The angels circled me like moths drawn to a flame, their celestial forms shimmering with light, but it was dim—fragile. As I stood among them, watching their desperation and determination, I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed. For all their posturing, they were far weaker than I'd anticipated.
It wasn't just their strength. Their very essence felt stunted, as though their existence lacked the fullness of divinity. They were beings born of belief, but their power was a mere flicker compared to the inferno of my own.
I mused on the reason. These angels and their so-called Almighty had yet to be recognized by the world in any meaningful way. Their influence extended only to a few hundred mortals, a whisper against the booming chorus of my pantheon's thousands. Creation may have begun simultaneously for us all, but without belief, without worship, there was no fuel for their divinity. At this moment in history, the Greeks stood far mightier than these fledgling Christians.
My thoughts were interrupted as I saw Michael's expression harden. His grip tightened on his sword, and the weight of his resolve filled the air. He turned to his companions.
"Go," he ordered, his voice firm, though a tremor of fear lingered beneath it. "All of you. Return to Heaven. Tell the Almighty what has transpired here."
The other angels hesitated, and that is all that it took as I started spearing one after the other out the sky with spears of pure darkness. As more and more died and fell into the ground their fears won them over as the rest vanished in bursts of light, leaving only Michael and the remaining Archangels.
Damn I only managed to kill a hundred of them.
Michael's gaze returned to me, and he raised his sword high, its light intensifying. "We will hold the line," he declared, his voice trembling with both courage and desperation. "This demonic being will not advance any further!"
I sighed, letting my shoulders sag. "You're going to make this difficult, aren't you?"
The Archangels charged as one, their weapons gleaming with divine energy.
I barely moved, parrying with lazy efficiency. Their blows were powerful—by mortal standards—I had read stories that the Archangels were the greatest warriors of Heaven. Each created with grand talent and purpose that makes them the greatest in all the world.
One by one, I struck them down. Uriel fell first, his fiery sword extinguished by a single wave of my hand. Gabriel followed, her spear shattered before she crumpled to the ground. Sariel dropped dead when I picked out their heart, and Raguel and Remiel both ended in the same fate as Raphael.
My mind did wonder as I killed each of them. As the god of souls I had noticed the incomplete state their souls were in, they were not fully complete as if they were some rush project. If I could take their bodies back with me, I would be able to recreate their bodies and souls into something more complete.
Michael's armor was battered, his sword cracked, but his resolve has not wavered. He charged at me, his movements slower now, more desperate. I met his blows head-on, the clash of our swords ringing out like thunder across the desolate land.
Hours passed, or perhaps it was mere moments. Time seemed to blur as our battle continued, neither of us yielding. Michael was skilled, far more than his fallen brethren, but even he couldn't match my strength.
Finally, as I prepared to end this tedious encounter, the sky above us split open once more, but this time, it wasn't the angels returning. A bolt of lightning, impossibly bright and deafening in its ferocity, struck the ground between us. The shockwave sent Michael stumbling back, his sword falling from his grasp. I moved to end things when a voice spoke, literally shaking the heavens and the very earth beneath our feet.
"ENOUGH!"
The power in that single word was immense, and even I felt its weight. Michael dropped to his knees immediately, his head bowed low, trembling as though the voice itself could smite him where he knelt.
"Lord," he whispered, his tone reverent and fearful. "Forgive us."
I stood still, curious but unshaken. My eyes turned skyward, where the source of the voice began to manifest. Whatever—or whoever—this was, it had finally decided to intervene. And I was more than ready to meet it.
The figure before me was striking. He was tall and imposing, his presence heavy with divinity. Long white hair flowed down his back, blending into a full, regal beard. He radiated an aura of age and power, yet beneath it all was a lingering sadness—a weight that seemed to press on his very soul.
I whistled, breaking the tense silence. "Well, aren't you a sight? The long hair and beard... let me guess, you're the boss of this place?"
The man didn't immediately respond. His gaze fell on the battlefield—the fallen Archangels, their once-radiant forms now lifeless on the bloodied ground. His expression hardened, and he sighed heavily, his voice carrying sorrow as he addressed Michael.
"Take them back to Heaven," he commanded, his voice deep and resonant, filled with an undeniable authority. "Give them the rest they deserve."
Michael moved to obey, but before he could vanish, spiked chains shot out from my shadow and speared through his body. Michael gasped, clutching his chest as golden ichor spilled from the wound before the chains tore through out of his chest as he fell from the sky. His wings flickered, dimmed, and then vanished entirely as he collapsed, lifeless.
The man turned to me sharply, his calm demeanor fracturing into barely contained rage. "You would dare?" he growled, his voice echoing like thunder. "You kill my Archangels, defile my creation, and now this?!"
I waved him off dismissively, letting the flames of my spear dissipate. "Spare me the dramatics. I'm not interested in hearing you preach."
His anger boiled over, his voice rising. "You act just like him—that damned first human I created. Adam!"
I raised an eyebrow, intrigued despite myself. "Oh? Do tell."
He pointed an accusatory finger at me as he began to rant, his words spilling out like an unchecked flood. "That ungrateful bastard! I gave him everything—a paradise tailored to his every need. I created animals to keep him company, angels to serve him, and even created him a perfect partner. But no—he defied me, killed several of my angels, and defended that viper when I tried to replace her with Eve."
