The rainy days were the best for training outside, and today was one such day. The sky above was covered with thick clouds and a slow drizzle providing much-needed relief from the heat, both from the usually blazing hot sun and the natural heat from exercise.
Relzania attacked with precision and elegance, sending a target dummy flying with a roundhouse kick while shooting an [Acid Bolt] into collision with the head of another. Without losing momentum she charged for the third one to her right, impaling it with a devastating jab to the chest.
"You exposed your back to one of the opponents for too long, Lady Tatian. I recommend using spells before charging into close combat." Her attendant commented while approaching the carnage she left and set up the dummies again, having brought in new ones just for this.
Despite his rather slim build, the man was surprisingly strong for his lowly position. Milphio Leanas was well into his fifties and had been her attendant for five years from the moment she was ushered into the Black Scripture. Usually, all decently strong people pushed forward their careers, but not him.
Milphio was a servant through and through, worrying about her dietary and sleeping habits, instead of gunning for the position of a priest or even bishop when he could have easily obtained them.
"But if I hesitate I might die," Relzania replied with a pant, stretching her arm.
"You cannot let your fear control you. Weak opponents might use your carelessness and strong will to overpower you if you charge in without thinking." The man commented as he put the wooden doll back on the metal rod firmly planted into the ground.
Relzania gave him an exasperated sigh, and then sat down next to a puddle of the stone plates covering her training area. Her tight training outfit was already drenched from her sweat, so there was no point worrying about comfort. "What's the point?" She asked more to herself than Milphio.
"The point is to lend your strength where it counts. You are one of humanity's best, Lady Tatian. There always be setbacks, but that doesn't mean you should give up on trying to be your best self." Milpiho once again slipped into his preacher mode, speaking with a passionate tone.
Relzania grumbled under her breath at her servant's antics, and his constant attempts at playing a father figure she didn't need. Her parents were alive and well off. Her intense training did prevent her from seeing them most of her teenage years, but every time she went home both her father and mother showered her with affection and gushing praises.
"You didn't see what I-" Relzania tried to say, but was interrupted.
"Lady Tatian, might I remind you I am not authorized to know details about your fieldwork." The elderly cleric interrupted her.
"I know. But…" She sighed, grabbing her knees and pulling them closer. "Things are not good."
How she wished to talk with someone about her fears and worries. Usually, it was Berenice who was a helpful ear, but the cardinal had changed during the past few days. Grown more fanatical, more assured that the Gods would guide the Theocracy, and more detached from the blood and sweat the Black Scripture had based itself on.
Almost no one outside the Black Scripture and the leaders of Slane knew about the dark Gods and the gates to Nazarick, and thus could live in blissful ignorance. Even the disappearance of Kaire and half of her team was highly classified, only known to the uppermost echelons.
"If you have some deep worries you want to share, maybe you should talk with Her Excellency Berenice. As a voice of our God, she would be best suited to help you with whatever difficulties you have encountered."
"She is busy. But you're right, I shouldn't just mope around." Relzania gave the man a small smile. The sky above rapidly cleared of clouds as if the heavens themselves agreed, the sun peeking through and shining upon her.
"I guess I should go for a few more rounds before it gets too hot." She stood up and stretched.
"One moment, I'll just set up the next layout of… is that an…" Milpho looked up, his mouth agape.
A blinding light showered the city as a figure emerged from above. Relzania used remote viewing to see the figure closer, almost stumbling from the surprise. "Angel. I haven't seen such a type, not even in… right classified." She mumbled aloud.
The angel had metallic wings and scarlet-colored plate armor in splendid decor. Above her head rotated a halo of small metal balls, almost faster than she could keep track of. Her expressionless face stared down at the city below.
"Such beauty… is that a sign from Gods?" Relzania asked out loud with a gasp.
"Heretics! Bootlickers of False Gods! Heaven's rightful wrath has come upon you!" Suddenly a loud voice boomed. The angel's voice was so loud that Relzania instinctively covered her ears.
"My lady, you should record this." Her dutiful servant reminded her, shouting loud enough for her to hear him.
"Right. Follow me!" She snapped out of the confusion and rushed inside. Without care for anything around her, Relzania plopped down in front of a table, grabbed a notebook and a pencil, and put her hand to the recording stone.
The angel still hovered above the city as if waiting for some sort of response. As usual, her ability didn't provide any sound, but if the first announcement was any indication, she would hear the angel anyway through the stone walls and fine glass.
But her wait wasn't a long one. The angel moved, and if not for the distance of observation Relzania chose, she wouldn't be able to follow the divine being.
Like a meteor from the sky, the angel descended right towards the nearest cathedral. An explosion clouded her vision.
'No! That… did she destroy the Cathedral of Water?' The clouds of dust were blown away by the angel moving upwards again, only a crater left in her wake. A building that had stood strong for six hundred years was destroyed in a blink of an eye, by an angel no less.
