The Angelic Fall

By, Milo Shawn

Maoilios Sloanei groans as he stares at the man across from him, blood dripping down from Mao's lip, his body covered in cuts and bruises. The city around him and the other figure is completely destroyed, with only gravel left in its wake. The man standing across from Maoilios, is less a man and more a devil. Blood red skin, long black horns, and claws as sharp as blades, it truly is a terrifying monster, unlike anything he has ever encountered.

"Giving up so soon? But the fun has only just begun! The screams of agony, the sweet smell of fear! And the blood of a half-angel... Today is a good day, and I shall feast once I finish you off!" He roars out, his deep, raspy, demonic voice piercing Mao's ears, causing him to grit his teeth. Gathering his energy, the golden Halo appears above his head and his angelic white wings sprout from his back.

"Screw off. I'm not on the menu. You know, you destroyed a really nice Denny's. If you hadn't you could have just gotten a burger there." Mao replies calmly. Immediately after finishing his sentence, Mao fires over with a powerful flap of his wings, appearing in front of the demon and landing an uppercut directly to the chin.

The demon stumbles back from the impact of Mao's uppercut, surprised at the strength of the half-angel. He lets out a roar of anger and lunges forward, his claws aimed at Mao's heart. Mao quickly dodges to the side, avoiding the attack, and retaliates with a punch of his own. The two figures continue their intense battle, exchanging blows back and forth, each one determined to emerge victorious.

Angered by being unable to finish off his opponent, the demon grows more and more reckless, each attack slowly becoming sloppier than the ones before it. 'Why won't he just die?' the demon asks himself in his rage. The demon's attacks become more and more vicious as the battle goes on, leaving Mao with deep cuts and bruises all over his body.

Doing his best to work through the pain, Mao slowly but surely gains the upper hand, as his holy magic slowly heals the wounds he sustains, allowing him to take greater risks than the demon in front of him. Every strike that landed on the demon was a wound that would take rest to heal. Meanwhile, Mao slowly heals throughout the entire battle.

Mao grimaces as he tries to ignore the destruction around him. If only he had left the city before the demon found him, all these innocent people wouldn't have had to die. However, now is not the time to dwell on such things. Mao delivers a powerful punch to the demon's chest, sending him flying back several yards. The demon quickly gets back to his feet, his eyes glowing with rage. He charges forward, ready to deliver a final blow. But Mao is ready for him.

With a fierce determination in his eyes, he spreads his wings wide and lifts into the air, ready to face the demon head-on. The demon jumps up, eager to grab hold of Mao, but Mao is too quick for him. With a powerful beat of his wings, Mao plummets toward the demon, his fist glowing with golden light. Meeting the fiend head-on, his fist plunges into the chest of the disgusting monster, ripping through its guts, causing the black tar-like blood of the demon to coat his arm and splash down onto the ground below.

The demon let out a final roar of anger and pain, before collapsing to the ground, defeated. Mao lands softly beside the demon's body, his wings folding behind him. He takes a deep breath, his body exhausted from the intense battle. As he falls to the ground, his hair stands on end, and his instincts scream out as a soft cackling voice echoes out from behind him.

"hehehe! You really managed to kill Tartarus? How fun!"

Mao, barely able to pull himself to his knee turns around, dread filling his soul. Standing before him is what appears to be a kind old man with well-kept silver hair and a beard, dressed in an expensive designer suit. The man standing before him is unmistakable.

"Lucifer," Mao states calmly, attempting to maintain any air of confidence in front of the demon prince.

Lucifer chuckles at Mao's composure and says, "You are right, my child. I am indeed Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness."

Mao's heart races as he realizes the gravity of the situation. He knows that he is no match for the devil, but he stands his ground nonetheless. "What do you want from me?" he asks, his voice trembling slightly.

Lucifer smiles wickedly and says, "Oh, just your soul, Mao. It's time for you to pay the price for all the sins you've committed."

"The sins I have committed?" Mao scoffs in disbelief, the golden halo signifying his angelic powers manifesting above his head, his golden wings sprouting.

"Who are you to lecture anyone on sins?" He screams, anger and hatred bubbling to the surface of his very being.

Seeing this, Lucifer smirks, "you say this, yet what wrong have I ever done to deserve such hatred from you? I don't remember having met you before! Are you telling me that you hate me based only on the rumors heard in heaven?"

Mao replies, clenching his fist, "Screw you."

"Oh, that's right! You've never even been to heaven! Rejected by the 'God' you have sworn your life to. Dirty half-blood." Satan roars in mockery, his declarations piercing Mao straight to his very core.

Mao's eyes narrow as he hears the devil's words. He takes a step forward, his wings spreading wide. "At least when I kill you, God will finally accept me! I will finally be allowed into heaven and return to my mother."

Without hesitation, Mao blitzes forwards, a golden sword forming in his hand, slashing toward Lucifer's neck.

As Mao charges towards Lucifer, his golden sword glowing with holy power, the devil smirks and disappears, leaving Mao to strike at thin air. Suddenly, Mao feels a sharp pain in his back and falls to the ground, his sword clattering to the ground.

He looks up and sees Lucifer standing over him, a cruel smile on his face. "You were always so predictable," he says, his voice dripping with contempt.

Mao tries to get up, but he feels his strength fading. "You can't... defeat me," he says, his voice barely above a whisper.

Lucifer kneels down and grabs Mao's chin, forcing him to look into his eyes. "God will never accept you."

Grabbing the boys' wings, the demon prince rips them off his back. Reaching out his hand, he grasps the golden Halo.

Mao groans, and begs lucifer, "No. Please don't. Please not my Halo."

The Halo, the source of his angelic power, slowly grows dull and decays before Mao's eyes.

He watches in horror as Lucifer takes hold of his golden Halo, the symbol of his divine power, and feels a deep sense of despair as he sees it decay before his very eyes. Tears stream down Mao's face as he realizes that he has been defeated and that all his power and strength were for nothing.

"Please," he pleads with Lucifer, "just end it quickly." But the devil just laughs and tosses the broken Halo aside.

"Oh, I have bigger plans for you, Mao," he says, grabbing the boy by the hair and dragging him towards a swirling portal of darkness.

With a calm and menacing grin, he snarls, "You're going to serve me for all eternity," Mao screams and struggles, but he knows that he cannot escape. He looks back at the broken Halo lying on the ground, his last link to his former life, and knows that he has truly been damned.