Chapter 5 - Skirmish between Heaven, Earth, and Hell (5/?)

"Hmph."

She watched his body fly off and made a light landing.

"…"

She was strong. Even as a bystander, the difference in their strengths was overwhelming to Mutsuki. Lucia clearly had superhuman power, but Ange outdid him in everything.

"I'm no match for you."

The boy had avoided an actual fatal blow, but his skin was burnt and he had been kicked across the room. His voice was weak as he got back up and he raised his hands as if to surrender.

"Improper interference in the human world is a first degree violation of the Angel-Demon Détente. In particular, involving the bearer of a special power for no reason is punishable by Nemesis 66."

"Yeah, I know. And that 66th form of divine punishment is a requisition of your material form in the physical world. In other words…"

"Death."

She mercilessly approached with both swords at the ready.

"Ah…"

Mutsuki frowned and seemed to entirely forget the situation.

The boy's burnt skin cells were rapidly healing and the scorch marks were vanishing, so he clearly was not human. Still, he looked just like Mutsuki or Ange. Getting kicked on the cheek had left a bloodstain on his lips. Mutsuki did not want to see him sliced to pieces.

It was because of his fear that he did not feel any hatred for the boy.

Not to mention the friendly smile on the boy's face.

"Heh heh. Thanks❤"

Mutsuki's thoughts must have gotten through to him because Lucia winked his way.

That confident expression did not look like someone prepared to die.

In fact, boldness filled his face as he faced Ange again.

"Not to worry♪ I said I'm no match for you, not that I can't win."

"!?"

He lowered his raised hands.

In that instant, black water poured down from where it was hidden in the dark ceiling. This downpour was made up of the blood-colored demonic creatures known as Succubi and they quickly surrounded Ange and Mutsuki.

However, this was not enough to turn things around. Wings of blue flame had already surrounded the girl and Mutsuki as a shield, so the black water vaporized and turned to ash as soon as it fell down.

"What was the point of that? Surely you didn't think that would help."

"Ahh, ahh. Are you sure you should have burned them?"

Ange was confused that he had not tried to escape while making his futile last attempt, but Lucia made a show of looking upwards. When the girl noticed a sudden presence, she too raised her head.

"Those little guys were protecting you."

It was already too late.

"Obstacle gone. Resuming capture of intruder…positive."

It looked like a giant spider to Mutsuki.

It hung down with eight metal stakes driven into the columns and it viewed everyone inside the tower using round eyes made by placing countless cameras at different angles.

Once it determined these truly were intruders, the tail-like shell split apart.

"A Springloaded!? Wah… Why you-!"

Several wires shot out toward Ange. She fought back with her blue flames, but she could not immediately burn through the metal wires and their thread-like flexibility kept her from cutting them with her sword. They ended up capturing both her wrists.

This mechanical spider was a Springloaded. They were the soldiers of the human organization named FeTUS which was also after the Serpent's Eye.

Mutsuki had seen ones based on cars before, but this one seemed to have modified the engine running the large clock. It was mostly made of metal parts and some analog pieces like gears and springs were visible here and there.

"Ah ha ha ha! Weren't you listening, moron? I found a way to deal with you."

Like a trapped butterfly, Ange was lifted up high by her captured arms and Lucia laughed in delight.

"Wh-why does a demon like you have a human weapon?"

"I'm not using it. The humans left it here to monitor Mutsuki-kun since he's a top priority target. It took me three weeks to find a toy that would eliminate anyone who got close and that was waiting somewhere I could lure you to."

The boy looked perfectly calm, but the spider Springloaded was attacking him too. However, the black water swallowed up the approaching wires and hardened to keep them from moving.

"My adorable little Succubi were keeping it from moving, but – heh heh – a certain someone thought it would be a good idea to burn them all away. …Whoops."

While mocking Ange, he turned around and stood in front of Mutsuki to protect him from the metal wires coming his way. The black water followed him and surrounded both of them.

"Are you okay, Mutsuki-kun?"

"…"

The boy had been left speechless by the successive reversals.

"Stay close to me."

Lucia moved so close his shoulder pressed against Mustuki's chest.

"L-let go!"

Even if he could not keep up with what was happening, Mutsuki did not remember growing that close to the boy, so he violently twisted out of the way.

Lucia furrowed his brow at the unexpected resistance, but his smile remained.

"It's no use. With a Springloaded on the scene, you'll have to rely on me."

He spoke with a confident tone different from his usual charming one.

"Were you thinking that girl could help since she beat me and I'm holding off the Springloaded? If so, I've got bad news. Angels aren't that all-powerful."

Mutsuki stood perfectly still as the black water created a wall around him and the boy calmly walked out amongst the flying wires.

"All of those with power are burdened with a certain duty. None can be perfect but god. If there's someone at the top, then there have to be people down below. That's the absolute rule of all things."

He picked up the girl's dropped swords.

"You know rock-paper-scissors, right? Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock. It's the most even matchup in the world."

He placed the two swords together like scissors and lightly swung the original sword around. It easily sliced through the Succubi at his feet like they were paper, but it was easily deflected by the spider Springloaded that's metal was as hard as rock.

"An angel's flames are a purifying light, so demons like us can't beat them. But angels can only intervene according to the rules of the natural world and those patterns have been analyzed by the descendants of those who ate the Fruit of Knowledge…in other words, you humans. We demons, on the other hand, have no restriction to the natural world. FeTUS only has the knowledge built up by mankind, so they can't kill non-life forms. In other words…"

"It's a three-way deadlock?" muttered Mutsuki.

Lucia gave an exaggerated nod.

Mutsuki looked up toward Ange, but the captured girl made no rebuttal. She hated to lose, so if she had nothing to say, it was likely true.

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