Chapter 35: Fight...Me?
There was a clear reason the seven heavens, the seven hells, and the seven worlds stayed clear of immortals. Curses and blessings from ordinary beings lasted only as long as they lived.
When an immortal placed a curse, it stayed forever. When an immortal gave a blessing that lifted someone to a higher level of power, that same blessing often turned into a chain later in life.
The only sure way to escape it was to die early. Demons, angels, humans, and every other race would rather burn with hatred than step into an immortal’s path.
But orders left no room for choice. The sword of the Creator had spoken. The master of sins had spoken. Those under command simply obeyed.
Liliana led the way. She was the immortal disciple they followed now. Uranus flew high above the road with her new host body. Invisible wings stretched wide. It was strange to see an Asian host in this area, but that mattered not.
More angels filled the sky around her. Below them, cars and trucks rolled along the highway in a long line. The closer the group came to the target, the darker the sky grew.
Clouds gathered without warning. Rain started to fall. It was not the season for this weather. Everyone felt the bad omen in the air.
Uranus flew closer to Liliana. Enchantments glowed faintly on Liliana’s back and neck, keeping her in the air without wings. Uranus asked if they should push the storm aside so it would not block their plan. Liliana shook her head.
"I can’t do it," she replied. "Try it yourself..."
They tried. They failed. The angels with them could not do it either. Liliana laughed at them.
"Keep moving," she ordered. "And let me say it again: do not, and I mean do not, kill the guy beside the golden immortal. I repeat, do not kill Claude."
They all nodded.
Uranus wanted to ask why, but the words stayed inside. They had already entered the storm; the rain hit their faces and bodies. Visibility dropped, and the sound of thunder drowned out their voices. The only thing they could do was feel, feel what waited ahead.
The divinity in the air thickened. Uranus had felt this level only once in her entire time in Heaven. Even Michael, the Sword, did not carry this much. This was Metatron’s level of presence. The one and only.
Liliana raised a hand, and everyone stopped. Angels halted in the air. The vehicles on the road below slowed and then stopped.
"It’s time..."
They landed slowly, careful not to make sudden moves. The ground came up under their feet. He was already there, waiting.
Liliana’s clothes stayed dry. The angels stayed dry. The demons who had come with the group were soaked through.
She walked forward until she stood fifteen feet from the golden immortal, and there he stood, still, watching her approach.
"What did you do, Master?" Liliana asked. Her voice was steady. "Heaven and Hell both asked me for help. What tragedy are you bringing that the enemies of eons are holding hands now?"
Amon looked at her for a long moment. "It was only a matter of time, Liliana. I did not think you would join hands with them. You are still my own pupil. You have not left your rebellious phase yet, have you?"
Liliana’s face tightened. The ring on her finger was the same type Amon had once given Claude. She swung her arm once.
Claude’s body lifted from the ground and flew backward through the air as if struck by an invisible wall. He vanished into the rain and distance.
Thunder cracked overhead. Amon now stood alone in the open space. A Duke of Hell stepped forward from the line of vehicles. Human flesh covered the demon’s true form, but the power underneath was clear, as more demons followed behind him.
Amon’s eyes moved across the group. Surprise showed for a second. They had figured out that Claude was special in his own way. Amon filed that fact away. He needed to stay careful. No one adapted faster than Liliana. He could feel the readiness in her stance.
Thunder!
Golden light flashed across the dark sky. The ground under Amon’s feet began to turn red. Amon smiled at the forces arrayed against him.
"Michael... Lucifer." His voice carried over the rain. "Your little trick will not work this time. I was lost in grief before. I am not lost now."
His system had already broken down the spell they were casting, well before now.
[Skill: Break, Tier SS]
[128,375 Divinity points used]
The red light on the ground faded. The golden thunder in the sky died out. The combined spell from Heaven and Hell collapsed into nothing.
Amon raised one hand and made a simple gesture.
Come.
They came.
Demons charged from the ground. Angels dropped from the sky. The first wave hit like a wall of bodies and power. Amon cracked his neck once. He spoke to his system.
"No spells. Nothing. Pure hands only."
[All enchantments dropped except one.]
Amon’s golden skin stayed, but every other layer of protection and enhancement shut off. He stood in the rain with only his body and that single remaining enchantment.
The first demon reached him. Amon stepped inside the swing of a heavy blade and drove his fist into the demon’s chest.
Bone cracked. The body flew backward into the ones behind it. Two angels came from above with spears of light. Amon twisted, caught one spear shaft, and used it to pull the angel down.
His free hand smashed into the angel’s face. The second angel tried to drive the spear into his side. Amon’s knee rose and met the angel mid-strike. The impact folded the angel in half.
More came. A wall of them. Demons with claws and fire. Angels with blades of pure light. Liliana stayed back and watched as the Duke of Hell moved closer but did not join the first rush, while Uranus hovered higher, eyes locked on the fight.
Amon moved through them without pause. His fists, elbows, and knees did the work. He broke a demon’s arm at the joint and used the broken limb to strike the next attacker.
He caught an angel by the wing joint and slammed the body into the ground hard enough to leave a crater in the wet asphalt. Rain mixed with blood and light. Bodies piled up around him, but more kept coming from the lines of vehicles and from the dark sky.
A demon with four arms and burning chains wrapped the chains around Amon’s torso. Amon gripped the chains, planted his feet, and pulled.
The demon flew forward. Amon’s forehead met the demon’s face. The skull gave way. The chains went slack. Amon stepped over the body and met the next group.
Liliana’s voice cut through the noise. "Hold the line. Do not let him break through toward the highway."
The angels adjusted. They formed a tighter ring. Spears of light stabbed from every direction. Amon ducked under one, twisted past another, and drove both fists into an angel’s midsection.
The angel folded. Amon grabbed the falling body and threw it into the next rank. The impact knocked three more off their feet.
The Duke of Hell finally moved. He raised one hand. Black fire gathered and shot forward in a thick stream. Amon did not dodge. He stepped into the fire. The single remaining enchantment held.
The black flames washed over his golden skin and left no mark. Amon walked through the stream, reached the duke, and punched him square in the chest.
The human flesh covering the demon cracked open. The true form underneath showed for a second: horns, scaled skin, eyes like pits. Amon hit him again.
The duke staggered back three steps. Amon followed and hit him a third time. The duke dropped to one knee.
Uranus dropped from the sky with a blade of condensed light. She aimed for Amon’s neck. Amon turned at the last moment. His hand closed around her wrist. He twisted. The blade fell from her grip. He pulled her in and drove his elbow into her ribs.
The sound of cracking bone was clear even over the rain. Uranus gasped and tried to pull free. Amon released her and let her fall back into the arms of two other angels who caught her.
Liliana still had not moved. She watched every exchange. Her eyes tracked the way Amon fought without spells, without tools, without anything but his body and that one last layer. She saw the efficiency.
She saw the control. She remembered training under him long ago. The same style. The same refusal to waste motion.
A demon larger than the others charged with a roar. This one had no human flesh left. Full true form: thick hide, long claws, mouth full of teeth. It leaped.
Amon sidestepped the leap, grabbed one leg mid-air, and slammed the body into the ground. The impact cracked the asphalt. He followed down with a stomp to the neck. The demon stopped moving.
Liliana finally stepped forward. The ring on her finger glowed once. The air around her shifted. Amon turned his head toward her. Their eyes met across the space filled with fallen bodies and rain.
"You should have stayed out of this," Amon said.
"No," Liliana answered. "Never again..."