The sky itself seemed to crack as the barrier created by the wizards was destroyed. The magic they used was an extremely strong and rare one. It used the principle of overlapping their magical power in order to create a barrier they should have never been able to create by themselves.

Still, it also had a great drawback. Once someone managed to destroy it, all those linked would suffer from a backlash.

By destroying this barrier, he basically one shot everyone. Everyone expects Seijiro and Eleanor.

"You should surrender. Except you two, the other are all out of commission."

He began to speak as he slowly landed on the ground, his three pairs of wings stretched out.

"Humm!?….Hum...Nah!! By the way, I heard that angels with high mastery were able to create a large number of light weapons at the same time. But with how you simply used your body I guess your long-range attack must suck? Also, it's impossible for you to be at full power. Shishi. I am so lucky. Don't you think so? Why should I surrender when I am in such advantageous situations."

Azrael stayed silent, he knew that technically, she was right. Those guys were mobs, but their numbers made him waste too much energy. She also had hostages in her hands. No matter how you looked at it, this situation seemed really against him.

"Now, now, Little half-birdie. You don't want anything bad to happen right? Surrender or watch as your friend gets skewered by my monster." As she said that, she pointed behind her. The four were really roughed up. Azrael looked at each of them, and his eyes narrowed further and further until they landed on Xenovia. More precisely on her hair. He knew how much importance she gave to those hair.

A bitter feeling spread through him. He could have simply used Evermillion and destroy this barrier. But he knew why he did it. He couldn't afford to look too threatening. All his plans hinged on the enemy underestimating it.

'At least for the time being I succeeded in making her lower her guard.'

He calculated the distance between them and began to walk slowly until he was just a few steps away from them.

Eleanor looked at him with a disdainful smile.

"What? Are you regretting it? Perhaps if you have been more decisive all that wouldn't have happened? But I must say, the moment I got them in my hands, you were already checkmated. I doubt a little gentle birdie like you will put his friends in danger right?"

He took another step and said with a sigh,

"What do you want?"

"Oh-oh!! Now we are talking~! Now be a good boy and let little Seijiro here seal your power. Once you do this, I promise to release your friends."

"Hm! Hm! Hm!"

Dielthem, Xenovia, and Shidou desperately tried to call out to him. They knew that she would never respect her deal.

Neither Eleanor nor Seijiro or even Azrael paid attention to them. Azrael took another step and asked,

'It should a little less than ten meters now. This is more than enough'

"What assures me that you won't go back on your deal?"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She didn't like seeing him acting so calmly. This brought a weird feeling. As if she was just a clown dancing on the top of his palm. She wanted to see his frustrated face,

"Shishishi!! Absolutely NOTHING!!! Either do it or someone will pay. Also, don't take another step otherwise I might hurt your precious friends."

Azrael smirked at this,

"Do not worry. Let's just say that you were quite literally one step too late. Flash."

He immediately used the same skills he used when he reached this scene. As an experienced fighter though, there was no way Eleanor or Seijiro would let themselves be tricked like that.

They hurriedly used a spell to protect their eyes from the strong light. Even though it was still hard to see, they wouldn't become blind.

Eleanor laughed at this futile attempt, thinking that it was some desperate move to save the hostage.

"Oi! Little birdie. Do you think this could work twice? Also, my monsters won't fear such an intense light."

"*Sigh* Who said I needed to blind you. I just wanted to take away your attention in order to avoid some lamentable accident. Now though, everything is good."

Unease immediately filled her mind, and she immediately turned around. The sight that greeted her made her gawk in disbelief. Seijiro was equally gobsmacked, as he murmured,

"...They are gone."

It was true. In the place were Dielthelm and the other three previously stood, no one was present. They completely vanished.

It took a few seconds for Eleanor to gather back her wit.

"What the fuck?"

Azrael simply snickered at this outburst. Despite being surrounded by tens of monsters, he didn't seem to feel fear in the slightest.

Why would he dare to come back when all odds seemed against him?

Why would he come so close?

Why was he so sure that he could save them?

Why did he hold back some much in order to not make her wary of him?

"I am the Uncrowned prince of the church, my life is the most important. You really thought that with such a status, I didn't have some sort of protection? Some live-saving trick?"

When he decided to leave the house. He had two ways to protect those who would stay. One was the barrier, and the other was a trump card only a few people previously knew the existence of.

It was a talisman. One specially created for teleportation.

"Then...If you could have done so, why didn't you simply activate it sooner?"

"I...Won't tell you. Tehehe."

A teasing light appeared in his eyes as he stuck his tongue to her

"YOU!!!"

"Me what?" He shrugged his shoulder as he said that, "Do you think I will seriously tell you all my secrets? Hehe~! Do you think I am some sort of second rate villain like you?"

Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to explain everything to her.

Those talismans were based on the same principle devils used to form a contract and teleport to the one who contracted them. They weren't even that rare or hard to make.

But, the ones he had were different. A customized type made especially for him. They were created with his own energy signature and as such, he was the only one who could activate them.

Sadly, because they were used for emergencies, they prized speed above all and as such were quite costly to make, and only a few in numbers were made.

Each one expensive enough to allow someone to live a few months without worry. What can we say? the church may be poor, but his maternal family was rich. They had created ten like that. He still had six on him.

As long as he wasn't unlucky enough to meet a being strong enough to affect space or some kind of space mage, nothing could stop him If he really wanted to flee.

Those talismans weren't without drawbacks though. Well, not really drawbacks. More like a limitation. He needed to be really close to the talisman in order to activate it. This only becomes a problem when he wasn't the one to use it since he usually always keeps them on him.

That was why he did all that so that he could come close enough to activate them and save everyone. In short

"What kind of expression do Japanese use in such a situation? Ah… I remember now. Keikaku doori~!! Was it? "

Eleanor bristled at those words, but she didn't lash out. Eleanor was many things. But she wasn't an idiot. It didn't take long for her to gather all the clues and understand what really happened.

"...You manipulated me." She narrowed her eyes as she said that.

It wasn't a question. She was sure of it. The only reason she let Azrael come so close was that she was sure of herself and her victory.

She was overconfident, and this overconfidence caused her defeat. A bright smile formed on Azrael as he said,

"A fight isn't just about killing. One should always use the most effective method to deal with a problem. You see. Truthfully, I have the mean in my disposition to end this way earlier. But, I have no doubt that had I shown such overwhelming power, you would have put more restrictions on the hostages. Perhaps even harmed them greatly or killed one. But now ...It's too late for regrets."