGHT! O ANGEL OF SUNLIGHT, SHAMSIEL! I SUMMON THEE!"

And from the light, a giant and strange being came forth. It was a stout, stone, and cherub-like male, with a pair of wings, pompadour-like hair, hair on chest and legs, no pupils in the eyes, and a curly pigtail on his bottom, and wore a one-shoulder toga. There were also two pigs in the creature's hair, both of them wearing lamb suits.

"Hey there, Pretty Lady," the being spoke in a deep voice. "How's it goin'?"

Mira couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved. "What is that thing?" she wondered. "That's the strangest looking angel I've ever seen."

"Shamsiel, I found a playmate for you. It's time to bring divine judgment," said Angel. "Send this foolish girl to the depths of hell from whence she came."

As Shamsiel set his sights on her, Mira immediately changed to her Satan Soul form and went on the attack, raising a hand and unleashing a powerful blast of Dark Magic. Simultaneously, the pigs on Shamsiel aimed Mira's attack, the nostrils from their snouts glowing brightly.

"An angel's light is like a thousand suns," Shamsiel spoke, grinning widely. "See for yourself!"

The pigs in Shamsiel's hair fired powerful beams of light from their snouts, countering Mira's spell, resulting in a powerful explosion from the collision. Mira then shot forward, gunning for a punch to Shamsiel's face with her claw, but the angel swung its giant fist directly into her, only for his fist to pass right through her, not realizing that it was an afterimage. The eldest Strauss sibling reappeared behind Shamsiel while focusing all of her power into her hands, creating a dark globe in them.

"Take this! SOUL EXTINCTOR!"

Mira then unleashed a powerful, devastating, purple-black beam, generating a powerful and destructive explosion. The attack alone disintegrated Shamsiel in seconds, along with the gold coins used to summon him. No sooner than that, Angel clutched her chest in pain as she was wracked by it while a strange and ominous purple aura surrounded her briefly. The pain was so sudden that it caused her to lose her balance and fall from the tower she stood on until she hit the ground, much to Mira's confusion.

"C-Curse you..." gasped Angel with agony in her voice.

Seeing that Angel was down for the count, Mira went over to her. "It would seem that I've sent your angel back to Heaven," she said while keeping her hand aimed at her. "Give up. You've lost this fight."

Then, as the pain she felt died down, a strange look crossed Angel's face. Rather than be upset from being cornered, an elated smile crossed her face.

"That's right. Back to Heaven," Angel repeated quietly. The woman got close to Mira, and while taking her claw into her hands, placed it right in the middle of her chest. "Go on. Do it," she pleaded. "I want you to kill me."

Mira couldn't help be feel surprised as well as put off. "Wh-what are you doing?!" she asked incredulously. "You want me to kill you?"

"Yes. I want to vanish into the sky like an angel," said Angel in bliss. "It's a dream I've desperately sought for more than anything else in the world. Send me into the skies above with Shamsiel. I want to be among the angels. When you make my desire come true, this will truly be an extinctor of souls."

At that moment, Mira pulled her hand away from Angel, undoing her Satan Soul, reverting to normal.

Angel was now confused. "What the matter?" she asked. "Why can't you do it?"

"It's because I don't want to," Mira spoke firmly. "Granted, I have every reason to, given that you and the rest of your group were responsible for tormenting Willy back then, but I'm not the kind of person that would kill for revenge. Besides, you're not an angel. You're a human being just like me, and you know it, so stop talking nonsense."

Angel then smirked grimly as she stood back up, holding her hands in her chest again. "Very well. If you're not going to grant my wish, then I'll have to destroy you, She-Devil!" From her hands, three gold coins appeared as they levitated into the air. "COST, THIRTY! I SUMMON BARAQIEL!"

The coins that Angel summoned shot into the air and exploded into bright light as another angel materialized forth. This one had three faces, one in the middle and two on the sides, a pair of large wings, long flowing hair, and arms that were large and misshapen arms with claws, while also wearing a one-shoulder toga.

Barakiel spread its wings and arms out wide as a red orb of energy formed on its chest. Then from the orb, numerous shards of red energy came showering down towards Mira, forcing the girl to dodge and jump to avoid the attacks, only for Barakiel to fire the orb straight at her.

"Meet your destruction, She-Devil," said Angel. "Your time is up."

