The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 248: Love Game - Match

Chapter 248: Love Game - Match

"Welcome Ladies, Theydies, and Lads to the Ludus Aerial Arena! Today we’ve got an exciting match for you, so without further wait, give it up for the frontrunners from House Agape, Green Moon!"

Raucous applause and the raising of wings colored green accompanied the announcement as a pair of Elevated led by their angel walked out onto the sandy stage of the spherical arena.

"Led by Adashiel Agape, second son of his House and a real playboy, you might recognize Green Moon’s name from the Green Moon Theater, Heaven’s premier venue for adult entertainment..."

A lot of people in the crowd started flashing Team Green Moon as they walked out onto the stage, causing Rain to blush profusely as he watched it on the illusion screen that was in their locker room.

Green Moon was led by a tall, white-haired angel with tan skin and silky-black wings, wearing his clothes half open to show off his firm chest and abs. Flanking him were a pair of twins, highly androgynous with white wings and rust-colored hair. They wore single strips of cloth across their chests and only slightly more modest clothes than their leader.

As Rain watched from across the stage, Adashiel - his hands around the hips of the twins - kissed first one and then the other, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Unlike Rain and Ozzy, the twins showed no sign of having parts of them replaced by godflesh. Which made him wonder if they were going up against a team of all angels...

"Facing them for the chance to advance will be Team Roc of House Eros!" A more polite round of cheers and applause followed. "Led by the beautiful and merciful Cassiel Eros, Team Roc earned its name during their House’s Rite of First Combat, and maintained Prime status until the end of the Choir Race. There, however, they demonstrated true heart as Heaven’s future protectors by trying to save a life that was imperiled on the race course. Sadly, the man did not survive, and today’s fight is dedicated to Nunti Atelo, a Sports Herald reporter of Heavenly News. A reporter until the end, Nunti leaves behind a wife and one child, who are with us today and would like to say a few words..."

Rain’s jaw dropped as he heard, and he looked over to find Cassiel with a pained look on her face. Rain reached out and hugged her.

"He was stable... he should have been fine..."

"Angel, we must go," Ozzy said. "They’re calling for us. Angel..."

"Is something wrong?" a new voice asked, a female, dwarvish Elevated dressed as one of the many service workers for the arena.

"Just give her a moment!" Rain said. "She did her best to save that man."

The woman left quickly, likely to pass word to whoever was demanding their presence.

But Rain and Cassiel’s thoughts had already turned back to the victim of the demon attack.

A month had gone by, and they hadn’t learned his fate until now... They were too busy to bother, and he’d never come by or sent a message...

But there was another possibility that wouldn’t leave Rain’s mind.

The memory of the Executioner officer who’d told them to lie... How easy would it be to simply make the fallen angel disappear? Such things were not uncommon in politics, but this didn’t seem political to Rain; or hadn’t, until now...

"What are we going to do...?" he wondered out loud.

Cassiel pushed Rain back and cleared her eyes. "Let’s get out there," she said.

Given the angel’s widow was giving a speech, Team Roc’s entrance went largely without further attention.

And when the speech was done, Cassiel and Adashiel were called to the center of the arena.

The host, a bombastically dressed angel with red, white, and black wings and a cylindrical hat, said something to the two of them that was only for their ears. Rain watched the announcer’s face shift into concern before he touched Cassie on the shoulder.

And then Adashiel hugged her.

Rain felt a twinge of confusion and jealousy. He was so surprised by it that he didn’t react until after Cassie returned.

"What happened out there?" he asked.

"Nothing. They just felt sorry I was sad about the... about Mr. Atelo."

"Okay," Rain shifted a bit uncomfortably.

As soon as the signal chimed, the three of them lifted off.

Cassie cleared her throat. "We need to feel them out. See what they can do."

The rules to win by were either knocking the team leaders out of the arena or getting the other team to surrender.

That meant Ozzy and Rain would have to balance protecting Cassie with their offense...

