The Seraphic System

The Seraphic System

Chapter: 101

Disclaimer: I don’t own High School DxD or any other universe used in this story. However, all original characters, plotlines, and world-building elements created in this story are my own.

Pa/ t reon details below the chapter if you're interested in seeing some content in advance.

(A New Dawn)

-{Michael}-

Michael frowned thoughtfully as he slowly went about collecting a force for his Lord. A force that he felt suitable to guard his Lord. Despite his presence, he knew better than to simply rely on himself.

Sometimes merely having another set of eyes and thoughts that were equally as intelligent as his own made a large difference.

His mind drifted to his Father's request. While he knew as a King it should probably be a priority to see the place where Heaven’s enemies were imprisoned, he wasn't quite willing to let him visit it.

Not before some heavy scouting at least.

During the battle of Heaven Michael had come to one startling realisation.

He had made a mistake and he didn’t know how to tell his Lord.

Michael knew he would have to speak up before they travelled and allow his Lord to decide what measures to continue with. Since he had come to possess the information, he had been busy deciding on the best way to word it…

Some of the Gods that had attacked Heaven were supposed to be imprisoned within Cocytus... Which means that the Prison had been breached. This raised concerns about potential traps being left behind or even a complete prison takeover.

However, not every being sealed in Cocytus had been part of the attack, meaning they either hadn't been able to free them all or some simply chose not to participate. His Father had previously opted to return most of the evil Gods to their respective Pantheons to prevent them from taking further hostile actions.

So it wasn’t completely his fault.

The Egyptians.

They had been kept in the outer layer of the prison.

Since they were sealed and not in danger of escaping.

Meaning at the very least the outer layer of the unguarded prison had been breached.

Michael wanted to hit himself.

When Father had died he had withdrawn, calling back all Angels to Heaven. Including the large guard that was hosted at Cocytus. It had felt right at the time. Since Cocytus was hardly defenceless with the seals placed around its perimeter.

This invasion had shown that the barriers weren’t as impenetrable as he had thought. He had allowed it to go undefended. Not even knowing of a break-in.

Michael felt pathetic.

Father was back. It was time to reclaim his role, and yet every passing incident seemed to remind him of how inadequate he was.

It truly worried him how powerful the Khaos Brigade was proving to be. Even if the barriers hadn't been properly maintained, they weren't weak by any measure.

As Heaven's General, he saw this as a demonstration of the threat they possessed.

This went beyond even their attack on Heaven. They had managed to breach barriers designed by his Father himself, barriers that had contained some of the most dangerous beings in existence for millennia. The implications were staggering.

Michael paused in his preparations, running a hand through his blonde hair.

It felt like this Khaos Brigade was the result of not having someone like Father in the world for so long. Sure, there were beings like Shiva, and the rest of the Trimurti. They were righteous like his Father, but they were indifferent to the suffering and evil others caused.

The worst part was knowing that Father would have handled this situation with ease.

Perhaps his Guardian project could assist in helping guard Heaven’s rightful prison. Michael was hesitant to spread forces beyond Heaven but perhaps it was time the world came to know them again.

His thoughts were interrupted by a group of Cherubs, and he went to speak only for his words to die on his tongue.

It was a shock, one that passed through him and shook his near-perfect balance.

His skin tingled and his very soul trembled.

His eyes became cold as his eyes glowed, blurring as they looked around for the presumed attacker.

The group of Cherubs seemed to be experiencing the same thing. Albeit they were on the ground with hot tears streaming down their faces. Concern shone in his stomach.

Currently, he stood within the third realm of heaven.

He had come here with the intent of collecting a large force, to take Father down to the Supernatural Prison.

That couldn’t be thought of anymore. As something else took his sole attention.

In a rare moment, Michael truly felt completely taken off guard. A gasp escaped him as an overwhelming surge of power flooded through his entire being.

His twelve wings erupted from his back without conscious thought, blazing with golden light that illuminated the entire area.

He glanced back in confusion, only for something unprecedented to occur. The light intensified, becoming so brilliant that it bathed the area in pure light.

The feeling that had been absent for all that time ago came back with a thunderous force. Two additional wings manifested, pushing his total to fourteen.

It was the number of wings he had used to have.

An Angel’s power could be seen by the number of wings they had. This rang true for all of Angel kind and didn’t change even if an Angel fell.

Fourteen wings had only been reached by three Angels before.

Michael, Azrael and Lucifer.

His Halo blazed above him.

It was spinning at a speed that caused pressure to build up around him.

Michael closed his eyes. His power continued to increase exponentially, not just in raw strength, but in every aspect of his angelic nature. His holy energy burned brighter, his connection to his Father deepened.

