Chapter 20: Divine Intervention

"Jonah," Marcus says, pushing me off of him, "what is that thing?"

"Beats me," I reply quickly – perhaps too much so, since he does glance at me briefly. "But I'm not liking the vibes it's giving off." That part is the truth. The thing is definitely a demon, and its magic power is up there with Risk and Juno. It's not making a move, thankfully, so I have time to plan things out. I approach Raksha, and start healing the wound Marcus inflicted on him. Marcus moves to stop me immediately. "Don't be stupid," I tell him, increasing his reluctance. "The battle between us is over. We've got to fight that thing first."

The blond idiot still has his back turned to the small hooded demon, so I snap at him, "The power coming from it is the same as the demon we fought in Rooke, you buffoon. This is not part of the trial. It got interrupted yet again, just like the second one, back in the Labyrinth. We've got to focus on fighting it, or we're all gonna die." I look from Marcus to the hooded figure, which is still standing there, looking at me. "It's a lot more powerful than the ice demon we fought." Let's not mention that I don't plan on using my dream magic here. It's far too soon since my fight with Juno and... and someone else. I can't remember, and that just proves my point further. "If we don't all focus on it, we're dead. Aisha!"

The woman is already running up to me, and immediately starts to check on Raksha. "Will he live?"

"I-I'm fine," the djinn answers stubbornly, already trying to stand up. I push him back down.

"Stop that. My healing power is a bit off-key. I need to get used to how the talisman affected me." I put my free hand over his mouth and look to Aisha. "What's the situation? I'm having trouble thinking straight."

Snow walks over to us, eyeing Marcus wearily as Aisha performs the analysis out loud. "Raksha should be as strong as most of the Apostles right now, and Snow and I are about even, just behind him. That should make us stronger than the team you had back in Rooke. Let's not forget Yukiji, either. She must be watching this." She quickly glances at Marcus. "Right?"

He gives her a nod, but still seems hesitant about the trial stopping. "So we attack?"

Standing up, a fireball in her hand, Aisha makes her answer known, and hurls the spell at the hooded figure. It flies straight toward it at an insane speed. Would I be able to dodge such a thing? The hooded demon sure doesn't seem in a hurry to do so. What's it thinking – if it even can think – just standing there? That spell has enough mana to burn a large house away.

Just when it seems the demon will be dealt with swiftly, its mana twitches a bit, and the fireball takes a big curve, hitting the sand next to the little fella, burning away without causing harm.

"Impossible," Aisha says. "You can't use your mana to directly affect someone else's spell. That's just not possible. No one is that precise – not even the Apostles."

"Well, it clearly happened," I tell her as I finish closing Raksha's wound. I remove my hand from his mouth, and notice he's a bit red from it. "The devils don't function like we do. They're inherently stronger."

"We?" Marcus snorts, and I give him a look. What's he talking about? "Don't give me that crap. You and Raksha are not in the same boat as Aisha and I. You've got talent to spare. You've been a magic knight for what, a month? Yet you've already defeated an Apostle, and then two devils stronger than the Apostles. Don't give me shit like that. Inherently stronger than us? More like stronger than me. You two have no excuse for chickening out."

Wow. Didn't think I'd see that coming from a guy like him. His inferiority complex must be worse than I thought. "No one's chickening out," I reply, helping Raksha to his feet. "It's a fact that not a single one of us can take that thing on alone. We have to treat it like someone stronger, or we're gonna die. Aisha's analysis is spot-on. Yukiji, if you're here, don't show yourself. Wait for an opening." If it can affect our magic, it might be unable to affect that which it cannot see. "Aisha, Raksha, try to attack at the same time."

The two then press their palms together, and I feel them linking as their spells join each other. In seconds, they create a swirl of fire and wind powerful enough to burn the entire damn palace away. It doesn't even have a lot of mana inside of it, but the blend of the elements is perfect. The wind strengthens fire, and gives it the speed it naturally lacks. They throw the attack forward, moving in perfect sync, and it reaches the little demon in less than a second.

Then it shoots off toward the mountain, and explodes upon hitting the top, destroying it completely, as if it were made of cardboard instead of stone. If the devil required effort to do that, it's not showing it.

"So, what now?" Raksha asks, stepping in front of me. Is he letting me lead? What's this? A prideful guy like him, allowing someone else to form the strategy? That's some nice character development right there.

"Speed might be its strength," I say. "Hit it multiple times in quick succession. Got any spell like that? I know you're more about giant whirlwinds."

