CH. 565-566: Duel

Kokabiel looked immensely proud to be the disruptor of a significant event such as the Devil Emperor's wedding.

Ruby scrutinized Kokabiel's aura and sighed. "Just a pathetic angel."

She had hoped Kokabiel was strong enough to become a target to vent her accumulating anger. Alas, the fallen angel was hardly stronger than a Dragon King. One casual punch from her would end his existence.

"He is a fallen angel. Do not lump Heaven's angels with this unholy existence," God corrected Ruby, his eyes narrowed on Kokabiel like a hawk. "You go everywhere to cause chaos, Kokabiel. However, this is a place even gods can't take lightly."

He himself wasn't confident to take on the dangerous women gathering in this hall. How would a mere Cadre walk away unharmed?

Michael spread his twelve wings, and light spilled out from between the feathers, filling the room with a brilliant white-gold aura. His voice was deep and commanding as he addressed the intruding figure. "Cadre Kokabiel, Father is right. You have no right to be here."

"My purpose? I came to crash the wedding on behalf of our sinister leader," Kokabiel uttered with a grin. His red eyes flickered to Gabrel as he licked his lips. "Devil Emperor, I challenge you to a duel. If I win, I'll replace you as the groom and taste the most beautiful woman in Heaven."

Having his way with women was a minor pleasure compared to his urges for battle. All he ever cared about was war and bloodshed. Challenging the Devil Emperor to a battle would lead to a new war, or so Kokabiel hoped. He'd go to any lengths to satisfy his cravings for war.

Asahi couldn't help but laugh at Kokabiel's arrogance. "I don't want to get my hands dirty. Saeko, you may deal with him."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Saeko approached Kokabiel with a steady, purposeful stride. Her right hand kept a firm grasp on her katana, a sharp aura radiating from her as if she were a samurai preparing for a battle. "Allow me to entertain your bloodlust, Fallen Angel."

"Wait." Sandalphon marched across the room, her back straight and eyes fixed on Kokabiel with conviction. "I wish to fight him. How dare he disrespect Lady Gabriel."

"Sandy, beat his ass!" Gabriel, whom Sandalphon wanted to defend, was spouting things unfitting of her current status. "Show him the power of Asahi's slut!"

Widened eyes narrowed on Gabriel and Sandalphon, both of whom looked proud rather than embarrassed.

Saeko's face softened as she stepped back. "A fight to reclaim your lady's honor. I support your cause."

Asahi quietly observed the situation. Sandalphon was on par with Kokabiel before he met her. After receiving his guidance, her light element had gone through a drastic change. She could overpower Kokabiel with a tiny bit of effort. Even defeating Azazel wouldn't be impossible for the current Sandalphon.

Kokabiel chuckled as he narrowed his eyes. "Two beauties asking to take me on. I'm flattered. So flattered." He then gazed at the Devil Emperor. Asahi's aura was beyond the level of Kokabiel's perception. One could say their strength was in different dimensions. "My challenge is for you. Are you the coward who hides behind his women's asses–"

Sandalphon surged forward with a mighty flap of her wings. In a blur of motion, she brought her blade down towards Kokabiel's chest. He reacted quickly and raised his hand in defense, but it was too late—the glowing blade sliced deep into his wrist, so deep that she nearly severed it from his arm.

"Your worm-like existence," Sandalphon whispered with an intense frown. "Cannot hold a candle to My Lord."

She had seen him tame both dragon gods, even making one of them his women. The likes of Kokabiel could never fathom the greatness of her lord.

Kokabiel showed a malicious smile after seeing the blood spilling out of his wrist. "I see. I never knew a seraph could injure me effortlessly. Interesting. This is very interesting. Kukuku."

"Sandalphon isn't your average seraph," Gabriel shouted. "She is trained by Asahi!"

"Trained by the Devil Emperor?" Kokabiel's smirk widened. "You must mean something to him. What will happen if I kill you here?"

Kokabiel felt like he found the perfect piece to trigger the war. The Devil Emperor, who dearly loved his women, would undoubtedly start a war with the Fallen Angels over his precious woman's death.

Kokabiel shouted and thrust his arm forward, and a blinding beam of light shot from his fingertips. The hall lit up as a veritable rain of luminescent spears cascaded around him.

"Die," he snarled, "you will not stand in my way any longer."

Golden spears filled the sky, glinting as they plummeted towards Sandalphon. She raised her sword, and with a simple slash, she vaporized the spears of light.