He felt his previously meagre reserves expand exponentially. The circulation of energy in his body has also sped up by a mile, his body was continuously being enhanced, flesh, muscles, organs, and even his blood were being purified.

"Father..." he whispered, his voice thick with emotion, and his throat ablaze with golden power that had spread through his whole body in just an instant.

-{Kai}-

I looked around curiously.

For some reason, I had expected something big to happen when I activated my new skill. Maybe some dramatic light show or a surge of power I could feel directly. Instead, everything looked the same as before.

I had no Angels around me, so I couldn't see if it had any effect.

Either way, assuming it worked, Heaven had just gotten yet another massive boost in power.

The divine shard was, beyond doubt, one of the most important tools in my arsenal to enhance Heaven AND myself.

A large smirk took over my lips.

Just like that Heaven’s power had been raised tremendously. Along with my own power, I gained another way to utilise my chakra. Today was beyond productive.

Now what else do I have left to do?

While I wanted to train with the Rinnegan and its many abilities, but I decided to visit Raphael first.

There were multiple things that I wanted to discuss with her, some of them pertaining to Kokabiel and looking into the curse of the fallen while part of it was an excuse to see if the empowerment had worked.

In his time here Kokabiel had rejoined the ranks of Angels with a warm welcome. It seemed my Angel's attitude had completely changed once I had accepted him back in.

I didn’t know if the Heavenly System had some sort of forgive button but I decided Raphael could be consulted on the subject. I was curious about her latest experiments anyway.

I made my way through Heaven, towards her laboratory. When I reached her lab, the door opened before I could knock.

"Father!" Raphael squealed, wrapping her arms around me. Her form was radiating power as she wore a wide smile.

"Raphael, I'm guessing you've felt the increase in power," I replied, amused.

"A 20% increase to be exact! Just like the old times." Raphael replied and almost seemed... high? "I doubt any Angel could ignore that. How did you do it?"

"I felt the seals on my authority over Angels and Heaven alleviate. I had been successful in reclaiming some of my lost power and suddenly had the option," I replied truthfully. "I probably should have made an announcement before using it, though. How do you feel?”

“Amazing. I can feel that our connection has become so much deeper.” Raphael replied, composing herself.

“Good. And I can see you’ve gained quite the boost in power.” I said appraisingly.

“Yes! This will help with the numerous experiments I have been working on.” She replied with an adoring smile. “But Father, you do realise the ramifications of this?"

"A morale and much-needed boost in power?" I replied, knowing that wasn't the answer.

"Father, all the Seraphs are now within the God realm..." Raphael replied.

And I paused.

"..."

I genuinely hadn't realised that.

It would be at the very low end of God-class, but still, that was huge.

"Along with possibly dozens of new Ultimate-class, thousands of new High-class and so on. The entirety of Heaven has just shifted into a higher realm of power," Raphael said, looking at me with unrestrained reverence.

Then I came to another realisation.

"Michael must have stepped into Super-class," I muttered.

That was big…

Another super-class Angel and one as powerful as Michael at that.

"Exactly." She beamed, an excited gleam in her eyes. “That along with the deepened bond. I imagine my siblings are in an uproar, which is why there aren't any Seraphs around."

Her enthusiasm was infectious.

"This definitely needs a serious meeting. This changes a lot of my plans.” I muttered.

Did we even need to fear the Devils and the Fallen? That was possible, however low the chances may be. I will need to bring the Fallen Angels closer to Heaven, to reduce the chances to zero.

Sigh. Even more work.

“I think another meeting was well overdue anyway. Especially with all the chaos as of late.” I finally said.

Since the battle with the Architect, everyone had mostly been busy reorganising. There hadn’t been a chance to organise a meeting. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to have one.

Raphael agreed seriously and became more sedate.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea, Heaven hasn’t seen chaos on this level for a long time. Which has made it especially difficult to handle.” She said in agreement. “A meeting would help compose what we’ve learnt and speak about the probable future.”

“That was along the lines of my thinking, I do think a meeting will help everyone get on board,” I replied seriously.

Especially me.

“When would you like me to arrange this?” Raphael asked dutifully.

“Within the next few days, I’ll be going to Cocytus soon with Michael and Azrael. So it’ll have to be after that.” I replied thoughtfully.

Raphael paused. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, Father?”

We began walking through her lab, passing various experimental setups and magical apparatus that hummed with contained energy.

“Why not?” I replied curiously. “From the sounds of it, the place holds many enemies of Heaven. The fact that its defences are being left to magical barriers is a liability. At the very least I would like to see what can be done about it.”

“Ah, Michael hasn’t informed you yet.” Raphael sighed. “I imagine he’s trying to get all the facts before informing you.”

“What?”