Mira shut her eyes, bracing herself for the impact, but, at the last minute, someone swooped in and deflected the incoming attack saving her, her rescuer being a man wearing armor and wielding a spear and shield.

"It's you!" gasped Mira. "You're from the Legion Platoon!"

"That's right! And there's no reason for you to panic, Mira!" said the man in armor. "For Dan Straight of the Legion Platoon is here!"

Angel rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Oh, great. It's you again," she said with vexation.

When Dan heard and saw Angel, he immediately was smitten with love like before. "Yes, my little Angie-poo! I finally found you at long last!" he spoke with passion. "You can act bashful and playing hard to get all you want, but I will win you over because you're my apple."

Angel was standing no nonsense. "Barkiel! Hurry up, and dispose of him!" she ordered. "Make sure that he stays down for good!"

Barkiel gathered a great deal of power into his chest and unleashing a powerful blast, but Dan charged at the being, using his shield to block and deflect the attack.

"Hey, buddy! Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's rude to come between two lovers?!" Dan shouted at Barkiel. "So do yourself a favor and butt out!"

Dan then stabbed Darkiel right into the chest with a mighty jab of his spear while using its ability. Barkiel then rapidly began to shrink, getting smaller and tinier until it faded away from existence. When that happened, the same ominous aura shrouded Angel again, along with the pain being greater than before, which didn't go unnoticed by Mira.

"Hey there, Mira. Sorry for the delay. It took a while to get here, and after hearing everything about the Archbishop being rescued, I'm here to help," Dan said. "After all, I can't let you hog all Angie all to yourself. I still got to win her heart."

"Hold on a minute. What do you mean by that?" Mira asked, clearly confused. "I thought Lucy was the one you were crushing on. Aren't you worried about her?"

Dan looked back with an aloof yet suave expression. "Don't worry. I'm sure Natsu and the others can protect my ex no problem," he said with confidence. "And I know that you still might have some attraction towards me, but Angie's my new main squeeze. So, please don't hold it against me."

"What do you mean by "ex?" Mira asked with a wry smile. "And I'm pretty sure that I'll survive from this tragic heartbreak."

But Dan ignored Mira as he refocused his attention back to Angel, taking a running start before leaping high into the air and landing next to her on her tower. "Hey, Angie! Mira's given the okay about us starting our lives together," he spoke as he wrapped his arm around her hip. "Nothing stands between us now! This is the beginning of our "happily ever after"! Let's go! Our honeymoon awaits!"

Angel gave Dan a hard shove with her hand, knocking him off the tower and making him fall onto the ground with a hard thud.

"You know, I've heard about divine punishment," said Mira. "But even I would have done what she did if I'm being honest."

Now, Angel was scowling with disgust as she clutched her hand in her chest, preparing to summon another Angel. "You disgust me!" she spoke coldly to Dan. "You're vulgar, distasteful, and completely lacking in intelligence! A complete waste of breath!"

"Aw, how cute! She's playing hard to get," Dan obliviously gushed. "Watch. She'll come running to me any second now."

"Just how clueless are you?" Mira asked incredulously.

From Angel's hand, ten gold coins materialized, levitating into the air forming a circle. "NOW, THE COST IS ONE HUNDRED! COME FORTH FROM THE LIGHT AND OBLITERATE MY ENEMY IN MY NAME!" she commanded. "O ANGEL THAT PLAYS THE SOUND OF THE ENDING TIMES, RAGUEL! I SUMMON THEE!"

All ten of the coins exploded into a blinding light, and from it emerged another angel that was bigger than the last two. The angel also had four long arms with four fingers, legs that looked like a horse's hooves, and a large, eel-like tail with two longer ones on the sides. Raguel also had seven faces, five on its front and two in the back, each one having a veined horn with an arm holding it, with two pillars of hair on two of the heads, curling downward.

Mira couldn't help but gasp out loud that this strange and haunting sight. But Dan, not being the one to back down, charged straight at Raguel, his spear poised.

"No, Dan! Don't go charging in!" Mira yelled. "That thing's too dangerous!"

"It doesn't matter to me! That thing can be as dangerous as it wants, but I'm not backing down!" Dan yelled bravely. "I'm willing to risk my life for Angie, even die for her!"

