Her First Battlefield

Levana was thrilled about being a part of the company that Azazel handpicked. She had fought to hide her excitement when she accepted the assignment. The one person she had admired had recognized her ability and despite her stigma, had chosen her for the task. So she promised herself to do her best to not disappoint her mentor.

However, when she saw the battlefield she lost her control and nearly threw up. This job was her first time to experience the horrors of war, and it was sure to be memorable. As she picked her way through the body parts strewn about, she swallowed her revulsion and gathered the pitiful and shocked souls.

This tribe had been taken by surprise. Women and children were among the dead; evidence that this was not a something simple such as a feud over hunting ranges. It had been a slaughter with no motivation with the scent of demons hanging in the air. This alerted the angels to the demons' involvement in this incident. They would have to hunt and exterminate the possessed group once they were done escorting the dead.

When they paired off, Levana was comforted by the idea of being at Azazel's side. Since she had lost her poise earlier, she questioned her strength and ability to continue work. With Azazel next to her, she felt motivated to not let her moment of weakness show and demonstrate to Azazel that he was correct in his decision to bring her along.

The two of them explored northeast of the site scanning for any sign of the murderers. Levana closed her eyes and opened her consciousness to feel about them for any demonic presence, while Azazel busied himself with reading signs left in the earth of recent travelers.

Azazel possessed the limited ability to control earth as well as postcognition or the ability to glimpse into the past. When he combined his power he could track the last known position of his target by "reading" the earth. The drawback was that he couldn't control exactly how far back he would see nor could he control how long he would see.

In contrast, Levana was an empath that in theory could read the emotions of others, but this ability was so underdeveloped that she could only feel auras instead. However, this allowed her to locate individuals no matter how hard they tried. Outside of this, Levana also had some control over air and lightening, which she could use to defend and transport them with.

Levana felt the other two teams checking the other directions. Their presences glowed with a soft white angelic radiance in her mind. She felt Azazel tap her to gain her attention. He had found where their target had passed to the south of them. Levana gathered her power over the air to carry them back to the others.

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Azrael and Suriel confirmed Azazel's prediction. They had found some signs of a good-sized party heading south. So, the troop proceeded south to continue their search for the possessed tribe, and after about three miles, they found what they were looking for.

Suriel picked up on it first; the strong demonic presence could be felt before the scent of blood could be picked up in the wind. Levana locked on to the pulsating red aura shortly after Suriel's initial reaction. The six of them readied themselves in case their enemy had previously noticed them and setup an ambush. They cautiously closed the half mile gap between them and their prey and poised themselves for the kill. Akin to a cheetah stalking a gazelle, they prepared to pounce.

It started with a rumble as Azazel raised a wall of earth on the opposite side to cut off any of their targets' escape. Azrael flew in swinging his icy scythe, clearing the way for the others. Samael and Raziel threw their magic left and right while Azazel charged in to cut down the panicking demons. Levana shielded Suriel who hurriedly worked to cast a cleansing fire spell.

Some of the demons perished with their human hosts, while others quickly abandoned the bodies to counterattack with their own dark powers. One such demon was revealed to be of a high level, and he traded spells of equal power with Raziel and Samael. This forced the angels to take a more defensive position than they had started with, but thankfully the offensive assault had been enough to cut their foes down by two-thirds.

One of the remaining demons hurled a fire ball that missed Samael by a few inches. Suriel took the blast in the shoulder knocking him to the ground with a gaping, smoldering wound. Levana dashed to his side as Azrael helped his partner to his feet. She was the only one among them who had any experience in healing.

Samael and Raziel were exhausting themselves, Azazel knew that, but there were seven more demons still. One of them could match the two spell casters, so in essence, they were currently outmatched. They would have to retreat, Azazel thought. So, he signaled for Samael and Raziel to fallback and for the others to make their escape. He beat back the remaining low-level demons and withdrew himself.

They had put some distance between them and the demons before Azazel checked on Suriel's condition. Levana had come to the conclusion that she alone could not heal Suriel's wound, and that he should return to heaven immediately before it would fester. Azazel looked at Suriel's charred shoulder and agreed that Azrael and Raziel should carry him back.

Azazel looked to Samael and asked, "If I distract the big one, can you and Levana take care of the other?"

"Hmph, I guess," Samael replied.

Azazel then looked to Levana, "Take out what you can before you think about helping me. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Then let's do it."

The three of them charged in. Azazel immediately provoked the strongest of the remaining seven and drew him away. Samael flew into the melee taking on four at once. Levana teleported in with a blast of air and threw wind blades into the last two demons, shredding them to bits before turning to help Samael. The two of them cleared the area quickly and ran to aid Azazel.

The demon took the shape of a large, two-headed dog with horns. Azazel brandished his blood-drenched blade and swooped into slash at the demon's legs. Sweeping agape jaws nearly caught him in the side. Azazel rolled to the side and watched as the demon's other head reached up to catch Samael flying overhead.

Teeth clamped down on Samael's feathery white wing and tore him from the sky. Slamming him into the ground, Levana whirled in and teleported Samael out of the way just as the demon lashed out.

Levana threw a lightning bolt at the demon and managed to take out one of his heads. It roared in pain and charged her.

Her success had stunned her, freezing her to the spot as the demon barreled her way. Azazel flew in and knocked Levana out of the way from being crushed to death.

Samael shouted out a spell that sealed the enraged demon in a case of ice that Azazel shattered with one blow.

The three of them were exhausted, but the deed was done, and they were free to return that night. Samael went to the clinic to have his wing repaired, while Azazel made his report. Levana returned with an ever-greater appreciation for Azazel naming him, her hero.