There was no doubt anymore; the angel was a messenger from the Dark Gods. A harbinger of destruction, sent to exact vengeance upon humanity for trying to control a beast that was not meant to be controlled by mere humans. The Dark Gods would have their vengeance.
Holding her breath Relzania watched on, surveying the trail of destruction. The angel landed in a marketplace among a stunned crowd. The balls composing the ring started to move, launching themselves from its halo.
At first, the targets seemed to be random, the angel just indiscriminately killing the innocents. Man, woman, young or old, none were spared as dozens of people fell within moments.
'This is madness. What sort of twisted…are angels truly just machines controlled by Gods and nothing more?' She wanted to look away. These were her people getting killed without ever knowing why their lives were taken away, unaware that their religion had declared war upon an enemy no human could ever match.
'Wait, is that angel...?' A pattern started to form. The rapidly moving balls didn't just target people at random. Each was killed by a strike to the upper chest or, in the case of clergy, in the head. Additionally, the stone statues of saints decorating the usually best marketplace were turned into rubble, only chunks and dust remaining. The angel was targeting the symbols of the Six Great Gods and nothing else, including equipment worn by civilians. No slave was hit even if their owners hid behind their backs so long as they were not holding an item reminiscent of a holy sign.
A few seconds was all the creature needed to kill at least a hundred people. Relzania pulled her view up, shuddering. Someone should have responded to the attack. And she was right. The captain and the Tenth seat were charging towards the angel while guards started to form a perimeter and guide people away.
'They…' the Tenth seat, Strongest Human, barely got within range as one ball shot through him multiple times, shattering his skull and ribcage. The captain was luckier, or perhaps more capable, and had managed to close the distance enough. But even he wasn't enough. The angel effortlessly held the bladed part of his weapon with a plated hand, while a short exchange happened between the two individuals.
Unfortunately, Relzania couldn't hear what was spoken and she was too late to get close enough to read lips. The talks ended just as fast as they had started. The Captain of the black scripture, the second strongest God-kin, was swatted aside like an annoying bug with a single swing. The angel hit him in the chest with the back of her hand and sent the man flying into a stone building, shattering a wall and disappearing from her sight.
'Captain!? Did he survive?' She marked down the location in case there was a need to recover the corpse for resurrection. That was if resurrection was even possible. The eighth seat's remains were cursed after the vampire killed him, and no cleansing or resurrection worked, suggesting the Dark Gods had ways of preventing even the strongest holy magics from functioning.
There was no time to ponder the fate of her team's leader. The angel was on the move, continuing the path of destruction. She took flight once again and with a shockwave reached the Cathedral of Earth.
It came as no surprise that people didn't immediately run but observed the angel with worry. The news of the angel's evil actions didn't travel as fast as this twisted messenger of the Dark Gods, especially with most who had witnessed it being dead.
Relzania held her breath, awaiting the inevitable. There was nothing she or anyone else could do. In the face of the Gods, mortal men and women could only skitter away as bugs from giants stomping on them, waiting to die.
A flash of light and a sudden rumbling she felt from her home. The angel had made a slashing motion with her barbed sword, and the resulting shockwave tore away not only the monumental stone building but entire districts behind it.
'Such destruction…' Relzania gasped, only the intense sense of duty keeping her as a helpless observer. She wanted to flee, to find a place far far away where the monsters couldn't find her. Some safe haven where such beings didn't walk the earth.
But the angel just moved on, landing in yet another densely populated location and slaughtering hundreds in an instant. Moving from spot to spot, the death toll rose and rose, reaching thousands in just a few short minutes.
Any sort of response team was slaughtered in seconds, leaving the angel to continue unimpeded. Nothing could stop it, no artifact, no secret weapon, no hero; there was no hope.
'Gods, please help us. Such a monster should not exist,' All Relzania could do was to pray.
The angel continued to devastate the capital of Slane Theocracy, Silksuntecks, for a few more minutes and then shot back into the sky.
"Seek out the true Gods and beg their forgiveness. Your heresy won't be permitted to rot this world for long!" The angel's voice boomed over the city once again.
And with a flash of light, she was gone. The clouds once again appeared in the sky. A cold rain began to wash away the blood and gore left behind by a seemingly holy being, as if the skies were crying for the immense loss suffered today.
Relzania let go of the recording crystal and closed her eyes, trying to suppress the tears. With shaking hands, she scrubbed her eyes while breathing heavily. "They will come for me. Please forgive me. I was just a bystander, I didn't know any better."
"Miss Tatian?" Milphio had come inside, now overlooking her with a concerned expression.
"I'm fine," She uttered. "I need to report what I saw to someone, whoever is still alive."
"The washroom is prepared. Should I prepare one of your official outfits?" Her assistant inquired.
"Yes. And please try to contact the Cardinals." Relzania slowly stood up, feeling the effects of both physical and mental exhaustion.
"As you wish." Milphio bowed and left the room.
Editing by aidan_lo.
Proofreading by Lightflan Sluethen, aidan_lo, clagan, Sapphire_Drake, nate051499j6, NuggetLover, x4x, and KieraKieraARTS.
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