Exiled From The Heavens, ARYJIA

Chapter 6

Iblis' Mark

*****

Night crawled in steadily in thunderous frightful flashes across the dim sky. On this night, the gate to hell shook as demons shrieked and howled. The long-awaited hour had finally docked.

"Angel Sapphira, step aside!" Hazakiel strictly warned.

Though Sapphira had served as the ALL Angel for centuries in the Heavens, it had been declared that she was no longer a denizen, thrown out though politely, but never to be seen again in the heavens.

Hazakiel knew this, and he was not going to show any mercy to Sapphira.

"I'm warning you for the last time, Sapphira..." Hazakiel wanted to let Sapphira know he had duties but the latter didn't give him a damn ear but summoned her corundum.

"I will kill you Hazakiel!" Sapphira angrily declared as she activated the corundum that sparkled in blue and green lights. This was her child-born weapon, one that only she could wield.

The sky turned darker as Sapphira's corundum collided with the sword of peace that now shone in silver.

"Why do you have to fight me? I'm not against you!" Hazakiel who overpowered Sapphira forced her to speak.

"You should have known before stealing my void pocket!" Sapphira who was overpowered finally got a chance and her corundum's burning effect managed to scratch Hazakiel on the knees making him groan from the abrasive effect.

"You dared!" Hazakiel lost his temper and the sword radiated before it came down swooshing for Sapphira's neck. "Die!"

For Angel Sapphira to fight an Archangel, she was doomed to lose. But she was not like any ordinary Angel, she was born of a God and Human, and blessed with an innate ability stored in her corundum, which this Hazakiel knew nothing of.

"Archangel Hazakiel!" A voice resonated as the sword of peace vanished from his grasp, fading through Sapphira's neck.

"Ah, what now Azrael! Can't you be patient?." Hazakiel immediately went into a rage again as the voice came from one of the Archangels, Azrael.

"Don't kill her, she is not on my list!" The voice of Azrael, the Angel of Death announced.

At this moment, it was raining cats and dogs. Sapphira felt her neck, nodded, and shook her head slightly. 'I'm not dead.' She breathed in relief as she summoned the corundum again and threatened Hazakiel who was now warning Azrael to stay out of his way too.

"My void mana pocket or I send you back to your creator!" Sapphira took the opportunity to her advantage.

Her corundum hovered above Hazakiel's head as abrasive blue-green rays trapped Hazakiel in a cylinder-like cage.

"I never took your void pocket!" Hazakiel retorted as Sapphira won't believe that the gods would claim her void pocket. All this while, Azrael just kept reminding them that none was on the death list and that none was supposed to use a fatal blow.

The sword of peace again formed itself in Hazakiel's hand as Sapphira ran mad.

"I just want the two humans I saved."

"One is not a human!" Hazakiel alerted Sapphira as he used the sacred sword of peace to break through the corundum cage, but failed.

"Mother immortal blessed my corundum before I left, " Sapphira proudly answered Hazakiel's shock.

Not even the sword of peace could break the corundum's bond. "Let me free," Hazakiel ordered as a demon rose from the dirt.

Sapphira seemed unaware till she had no option but to free Hazakiel as the demon proved to be one of the greater demons,

"Since Azrael does not want you dead, this is where we part." Hazakiel who had just finished off the demon said.

Time was not on either's side, and a fight between the two was worthless too. "I have a greater demon to hunt, for the void pocket, I believe it's been returned to you." Hazakiel strapped the sword as he spoke, his wings spread wide as he rose into the storm.

"The spirit out there is vicious, I advise you to stay out of the storm," Hazakiel said his last as he flew to the city leaving Sapphira by the abandoned range full of burnt-like corpses.

She could finally sense her void pocket again. "Thought you won't give me back my pocket! Fearhole!" Sapphira presses her lips into a grin as she activated her corundum and turned into a green flash moving toward her void pocket, in the city.

