Lore of the Angels Ch. 04

"Damn it!" he shouted. The cloud of Darkness may be thinning but something unseen was attacking his archers. Lucian moved forward; abandoning his bow in favor of his broadsword. He moved swiftly forward, eyes picking out tiny details invisible to everyone else, bound as they were to the visible spectrum of light

The invisible army advancing would have made short work of any archer. But Lucian was no mere archer, he was a Light Ordinal and he could see.

And what he saw made him retreat.

"Marcus, now!"

Lucian barely made it to his line of archers when he felt the wind of a blade slicing inches away from his cheek. He ducked but was too slow to avoid a dagger aimed for his throat...

"Lucian!" Marcus's sword had completely sliced off the attacking Valkyrie's hands, taking him by surprise. Before he had a chance to recover, Lucian thrust the hilt of his sword into the Valkyrie's gut; slicing him in half.

He didn't waste time getting on his feet. Marcus had already sent the first Valkyrie troops to the forefront but too many of them were getting slain by the unseen warriors.

But not for long.

Lucian had spotted Julia. Her aerial cover would give them time to recover. He raised his hand, energy surged up along his arm and burst from his palm as a flash of light, cutting through the oppressive cloud of darkness. And even when most of the light had dissipated, the once invisible enemies were now faintly florescent under the ultraviolet glow he maintained. The situation wasn't good, but at least they had a fighting chance

***

Something was happening.

Iluna's second set of Valkyrie troops were advancing while the first one retreated to count their casualties and replenish ammo. Not all of them wielded swords; some were skilled sharpshooters too and had taken out a few of the enemy Valkyries and Angels themselves.

Then all of a sudden, a violent explosion was set off a few feet behind Aria, scattering the reserve Valkyrie troops.

"Air strike!" Aria heard one of the Ordinals shouting and almost immediately, Angels of various clans flew into the sky to take out the airborne threat. However, they had been caught unprepared, thinking that they were safe under the cover of Darkness and the next explosion proved that weakness.

It was a concentrated missile loaded with Light and Fire issued from a fighter-bomber. The explosion created a gaping hole in the sky and all of a sudden enemy Angels flew in straight into the Colombian lands; rampaging through Iluna's armies.

Valkyries and Angels kept dropping around her. It was then that Aria realized that Iluna was no longer standing behind her. She panicked for a moment but then saw that the Archangel herself had advanced; hands full of Dark orbs. On the opposite side, Zilarrezko approached her; his wings looking like individual swords rather than feathers --menacing and promising instant death.

For a moment, everyone stopped fighting for a showdown between two Archangels was just too rare a sight to miss. The two Archangels swirled around each other in mid-air... waiting for the other to make the first move.

***

"Iluna," his greeting was a mere whisper beneath his face armor.

"Zilarrezko," she returned the greeting. They were still circling around each other, neither one letting up first. "We can end this now... all you need to do is bow," she told him.

"You broke the code of war Iluna and that is unforgivable." They hadn't even begun to make negotiations and she had made the first strike.

Iluna simply laughed and raised her hands high. "Play fair and lose the war? I don't think so." Then she struck --Dark orbs aimed straight at his heart. He managed to evade it but the orb grazed his armor, creating a crater in the middle of his chest plate.

He gave a loud battle cry as he charged towards her; every blade of his wings aimed to shred her into ribbons. It was as if every one of them had a life of their own, slicing the air so fast that they simply vanished into a blur.

Iluna managed to deflect most of the hits but there were just too many and soon Zilarrezko had carved away bits of wings and flesh from her. Still, she was relentless and returned his attacks with poisoned darts shot out from the tip of her wings. They came in torrents and overwhelmed him; corroding away his metal armor much faster than he could regenerate them.

From below, the Archangels looked like flashes of lightning as they charged at each other. The sound of Zilarrezko's wings-swords moving at unspeakable speeds sounded like torrential rain pounding endlessly on concrete floor. Then suddenly, Iluna cast a Dark cloud over him and the sounds stopped.