"Ridiculous." Kokabiel watched in disbelief, unable to believe his attacks getting dismantled in such a one-sided fashion. "What are you—"

Sandalphon sped past him as he dawdled in shock. She plunged her sword into his back. The brilliant blade drove through his back and thrust out from his chest — his heart. Kokabiel groaned in pain, clutching the sword. Blood filling his mouth, he couldn't muster the words or power to stop Sandalphon.

She let go of her weapon and grabbed his wings from behind. Pressing a leg against his spine, she pulled with all her might, ripping out two black, tainted wings — the signature feathers of a fallen angel.

"Arghhhh!"

She didn't stop there and mercilessly ripped another pair, then another, until he no longer had any wings. His existence as a fallen angel was taken away.

The merciless display of brutality, by an angel of all people, created utter silence in the hall.

Kokabiel shrieked as he fell down to his knees then collapsed — he died an unceremonious death.

Saeko quickly moved the corpse to a spare ring and cleaned the blood with her water element. She even wiped the blood from Sandalphon and her sword to make it seem the battle never occurred.

Once Sandalphon's flowing adrenaline came to a halt, she realized the severity of her mistake. As an angel, she wasn't supposed to kill a fallen angel cadre in this sacred place. "My Lord, I—"

"It's fine," Asahi interrupted her with a gentle smile. "You sent one sinner to eternal peace. There is nothing to be sorry about."

Kokabiel's death didn't matter; saving Sandalphon from guilt mattered.

God waved at the angels. "Forget about him. Let's continue the ceremony."

While the angels didn't forget Kokabiel, they certainly didn't voice out their dissent against their current and future lord. The rest of the ceremony went smoothly.

Asahi took out two pairs of rings. The rings made of metal harbored an unfathomable power that God could slightly perceive through his senses.

"You made them yourself, didn't you?"

Asahi nodded at God's question. "I got the idea yesterday that I should make something special for the most beautiful angel. I ended up with these 'Illustrious Bond Rings.' It can transmit our thoughts and feelings no matter how far we are from each other."

His love for Gabriel and Grayfia created something powerful. The ring concealed an even more powerful skill — the ring could teleport him to her location and vice versa, even if he was in another world. Gabriel would start calling him for headpats once she knew about this skill. It was better she didn't know about the ring's full capability.

God showed a soft smile. "You were struggling with a blade a few months ago. Now you're making treasures beyond my imagination... Your talent is out of this world."

"Literally," Grayfia added. "Right, My Lord?"

Asahi chuckled, moving his gaze to Gabriel, who looked like an emotional wreck.

"Ah…" Gabriel's lips quivered as she looked down at the ring, and tears filled her eyes. His first real gift made her emotional on many levels. She couldn't hold back her emotions in the heat of the moment.

Slowly, without breaking eye contact, she stepped towards him and reached her hands up to frame his face. She felt the warmth of his skin, and their lips met in a gentle kiss.

"Do it after I tell you." God watched Gabriel with a wry smile. "Nevermind me, then. It's your wedding. Who am I to hold you back?"

Gabriel held the pose for a few seconds longer than necessary and the angels in the hall collectively held their breath in surprise. Her frankness surprised everyone.

Gabriel stepped back and stretched her hand, wiggling her ring finger. He smiled and put the ring on her finger, officially tying them together.

"With this, I'm your bride."

"I was supposed to say that," God whispered. "Put the ring on Grayfia and get this over with."

Asahi nodded and turned his gaze to Grayfia. She presented her hand for him to slip the ring. Like Gabriel, she didn't show overwhelming emotions like Gabriel, which was normal given the length of their relationship. The wedding was merely a formality for her.

"This makes everything official. You're legally bound to me as the Empress of my Empire."

Grayfia revealed a soft smile. "And you're bound to me as my husband, the father of my child, and my lord."

He cupped her face and kissed her. "I'll happily have that honor."

Gabriel jumped in happiness. "The first one is over. Asahi, hurry to the second one."

One smooth wedding wasn't the end of Asahi's day. He now had to attend his second wedding in Orario, where Astraea would be the bride.

"Well, I'll return soon. We have a big night to celebrate."

"Big night?" Gabriel giggled creepily as her eyes became dazed while her halo flickered. "Father, can you turn the clock and bring the night faster?"

God stared at Gabriel. "Exercise patience. Don't turn your virtue into sins."

