The height difference also aquatinted to a weight difference and considering the angel wasn’t overly strong, it was notable. Still, he had to continue, the distance wasn’t too far…
Chapter 18: Maelor
The cool edge of the crystal surface made for a painful collision target as Maelor effortlessly repelled Gabriel and Sebastian’s attacks, laughing at their pitiful attempt.
“You’re going to need to do better than that,” he mocked, casually manipulating a ball of pink magic between his hands. Uriel huffed and made a small gesture towards Sebastian, before turning his attention towards the mage.
“You know you had other options than seeking your revenge this way, right Maelor?” the angel spoke up. The mention of the mage’s name caused him to freeze stiff, stuttering to come up with a response.
“How do you-“
“Know your name? I enjoy doing my research as to the current pawns in play,” Uriel teased, cutting off Maelor’s attempt at a reply. “Is that not strength, to know your opponents?” he grinned, enjoying the sudden discomfort that had overwhelmed the human. Prying the Magi Council further had paid off, once he had found someone more amicable to deal with. They had been reluctant of course, admitting blame for this incident was not something they were keen on, nor were they willing to give useful information. Sebastian nodded at the angel's efforts and silently readied himself from a distance, taking a deep breath. Carefully he placed one foot in front of the other, edging closer with blades drawn.
"What do you intend to gain from this foolish endeavour, vengeance?" Uriel pressed on, keeping him distracted for the demon creeping in behind.
Before the mage had time to spit out a reply, the Demon King lunged forward and dug one blade deep into his side with the other coming wildly towards his neck. The sudden excruciating pain shocked him, but his swiftly turning gaze caught the intention of the second blade. With a blinding flash, Sebastian found himself launched off his feet, his swords blown wide as his body smacked against the ground.
"Damn it all!" Gabriel cussed, changing his stance to single handily wielding his blade to free up his left hand. He focused an electric current into his palm, causing the air to crackle. With a hasty gasp for breath, he leapt forward, grasping at Maelor. The mage glanced around and sighed, shaking his head.
"You didn't think that would work, did you?" he remarked, catching Gabriel in mid-air with pulsing tendrils, bounding the angel's hands tightly. Slowly the energy drained out of his arm, ceasing the charged crackling that surrounded his palm.
Uriel huffed. This was proving harder than expected. Taking hold of his blade, he launched himself into the air before changing his course to a dive. Injured or not, the angel's speed was impressive and deadly. Maelor raised an eyebrow, turning his head between the approaching Uriel and Gabriel.
He threw his arm wide, tossing Gabriel towards Uriel at such a high speed that neither of them could move out the way, causing them to collide in mid-air. The mage watched them for a moment, content that neither was able to get up immediately.
Now his attention turned back to Sebastian, who was still collapsed on the floor. Blood was evident around his body; the previous magic attack had hit him hard and pierced his armour.
"Is that all, King of Demons?" Maelor teased, nudging the demon's back with his foot. Sebastian growled, glaring at the man. He pushed against the floor with one arm, feeling a sharp pain radiate out from his right side. "Your blades aren't anywhere near you, you know," the mage added with some amusement, seeing him struggle.
"I don't need anything more than my hands to snap your pathetic little neck," Sebastian snapped back, now balancing on one knee. Maelor did lurch back at that remark, the sudden aggression in the King's voice spoke of his conviction. "Besides, that wound I gave you earlier is likely fatal."
He grinned. The mage's attire was notably red with blood, even if he was ignoring the seriousness of the injury.
"The difference between you and me is I can heal myself," Maelor huffed, placing one hand on his side. "But for now, I need to deal with you. Then I can take all the time I need.”
He stood in front of Sebastian and stretched out his spare arm. The air around the demon's body started to swirl with an eerie purple light; when he tried to continue moving, he found himself bound to the spot. Spiking pain shot up his body as violet tendrils of flame wrapped around his limbs, winding itself around his whole body. "I would say goodbye, but I feel no sorrow in watching you die."