"No!" screamed Aria. The battle on the ground had resumed but Aria ran forward nonetheless; just in time to see Iluna grab Zilarrezko --one hand on each wing. She was going to break his wings apart! Her poisonous Darkness was slowly eating away at the Metal she touched.

Aria could see that her poison was also creeping into his skin even as the top two wing blades were completely corroded by her hands.

"No!" screamed Aria again and this time she unsheathed the claymore strapped to her back and threw it straight between the two Archangels; slicing the air with a hiss.

***

He heard her... his Valkyrie's voice. She was screaming and then an instant later he felt the impact of a blade slicing through the air right in front of his eyes. It broke apart the Dark cloud for an instant and gave him the chance to retreat a step.

Zilarrezko managed to look down for a minute but he couldn't see his Valkyrie. Didn't he hear her voice? He tried to search for her but from the corner of his eye, he saw Iluna charging towards him, a long Dark spear aimed for his wing arch.

He evaded but his mind was distracted. He kept looking down and saw that a Light arrow had been shot from his side, aiming for one of the Dark Angels but it hit something...

No; someone.

"No!" he heard himself scream as her cloak of Illusion faded to reveal a mortally wounded Aria lying on the grass. He was halfway in his descent when Iluna smashed her spear directly against his face; sending him reeling through the air.

A part of Zilarrezko burned; not from the pain of Iluna's poison but from the thought of his Aria dying while he was in battle with another Archangel. He couldn't stop looking down at her forlorn face with its sad smile and bleeding body. It was then he realized the truth.

Archangel Zilarrezko couldn't live without his Valkyrie.

"Fight me!" screamed Iluna from above him. "Or have you surrendered Zilarrezko?"

"Never!" he yelled back at her and charged with all his might and power. He had to end this --Now.

The tip of his hands fashioned themselves into long pikes and he moved; faster than light to spear both pikes straight into Iluna's arms and crashed them both to the ground. Her spear disappeared the moment she lost control of her own hand.

Lying helpless beneath him, her wings flapped madly like a butterfly immobilized on its back; arms unable to wield any darkness.

"Stop this war now Iluna," he ordered; teeth snarling at her. When she tried to resist, he drove the pike deeper into her flesh and twisted his arms. "Or I'll unclip you now."

For the first time, fear flashed across the Dark Archangel's face but Zilarrezko knew that it was fear of the loss of her powers and not fear for the gained mortality of her clan.

"You wouldn't!" she hissed.

Zilarrezko's eyes turned completely silver and she knew then that he could be merciless when he wanted to. He spread his wings out in full display of his prowess; the remaining un-corroded blades pointing directly at her with the full intent of reducing her to pieces.

"Please..." Fear had translated to tears as she begged him but his wings were already spearing hers down to the ground. All he needed was to move each blade-wing and she will cease to exist.

"Archangel..." The soft voice of Aria called out to him, trying to snap him out of his hypnotic murderous state. "Spare her..."

"Stay out of this Aria!" screamed Iluna, tears streaking her cheeks.

"Look... look around you," Aria whispered for it was getting harder to talk while she was bleeding out. "The Angels... are bowing."

It was true. Every Dark Angel was on his or her knee, hands flat on the ground in prostration. They knew what the unclipping of their Archangel would mean for them and they were truly at his mercy now. Even the other Angels felt pity and fear for them.

Zilar... My Archangel... please...

Her last words were a mere breath but Zilarrezko heard it in his head for her turned his head to look for her and felt her life draining away from her body.

Aria... No!

She was smiling as she closed her eyes and Zilarrezko knew right then that Iluna's death would not change a thing.

"ARGH!!!" was his anguished cry as he ripped out one of her wings and shattered them into pieces with his own bare hands.

Then he got to his feet and glared at everyone around him.

"Return to your respective lands. This war is over!" The Archangel's voice echoed through the wind and rustled the trees.

Iluna's troops knew that they had lost and the Dark Angels, at the mercy of the Metal Archangel, carried their own fallen Archangel and retreated back to their Colombian borders; grateful that he had not ripped out both her wings.

