Opening Shots

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To say that Kalwarna was having a shitty day would be the understatement of the century as she fought against an attack on her camp. All around her, the battle raged on. Thick, billowing smog rolled over them, covering everything in its acrid smell and blocking out what little light hell offered. From this fog came these monsters, demonic creatures in the shape of monkeys who bayed and screeched for angelic blood. For once they found themselves on the defensive as now they fought for their lives as the demonic horde descended upon them

Blood and sweat poured down her forehead as she fought on with only the dim glow of their tents burning and the radiance of the weapons used by all Fallen Angels serving as illumination for the battle at hand. Not even the harsh light coming from her own spear could help her see past her own hands. It was frustrating that she was pushed back as she tried to fend off the monsters attacking them.

To think it started out so great. Everything was going fine until things just didn't. How did all of this begin? How was the camp of the Grigori itself under attack? Looking back, maybe things were a little bit too good for fate to not mess up.

"Die!" She roared in anger as she charged at one of the creatures attacking their camp. Their huge gangly form and surprisingly nimbleness made it awkward to fight them as they swiped at her with their longer limbs, forcing her to duck low under the blow.

Her eyes widened as another blow came swinging at her, and with a ferocity unlike any other they attacked her with reckless abandon. She danced around the blows, backing away as she realized that her foe was much stronger than they appeared. Gritting her teeth, she raised her spear, her limbs shaking as she caught a blow from the monkey. She cursed, tears falling down her face as she looked back on how all of this started.

She could still remember the day that Azazel declared his intentions to them all. It was not every century that God himself reached out to Azazel and asked for forgiveness. What was more, the offer extended to them all; an offer of clemency and the chance to return to their posts in heaven. It was a deal that was almost too true to believe in if not for Azazel's words. What truly shocked her and others was that Azazel, a man that had chaffed and fought so hard, was taking it.

Of course, there was a vote and everything to decide the future of the Grigori. There was much fanfare between those who sought war and those who sought peace and, by a narrow margin, the doves won. The Grigori as they knew it was officially over. She wasn't happy, considering that she voted against it, but Kokabiel himself offered to take those who were not joining the journey back with him. The camp was divided, but no one was getting forced; not everyone was going.

While she did vote against the measure… she was not fully against it. In the end, she was going as all of them were tired of fighting, leaving only a handful to join Kokabiel. It was a sad sight, but she didn't think of it much. Maybe she should have in hindsight. If she had only looked into their eyes she could have seen the anger that burned behind them as she helped them move and pack up their things.

Maybe she could have stopped this.

"Traitors!" One of her sisters screamed, breaking the hold her memories had over her and reminding that she was in the midst of battle. She watched as the lone fallen aimed her spear at the traitors before them, who marched against them and led these creatures into battle, and threw with all her might; nailing one of them and causing a new branch to sprout from their chest.

She might have shed tears for her own, but not for them, they who turned against them. They were former allies and friends, brothers and sisters with whom she had joked and made merry with just moments ago, now turned against them. They, along with robed magicians, led the ceaseless horde flooding from beyond the mist.

What little victory they had was quickly turned around as now, without a weapon, the girl was unable to fight off the horde coming for her. Kalawarna could only turn away, her own blades locked against the jaws of these terrible creatures, unable to help nor even able to strike the traitors hidden behind the wall of flesh that were these creatures. Their grim and saddened gaze made her blood boil. It was as if they were the one betrayed and not those they were cutting down.

"There's too many of them!" Another one of her brothers cried as they backed away, their legs shaking before they flew away.

"No! Don't!" She didn't have time to warn them before their form was swallowed up by the fog leaving them with one less spear to defend the camp. It was all only the start of their troubles as the very air itself turned against them.

Her distraction would prove to be her undoing as a blow caught her in the stomach, launching her off a good distance. She groaned and felt her body protest as she forced herself up. Fortunately for her, she'd landed close to her siblings; something that gave her some breathing room, though that mattered little given the smoke that still hung.

"I c-can't breathe!" came the gasping breath of one of the younger ones, scratching at their chest as they gasped for air only for their lungs to fill further with smoke. She was not immune as she coughed, wheezing as her lungs filled in with acrid tobacco smoke.

