Chapter 30

A few Ruffled Feathers

Akashic Record, before the start of Round 4:

"It was quite the pleasure getting to meet you Lady Hera," Joan of Arc said as she and the Queen of Olympus exited the room following Prometheus, Pandora and Göll, the trio having already said their goodbyes and made their way over to the arena.

"Hmph, indeed Joan of Arc," Hera replied in a lofty tone, "I can't tell you how much of a relief it is for me to see that the Archangel's protege isn't as stuck up or disrespectful as they are."

Joan chuckled awkwardly, "I am merely but the Archangel's humble follower, Lady Hera, not their protege."

"Ha! You sell yourself short girl, I can't tell you how many times they've used YOU as an example for humanity's achievements in the Valhalla Council meetings. And after how much I've heard about you, I must say I am somewhat impressed with what I see."

"You honor me with your words, Lady Hera," Joan said with a polite bow, "If I may ask, will you be heading over to the arena as well to watch the fourth round now?"

Hera sighed, rubbing her temples with one hand, "As much as I would relish the chance to watch Ra lose another round to humanity in person, I'm afraid I shall have to sit this one out as well. A queen sure does have a lot of work cut out for her when her idiotic husband gets himself crippled and useless on a gurney."

"I see, I wish your husband a speedy recovery then, Lady Hera." Joan said as she and Hera prepared to make their leave. However, they found themselves alerted to a sudden newcomer in the corridor, leaning casually against the wall, eyes closely watching them with a cruel smirk.

"My, my! What do we have here?" Peng said as he stood up straight and made his way over to the two, "The Queen of Olympus colluding with the Archangel's human pet? Times like these sure do make for the most unlikely of alliances wouldn't you agree?"

Joan quickly adopted a defensive position as she drew a golden blade from behind her, while Hera's lips curled back in disgust upon seeing the demon that stood in front of her, "Golden-Winged Peng," The Queen of Olympus spat, "Why have you chosen to disgrace these halls with your filthy presence?"

Peng snickered whilst tapping his chin with a thoughtful look, "Hm, well it's just the darndest THING! I just left the Palace of the Duat after a riveting meeting with Ra, and I spied with my keen eyes, a little birdie perched nearby listening to our every word! So I tailed the cheeky little prick, and where should it lead me but straight over here! Care to explain why that is so, hm?"

Hera and Joan shared a knowing look, "I… Don't know what you're talking about, demon," The Queen of Olympus retorted, "There are no birds here, or then. Perhaps your 'keen' eyes aren't as good as you thought."

The demon tutted in mock disapproval, "Tsk, tsk! Need I remind you, Hera, that cheating is highly frowned upon in Ragnarok, you know! You should count yourself lucky I didn't report you to Lord Ra the moment I caught wind of this."

"HA! YOU? Telling us to follow the rules, Peng? Isn't that just RICH!"

"Please calm down, Lady Hera," Joan interjected, "Don't waste your temper on that demon, it's what he wants."

"Ah, the famous Joan of Arc," Peng said, turning to face the Warrior Saint, "How nice to finally have a face to put to the name! I expected you to be a bit more… Tanned if you get what I mean? Speaking of which, there's this one Roman Emperor, Nero, you two should meet sometime! His garden parties can only be described as… Oh what's the word kids like to use? Oh yes! Fire!"

The demon began laughing at his own joke whilst the two women watched in disdain, "I'm sorry," Joan spoked up with a glare, "But who are you again?"

Peng feigned being hurt by Joan's words, "You don't know who I am, little saint? My goodness, what have those idiotic Archangel's taught you about Heaven? Well then! Allow me to introduce myself to you then, you can call me the Golden-winged Peng. One of, if not THE smartest being in the Heavens! My name and presence makes the four Dragon Kings tremble! My strength and skill have bested even the Monkey King in combat! I alone am known throughout the heavens by the mighty title of Heaven's Greatest Anarchist!"

"Smartest being in existence?" Joan questioned, "I highly doubt so, seeing as you do not know the difference between a title and an epithet."

Hera gave a loud guffaw as a dark look clouded Peng's face as he drew his ji menacingly, "Well, well. Sharp tongue, eh? Maybe we'll have to cut it out to teach you some respect, hm?"

"Were you not just preaching about upholding the integrity of this tournament? Last I checked external fights between fighters were against tournament rules. My how quick you are to shift your views, Peng, I was under the assumption that you were some sort of avian and not a chameleon."

"Little saint, which part of 'anarchist' didn't you get?" Peng said, his sadistic grin widening, "Now from which side should my blade start from to cut through? I'll give you the liberty of choosing."

"Scurry away, bird." Hera commanded angrily as she summoned her staff into her hands,' "Before you stupidly bite off more than you can chew by pissing off the wrong people."