When they finally left, Zilarrezko walked over to Aria and removed the arrow piercing her body. Picking her up gently, he turned to his Ordinals and gave his last instructions --

"Take home our wounded, bury the dead and return Iluna's fallen soldiers to her own land."

The Ordinals bowed low at their Archangel's commands and waited until he had flown off into the night sky before daring to stand up.

***

He flew the entire distance of more than two thousand miles on partially corroded wings. Yet the pain was nothing compared to the burning ache deep inside him.

For the first time, he laid her broken body on his bed, ignoring the blood staining his satin sheets.

"Aria," he whispered, caressing her hair gently but she lay motionless. Zilarrezko had never felt so helpless in his life before and for once, he wished he was born out of the first four elements. The physicality of Metal gave him no healing ability over others and all he could do was to lie beside her and look at the face of his beautiful dying Valkyrie.

"I can help you."

At the sound of the voice, he sat up immediately and spread a protective wing over Aria.

"It is me, Noor." The Archangel of Light came out from the shadows; her wings glowing like fireflies in the dark.

"She's already dying Noor. There is nothing anyone can do."

Noor ignored him and continued to walk towards the bed. "I heard that it was one of my Light Angel's arrows that pierced her," she said, moving a gentle hand over Aria's stomach. "Let me try and take away the poison..."

Zilarrezko moved to allow Noor space to sit on the bed but all he could do after that was just stand and watch her healing hands spread across Aria's gaping wound.

"You should do something about those wounds too Zilarrezko." Noor's voice was light and airy but the tone beneath that was serious. "Iluna's poisons will corrode your Metal permanently if you do not tend to it soon."

"I want to stay here with her," he announced defiantly but Noor would have none of it. Next to Darkness, Light clans were the oldest and Noor had been the sole Cardinal since the Dark Ages until now; she is wise as she is kind.

"Ehren, my Dark Ordinal will look at you."

"No. I am fine."

With her hands still on Aria, Noor turned lazily to him; her white eyes burning with Light.

"Ehren is here," was all she said before turning her attention back to Aria.

Zilarrezko scowled when the Dark Angel appeared from nowhere in front of him.

"If you please, Cardinal," he said; the German accent thick in his voice. Zilarrezko gave him a once over as though to ascertain if he was safe. Unlike other Dark Angels he had met, Ehren had wings of marbled onyx set against pearly white skin; the color combination almost an exact opposite of Noor.

"I trust him Zilarrezko... as you trust me with your angel."

Zilarrezko didn't say anything as a response and instead stuck his wings out for Ehren to inspect. The Dark Angel was indeed gifted for his palms were barely touching the Metal but flecks of poison danced off and disappeared into the dark.

While he let Ehren remove the Dark poison, Zilarrezko watched Noor. She seemed to be nearly done with Aria and he could see that the bleeding had already stopped. When she finally removed her hand, Zilarrezko waited to hear her assessment.

"I've taken out most of the Light poison but now it's up to her own body whether to heal or not. Her heartbeat may be strong but the arrow pierced right through to her back, missing her spinal chord by an inch so that's not so good news. "

"There's a but."

Noor smiled. "Very good Zilarrezko..." she praised. "Valkyries are much stronger but still mortal nonetheless. You will have to give her the best mortal medicine possible but what happens after that is any man's guess."

He nodded even as he reached out for the communicator panel at the side of his bed. He relayed the instruction to the main lobby to contact the General Hospital to ready a space for his injured Valkyrie. It would take him less than ten minutes to reach the hospital and in his current state of mind; he might not be as forgiving if there were any screw ups.

"You know something else," he said, turning to Noor.

"Perhaps," said the wise angel as she got to her feet slowly. Zilarrezko watched as she glided towards him to say, "We will talk once we've brought her to the hospital. Ehren will carry her."

Zilarrezko looked like he was about to protest when Noor spoke again. "You're still healing... you might drop her while in flight. But that's not the worst thing. Even if either of us are able to catch her, the force of that gravitational pull might injure her even more."