The spell constricted around Sebastian. He could feel the excruciating pain rack his lungs, heart and other organs. His body just wanted to throw up and collapse, but everything was impossible; the spell was even keeping him conscious during the ordeal. Maelor's smug expression stuck in his vision as he struggled for breath, Sebastian wished for nothing more than to wipe it off his face.
His vision started to fail, yet he defiantly kept his eyes open, refusing to give up, despite the impossible situation. A sudden yelp got his attention, followed by the release from the binding spell. Sebastian collapsed back to the floor, allowing the cool air to flood into his lungs. Staring upward, the sight he was greeted with was a shock. He had been expecting to see the golden-tinged blade of one of the angels, but instead, there were two protruding plain steel blades, dug straight through his heart and his side.
"What's with all the damned commotion?" Sakura growled, awkwardly balancing on Maelor's back, hands gripping the impaled blades tightly. Her weight was having an effect on the man. He started to collapse forward while she continued to hold on. With an elongated sigh, she leapt off, kicking him forward. Maelor's anger boiled over at the incident. He redirected the energy he had been using against Sebastian backwards, erupting out massive solid spikes. They sliced deep into the female's side and face, causing her body to go limp. A shadow descended behind her, trying to move her body away from the lethal spines.
"No, no, no, no!" Amnur shouted, placing his hands on the extensive wound. The wetness of blood covered his fingers, further deepening his despair. "You bastard!" he bellowed, lifting one hand up and clenching it tightly. The platform burst into flames in response, engulfing Maelor and only just narrowly missing the others.
"Amnur?" Sebastian gasped, dragging his body away from the flames. The demon simply ignored him. His mind was too preoccupied to bother.
Maelor spat a thick ream of blood as it emerged from his mouth, unable to utter a reply. It fell into the flames below, creating a column of steam amidst the smoke. He watched the steam rise before attempting to stumble forwards, managing only one step before collapsing. His lifeless body engulfed by the raging flames. Seeing him drop to the floor, Amnur clutched his daughter's body and stood up, rushing for the outside as quickly as possible.
The Demon King sat there for a moment, just watching the fire burn. That certainly wasn't one individual he ever expected to see again. All this time he had thought him dead, which was for the better. He shook his body, trying to drag his mind back to the current situation. Searing pain and notable wetness reminded him of his own wounds. A sideward gaze towards the other side of the platform revealed the angels piled on top of one another. He heaved himself up, wobbling for a moment. He strolled towards them, stopping to grab one of his blades that lay discarded along the way.
"You look like you need a hand," Sebastian teased. Uriel stared up and grunted, stretching out an arm. The demon grabbed it and tugged, lifting him free from his tangle with Gabriel. Once Uriel was up, Sebastian crouched down and put his arms under Gabriel's shoulders, heaving the angel up. Once on his feet, the angel groaned, before wordlessly thanking him.
"Needless to say, we should be getting out of here ourselves," Uriel spoke up, gesturing towards the fire. As he extended his arm, he noticed the blood on his hand. Black blood, from Sebastian. That was going to be hard to wash out later; demon blood was notorious for staining.
Sebastian agreed, pausing for a second as he considered the lack of stairs. "Are you goin
g to be alright to fly down?"
"Do our wings appear broken to you?" Gabriel hissed, arching his wings in a display of anger. The demon raised an eyebrow, but he did notice Uriel's silence on the matter. The Angel Monarch simply shrugged, silently pacing over to the edge of the platform. Once at the edge, he dived off, slowing his ascent as he neared the ground with a few powerful flaps. Gabriel followed suit, making a point to glare at the demon before taking off, landing gracefully on the floor below. Sebastian shook his head; he suddenly became so aggressive when he perceived something as an insult.
As the demon finished gliding down, Uriel handed him a familiar blade. He gave the angel a slight bow, slotting the weapon back in place. They proceeded towards the exit, shooting one last look up towards the peak of the spire.
* * *
Amnur frantically ran, further and further, trying to find someone who could help. The Nightmares had been greatly thinned in number, with the remaining few panicking and trying to run from the surge of angels, demons and humans. It made running much easier, but it still didn't aid him at the second.
