William
The atmosphere in Heaven was so tense everyone's shoulders bunched around their necks in defense. Even the human souls seemed skittish, preferring to remain in their rooms than venture outside. My own muscles were growing stiff from how taut they had been over the last several months. Joel's orders were being carried out to the letter, but Optima were rare to come by in the Human World, unlike their less prosperous counterparts.
We must have killed dozens of demons and brought back none to be interrogated. The ones we mostly killed were Human-Turned-Demons; the kind we all mistakenly believed to be how all demons behaved. They reacted to their basal instincts and very few actually had any type of language skills.
I began to fear Dezso, the Lesser Angel who had been imprisoned, was dead. We had heard nothing of his condition and, without a higher-up demon, we would not learn anything. It was highly unlikely the demons would care for him even a little, despite him still being no more than a child.
I considered luring Melanie into the Human World under false pretense of forgiveness. I didn't know what sickened me more: that I was fine with doing it, or that I hated myself for even thinking of doing that to her. The past year made my heart ill with longing; the damn wench had bewitched me more than I initially thought. Not a day went by I didn't think of her.
It was mid-summer when we received word from Luke he was returning to Heaven with an Optima in tow. Joel immediately ordered the Archangels to convene in the throne room to meet our "guest." A sinking feeling overcame me as I mulled over the possibility of the Optima being Melanie. The chances were higher than I'd have liked.
"William, you appear perturbed. Are you concerned about the Optima?" Joel had asked from His throne. I was standing beside Him, my arms behind my back.
I didn't look at Him, fearing my resolve to fib would break if I did. "No, My Lord. I'm just...contemplating."
"Oh?" I could almost hear His eyebrow raise. "Contemplating what?"
"The Optima." I replied truthfully. My wings shuddered in my apprehension when a Lesser Angel sprinted into the throne room to announce Luke had arrived. "We do not know its abilities."
Half-truth. Melanie detested fighting so much I hadn't the foggiest idea what her capabilities were. The only thing I knew for certain about her abilities was her irritatingly effective fleeing. If it was her and she attempted to escape, I would have no choice but to pursue and dispatch her by any means necessary.
If I could catch her, that is.
"Lucas is under orders to bind the Optima's wrists with power neutralizers, just in case. The fact he was able to bring it this far says much about its abilities compared to the Angel of Death's." Joel said coolly, eyes straight ahead.
I opened my mouth to respond when Luke pushed open the doors. One of his hands was buried in black hair, the other presumably gripping the Optima's wrists. Just looking at her bare feet I knew it was her.
Melanie's head was bent back from the angle of Luke's grip, her eyes flitting about constantly. Her pupils were round with terror. The pungent odor of her fear washed over me, causing me to dodder. Some of the Archangels chortled at the strength of her fear. She was dressed in a black frock that may have once been nice, but was now torn and filthy. Her face had smudges of dirt—especially on her cheeks—and I could have sworn I saw a twig poking out of her hair. Time had not been good to her as I noted her sunken cheeks and the dark bruises beneath her eyes. Her skin was paler, though I wasn't sure if that was because of her fear. She seemed to have lost weight and I briefly wondered what she had been through the last year.
She attempted to step back as she took in all the Archangels. The potency of her distress increased. Luke looked at the back of her head with surfeit when she unintentionally bumped into him as she retreated. He roughly shoved her forward and she fell, her head hitting the porcelain floor. I felt my lips downturn as my comrades snickered at her clumsiness. The Angel of Femininity, who was standing somewhat in front of me, sighed with exasperation, frustrated by our siblings.
When Melanie looked up I saw her face was red with mortification and I felt even more contrite. She opened her mouth and questioned God, her voice hoarser than I remembered. Then, Amir was kicking her around. I sank my teeth into my lip to keep from interfering when I heard her yelps of pain.
"Amir. That is enough." Joel finally said, His tone bored.
Amir carelessly apologized and removed himself from Melanie, his face shamelessly smug. It was my opinion he should have been a little more ashamed for kicking around a tiny girl, regardless of her being a demon.
I found myself stepping forward and bending at the waist to grab her wrist. The delicate bones in her wrist caused me to gentle my hold. She had definitely lost weight. Melanie stiffened and slowly stared up at me through her fringe. This close, her fear was overwhelming and I could see the extent of her injuries. The bump on her forehead, about the size of an egg, was slowly disappearing, though not fast enough for my liking. I kept myself from reaching out to touch it. An emotion flickered in her eyes as she gazed at my face. It was a combination of betrayal and longing.
Tearing my eyes from hers, I slightly tightened my grip and lifted her back onto her feet. Once I had done so, I stepped back to Joel's side. I could feel His eyes on me, but I didn't look at Him as I shuffled my feet. Hopefully He would write my willingness to help her as my hatred of seeing a living being be humiliated. Luke was glaring at me, obviously disliking my helping Melanie stand. I gave him an indifferent stare. He knew I was not as cruel as he was.
Joel asked her about Dezso. I watched her face darken with realization as she figured out why she was here before admitting she knew what he was talking about, but had no idea what became of him. The sincerity in her voice was apparent to me, but Joel–and the others—were not so easily convinced.
"Believe me or not, I am telling the truth. I would not lie when my situation is as precarious as it is now." She replied, her eyes dancing around the room. Probably trying to find an exit.
