The Flames of Zariel

Underneath Zorla's helm, her smile was that of cruel elation, for she sensed her daughter among the fold. Ah, but what to do? The tiefling before her was already providing ample entertainment.

She wanted to crush them both one at a time, she wanted it to be intimate. The tiefling would bow before her overbearing might, and her daughter would be next.

But for now…

"Maesha, go and greet that useless sister of yours. I'll be with you shortly after I'm done with this tiefling."

Maesha nodded, departing towards a bleak reunion.

"Stefano, hide. I don't want you to get caught in this." It pained Yulia to say those words but he would likely be more of a collateral in their fight than an actual help.

"But I can help!"

Although Stefano couldn't see it, Yulia was giving him a benevolent smile, which somehow got across as her hand rested on his shoulder.

"Say that again when you're not shaking. She's as strong as a diamond adventurer. I'm going to need all of my strength and focus if I want to beat her."

Stefano clenched his fists. He understood, she didn't want to be blunt about it but she was telling her that he's just going to end up a distraction.

At that moment, he swore. One day he is truly going to be as strong as the rest of them. He nodded as he went to rendezvous with Gloria.

With the stage finally set for the both of them, the tiefling raised her sword to the sky.

"Let the fallen angel's flame burn all impurities." Yulia's chant reverberated across the battlefield. A halo of fire appeared on her head, and with it, a swathe of hellfire swallowed her sword.

But this time, rather than using it to attack, the hellfire would serve a different purpose…

"I present to you the embers of my life, let us fight together in eternity." The second line of her paladin's oath, a benediction, auguring the fallen angel's power into Yulia.

The hellfire fell downwards, bathing Yulia's entire armor. A baptism by flame. Flames that would be a part of Yulia until her opponent had been charred to dust.

And to truly finish her metamorphosis as the fallen angel's champion, Zariel granted her blazing wings, they flourished as specks of ember trailed behind.

Her entire armor set alight, a valkyrie embroiled in fire? Nay, she is now the living embodiment of Muspelheim!

With her shield at the ready, she charged towards Zorla!

"Hiyaaaaaah!"

Using her wings, she glided, approaching close to the speed of sound, she slammed into the black titan!

Taken by surprise, Zorla crossed her arms together to block the impact.

Zorla internally grimaced, not because she had taken damage, but because she was pushed back. A feat that she wouldn't consider possible with the strength currently possessed.

But Yulia's offense wasn't over. The sword that was hidden behind her shield was thrust into Zorla's head, only for the queen to haughtily laugh at the futility of her attack.

"Fancy transformation, but you're going to have to try a little bit harder than that if you want to….Aaaaaah!"

Zorla screeched as a torrent of hellfire gushed from Yulia's sword, covering her entire head. Like the attack from before, it didn't cause any direct damage due to her armor's magic resistance, but it was enough to raise the temperature inside her helmet as if she was being cooked alive.

With a single punch containing all of Zorla's annoyance, Yulia was sent flying, the angel swatted like a common fly.

"That fucking stings, keep that up and I will assure you that you will suffer for it dearly once you're collared in my dungeon. " Zorla's threat dripped with malice, watching as her foe stood up, unfazed by her monstrous punch.

"I'll have you know, it sounds more weird than kinky hearing that my friend's mother wants to put a collar on me. Hard pass on that offer, your majesty."

The fiery wings on Yulia's back grew in intensity as she was preparing for another charge. But this time it was the mad queen that dashed towards Yulia.

Zorla's fist accompanied by a gust of wind, crashed into Yulia's shield.

To which the tiefling blocked, the added strength given by her new form worked in tandem with the infernal wings on her back, propelling Yulia forward.

Zorla was actually impressed, it wasn't everyday that she could find someone able to fend her blows head on. But how long could Yulia keep it up? Zorla wondered. For something as flashy as that flaming get-up of hers and her constant barrage of hellfire, all of it must cost a shit ton of mana. Her drider armor was a boon that only cost 1/4 of her total mana to activate. The other 2/4 was there as reserve if she needed to activate her Aeon, but there was no need for that right now, the night is still young and her dance with the tiefling had only just begun.

The mad queen fists pounded left and right on Yulia's shield with the might of a behemoth, all the while, Yulia was giving it her all in defense in order not to get blown away again. Zorla's reckless fists continuously ramming into her left her with no room to shoot her beam of hellfire. Cracks started to form on her shield, it was a testament to Augustia's craftsmanship that it even lasted this long.

In order for her shield to be spared, and in return, being spared from Augustia's anger. Yulia set the propulsion of her wings to backwards, she glided in reverse, making Zorla's punch hit nothing but air. And with those very same wings, Yulia flew into the air.

The tiefling's hovering visage was that of Zariel's burning effigy as her armor smoldered underneath the sea of stars.

Meanwhile, Zorla's jubilation was ruined as her prey took flight, how else is she going to administer her blows if her prey was too far from her grasp? "Get back down here and let me pound you!"

It pained Yulia to admit it, but Zorla's strength was far above her own. Although a crucial aspect in battle, strength wasn't the be all and end all of every fight.

"Are you hearing yourself right now? Also, why don't YOU fly up here, huh?"

"So that's how you want to play it, you chickenshit tiefling."