The containment shield closed around a sphere of space, and a smaller sphere marked the limits of their fighting space. They were close enough that anyone falling out of bounds would hit the shield, providing a clear visual mark of their defeat.

From across the field, the magic-amplified voice of Adashiel called out.

"Let’s have a good, long match, Miss Cassiel. And maybe after, a date?"

"Oh... Uh... I don’t know..." Cassie answered back, placing her hand on her throat to amplify her voice.

The spark of jealousy instantly flared into a full-blown flame.

A pair of chimes announced the start of the fight a moment later.

"Let’s go with reverse format- Rain!? What are you doing?"

As soon as the match started, Rain flew for the top of the arena as he summoned Manifest Arms. He was pissed. He was pissed enough that he wanted to be the biggest threat his opponents had ever met.

Front-setting the dozen blades he was able to manifest, he then dove towards his targets.

The twins were too surprised to do more than put up the strongest shields they could. They managed to block every blade of Manifest Arms, but only at the price of Rain slamming through the space between them and into Adashiel.

"Well. Someone likes skipping foreplay," Adashiel said, his voice straining only slightly as he was pushed by Rain. Rain had meant to push him out of the arena in one move, but something the angel was doing kept them moving in an arc well away from the edge.

"You don’t get to touch Cassiel and make light of her," Rain growled.

"Making light? Oh little Ele," the angel used a pejorative for Elevated on Rain, "She’s out of your league... As am I."

A flare of light in one of Adashiel’s hands was followed by a strike that sent Rain flying head over wings backward. As Rain regained his bearings, Adashiel drew a massive staff out of his storage, one with a long, white-metal haft and endcaps themed as male and female in wrought gold.

Rain growled and stuck his hand into his storage.

Seizing on the blade forged for him by Iriel, an Executioner Honored Wing, he drew it for the first time into battle.

Torrent was the blade’s name. It was a claymore similar to the one he’d lost defeating a tempest roc, but unlike that one it was made of silver-white mythril at its edges, and incorporated rippled steel folded into the core to give it weight. The result was a long, delta-shaped weapon that seemed equal parts darkness and light. And it was, as Iriel put it, "Perfectly balanced, as all blades should be."

Claymore met staff as Rain closed with Adashiel. "Are you sure you have the endurance for this? I’m a pornstar, little Ele, I can go all night." Adashiel said as he blocked and parried, managing to deliver a thump to Rain’s abs before blocking a sideways strike of Torrent.

As an answer, Rain headbutted him, hard, and felt the satisfying crunch of a breaking nose as the crowd gasped in horror when Adashiel backed away, a stream of red dripping from his face.

"Afmfnt... You fucking broke my nose!" Adashiel screamed. "I’m gonna fucking kill you!"

As Rain closed, something started to change.

Adashiel grew larger, paler, his eyes burning gold as he entered into something Rain would never have...

...an angelic war form.

"Shit," Rain swore.

Adashiel’s size continued to grow, and with it his staff lengthened and thickened to the size of a pillar.

The entire stadium started to cheer, and the announcer went wild.

"And there it is, folks! Adashiel reveals for the first time that he has achieved a war form! What a spectacular display! That Elevated is going to have a hard time after jumping straight into the void... But wait, what’s this?!"

As Adashiel raised his staff to begin strike, Rain had a few moments to wonder how someone so large could be so fast as he flew for his life.

But then suddenly a giant fist appeared from the side, punching Adashiel in the entirety of his left side, sending him reeling off to the side where his now-massive wing passed out of the arena and grazed the shield wall.

"It’s over! One punch from Cassiel and it’s over! What an upset! Both candidates in forms of power right off the bat! Makes me wonder what exactly is going to happen tomorrow, folks, when Team Roc faces off against the Champions of the race, led by Jassiel!"

Cassiel hovered, radiant in her magiform as the mana from the massive hand she’d generated unwove itself into the air.

She stared down at Rain, with a look of angry confusion.

Shit...