Scoffing, Raksha waves his hand like a blade, and a slice of wind goes toward the devil. "Don't treat me like a novice, Jonah. I may be young, but I am one of the djinn – a proud member of Wyrwood Village." To follow up on his words, he slices again, then again, and then once more. All three hits get turned away at the last second, so Raksha starts using his other hand as well. Slice after slice of wind goes flying at the little demon, but they all curve away at the last moment. Aisha decides to join in, and starts firing flames in a large quantity. The attacks must be going into their hundreds by now, and yet none are yielding any results. The devil just stands there, twisting everything out of the way.

Changing the directions of the spells.

Directions.

I focus some of my mana into my eyes, and start checking the demon out. Dex can do that same thing with his magic. If this guy also has it, I can start to look for weaknesses. This should allow me to notice any arrows it might create.

However, I see nothing as the attacks fail. The hooded one just sends them all away, not once getting a scratch on itself.

"Stop," Aisha says, and Raksha falters, halting his attack. "We're just wasting mana like this. For all we know, that's what the demon is aiming for. It might attack once we're exhausted, and then we're really screwed."

"Any other ideas?" Raksha asks, and Marcus decides to make himself known.

"Hell yeah. Just give it something it can't redirect." He takes the dagger he's holding, and throws it at the demon. Just when I think the attack will work, the devil's mana twitches, and the knife is sent flying into the send, failing to do any harm.

"Shit," I mutter, then remember Marcus' magic. "How much can your illusions do?" He starts to turn toward me, so I snap at him again. "Don't take your eyes off it! If it's as fast as Risk, a second is enough to rip your head off!" He stiffens, and holds his hands up in a defensive position, as if in the middle of a common street fight. "Can you only hide yourself, or do other stuff as well?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Send a would-be attack at it. I wanna test something."

Obliging, Marcus replicates Aisha's ball of fire, and sends it toward the devil. Instead of being redirected, the illusion hits the devil, who doesn't react. "Hi," it says once the illusion vanishes.

"It recognized it?" Aisha asks, which is a valid point. I disagree, however.

"I don't think that's it. It didn't redirect it because it physically couldn't."

Raksha throws me a quick glance over his shoulder, and I tense up as he does it. Idiot – and just after giving Marcus a scolding, too! "What do you mean, Jonah?"

"It's not very intelligent. Hell, it can hardly speak at all. I highly doubt it recognized the spell as an illusion. No, I don't think that's the case at all. What's more likely is that it couldn't bend it away."

"Why the burning fuck not?" Marcus barks, slowly shying behind Raksha. "It bent everything else easily."

"Everything else was an attack," I reply, and Aisha gasps.

"His magic redirects attacks. The devil isn't actively using it; It's just the ability he has. He bends away attacks."

"My thoughts exactly," I add, "but that doesn't help our situation that much."

Marcus mutters a few words to himself. I mana to catch the words ability, power and what, and sigh as he does it. From brilliant to moronic, just like that.

"How do we beat it, then?" Aisha asks. "Wait it out?"

"Continue the trial?" suggests Snow, and every single one of us tenses up. "S-Sorry. Dumb idea. I'll be quiet now."

I just give his head a pat, and he leans into my touch. "Ouch," he suddenly says, and his head moves back as if someone just yanked on it. What the hell?

"Play nice, Yukiji," I warn, and then the devil surprises us all by taking a step forward. After that, it takes another step, and then another, and then another. "Hi. My name is Tobi."

Oh, shit. Oh, fuck me. "It evolved," I say. "We need to get out of here."

"I can manage that," Raksha tells me, then summons a whirlwind and propels himself toward the ceiling of the dimension we're in. Once he hits it, he continuously proceeds to slash at it.

"He's not getting anywhere," Aisha comments.

"Give it time. He's tough," I reply, then focus on the enemy at hand. "We'll keep this fella occupied while Raksha busts us out. If the Apostles have the ability to get us out, they're choosing not to do so. I doubt we're away from their eyes, since the event is being spectated. We can't rely on outside help, whatever the case.

Is that so?

Not you again. It's the damn voice inside of me – the one who urged me to kill Juno. What do you want now?

After a slow chuckle, it replies. I am outside help. Though I may be within you now, I can be brought out.

What the hell do you mean?

"Jonah, you there?" Marcus asks, and I realize the devil is now incredibly close. Aisha starts attack it, but her spells get bent away.

"Give me a minute," I respond. "Keep it busy! I've got a plan."

Your djinn friend is wasting his time. Brute strength cannot break you out of this place. Call him back.

"Raksha, stop that!" I scream, and he stops slashing, turning downward to look at me.

"We need to get out!"

"I've got another plan! That won't work! Just keep the devil occupied!"

He obeys me at once, and soars toward the thing, slashing with massive swords of wind that would have doubtlessly killed any other foe.