"PFFT! Apologies, Hera," Peng sneered mockingly, "But from what I know, you're no fighter. The only times you've gotten your queenly hands dirty are when you're going after your 'loyal' husbands' mistresses. Do you SERIOUSLY believe either of you can pose a threat towards me?"

"If I may be so bold to intervene, I believe the individuals Lady Hera was referring to are us, Peng. Now please, kindly remove your blade from my protege's face."

Peng let out a groan of annoyance as he turned to face the newcomers, standing behind the demon was Raphael, the one who had just spoken, sword raised towards Peng as his eyes blazed with righteous fury. Next to him stood another Archangel, a few feet taller than Raphael, with a larger build.

The Archangel was dressed in the magnificent armor of a paladin. An embellished silver cuirass with blue accents, two formal pauldrons with starched cloth draped from one side to another, segmented leg armor was worn over armored pants and heavy plated armor boots, with two gauntlet that were fitted with a glowing orbs on either side that eerily looked like a pair of glowing golden eyes. In his right hand he rested an incredibly large, heavy looking greatsword with a fiery edge around it's blue blade on his shoulder, and in his left he held a strange looking arcane orb, made of colored blue glass and gilded metal, seeming to pulse with holy magic from within.

"Ugggh! The boy scouts." Peng grumbled mockingly, "Well WHOOP-DEE-DO, how are ya doing Michael and Raphael? What brings you around here today, you preachy old stiffs?"

Michael raised an eyebrow unimpressed, "Why am I not surprised it's you Peng?" He spoke in a cool and calm baritone voice, "My muse told me that trouble was brewing nearby, but I should have known sooner that it would be you stirring the pot as you usually do."

"Your words flatter me, Michael," Peng sneered with a mock bow.

The Archangel rolled his eyes, "Hmph, now please, like what my brother has just said, be so kind as to vacate your disgusting blade from Joan's face. I doubt your master, Ra will be happy once he hears you're up to your old trick again."

The sound of wings beating was heard, and suddenly Peng was no longer facing Joan. But instead staring down Michael with a hateful glare, whilst Raphael and Joan quickly pointed their weapons towards the demon's new position, "I was beginning to wonder where the little saint got her lip, like master, like servant I suppose. But I answer to NO ONE," Peng snarled, "Not to the Buddha, not to Ra. And especially not to you, 'Archistrategos'."

"Then why sit around waiting for the Sun God's permission to fight?" Michael retorted smugly, "You claim to be free from Heaven's rules and restraints, Peng, yet all I see in front of me is a bird chained down and waiting for his master's permission to spread his wings."

"I could kill all you miserable wretches," Peng snarled as he held the tip of his ji near Michael's neck, with the Archangel barely flinching, "Right here, right now before any of you could even blink, I hope you know that?"

"Perhaps," Michael answered calmly, pushing the demon's blade away from him, "But you won't, now leave us be, Peng. Unlike you, we have far more important matters on our hands than antagonizing others."

Peng narrowed his eyes, contemplating his choices for a moment or two, before finally relenting and backing down, "Alright, I let you idiots have this one, but don't think for a MOMENT that I will let your impudence slide, Michael," Turning to leave, Peng gave Joan a smirk whilst tilting his neck with a crack, "And as for you, little saint… Sleep with one eye open from now on."

Joan and the three deities with her kept a close eye on Peng as he stalked off, only relaxing their guard once the demon had rounded the corner and they were sure that he was on longer in their earshots.

"Are you alright Joan?" Raphael said, rushing over to check on his student like a concerned parent, "Did that demon touch you? Did he hurt you in any way? Do you require my healing expertise?"

"I'm fine, Lord Raphael, just a little unsettled. No need to worry," Joan said with a soft giggle, "Besides, I've faced my fair share of narcissistic demons, I could have handled him by myself."

Raphael shook his head whilst lifting Joan's arm still inspecting for any signs of damage, "I have no doubt in your combat prowess, Joan. But trust me, Peng is NOT someone you want to have as an enemy. But it seems like that demon has taken an interest in antagonizing you, which cannot be a good sign. I shall be assigning a few angels to stay by your side in case you run into him again."

"Calm down, brother," Michael said as he placed an assuring hand on Raphael's shoulder, "Joan isn't an infant who needs to be chaperoned around, you worry too much for her. However," He turned towards Joan, "Raphael fears are not unfounded, if there were no higher powers in Heaven to keep him in check, that filthy bird could raze it all to the ground if he felt like it. So I would advise staying away from him as much as you can, do you understand me, Joan?"

"Yes Lord Michael." Joan replied softly with a small nod.

"Well, quite a heartwarming scene to see how much you both care for the girl," Hera suddenly said in a bored tone, breaking the silence, "Now if you all would excuse me, I best make my move as well."

