Isabelle was in her car, driving on the road when she realized that something was wrong. Wasn't she just involved in a terrible accident? She asked herself.
She realized that what happened to her at the office had happened again. She had unconsciously reversed time to a few seconds before she was attacked on the road by the strange car which meant it was about to happen again.
Isabelle heard the car and saw it some yards behind her and this time, she was going to make sure she prevented the accident from happening and also intended on finding out who was driving the car.
She held her breath and stepped on her brakes and pulled up to the side of the road. The car behind her kept driving and sped past her. Isabelle looked out her window as the car zoomed past her and was unfortunately unable to see the face of the driver but she did study the make and colour of the car.
She watched the car drive away and for a moment, she played with the idea of following it so she could find out who was inside it but she didn't do so. She watched the vehicle drive off until it was out of sight and she let out a sigh of relief.
"Who the hell was that?" She asked just before her phone began to ring.
She picked it up, "Hello, Gwen?"
"Izzy, I'm already at the bar. Where are you?" Gwen asked.
"I'm almost there. I just had a little hold-up on the road but I'll be there soon," she told her cousin before hanging up.
She turned the car back on and continued driving so she could get to Gwen.
Jennifer had driven away from Isabelle's car after she parked on the side of the road just as she was about to run her rented car into Isabelle's. She didn't understand why Isabelle stopped but it seemed like she was suspicious of the car behind her and Jennifer didn't understand why she would be.
Now, she was parked in the dark bushes right off the road as she waited for Isabelle to drive by so she could tail her again.
"Where is this bitch? She's not going to get away from me this time and not even her demon friends are going to save her from me. Not even God himself," Jennifer said while waiting.
She wasn't discouraged by Isabelle's possible suspicion. She was still very eager to carry out her plan tonight and nothing was going to stop her.
Jennifer opened the closed compartment near the gear of the car and eyed the loaded gun that was inside of it; a gun whose bullets were meant for Isabelle.
Just then, Isabelle's car sped by and just as it did, Jennifer shut the compartment and turned her car back on.
"There you are," she said and followed behind her. She kept a fairly good distance so Isabelle wouldn't see her car and get cautious again.
A few minutes later, Isabelle parked in one of the spaces at the bar she was meeting her cousin and went inside.
Jennifer arrived there only a few seconds later and decided to wait in one of the parking spaces until Isabelle was ready to go back home. That was when she would try to strike again!
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"There you are! I was thinking you were going to call and cancel on me," Gwen said when Isabelle walked over to her inside the bar.
"Sorry I'm a little late," Isabelle apologized and went in for a hug.
"Did anything happen? Are you okay?" Gwen asked when she noticed something a bit off about her cousin.
"I'm alright, I just got off work a little late as it was my first day back in a while. I'm sorry," she apologized.
"No worries, you're here now and we can get this evening underway. Barman! Hit us up with the best margaritas you got," Gwen said to the bartender with a happy smile on her face.
"So, tell me, Gwenie. How's Drew and how's the marriage going?" Isabelle asked.
"Oh, now you care?" Gwen said sarcastically and rolled her eyes playfully.
"Don't be like that, girl! I've been busy," Isabelle pushed her softly and playfully and the two of them chuckled.
The bartender served them their drinks and they got to drinking and catching up.
******
Hannah and Garin ran at and attacked Kari simultaneously while Sader took on Zarif.
The couple had their weapons out and when Kari saw them coming, he knew he had to take a defensive position to stand any real chance against them so he released his wings and flew into the sky as quickly as he could.
"With me, Hannah," Garin said to her and leapt into the air.
Hannah did the same and the both of them chased the demon into the clouds so they could finally kill him after all they had suffered at his hands.
Meanwhile, Sader and Zarif prepared to battle themselves. Sader took out his axe and the steel caught on fire while Zarif made a demon blade appear in his hands.
"Gentel's blade," Sader mentioned when he noticed.
"Yes," Zarif said, "...and you will die by it for what you did to her,"
He went on the offensive and ran towards Sader. He lifted the sword and brought it down on his brother who blocked it with the handle of his axe, deflecting his hit. Zarif still kept coming at him with very powerful and angry swings while roaring like a deranged animal.
As much as Zarif was just carrying out Lucifer's commands, this battle and his intention to kill Sader was also personal because although demon siblings never really ever got along and cared about themselves, just as Sader and Garin had their own dynamic, so did he and Gentel. They weren't as close as their other brothers but they never hated each other either and were always a good team, so he was fighting with that anger because he was genuinely hurt by her death.
Zarif tried to stab Sader in the stomach but he sidestepped his attack and swung his axe at Zarif's head. The demon vanished in a cloud of smoke and the blade slashed the air. He immediately reappeared behind Sader and stabbed at him again but Sader saw him and dodged again.
Zarif kept disappearing and reappearing multiple times, at different angles, trying to land a hit on Sader but his tactics weren't working because Sader was always ready for when he would reappear around him.