I am capable of exiting your body, the voice says. I can defeat the abomination before you. You lot won't prevail alone. Set me free, boy, and I'll deal with it for you.

Who the hell are you? What do you want? Why would you even agree to help me? Furthermore, why should I trust you?

After another chuckle, I feel my mana increase in power. I am the one who enabled you to use the magic you used against the two royal demons before. This one is another royal – on par with them. If you wish to defeat it, you'll need the help of that which vanquishes demonkind. I am uniquely qualified to end this battle easily, but you will need to bring me out first.

More vague bullshit? Don't give me that crap. Tell me your name, and what you are. I'm not doing shit for you otherwise.

The devil before me starts watching Raksha as he flies around it, and then Raksha's arms suddenly bend out of shape, and he falls to the sand, unable to move. Shit. This is what it did to those knights.

Aisha then slashes at the demon with fire, and Raksha is released at once, and the fire flies away harmlessly.

That's it. That's its weakness. It stopped holding Raksha as soon as it was hit.

"It can't bend away magic while it's attacking," I say out loud. "If it starts twisting one of you, another will have to attack it, then the twisting will stop automatically, since its magic activates by itself."

"Got it," Marcus says, throwing himself into the fray. Snow runs after him, creating a sword of ice, and the two start trying to physically hit the devil. They keep being moved to the side just before landing a hit, but at least now it can't manage a counterattack.

A temporary victory, the voice tells me. Eventually, you'll tire, and then you'll be twisted apart until only a bloody mess remains. Don't be stubborn, boy. Release me.

Tell me who you are!

I am a friend.

People who say that usually turn out to be massive assholes, so I'll pass on blindly trusting you. Tell me who you are, or you aren't getting shit from me.

My sentence is met with a blank silence. Figures. Useless piece of shit! Don't interrupt me if you aren't actually going to-

Very well, it suddenly says, and my thoughts stop forming themselves as my mind gets flooded with information.

I am Sammael, of the Host of Heaven. I am one of the ones given the purpose of slaying devils like the one who stands before you. I am one of the blessed angels, beloved by God himself, and I will help you once you release me.

An angel? You've got to be shitting me. There's no way you're real.

What makes you say that?

The world we live in – it's too fucking shitty for the possibility of angels to be something I'll ever even consider. Kids die, girls get raped, the sick are tossed aside. All these things happen, and rarely is there any justice for them. If angels existed, they would have prevented it.

You speak as though we were created to hold your hand. We are the warriors of Eden. We do not exist to solve humanity's problems. These atrocities you speak of – humans are the ones who bring them about. It has nothing to do with demonkind, and so it is not on us to deal with it. We will assist you in the destruction of the Demon King, but we will not coddle you.

The Demon King? You mean Risk?

The angel – Sammael – fills my mind with echoing laughter once I suggest that, flooding my senses so much that I just barely notice Marcus hitting the ground as the devil twists his legs around. You believe Risk is their leader? Don't be a fool. That guy is just one of the royals they've got. The Demon King is only one, and his threat to all reality is great enough to warrant Eden's intervention. Heed my instructions, or die to the enemy standing before you.

There it is. At the end of that sentence, I hear something – something human. The voice stops being an omnipotent presence, and reveals itself as human. That hint of emotion is undeniable.

You're scared, I think. If I die, you die as well, don't you? That's why you want to be free.

Sammael doesn't respond, so I keep going, relieved to see that Marcus wasn't hurt too badly. You never had any intention of helping us at all, did you? All you give a damn about is being free and surviving. Angel, my ass. You're as selfish as we are.

Suddenly, from the depths of the hooded cloak, where the devil's body should be, four massive tentacles burst out. One of them hits Raksha right away, swatting the djinn out of the air as if he were no more than a mosquito. The second just barely gets blocked by a wall of ice, but the third and fourth manage to hit their mark, pressing Marcus and Aisha into the ground.

It evolved, Sammael says. That is that one's ability. His mana controls all attacks around him, then alters his physical body into one capable of combating those who attacked. Four attackers, so four tentacles. Be rational, Jonah. If you don't free me, they'll die, and Tobi will grow. If you won't do it for them, do it for all he will harm once he's free from this place. If he evolves too much, even the Apostles won't be able to stop him. Set me free, and I'll destroy him. An angel can do it. We are the light to their darkness. They cannot survive Eden's might.

Alright! Stop talking already; I'm doing it.

Good. Now, cut yourself. You'll need blood for this.

I run toward Marcus, who is still struggling in the ground against the grey mass on top of him. "I need your dagger," I whisper, then reach for his hand.

