Chapter 221: HEAVEN'S FIRE

Haborym gazed at the skies,

Which all turned orange from the presense of fire.

He felt mesmerized and puzzled at the sight,

While Barachiel seemed stiff, now sure that something's not right.

"Is your God angry?" Haborym asked, concerned,

"I may be an angel, but even I do not know why the heavens burn."

"You don't know the reason? How come?"

"I...it must be a sign."

"Are we done?"

But the archangel ignored him as if he was not heard,

With his own fear and confusion, already observed.

"Ah, excuse me, Barachiel? Is there...anything you'd like to share?"

But his focus, it was barely there.

Barachiel walked towards the stairs leading down,

And the more step he takes, the more his heart pounds.

A quick panic entered his heart the moment he heard a soothing voice,

Telling him to rush to Jegudiel, the moment the fire falls.

He gulped, anxious, at what could be,

Imagining chaos, cries and screams.

He blamed himself for believing Jegudiel,

For not stopping him further,

He did not want to think of Death.

And when his eyes caught of the nearing fire falling to the side,

He wasted no such time.

Haborym walked fast and tried to catch up to him,

But soon enough, he was already too far.

"Goodness, what could have been the problem?"

The noises ensued the moment Barachiel left,

And with the war getting louder and louder,

even the once composed duke, felt afraid.

He calmed the children down, who were all covering their ears,

As they group together, eyes already filled with tears.

The other victims remained quiet,

Hope no longer evident.

Haborym knew he was all part of it,

Part of the suffering, of why they were here.

After all, he was the one Lucifer tasked to gather the humans,

He was, also one of the few who aided in his plans.

He wanted to apologize, but do not know how,

His fingers trembled, by the sight of them all.

He felt shame, for perhaps the first time in his life.

He felt scared, that he'll never be forgiven by them, no matter how he tried.

He...he undoubtly ruined a billion lives,

All because he pledged loyalty and believed, in Lucifer's lies.

He crumpled his fists, as he stood up,

Watching keenly, from above.

Their tower may be far from the war,

But if the angels fail to know what's going on,

Then it's easy to tell who've won.

"Why were the skies on fire?"

His questions, continued to scatter.

.

.

.

Michael dodged the strike Mammon gave,

Which made his heart frantically race.

After all, who wouldn't be afraid?

He was very much, outmatched in speed.

It was just luck that Asmodeus manages to slow Mammon down,

By using his burning chains, to stop his arms.

Sellena and Lluming on the other hand,

Worked together, to shield them from the beasts, who've gone terribly mad.

Sellena protects Lluming,

As Lluming injures the beasts.

However, not even their team work could kill one the least.

They seemed invincible,

With such concentrated power and intellegence,

No one would have suspected-

That they were just mere distractions and pets.

"It's hard to pinpoint their weaknesses,

Even my brothers and sisters seemed challenged."

"This isn't too fair,

This monsters...they simply came out of nowhere."

Soon, Sellena's barrier broke,

And in took a split second for Lluming to grab her up.

Her heart sped twice faster, seeing how high the monster could jump,

Eager to reach her, as it stretches out its tongue.

She would have screamed if she didn't hurt her throat,

But than the likely reaction, she just froze.

Her fingers were as cold as ice from the fear,

As Lluming flew, carrying her up the air.

Asmodeus momentarily looked to see how Sellena was doing,

And in anger, burned the monster's tongue in one sitting.

Michael called him out as he had released Mammon temporarily,

Making Sellena and Lluming gravely panic.

Mammon ran fast to touch Michael,

Only for Asmodeus to chain him up again.

The onyx-eyed warrior spurred out blood the moment he released them again,

Yet until Michael figures out how to kill Mammon,

He'll have to swallow the pain.

The scene was not unnoticed by Sellena and Lluming,

Who felt their hearts bleed, by hearing his suffering.

Asmodeus flew up as he tries to grow more chains,

But truth be told, his body's not the same.

Michael frowned in annoyance, seeing Mammon dodging his own hits,

Truly, fighting him was tricky.