"Ah, Lady Hera, I forgot you were here for a moment," Raphael said awkwardly, "I suppose I should thank you for helping my student out just now…"

Hera waved her hand dismissively, "Save it, Raphael, I do not need you in my debt, or your thanks. Your protege managed to wound Peng's ego, even if it was just by a little. For such an entertaining show, I'd be willing to lend a small hand or so."

The Queen of Olympus' words made Michael give a cold scoff, "I see you're still as haughty as ever, Hera. I suppose some things will never change, such as your husband's battlelust and well, lust being stronger than his love for you."

Hera's eyes narrowed slightly, "Evidently neither has your distaste towards us, Michael. Anyways, farewell for now, Joan of Arc. I wish you all the best when it is your turn to fight." With one last look of disdain towards the two Archangels, the Queen of Olympus gave a flick of her hand and was enveloped in a small whirlwind of peacock feathers before disappearing from view with a small pop.

"Good riddance…" Michael murmured as he faced Joan, "I hope Hera didn't cause you any grief as well?"

"Not at all Lord Michael, quite the opposite in fact, she was rather friendly… More or less, though every bit as snobbish just as you have described."

"Hmph, I suppose that makes sense, her interest does align with humanity's for now… But do not forget that her husband led the Heavens against humanity in the last Ragnarok, regardless of what Prometheus and his partners think, Hera cannot be trusted." Michael gestured toward Raphael, "Brother take Joan back to her quarters, afterwards I wish to speak to you in private back at the Temple."

"As you wish brother," Raphael responded with a nod, as he gestured towards the Warrior Saint who too was saying her farewells to Michael, "Come along now, Joan."

"Lord Michael resentment of the other pantheons is still as strong as ever I see," Joan whispered as she and Raphael walked down the corridor side by side.

Raphael pursued his lips, as a dark look appeared across his face, "Can you blame my brother? Humanity won the right to another millenia. Yet the god's in their pride, bigotry and hatred, choose to frivolously waste another 13 lives in this second Ragnarok, so much wanton cruelty and destruction…"

"And yet there are those in Heaven who still support us, Lord Heracles, Prometheus, Buddha… And of course, you and the rest of the Archangels." Joan finished with a small smile towards her mentor.

The expression on Raphael's face flickered, as he looked over to his student with a thoughtful look, "Well I suppose you're right about that Joan," He said at last, affectionately patting her shoulders, "Yes… I suppose you're right…"

Michael watched from behind as his brother and student disappeared from view, the Archangel stood silently in the corridor for a moment or two. Glancing from left to right to ensure that he was truly alone before raising his left hand and the orb that he held within it, "You're suspicions were correct master. But there's nothing to fear, I managed to locate the disturbance and calm it before it got out of hand."

The orb pulsed slightly, before shuddering most violently as all the holy magic from within faded away. All of a sudden, a shadowy cloud flooded into the inside of the orb, replacing all of the golden light from before. And from this shadow, a raspy, piercing cold voice echoed towards Michael's words in response.

"Excellent work, my loyal disciple, I can always count on you to complete the tasks I've set efficiently. I assume that this was Peng's doing? Strong and powerful that demon may be, but he is as unpredictable and rowdy as the winds he sails upon."

"Indeed, master," Michael replied, his eyes still darting across his surroundings as if he feared being caught, "I'll be sure to tell Ra to keep his fighter on a tighter leash from now on."

"You do that Michael," The voice replied with a cackle of amusement, "We cannot risk any exterior conflicts between the fighters outside the arena, any mishaps and it will be CENTURIES of hard work down the gutter! Ensure that Prometheus keeps his fighters under check as well, though I'm sure you'll have less trouble convincing him of course."

"As you wish, master," Michael answered, his face masked in the shadows with only his bright blue eyes visible, twinkling in the dark with a menacing glint, "Is there anything else you wish for me to carry out on your behalf?"

"Nothing at the moment, Michael, you have helped set my plan into motion MOST wonderfully! Treat yourself and relax for once! For now, all we have to do is sit back and let this Ragnarok play out in its entirety. Let the Heavens send their greatest warrior out to play, even if they do win the battle, once the dust settles and all is done. They will realize that the true victor of the war… is me."

The voice let out a piercing laugh as the darkness from within Michael's orb seemed to spread across the walls, with only the light visible being the one's from Michael's Halo and sword. But even then, they seemed more sinister than reassuring, surrounded by a sea of darkness and shadows…

Michael the Archangel, usually portrayed as a benevolent and kind guardian of light, being a possible antagonist in my story? WHOA! That's definitely a low hanging fruit right there! XD

I wonder whose this master Michael is serving... Maybe the Flying Spaghetti Monster?! :0