“Father, some of the Gods that attacked Heaven were meant to be sealed in Cocytus.” She replied seriously.

I paused at the new information.

They were sealed out of Cocytus by Khaos Brigade? Or did they escape on their own? No, that wouldn't make much sense. Did Khaos Brigade possess someone who could best the seals and traps placed by God himself?

Sigh, this just keeps getting messier.

“Why didn’t Michael tell me that?”

Raphael merely smiled. “He never did like presenting serious situations without an in-depth comprehension of them. I imagine he was planning to tell you soon and most certainly before you left.”

That made sense. Michael, despite being a terrifying ancient Angel, was too eager to please.

Still…

“That means it’s not as secure as I thought it was,” I said, feeling a pit of concern. “I’m guessing we didn’t see the full extent of Cocytus residents, did we?”

“No. There were many that were missing if they somehow managed to break out all of the prisoners in Cocytus as well." Raphael replied thoughtfully. “That could mean they were only able to break the outer layer or the princesses didn't find their knights in shining armour appealing enough.”

“Who were the Gods that were within Cocytus?”

“The Egyptians.” She replied immediately.

“Why were they held in the outer layer of Cocytus anyway?" I asked confusedly.

That didn’t seem wise.

“They weren’t considered able to break out due to their situation. Unlike some in the deeper bowels of Cocytus.” Raphael replied.

“So there’s a chance those being held within weren’t reached?” I asked.

“Yes, there were a lot more defences inside. But that doesn’t mean they won’t or haven't already tried. They could be sitting there and working on it as we speak.” Raphael replied with a frown. “Are you sure you want to go?”

“Positive,” I replied seriously. “I’ll have Michael and Azrael with me. Along with the cohort of the best of heaven, I would be much safer.”

I wasn’t too concerned. I had grown powerful enough to be confident about escaping alive, if not defeating whatever awaited me there.

She gave me a tired smile. “If that’s what you desire. I trust Michael and Azrael enough to know that they’ll probably smother you to death instead of letting you be in harm’s way.”

“I’ll be careful,” I said, noticing her worried expression. "Onto a less bleak subject. How are your experiments going? You've been stuck in your lab for days," I asked, changing the subject.

Raphael's smile reignited. "Thank you again for that large cannon you gave me to experiment with. It's been incredibly useful for understanding the underlying magical principles that the magical canon uses."

"Have you been able to research it?” I questioned eagerly.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to recreate it fully but I have started on making some smaller versions. Which could serve as extra firepower on the walls though to a lesser degree.” Raphael said. “The large cannon has massive destructive and piercing power.”

“Good work. Even having lesser replicas will serve us well.” I said with a nod.

Even small cannons would be worthwhile if they could distribute powerful shots. They were essentially artefacts that allowed for amplification of power and output. Which was why they were worth more than just using pure magic.

“Do you have a method of powering them?” I questioned next.

“The standard mid-class to high-class Angel maintaining one cannon each would work. I’m working on developing an auto-detecting system but that’s always difficult.” Raphael said, giving me an insight into her works. “I have been developing a custom magical battery though, which would save a lot of angelic power.”

“That would be useful, I imagine a Seraph alone could store an insane amount of power by simply sacrificing a few hours’ worth of angelic power,” I said, liking the idea. “Once more, amazing work. I'll have to join you one of these days.”

Her eyes practically shone. “I-I’d love that Father!”

Perhaps due to the angelic empowerment, Raphael seemed to be in a needy mood and it was strange for her to be so unrestrained. The normally composed Angel practically hung off me.

It was cute.

“I’m afraid that right now I’d just be a hindrance, but I’m a fast learner and I’ve surpassed the purely theoretical stage,” I replied boyishly.

I couldn’t deny that the thought of making artefacts ignited something within me. My energy transmutation could be put to use.

“I’m sure you will surpass me.” She said excitedly.

My gaze landed on a massive armoured being behind her and I paused.

“What’s that?” I questioned.

She froze and a bashful expression came over her.

“Oh… yes. I've been working on a project with Michael and Uriel as well. It's finally finished, but Michael had planned on surprising you with it." She said with a hint of bashfulness.

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Care to give me a hint?"

“I think I’ll let Michael tell you, lest he starts to give me the cold shoulder.” Raphael laughed. “Though I don’t think it’s hard to make an educated guess, even if there’s a lot more than meets the eye.”

“I’ll have to ask Michael then,” I said, genuinely amused.

“Father, may I ask what brought you here anyway? I assume there is something else, forgive me if I’m wrong.” Raphael said, adding the last part worriedly.

“You aren’t wrong, while I did come here merely to spend time with you. I do have something I wanted your help with.” I said.

Raphael listened eagerly.

Ishtar.

