Xain headed back to the church, his back still bleeding a bit from the splinters. Despite Larkin's attempt to stop him, Xain wouldn't listen—not now, not after what Larkin had said. *I just hope neither of them are hurt,* Xain silently wished. The villagers did mention that Grace was the strongest person they knew, but still, she and the demon were fighting a literal angel. No matter what the villagers claimed, Xain couldn't shake off his worry.
*I wonder what Erkie would do in this situation,* Xain pondered. *Probably just drop some lore about angels and demons, and about heaven and hell,* he thought, managing a faint smile. As he reached the church door, Xain didn't hear any sounds of fighting coming from the inside. Which could be either a good thing or bad thing, depending on the reason. *Maybe they became friends after fighting a bit, happened to me a few times,* he optimistically considered. Taking a deep breath, Xain pushed open the church doors.
As he opened the door, Xain found the demon and the angel standing in the middle of the church. The demon was bleeding from its mouth, and the angel had his fist pressed against the demon's chest. *Welp, I was too darn optimistic,* Xain thought to himself as he rushed towards the angel with a clenched fist. However, as he got over halfway, he saw the demon put up its hand, signaling Xain to stop, which Xain did, though he was confused as to why.
"Is that enough proof for you, little angel?" the demon asked calmly. The angel pulled back his gauntleted fist, leaving a burn-like mark on the demon's skin. The angel sighed, clicking his bracelets. The usual sound of electricity and black lightning followed, but this time, no weapon appeared, and the gauntlets disappeared. "Michael, fucking damn it! I nearly died for nothing!" the angel exclaimed in annoyance, stomping his foot like a child throwing a tantrum.
"Um, excuse me? Are we not fighting anymore?" Xain asked, raising his hand as he struggled to understand what just happened.
The demon acknowledged Xain with a nod, "Yes, Xain, we are no longer adversaries. It was merely a misunderstanding." Xain scratched his head and replied with a puzzled expression, "Alright then? I guess we're good now?" The angel couldn't let it slide and interjected, "Don't get ahead of yourselves! Just because I'm ain't trying to smite you right now doesn't mean we're pals. I'm still goin' to smite the both of you someday!" He pointed accusingly at both the demon and Xain.
"Smite them? Birdbrain, as long as I'm around, you won't be able to harm a damn ant if I don't want you to," Grace interjected with a smug expression as she gracefully descended from the altar to join the rest. The angel shot her an annoyed look but refrained from saying anything, silently acknowledging that it was true; he had his ass thoroughly kicked by her. Meanwhile, Xain watched Grace with wide-eyed astonishment. She appeared completely unscathed, not a speck of dust on her, and the way she spoke to the angel was astounded.
"Holy crap, how strong exactly are you?" Xain asked, his voice filled with genuine surprise.
Grace winked at Xain, "Strong enough to bully overgrown birds." The angel gritted his teeth in annoyance at her remark. "Overgrown birds? Oh, do you mean him?" Xain pointed at the angel. "Yep, look at those chicken wings attached to his back. If not an overgrown bird, what else is he?" Grace teased, poking fun at the angel as if he weren't a literal angel being that had descended from heaven.
"Okay, that's it! Stop calling me a damn bird! Because if I'm a bird, then you're an ape!" the angel exclaimed, no longer able to tolerate the constant taunts. "But we are apes, though?" Xain remarked casually, as it was an obvious fact. "You know what I mean!" the angel retorted.
"You should refrain from trying to have a battle of wits against Grace, little angel, as you will never win," the demon advised, placing its clawed hands where its chin would be. It continued, "Then again, I suppose you won't be able to win any battle against Grace, so that was unnecessary advice to give."
The angel scowled, "Damn, you fucks are really havin' a competition to piss me off, aren't ya?" the angel said with a mixture of annoyance and anger. Xain was stumped by the angel's street-punk style of speaking, quite different from what he'd expect from you know, an angel.
"Um, so why did you attack us? I still have wood stuck to my back, by the way. Can any of you help with that? 'Cause I'm running really low on blood," Xain asked with a raised finger, contemplating, *This isn't exactly how I thought my day would go.*
"I am sorry, Xain. I do not have the means to heal you," the demon apologized. the demon expressed regret. Xain nodded and then turned to Grace, prompting the angel to mutter, "Are you kidding me?" Grace shook her head as well, "Light magic can't heal organic stuff, sorry," she explained. Xain then finally turned to the angel, who looked very annoyed. *Is that his only emotion?* Xain wondered.
"You looked at the demon and the teenager before you turned to me," the angel pointed out. Xain sheepishly replied, "My bad. So, can you heal me?" The angel threw up his hands, exasperated, "Does it look like I can heal?" Xain stumbled over his words, bewildered, "Ho-how am I supposed to know?" as the angel scoffed.
"We've got a doctor, Alcor; he's a demi-human with cat-like features," Grace informed. Xain responded, "Oh yeah, I've met him. He's treating Zee right now, so I guess I'll get treated later." Grace raised a brow, questioning, "Are you sure?" Xain shook his head, "Nope, I'm in a lot of pain right now, so I would love to get treated, but one person at a time, right?" Grace was about to argue, but then she caught Xain's thought *She's going to try and argue, isn't she?* and refrained from doing so, just shrugging. Seeing her reaction, Xain thought *Never mind, then* before turning to the angel.
"So, can you tell me why you attacked us? The demon said it was a misunderstanding, but what does that mean exactly?" Xain inquired. The angel sighed before saying, "It's a long story." As the angel seemed ready to elaborate, Xain raised his hand. "Okay, if it's a long story, I'll listen to it after I wake up," he stated, confusing the angel. "The hell's that supposed to mean?" the angel asked. Xain replied with a smirk, "I'm about to go unconscious," as he did just that, beginning to fall face-first toward the ground. The worry for the demon and Grace had been the only thing keeping him awake for so long.