The Guardian Angel (The Guardians of Nine Heavens #1)

Chapter 34: Warrior against the Death

Loriel grabbed her golden trident and raised a golden shield. Samael's scythe hit it and made a crack. The black angel pulled back, waiting for her attack. Loriel guessed he was holding back and flushed up - how he dared mock her?! She could crush him even if he fought his all!

"I'll cut that grin off your face!" 

She flew towards him and accumulated light energy around the trident. Samael waited for her to come close. Once her trident was about to pierce his flesh, he swung his bare hand, pushed the trident off its course, swung the scythe, and marked a small cut on Loriel's cheek. He kicked her off and laughed. Loriel widened eyes in a stupor - how could he dodge her powerful trident shot with his bare hand?! She rubbed her cut cheek and could spot divine blood stains on her fingers. She snarled:

"You filthy snake..."

"What's wrong? Is that all, child?" Samael laughed. He spread his hands and showed his bare chest: "Come, mark a cut on me! Well, if you can".

"Loriel, do not fear, I can help you!" 

Evy folded her arms together and began generating light energy.

"Do not worry, Evy. I can crush this snake". 

Loriel clutched her trident and charged at Samael again. Lily, on her part, kept calm, because she knew what her angel was capable of. Samael smiled and waited for Loriel. 

"Do not just stand there. I won't make the same mistake twice!" Loriel stopped in midway, swung her trident, and blasted a ray of light energy at Samael. "Take this!"

Samael widened eyes for a moment - the ray was fast, indeed. Loriel grinned once noticed his frustration - now she had got him! 

The ray clashed with the opponent, and spread around as if it had hit a great obstacle. Just as the light dissipated, Loriel saw Samael had raised his hand, which had received a tiny burn. He had dodged with a bare hand again?!

"Impressive... You're getting serious, aren't you?" a grim smile covered Samael's face, "I love it".

Loriel's nerves strained. She felt her rage was going to burst out at any minute. She clenched her fists so that they nearly bled:

"You... bastard! Do not dare play around! My mother was Ariel, the great angel of nature - the first terrestrial angel to have ever existed! Who do you think you're talking to, you filthy infernal angel, who's fallen so low that is being called a demon?! You've no right to look down on me. I'll show you just what the true angelic power is!" 

Evy finished gathering her energy and sent the light aura to Loriel. A large golden barrier appeared around her. Her light blue eyes glowed green - the mark of a terrestrial angel's supreme power. Her white wings gained a golden shade. Lily got astonished:

"Huh? Does she have a second form too? She's not an archangel!"

"That's not the second form. That's the ultimate activation of the Basic form," Samael replied. "So, do you want me to remain with my half power of the Basic form, or show her some courtesy and go Basic Ultimate too?"

"Um, will it tire you out for the next battle? The next one is against a lecturer and I would like you to be at your full power".

"I'm giving you a choice because I won't get tired either way. I am a supreme archangel, darling - Basic Ultimate transformation doesn't tire me at all. It can tire out simple angels like her," Samael pointed on Loriel.

"Well then, um... Won't it be too easy for you to beat her if you activate your Basic Ultimate? Wouldn't it be more insulting?"

Samael laughed at her innocence.

"Fine, dear, I'll stay the way I am. You're the boss here".

"How you dare chit-chat so calmly? You think Loriel can't beat you in her ultimate form?!" Evy cried to her angel: "Go, Lo! We can beat them!"

Loriel shone brightly and yelled:

"Petal Blades!"

She swung her trident at full power and released a green ray, which contained glowing green leaves. It flew towards Samael at an immense speed.

"Ugh, you're too loud..." 

Samael swung his scythe and let black power emerge, which collided with Loriel's ultimate green ray, dissolved it in a mere second, and rushed towards frightened Loriel. It blasted her and threw her off to the edge of the ring. Loriel fell to the floor and made a huge crack.

"Loriel!" Evy got terrified.

Loriel's eyes returned to light blue, and her body too lost its spark. She was covered in divine blood. She looked up at Samael:

"If... if I had dodged in time... I'd crush you!"

"You still don't get it, do you? Not just you, but even your precious mother would ever stand a chance against me. You rose to the rank of celestial warrior angels, but still, all you have is terrestrial powers when it comes to unleashing your Basic Ultimate. If you were an obedient little daughter, you would listen to your mother Ariel and quit challenging the death. Ariel always trembled before me as I chopped down her precious creations. She knew I was superior. It is like that, child," Samael watched her eyes go tearful, "No matter how much you cry over it, there is a hierarchy in the angels' rows. Some are strong, some are weak. Of course, weak ones can become stronger, but there exists a certain limit which you cannot cross no matter how much you strain. You think to call an angel 'infernal' means they fell below terrestrial angels' level, because celestial ones are always stronger than terrestrial ones, and the title 'infernal' falls below the title 'terrestrial'? It may be true, but only if the angels called so are demoted. As for me, my child, I fell on the infernal level not because I was demoted, as you think I was, but simply because I wanted to fall on that level and allowed the other angels to send me to hell. That is the difference between us, little one," he touched her chin with his scythe and made her look into his cold icy-blue eyes, "You are not allowed to rise higher because you are a weakling, while I am one of the strongest forces, so I move between the ranks as I please. No matter how much you scramble up the ladder and gain little powers, you will never cross the limit of your overall strength. Similarly, if I move down the ranks of my own free will, my powers won't fade away. And one more thing - no matter how much you brag about the angel of nature being your mother and your being the angel of evergreen trees which never fade, there will come the time when those trees fall and new ones are born. The only three ultimate forces that run this world are creation, transformation, and destruction; birth, life, and death; beginning, transition, and ending. That is what the High Forces and the Black Energy, the primal sources of the world, represent, while Nature Energy is a combination of the two. However, angels are not gifted with the supreme power of Nature Energy - the Transformation Force. It is given to nature spirits only. Michael and I, on the other hand, represent the Creation and the Destruction, respectively. So there is no way a wimp like you could beat either of us. Get over with it, and life will become easier for you. You can never defeat me".

He got off Loriel, who whimpered like a child. She could hear the anchorman's words, followed by people's applause:

"Lily and Samael have won! They shall fight for the title of a champion in this year's tournament!"

Loriel didn't cry only because she had disappointed Evy. She cried because her hopes were broken.