As soon as a drop of his blood touched the dirt, an incandescent flare enshrouded the setting as violent winds erupted from the vicinity of the magic circle. Visibility became obsolete by virtue of the debris flying in the air and the light that would blind anyone who'd look at it dead in the eye.
It took several minutes for the storm to die out, leaving a significant portion of the forest in literal tatters. Furthermore, the tempest gave birth to an extraordinary being.
The formerly honest, chartreuse eyes were replaced by striking golden orbs; a luminous physique adorned with two sets of wings, the larger one sprouted above the Rhomboid Major muscle and the other on top of the Gluteus Medius muscle; the wings spanned the whole length of the largest circle and was decked with unstained, white feathers; this was the appearance of a human who had been possessed by an Angel.
"Who dared to summon me?"
The voice that came out of its mouth was domineering. It felt so hollow that it resonated wildly inside the skulls of those who harkened it. Besides that, the sound was a mixture of countless hummers, making it too vague to be categorized under a single gender.
Mikhail just stared at what became of his comrade.
'The spiritual body of the Angel did not materialize. Instead, it took over Sarakiel's body. That is suicide! Humans are incapable of hosting an enormous amount of spiritual energy!'
Disregarding the truth that Angels resided in the highest dimension of another realm, they were creatures who directly serve the deities. Their existence was beyond what a mortal could handle.
'If this persists, Sarakiel will die! I have to do something!'
As he was about to lift his sword, Ierathel, from afar, locked gazes with him.
'I can't move!'
Mikhail was unable to propel his body at will. It was as if he's petrified by a mere glance.
"Were you the one who requested for my presence? Answer me."
The knight did not respond, mainly 'cause of his inability to speak.
"You can converse with me through your mind, mortal."
'My mind? Did you just rummage my thoughts?'
"That's none of your concern. Now, answer me."
'Free Sarakiel!'
Even though it was a partial discourse, the urgency could be seen on Mikhail's face.
"Sarakiel?"
'That body you are using is his!'
Ierathel peered at the man, trying to descry if he was lying or not. It put a finger on its lips all the while ruminating on the news.
"Then I really am not mistaken. This mortal has a fragment of ------, -------. And you are the -------, -------. No wonder you could endure my presence."
It motioned its hand akin to drawing a line in the air. Suddenly, Mikhail was released from any restrictions.
"The -----, -----, you have its fragment. I was not expecting to meet a vessel so soon."
'The promised time has yet to come forth. We have not stepped forward. Someone is interfering with fate.' Ierathel reflected on the occurrence, seeing that the perpetrator had the potential to send every element into turmoil.
Regardless of its self-contemplation respecting the fate of all lifeforms, Ierathel deftly kept its calm after deducing that a meddlesome soul had presented itself. Angels had a population rivalling the stars in the multiverse. Accompanying that number were the experiences that they had racked up along thousands of aethras of living. Their omnibus understanding liberated them from future surprises.
Meanwhile, similar to the incident with Malphas, Mikhail simply heard ringing resonations on some parts of Ierathel's speech.
"What fragments?" He asked apropos the term he was rather unfamiliar with.
"I am in no position to divulge that information to you."
"What are you on? You said it yourself."
"I probably said too much, never mind that. You are in need of my help, aren't you?"
The knight had no problem with the Angel brushing off his questions, since the more important thing for him was to save Sarakiel.
"Liberate Sarakiel's body and his soul, alive."
"Too stubborn. State your intentions for summoning me."
Mikhail wanted to disobey until he was assured of Sarakiel's safety. However, his mouth blabbed against his control.
"... Kill. Ronove. Malphas."
"Manners, mortal. Give the proper courtesy of immediately declaring your intent on why you summoned me. I am not unburdened of workloads."
The truth was, the moment Ierathel descended, it already beheld the presence of the Demon Nobles. The Angel knew on the spot the reason for his calling. It diverted its glare towards the motionless Ronove.
'Hmm... That peculiar aura I sensed upon my arrival, it originated from the suspect. They did something unnecessary.'
"Ronove, I found you, at last. Why can't you simply keep quivering and wailing in agony inside your petty cell, huh?"
Ierathel was talking as if it was coaxing a child to sleep. It strolled, unhurried, en route Ronove. Once the Demon's flesh was reachable by an arm, the Angel knocked on its feet and the noble, in the blink of an eye, transformed into a size smaller than that of an Ostrich's brain.
'With a sole touch?' Percival marvelled at the exhibit of prowess.
'I was able to observe the other Angels that were assembled in the past through the Emperor's memory digging, but all of them had a full-on fight with the Demon Nobles. This is ludicrous!'
"Don't huddle me with those juvenile children. I am of higher status, mortal." The Angel dismissively uttered as he walked back to Mikhail.
Ierathel juggled Ronove's figure like a ball before catalyzing its disappearance with a pop. Mikhail's heart was heaping with admiration of the royal actions of the Angel.
"I've already accomplished my task."
"Wait! Sarakiel, what will happen to him?" The knight instantly snapped out of his musing.
Because of being in wonderment of the behaviour shown by the Angel, Mikhail unlearned for a second that Sarakiel's body had been taken over.
"Do not fret. I'm not that cruel to finesse my duty of returning a favour. I'll grant this man a gift and leave his body unharmed in exchange for sanctioning me to incarcerate Ronove. I would've not protected this mortal from the start contra my presence if I have bad intents."
Mikhail breathed a sigh of relief at Ierathel's benevolence. Withal, he was not done yet. Another matter was bidding to be solved. He recognized the valour of Ierathel. Thus, he would prefer to assimilate from the angel the method to beat Malphas. The alternative was to commission the angel in defeating the remaining demon.
'As I have said, I do not mind the approach as long as I can offer up the head to Khamael.'
"What is the power you used to seal Ronove? Can't you do the same with Malphas?"
"That demon is not my responsibility." As opposed to what he was anticipating, the Angel rejected him outright.
"Then how do I -"
"Fear not though, mortal. Aren't you in command of another vessel?"