Each breath was a struggle as she stumbled through pitch black darkness surrounding their camp. She was by no means a stranger to tobacco, being a casual smoker herself, but this was different. It was far heavier and harsher, smelling more of battery acid than the relaxing scent she was used to. Its cloying scent scratched away at her lungs, sapping her strength the more she breathed in as she was forced to fight their attackers in such harsh conditions. If the smoke wasn't bad enough, what it did to their light was a thing straight from their nightmares.

"M-my light! What's happening to my light!" Panic was starting to set in, the light of their soul, their very existence, started to flicker. Hope slowly faded from their eyes as fear gripped their hearts, "H-help! Anyone!" They cried, calling the wrong sorts of attention towards them as spells rained down on their now powerless forms. Why didn't they run? Why were they forced to fight?

The first lesson that any Grigori would teach to those who had just recently fallen was that discretion was the better part of Valor. They should just retreat, abandon the camp and regroup so they could fight another day. If only that were possible she wished silently as she had to dodge a falling body, the form landing inside their defensive circle, their flesh withered and dried out. The smoke was already bad enough, but the barrier made escape impossible.

It kept not only them trapped inside but within the smoke as well. There was simply nowhere for them to run. With their backs against the wall, all they could hope for was to stem the tide and last long enough for reinforcements to come, but that was getting harder and harder to do as their enemy flooded their camp. What was worse was the purpose of their attack. They sought not their destruction but their capture as these creatures dragged away those who fell in battle.

At this rate, they were going to be picked off one by one, taken as prisoners for whatever horrible machination that awaited them at the other side. They needed to regroup, they needed to act as one.

Forcing herself to rise fully, she drew on her core, pulling in the light once instilled inside every last one of them at the moment of their birth and called upon a spear to fight against the dark. Her light blazed into life, its razor's edge singing as she held it in her hands.

Raising her spear and letting her faltering light shine, she called out to her comrades, "Shieldwall!" And, as one, they answered. Their panic melted away as purpose filled their eyes, shields blazing to life as those that could not defend themselves were pulled in deep inside the wall. "Defensive positions! Grab what weapons you can! Don't waste your light any further!"

"Raise those shields, raise them damn you all!" Her voice was soon drowned out as those stronger than her gathered their wits. Finally, she could turn her attention back to fighting.

"Hold your ground! Don't you dare turn your back or I'll personally castrate you myself!" Kalawarna shouted, rallying those who'd managed to shake off the initial surprise and locked shields with her. Before them were her enemies and now there was no way out but to fight.

As much as she hated the traitors and the creatures before her, she had to admit that they couldn't have picked a better time to strike. With their leaders away and their camp in the middle of packing up, they could not muster an effective defense. Their enemies caught them with their pants down and they struck hard.

"There's too many of them!" One of her brothers cried as he threw a spear at the creature's leg, pinning them down, holding them down for just a second for the spear of another to jam right inside the roof of their mouth; their skin might've been iron but their insides were all the same as everyone else's. The demon shuddered before it fell slack, its brain turned to ash as it fell forward.

"They have us surrounded! They'll just cut us down if we flee now!" She shouted as she braced herself, locking her knees as the horde charged at them. She buckled as they crashed against them like a ceaseless tide, pulling at their shields, but she held form. With a roar they pushed as one before they lashing out with their spears, "Just hold on! Mittelt's going to come back with reinforcements any second now!" She shouted, snarling as her spear found no purchase in the enemy before her.

She was no slouch in terms of combat, having been a field operative before she was grounded due to some unfortunate decisions she made, but she was finding it difficult to fight these demons in such a dark and hostile environment. She struck out at them with her spear of light, aiming at the creature's crotches and bellies but the blows did not find purchase, merely sliding off their hairy skin.

The very same mist that blot out the light served as their armor, wrapping around them and deflecting the weapons which they wielded. With such powerful protections surrounding them, and the monster's own considerable physical capabilities, she was forced to strike at them to merely keep them at bay.

