The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 257: Love Game - Coda

Chapter 257: Love Game - Coda

The match against Jassiel was set to take place in the same arena.

After the disappointingly short duration of the last match, the rules were changed so that the fight would only end when someone surrendered or was unable to fight.

It made things harder, but at the same time...

"I think I like the new rules," Cassiel admitted as she finished reviewing them on her tablet. "This way Jassiel can’t complain when we grind him into the ground."

"Yes angel," Rain replied flatly, a shade behind Ozzy.

Team Roc’s first meetup since the last match was earlier in the morning, and Cassie had been too busy staring into her tablet as she answered questions for people to pay Rain too much attention.

Thinking about it, on the one hand, being ignored made sense. Cassie needed to worry about the fight, and their personal issues could be dealt with after.

On the other, being ignored made Rain wonder exactly what she thought of him.

They’d shared a strange back-and-forth ever since meeting, but something about acting within his role as her Elevated servant continued to hurt some part of Rain that wanted... more.

Something he didn’t have words for, but he suspected Malz knew.

After a full morning of standing behind Cassie as she talked to either her tablet or her fellow angels, it was time to stand at opposite ends of the arena from Jassiel and his pair of Elevated.

Jassiel was tall and skinny. Slightly effeminate in a way that reminded Rain a bit of Kir, but with a hard edge to his face that seemed far more brittle and insecure. He had deep green hair and feathers, and he held his preferred weapon - a morningstar - lightly by the fine wire that connected its star-shaped macehead to a finely inlaid handle.

The Elevated in front of Jassiel were hulking examples of transubstantiated giants.

Only the mankin races - elves, dwarves, giants, orcs, and humans - were made into Elevated, and the wingspan on Jassiel’s Elevated was almost half-again as large as Rain’s wings.

One of them bore godflesh along the entirety of one arm and his throat, while the other had both of his legs replaced below the sternum.

Both wore collars of some thick, black material with a seamless golden buckle on the front, and in manasight those collars blazed with complex sigils and runes in angelic, barely distinguishable at this distance.

As if fulfilling some gross stereotype, the two giant Elevated also bore long, hexagonal clubs with rows of conical spikes set into the otherwise light material. Heaven’s disposable weaponry, as opposed to something made with care to last, like Torrent, which was made from good, honest Aytherian steel.

"Ready up," Cassiel said

""Yes angel,"" Rain and Ozzy replied, before Cassiel headed to the center of the field for the pre-match meeting of the captains.

"Good to see you coming around, finally," Ozzy said, not even looking at Rain as he kept his eyes on Cassiel’s back.

"To what?" Rain asked as he drew Torrent.

"To your place," Ozzy looked at Rain, with a smile that reached his eyes for the first time since they’d met. Then he returned his gaze to Cassiel. "They’re so much better than us... The angels. Truly they’re the ones who deserve to guide our worlds."

Ozzy’s true thoughts slid into Rainier’s mind like a wall between them. It made no sense, given how... normal... angels behaved around each other. "If they are better, then why do they fight amongst each other? Why don’t they all agree on doing things one way?" What was it Kir always said when trying to help Rain study history? "It’s a contradiction, isn’t it?"

"I don’t see a contradiction. I see legacy that has outlasted anything on Ayther. That has preserved where we Aytherians destroy, lie, kill, and cheat. No matter what arguments they have with each other, it is ultimately over how to save us all from ourselves. Not whether or not we are worthy to be saved... Because if it were up to me, Ayther would burn."

"Why are you telling me this?" Rain asked.

"Because we’ve never really seen eye to eye, before now. But I can tell you’re truly dedicated to our angel now. Dedicated enough to set aside your own ego." As if to punctuate his sentence, Ozzy reached into his storage and pulled out his new weapons, a push dagger and short sword, with blades about as long as a hand for the former, and half a measure long for the latter. A little surge of mana up through their cores showed that they were conductive enough for him to cast his mavenry through.

Rain remained silent. How could he answer that? His silence felt like a lie he was selling to Ozzy.

Just before the chime sounded, Rain realized that he would never be able to truly trust Ozzy, ever. Ozzy had in his head something Malz had called the "idea of an angel" instead of eyes that could see the truth. That angels were people, just the same as Aytherians...

But if, after all the times Cassiel had tried to be casual with Ozzy, he still saw her that way, then who was Rain to take away the comfortable lie that angels were entirely good? What would it make him if he tried to reason Ozzy towards the positions that Cassie and Malz seemed to hold?

