The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 282: The Lance

Chapter 282: The Lance

The Inter-Choir tournament ended with a lot of fanfare, but for Rain the experience of it was oddly alien when seen through a screen.

Objectively he knew it was live video, but part of him thought of it like reading a book. What did the moment mean when he could just revisit it whenever he wanted? Thus, he watched the matches in a staggered fashion, sometimes with Cassiel and sometimes on his own, during the two days it took to decide amongst the six participating Choirs.

It was only after the spectacle of the finals that Rain realized his eyes had stopped hurting when watching screens.

In fact, ever since absorbing the threads of Helios’ body, Rain’s entire view of the technology around him had started to shift. It was a subtle thing, the surety with which he now operated mana panels, the precision with which he could now set the heat of the showers or navigate the city...

And the day after the Tournament ended, the purpose of the competition was laid bare, as the service of Cassiel and Malzkael’s teams in the archives came to an end.

At a massive gathering, Rainier stood behind Cassie on her right, while Ozzie stood left to Rain an armspan apart.

The room was a massive thing of smooth white stone with black-marbled pillars. Only the Primes of the Seven Choirs were allowed at the front, and the rest of the Executioners Order stood behind them in one undifferentiated formation.

The stage was sharply cut and raised from the floor, edged with gold stylized some some massive bird. In its beak, which was centered, it held a bundle of sticks wrapped around a steel axe. Each stick was of a different wood, and somehow Rain knew there were seven of them...

"Executioners!" the booming of the Master of Ceremonies’ voice interrupted Rain’s roving thoughts. "Stand to attention! The Son of Heaven comes!"

Obediently, he stood to, waiting as the very man who’d sponsored his elevation took the podium.

Somehow, the silence felt more oppressive than applause as the tall, flame-haired seraphim looked over them all, his eyes resting pridefully on Rain for just a moment.

Rain didn’t return the eye-contact, even though he sensed it. In truth, he’d rather not look at the man who had announced Kir’s death with such rabid excitement... especially not when that man strongly resembled Rain’s former lover...

A large flapping sound announced the start of the speech - the High Seraphim opening six red wings to the air.

"Loyal Wings! Today, these Primes of their Choirs and Houses shall receive a new mission. One that will secure the future of Heaven in this and every generation to come!" He paused, and disciplined silence reigned for a moment before he continued. "Right now, below our world, is chaos. Hell is nigh-but empty, and across Ayther the demons and lesser folk crawl and fight amongst themselves... An empire of beasts rises in Areth! The thousand lands of Retha teem with strife. The jungles of Thera grow corrupted because of the demons hiding there, and in Armedon - once loyal Armedon! - the Tower Lord gathers demons and cowards to labor in the safest heights of the dungeon, while forgetting that it is from our grace that he derives his power!"

Once more, a silent pause filled the air, but Rain could sense tension and anger in the room... He even felt a pull within himself, to resonate with the vitriolic words of the seraphim on the stage, but Rain had grown intensely wary of the alien anger nesting within him. And as much as it would have embarrassed him to admit it, his... sessions... with Malz helped him put that frustrated emotion in a place where he could ignore it... at least most of the time.

Now, that anger was like a ball trying to roll off a shelf, and he had to pay attention in order to not roll away with the current in the room...

"They have lost their way... and yet, the Council of Choirs would have us believe that this is a Heavenswar as usual. That once the Eye of Hell closes and the demons flee back to their Hell, we shall simply await the next one. And the next. Instead of ending the threat to our worlds once and for all!"

"Death to the demons!" a voice shouted from behind Rain. Like an unstoppered bottle, everything seemed to come out as people yelled their vitriol. Ozzy shifted as if about to join in before noticing Cassiel was remaining at attention. Most of the Prime teams were, except for the one immediately to Rainier’s right, which was comprised of a trio of orange-haired angels - and they were indeed all angels, possibly brothers or even triplets by Rain’s assessment.

After several minutes, the fervor was allowed to die down, and Vinam returned to his speech, gesticulating with greater fervor.