"I won't let you have that blessing, you pitiful fool," Angel spoke hotly. "May you writhe in pain and agony until death claims you with its sweet embrace!"

At that moment, Raguel released a deafening blast of sound that made the entire room rumble. Dan braced himself, raising his shield to protect himself, but the sound was so loud that it started to crumble along with his armor, but he didn't back down.

"This isn't going to stop me! Nothing will!" winced Dan as he bore through the pain, standing his ground. "I'll fight until the day I win your heart!"

But sadly, Dan's willpower outlasted his armor, as it finally shattered along with his shield, exploding into tiny pieces as the sound waves blew him back, knocking him the floor back first.

"Dan!" Mira cried as she rushed over and picking him up. Are you all right? Please say something!"

"I'm... flattered that you care about me, but... I'm alright," Dan rasped weakly. "This is... another form of love..."

As Dan fell unconscious, Angel snickered, feeling very pleased with herself, which made Mira angry.

"How could you do that to him?!" Mira spoke crossly.

"That man lacks beauty and intelligence," Angel smirked callously. "He's so pathetic that he deserves to die for his ignorance."

"That high and mighty attitude of yours is really starting to annoy me," said Mira. "Not to mention it's making me wonder what's going on in that head of yours. What gives you the right to decide on whether someone lives or dies? It's not like you're a queen."

"It's because I'm an angel, or rather a maiden who longs to be one," said Angel. "I know that in my heart that I'll become one someday. Yes, I know for certain that my greatest wish will become a reality. And when it does, my miraculous Angel Magic will bathe me in its divine light and cleanse my sin."

"Your sin?" repeatedly Mira. "And what sin is that?"

A dark smile crossed Angel's face. "The greatest sin of all, being born human," she said with venom and spite.

Mira now felt confused and surprised rather than angry. "Do you seriously think that way?" she asked. "And how is your magic supposed to help you become an angel?"

"My Angel Magic allows me to chip away my own lifeforce to summon angels," explained Angel, as she got on Raguel's shoulder. "The more I give, the stronger an angel I can summon."

Mira then remembered the coins and when Angel was in pain. "Hold on a minute! Those coins represent your life force?!" she exclaimed. "And you're just throwing them away?!"

"Yes, but I don't mind. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make to trade these fake wings for real ones," said Angel. "The more angelic power I wield, the more ugliness I see in the human world. Yes, a wretched place like this is nothing more but a disgusting cesspit of human greed!" She raised her hand into the sky as she continued to speak with misplaced passion. "To vanish into the sky like an angel, that is my greatest wish. I want to bid farewell to this horrible world and never return as I vanish... beautifully."

Mira was now silent, her eyes never leaving Angel's as she jumped off of Raguel. After a few seconds had passed, she finally spoke again.

"You know, I was really wondering if you were serious about wanting to die," Mira said to Angel. "But now I realize that there's no point of wondering the reason for that question. You may be alive, but you're already dead on the inside."

Angel's eyes narrowed in a glare. "How so?"

"You stand there and spout all this nonsense about being an angel and how sinful and rotten the world is when you don't even know a thing about it! That's nothing short of being ignorant!" Mira spoke, practically yelling. "Take a look at Dan! He may be a loved-crazed idiot, that switches from one girl to another, but at least, he chooses to live and go through life to the fullest! Me and the rest of Fairy Tail live the same way! We live in this world, laughing, yelling, crying every day while cherishing every moment, and when it gets hard, we stand together and move on, growing stronger! And even though it may seem insignificant to you, but it means everything to us because every single day we live our lives means more than anything in the world!"

Angel smirked snootily. "My, my, what an amusing girl you are," she spoke coolly. "Do you have to yell at me like that?"

"Of course I do because people like you make me sick and angry!" Mira snapped while pointing at Angel. "You not only think you're above people because of your twisted belief, but you also don't know anything about how life because you hardly ever lived yours! If you're going to keep refusing to be a part of this world without even bothering to try to live in it, then you've got no right to call it sinful or a rotten place because you don't know a damn thing about it! In fact, that kind of talk makes you nothing more than a spoiled little child pretending angel!"

Now Angel's face was filled with tranquil fury as she glared at Mira. "You dare say it's nonsense?" she spoke in a cold demeanor. "A lowly sinful devil like you?"

