The Starlight of the Celestial Realm [Dance with Devils]

✩Battle of the Angels✩

The next day, I didn't get to see Ritsuka a lot. Near the end of the school day, I began to work why I didn't see Azuna or Ritsuka. Another encounter with the devils? Probably. 

I've been so irritated by all the running around lately. I waited to the right opportunity to leave and when I did, I checked the inner part of the city. 

Soon, I could sense the entrance to an illusion realm. Once I entered, I noticed it was like an art gallery. I could tell that this place was a labyrinth, so I stayed in the same room for a while. When I decided to move to another room, I found the entrance to the center of the labyrinth.

Ritsuka was standing in front of Shiki who was about the grab her throat. "Don't touch her!" Azuna screamed as she threw holy water at him. He was flung backwards by it. 

She attempted to use her exorcist powers to banish Shiki, but it didn't work. The two of them stood in shock as he rose from the ground. "Didn't you realize? I'm sort of an angel, so you'll have to try harder than that!" He said. 

I knew exactly what he meant. To me, he was the most dangerous one of all the devils that make up the student council.

He summoned a strong gust of wind that sent the two girls backwards. Azuna landed rather smoothly on her feet while Ritsuka fell to the floor. He made the feathers of his wings into sharp spikes that were about to rain down on Azuna. 

I quickly stepped in and blocked the barrage. "Amara..!" She gasped. Shiki chuckled, "I was wondering how long it would take you to show yourself!" 

"I wish seeing you was during better circumstances, brother," I replied. His eyes widened at this. "It's been so long since I've heard that..." He muttered. 

"Brother?" Azuna inquired. 

"Every angel is a brother to me, but now that doesn't matter. I shouldn't even call you 'brother' after all the things you did to some of us and the fact you plan to harm humans," I said. 

He smirked and replied, "You have quite the way of scolding me. In a way, I pity you, you know." 

"What?" I was really confused. Why does he pity me?

 "You're being taken advantage of. You have to do all the dirty work for Michael, don't you?" he continued. 

I narrowed my eyes at him and replied, "Don't pity me. It's my duty and I'm glad to do it."

"Whatever you say..!" With a wave of his hand, he commanded another barrage of sharp spikes.

 I shielded the girls and turned to them. "Get outta here! I'll find you once I take care of this!" When they were a safe distance away, I decided to switch to an offensive strategy. I spread my wings, ready for battle. 

Shiki and I were equally matched. At some point, I must have gotten distracted because he was able to shove me to the ground. He held me up by my throat. 

"You're about as strong as me, but you're still nothing more than the dirt under my feet!" He said. I was struggling to breath, but I managed to croak out, "Just because you were a cherub, doesn't mean you're better than me now..!"

"I don't know how you can even say that right now. You're at my mercy, so I'd say I've already won. Though the real celebration comes in tearing your little wings off!" He released my neck and flipped me over. I was now laying on my stomach. 

My wings flapped like crazy, but Shiki caught one of them. He began to bend it in such a way that with enough pressure, it would break. I started to panic a little because no one had ever tried to break my wings before. 

"I see you're starting to feel panicked. Good! I want this to be as painful for you as possible!" He laughed insanely. He put more pressure on my wing which really hurt. 

My thoughts were everywhere, but most importantly, I was trying to think of a way for him to stop. I drew a blank though. I felt that my wing would snap at any moment. I cried in pain and God heard me. 

Shiki yelped as he toppled off of me. I looked up and realized his hands had been burned. "How did your wing burn me?!" He cried. I looked at my wing and there were light red hand prints on it. 

I quickly got to my feet and so did Shiki. He was about to call down another attack, but I was faster. "Scorch and purify!" I shouted. A pattern of a star appeared under his feet and his body was engulfed in flames. 

That gave me time to go find the girls. Soon, the labyrinth disappeared and we were back in the school courtyard. 

"I admit, you're stronger than I gave you credit for, but that doesn't mean you won..!" He groaned. His uniform was charred in some spots and he gave an exhausted sigh. He then vanished, finally leaving us in peace. 

"Yes, it does," Azuna said from behind me.

 "What do you mean?" I turned to her and inquired.

"You did win! You saved us. Thank you," she replied.

Ritsuka, who was still a little shaken up, approached me. She stared at the red marks on my wing. She gently ran her fingertips over it which felt weird at first, but then it felt soothing. "They'll go away before tomorrow," I reassured her.

She nodded and with that, they disappeared. "Where did they go?" She asked. 

"They didn't go anywhere. It's just I can choose whether to reveal my identity or not," I explained. A more simple explanation, but that's basically what it is. 

"So you're an angel..." Ritsuka muttered. She still seemed to be processing it.

"Yes, I am an archangel. I was send here to keep the Grimoire from falling into the wrong hands. We angels don't need the Grimoire, but we certainly care about who possesses it." 

She seemed satisfied by my explanation, so I left it at that. I departed from them and returned to my apartment.