"Amnur, over here!" Ciel's voice echoed through the sounds of battle. He spun around towards the sound, seeing the Demon Prince heading towards him with Abel in tow. Amnur sprinted over to them, taking care not to jostle Sakura's body around too much.
"What's wrong with her?" Ciel enquired, attempting to examine her body, but the demon had his daughter pressed tight to his body.
"Nothing good. The stench of blood is potent," Abel replied, watching with trepidation as Amnur gently relaxed his arms, turning the gaping wound into view. Ciel recoiled at the sight, unable to give him a reply. He darted his eyes away, searching behind the demon. In the distance, there was an angel with a demon. Their Court Mages, he would have to hope.
"You need to get her to Solomon," Ciel urged, grabbing Amnur by the arm and yanking him towards the direction of the mages. Once the initial shock of the action had worn off, the fire mage resisted no more, following the lead he was being given. They ran for what felt like forever, closing the gap between them as fast as possible.
"Oi Solomon, you alright?" Ciel shouted as they approached, seeing the demon sat on the floor with Arariel fussing over him.
"Bit of a hassle dealing with an overgrown worm, nothing more," Solomon grinned. His smile was short lived when he saw his friend's expression, however. "It's not me you're concerned about is it?"
Before he could answer, Amnur crouched down next to the mages and showed them his charge. Arariel flinched at the action. It was the first time he had seen Amnur for himself, but he certainly knew his reputation. The drastic wounds on the demon's passenger told him that there was a more pressing issue right now. He wouldn't be his first priority or even any consideration at the moment.
"Solomon's really rather exhausted, but that wound is terrible..." Arariel spoke up. His own magic reserves had been drained in order to stabilise him, neither would be overly useful right now, but they had to do something.
"I'll do it, even if I just manage to heal enough to stop her dying," Solomon interrupted, giving the angel a pat on the back. He was simply concerned after all, but leaving someone to die when he still had enough strength to help was something the demon would not do. "I can't save all of her, though; some of that damage is already beyond repair."
"That's fine, just use some of that energy on helping her rather than running off your tongue," Amnur spat, softly lowering her body to the floor to allow Solomon access. Silently behind him, Ciel waved his hands to apologise for the man's behaviour. He shrugged it off and ran a hand along the wound. She had taken a significant hit, one which somehow had managed to miss the heart. Even with that fact, it would still prove fatal unless he could stop the bleeding.
Taking a deep breath, he focused his mind, extending his mana into her body. Methodically, Solomon patched up the regions causing the major blood loss, before turning his attention to the rest.
Midway through the second half of the process, the young mage suddenly passed out. Arariel dragged his limp body away and began to examine it, shaking his head in resignation.
"He's spent too much, he's entirely exhausted," the angel remarked. It wasn't a fatal state if treated correctly; it did, however, mean that he wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon. Amnur bit his lip, visibly the wound didn't appear a whole lot different to him, and Sakura’s body was still wet with blood which only made him increasingly desperate.
"Do I hear horses?" Abel abruptly spoke up, earning a glare from Amnur. Unfazed, he simply gestured east. Ciel stared at the animals for a second. They were the usual mounts of humans, yet one of the riders was different from the others.
"Dumon, here!" Ciel yelled, waving his arms in the air. The horse broke off from the group, galloping towards them. As Dumon neared his mount reared up, only staying long enough to allow him to dismount before bolting.
"Really can't understand the human's attraction to those beasts," he sighed, dusting down his attire. “Now then, what do we have here?" Dumon kneeled down next to Amnur, leaning over the examine Sakura's wounds. As he scanned her body, he raised one hand and delicately ran it across the gouge, rubbing his fingers together once he had reached the end.
Pausing for a moment, he glimpsed over towards Arariel and notably Solomon. "The boy did a fine job, the wound is more or less dry," the demon said, reaching into his coat and pulling out a cloth pouch. As he unravelled the string keeping it shut, a set of sewing needles and thread became obvious, along with a bottle of fluid. Dumon inspected the needles and pulled out the shortest one before picking up the bottle and twisting the top off, dipping the tip of the needle in. "Could you ignite it?"