He tried everything he could have think of,

Yet none of them, seemed to work.

...

It took a while for Gabriel to wake,

His face and body, burned from all the gold.

Despite the pain, he knew he had to help,

So he went ahead, without being told.

His presence shocked Michael the most,

Who in great worry, loudly spoke:

"You are not meant here for now! Return to heaven to heal,"

But Gabriel refused obedience,

Knowing how Michael truly feel.

"I'll help,"

Gabriel spoke as he stands beside him,

Michael was about to argue again,

But Gabriel still didn't listen.

It was the first time he didn't listen.

He always listen.

"I told you to follow my orders,"

"I'm doing this, because I wanted to help my brother,"

The sentence made Michael's heart soften,

Not sure if he was proud or saddened.

But Gabriel smiled again and assured him,

"I'll help you, no matter how I can,"

Seeing his brother's determination,

Michael felt even more inspired.

He quickly doubled his speed,

Despite already feeling tired.

With such careful planning,

And the help of his brother's shield,

He was able to dodge Mammon again and again,

And managed to trap him down with Asmo's help.

Michael quickly pierced a spear unto Mammon's leg,

The moment he was busy freeing himself.

The chains eventually broke when Mammon struggled again,

This time, purely driven by the pain.

Michael yelled at Asmodeus to try again,

And just like he was told, more chains did came.

But Mammon endured all the heat he could have,

And focused on concentrating his blood on specific parts.

Soon, the chains wrapped in his body turned into gold,

Making everyone who witnessed it, shocked at what was behold.

Asmodeus hissed as his efforts had been wasted,

While Gabriel flew above, to notice what would happen.

He asked Asmodeus to try again,

But they're still lacking details.

As before, Mammon would still held for a while,

And in half a second, he'll roam free yet again.

The process kept repeating until Michael yells in frustration,

Saying that sacrifice may have been the only option.

The moment he spoke however,

The skies rained fire and thunder.

The unusual thing once more,

Is that it targets the angels.

Michael was now deeply challenged,

Wondering if things were truly meant.

But the distraction did not helped at all,

And he needs to hurry, before Ken falls.

For as he can see with his stolen glimpses,

Ken was losing it.

The young man was surrounded by a terrible aura he that could consume him in any second,

A terrible aura that stemmed from negative thoughts.

But after continously dodging Mammon and the fire,

His body suddenly stopped.

The night sky then turned orange the moment fire falls down,

And Michael could only ask himself,

"What now?"

He had several questions in his head,

But for some reasons, he doesn't feel afraid.

He patiently waited till the fire burns him down,

Leaving Mammon confused, and eventually stop.

All angels were set ablazed,

As the devils, do not know whether to laugh or be amazed.

Even Ken stopped for a while as he sees his allies burn,

He felt puzzled,

"But God would never hurt-"

But before he could talk much more,

He hears the angels suddenly rejoiced.

The fire did not hurt them at all,

If not, it served as their protection.

Ken smiled happily upon seeing it all,

And looked at the imposter after.

Stacy, while trying to look strong,

Was genuinely afraid, despite her achieved powers.

His looks were not of a feeble man,

But a look of a murderer, that doesn't hesitate to harm.

And so, he charges fast,

While Stacy, was left unsure of how he'll pass.

She screamed for the demons to cover her,

As Stacy commanded large serpents to assemble.

But what kind of creature was he? That none seemed to bother,

Was it because, it was all borrowed power?

Stacy blames herself for being delusional,

As she cries in a panic state, looking for escape.

She tried to summon more, but her body can't handle it,

Soon her skin, was slowly turning to waste.

Blood spills from her mouth as she tries to fight back,

But no hit would land as a well-done attack.

"Ken's more focused than ever,

And he's getting..closer and closer!"

Ken releases a black scythe that stinks of Death,

Rendering her summons useless.

They died quickly after being hit,

Showing that Ken, had acquired more skills.

"There was no hint of hesitation and worry for his own safety,

He shows no fear. He's attacking...calmly!"

The revelation makes Stacy shiver,

He is as confusing and unexpected,

As Heaven's fire.