Still, they were not fully invulnerable for her strike had gouged through the misty armor and revealed mortal flesh beneath. The eyes and mouth served lied uncovered as well, lest the smoke blind them. Seeing kinks in their armor she struck once more, driving her weapon deep before pushing them away with her shield. The creature she fought screeched, tugging at the spear lodge in its chest, heedless of the blood pouring out of its wound, but their cries would soon be silenced as the spear bulged and released the light held inside its form, catching those nearby in the blast.

She grinned, watching the pieces of the creature fall down upon the fires of heavenly light burning around them. Using her spear in such a way was an expensive use of her own flagging stamina, but seeing just one of them getting ripped apart from the inside out made her spirit soar. These creatures could be made to bleed, they could die.

Her celebration would be short lived as the flames flickered away revealing the charred form of those she fought. Even as those caught in the explosion burnt, their flesh flaking as the light ate away at them, they did not slow down. They only seemed to become even more frenzied, driven by some bestial instinct to fight to the very last breath.

"Fuck…" she breathed out, faltering as she took a step back, her limbs shaking as she tried to force out another spear from her taxed reserves. That however was cut short as spells shrieked across the air and arced towards them. "Shields!" she shouted in alarm, diverting her reserves to her shield instead.

The shield wall lit up, tanking the shots. They might have survived this attack but how about the next? Sweat poured from her body as she tried to think of a way for them to last longer, to just hold on but she was coming out blank. She was no Azazel nor was she strong like Baraquile. She was just herself. How the fuck were they going to win against this? How could they win against all of this? So absorbed was she in her own worries that she almost missed a shrill cry from just beyond her vision.

Looking around, she quickly found the source. There at the edge of the haze, just out of reach from her formation, was one of the younger girls surrounded by the beasts who tore at her with their large, steak-like teeth. The girl howled in pain as one bit down on her calves before roughly pulling her away, dragging her into the fog.

"Oh no you don't!" She roared out as she pushed forward, a blade forming in her hands as she sliced through the ceaseless horde, but there was no end to them. Like a hydra, cutting one down only seemed to spawn two more to take its place. Like an endless tide, they crashed against her and her cohort, pushing them back with the young one being pulled further away.

"No! Get away! Help!" The girl cried out, reaching up to her with bloodied and raw fingers as she clawed at the ground. For all of Kalawarna's power, she could not reach her. All seemed hopeless until a rallying cry rang from above them.

"To arms!" Shouted a lab gown clad angel with five sets of wings as he threw the brightly burning spear in his hands at the creatures dragging the girl. The deadly comet streaked through the air before it pierced the skull of the creature, detonating into a deadly sea of holy fire which left the young one unharmed while those around her were reduced to ashes.

She cried out, raising her reformed sword above her head and answered his call, feeling strength return to her limbs as she grabbed the wounded girl before pulling her back to their line. Things were finally looking up, for once they were actually killing more than the demon's reinforcement could replenish their numbers. That hope, however, would soon turn to horror as a bright bolt of magic crashed against the winged form of Sahariel, downing them in just one hit.

She cried out in horror as she watched him fall, a robed figure stepping from the shadows, one hand still steaming from the magic while the other holding on to a grimoire with the face of a laughing man carved into its cover, right alongside none other than Kokabiel himself.

"Capture as many as you can. Even if they betrayed the cause, they will still have use for us," The thrice damned traitor commanded, sneering at them as he kicked the unconscious body of Sahariel over to the feet off the hooded figure. She could only watch in horror as the magician opened up a dark portal from which a large clawed skeletal hand reached out, dragging the fallen inside.

"You bastards, I'm going to kill you!" She roared out, launching herself at the attacker with reckless abandon before she could even think as pain and anguish filled her heart. How could he? How could he! How could he even excuse himself for what he had done. Kokabiel turned on them, selling them out, and for what? Whatever it was, she'd just had to beat it out of them.

It was then that the hooded figure noticed her and aimed his palm at her. Before she could even react, her world twisted and she found her face to face with the massive fists of the demonic beasts attacking them. Her vision swam as she was launched into the side of a burning crater, wincing as she felt her nose break, but she did not have time to mourn it as the same demonic beasts leapt at her.

