46

Azaliah watched in horror as heaven fell into an uproar. She had seen this before, angels screaming and yelling, Michael barking commands at the other angels, structures falling and collapsing and speckles of golden dust littering the air. She had seen it all before but this time, it wasn't just in the walls of a temple, it was real. She was living it.

She didn't know how long she stood like a statue, completely shocked. Michael, Beth and other powers had gathered around her although they did not make it too obvious. No demon had paid attention to her yet and she was happy about that, the spear that almost hit her face was still in front of her as far as she was concerned.

"Azaliah. Azaliah snap out of it!!" She heard a voice yell at her while shaking her violently. She shook her head once and stared at the person in front of her. Beth's eyes were wider than that of an ostrich and her hands were shaking and hopelessly holding on to Azaliah's shoulders.

"I'm here now". Azaliah lightly whispered. Beth heaved a sigh of relief.

"Good, because we need to get you away from here". She said. "No, I need to get you out of here".

Azaliah didn't have time to reply as she was dragged out of the scene, she struggled to keep up the pace and after a while, she dragged her hands forcefully out of Beth's hard grip.

"What are you doing?!" Beth asked, her eyes wild.

"If you're trying to protect me, you can't". Azaliah said. Beth scoffed at her.

"What are you saying huh?! You haven't even crossed passed the arena and you have given up". She said back. Azaliah shook her head

"Can't you see, everywhere is filled with those…things. No matter how far we run, they'll find us".

"AZALIAH!!" Beth yelled. "You cannot give up. You must not, we will not forget that he's watching us and that he'll protect us".

"Why is he letting all these things happen then…"

"AZALIAH!"

"STOP YELLING MY NAME!"

"STOP SAYING NONSENSE AND FOLLOW ME!!"

That shut her up immediately, she followed Beth from behind matching her fast paces this time.

As they kept moving, Azaliah counted up to fifty demons that Beth had killed with her sword and their scary screeches as they came close to them made her shiver. They succeeded in avoiding any unnecessary attention and they got to their destination safely.

"The hall!!!!" Azaliah shrieked. "Why would you bring me here".

"Because this is the last place they'll check Azaliah".

"Check? What do you mean check? Are they looking for something?"

Or someone. Beth was about to give her an answer but she hesitated and waved her hand at her.

"Do not come out, no matter what happens".

"But…"

"This is not the time to be stubborn Azaliah. You are in danger and so is the rest of us. Please stay here". With that Beth disappeared from the hall and the big doors slammed after her.

Azaliah released a sigh and she hid behind on of the chairs. Her hands kept shaking in fright and when it was too much, she took a deep breath and shook her hands frantically. She could hear the faint noises from behind the door and she held her breath when a cry of pain was released from an angel.

This was the reason she doubted herself. She was weak, unlike others who fought she was hiding away. How can someone like her who can't face a demon battle with Lucifer and win?! Impossible.

When she heard another cry, she clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

"Heavenly father, please help us. Save us from our enemies and protect us and me. Mostly me because I'm the only person here".

When she opened her eyes, she drew her legs closer to herself and hid her face.

She seriously wished she could help somehow so Beth, Michael, her mother, Aleph…

Her eyes widened.

"Aleph!" She whispered. Azaliah scrambles up to her feet and ran towards the door. How could she forget about him? Even if she couldn't save anyone, she must help her friend. He may be desperately looking for her by now.

She opened the door and ran out checking her sides for any demons. She sighed when she didn't see any and she ran towards the arena. If he was anywhere, he would be there helping the others to fend off the enemy.

Once again, she saw over a hundred demons attacking fiercely. In her eyes, it looked as if they multiplied ten times over. She dodged as many as she could, hiding behind pillars while she searched for a certain green eyed angel. She finally found him, leading low ranked angels away from the fight scene and he had a massive angel protecting him.

She smiled in relief knowing he was safe and instead of turning back, she moved towards him and yelled.

"ALEPH!" The angel turned around sharply and scanned the area, looking for the source of the shout.

When his eyes landed on Azaliah, he froze for a minute and fear took over him. Azaliah completely oblivious waved at him with a wide smile and made her way towards him but she didn't get close.

"Azaliah stop, go back now". Aleph yelled at her, his eyes pleading.

"I came to help you, I thought they had you".

"I'm fine, you however are not. Go back".

"Aleph, I want to help".

"AZALIAH GO BACK!

His outburst made her flinch. Why was everyone so concerned anyway? Even if she was chosen to kill Lucifer and she dies, someone better can take her place. She was weak after all.

