"What?" I looked around us, "Why am I in the sky? What's going on!?"
"From this distance, I'm sure you've heard what those numbskulls want me and my dear apprentice to do with you." The winged seraphim listlessly sighed, "Best just make things easier for everyone and accept your fates."
"He's right." Sheep could only think to agree, "We should have never tried something so reckless in the first place. We should accept the punishment properly."
What? Giving up already, even though the dude's outnumbered!? News flash, buddy—There's three of us, and one of him! His other winged friend, his "apprentice" as he calls him, is sitting on his ass in front of the Gods, staring up at us dumbfounded as he wonders what he should do. This guy does have wings, sure, but it's not like we have to worry about him dropping or otherwise hurting us, since we're invincible. If we just tried, then surely...
"Hmph." Gale pouted before masterfully grabbing the seraphim into a chokehold, "Ngah!"
"W-What are you doing!?" Sheep panicked.
"Come on, help us!" I ordered, seizing the opportunity to latch onto the seraphim's left wing and stop it from moving, "Sheep, you do the other side!"
"Mnn..."
"Sheep!" Gale yelled at him, "Do as she says, dammit!"
Begrudgingly, he decided to follow suit and hop on the other wing. Now the seraphim's upper body was restrained thanks to Gale, and his wings were under our control. We had successfully commandeered him, but he wasn't gonna let us go that easily.
"Take us back!" Gale ordered.
"Please, we can help you if you help us!" I begged.
"Tch, you're still saying that, Migu..." The seraphim appeared to have recognized me, "What's your goal this time? Do humor me, and I might take the bait."
Migu, that must be one of the names I chose in my previous cycles. A personality that crossed paths with him. Either he's always been the calm and collected, amicable type, or he's on friendly terms with Migu. Honestly, this entire time my past selves have been making my time here a breeze. Had it not been for Magnes, Migu and Gods know how many more came before them... I wouldn't have made it past the start.
"Stop trying to trick us!" Gale kept tightening his hold on him, "Just do as we say and no one gets hurt!"
"...We need to get inside that mansion." I revealed after thinking it over a bit.
"Wha-! Maggie!" Gale disliked my honesty with the opponent.
"Hmph, so nothing new?" The seraphim chuckled, "I guess without Vastoria, you really have no other place to go."
"Vastoria?" We furrowed our brows.
"Never mind her. I'll help you get inside." The seraphim obliged, "Those Gods, you've noticed it too, right? There's so much they just... refuse to reveal to us. Frankly, it's infuriating."
He... He's gonna join our side? Whoa, the power of past connections and a little bit of negotiation goes a long way, it seems. Not only that, but he's also gonna help us get inside the mansion! What luck, maybe this was meant to be after all!
"I agree, we don't know anything about this place." Gale glared daggers at the seraphim, "Like you, for example."
"Right, you expect us to just trust you with your word alone, when you don't even give us many words to work with." Sheep agreed, oddly enough.
"Is that so? Then, what do you wanna know about little old me?"
"Your name." Gale continued, "Your goal, who that apprentice of yours is, and most importantly—How to become a seraphim. Give us those answers, and if we're happy with them, then we're happy with you."
Gah, stop ruining the good atmosphere we had going on! ...No, it's right of them to be wary. In fact, I was in the wrong for choosing to trust some random guy just because he called me by a name that matched my initials. I guess I got too carefree after Sheep. Seriously, this guy could've just made that name up completely! Migu, what kind of a name is that, anyways?
"That's a lot of questions. You sure I'm gonna be able to answer them all before we go splat?" He looked down at the approaching ground below.
"You'd best start talking, then." Gale threatened.
Was he in the army or something? Gale, he's pretty darn capable once you factor in everything he's done so far. That chokehold looks intense, though I think he forgot Heavenly Beings don't feel any pain. Eh, but wait, then why did this guy tell us we'll go splat when we hit the ground, then? Is he trying to trick us after all? But if that's the case, then is Gale being fearless or does he know after all? Gah, I'm lost, so I'll withdraw from the conversation for now...
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
"...The Dethroned, but you may call me Throne for short." Throne smirked, "My friend down there is a new seraphim. He just turned recently, so I wanted to show him the ropes since I helped him become a seraphim in the first place. Keh, the guy's totally imprinted on me."
"Keep talking." Gale didn't let up even for a second, "What's your goal?"
"My goal? It's not anything too special, in truth we just stumbled upon the Gods' territory like you did." He continued, "You heard those idiots yourselves—I only came after you because they threatened to take away our wings otherwise."
"So why in the world would you be willing to help us sneak into the mansion?" Sheep seemed skeptical of him.
"Because it's something they don't want." He laughed, "In my long life as a seraphim, not once have I seen anyone get let inside the mansion. You could maybe sneak a peek or two of the interior, but that's as far as you'd go."
So it's curiosity, after all. I guess that works, he's right that what we're doing is definitely something that would be considered going against the Gods. In other words, what lies inside might just be stronger and more powerful than the perks of a seraphim. If we somehow manage to get inside and find the thing they don't even want us to know about, then...