The Mesopotamian goddess had been sitting in my inventory like a particularly dangerous piece of luggage since I'd had Michael knock her unconscious.

While I could leave her there indefinitely it would be a waste. Especially with the knowledge she had. And unlike Ares, her pantheon wouldn’t cause trouble.

"I'm going to finally question Ishtar. Since you're here, I could use some help. Though I didn't want to distract anyone from their tasks, especially with everyone being so busy," I replied.

Azrael had found herself focusing more on reclaiming her duties, while Michael was preparing and presumably undergoing his massive power change.

And Gabriel had found herself on the first Heaven... the situation with her had become strange as she mysteriously kept vanishing.

Raphael pouted. "You know you can call us whenever you need, right?"

"Yeah, but you've been so busy on your projects-“

"That doesn't matter, especially with how powerful Ishtar is." Raphael frowned. “What’s your plan?”

I ignored the warmth that her response gave me.

“She's unconscious and I've got a way to restrain her," I replied. “The same method I used with Ares but she’s quite a bit more powerful.”

“I can add some enchantment and additional bindings to be safe, since we are dealing with such a powerful God," Raphael offered. "My recent experiments have yielded some interesting results in regards to containing divine energy."

“Very well, have you anywhere to put her?” I asked.

“Yes,” Raphael said. “I have a perfect place for her.”

A chamber seemingly opened up in the wall and I had to wonder just how large her personal lab was. I knew that Heaven had a massive lab but Raphael’s personal lab was a lot more equipped.

Actually, everything looked a lot bigger on the inside than the outside. There was obviously some space-fuckery going on.

I let Ishtar out after a long time. Her body appeared and barely had time to even hit the ground properly before I used Mokuton to create thick wooden vines and restraints infused with chakra.

Raphael worked alongside me, adding her own magical bindings that would suppress Ishtar’s divine energy. The place was already enchanted to prevent teleportation or dimensional travel.

I was surprised as the large vines were covered with Angelic runes, with them taking over most of the surface.

Within minutes, we had constructed a containment system capable of restraining Gods.

The wooden restraints would drain her power while Raphael's bindings would prevent escape attempts. Even a goddess of Ishtar's calibre would find it impossible to break free in this situation.

"This should hold her," Raphael said, examining our work. "The power-draining properties combined with the dimensional locks should keep her contained indefinitely."

"Thank you. I think I’ll give her some time to think about her situation instead of waking her up now. I’m sure Michael will be done with his preparations soon, so it’ll probably be after my visit to Cocytus." I replied.

"I promise to look after her until you come back," Raphael said seriously. "She won't be going anywhere."

We spoke a bit further about her experimentations and the results Raphael was producing. It turns out she had also been creating pseudo-Sacred Gears. And the energy bracelet was going to work as the next base of a Sacred Gear idea she had.

Many of the sacred Gears I had seen hadn’t worked but a few did, and they were incredibly powerful. I wasn't surprised. Sacred Gears weren’t easy to make.

After that, I set off through the corridors of the sixth Heaven, making my way towards the dimensional gateway that would take me to the crypts.

As I turned a corner, I bumped into Gabriel.

"Oh! Kaiel!" she exclaimed, her cheeks flushing slightly as she steadied herself.

I observed the Arch-Seraph.

There was something different about how she was acting around me lately. More nervous in a sense.

"Gabriel," I said warmly. "I was just heading to the sub-dimension."

She fidgeted with her hands, not quite meeting my eyes. "I... I see. How is Raphael doing with her experiments?"

"Extremely well.” I replied easily. “She's made significant progress on the cannon replicas and her work with Sacred Gears is going smoothly as well.”

“And I think she’s enjoying all the new resources.” I added.

Gabriel nodded, still acting strangely. “I can’t imagine so, Raphael has been especially excited as of late.”

"Yeah, she's switching to smaller cannons since the large one was too difficult to replicate," I replied, observing the beautiful Angel. "It should give Heaven's walls some actual firepower."

She hummed, merely staring at me.

"We could really use that," Gabriel replied softly. "Heaven's relied on those barriers for so long that seeing them bypassed, even temporarily, was genuinely frightening."

The way she kept glancing at me and then looking away, that slight tremor in her voice. So different from her usual composure. I knew what was causing it.

I closed the distance between us.

Her eyes met mine, and something shifted in her expression. That confident, kind look wavered for just a second.

It was strange. My Arch-Seraphim were mostly emotionally stable… relatively speaking when not dealing with the subject of… me.

But times like these showed that they had a tendency to hide things from me.

I reached out, my hand gently cupping her cheek, feeling the softness of her skin beneath my fingertips.

Her breath hitched slightly.