"What's even the point of even vanishing? There isn't even any reason to. You're pretty much gone anyway," Mira coldly spoke back. "And just for the record, I may be a devil, but at least I can take pride in accepting that, unlike being a shut-in wannabe angel like you!"

Those words alone were the final straw, as something inside of Angel snapped. Her tranquil fury exploded forth as her face turned into a livid scowl. "You dare mock me?! A lowly devil like you, belittling my deepest wish?!" she snarled. "I'll make you pay for your insolence, you wench, by using the power of this substance to enhance my power!"

The enraged woman dug into her dress and took out a vial filled with a black substance, which Mira recognized instantly.

"That's the same vial that Lucy and Michelle found!" Mira thought.

Angel then stabbed the vial into her shoulder and emptied all of its contents into her bloodstream. Immediately, she began to radiate in a black and green magic aura, her eyes turning green and glowing. Her skin also began to crack and crumble, revealing a strange, dark substance underneath. Raguel was also afflicted with the same condition, the veins on its horns spreading out as its body started to crack and break apart.

"What's going on here?!" gasped Mira, unnerved by this sight. "What's happening to your body?!"

"Raguel! Destroy her at once!" Angel shrieked. "Show that pitiful devil what happens when you mock an angel's dream!"

But suddenly, as Raguel let out another blast from its trumpets, its body exploded, the shockwave and power from the blast being so strong, Mira was sent flying several feet back until she crashed landed on some stone steps leading to a tower.

Angel cackled in delight. "Yes! That's a wonderful start! Destroy her!" she madly yelled. "Vilely destroy that wench until she's torn to pieces!"

As Mira pulled herself out of the crater in the steps, she saw a horrible and terrible sight. What was once Raguel was now a giant mess of a black blob, filled with several deformed demonic faces, all of which moaned and groaned as if they were in agony. As Angel stood there laughing, her sanity completely gone, the black blob began to pool all around, slowly overtaking her.

"This isn't good! Somehow whatever she injected into herself is causing her magic to go out of control!" Mira thought. "If this keeps up...!"

"Angel! Quit laughing and get out of there now!" Mira yelled. "Whatever you put into yourself is causing your magic to go out of control! If you don't, then it's going to consume you!"

"Stay away from me!" Angel yelled back. "Prepare to meet your destruction, filthy devil!"

The strange blob let out a shriek, firing red beams all around as it continued to consume Angel. Now feeling concerned for the irritational woman, Mira immediately switched to her Satan Soul form, determined to save her. She jumped into the air while avoiding the beams and landed right in the middle of the blob, grasping a firm hold of Angel's wrist.

"Let go of me!" Angel shouted.

"There's no way I'm doing that!" objected Mira. "Look around and open your eyes! Can't you see that your beloved angel is about to take over and kill you?!"

Angel then looked around and saw what her Raguel had turned into and was confused rather than horrified. "But I don't understand! Why?!" she cried desperately. "How could this have happened?"

"As the saying goes, the more powerful a spell is, the more demanding it is," said Mira. "When a weak-minded wizard casts a powerful spell, it can backfire, engulfing and destroying them! And substance you used to power yourself up didn't make things any better either!"

"But I'm not weak-minded!" protested Angel. "My feelings and mind are stronger than you realize!"

"WAKE THE HELL UP, ANGEL!" Mira roared. "Take a good look at this creature! This monster is a lot of things, but an angel is not one of them! This is the thing that you've truly wanted all this time?! If this thing takes you anywhere, it won't be up in the blue skies above! It'll be a pit of complete and utter darkness!"

Realization slowly began to fill Angel's face as well as terror. "It's so ugly!" she cried with fright.

"Of course it is! This is the true form of your Angel Magic!" went on Mira. "It's just like a parasite, feeding off of your life span so it can grow! This is the kind of monster you've become! A beast that sucks away at your entire being until you're nothing but an empty shell, nothing like an angel at all!"

"Is... this me?" Angel wondered, her eyes still filled with horror. "Is this... what I've become?"

Mira then leaned close to Angel, her forehead almost touching hers. "You've got to snap out of it! You're a human being just like the rest of us, not an angel!" she continued to yell. "You may not have a lot of time to live, but you're alive now, which means you have a chance to live your life! The life that you want! If you don't, then this thing is going to swallow you whole, and then you'll vanish for good! This isn't what you wished for, and you know it!"

