Justice for the Fallen
19.2 Melkyal

Flying didn’t make my situation any better. An acid rain lashed furiously at me while a howling wind tried to pull me in all directions at once. The sky wasn’t free of fighting. Not many demons had wings and the ability to fly, but those who did undoubtedly made good use of it. All around us, angels and demons were locked in duels─weapons flashing, flames and lightning flying everywhere.

A small square suddenly turned into a treacherous impassable trap. Without an escort from Angels of Courage, I would never make it. Luckily, Amitiel and her little unit quickly made a path through all the dogfighting toward the centre of the marketplace.

On the other side of the plaza, I could see flashes of light and dark. The Mighty One stood there as a ferocious titan, eradicating the Fallen as if they were flies to be swatted. But when Zurgrun got to that side of the battlefield, the god had to get on the defensive.

My breath hitched as I saw the raw power crackling around the Pride Demon. He raised his hand, and the ground split, letting out screeching creatures from nightmares that dashed at the Mighty One and the remaining angels. I gulped and looked away. I would worry about Zurgrun later. First, I had to get Sanna back.

Amitiel slowed her flight and circled above the crater in the middle of the square. Sanna stood there, a circle of dark flames separating her from the rest of the battlefield. Next to her was Khaneus, his shackles gone. I gasped in surprise. He must have slipped out from angels’ grasp in all the commotion. They both had their arms outstretched while darkness was gathering in front of them. My skin crawled when I looked at it for too long. It coiled and whirled as if it was a living thing.

“You’re up, Melkyal!” Amitiel called over wind and rain. “I have no idea what she’s doing, but it can’t be good. We try to keep other demons away from you for as long as possible.”

I bowed my head in thanks and dived down.

I landed inside the burning ring, keeping a safe distance from Sanna but in a place where she could see me. I didn’t want to startle her.

The Wrath Demon gave me a glance and her face twisted with hatred. I’d never seen Sanna making such a face. Seeing her pretty features distorted this way looked wrong and unnatural.

“Go away, Golden Boy, before I shred you to pieces.”

I raised my hands placatingly. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

The Wrath Demon scoffed. “You can’t hurt me even if you tried. You are too weak.” She raised her hand, and the darkness grew faster. Something was moving inside it.

Khaneus turned to me. He looked much better than at the trial─the poison must have worn off. But he seemed even more unhinged than when we captured him. Amongst all the carnage and ruins, his eyes were bright, smiling as if he had never been happier. “Oh, is it this annoying archangel again? Shall we get rid of him?” Not waiting for an answer, he pointed one hand at me, and a ball of dark fire whooshed at me. I barely managed to dodge in time and felt a heat grazing my side.

“Don’t waste your magic on this weakling,” the Wrath Demon hissed. “We need more power to open the gate.”

“Fine, but once it’s open, I’m getting rid of this annoying pest.” The sorcerer turned his focus on the growing darkness.

I sidestepped to face the Wrath Demon while keeping an eye on Khaneus. “Sanna, I know you’re still in there. You must stop this madness,” I tried, making my voice as calm as possible, though my mind was screaming with anxiety to move faster, to force her back before it would be too late.

The Fallen laughed. It was completely different from the way Sanna did. It was obnoxious and hysterical. Unhinged. “Oh, you poor, poor fool. She’s gone now, and she’s never coming back.”

“I don’t believe it. Sanna, I know you can hear me. Fight her! Look around and all the destruction. It’s not what you wanted. She will destroy everything you love if you don’t stop her!”

“Shut up!” the Wrath Demon roared. “Why must you be so annoying!” She tried to free up one hand, but the darkness in front of her budged and screeched like a wounded animal. She growled, frustrated. “I don’t have time to deal with you now. Come, my pets! Get rid of this annoying worm for me!”

The Fallen swished her tail, and four Hell Hounds appeared in a cloud of smoke, baring their teeth at me.

“Not again,” I groaned, drawing my sword. The beasts dashed at me, forcing me to the defensive right away. But having dark flames behind me limited my ability to avoid furious attacks.

Luckily, this time I had helpers.

The arrows of pure light rained from the sky as Angels of Courage picked off the Hell Hounds one by one, turning them back to smoke. But the scuffle gave the Wrath Demon enough time to finish whatever she was doing.