Her world exploded into pain as one of the creatures hammered its fist down her stomach before more attacked her, mobbing her and cutting her off from the rest. She held out her right arm only for another to bite down hard, breaking bones as they left her dominant arm a mangled mess. She was unable to fight back, forced to curl up and protect herself.

Eventually, they stopped as the fight left her and she was dragged away along with the rest. Even with her swollen eyes, she could still see her brothers and sisters fighting, but it was a losing fight. As she passed by Kokabiel, all she could ever whisper now was a simple question, "Why?"

The man turned, hearing her question before gesturing to the beast to stop. They promptly dropped her by the traitor's feet, a broken and bloody mess. He knelt down, gazing upon her with pity in his eyes as he whispered back, "I wish it didn't have to end like this Kalwarna, I really do."

Disgust welled up in her guts as she was forced to listen to the man's rambling, "All I wanted was for our peoples' freedom, yet our brothers were willing to throw it away all for a promise. Everything that we have achieved outside of heaven, everyone we lost, all down the drain. We were the masters of our own fate, yet the allure of returning to heaven, to be forgiven by a despicable man, was too great for Azazel."

She gazed away, refusing to acknowledge his point. Yes, they were effectively surrendering, but they had their reasons. They were a mere shadow of what they once were. This had him grinning as he pressed on, "He is a fool, blinded by the Tyrant's words, but I will not be swayed. I can see it in your eyes, the pain, the anguish, the false king up on his throne, he caused this."

Reaching for her chin, he forced her gaze up to him, letting her see the bottle of phoenix tears in his hand. "Join me Kalwarna, stand by my side. Do not listen to his words. They will lead you astray, they will shackle you and bind you. Stand tall, refuse to bow down," He offered her, holding the bottle so tantalizingly close.

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Hands shook as she gazed upon the vial longingly, the sharp pain in each and every breath she took reminding her of her mortality. She hated it, she hated being so weak. She could simply give up, give in, and yet…

"The only one who betrayed the cause was you!" With the last of her strength, she formed a blade of light in her left hand and struck with all her might, aiming it at the man's temple. It was all for naught as the man easily caught her hand, the blade trembling in her hold as it hovered just inches away. The man's beautiful face twisted into a scowl as her left arm snapped under his grip. She laid there, screaming as agony coursed through her veins, crippled and unable to fight any longer.

"You shouldn't have bothered. You knew how it was going to end anyways," A hooded figure said as he stepped out from the shadows, the stinking scent of brimstone clinging to his form.

"True, but I could have always been wrong," The man casually replied as he reached down and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her up to the air. She kicked at the man's chest but all it did was make her run out of breath faster as he tightened his grip, "I tried my best to convince more of you to join my side, but you're far too blinded with Azazel's guile to think. It was a shame really, you were one of my favorites."

Kalwarna was many things. She was a slut, a corrupter of holy men, a sadistic bitch, but she was not a backstabbing whore. If it meant that she had to die by this monster's hand, so be it. She stared back defiantly, glaring at the man even as her vision faltered, the darkness creeping in as he slowly crushed her neck.

"Just make this quick, we have places to go. Also, as good as stray devils are, I doubt they can put a dent in the old man," The man then said as he walked away, leaving her and Kokabiel alone.

She struggled as hard as she could, flailing her broken arms, yet the man's grip was like iron; cold and unyielding. Panic overcame her sense as the reality of the situation started to sink in, fear gripping her chest as she could not get him to stop. As much as she wanted to pull away she was far too weakened and injured to do so. Eventually, even her limbs grew too heavy to move, instead dangling beside her.

So this was the end? Was this how her tale was to stop? To die like a dog by the hand of someone she once looked up to? Were all of her struggles worth it? As her limbs hung down at her sides, her body getting colder while her heart struggled to beat with no air to fuel her body, she realized she was going to die there. She could only bitterly smile as she gazed up at the heavens above. In the end, she didn't amount to much, but at least… she'd managed to buy her brothers and sister a few seconds.