He paced angrily, his hands gesturing wildly. "And what did he do next? He conspired with those two women to eat the fruits of the Garden—all of them! Knowledge, Life, Immortality... They consumed them all and then fled to some far-off land, leaving the Garden in chaos!"
His rambling continued, his frustration pouring out like a man desperate to unburden centuries of grievances, he really needed therapy. I sighed loudly, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Are you done?"
He stopped, blinking at me in surprise.
"Good," I continued, folding my arms. "Look, I don't want to be that guy but I was ordered to dispose of you. Seems that you are not needed in this world and so I do apologise that you can't continue your evil little plans."
His face twisted in fury, and he stepped forward, his presence growing heavier as the ground beneath us cracked. "So that is why you are here? To kill me? Bitch, I am God the Almighty! I can kill you before you can blink!" he roared, as he raised his hands into the sky.
The heavens answered his call. The clouds above twisted violently, turning into a swirling vortex of golden fire. A wave of heat crashed over me as the sky itself ignited, the holy fire forming massive spears of light. With a downward motion of his hand, they rained down like some kind of divine draco meteor.
I didn't hesitate. Darkness erupted from beneath my feet, swallowing the incoming onslaught into an endless void. The remaining ones I sliced apart with my sword, the black blade cutting through the flaming rocks with ease. Even so, I could feel the heat licking at my skin, searing through the fabric of my robes.
God didn't wait. The moment my vision cleared, he was already in front of me, his fist slamming into my gut with enough force to crater the ground beneath us. I grunted, my feet digging into the stone, but I didn't falter. He followed up, his knee driving into my chin, sending me flying back.
I twisted in midair, spreading my arms wide. Shadows coiled around me before bursting outwards, slowing my momentum. God was already charging again, but this time, I was ready. A wave of darkness surged from beneath him, jagged spikes shooting up from the earth, forcing him to twist away.
I spread my wings, the sheer force of their unfurling blasting away the dust and debris around me. I shot into the sky, the wind screaming past me as I ascended. God followed, streaking upward like a burning comet, his body wreathed in golden flames.
We clashed in the heavens, our blows shaking the very air. Every strike of my blade sent arcs of energy ripping through the clouds. His fists, burning with holy fire, struck against my defenses with relentless fury. I countered with a storm of shadow spears, each one darting toward him like a serpent striking its prey. He wove through them with inhuman speed, his body flickering like a mirage.
Then he roared, his voice shaking the sky itself. The very fabric of reality twisted, and suddenly, the sun burned brighter—too bright. The light slammed into me like a physical force, scorching, blinding. I gritted my teeth, summoning a barrier of darkness around myself, but it barely held under the sheer intensity of the radiance.
A hand broke through my shield, grabbing my throat. He squeezed, and I felt my windpipe crush under his grip. Before he could finish the job, I slammed my knee into his side, my strength sending him hurtling through the sky. He righted himself quickly, wings of golden fire spreading wide.
His hands came together, and a sphere of condensed energy—pulsing, seething—formed between them. I recognized it immediately. That wasn't just fire. That was pure destruction.
He hurled it. The blast roared toward me, devouring the air, tearing apart reality itself as it streaked forward. There was no dodging it.
I raised my hand. The shadows around me surged, condensing into a single point. Then, I pushed forward, unleashing a torrent of blue and violet flames that met his attack head-on.
The explosion that followed split the sky. The world trembled beneath us as the sheer force of our colliding powers sent shockwaves in every direction. The clouds vanished, the air itself igniting as we were engulfed in a maelstrom of fire and darkness.
I emerged first, my robes tattered, my body aching, but still standing. God was coughing, his form flickering, cracks forming along his once-pristine skin. He was weakening.
I landed on the ruined ground below, rolling my shoulders. "You really are a pain to kill," I said, brushing dust off my sleeve.
God snarled, descending like a wrathful meteor, his fists wreathed in flame. I sidestepped his first strike, then drove my elbow into his ribs. He staggered but retaliated with a brutal uppercut, sending me skidding back.
Enough of this.
I clenched my fist, and the shadows around us came alive. Dozens of spears shot out from the darkness, piercing his limbs, pinning him to the ruined ground. He roared, struggling, his divine fire searing through some of the restraints, but he wasn't fast enough. I was already there, sword poised at his throat.
His chest heaved, his face contorted in rage and disbelief. "This… this is impossible…"
I tilted my head. "Yeah, too bad that I made it possible."
He tried to summon more fire, but I stomped on his wrist, forcing him to drop his flame-wreathed weapon. He glared up at me, hatred burning in his eyes.
"Look, the Lady up high has decreed that you shouldn't live so she has sent me to kill you." I said, voice calm. "And to be honest, you exhaust me so I am going to get this over with and go home to rest."
With a single, fluid motion, I drove my sword through his chest. His breath hitched. His body spasmed. Then, slowly, his golden flames began to flicker… and die.
I stepped back, watching as his form crumbled into ash, scattered by the wind. The sky, once ablaze with holy fire, dimmed, returning to its natural state. The battle was over.
I exhaled, rolling my shoulders. "Finally. this better be worth it in the end or I am going to kill Chaos."