She and Khaneus jumped back as the dark portal grew into a rough oval formation high as a one-storey building. A ripple went through the air as if reality was struggling to keep its shape.

“NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” the Mighty One roared from the other side of the battlefield.

“Evened the odds!” the Wrath Demon grinned; her empty eyes glinted maliciously.

Then the darkness in the portal moved, and the coils of tendrils snaked out of it. Despite the burning flames behind my back, the air around me became freezing.

“I AM BACK TO SETTLE THE SCORE, BROTHER!” roared the voice from the darkness, and it was as if a thousand nails scratched the stones, sending goosebumps all over my skin. The Fallen God came to join the fight.

As if one mad god was not enough.

“GIVE ME A VESSEL, SERVANT!” the creature demanded. Dark coils outstretched towards Sanna like greedy fingers.

The Wrath Demon spread her arms wide. “I’m here, Master. Make me your tool of utter destruction. Give me more power to annihilate your enemies once and for all!”

“Oh, Hell no!” I yelled. Turning into a mad rampaging demon was one thing. It was still possible to turn back, even if unlikely. But becoming a vessel for a god was something entirely different. There was nothing left afterwards. It happened during the last war. Neither demons nor angels were strong enough to keep the essence of gods for long. The raw power of the deity was burning everything inside, leaving only ashes behind.

I was not going to let that happen.

I didn’t waste time thinking and dashed at the Wrath Demon. The inky tendrils almost touched her skin when I tackled her at the waist and jumped into the air with one huge beat of wings. Despite her fierce protests and claws shredding my armour and skin, I didn’t stop, holding tight to the wriggling body.

I held on to her long enough to see the dark strands reaching further and grabbing Khaneus. The sorcerer howled in pain when the darkness slithered from the portal and into his body. The air around him crackled with power, and as the Mighty One was glowing with radiance, the Fallen God was oozing dark smoke that seemed to ripple the world around him.

“ARE YOU NOT HAPPY TO SEE ME, DEAR BROTHER?”

“I’LL SEND YOU BACK TO THE ABYSS YOU’VE CRAWLED OUT!” the Mighty One roared, trudging through the battlefield and obliterating everything in his path.

I couldn’t watch more because the Wrath Demon finally got in a good position and put a ball of fire between us. We were pushed away by the blast. I gritted my teeth as the heated metal of my armour scalded my chest, flapping my wings furiously to cool smoking feathers.

The Fallen didn’t have wings, so she plummeted toward the ground. We were high enough that the fall would be deadly, even for a demon.

“Sanna, no!” I called and dived after her, but I knew I was too far to catch her in time.

The blood-thrilling screech filled the air, and a creature with leathery wings flew out of the open portal. A fiery whip cracked and coiled around the monster’s leg, pulling the Wrath Demon up before she crashed to the ground. She swung on the whip, and with an acrobat’s grace, she landed on the creature’s back.

The wyvern flew up closer to me.

“You!” the Wrath Demon hissed; her face contorted with fury. “Why must you always get in the way?!”

“I just saved your life,” I yelled over the thunder.

She scoffed. “Do I look like I need saving? You must play the hero, don’t you?” she mocked. “I wanted to spare you since Sanna had some ridiculous feelings for you, but cross my path again, and I will kill you!”

“I don’t think you can,” I said, flying closer to her. “You could have killed me dozens of times already, yet you didn’t. I know it’s Sanna’s doing. She’s still in there, and she’s still fighting. I’m not going to leave you until she’s back.”

“You blasting fool!” the Wrath Demon growled and smiled viciously, sending shivers down my spine. “I’ll give you something better to do, oh fair knight in shining armour!”

The wyvern she was riding pulled a sharp turn and dashed upwards. Confused, I followed, trying to keep pace with her, unsure what foul deeds she was planning this time. But since she was flying away from the city, I assumed it was a blessing.

Oh, how wrong I was.

I realised my mistake when we pierced the surface of dark clouds, and the floating city came into view.

My heart stopped, and my blood turned to ice.

“No!” I cried, but it was too late.

“You thought I forgot what your people did to me?!” the Wrath Demon screamed, her voice high and hysterical. “All I felt since setting my foot there was hate and disgust. And now it’s time that your pompous angels feel the wrath of Hell!”