"For too long, the Aytherians have relied on Heaven to solve their problems. To spill our blood against the demons... But today I say there is another way! A way where not one drop of angelic blood falls upon the cursed soil of Hell!"

"There is another way! And those behind me have performed the greatest of deeds, they have resurrected Heaven’s greatest weapon, and today I am proud to reveal this weapon to you! The weapon that saved many Executioners and the Angelic Host, during the Fall of Wrath where my father tragically died..."

There was a small pause for respect.

"Do not mourn, for his sacrifice is not in vain, and a terrible truth revealed because of it. Know that you join the ranks of those who will safeguard our sacred home, from enemies without and within!"

A holographic image was projected, one of the Black Tower. At the very peak, the tower opened to reveal a massive device, with a circular lens dominating its middle, and eight chambers nearby, two of which held massive mana stones. One stone was long and yellow, perfectly cut into a hexagonal prism. The other was a jagged, angry red, grown out of a bulb-shaped bottom like a frozen comet.

"What you see before you has yet to achieve its full power. And it is to that end that these seven teams - who represent the best of this generation, be they Angel or Elevated - shall be sent to the wilds of the great continent we have warded from the lesser races. There they slay any demons they come across and hunt the ancient spirits. Those titans of the lands, skies, and waters that have grown too powerful to leave alone, and so we shall exploit them to power this great weapon, and ensure that this is the last Heavenswar where angelic blood will spill!"

As Vinam raised his arms, the hologram flickered, no longer showing the interior as it started to play out. From the peak of the Black Tower, opened in four quarter-pyramids, a massive beam of light was followed across the void to Hell, viewed from above. The beam plunged into the most massive army, which had at its center an enormous demon battling an angel in warform... no, it had to be her. The Devil of Wrath.

There was a moment, right before the beam hit, that Rain saw something unexpected. The angel who was of a size to battle Wrath herself dropped his sword. His now-free hand went under his shield, and he surged forward, lifting it above her head... It was a moment that spanned not even a second, washed out by the sheer glare of the beam, and yet it was there...

And Rain wasn’t the only one who saw it... The room began to fill with murmurs.

Vinam raised his hands for calm.

"What you have seen, only the Council has. I share this secret with you as a confession, where they would hide it. It shames me to confess that even within my own family, there was a traitor to our cause..." Vinam lowered his head, a grim, sad look on his face. "He had developed... an affectation for rivalry with the Devil of Wrath. Not, thank the stars, anything that would produce an abomination like what was killed on Ayther... but still... he intended to show her mercy, as he had done so in secret for centuries. I was forced to do what I had to in order to preserve us from such weakness. And now I ask you to do the same."

The room was dead silent. Rain even heard it when Vinam took a long breath, raising his voice even louder.

"I ask you to do the same because there can be no peace as long as demonkind exists! As long as they tempt the greed and hubris of the lesser races into strife and corruption! There can be no rivalry between the righteous and the Hell-spawned rodents! For soon we shall scour them from Hell even as they return! And once that is done..."

His voice fell, and his face grew softer, as if pleading when he spoke, "Once that is done, I hope I will have proved myself to you. And that you will accept that I mean only for the good of Heaven, and the peace of the Triune Worlds. For that is what this weapon must be for... That must be why we must be the ones that wield it. Much was sacrificed for the victory on the Fields of Perdition, and even that was not enough to spare us from the Devil of Wrath’s incursion, alone and yet still powerful."

With a rustling of his sleeves, he raised both of his hands to the crowd. "And I promise, as long as it is within my power, I shall protect and guide you as your servant. For once the Lance of Victory is complete, the only thing we will have left to fear is weakness from within!"

The Lance of Victory... Rain felt his chest constrict, the burning seed of perpetual anger flaming. He focused on his breathing. He closed his eyes as the room broke out into thunderous applause and stomping.

And when he opened his eyes, he saw Cassiel, clapping along with the rest as she held a bright smile on her face.

And that was when Vinam Victoriam, The Son of Heaven, Former Angelus Apex of the Heavenly Host, now High Executioner, hopped off the stage and beckoned for all seven of Prime squads to approach.

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