Which then vanishes as soon as I touch it, and I hear Tobi squeak. Suddenly the real Marcus is behind it, bringing his dagger down. To my surprise, he manages to pierces Tobi's head, then gets smacked away by a fifth tentacle. The force of the strike pulls the devil's hood back, revealing an endlessly shifting grey mass beneath. It keeps changing its shape, from a coil of snakes to a blob of goo to the head of a gargoyle. I nearly pule at the sight of it. The hood was definitely a good call.

The dagger is still there, lodged in its skull. How did Marcus pull that off?

He has skill, Sammael says. The illusion he used had enough power to fool the very nature of Tobi's magic, so it failed to redirect him. The abomination is confused now – and scared, and angry. He's trying to understand why he's in so much pain. That is the first time he has been injured.

But how the hell do I get the dagger?

She will give it to you, Sammael says, and then two large cuts appear on the grey mass meant to be Tobi's head. The devil starts screeching as more cuts appear, small tentacles coming from beneath his cloak as he starts turning around, helpless and confused.

"Yukiji!" I yell, running toward Tobi and throwing myself at him. I manage to tackle him without being misdirected, then grab the hilt of the dagger still inside him. I twist it before yanking it out, then try to bring it down again, but a tentacle smacks me away. I fly a good twenty feet before my wings start coming out. Unfortunately, they come out just in time to be squashed beneath me as I hit the sand, and I scream from the pain. It feels like someone just ripped a hole In my back. Shit, this burns!

You have the dagger. Cut your palm – now!

Tobi's screeching gets louder and louder as I hurry and cut myself.

Now place your palm against the ground. That's it – you're doing good. Now repeat what I tell you.

And so I open my mouth and summon the angel. "I swear on my blood and my life to never go against the will of Eden. Sammael of the Host of Heaven, I summon thee! Be free from the confinement of my soul, and walk the world forevermore!"

As soon as I finish, a blindingly bright light fills the entire arena. Another power soon appears there with us, as great as that of the devil Tobi. As my eyes try to adjust, I barely notice the figure of a woman, four large wings sprouting from her back, easily eclipsing my own. Her blond hair is long, and reaches her lower back, swaying behind her as she stands in the air before me.

Then, she pulls the wings back into her body, and sets foot on the beach. The light fades away, and she smirks. "Nice to finally be free. Can't say I expected my physical form to have curves this fine. Feels kind of nice."

"You're an idiot," I tell her, and she rolls her eyes. What's she gonna do now? I no longer have a say in the matter.

"Relax, kid. I'm not screwin' you over. I said I'll help, and so I shall." She holds her palm out, and a similar spell to the one Ban uses appears in it, but with far more mana behind it. "I was sent because my attribute happens to be particularly harmful to them. Normally, I guess I'd be about equal to their royals, but with this, I can mess them all up." Releasing the blast of light magic, Sammael fills the island with light once more. I close my eyes as the attack hits, and I feel Tobi's absence disappear. Once the light fades, I open my eyes again, then try to sit up. Once my wings start burning again, I give up, and just stare straight ahead, mouth agape.

"Y-You erased him." I'm not overstating things, either. Tobi is quite literally nowhere to be found. There's ash all over the sand, but no demonic presence.

"No," Sammael says, putting her hand on her hip as Aisha limps up to her. "His pal Risk bailed him out through a portal. Tobi's still around. God damn."

"Should you really be saying that?"

"He's my old man, not yours. I'll say what I want."

Aisha stares at her in bewilderment, either amazed by her beauty or power. Marcus quickly joins her, leaning on Yukiji and Snow for support, while Raksha lands next to me, putting himself between the angel and myself. "Who are you?"

"Yeah, man," Marcus joins. "What the hell's going on? Who won?"

Sammael smirks, then points toward Snow. "I am one of the Angels from Eden! Sammael is my name, and I have come here to judge you!" Oh, no. She's going on a power trip. "I was sent here because we angels of Heaven felt the real Child of Light and Shadow has been found!" Oh, no. Where are you going with this?! "I hereby declare that you, Marcus, are the hero this world needs! With us by your side, you shall vanquish demonkind, and save the mortal world! All hail the Child of Light and Shadow, for the Festival of Death is over!"

She spreads her arms when she says it, and then her light breaks away the dimensional barrier keeping us here. When we appear back in Valhalla, the people are staring at us in amazement. Marcus, Aisha and Snow all seem in disbelief. Yukiji is worriedly looking at me, while Raksha simply glares at the angel.

"I-I won?" Marcus asks, not knowing half of the story. Tears start appearing in his eyes as he sinks to his knees. "I won," he faintly whispers.

Then, at once, the people around us start cheering, while Sammael gives me a thumbs up.