Chapter 21

The angel, Zee, and Grace stood outside the room where Xain was getting ready. They were waiting for him to join so they could begin strategizing. The angel, being bored, couldn't help but interject with a teasing comment, "Ya know, we could've started already if you two weren't so shy about seein' a naked guy," he remarked with a mischievous grin as Zee and Grace both flushed in embarrassment.

"I'm not shy! It's just hard to concentrate because of her thoughts!" Grace exclaimed, pointing at Zee, who appeared even more embarrassed. "Wha-what did I do?" Zee asked innocently, unaware of Grace's telepathic abilities.

"You keep imagining Xain in perverted scenarios!" Grace accused, prompting Zee's face to turn crimson, extending all the way to the tips of her elven ears. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," Zee stammered, avoiding eye contact with Grace, who looked annoyed at Zee's denial. The angel, observing the interaction, couldn't help but think to himself, *These are the people that are going to help me save this world. By Michael, we're all doomed,* as he facepalmed.

Meanwhile, Xain, oblivious to the ongoing banter outside his room, checked out the clothes the angel had given him. His original thieves' gear was in tatters and definitely not wearable anymore. "What's this?" he said out loud, holding up the strange outfit. To him, it looked like a weird mix of something an Iron Guard officer and someone with an unhealthy obsession for feathers and the color white would wear. In Xain's eyes, these garments were far from suitable for a stealthy thief. How was he supposed to sneak around in this obnoxious getup? He was a master thief, (Not really), not some knight in shining armor!

Nevertheless, with a resigned sigh, he began the process of putting on the outfit. There was no way he could fight demons in his tattered thieves' garb, or worse, in his underwear. However, as he wrestled with the fabric, another issue emerged. *This thing's too darn big!* Xain lamented, he felt like a child attempting to wear his dad's oversized coat, struggling to look like an adult. "Whatever, better than nothing," he mumbled, almost dragging the metal bits of the clothes as he headed to the door. With a twist of the knob, he opened the door, mentally preparing for the inevitable teasing waiting for him.

The angel, Zee, and Grace turned their attention to Xain as he emerged from his room. Grace couldn't believe her eyes, pointing at the outfit in sheer disbelief. "What's that?" she asked, clearly unimpressed by the flashy ensemble. Zee chimed in, expressing her opinion, "That doesn't fit at all." Xain, resembling someone desperately trying to pull off a cool look and failing miserably, felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him, even though he agreed with their assessment. He turned to the angel, expecting some approval, only to hear the opposite.

"You look like trash," the angel remarked, completely disapproving of Xain's chosen attire. Defensively, Xain retorted, "You're the one who made me wear this!" The angel casually shook his head. "Nah, I just gave it to you. You're the idiot wearing that divine trash bag," he said, leaving Xain to bury his face in his hands. An exasperated Xain asked, "Then why did you give it to me?" The angel explained, "Because, despite how shitty it looks, it's damn good armor—way better than the clothes you had on."

Xain sighed, hoping for an alternative. "Don't you have anything better or at least in my size?" he inquired. The angel nonchalantly shrugged, "I do have better stuff, but I ain't giving 'em to you. As for the size, I can help with that." Clearing his throat, the angel muttered unintelligible and extremely unpleasant words, causing everyone to cover their ears. "S̶̢̧͈͚̻͎̜͙̳͔͍͙̤͇̫̏͐̃͝͝H̴̖̳̩͕͚̊̔͆Ř̴̬̅̒̉̔̄͐͘͠Į̴̤̹̂̾N̶̼̞͔̦̪̥̖͎͍͍͉̥̎K̸̨̻̤̆̊́̀͑̈́͂̆," the angel spoke, and almost instantly, the outfit shrank down to fit Xain perfectly.

"What was that!?" Grace exclaimed, the angel's words causing her head to throb with an impending migraine. "Ugh, my ears," Zee groaned, holding her ears tightly due to her elven senses amplifying the unpleasant experience caused by the angel's speech. "Why? Just why?" Xain complained, feeling the discomfort even though he was the least affected by the angel's words.

The angel looked at them, saying, "Damn, I didn't think Divine Speech would be that bad for all of you," as he rubbed the back of his head. Grace, still recovering, asked incredulously, "That was supposed to be divine!?" The angel nodded, prompting Xain to remark, "That sounded more demonic than divine."

"I'm sure after seeing the things we've seen today, demonic will be more pleasant than this," Zee added, given the fact that the demon was extremely nice and well-spoken, and the angel was well... the angel. "Are you guys assuming that angels and demons have a different language? Cause we don't," the angel clarified, looking at them.

"But you just said that was Divine Speech?" Zee questioned, confusion evident in her expression. The angel glanced at her without again, meeting her eyes, replied, "Yeah, and demons count as divine, so what's your point?" Zee wanted to pursue the conversation further, but Grace interjected, "We can talk about this later. Can we just start strategizing about how to stop a demonic invasion, please?" Everyone looked at each other and nodded in agreement. As intriguing as the language of angels and demons might be, the impending invasion demanded their immediate attention.

"Right, well, I need to know what the three of you can do before we start planning things out," the angel said. While he knew a bit about Grace's abilities and the fact that she is loved by the ones from above and below, he didn't know the exact details of how her abilities worked. As for Zee and Xain, he knew basically knew fuck all their skills and abilities. Grace and Zee could easily share information about their abilities—explaining what they could do, the type of magic users they were, and how they could use their powers. However, for Xain, it was very complicated.

Xain knew this topic would come up at some point. *How am I supposed to tell him anything about Erkie, who isn't even here? Where are you, you gloomy piece of crap!* Xain yelled in his head, though he got no response. Not that he was expecting any, but Ercale wasn't his main concern. *Can I tell him about that? Can I tell him about the Hatred?*