Angelblood - Retribution

Revenge

The angel stands at the entrance of the village. Argas, the capital, while just a village, of the fiefdom. Her polished armor shines in the sun and her sword is tightly attached to her side. She towers in the middle of the road and for a moment just watches before, slowly, walks forward. The wind grows stronger as a storm is coming... A tempest was forming. Not in the natural sense but the aura and expression on the woman's face was evidence of the violent turmoil inside her.

The villagers move to the left and right as the woman passes through the crowd on the market. They see the cold blue icy eyes pierce through them. There is no emotion on the angel's face but everyone seems to know what happened last night and the state of mind this being must be in. Everyone can imagine the pain the woman must feel no matter how much she tries to hide it.

A small child runs on the street. His mother rushes after him to yank him back at his arm and is yelling his name at the last moment before the angel would have walked right through the boy. A man comes around his cart to open his business but stumbles backward and hides behind his small stand as she approaches. While she passes the elderly man, her dark wings appear out of nowhere and brush over the goods of his shop. A black feather rips out of her wing and drops onto the fruits. Instantly they begin to wither and turn black like they have been touched by death itself then crumble to grey dust. The crowd which formed behind the angel in the meantime backs off with loud gasps as she moves on. She has a clear goal she is steering toward and the plebs knew too well where this would be.

A few streets and turns later she arrives at a house that radiates wealth. The angel touches the gate, which is meant to be a barrier and to keep out unwanted visitors, with her bare hand. She does not wear her black leather gloves as she usually does. As the wood rots in her hands within just a brief moment and falls apart the crowd takes a step back. She keeps moving on while everyone else remains outside the estate. A servant of the house runs toward the angel but as she reaches for her sword the older woman stops in her tracks and backs off. The situation though turns critical as two guards arrive at the rotten and broken gate which now lays on the ground in the form of ashes.

"Stay where you are!" One of the guardsmen yells toward the angel but she does not react. Instead, she keeps moving forward while the remaining servants made sure to not even be close to the tracks the woman would take toward the main door. They witnessed her reaction as the older one tried to approach her and fear is reflecting in their eyes. The angel stands between the tall white pillars which form the porch of the entrance of the main building.

"Stay where you are I said!" The guard commands once more and both of them follow her through the frame of the former gate.

The angel turns around and stares at them. She raises her hand and a loud roaring sound bellows through the village.

Semangelof is sitting in his quarters as he hears the sound and shudders. He grabs his sword and runs out of the small building.

"My horse fast!" He screams through the courtyard and a moment later a stable boy arrives with the reins in his hands guiding the animal toward its owner.

"M'lord. My father..." The servant begins but Semangelof cuts him short he knows this sound he heard from the village just too well. "Later!" He says while he swings on his horse and pushes his heels into the flanks of the animal. "Not now but let him know I still wish to see him!" He adds in haste and with a gallop, he leaves the courtyard and through the gate almost running over one of the guards. A villager which is arriving at the walls that moment is barely able to jump to the side and drops her basket with fresh red apples. She yells at him but he does not hear her. Semangelof knows that he got no time to waste as he can only imagine the situation down in the village. He saw this coming and Myriel did not care. Maybe even wanted it to happen? Yes, this must be her plan. Let the angel cause trouble to have a reason to imprison her. He pushes harder to increase the speed. The strong breeze blows into his face.

As the woman let out the roar the two guards are caught by an invisible force and are thrown back several meters where they fall to the ground. They feel dizzy for a moment but one of them gets back to his feet just a second later and begins his approach toward the angel once again.

"Stay where you are!" He yells at her and draws his sword.

He is only ten steps away from her as she reaches for her sword and turns her right foot a bit outward on the concrete to archive a firmer stance. Her eyes lock on his and she takes a deep breath. The man is only three steps away from the angel anymore and raises his sword. Her left hand rests on the sheath and unlocks the sword with a gentle push against the guard with her thumb while her other hand tightens the grip on the handle. The man keeps running toward her. He is only one step away as he aims at her and his sword thrusts down toward the angel. She does a small step to the right and pulls the katana out of the sheath halfway to block the thrust and while still moving in a circling motion she pushes the sword back into the sheath before she lands a hard hit on the mans back with her right wing. The man flies through the air and crushes against the wall of the house. His sword drops to the ground and he slides down the white stonework unconsciously. It is a silly, maybe even stupid idea, for many other angels or demons to challenge her in a direct approach like this but for a human it is suicidal. Even more so as she does not care much about the mortals at all.

She turns toward the second guard who got back to his feet by now but hesitates as he realizes that he is no match for her and backs off. The angel turns around once more and continues her path toward the main entrance where she makes her way through the pillars which support the canopy.

"Stop. Whatever you intend to do. Please stop." A male voice yells from behind her. She indeed stops hearing the voice.

Semangelof looks at her and jumps off his horse. He stands right at the former gate of the estate and his look is filled with sadness and concerned as he runs toward her but without any signs of hostility. He comes to a halt several steps away from her. The man knows too well how skilled the woman is with her sword and will not dare to provoke her in her current mindset. He saw her fighting on the battlefield of Darsum from which they just returned a few weeks ago. Instead, he raises his hands with his palms showing toward her to demonstrate that he comes in peace.

"Please stop." He repeats himself.

The angel turns her head and glares at him over her shoulder. No word is given in return.

"I know what happened. But if you go on a killing spree now then this will help no one besides the person who caused all this grief to you and she will get you imprisoned."

The stare of the woman does not ease as it does not seem to reach her. Her mind is too much blocked by pain and despair. Too much anger she is trying to channel and control.

"Do you really think you can plow through her soldiers and storm the castle? That you can cause a bloodbath and kill her without consequences? They burned your house and killed the demon but you are still alive!"

She opens her mouth and raises her head toward him but says no word. Nevertheless, it seems like he managed to scratch the surface and get through to her.

"Please listen to me. Let it end here and I will make sure this will be investigated properly. Just trust me." He looks around. The whole village arrived at the entrance of the estate by now it seems but all of them remain outside.

"Give me a chance to prove that I am on your side." Semangelof says and tries once more to get a reaction from the woman, to calm her. Something no one could use here is an angel of death brings havoc to a village, the fiefdom maybe. To have her fall and become a demon.

Her eyes turn dark blue then shift to black. Her wings disappear and she pushes past him and toward the gate. The crowd splits in the middle and fans out to let the angel pass through. Semangelof takes a deep breath and while she leaves the village he walks toward the unconscious guard. He gently pats his cheeks to wake him up.

"Are you alright?" He asks as the guard opens his eyes.

He nods at the man. "Yes, I am fine. Just a bruised ego." He replies. "Where is she?"

"She is gone." Semangelof mentions and looks around not knowing the house. "Who owns this estate?"

The guard looks confused at the angel but then remembers that he may not have been in the village long enough.

"It belongs to Marius. Lady Myriels father."