His lips moved to a grim line. "I'll be watching you close," he snarled at Ehren. "Touch her more than necessary and you're dead."

Ehren bowed low then moved to the bed to gently carry Aria in his arms. In a blink of an eye, he was already out of the room and airborne. Zilarrezko winced as he stretched out his wing to prepare for the flight.

"I will forgive you today for speaking to him like that," whispered Noor as she too spread her glowing white wings out. "But the next time, I will not be so kind."

She gave out a soft huff as she caught the oncoming breeze under her wings and flew off.

***

The hospital staff were all awestruck at the presence of not one but two Archangels and their respective Ordinals. Never had a hospital been graced with such a crowd.

It was for this reason alone that Aria was assigned to the care of the various head of departments. At the moment, the Head of Surgery himself was working on repairing as much of her tissue damage and stitching up her wounds.

The wait was killing them all.

Zilarrezko kept pacing up and down, refusing to sit or eat. It was only when Lucian came in with Aria's things did he stop moving.

"The doctors had a hard time undressing her," he said with confusion. "I thought you'd like to hold her things for her until she's come to."

At the sight of his metal feather resting on the pile of leather and armor, the Archangel felt his throat choking with emotions. She had worn his gift... and kept it.

"Leave me," he whispered at first but when nobody moved, he raised his eyes and barked at them to get the hell out of the waiting room. All of them left except for Noor and Ehren but Zilarrezko had no strength left to shout. Ehren may have taken away the poison under his Metal but the Archangel had not given himself a chance to rest and recuperate. Even angels need rest.

"Let us talk," said Noor kindly as she sat down beside him. "It will help you relax. Tell me about this Valkyrie."

"There's nothing to say."

"Males always say that but they're dying to explode on the inside," she said, casting her eyes up towards the other angel in the room. "Tell me then, what are Valkyries?"

He frowned. Was she asking him about stories from the Lore?

"What has this got to do with anything?"

"Humor me," she said.

"Fine," he said in a resigned voice. "They're... well, they were Angels who willingly had their wings clipped so that they could live with the mortals they loved."

"Yes."

Zilarrezko frowned. "I don't understand... are you asking me to clip my wings for her?"

This time, Noor's face broke into a genuine laugh for she was surprised. "You must love her if you're willing to do that." Eyes twinkling, she continued, "Yes, that's an option for you but not a smart one. Marcus has not even crossed to a pre-Cardinal stage yet."

"She's dying Noor... what difference will it make even if I turn mortal?"

Noor shook her head in amusement then reached out to link hands with Ehren.

"Love does that to us sometimes," she said as she looked into Ehren's eyes. Then turning to Zilarrezko, she smiled. "Valkyries were once immortals. They were Angels. Who do you think unclipped their wings for them?"

Understanding registered on his face even as he tried to hide the warm blush underneath it.

"Their Archangel."

"Yes. So go find her Archangel."

Zilarrezko stilled at her words. He had never heard of an Archangel capable of restoring an Angel's wings. He himself had never done it.

But Aria is too young to have been one of the first angels who requested to be turned mortal so she had to be born to at least one parent who used to be an angel... but which clan?

"Yuki..." he whispered the answer. Logic told him that those blue whirlpools for eyes and strands of blue hair meant she was of the Water clan but why hadn't he seen a Water Angel with that coloring ever since he could remember? Water had always been represented by Snow... or was it? "Noor... before I was born, what did the Water Angels look like?"

His question brought a smile to her lips. "You know how they look like." Her head angled slightly to Aria's body.

Her answer didn't cheer him up. He may not know the real reason why Water Angels now were all Snow but he finally understood the reason how Aria could have wielded Illusion so effortlessly. Hadn't he just seen her coming out from under its cloak not too long ago?

Looking up at Noor and Ehren, Zilarrezko felt the truth sinking deep inside his heart.

"Yuki will never restore Aria's wings," he whispered moving closer to caress her cheek. "Because Aria is a Cardinal."

***