Uriel

"The Seraphim of Judgment, Uriel. You were a strong foe." Acedia commented.

'Seriously, what was up with her? I drained at least 6 digits worth of energy from her yet she kept going until I blasted her with full [Lethargy]. What kind of vessel did she get her hands on?

Damn, holy aura really hurts.

I am not built for this kind of stuff. Thankfully, I can get someone to do all the fighting now.'

Not bothering to check on Uriel, he hovered over to the angelic vault and covered it with miasma, slowly corroding it and weakening it.

'Hmm, weird.'

'It isn't weakening?'

A little bit curious, he focused all of his corrosive aura on the vault that seemed to refuse destruction.

It did not bulge and its appearance hadn't changed when it was first created a few minutes prior. In fact, it seemed brighter.

"What is happening? Didn't I kill Uriel's vessel? How is the vault still persisting and why does it seem like it got stronger?"

Acedia did not feel frustrated or angry that the vault didn't break. He never felt any of that in his life. Nevertheless, he felt a certain uneasiness crawling up his spine.

'Come to think of it, I didn't see her corpse, right?

Damn. Is it too late now?'

He started to feel the temperature rising.

'Can I block it with [Sloth]? Maybe or maybe not. It's better to step aside.'

As soon as he thought that, a yellow beam surged from below, threatening to disintegrate him.

He used [Sloth], only to find out that it had absolutely no effect.

Acedia stepped aside at the last possible second as the divine magic of annihilation shot toward the sky.

'I can't use [Sloth] on it which means that…'

"Isn't using pure divine essence a little too wasteful?" He asked Uriel as she rose up from the ground.

Acedia complained to Uriel. "That could have killed me for real, you know? Look at my hand." 

He waved his nonexistent right hand at the seraphim, further emphasizing his point.

Uriel slowly rose higher and higher. Her wings moved with such flexibility that it was impossible to guess that it was as stiff as a rock a couple of minutes prior.

She stopped rising up once she reached a higher altitude than Acedia and raised her sword to the sky.

Millions of small sparks reminiscent of fireflies gained form in the air, giving the hollow pit some semblance of life.

The sparks were pulled toward each other and assimilated, creating spears made out of pure light.

Thousands of divine spears were placed in neat rows and aimed at every bit of Acedia's body.

"I, Uriel Seraphim of Judgment and Vows, vow to protect the mortal Aster from the vile grasp of Apathy." She chanted as invisible chains grasped her soul.

The sacred vow had been made, enhancing Uriel's vessels beyond normal measure.

Acedia didn't feel scared but he did feel particularly troubled by the sheer amount of magic spears aimed at him.

'Damn. She is serious about that mortal.' Acedia winced.

'The problem is [Sloth] loses effectiveness the more I use it in a short period of time.

I can most likely block half of those but after that, I will be the world's mightiest porcupine.

On second thought, maybe the kid isn't worth dying over.'

"Isn't that just hypocrisy?" Acedia accused Uriel.

He opened his mouth and gave her a piece of his mind. "You are just going to turn him into a chicken like you so stop acting all high and mighty, it doesn't fit." 

Acedia thought he had hit a sore spot with that argument of his but his plan quickly backfired as Uriel's eyes gained a glow.

'Oh no, I don't like the sight of that.'

"Don't lump me together with you greedy bastards." She snapped back.

"I won't turn him unless he asks for it, even then ascending to the realm of angels isn't the same as getting a free passage to hell.

What he wants is what he will do. If he wants to remain a human then we won't bother him on that topic anymore but you demons are different.

You will strap him down to an altar, force-feed your essences to him, and then expect his eternal servitude. That is just wrong!"

Enraged by Acedia's remarks, she nearly doubled the number of light spears within the blink of an eye much to Acedia's dislike.

'Well, that escalated quickly.' He sighed.

'We went from fighting over a teenage brat to insulting each other's species in the span of 10 minutes.

Damn, this body feels sore. I think this was the hardest I have worked in the last thousand years.'

He scanned the area and saw nothing but yellow dots waiting to penetrate his heart and gave up.

'Maybe death isn't too bad.

I can permanently retire so that's quite good.

The sloth family might collapse though but I'm sure the others would find a way to keep it going.'

As he was contemplating the pros of death, with a wave of her sword the spears were released.

Thousands of divine spears pierced through the air while moving in neat rows with perfect synchronization made for a satisfying sight for sure.

And to Acedia, it was even more satisfying since it meant the sweet release of death. It exhilarated him, for the first time in who knows how long.

He opened his arms wide and closed his eyes.

And waited for death to come.

The first row of the spears got closer and closer.

Right before the moment of impact, someone decided to make a move.

Miasma with the color of the abyss surrounded Acedia, effectively shielding him from the spears.

Then it started to expand, destroying everything it came in contact with.

Feeling the overwhelming presence inside the sphere, Uriel took the vault and retreated.

Like a black hole, the sphere expanded and expanded until it devoured all of the divine spears created by Uriel.

Only then did it open up.

Uriel could only curse seeing who was inside it.

"Well, well. Look at that. What a cute birdie, isn't she, Acedia?" A tall man said as he clapped the apathy demon's shoulder.

"Tsk, you shouldn't have come. It was my moment." He moaned.

"You should go back, Lucifer."