Leaning in, I pressed my lips to hers, feeling the soft curves of her mouth against mine. It was a gentle and chaste kiss at first, but soon a tentative exploration of our tongues soon followed and the kiss quickly deepened.

Gabriel's hands found their way to my shoulders, her fingers digging into my flesh as she pulled me closer.

Our bodies pressed together, the heat between us intensified with each passing moment. I could feel her heart racing, matching the rhythm of my own and our kiss grew more urgent.

My hands came to her lower back and ran through the back of her long hair, the soft and silky strands parting through my fingers. Her body molded to mine in a manner that allowed me to feel the curves of her massive breasts pressing against my chest.

When we separated, Gabriel's face was completely red and she was staring at me with wide, innocent eyes.

"Kaiel, I..." she murmured, her voice barely audible.

My hand remained over hers, just in case she considered fleeing again.

"There's no pressure to explain anything," I said softly, drawing her closer to my body. Gabriel seemed to melt at my touch, a comforting warmth spread through me as she settled against me. “You don’t need to be so nervous.”

For a minute there was only a comfortable silence that I found myself enjoying.

"I've missed this," she admitted quietly. "I've been overwhelmed with duties lately."

"Is that the real reason you've been keeping your distance?" I asked, a hint of amusement in my tone.

She froze mid-step, her composure fracturing. "Forgive me. I... I'm just struggling with how to navigate this."

I paused, surprised to see Gabriel in such a state.

She was typically the pillar for other Angels.

They sought her for guidance and comfort. So seeing her like this was beyond strange. But perhaps it was expected? An Angel that had never gone through love? I had expected Gabriel to have prior lovers but that didn’t seem to be the case.

I cupped her face gently and she continued pressing into my palm.

"Navigate what exactly?" I asked curiously.

"All of this, these feelings... I'm scared I'll ruin it somehow," she said quietly.

I blinked at her straight honesty, but remembered that Angels were different

"You couldn't ruin this," I reassured her, my thumb tracing her cheek. "Things moved fast, sure, but we've always had something between us. This just... makes it official."

A soft blush colored her features. “I-I’m not sure I can remember us kissing and touching each other in such a way.”

She was adorable.

“‘Well, in that sense it has changed greatly.” I replied with a smirk. “Or do you not enjoy it?”

She panicked. “N-no of course I-“

And then she seemed to catch on. “Don’t tease me.”

“Just had to make sure.” I replied cheekily.

Gabriel smiled beautifully before sighing.

“It’s just… I’ve harbored these feelings for some time, but never imagined they'd be reciprocated. Particularly given all the women who surround you." She drew a steadying breath.

"You've been with me from the start," I said gently. "I wasn't thinking about it that way before, but we've always been close. So just... be yourself. You don't need to act differently."

Gabriel nodded slowly.

"I've never felt like this before," she admitted, a hint of shyness in her voice. "I'm always the one people come to for support. Being the one who's... uncertain? Vulnerable? I don't know how to do this."

“Oh? You want me to show you what to do? I’m not exactly experienced myself.” I replied with a grin.

“Still…” she said with concern.

I pressed her body to mine. Her breathing was uneven against me and I took a moment to observe just how beautiful she was.

How she had avoided dating was against me or any other scholar in this world.

Her skin was healthy and flawless, giving way to her long, wavy, blonde hair reaching past her back like a flowing river of gold. Her emerald eyes sparkled and her pouty lips were slightly parted.

In all honesty I was only going off of my instinct.

My relationship history wasn’t exactly a thing to take notes from. That goes without saying for an Arch-Seraph, whose beauty put most Gods to shame and whose personality was of pure kindness.

"You know," I said with a slight grin, "you're literally the most beautiful woman in all of Heaven. I'm surprised that you of all people are feeling self-conscious.”

She responded to the statement with characteristic indifference.

"What others think has never concerned me much, but you’re different… but does my form please you?"

I sent her a flat stare. “It’s certainly a nice add-on but I think I prefer you.”

She giggled into me.

We simply stared at each other for a moment before I pulled away.

“Now that’s sorted.” I said, giving her a soft look. “I was hoping to see your new ring in action later. I wanted to see if perhaps it could be used to make Kokabiel and the Fallen Angels with him angels again."

Gabriel's eyes lit up. "The ring of purification? I... I think it might work. I’ve been practising.”

She stared down at her ring with an intense zealous gaze.

"We'll test it when I return.” I replied. “For now, I was heading to the Heavenly Crypts, would you join me?"

"I would love to," she said immediately, clearly eager to spend time with me.

As we walked together, I noticed how she kept stealing glances at me with amusement.

The entrance to the Heavenly Crypts looked the same as it always did.

Massive stone doors inscribed with prayers and protective wards.

I walked through the entrance alongside Gabriel.