The storm cruised around the city alarmingly as several women miscarried from the terror of the night before it all turned calm.

At this odd hour, apart from the angels protecting the humans from Lilith, another party was now more active than ever.

The crusaders.

"I want that Magnus dead!" The squad leader yelled at one of his men as he cast spells on the wall.

The night had crawled in as the city lit up in neons. A huge storm threatened the city as a thick smoke drifted towards the Crusaders menacingly.

In the adaptive darkness, the Crusaders grew tired and out of hope till a blackish smoke suddenly covered the wall the squad leader stood in front of.

"What a...!!!" One of the Crusaders almost freaked but the leader used a spell to shut his mouth. This was a spirit. Only an old, stressed spirit, one that is evil and determined to get revenge could be this black. The squad leader was wise enough to understand the importance of not provoking such a spirit.

Now the smoke floated, slithering on the wall, forming into the shape of a baby as the wall started to crack. Everyone just watched as the spirit raised its hand to press its palm on the wall.

But a more powerful force countered the spirit throwing it off the wall to land some feet away.

"Everyone step back!" The squad leader commanded as he saw the weakish smoke's baby figure form again before diving for the wall.

It was too late for his men. The spirit, weak as it was needed so much soul energy to form into shape. With no mercy, the spirit sucked the weak crusader's souls as it lastly possessed the last body.

"Who will help me?" A possessed crusader asked as he smiled evilly.

This made the rest of the Crusaders tense as the spirit smiled and moved like a flash across the distance, sucking more souls.

"I'm Lilith, mother to humanity!" The possessed crusader informed them as he turned and walked to the wall.

All crusaders alive now were too dumb to retort, even the squad leader dared not rebuke.

"You are not the mother of humanity!" A voice behind the Crusaders retorted. "How can such an ugly face be the mother to this beauty?" The person brave enough to scold the spirit walked to the front to face it.

"Ah, I sense why you soo bold... Mmm, let me see... Yes...." The crusader started rotting as the soul got sucked and his body withered.

The spirit of Lilith needed not a weak body to possess, the body of a god's daughter would be fine, for a while.

"Sapphira. Daughter to Mia the second wife of El. Nice to meet you. " The spirit showed off its brains but instead received a Corundum knock that sent it a step away.

"You can't fool me!" Sapphira protected herself with her corundum, walking inside the cylinder cage as she stepped up to the wall to retrieve her pocket.

"This is mine." She proudly said as she walked back, after getting the pocket, not interested in anything else.

The smoke with no body now drifted around the corpses, unable to talk as it suddenly flung for Sapphira who had least expected the attack and got knocked over as the spirit drew more soul energy from the fear-struck crusaders, leaving only the leader.

For some reason, Sapphira's Corundum's abrasive effect wasn't working on the spirit of Lilith, so she decided to let it swoosh around the spirit, blinding and gathering the smoke into one thick thread.

That was the only way she could withstand but her energy was flowing out fast.

"Hazakiel!" Sapphira cried as she felt her corundum failing. She knew the archangel was near, watching, waiting for her to admit her defeat. And sure, Hazakiel appeared.

"I can't beat it...!" Sapphira yelled as Hazakiel wasted no time but to summon the sword of peace to cut through the smoke.

A horrible shriek rose as the smoke escaped into the storm. None could kill the spirit of Lilith, but for now, they had managed to chase it away, leaving only a Squad leader.

The two angels stood in front of the squad leader who up to this moment had not moved from the spot.

"Shouldn't you just report your failure?" Hazakiel asked the ashed leader. But instead, he received a punch as the squad leader, greedy as his higher-up saw profit in capturing two angels plus a void mana pocket with two awakened beings.

"Why don't you see the importance of acting on instinct?" Sapphira questioned Hazakiel as she lifted a now weak Squad Leader.

"Did you kill the man?" Hazakiel worriedly asked as he saw the blood flowing freely.

"He has the mark of Iblis!"