"We're running out of time, fellas." Throne pointed with his chin, "Choose wisely, but make it quick."
"...Tch!" Gale let go, prompting us to follow suit as we freed his wings' movement, "You better catch us, dipass!"
"Of course!" The grin on Throne's face turned demented, "Would I lie to you?"
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Having jumped off of him to allow him full control of his flight again, he thankfully followed through with his promise of keeping us from going splat by turning around and re-grabbing us with but a flap of both wings. We were now in the same position we were at initially when he caught us, only way more comfortable. There was no fighting back or trying to break free, because we trusted him when he told us he was on our side. For now, that's the best we've got.
"Hey, you never told us the last answer." Sheep remarked, "How do we become seraphim?"
"Is that a necessary step to your end goal?" He answered with another question.
"N-No, but it'd make things easie-"
"Then no." Throne replied, "I don't have to tell you that."
"I knew this guy was bad!" Gale immediately began trying to put him in a choke hold again, "Maggie, Sheep! Same formation, quickly!"
"Gale, come on." I groaned.
"Stop embarrassing us any more." Sheep agreed with me.
"...Y-You guys?" He darted his gaze between us and him, "Uhh, okay. Sorry about that."
"Not like I felt anything anyways." Throne laughed it off.
"You son of a...!"
"Whoa, hey!"
Gale's being unpredictable, he's like a bomb! One second he agrees to play nice, and the very next he becomes this rabid animal that attacks on sight! Doesn't he know that when you give someone your word, no matter how much it hurts, you don't take it back? Be responsible for once in your life, geez man...
"I'm already super in the Red because I told Sab how to do it." Throne explained, "If I told you as well, I'm afraid taking my wings won't be enough of a punishment for them."
"Sab?" I tilted my head, faintly recalling the name.
"S-Sab!" Sheep shouted, "Wait, so then he really did get taken by a seraphim that time! A-And that means that seraphim was you!"
"You know the guy?" Gale raised an Eyebrow.
"Yes, those two are acquainted." Throne alluded to me and this Sab guy, "But only faintly. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Sab hadn't even noticed it was Migu trying to sneak in just now."
"Magnes." Sheep corrected him.
"Maggie." And Gale corrected him.
How annoying, I wish I had just stuck with the same name throughout the cycles. I wonder what made me change my mind so much? Was it the people I met? Truthfully, I could never imagine any other name other than Maggie and my second pick, Mage. But I guess the world works in mysterious ways.
So how are you gonna take us inside?" Sheep decided to continue working on our joint plan, "Are you gonna distract the Gods while we sneak in?"
"That won't work, they know and see everything." Throne refuted.
"So, even this?" Gale asked.
"...Crap, okay!" Throne shook his nerves away, "Fine, new plan! I drop you on the house, you bust in through the roof, and try to grab and investigate as much as you can before they catch you."
"What!?" We yelped, "And what'll happen when they catch us!?"
"You better hope you find something that'll save you before then, I guess." He grinned deviously, "Don't worry though, I'll be sure to buy you as much time as I can."
"We're kind of worried, though!?" Gale tried jumping off before we reached the Gods' Abode, "Count me out, I'd rather try a safer approach-!"
"Don't you get it!? There is no safer approach!" Both Sheep and Throne lashed out at him.
"...Once the reset happens, you'll forget everything." Sheep spoke up after that, "It's risky, but who cares anymore?"
"Heh, if anything, I should be more scared than you." Throne reassured us, "After this, I'm definitely losing my wings, but as for you—The Gods don't have anything to take."
"Can't they ban us from Heaven 2.0?" Sheep tilted his head.
"No, nothing like that." He explained, "The only form of afterlife that exists is Heaven 2.0. In my time spent investigating, I learned that Hell isn't actually a thing."
Oh right, that's something that Divine Voice told us at the very beginning. Me, and those two other guys. I guess it isn't common knowledge among the rest of the angels. Damn, if I knew that was the case, I would have asked more questions while I had the chance.
"Hell... doesn't exist?" Sheep looked flabbergasted.
"Oh yeah, I knew that." Gale recalled.
"Hueh?! Where'd you learn that!" I immediately turned to him.
"Never mind that, we're running out of time." Throne pointed out the giant mansion not too far from us, "Point is, they have nowhere else to place you, and they pride themselves on housing everyone in here. You're gonna be just fine."
"Is that the case?" I chuckled nervously as I felt his grip on us start to slip, "Got any last words of advice, then...?"
"Enjoy the show!" He shook his head with a smug smile, letting us drop down the thousands of kilometers it took until we hit the roof.
To his credit though, as we were falling, he made sure to zoom past us to reach the Gods quicker. I'm sure the amount of time we'll have to investigate inside the mansion will be miniscule, but at least he's upholding his end of the deal to keep them at bay as much as possible. That did give the three of us the confidence we needed to dive ahead without any second thoughts. What's inside this damned mansion, I just gotta know now!