Lost Sight - Part 2

In the centre of the Angel-made hurricane, Malique scans his surroundings as he stands there, giving his full attention to the search for his long-last nemesis, Lucifer. The Archdemon went savage, murdering thousands in his act of defilement until he was stopped by God and his army consisting of the seven Archangels as their leader.

Here, somewhere in the middle of Heaven and Hell, the afterworld, Malique stumbles across the supposedly declared dead Demon. As a result of the traumatic experience he had and the counterproductive emotion, he charges at Lucifer, aiming to end him as soon as he gets the chance.

Malique kneels and places his hand downward to find Lucifer's body which should have been struck by him by the blow. Strangely, he can only feel the coarse sand shifting in between his trembling fingers. Nothing else but a cold soulless grain on his hard palm.

Gone!?

In the split second, Malique feels a heavy gaze right behind him. A stare too menacing forced his light body to paralyze on the spot. Even his neck is torrefied from letting him turn his head to have a better look at the person behind him.

There was not a single murderous intention inflicted, however, that is pointed out by the figure who questioned Malique about the man's true objective.

Finally getting a grip on his own body, Malique flips his sword upside down and securely clutches it for a sneak-back attack. He leans backwards and switches his footwork so that he is allowed to leap to the target and even add a little extra thrust to his sword for a quicker reaction.

[Swoosh!]

Unfortunately, Malique passes through the figure when he lands this new strike as if he just walked through a mist of air. From the corner of his eyes, he can see the shadow start to dissipate, leaving nothing but a pixelated image of Lucifer formed by the light deflection inside the sandstorm.

Impossible! All of this is just an illusion!?

The moment Malique stops himself from the ambush, the entire area starts to clear out unmasking Lucifer's actual position, a couple of meters away from him. He remains in that spot, casually observing the shackle that now was damaged, probably by Malique's first strike setting him unrestricted.

"I have set you free so that we can have a fair fight. No need to thank me," Malique says, trying to sound as confident as possible. He does not know why he is so arrogant toward Lucifer, nor does he want to give off that attitude. It feels as if he was programmed by someone to perform it. " just doing what all Angels should have done unlike you prejudiced Demons."

Lucifer seems to be uninterested in what Malique is saying. He is just minding his own business, fidgeting with the handcuffs that are still stuck on both of his wrists, struggling to break free. The weight of the restraints is leaving a sour taste on his skin.

"Now that I know you're still alive, I can kill you myself," Malique continues to babble to himself. He points his sword at Lucifer to taunt him even more, yet all Lucifer does is turn away absentmindedly. This act irritates Malique, and he hastily tries to strike him.

In an instant, Lucifer twirls his body around and charges at Malique to counteract his assault. Unarmed, he throws a right punch slightly above the sword's tip that is coming after him. In terms of length, Malique's weapon should arrive at his target first before Lucifer's hand can manage.

This time is the absolute... huh?"

[Clank!]

Instead of trying to land his jab, Lucifer aims for the tip of the sword to slide in between the opening of the cuff and his wrist. When the blade is deep enough, he twists it against Malique's grip force so the sharp edge could cut against the steel and not his arm off.

Adding a little extra move to it, Lucifer does a quick side step and extends his left arm out so the momentum from Malique's strike can quickly separate the other shackle that is still connected by straightening them together. Under the mask, Malique could see the sneer from his enemy that already fooled him.

Now that Lucifer is right beside Malique, under his blind spot where none of his moves will be able to make contact with him, he takes hold of Malique's collar and swiftly kicks him off balance. The kick is powerful enough to drive Malique upside down before he finishes it with a throw to the ground.

[Boom!]

Malique lets out a shriek as the pain he has suppressed for so long finally kicks in again. The displaced rib that has not healed in time fails to help him in his moment of need. He starts to feel trouble breathing like his whole chest is burning, ready to rupture his airways and lungs.

He clutches his upper body with his right hand strongly, tearing the cloth away. Malique's feet wring in agony as his other hand rasps the ground frantically. His breathing rhythm changes drastically from fast to slow and then back to fast once more. In this painful moment, he hears the voice again, the voice of God.

"Relax your whole body, my little Angel. Everything will be fine. I won't abandon you,"

Even though the statement seems more like a command, Malique undoubtedly follows it. Taking a substantial deep gulp of air, he coerces his own body into submission. Manipulating his mind to think that the decrease in oxygen is a greater threat to deal with rather than the pain.

After he releases the trapped air, Malique oddly senses that there is no more discomfort or aching that he can perceive. With relief overjoying his heart, he closes his eyes and prays.

Oh my Lord, I can't thank you enough for the grace you bestowed upon me whenever I needed it the most.

But the short moment of joy is cut short when a shade of darkness conceals the light, jolting Malique to be on alert. Directly on top of him, Lucifer alarmingly waits with his creepy skull mask peering into his apprehensive sight.

Malique's brand is an inch away from the tip of his finger, making salvaging it a futile effort. If he tries to conceal it now and forms it again, Lucifer might catch on to it and act first, likely severing his hand to detain him. So Malique's only choice now is to negotiate with the person he hated most.

"Mind telling me why you did all this?" asks Malique, the question that he has been trying to work out for ages. Unlike before, he is much calmer now so all the consciousness would interdict his anger issue.

Upsettingly, Lucifer does not answer the question. Nothing more than a silent treatment plus the frightening stare is all he has to give. A second time, Malique begins to experience a slim amount of annoyance except his serenity superiorly holds him.

"Answer me, you traitor," Malique's impulse persuades him to say those words.

"T... Traitor?" mutters Lucifer at the end.

He speaks!

"No... NO! I'm not a traitor!" Lucifer erupts as he madly swings and scratches his head and even loses his balance, which throws him onto the ground next to Malique's blade. Noticing the sword, he quickly grips it and viciously ploughs towards Malique, who is completely wide open. "You are the traitor! And I shall kill you in the name of God!"

[Ptwing!]

A spear alights into the ground, protecting Malique from the oncoming malice. On impact, the sword is flung away as Lucifer's grip was sloppy and the spear got support on its end. The sturdy hand of the blonde-haired saviour, Archangel Michael, threw the spear.

Using the spear as support, Michael lifts both of his feet in the air and propels them onto Lucifer, who reacts in time and blocks it. Still, the strength of the collision pushes Lucifer almost a yard back until he comes to a stop.

"Thank God I made it in time," Michael flashes a playful smile to the one he is protecting. Malique truly feels like crying because he thought that he would not be seeing them anymore.

"Took you long enough," Malique jokes.

"Let's call it quits, we have a bigger problem to handle." Michael single-handedly lifts Malique, and now he is in a crouching position.

As the reinforcements have arrived, the situation becomes a bit more manageable. Two Angels, a higher rank and notable one, against an upper Demon in a place only God knows where they are about to begin the second feat.

Lucifer's power should be on par with Gabriel, so that concludes the estimation of his true power, which is unwavering to boot. Michael is second to none, but in terms of combat, he is skilful and knowledgeable, but not on the two powerhouse levels. Having Malique on their side, perhaps they stand a chance.