I surveyed all the stone slabs near the front that were empty from my previous resurrections.

Hundreds of Angels had already returned to active duty thanks to my efforts, but that was barely a fraction of what was available. It never ceased to make me feel any less somber as I looked at just how many had died.

The connection I had with them was that of a family. Even the Angels I hadn’t met.

The crypts stretched out like an underground city. Thousands of slabs in perfect rows, most of them still empty.

I moved deeper into the complex, Gabriel following silently behind. We passed the empty slabs, the sections I'd already cleared on previous visits.

She watched with a sad smile, peaceful. She knew what I was planning.

All the casualties from the battle with the Architect had been revived. That alone was insane to think about.

With my current power levels, I could afford another attempt. My angelic power had grown strong enough that the number of Angels I could bring back made it worth depleting my reserves completely.

Before, mass resurrections hadn't been practical. Spending all my angelic magic would only revive a handful compared to the cost of halting my training progress entirely.

It had been a grim calculation, but prioritizing my development had proven necessary. The results spoke for themselves.

This couldn't become routine, though.

Depleting my reserves this frequently would cripple my advancement, and that was unacceptable.

I clenched my fists.

From my inventory, I withdrew the precious metal I'd been accumulating for this moment. Golden ingots gleamed in the dim light, each one carefully collected to serve as a conduit for the resurrection ritual.

The wealth before me could have brought kingdoms to their knees. Though in the supernatural world, such riches meant considerably less.

I raised my hand and began the incantation.

"True Resurrection."

The spell activated immediately, and I felt the massive drain on my mana reserves.

Energy began to swirl around the slabs that the dead Angels lay upon.

I felt the drain on my power immediately.

This was orders of magnitude more intensive than my previous attempts, drawing on reserves I didn't even know I had. The True Resurrection spell consumed enormous amounts of mana, but its effects were absolute.

The first Angel's eyes snapped open, fully restored.

Then another.

Then dozens and onto hundreds as the resurrection wave swept through the section.

Gabriel gave me a beautiful smile and after making sure I could stand, she immediately began gently comforting and coordinating the Angels.

It was time for Heaven to rise once more.

With this and the Angelic Empowerment, Heaven’s power would continue to skyrocket.

-{Azrael}-

Azrael gasped as the power that hit her finally settled.

That feeling left a residual power flowing through her veins.

She sighed contently, a smile flashing on her face as she felt the angelic empowerment flowed through her, the same energy Father had radiated when He was alive.

Fourteen pairs of wings blazed behind her. The already substantial amount of power she possessed was further boosted and she could sense the qualitative change in all of her siblings.

She sat beneath the massive twin trees, watching her twelve new siblings with Hestia.

Azrael watched them stumble around with a hint of amusement. Tiamat and Hestia looked slightly confused and panicked.

After a minute, Seraphael joined the new angels, seemingly coming to the rescue much to Azrael’s amusement.

Azrael watched from beneath the twin trees as Seraphiel gathered the twelve newest Angels in a circle.

Their faces showed clear confusion about the sudden surge of power they'd felt.

"I know it's a lot to take in," Seraphiel said. "But what you're feeling right now? That's a good thing."

Avael raised her hand hesitantly. "What is it exactly? It's different than before."

"That's the empowerment taking hold. Your connection to your Father." Seraphiel's expression softened. "It also means you don't need to hide in this sub-dimension anymore. You can actually go out into Heaven now."

The twelve Angels looked at each other. Confusion shifted to something like excitement. Zakiel and Tamiel started to smile.

Somehow that turned into questions about their wings.

Seraphiel spread hers wide. "They're not decorative. Your wings channel angelic power. Understanding how to use them makes you stronger."

Ariel spoke up from the back of the group. "Why do they matter so much? I heard mother Hestia speaking about them.”

Hestia perked up, a warm smile on her face.

"Because they represent your connection to Father’s spirit," Seraphiel explained. "Every Angel is part of that Holy Force. When you feel that energy flowing through you, that's the Holy Spirit. That's what makes you an Angel."

Azrael noted how the confusion completely faded from their faces, replaced by genuine wonder and enthusiasm.

She watched on calmly, eyes trailing to the twelve Angels watching intently.

Then, Azrael glanced into the soul realm, humming thoughtfully. Their unusual souls puzzled her as well. How had these new Angels been born? The third generation, as she'd begun thinking of them.

Her smile faded though, her mind kept returning to the troubling discovery she'd made.

That also led to yet another anomaly, the new Angels couldn't fall.

Likely an oversight from her Lord.

And it worried her.

Azrael was one of the few who knew why the Falling System really worked, beyond both a punishment and chance to let any who didn’t want to serve free.