Zarif tried the move again but this time, he reappeared from above. Sader looked up and saw him coming so he did a flip and dropped-kicked Zarif so hard that he crashed into the water of the ocean and even skidded against the surface a few times before he sunk into the water.
It was quiet for a while until Zarif burst out of the water, yelling in anger as his wet wings elevated him into the sky. He was enraged and his eyes were smoking as his blood burned with intensity.
"Your fighting has always been predictable, Zarif, and let's face it, you couldn't beat me in a swordfight no matter how hard you fought," Sader said to him in a condescending tone.
"Maybe not, but my magic has always been stronger than yours, brother," Zarif replied.
He raised both his hands and used his powers to raise several balls of water out of the ocean and he had them floating around him. The balls of water began to boil while suspended in the air until they became so hot that they burst into flames and became liquid fire.
Sader transformed his axe into a shield and braced himself just as Zarif began to fling the balls of fire at him. They crashed into Sader's shield and began to melt right through it so he dropped it and took to the sky. Zarif kept firing the fireballs at him and he manoeuvred around them as fast as he could until one of the balls crashed into him and sent him crashing to the ground.
Zarif manifested Gentel's blade back into his hand and flew back to the beach to finish off Sader. The demon was just getting back on his feet when he saw the pointy end of the sword driving at his head. His reflexes kicked in and he grabbed the blade with his bare hands.
Zarif overpowered him and shoved him into the sand but Sader still held on to the sword, making sure Zarif would not be able to run it into his head and the brothers grunted out as they struggled with the weapon.
And while this was going on, Hannah and Garin had caught up to a retreating Kari and were coming at him from every and all angles, ganging up on him and mercilessly attacking him with everything they had and he was already soaked in his own blood.
They slashed at him with their swords and if it wasn't for his thick armour, he would have been torn to pieces by now. Kari was a powerful demon but Hannah and Garin were not going easy on him at all because of how much they hated him.
Garin grabbed him by the neck and dove down back to the ground while punching him repeatedly in the face. Just as the ground became visible again, Garin let go and Hannah took his place. She swung a kick at Kari's body and he crashed into the sand.
Garin landed on one side of the demon while Hannah landed on the opposite side. They began to approach him with their weapons drawn and ready to spew his blood but before they got to him, a powerful spark of lightning crashed from out of the sky and landed right in between the Celestials.
The blast from the spark created a shockwave that spread through the entire beach and it was powerful enough to push Zarif who was still struggling with Sader across the sand.
All five of them looked up at the continuous spark of lightning, waiting to see what had caused it and after a few more seconds, the lightning seized and from the leftover dust appeared Fawn and Norae and they were both fully armoured and heavily armed.
Zarif realized it was time for him to skedaddle because he couldn't deal with two demons and three angels.
"Have fun with them, brother," Zarif said with a sinister smile to Sader just before he got on his feet.
He knew he was abandoning the fight which would leave Hannah and Garin at the hands of the angels, giving them an unchallenged chance to win the bet for God but he was certain that they would find a way to escape.
He released his wings and flew off into the sky before vanishing into thin air.
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Jennifer remained in the car and she was getting tired and bored just sitting there and waiting for Isabelle to come back out. She looked at her gun and contemplated going in but her devious mind wouldn't allow it.
She had to wait outside for her moment or give up and go home. Jennifer took the gun and made sure it was fully loaded and operational. She hid it under her clothes and stepped out of the car and approached the bar as any normal person would.
She reached the entrance and stepped inside while surveying around so she could spot Isabelle. She found Isabelle drinking with her cousin at the bar and she put her hands over her face and took a seat far away from them. She decided to stay inside there and keep an eye on Isabelle until she'd be ready to leave.
Meanwhile, the cousins were doing shots with tequila and having a good time in each other's company.
"How is Andrew? Are you guys planning on starting a little family just yet?" Isabelle asked.
"No, no, no, it's way too soon for that. We'll talk about kids when the time is right," Gwen dismissed the topic, "So...?" Gwen said while laughing gayly.
"How are things with Josh? Should I be expecting to hear wedding bells anytime soon?"
"What? We haven't even mentioned anything about that. There's just too much going on right now to think that far ahead," Isabelle said.
"So, what's going on?" Gwen wondered.
"Just a couple of things with Josh but nothing too serious. We're just going through some stuff but we'll figure it out," Isabelle said, unable to give her more details.
"You know what you guys need, right?" Gwen said and waggled eyebrows, hinting that she was thinking of something spicy.
"No, what?" Isabelle asked with a knowing smile.
"You guys need some time away, a romantic vacation to somewhere nice so you guys can reconnect and reignite the spark of your sexual relationship because if you can get things moving in that department, every other thing will follow," Gwen took a sip of her drink.
"And who says we have problems in the bedroom?" Isabelle laughed.
"Well, you're not giving me any details so I just felt that had to be it," Gwen replied.
"It's not, okay? But we are planning a trip to the Maldives in a few months so I could still use your advice,"
"A few months? That's too far, girl. You have to work on it now before it gets too out of hand," Gwen advised.