“No, stop! There are innocents there! All the soldiers are fighting below!” I beat my wings furiously, trying to catch up to her, but the wyvern was bigger and stronger, moving in the air as swiftly and gracefully as fish in the pond.

“Burn, fools! Burn!” the Wrath Demon roared and reached her hands towards Heaven.

A beam of dark fire shot from her arms, smashing straight into the floating city.

The rumble was louder than anything I’d ever heard. At first, it seemed as if nothing had happened. But then the crystal base trembled and cracked, sending fissures up to the surface of the floating city. I watched in horror as half of Heaven slowly slid down, building crumbling, glass and crystals shattering, angels screaming in terror.

It was too late to stop it. The collapsing mass of now mangled structures ripped free from the floating city and plummeted down. I looked at the crowd of angels circling above Heaven, and I only hoped that everyone would get out in time. I turned my eyes away as the chunk of the city smashed to the ground, raising a huge cloud of dust and shaking the earth.

When the collision’s echoes died, one voice was booming over the despairing cries of angels.

Laughter.

The Wrath Demon was doubling over with maniacal laughter. She watched the civilisation crumble to dust, and she laughed.

I clenched my jaw and drew my sword, silencing my screaming heart.

I failed.

I failed to protect Sanna.

I failed to protect my people.

But I could still stop this monster before she did any more damage. Even if it cost me my life, I would drag the Wrath Demon down with me.

She was still laughing when I flew higher and dived down at her with my sword raised. The Fallen spotted me when I was just a few feet away, and she raised her hand, sending another ball of fire at me. I expected it, so I swivelled right.

After all, she was never my target.

As I flew past, I ran my sword through one of the wyvern’s wings, shredding it in half.

The creature shrieked in pain and desperately tried to regain balance, but it started losing altitude fast, with one wing now useless. The laugh turned into furious screams as the Wrath Demon tried the impossible task of regaining control over her mount.

I followed the spiralling down creature, my blade ready. I didn’t want them to fall to their death, but the wyvern was incapacitated enough to guarantee a very bumpy landing. With any luck, the Wrath Demon would be injured and shocked, so it would be easier for me to… end her.

Unfortunately, the Wrath Demon was not ready to take those chances. A fiery whip cracked at me, and before I could dodge, it coiled around my ankle, instantly burning through the leather of my shoe. I was pulled sharply down with unexpected extra weight.

With my wings beating furiously, I managed to keep us afloat. I swiped my sword down to cut through the blazing stripes, but the Wrath Demon had already used the momentum to swing herself up and collide with me like a cannonball.

I grunted in pain when her claws pierced my armour and dug into my arms.

“I warned you to stay out of my way!” she screamed in my face.

I tried to raise my sword, but she slashed at my wrist, and my fingers lost their grip on the weapon. I couldn’t do much but keep her claws away from my neck and try to keep us afloat.

“Stop wriggling, or we both fall to our death,” I hissed.

“You are already dead, Golden Boy!” she spat. Her hand got free from my grip, and the dark blade materialised there. Before I could blink, she rammed it under my ribs. The dagger pierced through my armour as if it was made of paper and slid cleanly into my body.

I screamed. The pain was excruciating. As the demon wrenched her blade free, I felt my strength leaving my body with fast-spilling blood. I could barely move my wings anymore, and we started falling faster and faster toward the ground.

“Oh, how long I was waiting for that moment,” she hissed into my ear as the wind rushed around us. “Your death is even sweeter than ruining your precious Heaven.”

I couldn’t breathe, my lungs already flooding with blood. I beat my wings for the last time and then gave in to the darkness creeping into my vision. We plummeted through the air passing angels and demons still locked in aerial combat. Before we crashed into the ground, the Wrath Demon moved to ensure my body cushioned her from the impact.

I was barely conscious when we hit the once cobblestoned square and my vision once more flashed with an explosion of pain overwhelming all my senses at once. I could feel my bones breaking and an iron taste of blood in my mouth.

I failed.

I only wished I could see Sanna’s face one more time. Not this glaring demon who was baring her sharp teeth at me with a triumphant scream on her lips.

My Sanna.

“Sanna… come… back… plea─”

But cold darkness closed over me before I could utter another word.

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