As the darkness closed in, she saw a little twinkle of light up in the sky cutting through the darkness as it shone down on her. It was almost blinding in its radiance as its light rained down upon her, bathing her in its warmth; which reminded her of days long gone. Was this the light at the end of the tunnel that mortals spoke off? She never knew it could be so pretty and so peaceful.

Her fingers slipped from the hands around her neck and out towards the light, welcoming it as the darkness crept in. She struggled to keep her eyes open, committing the light to her memory as she stared deep into its brilliance. From that light, a hand reached out and, deep inside her heart, she knew who it was. She smiled, crying at her creator's lie. He had casted them aside in their rebellion yet his love still shone through even in the end. He truly never stopped loving them.

Closing her eyes, she felt his touch surrounding her in its entirety, his presence made known to all as the trumpets of heaven blared out until the song became a loud roar filling her ears. She felt herself floating as a force slammed down upon from above, yet all she felt was bliss as it washed over her. The pain melting away as the voice of her creator spoke to her once more.

"I AM HERE!"

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Absolution stepped upon the land which he had forsook and it burnt. Hell heaved, burning in a brilliant flare of white fire as his light shone once more on a land that had long rejected his very being. It recoiled at his presence and the land before her turned to dust in the fire. The air screamed as hell came apart at its very seams, cracks spreading out from the crater within which he stood whilst he shielded the broken form of one of his own.

Gritting his teeth, he reeled in his light, pulling it deep into his being as his radiance subsided. What use would all his power be if he destroyed the very land on which they stood on. With the powers he held tempered, the land held firm, merely losing its colors as he stood there. Now that the light clung to him, he could smell hell itself; but what filled his lungs instead made him grimace.

He scowled as the scent of tobacco and blood clung to the very air, trying to snuff out light itself. This smoke and the darkness it brought clawed at his light, eating away at him, but he held firm, keeping it at bay as he turned his attention to his child. It might have blocked his light and even refused to call his heed, but he had his children to attend to.

He reached down to her and pulled her up, cradling her as his Seraphs descended from the hole he made in the blasted barrier. He could already feel it healing, shutting out the light from hell's own skies once more, leaving him as the sole source of light strong enough to beat back the dark.

The girl's eyes opened as he cradled her protectively. Stirring, she reached out to him and whispered, "M-my lord," before she paused as she started coughing, bent over in pain but she powered through. "T-they've taken my brothers and sisters as prisoners. Kokabiel, he leads them-!" She groaned out before curling as pain wracked her body.

Still, as detrimental as it was, he did not take it out just yet. It trapped people in, yes, and kept people out, to a degree that he was forced to step in, but it would take far too long to topple; precious time he could spend on healing those affected by this raid like the woman he held instead.

"It's all right, you can rest now. Let me handle this," He whispered as placed his hands upon the girl's forehead and pushed his Light into her. The woman gasped as she was made whole once more, her wounds closing and her limbs healing. The darkness in her wings was pushed away as a pulse of light radiated out of her. It washed over the field, making the demons rear back, the fallen who turned against them scream in pain, and those they'd hurt finding their strength returning.

Climbing up from the crater, he looked around and his heart ached at the sight. His angels, those entrusted to him, were hurt, their forms ragged as they gathered around him, looking at him in reverence, while those who turned their blades against them cowered back. He turned his eyes away, tasting ash for his failures as he gave the woman he held to the angels that attended to him. He had yet to earn their worship, not when his biggest opponent stood before him.

So busy was he in trying to mend ties with Azazel that he had neglected the man. Now, it came to bite him back as he was now forced to deal with him. He should have known, he already knew that the man wanted war but he held onto the hope that they would not do something so foolish, yet here they were. He had wanted to end this bloodlessly, yet now he had been forced to turn his arms against him.

His twice forsaken son laid atop a large crater at the end of a long furrow, groaning as smoke wafted off his form. Despite the damage, however, he remained whole, his clothes singed but his body protected by smoke and shadows which quickly started wrapping around his form once more. While the Fallen was a bit worse for wear, the same could not be said for his companion.