Amnur obliged, freeing up one hand and placing it underneath. Snapping his fingers, a flame burst to life and ignited the liquid, burning for a short period until it exhausted. The doctor shook the object to cool it down, threading a line of thread through once he was happy with the temperature. "These stitches will only be temporary, but they'll last long enough to get her proper treatment," he spoke as he started his work, neatly tying the skin up. "I'd like to do it fully myself, but I would need time and the correct medical supplies, to which we have neither," Dumon added, indicating towards the tower. It wouldn't be long until Uriel or Sebastian made an appearance. A confrontation with either of them would be disastrous right now, the simple fact they knew he was still alive was going to have enough consequences.
"They will be kept safe, do not worry," Abel responded, extending one is his elongated wings around Amnur.
"Always good to hear my old friend is being well looked after," Dumon replied, before silently returning to his work. When he had finished, he let out a sigh, packing away his tools. "Make sure she gets plenty of rest, give that injury plenty of time to heal."
The white-eyed demon sheltered Amnur as he stood up, obscuring most of his body from view. He ensured that they were tucked in close, turning his head towards Ciel.
"If you wish to contact us, you will know how," Abel spoke, giving the Prince a simple nod. After a pat on the mage's shoulder, they began to depart from the scene.
"Stop right there Amnur," Sebastian yelled, attracting the attention from the remaining demons. Abel ignored him, ushering his company to walk faster. Behind the Demon King stood Uriel and Gabriel, who were arguing over something in the angelic tongue. A sudden sharp knock from Uriel left Gabriel reeling, apparently defeated for now. Sebastian was undeterred by the angels’ scrap and ran forward, determined to catch up to them regardless of his wounds. His march was cut short, finding himself being lifted off the ground.
"Not sure I'd advise that, you're injured enough yourself," Kaiser spoke as he pulled the demon towards him, holding him tightly enough to prevent any escape efforts. Sebastian raised an eyebrow, but he was simply greeted with a similar response. "Amnur's just nearly lost who I would assume to be his daughter, leave him be. If you try anything, he's just going to kill you."
"Well t
hen, shall we wrap up this little war? The battle is just about won," Uriel interrupted, watching the two argue. Kaiser was pleased by the angel's change in topic, but his captive simply huffed, relaxing slightly in his grip. "You can settle your personal arguments at a later date," the angel spoke with a wry smile, gesturing in the opposite direction.
"...Fine, let us gather our soldiers," Sebastian agreed after a moment of reluctance. They deserved rest, and healing for any wounds they may have and the chance to reunite with their families. "Hey, place me up on your shoulder," he requested, touching the large demon's hand. Kaiser hoisted him up, balancing the man carefully.
Uriel stared for a moment, before walking towards Arariel, checking periodically to ensure Gabriel was trailing behind him. "Would it be possible for you to create some form of beacon?"
The mage turned his attention away from Solomon, who was now being seen to by Dumon. He blankly stared, before meekly nodding. After a short period of concentration, the angel launched a bolt of light into the air, watching as it exploded out to a beautiful white aurora, lighting up the gloomy sky. The scattered fighters gazed upwards at the spectacle; the angels reacted with delight upon seeing it, leaving the demons and humans slightly confused as to its meaning, aside from it being positive. Now Sebastian had an audience, he took a deep breath and cleared his throat.
"You have all fought valiantly and made your leaders proud, regardless of your race." His voice echoed across the field, gathering a few cheers. "Now the battle has come to its conclusion we can return home to enjoy some rest, knowing that we're safe in our beds for now."
From his vantage point, he could see what he assumed to be the Western forces listening to his words, slowly beginning to trickle away now he had stopped speaking. With a sigh, he turned his attention back downward. The West would have to wait again, at least not on a negative note for now.
"I assume I'll be hearing from you in the future?" Sebastian called down to Uriel below, who on hearing the question simply smiled and walked off, with Gabriel and a silently unwilling Arariel in tow. As they walked into the distance, angels ran and flew over to join them, eventually reforming their original ranks. They paused to briefly speak with Thardosean, departing once the discussion was finished.
Skies of Fyir Box Set Page 41