The falling system served as protection from the Seven Deadly Sins, without it, corruption could take hold unchecked. Corruption was its own domain. Many people overlooked that detail.

She'd need to tell Him about this.

An enemy that eclipsed anything they'd faced before. They couldn't afford to get comfortable. The demons weren't as gone as she'd believed.

Her Lord's recent encounter proved that much.

They hadn't all died out. They'd just been waiting.

The Khaos Brigade showed signs of their interference. So did the creation of Devils in general.

The True Lords of Hell weren't as dead as the world thought.

Time would tell.

For now, she returned to the Two Trees, closed her eyes, and let herself feel the renewed bond with her Father.

-{Kai}-

I sat hunched over the workbench in the God's study, surrounded by scattered notes on angelic script and the remains of my latest failed experiment.

The ring in my hands was made from a decent magical alloy, nothing spectacular, but it should have been more than adequate for a simple enhancement artifact.

Another two days had flown by.

My training with the Rinnegan had been slow. Intentionally so.

I have been spending more time with Gabriel, who had become clingy after our talk. Much to everyone’s amusement and Azrael’s strange distaste.

Some of my time had been spent with Brias who had been somber since Uriel’s death. The giant had become quiet and more of a recluse since that incident. The two had become close and even my promise of reviving him didn’t help much.

Anyway, back to what I was doing.

I had been trying to make an artefact out of the metal ring. I had carefully inscribed the angelic characters along the inner band, each symbol flowing into the next in the precise pattern I'd memorized.

The characters were inscribed by a sharp pen without any ink. It was solely channeling my angelic magic, a golden light streaking as letters were left in its wake.

The art of actually using angelic runes wasn’t easy.

It was basically solidifying power and leaving it to burn into an object.

The script itself was beautiful, elegant curves and sharp angles that seemed to pulse with potential energy. I'd spent the better part of yesterday learning the proper formation of each character.

With my new Artifact Inscription skill active, I began embedding the magical formula into the metal.

The concept was straightforward enough, creating a matrix of power that would amplify the wearer's magical output.

Angelic script and Artifact Inscription together was a deadly combo. Angelic script was essentially leaving instructions and Artifact Inscription enhanced the flow of energy and gave it direction.

Unfortunately it wasn’t as easy as just writing words.

The inscription process felt like trying to thread a needle while wearing thick gloves.

There was no spit involved as well.

The magical formulas were correct and even the inscriptions were precise. However, something was wrong with my execution. I could feel the energy building up, growing unstable as it failed to properly integrate with the alloy.

The ring grew hot in my hands. Too hot.

A sigh escaped me, as I already knew what was to come.

A sharp crack split the air and the ring shattered, sending fragments of superheated metal across the workbench. I jerked my hands back, cursing as a small piece bounced off my cheek.

Flatly, I chucked the remains into the pile of broken rings that had been steadily growing over the past two days. The pile was getting embarrassingly large.

I looked at the words I had tried engraving on its surface.

“Thul maelon thuverim na veridian tel.”

Allow power to flow through this ring.

Perhaps I was being too vague? Or less assertive?

I should try another string next time. Perhaps ‘Power flows through the ring.’ would have better results?

In any case, my progress was explosive according to Raphael. Therefore, despite my failures, I wasn’t too disappointed. I had gone from not being able to add one letter yesterday to inscribing an entire line of words.

So the improvement made it bearable and I couldn’t deny I was having fun.

Sighing heavily, I leaned back onto my chair and rubbed my temples.

I had a newfound appreciation for Raphael's successes. What I'd initially thought as relatively doable craftswork was proving to be an intricate art form that required perfect balance between magical theory, material science and raw power control.

Artifacts were essentially words of power embedded into physical objects, with their effects dependent on both the quality of craftsmanship and the materials used.

The better the base material, the more complex the enchantments it could support.

Sacred Gears existed in a realm far above standard artifacts, they were basically soul weapons, rare even among the most powerful pantheons.

The fact that Heaven possessed so many Sacred Gears suddenly made me understand why the other factions held us in such high regard. Creating soul-bound weapons was beyond most gods' capabilities.

I picked up another ring from my supply pile and started again, this time focusing on an even simpler enhancement.

A durability boost.

I was mostly playing around for now but the progress couldn't be denied.

Ten minutes later, I was adding another broken ring to the pile. I tried different approaches. Simpler formulas. More complex power matrices. Different inscription attempts.

I looked over to a cluster of Artefacts laid out on my table. The artefacts that the Egyptian God Set had used to empower his host. I had them set down for later usage and study.

After the sixteenth failure, I decided to try a different approach entirely.

I activated my energy transmutation ability and the pile of rings vanished, only giving me half of what it was worth due to the failures. I began drawing on the substantial energy reserves I'd built up.