"B-Be silent!" Angel spoke while trying to worm her way free. "I know I'm not human! I'm an angel!"

As she screamed this out, the ooze began to swallow both of them, consuming them entirely. But ever defiant and letting out a mighty yell, Mira exploded out of the black flesh, now in her Satan Soul: Halphas Form, and holding up her hands creating a giant orb of Dark Magic, shielding herself and Angel.

"You've got to pull yourself together, Angel! Don't let your own magic consume you by throwing away your life to it!" Mira shouted. "Don't vanish without getting a chance to live your life! Tell me you want to live! TELL ME YOU DON'T WANT TO VANISH!"

As Angel watched Mira fend off the blob, her words alone struck a chord inside of her heart, which in turn caused her eyes to fill with tears. Then, she realized that this wasn't what she wanted. New emotions began to fill her heart, mostly a fear of dying.

"No... please. I don't want to vanish," Angel murmured, her voice gradually growing louder until she screamed it out. "I don't want to vanish. I don't want to disappear! I want to live! I WANT TO LIVE!"

At that moment, Dan came bursting out from the black flesh of the blob, and with a mighty throw, he threw his spear straight at Angel, piercing her directly into her chest, activating its ability. At the same time, Mira aimed with her orb filled with power at the blob and prepared to finish it off.

"Now, you pretender of an angel! It's time this devil sends you back to the depths of hell from whence you came!" the She-Devil roared. "NOW, BEGONE! EVIL ORB!"

And while unleashing a powerful beam of Dark Magic, Mira destroyed the blob, obliterating it in a single attack. The battle finally being over, Mira reverted to normal, feeling very much exhausted.

"It's finally over," Mira gasped. "You doing okay, Angel?"

But as Mira looked back, she was surprised to see that Angel had mysteriously returned to normal as well, the black, cracked parts of her skin completely gone. Mira then looked at Dan's spear and realized what had happened.

"Dan, did you do something to help fix her?" Mira asked.

"Sure did," grinned Dan weakly. "You gotta admit, my timing was perfect. The moment you were finishing off that monster, I used my Habaraki to shrink the core of Angie's magic as much as I could get it. Long story short, her lifespan's back to normal."

"And all the years she spent on her magic is back to her lifespan too. Nice one, Dan," realized Mira. She then looked over to Angel. "You hear that? It looks like you've got a second chance of life."

Angel, now back to herself again, was rather confused. "I don't understand. I'm your enemy," she said to Mira. "Why would you risk your life to save me?"

"Well, there isn't much to talk about when it comes to reasoning," said Mira thoughtfully. "But if I had to say why, it's because... you remind me of myself back when I was little. I was a lot like you, shutting myself away, believing myself to be something I wasn't. I guess I wanted to save you because that's how I was saved. Besides, if you just up and died on me, I don't think I'd be able to forgive myself for turning you away. It's kinda how I roll."

Angel stared at Mira. Then she sighed in resignation. "Very well then," she conceded. "I admit defeat."

"Atta, girl," smiled Mira. "You're acting like a real angel, already. Now then..."

Mira then got up about to walk away when her legs quivered, and then she fell forward.

"Hey, Mira, are you okay?" asked Dan. "You look totally wiped out."

"I'll be alright," panted Mira as she got back up. "I just used up too much magic, that's all."

"Then, you should take a break," urged Dan. "If you keep going like this, you're not going to last long. Especially since we're not out of the woods yet."

"I appreciate it, but I can't afford to be lying down on the job," gasped Mira as she staggered forward. "I have to find Willy. He's somewhere in this place and probably needs help. I can't just sit around when he could be in trouble. Especially since I'm the reason, he's here in the first place. I have to keep going. If anything happens to him, it'll be my fault, and I'll never forgive myself. So I'm going on ahead. In the meantime, you two stay here and rest up. I'll be fine."

Then Mira remembered and looked across to Angel.

"Angel, do you have any idea where Willy is right now or what you and your comrades were intending to do with him?" Mira asked. "If you know anything, the least you can do is tell us after we just saved your life. Please, tell us everything you know."

Angel was silent, thinking it over for a brief moment, but she agreed. "Very well then. I'll tell you everything I know."

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