For hours, a mighty-looking general stared at the rift in the center of the fort, waiting for his report. Spending hours staring at a single scene would tire any human, but that general was an angel, a species whose lifespan is far too long for hours to be considered long.
That general was none other than Javan, an angel that oversaw most of the defenses of that fort and the human realms. During such serene times in heaven, one angel was more than enough to govern one small area of the human realm.
In terms of military rank, an angel was one of the lowest of the six ranks in the heavens, but Javan was a high ranking angel, extremely close to an Archangel, which granted him greater rights.
Heaven bears were normally as strong as low ranking angels, which was enough to kill many lower forms of beings such as humans, but their intelligence was poor, making them less valuable than intellectual angels of any degree.
The general was waiting for the results of the heaven's bear task that he had unleashed on the mortal realm in order to expel a demon that had trespassed into the mortal lands.
Many hours passed until the report was finally conveyed to Javan, but the details included within it only caused him to frown as he learned the heaven bear had failed and fell within the mortal realms. The mission was a failure and the demonic presence remained.
After putting the report aside, Javan decided to revisit the site of the demonic presence using a map with four golden bars implemented within its four corners, causing the map's outline to shine. The map was also how the other angels learned about the mission's outcome and generated the report.
Javan was taken aback to discover that the demonic presence had not only survived within the mortal lands, but had also grown in strength, approaching the peak of the lower ranks from the previous mid lower ranks. This was impossible unless some type of reinforcement had arrived, increasing the group's might. The map was insufficient to determine how many demons were responsible for the demonic energy, which is why the general thought in that manner.
After all, it took many decades and centuries for an angel to become stronger, unless they were created with more strength from the start. The same was true for demons, thus it was startling to imagine that a demon might gain power in a matter of days. A rise in the number of demons was a more plausible explanation.
Javan was enraged that demons were disobeying the laws and infiltrating mortal lands in large numbers, so he resolved to deal with it this time with angels. Despite the fact that demons and angels were not permitted to infiltrate mortal lands due to an agreement between the rulers of heaven and hell.
Javan was aware that there were some exceptions to this rule, such as suppressing the opposing force or dealing with lone angels and demons who had revolted. He'd just have to explain the situation to the higher-ups and let them deal with the consequences.
With his decision in place, Javan commanded in a commanding voice, "send four mid-ranking angels to deal with the group of demons."
The warriors promptly obeyed his commands, and four mid-level angels materialised near the rift. The angels varied in height, but they all had a very bright aura around them that humans would most likely regard as a symbol of those selected by God. Their wings were dazzling white in hue and covered three-quarters of their body even when folded. The angels' eyes were all various colors. Their skin of all those 4 angels was a tint of yellowish white.
They then entered the rift leading to the mortal realms after the final command was given to them.
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Leigh was in his room, going through the events that had occurred in his thoughts, from his acts to his words regarding their mission. He wanted to make certain that he didn't inadvertently provide information that could jeopardize his position.
No matter how hard he tried, no such error could be detected based on his memories, so he relaxed and decided to examine his combat in the forest instead.
For the first time in his life, he chose to review the previous battle's occurrences in order to better himself because he had discovered that a strong body without fighting techniques was meaningless; he needed to improve the way he fought in his battles in order to use the full potential of his talents.
As he reviewed the battle, he found that he only used his hands and upper body in the majority of circumstances, which was troubling. He didn't know how to fight, but he knew that using his lower body was important in many scenarios. He didn't know how much power he had in his lower legs or how to move his legs to employ that strength, but he wanted to put it to the test.
Unfortunately, testing them at that time would be a horrible idea because he might break the walls and he would have no target to train against, so he chose to wait until he could leave the camp to test his lower body capabilities against animals.
With that out of his mind, he decided to check on the camp's situation, particularly Kalen's. He also wanted to inquire about the bear at that time because he didn't have anything else on his mind.
As he approached the main halls of the camp, he noticed the scrutinising looks of others on himself once more. Leigh had previously disregarded them because he was preoccupied with other issues, but now since just the bear's carcass was on his thoughts, he unconsciously began to ponder about the looks deeply.
The sense of estrangement returned, but this time it was accompanied by fury. Resentment at those who gave him that stare, and anger at the fact that he was being looked down on by others despite being superior to those insects. His anger was comparable to his rage during the combat against the soldiers; he was outraged and pissed.
But Leigh had to contain himself in that position and couldn't satisfy his cravings; as he gradually regained control over his furious emotion, a terrible headache attacked him once more.
The anguish was too much for Leigh, who collapsed on the ground in front of the chimaeras, who now had a shocked expression instead of their earlier looks. Leigh couldn't deal with the pain and began striking the ground to relieve it because holding his head didn't help.
With each hit, the ground fractured and became deeper and deeper, causing a massive shockwave. The chimaeras were witnessing Leigh's entire might; they could see how his punch alone was demolishing the building's strong ground while creating shockwaves that reached the closest chimaeras.
The sounds of Leigh's fists drew Kalen's attention as well, and he came out to find the source of the sounds.
Kalen appeared fatigued, but the scene in front of him prompted a surprised expression on his face. He was at a loss for words when he realized that any chimaera would be crushed by the force of that strike.
'What destructive force', he though with himself. Although that was probably the thought of every single chimera there.
Minutes passed before Leigh's pain subsided, as did the punches that had caused turmoil. Leigh turned around as he noticed the chimaeras staring at him as a loud deafening sound erupted from above which also caught the attention of the chimeras.