She didn't say this out loud though, she only turned her back to him. Unfortunately, while she was distracted, a large demon had appeared behind her. Its growls filled Azaliah with dread. She stood still, her whole body shaking. She didn't know how to use a weapon, she didn't even know how to conjure one. She was dead.

"Azaliah!". Aleph yelled. "Swift".

Swift? She couldn't do that either. The demon in front of her suddenly developed eyes and its red orbs glared at her in the most menacing way.

"AZALIAH NOW!!"

Even though, she knew it was the only thing that could save her at this point, she didn't know how to do it. Michael and the others had noticed her predicament late but before they could help her, demons had surrounded them and they seemed to have no end no matter how many were slain.

She was helpless, the guilty and sorrowful eyes of the angels around her told her so. The demon raised its long clawed hands at her and before it could touch her, she closed her eyes and vanished.

When she opened her eyes again, she was in another room. She searched around and realized she was in the hall of portals. Two large swirling clouds were before her, one darker than the other. She knew where those two clouds lead to and she knew that even if it was the same destination, it was for different reasons.

Azaliah also noticed that there were no places to hide so she stood there aimlessly. She hadn't spent long there before she heard low growls, she froze again. She couldn't face one of those things again, she couldn't even swift to a proper hiding place. She made sure that no noise escaped her lips.

"We didn't find it. All the angels are focusing on only us even Michael". She heard a deep voice say from outside the room. So some of them could speak

And what was the thing they were looking for? Azaliah remembered when Beth mentioned that they could 'check' for something.

Before she could figure it out, the door opened and she came face to face with a short deformed creature.

She knew he was a demon, but he didn't look like a fighter unlike the others and he also had more definite shape. Even if it was short, she knew he was more dangerous than the rest of them.

"Well well, what do we have here?". He spoke and Azaliah backed away.

"Ah so you aren't a warrior, a guardian angel then or no a cherub. You don't look like any of those.

What rank are you?" The demon asked as it came closer to her.

Azaliah moved a little backwards.

"Please…" That was all that came from her lips. The demon paused, a little shocked before laughing loudly. The sight made her want to cry.

"That was unexpected, an angel begging a demon. You must be extremely weak and unimportant. No one is here to save you anyway, let me just end your suffering". He said. Azaliah backed away again.

She didn't know that she was slowly getting closer to the swirling clouds.

The demon that spoke snapped his fingers and a larger demon appeared. It snarled at her and gripped her neck tightly not giving her a chance to scream. Azaliah attempted to grab its hand but her hands just went past the smoke. The demon then started to squeeze and swirl her around.

"You are by far the weakest thing I have ever seen".

Azaliah got angry after that and she slapped the demon that held her on the head, this time she had touched it and it growled and released her.

Both she and the short demon were shocked.

"How did you--"

"Azaliah!" Michael bolted towards the door with other angels, Aleph included. Azaliah smiled and she waved lightly.

But before she could walk up to them, the short demon ran towards her and pushed her into the dark swirling crowd, the only thing she heard was shouts of surprise and shock as she got lost in the darkness.

***

Ezra frowned as the last of the demons went into the clear space he had created. He sometimes wished he was fully a spirit so he could witness heaven for himself, but he knew that if he made a mistake and stepped into that realm, he'll disappear. He didn't know what was going on up there and he relied on the reports he got from Abaddon, his right hand demon.

He laid on the stairs and he watched from a distance as flashes of lights shone here and there, the battle had begun. How long was it going to take to find a sword?

Ezra realized he had asked himself this question up to ten times and he had not gotten a single report. He stood up.

"Abaddon. What is going on?!" He asked angrily. There was no reply for a minute.

"We didn't find it, all the angels are focusing on only us, even Michael". He replied. Ezra scoffed. What did he mean?!

It had to be there, where else would it be.

"Abaddon, are you sure?" He inquired again but this time, he got no reply. He shouted into the empty space and sat on the stairs again. He was a naturally impatient person. As he sat, he saw a ball of light falling from the hole he had made through the barrier. He stood up again, his eyes wide.

What was that? He closed his eyes briefly and when he reopened them, the golden hue had gotten brighter. This time he could make out the thing that fell from the sky. His eyes widened when he saw a female angel and another demon holding her neck.

"Abaddon!" He exclaimed. What was he doing?

At that time, the barrier gave way completely and horde of angels came rushing after him.

Who was that?! What was going on?! And more importantly, where was the sword?!