When Heaven meets Hell

Chapter Fifty Six

The angels at the front lines pointed their spears and plunged them into the tide of demons, blood flying and limbs thrashing. Some angels were lost in the  wriggling sea and soon, dainty white feathers took to the air, accompanied by the sound of ripping flesh and fearful, agonized screams.

Joan, Heidi and Avander were surrounded in seconds, demons biting and clawing at them, leering facees with horns and inch long teeth appearing and disappearing. Avander lay waste to many of his kind, his claws dripping with blood , eyes wide and feral. Joan was not far behind him, moving with more speed than ever before. She unleashed her powers without holding back, sending demons flying with merely a flick of her hand, decapitating heads with a stroke of her glowing sword. A few brave and foolish demons attempted to attack Heidi, but she defended herself well enough and either Joan of Avander finished them off promptly. Despite their skill however Joan knew they were slowly being overwhelmed.

"We're wasting time!" she exclaimed. " That's his plan, he's going to waste our time and allow the Sanctuary to disappear!"

"Joanne Hale, Godling!" Came a sudden frantic call as a battered and bloody Lucifer suddenly burst through the demon crowd, brandishing his sword. "Gabriel says we must keep moving forward and up the mountain. The First Faction is clearing a path up as we speak!"

He disappeared then, lost in the crowd. The trio had no time to worry about his fate for they had already begun to battle their way up the mountain, running across the relatively less rugged terrain and cutting down any demon in their way. Minutes later the ground began to slope upwards. As they went, the numbers of demons dramatically and mercifully shrank, thousands of angels laying down their lives in order to form a safe path for the three. Thanks to their efforts, the trio covered a good distance up the mountain without having to fight.

They dared not look back as they ran, not stopping to notice how as they went by, the angel blockade began to collapse behind them, buckling under the ferocity of the demons. Angels scrambled further up the mountain to counter more demons bounding downwards.

Joan now ran without Avander's assistance, her powers having reached their full potential due to being so close to the sacred building. Heidi flew above them, assisting the angels were she could with her shields and shouts of warning. The sounds of battle were still heavy on their ears, demons and angels around them every step of the way.

"Watch out!" Joan exclaimed, raising her hands to block a black lightning strike . More zaps of energy and flashing lights rained down upon their heads as they trudged further. Demons were lying in wait all around them, springing out from under a rocky ledge or a mound of snow without warning. Joan spun left and right, Avander back to back with her. They launched a joint attack, her blue tinged beams merging seamlessly with his crackling dark energy, blasting rows upon rows of demons back. Yet, even with their combined effort, the task of getting up the mountain became more and more difficult. The First Faction were still on the frontline, desperately clearing a path for the three, but demons were pressing in on them from all sides, those at the top racing down while those below rushed up after them.

Joan's legs were on fire, her body aching from the exertion. Never in her life had she run such a great distance so fast while battling demons as she went. Had it not been for her Guide abilities, she would have died of exhaustion already .

She lifted her sword high, summoning forth forks of bluish lightning and directing them at a swarm of demons. The lightning bolts acted similar to swords, skewering demon after demon in their way before collectively exploding in a shower of sparks and fleshy bits. Behind Joan, Avander's shadows took on the form of many snapping heads, each chomping down and devouring whole demons.