Chapter 78

The angel struck all the chords of the guitar at once. "Eat this!" he exclaimed as red lightning shot out towards Argath at lightning speed. In response, Argath put his thick, bony hands in front, forming a shield made of bone to block the red lightning. Upon hitting it, the lightning did almost nothing, barely leaving a scratch as it struck. *Shit! His bones are dry!* The angel cursed inwardly.

Quickly, he struck a single power chord, sending a blast of sound cracking through the air towards Argath. Anticipating the attack, the demon dropped the bone shield and flapped his leathery wings to fly high, dodging the sound blast. The angel adjusted his aim, pointing the top of the guitar at Argath, but before he could start jamming, four small portals opened around him.

His eyes widened as he wrapped himself around his wings, but it was too late. Spikes made of bone resembling spines shot out of the portals, wrapping around him and his wings, trapping him in place. "Can't move," he grunted, looking up just in time to see Argath slam him down with both arms.

The impact made the angel cough up blood as he was sent crashing into the ground at alarming speeds. His head spun, his body hurt, and he was about to hit the ground. Despite all this, he managed to flap his wings, tremendously slowing down his descent. He still hit the ground, but at least not at speeds that could have shattered his body.

The Demon Lord watched from afar, giving a light clap. "The pain of an angel should charge up the portal swiftly," he remarked. Right on cue, the portal spewed out more demons—twenty of them, all identical. They had white porcelain bodies shaped like small human children, with vein-like patterns running all the way up and past their glass eyes.

With a smirk, the Demon Lord turned to these new demons and then addressed the one with two sets of arms. "Cairos, take these Veinblood Cherubs to that city with all the steam and automatons to cause some havoc," he ordered. Cairos bowed and turned to the newly arrived demons. "You heard our lord; come on, let's go," he commanded.

The vein-like patterns on the Veinblood Cherubs started glowing a blood red as they began floating. Six of them went to Cairos, each grabbing one of his limbs and lifting him off the floor. Together, they all floated away, headed towards Ironhelm.

Meanwhile, the angel struggled as he blocked a massive bone-made fist with his wings, the force of the blow making him skid backwards, leaving a dragged mark on the forest ground. *I can't do anything!* he shouted in his mind. Argath was far too fast for him to properly use the guitar, so he stowed it back in Heavens Inventory. However, the current weapons he was using, the Gauntlets of Judgment, weren't faring much better. Sure, if he could land a hit, he would turn the tide of the fight, but landing that hit was the problem. Argath was not only faster than him, but he could also conjure and summon things made of bones to block any attack the angel attempted.

"Come on, aren't you angels supposed to be made to kill our kind? You can't seriously be this weak," Argath taunted, motioning two bony fingers at the angel, goading him to come at him.

"Shut up!" the angel yelled, huffing. "I know I'm weak! But don't pretend to be better than me!" He continued, wiping away a bit of blood above his lips. "What are you talking about? I'm beating you, aren't I? Of course, I'm better than you," Argath replied, crossing his arms.

"That's not what I'm talking about!" the angel exclaimed before locking eyes with Argath's empty sockets again. "You're the weakest in your little club, aren't you?" he asked with a grin. Argath stopped crossing his arms. "What?" he replied in hushed irritation. "You were picked to fight me because you're the weakest. Your boss wanted me to have a chance, meaning he can actually see me beating you," the angel continued, making Argath visibly shift on his foot, clearly angered.

Seeing this, the angel continued with his taunts, his voice laced with contempt and frustration. "You're so damn weak that you have to resort to fighting me, a nameless, halo-less angel. How fucking pathetic!" he exclaimed, his words laced with venom.

Argath, without hesitation, flapped his leathery wings and charged at him. The angel anticipated this, crouching down and putting his wings in front. *I don't like using dirty tricks like that brat (Grace), but I have to win this,* he thought, his mind racing to keep track of Argath.

As Argath charged, he summoned more spikes of bone, which stabbed into the wings of the angel, making him grit his teeth in pain. Unlike all the attacks he blocked with his wings before, the attacks from Argath hurt—a lot. His wings were really sensitive when something actually got through their defenses, but he had to tough it out to win. Argath came close and raised both of his arms, forming them into a massive, spiky hammer made of bone, before bringing it down to smash the angel.

The angel put down all defenses and threw an uppercut aimed at Argath's jaw, surprising the demon with his sudden aggression. *I win!* the angel thought triumphantly, a surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins. However, as his fist drew close to Argath's jaw, his left foot was pulled by something, causing his fist to glide past Argath's jaw by a few inches. *What!?* he thought, his mind reeling with shock as he looked down at his foot. A small chain of bone, which had dug out of the ground, was wrapped around it.

The spiky hammer of bone smashed into the angel, slamming him into the ground while simultaneously piercing him with its spikes. Coughing out a massive amount of blood, he realized, *He can summon them underground too!?*

As the angel lay on the ground, bloodied and battered, Argath stood over him with an air of annoyance. "It's over," he declared in a tone laced with impatience and superiority. The Demon Lord's smirk widened as the portal began to spew out more demons. "Seems like the birdy lost, took longer than expected, but what else should I expect from Argath," he remarked, not caring much about the angel's apparent defeat.

While more demons emerged from the portal, Kazon suddenly turned his gaze towards the ladder leading down to the attic. Mincs jumped, thinking the demons had finally noticed her, but Kazon's attention was directed elsewhere, to something below the ladder. Turning to the Demon Lord, Kazon dropped to one knee. "May I be allowed to go below, my lord?" he asked. The Demon Lord, focused on the demons emerging from the portal, simply waved his hand in response, not saying anything.

Kazon bowed once more before darting off at blazing speeds. Mincs and Verandez couldn't even see him as he descended the ladder and rushed through the mansion, drawn by the powerful demonic presence he sensed below.