He frowned, noticing the figure beside the fallen still standing despite half their form having been blasted away. It shifted like smoke as they became whole once more, giving away their true nature. An illusion? Too early to tell, especially with how the smoke was messing with his senses. Still, he could sense the demonic taint from him as well as the particular taste of ember and trickery wafting from the grimoire they held.

"I'd be lying if I said that I did not expect a being like you to betray your own kind, but here we are, Kokabiel," Uriel spat out as she landed beside him, quickly followed by Azazel and the other cadre members with the hole in the barrier closing behind them.

"You fucking rat, you've really done it this time!" Azazel roared out as he landed hard behind him, his glistening armor crackling with energy as he marched towards Kokabiel.

This only served to infuriate Kokabiel as forced himself up, "You're the one I should call a rat! I can see how you've already abandoned our cause and sided with him!" The man raved, veins bulging at his temples as he pried himself from the hole he was buried in, his form shaking while he stood on unsteady feet, "Why did you accept him! He was our tormentor! Our enemy, but you forgave him!"

He then pointed at him, his eyes wide open and crazed. "And You!" Kokabiel hissed out, his voice dripping with venoms, "You! Why couldn't you just have stayed dead?! Why do you wish to torment me, why do you wish to take away those I cherish?!" he screamed at him, practically foaming at the mouth as he flared his wings.

Gone was what little was left of anything holy in him as he fully embraced the dark, rejecting Absolution with every cell in his being. There was no longer any connection between him and Kokabiel. All that remained was darkness where light once lied and it clung to his form, wrapping around him. An aura of smoke surrounded him as he drew a sword from that darkness, its edge drinking what little light was left.

Uriel sneered at the man in disgust before turning away towards Absolution, bowing low as she reported, "Father, our forces are alerted, they are already on their way."

He nodded, feeling at ease knowing that more would soon come as aid. Grimacing, she then added, "However, the devil who's land the Fallen are technically squating on is causing quite the fuss. We still have treaties to uphold and they have their rights. We have alerted the Satans of this incident, however, and they're sorting things out." It was unfortunate, but it was their land. Even if he was there to save his children, his actions could still be viewed as that of a trespasser. He needed to open dialogue now.

"Good, make sure to emphasize why we're here and why we need them here as well," He replied as he glared at Kokabiel. Anger filled his heart at the sight of the man as much sorrow weighed upon him.

"Have you forgotten about them?! Those who we cared for, those that we loved and cherished. Our friends, our lovers, our children!" The man raged and Absolution felt their cries once more, "Did you forget everything we worked for?! All the blood and sweat we shed in our quest to find peace, and you're going to throw it all away?!"

For all his claims, however, all Absolution saw was the desolation he'd made. He claims to champion those he'd lost, yet all he brought was more suffering.

"I never forgot them Kokabiel, but I did not let my grief consume me; unlike you," Azazel hissed back as he drew his weapon, his blazing spear taking on a harsh white glow as his wings were spread wide. He let all see his snow white wings as they glowed against the darkness surrounding them, his armor once again whole as he stood there not as a Grigori but a Seraph renewed.

Pointing his weapon at Kokabiel, who took a step back, he asked him, "If you believe the cause so much, then what the hell are you doing?! Look around you, look at all the destruction you've caused, all the blood you spilled when you betrayed us! And for what? To satisfy your vengeance? What is this Kokabiel?! Tell me!"

"All of it will be worth it once I have his head on a pike," Kokabiel growled as he raised his blade, Azazel raising his in turn. They now approached the point of no return as it became clear that Kokabiel wanted to fight. He was going to stand before him and the host with what little forces he had.

As much as he hated him, as much as he wanted him to be brought low now, he held onto the hope that there was reason still in the fallen angel, "Azazel, I promised you his head," He called on his son, "But there is something I wish to ask him first before I give the right to render judgment upon him."

Azazel's jaw clenched as he looked back at him but Absolution met his glare. His son relented as he lowered his blade, moving aside as Kokabiel bared his teeth at him. Turning to the crazed man, he asked, hoping to reach out to what little reason he held, "Kokabiel, I know you hate me, but this is going too far!"

