Chapter 109: Battle against Heaven (2)
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"This is war. We cannot always foresee the outcome. Things will happen outside of expectation. That is what war is."
- Hijikata Toshizou, (Drifters)
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<(Omniscient POV)>
"Everyone put your wings to some use and break down that wall. Because if this temple doesn't come down within the next hour, then you might as well just surrender yourselves to the Queen for whatever punishment she wants to dish out." Angela announced in her roaring voice. She didn't have a clear understanding of exactly why she was allowed to raid the sacred temples which even the Queen avoided in order to not risk war, but she welcomed the change regardless. Her heart quickened at the very thought of finally being able to help Sera and the other anchorites from the corrupt and ruthless Hierophants who desired nothing but more power for themselves.
Emboldened by her declaration, the army of female angels increased the pace at which they were trying to break down the entrance to the temple. They had already destroyed the other six great sacred sanctuaries in the realm, killed the Hierophants in charge, and rescued the "miserable" anchorites being imprisoned there. This was the last great temple in Heven as well as the biggest and most important of them all. If they managed to win here today, their mission could be more or less considered fulfilled.
This temple was the symbol of power for the self-righteous Hierophants, a reminder for the angels that the Queen was not the only one with supreme power and influence over Heven. The faction had spent millennia exploiting the beliefs of the angel masses, hoarding mystical knowledge, keeping the male angel population locked up as if they were their property, and crushing any opposition that ever emerged against them.
But despite being such a powerful faction, they had always managed to hide their true strength while making themselves appear neutral and peaceful. That was the reason why even the Queen's ruthlessness and cunningness were never enough to get rid of them. She might not care much for the ancient laws that ensure the continued existence of the Hierophants, but she does care for her throne and is thus smart enough not to wage wars that she is not completely sure she can win. After all, she might be the only Arcangel in the realm, but the Hierophants just have too many mages and sorcerers in their ranks.
As the grand entrance to the temple appeared to be on its last legs, a choir of battle cries erupted from within, and soon a legion of angels who seemed to be neither completely male nor fully female in their appearances emerged from the marble towers of the temple while wearing dark priest robes and armed with ceremonial blades and staffs.
"Heretics! Purge the sinners." They yelled together almost like they were suffering from a fit.
Angela of course just ignored their words. And before they could shout more insane stuff, with a sharp motion, she took her sword Xiphos out from its sheath while the angel army under her command charged. The resulting clash was brutal. She was able to cut through the first wave of warrior priests as if a hot knife through butter. Being a daughter of Odin, she was too physically strong and skilled for monk warriors like them who don't even train regularly. Her sword was able to effortlessly slice through the angels' armor, flesh, and bones as if they were made of goo. The priests fought with determination as well, but unlike the female angels, they were fighting out of desperation, and physically, they were nowhere as good as their battle-hardened female counterparts, a lot of whom had been further enhanced by Atem. They just didn't have the same level of conviction as the warriors.
However, they still had one advantage which was their magic and at times, some of them were even able to push back the invading force using this mystical knowledge of theirs. One Hierophant even tried to summon a beam of pure hardened light to smite down Angela, but the false angel was able to react with a speed that was almost as fast as her thoughts. She used Xiphos to sever his arm in one fluid motion, then plunged her blade back through his chest, making the Hierophant gasp and fall lifelessly to the floor.
Despite witnessing one of their own dying so easily, there was little to no change on the face of any of the others though. The battle raged on as both sides continued fighting with everything they had. As the angel warriors tore through the temple guards, the air was filled with the sound of screams and the sound of metal clashing against each other but despite all that Angela's mind was set on only one goal, reaching the anchorites and rescuing them.
'Finally, I'll be able to actually help her. She doesn't have to hide or keep running anymore. She can finally be free after this.' She thought to herself while thanking the fates that led to this very moment. "But I should ask the Queen later about what happened to those two. They have changed too much. I am more than sure they weren't this strong before. And that light magic they did too. It's a lot similar to the magic of the Hierophants but different at the same time. In fact, the magic those two are using seems stronger than that of the priests." She wondered to herself while keeping an eye on Cecilia and Adelaide who were fighting from the flanks and were mercilessly beheading any Hierophants that came their way.
Anyway, Angela could not wait to get this done with and give the good news to Sera that she did not have to be afraid of going back to captivity anymore. The Asgardian princess stormed straight into the temple halls where the mages and sorcerers had gathered. These Hierophants were on a completely different level than the ones she had just fought outside. They were no mere priests with fancy tricks. They wielded ancient and powerful magic. Spells of fire and lightning rained down upon Angela and her forces, scorching the ground and charging the very air in the surroundings.
However, Angela didn't even flinch. She called to her angel forces, who spread their wings and dodged the deadly bolts. With a sweep of her hand, she unleashed her liquid metal blade, Ichors which took the form of a great bastard sword. The blade slashed through the air and sliced the necks of the two sorcerers who were responsible for the majority of the AOE spells.
One mage who seemed to be more powerful than the rest, conjured a barrier of pale arcane golden light, summoning a storm of bright yellow fire that roared toward Angela. But before even a single ember of fire could touch her, with a single leap, she closed the distance between them, crashing through the barrier like it was thin paper. The mage's eyes widened, but in the next heartbeat, before he could do anything, Angela's sword cleaved through his chest. The light in his eyes faded as he fell, leaving a broken bloodied body.
"All we wanted was freedom. All we wanted was to be equals to the other angels. Why stop us from that? Why?" One of the sorcerers who was bleeding profusely from cuts all over his body mumbled out as he glared at Angela.
In response, she just raised her sword, and with a single downward strike, cleaved the head of the mage before turning to the other Hierophants who were still trying to struggle against the army. "And that is exactly what you will get. Eternal freedom from everything. Don't worry. you can be equals in death and join him." She declared.
Of course, there was a reason why she didn't feel even the tiniest shred of sympathy for the winged male angels. It's because he knew what type of creatures they were, what they had hidden in the deepest corners of their corrupted black hearts. They were all rotten to the core and she had heard enough stories from Sera about forbidden rituals and experiments on living angels to know that none of these guys deserved a second chance... Also, there are no second chances in war and Angela was old enough to know that.
"Release the anchorites. I don't want even a single one of them to be imprisoned for even a second longer. Also, bind the ones who surrender and execute the ones who don't." She commanded as she surveyed her handiwork. 'Now, I just have to hunt down the sorcerers who were able to escape and then I can finally say that my first mission as a leader was a successful one.' She thought to herself with a proud smile.
This was the first time she had been trusted with something like this and she was more than happy that she hadn't failed.
Angela still didn't know why her Queen had suddenly given the orders that she did, but she was grateful because this quest enabled her to prove herself to everyone who had previously underestimated her. She would finally be able to show the realm that she was as capable as any other elite angel out there even though she didn't possess wings.
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