I watched her face carefully when Joel inquired what line she descended from. Her nose scrunched with puzzlement before Amir was back in front of her, slapping her soundly across the face when she didn't answer fast enough. She appeared stunned for a moment as Amir barked, "God has asked you a question, wench!"
My fists clenched as he raised his hand to strike her once more. Her eschew and hasty stammering vexed me further. Joel approached her, whispering something to her so only she could hear Him. Shock crossed her features as she murmured loud enough for me to hear, "...No. No, that isn't possible. You're lying!"
His voice was low and bitter as He responded. Melanie's pixie-like face contorted horrifically as she let out a very audible growl. Her eyes were black slits and her lips curled off her teeth, revealing their sharpness to the Archangels. She actually lunged at Him, to which He leaned from her, looking like she wanted to kill him.
I had never seen her so furious, her temperament usually sweet. While I stood there, stunned, The Angels of War, Masculinity, Knowledge, Death, and Fear had pinned her on her back with their swords aimed at her chest and head.
Joel turned to face His throne. His face was expressionless, but the subtle shaking of His hands gave Him away.
Then, the smell of Melanie's fear began to dissipate and I heard Luke warn, "Get back!"
I could hear lightning crackle and slipped into a defensive posture as the it shot around the room. The Angel of Femininity dove behind me while the others attempted to get away from Melanie. Amir hadn't been so lucky and was currently on the ground, twitching. Most of the Archangels, I realized in horror, were actually down from her attack, their attire consisting of their armor. The lightning must have flitted from body to body. Only Luke, the Angels of Masculinity and Femininity, Joel, and I were still standing. Luke's right arm was scorched, the white fabric of his sleeve blackened.
Joel had spun around at Luke's shout, and gaped as Melanie stood, her hair as white as His. Her eyes were red, glowing hatefully as she regarded us.
"How was she able to do that when she has power neutralizers on?" Joel demanded.
"It's her Adsecula," I explained softly, "It basically gave her an enormous power boost and the neutralizers must have become ineffective; they were only meant for lesser demons."
She suddenly jumped high in the air, pulling her legs up to her chest. Amir had recovered fairly quickly and had attempted to trip her with his spear. She slid her arms over her legs so they were now in front of her instead of tied behind her. She landed neatly on the wooden part of the spear. Amir stared at her with wide eyes as she stared at him, her head tilted to the side.
"Steel-Toed Angel." She murmured, loathing coating her soft voice.
I found myself yelling, "Amir, look out!"
My warning came too late as a bolt of lightning shot from Melanie's chin, striking Amir directly in the face. With a grunt, he flew back and didn't get up again. Luke attempted to sneak behind her, his scythe at the ready. To distract her, the Angel of Masculinity, Gidon, surged toward her with his claymore held over his head.
Melanie dropped onto her bottom as the two loomed over her, their weapons colliding violently against each other. As she remained seated, she lifted her wrists to her mouth and tore through the power neutralizers like paper. Then, she placed her hands on the floor and knocked Luke's and Gidon's legs out from under them as she spun her legs. As they crashed onto the floor, she straddled Luke and pulled a black, curved dagger out from his cloak. I saw Luke lift his hand to remove his mask before there was a slicing sound and a muffled cry. I watched in sickening awe as his hand fell to the floor, detached from his wrist.
"You are not going to get me with that." She murmured, getting off him.
"Lucas!" The Angel of Femininity shrieked from behind me. Glancing behind me slightly, I saw her large eyes were filled with tears and her slim hands clasped over her mouth.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when I turned back around and Melanie was only a couple inches in front of me. Her ruby eyes were wide as she stared up at me like a child would.
"William." She said slowly, tasting the syllables in my name. I didn't know what to do; whether I should move and incapacitate her or stay where I was.
She decided for me.
Her eyes landed on Joel's stunned figure and I watched as her pupils thinned. She snarled, "You!"
"Joel!" I roared, snapping out of my stupor in time to catch her around the waist before she reached Joel with her dagger.
Melanie screamed like a trapped animal and immediately started to fight me. I winced when she sank her dagger into my forearm and all but threw her to the floor. With her briefly stunned from the force, I wrenched the dagger out of my arm and knelt down with my knee in her chest. When she began to move I put more pressure until I heard her choke.
The Angel of Femininity rushed past me to where Luke sat, pressing his detached hand to the bloody stump. Sweat was pouring down his face as he concentrated his healing abilities, his brow furrowed. She slid on her knees beside him, not caring her light blue gown soaked the blood up.
"L-Lucas, are you al-alright?" She asked shakily.
He grunted, releasing his newly attached hand. He was panting, eyes shut as he let her fuss over him. The other Archangels were beginning to stir, eyeing her warily.
The Angel of Knowledge pushed her broken spectacles up the bridge of her nose, sniffing disdainfully. One of the lens was cracked. "Hard to believe that slip of a girl could take almost all of us out."
"Never mind Amir. He's still unconscious." The Angel of Health noted from where he crouched beside the Angel of War's prone body, holding Amir's wrist to check his pulse.
I glanced over at Joel, whose face was hard as stone. He had His mouth pressed in a thin line as He regarded Melanie. When I looked back at her, she was back to normal.
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