All eight of Zorla's legs punctured the ground beneath her as she braced for one vicious jump, if all goes well then she would pluck the troublesome angel from the sky, smashing her into the ground, fitting for one borrowing the power of a fallen angel.

Zorla vaulted at an unprecedented height, her arm aimed at the tiefling.

But the queen's reach exceeds her grasp.

The tiefling proved far too elusive as Yulia flew higher. All thanks to the maneuverability provided by her wings.

Vaulting high up in the air, she had seen it once before. It was all thanks to her bout with Ellamir that she had predicted Zorla wouldn't be able to resist the temptation and jump to the sky.

As gravity called for Zorla, it was now time for the next step of Yulia's plan.

The wings on her back fanatically raged, as she had summoned forth the speed to dive and crash her shield into Zorla's abdomen mid air.

They will both crash into the earth with the force of a titan's hammer, shattering the earth and leaving behind a humongous crater.

Even Yulia knew the blowback of this attack on her would be immense, but with her superior regeneration empowered by her flaming oath, she would be able to heal in no time even if her bones broke.

"HYAAAAAAH!" With a ferocious shout, Yulia braced for impact.

+++

"Hello, my dear sister." Maesha's tone was as cold as ice.

Right next to the Amazon was her sister who rushed to see their mother.

A maelstrom of emotions swirled inside Ellamir's chest, the fear from the looming threat of her mother was still there, but seeing Maesha safe and sound filled it with equanimity and happiness.

Ellamir's hand was about to reach out and pull her sister into a hug, only for Maesha to slap them away.

"What do you think you're doing? Mother was right, being with this Amazon had truly made you useless and soft."

Ellamir was perplexed. Was it truly her sister that was unleashing venomous words upon her? Rage was now added into that maelstrom in her chest, how dare their mother turn her sister against her!?

"All right, why don't you both just sit down and talk for a moment so you two could…" Antani tried to mediate, she could see it on Ellamir's face how much she was hurting now that her sister had taken the side of their mother.

"You stay out of this you Amazon harlot! You are the reason why my sister had fallen into depravity and left!"

And Antani thought she was on edge. Maesha practically exploded in anger. She will let the disrespect slide, ONLY for Ellamir's sake.

"Maesha, you can berate me all you want, but don't you dare drag Antani into this!"

"Or what!? Are you going to slap me? Beat me up? Or maybe even kill me just so you could keep that Amazon bitch happy?"

Ellamir's heart was being torn from her chest. She won't stand for her lover being besmirched yet she would never raise her hand on her sister either.

The situation might seem hopeless, yet she must manifest that hope herself if she wanted her relationship with her sister to go back the way it was before. Back when they always had each other's back. Would telling her the truth free her sister from all of the anger?

"I would never hurt you. Maesha, listen to me, I left because I wanted to save you. Lolth, she had been giving me nightmares every night without end, vivid visions of me stabbing you."

"Lies! You left because you had been seduced by that wench beside you! You don't want to hurt me!? Ahahaha That's too bad, because you don't have any choice."

After Maesha's deranged laughter, she donned her shadow armor. With a wave of her hand, three bolts of obsidian magic missile honed towards Antani.

With the Amazon's immaculate reflexes, she had managed to brace herself in the blink of an eye and deflect all three projectiles.

"Maesha, stop this!"

Maesha snickered at her sister's plea, another three and another. Forcing Ellamir to make her move.

Ellamir was aware, she had to stop Maesha before she conjured more troublesome spells. She steeled her heart for what she was about to do…

As Maesha unleashed her barrage of magic missiles. She was forced to halt, her sister's transformation made her tremble.

It was the same towering form as their mother's.

There was no spell in Maesha's arsenal that could do damage to her sister. But that didn't stop her from manifesting her rage, crashing all of it into Ellamir.

A great fireball appeared above her hand as she pointed it up at the sky. The black flame was huge enough to swallow a halfling whole. Maesha's hand waved to target her sister, and with it her fireball obeyed.

The great fireball exploded upon impact, the smoke cleared but Ellamir remained untouched. Maesha's action was no more different than throwing a pebble at a mighty stone wall.

It was all useless, but she still continued. Lightning hands, boulder toss, flame array. Over and over. Ellamir just stood and took it all. Soon, her mana had been exhausted and her anger along with it.

Her shadow armor vanished, Maesha collapsed on her knees. Her sister approached. She expected a punch or a slap, she deserved as much for raising a hand on her sister's lover.

What she didn't expect was being raised from the ground and enveloped into a hug. Powerful arms that could split mountains were embracing her gently. And from under her helm, Maesha could make out faint sobbing, giving way to sobs of her own.

Tears rolled down Maesha's eyes, "Why did you abandon me? Did you know what mother put me through?"

"I know, I've been through it as well. I did it to save you, Lolth, she wanted us to kill each other, I had no choice but to leave."

As Maesha lay in her sister's embrace, she finally believed her words to be the truth. Her own arms caved in and hugged her sister in earnest.

"I've missed you, sister." Maesha admitted.

"I've missed you too."

Soon, Ellamir let Maesha down. Her little sister walked up to her lover, her face marred with regret.

"Antani" Maesha called with a hint of embarrassment.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry for everything I said earlier. I didn't mean it. In truth, I am happy that the two of you ended up together."

"Forgiven. I can't stay mad at my lover's adorable little sister now, can I?"