"Well, we are heading out to his vineyard this weekend," Isabelle said.
"That's what I'm talking about, girl. Get it done. Cheers, babe," Gwen said.
They kept drinking as they enjoyed their evening together.
*****
Norae made her light spear appear in her hand and she slowly approach Kari who was still hurt on the ground. She looked ready to kill him and Hannah didn't want her to.
"He's mine, Norae. Don't touch him," Hannah said to her.
"I don't take orders from you, Hannah," Norae said raising her sword, ready to kill Kari.
"No!" Hannah screamed and dashed at the angel before she could kill him.
She grabbed Norae and flew her away from Kari and the both of them struggled with each other, flying with speed just above the surface of the water.
"I guess you're mine," Fawn said to Garin as she ripped out her sword from her hands.
"Fawn, I really don't want to fight you. I know that you and I have never really seen eye to eye but believe it or not, I like you and I don't want to have to kill you," Garin said to her.
"It seems we don't share the same sentiments. I have been waiting for this moment from the first time you got my sister to sin with you," Fawn said.
"Don't overestimate yourself, Fawn. You may be a very powerful angel but even you can't take on two powerful demons alone," Garin said, referring to himself and Sader.
"Oh, I think I can," Fawn replied and immediately went on the attack.
She got in between the both of them and swung her sword at them swiftly. The demon brothers reacted quickly and immediately made their weapons appear as well. Fawn managed to slice Garin on the shoulder and swung again at Sader who released his wings and wrapped them around himself. Her sword sliced off some of his feathers just as he swerved around her.
Fawn kept slashing, seemingly holding her own against the two of them but it didn't take long before the numbers game caught up to her.
While she tried to land a hit on Garin, she took her eyes off Sader and he was able to land a heavy kick on her back that blasted her to the ground. He leapt into the air and brought his axe down on her but she rolled out of the way just in time.
She was back up but Garin was quickly on to her and he slashed his sword at her. She blocked his hits one after the other but Sader kicked her from the side again and Garin hit her sword out of her hands and the demons both slashed at her. Fawn raised her hands to her body and made a small field around her that blasted her away when the demons' blades met her.
She crashed to the ground and looked up to see them running at her again. It dawned on her that they were just too strong for her to handle alone so she took out one of the weapons that God had given her and activated it in her hands.
As they got close enough, Fawn threw the grenade into their path and when Sader saw it, he knew exactly what it was.
"It's a dampener grenade. Move, Garin..." Sader screamed at him.
The brothers released their wings and flew into the sky just as the dampener exploded, sending a purple blast of electrical currents into the air and around the ground and despite them flying away from it, it still affected both Sader and Garin.
The demons suddenly lost their ability to fly and their wings retracted back into their backs. They both crashed into the ground and the impact hurt them a lot more than it was supposed to.
They both got on their feet and Garin checked if the dampener had affected them by raising his hands.
"I can't make any flames," Garin said.
"And I can't summon my axe," Sader replied.
Their powers were gone temporarily but Fawn still had her powers and she stood away from the still ongoing surge of dampener magic so she wouldn't get affected by it as well but, she had her sword out and was waiting for the grenade to seize its effect so she could finally kill Garin.
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Meanwhile, Hannah and Norae were still grappling midair and it was just as physical as their last fight. Norae was more violent this time than she was before because she was angry about almost being killed the last time they fought.
Hannah kicked her former sister away from her and they both hovered beside the clouds with some distance now put between the both of them.
"I see your wounds are healed," Hannah said to her.
"I could say the same for you," Norae replied.
Norae wasn't interested in talking to her. All she wanted was to finally kill her off and finish her mission on Earth and so, she got to it.
She transformed her light spear into a large bow and pulled on the string, firing multiple rounds of reappearing arrows at Hannah.
Hannah began to fly around, evading the arrows while Norae kept firing, attempting to hit her with one. The arrows were endless and they just kept coming and the more Hannah flew away from her, the more Norae chased after her. She stopped flying away and created a shield with her light energy and hid behind it as several arrows struck it but weren't able to break through it.
As Hannah remained crouched behind her shield, she looked down and noticed the purple sparks coming from down below and instantly became worried.
"A dampener," she said.
With incredible speed, Hannah sped back down to the bottom to help her husband because she was certain that Fawn must have been the one to have used the grenade and if it had made contact with Garin, it meant that he was defenceless against her.
Just as she was about to reach the ground, the dampener expired and the purple energy coming out of it seized. Fawn spun her sword in her hand and flew after Garin and because of the effects of the grenade, he was no better than an ordinary human.
She made it to Garin and just as she was about to cut through him, Hannah bumped into her and blasted her away from Garin.
Fawn landed on her hands and feet, scrapping on the sand before coming to a stop. Hannah stood in front of Garin with her sword, ready to protect him.
"Stay away from my husband, Fawn," Hannah warned, her eyes shining with determination and will.