Chapter 14

The angel propelled himself toward Grace and the demon, initiating the third round of their fight. With the sword raised overhead, the angel prepared to strike. Grace, however, instantly vanished from his sight as she snapped her fingers. Anticipating her move, the angel swiftly adjusted, bringing the sword down behind him in a diagonal arc. Yet, Grace gracefully dodged the swing, as if she had foreseen the angel's counter.

"Gotcha!" Grace declared with a smirk. Meanwhile, the demon had been charging from behind, but the angel, keeping his focus on Grace, expected his wings to block the impending attack. Then, another snap resounded, and to the angel's surprise, the demon now stood in front of him, having switched positions with Grace.

"What the!?" the angel exclaimed as the demon swung a morphed right hand, resembling a cleaver, towards him. The angel leaned back, narrowly evading the slice, but then felt a sharp pain on his back as Grace delivered a powerful elbow strike. The impact not only caused pain but also pushed him forward, right into the path of the demon. With its left hand transformed into a spike, the demon ruthlessly stabbed the angel in the stomach, prompting him to cough up blood.

Inside, the angel sensed the demon beginning to morph its hand into something else. In a state of panic, he instinctively started flapping his wings rapidly, hoping to free himself from the deadly grip. Simultaneously, another snap echoed through the church. The angel wasn't sure of the snap's significance, but he understood that he needed to free himself from the demon's grip, or he would meet his demise.

The angel swung his sword of holy light towards the demon in a desperate attempt to free himself. Another snap echoed, and the demon instantly disappeared from in front of him. The sword hit nothing but air, but the relief of the demon's hand no longer being in his stomach overshadowed the missed strike. The angel, clutching his stomach in pain, thought, *Agh! By Michael, this hurts!*

"Then, why don't you just give up?" came a taunting voice. The angel turned to see Grace and the demon standing by the altar. Grace, seemingly unbothered, checked her nails, and the demon wiped the blood from its morphed hand.

"You heard that?" the breathless angel asked. Grace, with an air of casualness, replied, "I did, 'cause I can see your thoughts." The angel, holding his slowly healing stomach, took a step back, disbelieving.

"How is that possible? There's no way someone from a shithole like this would know such high-level magic!" the angel exclaimed, refusing to accept the idea. Grace sighed while the demon cleaned its hand.

"I don't disagree with you, but I ain't reading your thoughts with magic," Grace responded, causing the angel's eyes to widen. He began to protest, "If it's not magic, then no, you can't possibly be—"

"There's no point in denying it, you know? Just accept that I'm loved by the ones from above and below," Grace interrupted, her tone carrying an air of certainty.

"You can't be serious?" the angel said, a bead of sweat falling from his face.

"Oh, I'm serious—very serious," Grace replied with a grin. *If what she's saying is true, then I'm fucked,* the angel thought.

People loved by the ones from above and below are those gifted by gods or god-like beings from above and the denizens of hell from below. These individuals are bestowed various powers, such as the ability to master any weapon with a single touch, see the future, perceive emotions, penetrate illusions, read minds, and more—with no cost, no mana, no energy, nothing. It's a gift with no strings attached, granted to those beloved by the greatest's of good and the worst's of evil. Individuals loved by such beings are either revered or feared due to their power, and currently, fear was an accurate description of what the angel was feeling.

The angel forced a strained smile onto his face. "Sorry, brat, but I ain't giving up until I kill that bastard next to you and that blue-haired bastard from before," he declared, clicking the bracelets together once again. The room filled with the crackling sound of electricity, followed by black lightning that vanished as quickly as it appeared. Now, divine gauntlets adorned the angel's hands, radiating an angelic golden and white glow, with an intricate design resembling gates.

The angel enthusiastically smashed the gauntlets together, exclaiming, "Time to rock!" as he geared up for another round of combat.

Grace let out another sigh. "Fine, I guess I'm going to sign my ticket to hell by killing you," she said, preparing to snap her fingers. However, her motion was halted as the demon raised its hand. "I believe I finally understand your purpose here now, little angel," it calmly stated, moving towards the angel, who appeared shocked. Meanwhile, Grace simply shrugged and leaned on the altar, secure in the knowledge that the angel couldn't launch a surprise attack without her knowing.

"Oh, really? Enlighten me, then, bastard. Why exactly am I here?" the angel asked, ready to defend with his wings. However, the demon made no hostile move, coming face to face with the angel, despite lacking most of a face itself.

"You have come here to kill both me and Xain because you think we are here to raze the village, slaughter its inhabitants, possibly start a demonic cult, indulge in some slave acquisition, or something along those lines, am I correct?" the demon inquired. The angel glared at him, responding defiantly, "Hit the nail on the head, huh? So, what's your play? Pretend you're innocent in all this? You're demons, for Michael's sake—nothing good ever comes from your kind!" he exclaimed.

The demon tilted its head. "Is that so? Then what does that say about you, little angel? Did you, by any chance, forget the origins of our kind before our transformation?" it probed, causing the angel to grit his teeth, unable to provide a response.

The demon gazed down at the angel's gauntlets. "You are currently wielding the Gauntlets of Judgment, weapons that inflict damage based on the sins of the victim. If your assumption about me holds true, then a single strike should be sufficient to end me. So, little angel, go ahead—land your blow and test the validity of your convictions," the demon calmly proposed. The angel, momentarily taken aback, swiftly gathered himself. Without further delay, he retracted his fist and unleashed a forceful punch directly into the demon's chest, causing a radiant flash of holy light to burst forth.