Achieving Heaven Through Hell Part 1: A Peaceful Afterlife

Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Relapse Part 3

"Huh," grunted God Given. "Guess it's my lucky day."

"Oh, my God!" Charlie muttered, hoarse with shock. "Are those angels?!"

"Charlie?!" Kira said, horrified. "What are you doing here?!"

"Well, it's a long story," said Charlie, her eyes darting back and forth between Kira and the angels. "You see–watch out!"

An Exterminator leapt forward in a flash, spear at the ready. Kira barely reacted in time, dodging the thrust and grabbing the spear shaft. He hissed at the Exterminator and surged his power into the angelic weapon. Weakened by passing through the holy metal, the explosive charge sizzled and sparked as it pulsed through the angel's body. Flashes of orange light blossomed all over its body, leaving patches of dissolving ash and smoke in their wake. Undaunted, the Exterminator continued to wrestle with Kira over the spear, its grinning mouth and flickering eyes turning a deep blood red as it slowly but surely overpowered him, forcing him to his knees. Kira growled in exertion and gave the spear one great twist, the angel's hands snapped off at the wrist, the stumps glowed like dim embers as the destructive energy coursed through its body. The angel examined its sparking stumps, its expression jittering before settling into a distressed grimace. Kira delivered a powerful kick to the crumbling angel's midsection, sending it flying backwards into a wall, it exploded into a cloud of dust on impact. He swirled around to see a trio of spears converging on him. Kira managed to bring his weapon up just in time to glance the speartips up and over his shoulders. The three angels leered down at him as they locked shafts with his and leaned down onto him together. Kira grimaced and braced himself, feeling the floorboards buckle and splinter under his feet as they angels brought their gargantuan strength to bear. He felt himself being inexorably crushed into the floor, his arms and legs burned with exertion. Above him the glowing, flickering faces of the Exterminators loomed, an unmistakable self-righteous contempt radiated from their smiles in waves. They redoubled their efforts and leaned in, sparks flying from where the spears intersected.

Kira smirked.

Pushing off of their spears he flung himself between their legs, causing them to topple forward into their faces, their wings and spears tangling together. Kira skidded across the floor and shot to his feet, ripping a button off of his suit and tossing it at the struggling angels. The button bouncing off of one of their upturned faces with a dull, plastic 'click'. The angels on the floor were consumed in a flood of light as a massive explosion split the air, shattering the walls, ceiling, and floor, collapsing the hallway in on itself and the angels. Kira flew backwards into the open elevator, slamming into the far wall with enough force to crumple the metal.

"Kira?" Charlie said, coughing as the smoke and dust hung in the air. "Are you okay?"

Kira rushed forward, shoving his fingers into the sheet-metal doors and slamming them shut with a wrenching, metallic shriek. He ran his finger down the seam where the doors met, a rapid series of micro-explosions snapped and crackled as he welded the door shut. That done, he turned to the control panel, sighing in exasperation upon seeing its utter destruction. "Of course."

"Kira?" Charlie said. "What's going on? Why are there angels out there?!"

"God Given can summon physical constructs of any event that's happened in Pentagram City from breaks in surfaces. That includes the angels that show up periodically to murder a fraction of the population."

"That seems... incredibly unfair. How are we supposed to fight that?!"

"Well, we're not going to," said Kira, scanning the interior of the elevator. "You have to get out of here."