Gabriel sighed. "I want to… but I can't wait."

***

Freya ran her fingers through her hair, trying to act nonchalant as she watched Fubuki across the table in the fancy restaurant. The soft clinking of cutlery and the chatter of other diners filled the air as Fubuki smirked, leaning back in her chair as if to mock Freya's discomfort.

"Your vacation is a waste of time, Freya. That jerk never comes when you need him."

Freya had taken a vacation to attend Astraea's wedding. She wasn't in a deep friendship with Astraea, or any other goddess for that matter, but she had to be there as one of the three pillar goddesses of Orario. However, she was unable to return to Orario on her own.

'This blows… Master, come and take me home.'

Fubuki's jabs made her more bitter about being absent from Astraea's wedding.

"I should go out there and save some lives," Fubuki said. 

"I'll earn Hero Points too. Better than talking to a wall."

Freya revealed a soft smile. "Can't you stay and console a miserable friend for a day?"

"Friend…? Me and a friend…?"

The word struck a chord in Fubuki's heart. Her gaze drifted out of the window as her eyes lost focus. Her last true friend was a highschool mate and the Vice President of the Society for Supernatural Research. Psykos was a brilliant Esper, but she discovered something through her psychic ability that made her propose a crazy plan — a society for the research of special powers to exterminate humanity.

Fubuki betrayed Psykos by luring her with a promise and sealed her psychic ability with a kiss. It wasn't because she found Psykos's plan extreme. Even back in highschool, Fubuki was obsessed with the thought of surpassing her sister and standing at the top of the world.

Psykos, who was trying to sabotage Fubuki's plan of reaching the top, became her enemy.

'I was so stupid back then…'

Freya was at a loss for words when she saw the hazy expression on Fubuki's face. She honestly couldn't think of Fubuki as her friend, but as a colleague working for the same leader. Her closes people were all from the Hostesses of Fertility, particularly Ryuu.

'I ruined everything.'

Unbeknownst to her, Ryuu was still in the dark about Freya and Syr being the same individual. Ryuu's recent training had also kept her from going to relax at the Hostess of Fertility; she rarely got the chance to think about her friend Syr amidst all the events happening around her. Freya couldn't possibly know that Asahi didn't reveal her secret to Ryuu or anyone within his family.

In her mind, she had burned all bridges once she promised Asahi that she would stop acting as Syr. All for the opportunity to visit another world.

'I can't go back to that life.'

After seeing the other world through her own eyes, she felt like it wasn't all that special compared to Orario. Heck, her world was far more peaceful compared to the daily occurrence of powerful monsters wreaking havoc in this city.

She was reminded of a quote from the past.

"Obsession leads to destruction."

Fubuki and Freya sat in silence, regretting their past decisions that led to broken friendships.

Suddenly, a cheery voice echoed through the room, snapping them out of the trance they had been in. "Why the long faces?" Asahi pinched Freya's cheeks as he sat by her side. "What happened to my self-sufficient maid?"

He came to pick Freya up after Klyscha reminded him of her. He didn't expect to see Fubuki and Freya depressed like they were dumped. They had that breakup energy around them.

Freya's lips twitched before a wide grin spread across her face. "You came for me."

The despair that had weighed her down evaporated instantly when she saw Asahi come to fetch her. His usual smile chased away her darkest thoughts.

Fubuki's jaw dropped open as she saw Asahi sitting before her. He looked like a different person in formalwear compared to his regular casual clothes. His black tuxedo was tailored perfectly to his frame, highlighting the features of his handsome face. He looked so attractive, Fubuki was almost unable to believe he was really the demon of her nightmares.

"What's the occasion?"

"My wedding."

"What…?" Fubuki's eyes widened. "Are you kidding?"

"I don't speak of marriage lightly, Fubuki-chan." He shook his head and pulled Freya to her feet. "We're short on time."

"Take me anywhere…" The goddess of love shrugged off her depression and slipped into her smitten persona. "My Master…"

Fubuki unconsciously used her psychokinesis to stop them. "Wait, am I not invited?"

"Not today. I'd call you when I marry someone in this world." He grinned. "Though there is a high chance you'll be the bride in that wedding."

Fubuki rolled her eyes. "In your dreams."

"Hooo. You love me so much that your dreams are filled with me. Man, my heart is going crazy."

"..."

***

Feels like an epilogue, doesn't it?