Instead of using the common magical alloy, I would create something better.

I grabbed a ring, one made of Arcsteel. A Magically conductive alloy that channels energy with ease.

Then after making a circuit for my intended outcome. I focused on the molecular structure of Annar-Mithril, the legendary material that I had added to my sword.

While all these materials like Arcsteel were good to channel energies, they all had varying degrees of success and power. Annar-Mithril had proven itself to be an entire realm above Arcsteel. For origınal chapters go to N0veI.Fiɾe.net

Perhaps what I was trying now simply too powerful.

Annar-Mithril would allow me more leeway.

Pure mithril was my end goal, but if I could create even a small amount…

The energy drained from my reserves as I forced the transmutation, restructuring the basic magical alloy at the atomic level. The metal began to shimmer, taking on the distinctive silver-white luster of mithril.

Success.

Before I could begin inscribing the new ring, the study door opened and Michael walked in.

"Father," he said, his voice eager. "I've assembled our cohort for the journey to Cocytus."

I set the quasi-mithril ring aside and turned to face him.

"Good. Before we leave, though, I assume you have some things to inform me about?" I replied knowingly.

Michael's expression shifted, becoming more serious. "Yes, actually. There are some developments regarding Cocytus that you should know about before we-“

"I already know," I interrupted.

Michael blinked, clearly taken aback. "You... what?"

"Raphael told me about the gods who were supposed to be sealed in Cocytus. The ones who escaped during the attack." I replied amusedly.

Michael's face fell into an almost comical pout.

I couldn't help but smile at his expression. "Did you find anything else? Any additional information about the breach?"

Michael sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. "No. The prisoner god we captured doesn't know anything about it. Either they weren't involved in the planning, or the information was compartmentalized."

I briefly wondered if god flesh would be useful for artifact creation before pushing the disturbing thought aside. "I see, we will have to be careful in that case. Perhaps a bit of scouting would be prudent.”

“You still wish to go? I know you don’t shy away from danger, but they could have left some sort of trap or may still be there.” Michael questioned.

I sent him a look. “Azrael will be coming with us so I’ll hardly be undefended. If Cocytus has been taken over then that’s even more of a reason for it to be reclaimed. It’s time for Heaven to take back what’s ours.”

Michael looked at me akin to how a child would look at their comic superhero showing up in real life and I blushed slightly.

“You've prepared a force?" I asked next.

Michael's demeanor immediately brightened, the pout replaced by an almost boyish grin. "Of course!"

He gestured toward the study entrance and Azrael stepped in, looking genuinely excited. Behind her came a legion of Angels, all of them radiating a strong presence. Wearing expressions of awe and devotion as they looked at me.

I grinned, feeling a surge of excitement. "How are we getting to Cocytus?"

Azrael stepped forward, her expression becoming more focused. "I can move freely through the lower realms. I have a better grasp of the terrain than most and I can transport the entire group without alerting anyone nearby."

The Angels began activating various artifacts, amulets, rings, and bracers that would ward off the lethal cold of Cocytus. The temperature there was below what most beings could survive, even Angels.

Apparently I wouldn’t need anything due to my innate power, neither would Michael and Azrael.

Azrael waited until everyone had their protective gear activated and properly tested.

“Are you ready my Lord?” She asked.

“I think we are.” I said, meeting the eyes of my preening Angels.

"Good. Please stay close to me once we arrive. Cocytus is a deadly place to wander around.” Azrael asked.

She raised her hand and space began to fold around us. The familiar sensation of teleportation gripped me and I allowed it to wash over me without resistance.

We materialized in a barren wasteland of ice that stretched endlessly in every direction.

The ground beneath our feet was solid ice, so thick and ancient that it appeared black in places. Jagged formations jutted up like frozen mountains, their surfaces reflecting what little light filtered down from the grey sky above.

There was only a moment before the cold hit me.

This wasn't just low temperature. this was cold that wanted to leach life from everything it touched.

My breath came out in crystalline clouds that fell to the ground like snow. The silence was absolute and oppressive. No wind, no sounds of life, nothing but the occasional crack of shifting ice in the distance.

So this was Cocytus.

One of my Angels shivered slightly and immediately I allowed my Holy Power to surround us.

The very air fizzling as the demonic cold tried to fight me.

They all relaxed and I saw Michael smile.

We turned as one toward the horizon, and there it stood, a massive structure that dominated the frozen landscape.

its black stone covered in magical frost walls stretching impossibly high into the grey sky. Towers twisted upward at unnatural angles, and even from this distance, I could see the faint glow of containment runes carved into its surface.

For a moment, I felt myself stunned.

If it was going for intimidation then I had to admit, it was perfect.

-END-

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