"Please Kokabiel, tell me that you're just merely under a spell, that you're just being controlled. This isn't what you are!" He cried out, begging him to tell him he was wrong. He felt nothing from him, yet there he stood, frothing like a mad dog as the world around them burned.

The man looked at him confused before he started laughing, doubling over as if he had just heard the funniest of jokes. Wiping his eyes, he replied, "Oh old man, if you think that I am being controlled then I pity you, for your vision has only gotten so much worse."

Pointing his sword at him, he mocked him, "You were blind to why we, your angels, should be allowed to rule this world instead of letting the bunch of ignorant mongrels that is humanity run itself. We were your greatest creation and yet you cling to humanity!" The darkness around him flared, almost swallowing him in its presence as he continued, "Now you fail to see that I'm saving my people from the weakness that you will inflict upon them! You, who force us to kneel before humanity, are not worthy of our worship!"

Chuckling, the man stalked forward and Azazel stepped forward, pushing Absolution back behind him, "Still, there are some that would not listen to my word no matter what. No matter, they'll still have their uses once I hand them over to my partners," He added without missing a beat.

Absolution's hand clenched as he heard those words come out of the man's mouth. The angel before him was no great prometheus nor a misguided fool, but a monster in all its meanings. Still, as much as he hated him with all his being, he could not shake off the feeling that something was wrong.

"Uriel, keep father away from the fighting. I'll handle this myself," Azazle whispered before he squared off against Kokabiel.

The crazed angel spreads his arms, daring Azazel, "You know what, to make this interesting, how about you make the first move. Here, go ahead, give it your best shot. I won't even move!"

As Uriel pulled him back, Absolution couldn't help but feel that nothing about this made sense. Kokabiel might've been a fool, but he was by no means stupid. Why would he choose to fight on what were practically even odds. Why face off against him when he could have run and taken off with the people he had with him. Why couldn't he peer under the hood of these people? He had so many questions.

Then everything clicked together and a dawning horror seized his heart.

"Azazel!" he called out to his child, breaking free from Uriel's grip as Azazel dashed forward. Calling on to Samael, he made a mad dash for his son, reaching out for him as the shadow behind Kokabiel moved.

"Get away from my son!" He roared out as he grabbed Azazel by the collar of his armor and pulled him back, the man crying in surprise, before he lashed out, striking at the being that had been hiding there all this time. His blade met the shadows and it nearly drove Samael out of his grip as his blade met an immovable force.

He pulled back, heart pounding Azazel shouted, "What the hell, old ma-!" His words would be cut short as the scent of blood lingering in the smoke filled air became heavy, almost palpable to the point he could taste it. The battlefield stilled once more as the hair on Absolution's body stood up as he felt their presence; a being of smoke, blood, and earth calling out from the abyss. Laughter soon followed, its cruel and sadistic notes promising nothing but pain and misery for all that heard it.

"Huh, so that's what I've been smelling all this time. So, who's your new master? Is he the guy behind you?" Absolution asked Kokabiel as he turned to Azazel, clenching his jaw as he saw the hole his son was feeling upon his armor. A large chunk of the golden armor that the man had crafted was simply torn off, as though bitten by some terrible beast.

"It seems that I've been found. You don't have to worry about this any more, Kokabiel, let me handle this," A voice called out as the shadows behind Kokabiel shrunk and a clawed, emaciated hand reached out, grabbing onto the shoulders of the grinning Fallen; a masked figure pulling itself from the shade. Blood red eyes peered out from a jade colored skull mask as he loomed behind Kokabiel, their hunched over form glaring at him as he held on to Kokabiel protectively.

The feathers of the mask gently bobbed in unseen wind while the pelt covering his form wrapped around him, hiding the man's deceptively thin frame. A black shield with a mirror center was strapped to his arm, its smooth surface drinking up light as not a single ray of it bounced off its surface.

He knew this man who stood before him, this lord of blood and mirrors. He knew him, the man that was the ruler of the night sky, the great warrior from the north. His body remembered their bloody scent anywhere; for he was in the presence of no mere supernatural being, he was in the presence of a divine. He was before a god.

"Tezcatlipoca," Uriel whispered, and Absolution knew that he had now a fight on his hands.