Zuriel Versus the Seekers

The centaur is right in front of me swinging its battle axe to cut me in half. Too near and too late to dodge, I raise my dagger overhead to block it. I close my eyes, hoping that I can take it. And if not, I hope my death won't be painful.

A clashing noise followed by a shattering sound is made. I feel my hands momentarily carrying a weight then nothing. What I see after opening my eyes is the centaur crumbling into pieces.

"What?" I ask dumbfounded.

"Told ya," Zuriel says.

I frown, taking back the awe I just expressed so his head won't get bigger than it already is. Everything I do, he takes credit for it. I mean, I could've done everything here without him. Well. . . except for the times that I have to step back for the sake of efficiency. Either way, I could've beaten them all.

The rest of the floors are. . . I don't know, boring? Sure, the moving statues are incredible pieces of art. Each of them is unique with different characteristics and abilities referenced mostly from Greek mythology. A harpy, cyclops, and Nemean Lion were the ones I recognize. The other ones, I don't know.

<>

**

"All-Seer!" the servants beg. "Let us stop them now before they could reach you!"

He is resting his head on his knuckle but the expression on his face seems to be a little annoyed. He nods, letting them leave.

"We will make sure they won't even get to step on the staircase leading to this floor."

"Of course, you will," he retorts that almost sounding sarcastic and that he doesn't believe that could.

The sigh tells enough that he's sure that all of them will be wiped out. He looks at the state of every floor through the floating visions in front of him. All of them are a mess. Then he dismisses them because he doesn't need them to be reminded. It's him on his throne on this shady floor now, waiting for his challenger to arrive.

**

<>

"Oh, finally!" Zuriel laughs, seeing twenty people waiting for us on this floor. "The Seekers of the All-Seer have decided to get together to greet us!"

All of them are wearing robes like that mage he killed earlier. But I have the feeling that these guys are much more serious threats.

"We are not here to greet you!" the one in the middle lets out. "We are here to eliminate you from this world!"

"Woah, that's a bit unfriendly greeting but I'll take it."

They look so annoyed. Wearing all that getup and lining before the staircase so that they could appear to be more intimidating but this guy is not taking them seriously at all. I know I would be annoyed.

As I elongate my claws, I ask, "Are they still my job?"

"Nah, you sit this one out. They're all mine."

"Oh, thank you." Finally, some rest!

"Here, take this." He gives me an Angelus Frame. I can tell by its glow. It's glowing pale yellow.

"What's it for?"

"Use that to defend yourself. Things might get too messy around here."

He grins at me before going ahead while I walk away in the opposite direction and near the staircase that we came from. I use the Frame and discover that it's just a normal Angelus Frame that doesn't have any ability, only a passive that says I have a natural resistance to magic. This is a passive that every Angelus Frame has. What gives? Oh, could it be so that I can hide the Frames I possess? If this is his purpose then. . . it's quite a clever scheme. He really doesn't take anything up to chance. That also means he has to limit himself from revealing the Frames he possesses while fighting these dudes.

The fight commences as the mages chant, "Combination of the Twenty: Domain of the Seekers!"

On the ground starting from them, the flat floor transforms into a harsh rocky ground. Above, there are red clouds that constantly vomit lightning. It's an entirely new world here as the colossal mountains are towering around us from miles away. Their tips could not be seen for they are hidden in the clouds. Hundred-meter-tall stone towers—twenty of them, sprout like fast-growing plants around us. They serve as the pedestals of the mages.

"This is awesome!" Zuriel exclaims, spreading his arms as he spins around. The mages are summoning something from their towers.

"Look out!" I shout as we dodge the incoming lightning.

"Get back," he says.

I waste no time fleeing. He is their target so I should be safe, right? I was wrong! Above, a mage has me as its target! A huge fireball is coming toward me! The wings of this Frame are too weak, I can't escape!

"Whoops!" Zuriel meets it and catches it using his huge artificial transparent blue claws made out of magic as if he's playing baseball. "We don't need this, thank you!"

He laughs, throwing it back to the mage who shot it. The top of the tower chaotically explodes. I almost trip because of the rumbling. *Tsk* The mage survived. He used his shield.

They keep sending destructive magic at Zuriel but all he does is throw them back. What kind of power is that? I wanna learn that too. Though I guess it's an advanced skill. I'm far away now. They decided to leave me alone and focus all their effort on him.

*Sigh*

This place is too much for me, but he's enjoying this. I can hear his laughs and insults.

"What are you guys aiming at?" he mocks.

They reply with more violent magic. I can't see how well he's doing because of the smoke and dust. Later, I spot him outside the circle of towers with his hand on his waist and the other picking his nose.

Everything is annoying about this guy. He just made the mages unleash a lot of magic for nothing while he's there outside, spooning his boogers. They soon realize this and he mocks them with a ridiculous face as he runs away.

They chase him by moving the towers as if they're moving chess pieces. And they're fast too. Zuriel has to fly if he wants to stretch his distance from them. But he doesn't. He stops, letting them encircle him again.

"There is nowhere for you to escape!" they cry.

He dances to taunt them just as they unleash their powers altogether. But I saw how he disappeared into a puff of smoke. Wait a minute. . .

"They're all kids," he laughs behind me. "easily fooled by this basic technique."

Wrapping his left arm over my shoulder, he sips smoke from the cigarette he's holding with his right hand.

"Please, get away from me," I say.

After exhaling the smoke, he asks, "Why?"

"They're gonna turn me into dust if they spot—"

What I'm talking about is already happening. Fireballs, slicing wind, huge rocks, and other magically-summoned projectiles are flying here toward us! I run away to the side as fast as I can using my cute little wings. Then this guy is flying beside me!

"What are you doing?!" I freak out. "Get away from me! They're targeting you!"

"Who do you think has the bigger chest, Lucy or Zaori?"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??!!!!" *Boom* An explosion happens behind me. "ARGH!!! Eugh!!!" I ate some dirt! Pwe! Shit, I don't wanna die here!

"Tell me," this idiot still insists. "because I think they both have similar sizes."

Is this a good time to talk about this? I don't exactly know but "Lucy!" I answer just to shake him off. "Now, go away!"

"You're kinda right. . .," he says thinking about it as he goes. "To think about it, I always wanted to fondle her breasts. Maybe that explains my urge."

This guy. . .ugh. . . Give it time and he will eventually get me killed. I don't want to be here anymore, just finish them, man! Speaking of which, the mages are not shooting magic at him anymore. Maybe they're spent. He flies there calmly and probably thinking about lewd things about Lucy. Ugh, he's such a disgusting guy.

Though, I once tried to touch her down there. . .

. . .

But that doesn't count! I was drunk, okay?

*Clears throat*

The mages are consuming a lot of potions, maybe to restore their mana. They better do it fast or Zuriel will— Never mind, he's already on it.

One tower crumbles into pieces as he stomps the mage standing on it. The others are hurrying but before one of them could finish, he already killed three of them. This suddenly turned into a slaughter. I can't believe these mages are helpless without mana.

Some of them manage to replenish in time but they didn't take into account that they have allies in their line of fire, so three were killed because of that carelessness. Wait, I don't think it was carelessness, it was out of fear.

"THIS IS BORING ME!!!" he screams while ironically laughing.