A heretic...

But there was no time to think about it.

The chime sounded, and the two team captains rose into the air to begin their combat; it was Rain’s role to rise to meet her.

"Alright - Rain, Ozzy - you two focus on dealing with Jass’ guys. I’ll occupy him from up here and provide support. Standard Executioner formation; keep the main fight low as much as possible." Cassiel gave the orders before shifting into magiform, as across the field Jassiel switched to war form.

Suddenly Cassie’s eyes widened.

"Get down!"

Something massive and invisible struck, and Cassiel was barely able to get a barrier up in time.

Activating his manasight, Rain saw the truth of what had happened. A massive, spectral morningstar had struck out, large enough to potentially take out all three of them. It was...

"Manifest Arms..."

But not in a form that Rain recognized.

"Oh? I think your little pet figured it out, Cassiel," Jassiel mocked, his voice booming from a form that was thrice the size of Rain. "Of course, mine isn’t that inferior version he uses."

Rain was barely able to conjure two of his Manifest Arms claymores before Jassiel’s Elevated struck.

Somehow, they’d grown larger than a moment ago, and blocking with Torrent was barely enough to block the first as he struck with his club, sending Rain flying back.

Ozzy was able to dodge by blinding his opponent before angling off to the side, delivering a solid cut on the man’s arm.

Unfortunately, a moment later the wound began to heal, steaming as it sealed itself before disappearing, without even leaving a scar in the godflesh.

Thus separated, the melee began below, while Jassiel and Cassiel began their assaults against each other, the former seeking to close the distance while Cassiel fought for every bit of distance she could get.

A staccato of explosions burst overhead, but Rain had eyes only for his present opponent, who was keeping up a vicious assault with strength far in excess of what his size should have been able to support...

It wasn’t just the godflesh in the man’s legs, or the fact he was a giant. Rain had fought a few Elevated giants, and none of them had struck nearly so hard even with godflesh limbs. Something else was going on... but what?

As the giant struck at Rain again and again, finally shattering one of Rain’s manifested claymores, his heavy, bestial breaths and the foaming spittle at the corners of his mouth suggested something that Rain had read of but never seen...

He’s a berserker!

*

A memory surfaced, from a long time ago when Rain had sparred hard with his brother, only to lose again and again.

In frustration, Rain had put everything he had into offense, striking and striking and striking, his brother parrying and dodging as Rain’s frustration grew. It got to the point that Rain had bitten his own lip into bleeding as he cried out, just wanting to hurt his brother for all the humiliation and pain of the day...

And yet he brother had been calm the entire time. Even when Rain finally got in a blow that, had the swords been real, would have killed his brother.

That one successful blow had snapped Rain out of his emotions. He’d dropped his sword, and started crying. And then, to his surprise, his brother had placed a gentle hand on his head.

"I’m sorry brother... Father asked me to do this for you..."

"D-do what?"

"Show you who you want to be, as a warrior. Come..."

He’d taken Rain to a quiet bench, sitting with him.

"There are two kinds of warriors, Rain. Those who, when faced with difficulty, remain calm, seeking the way through. There’s no one word for such people... because it’s hard to tell when someone has entered that state. But then there are those who put everything into overwhelming violence. They’re called berserkers, and you should never try to match violence with violence against one... For as long as their heart beats, they will fight once trapped in their own rage..."

He’d paused then, watching Rain for a moment before he took a deep breath. "I’m proud of you, little brother. A berserker would not weep to hurt his brother. Would not stop after a single strike when there was still battle to be had... But that’s not you," he rubbed Rain’s blue hair. "Which means I can teach you something I know you’ve wanted since you were old enough to walk," he grinned, a trio of swords suddenly dancing into existence in the air before the two brothers.

Just like that, Rain had smiled. He hadn’t known he was being tested, but the reward was everything he wanted.

*

In the present, Rain sacrificed his second manifested claymore, cutting off his opponent’s godflesh leg as he pulsed his wings to put distance between them.

He watched as mana surged down the Elevated’s body, forcing a new leg to regrow quickly as the hard-won pause stretched between the two warriors.

Rain let out a long breath, reaching inside as he readied himself. Manifest Arms took too long to summon, so he searched his memory for a something he could do... something that could stop a raging berserker with a single strike...

For as long as their heart beats, they will fight...

A newer memory surfaced, working together with Cassiel, he’d learned many new things about how lightning could affect a heart...

Here’s hoping it works in reverse, Rain thought, as he charged his hands and Torrent with lightning.