Before the Fallen decided to attack us – up until that moment they had just been leering down at us in an effort to intimidate us – I decided to even the playing field as much as I could. Hellfire erupted off of me in waves, condensing into a dozen flame clones before the fire could get too far away.

Seekvaira noticed my actions and held a hand up towards me, a spell circle shining to life in front of her hand.

Knowing she wouldn't do anything to hurt me, I let her complete her spell and waited for the effect to impact me. The next thing I knew, the world ground to a halt around me. No, not a halt. Everything was moving incredibly slowly outside a certain distance of me. Seekvaira had bought me time by trapping me in one of her bubbles.

I looked up and saw the Fallen Angels starting to dive towards my group at a snail's pace, the magicians converging on everyone still on the ground as the Angels dove. Using the opportunity provided to me by my fiance, I flooded the entire bubble of accelerated time I was trapped in with my fire. I filled the entirety of the space, condensing my Hellfire into as many flame clones as the space would allow. No sooner had I begun to wonder how long the sphere would last then it disappeared, time returning to its full urgency. I idly noticed a different spell circle fading in front of Seekvaira. She'd let me out manually.

Including the clones I'd made before I was in the bubble, I had close to eighty of them. It wasn't enough to match the numbers arrayed against us, but it was a far cry better than the size of our force only a moment ago. Half of my flame clones descended towards the magicians as the rest flew up to meet the Fallen. I followed my flame clones into the air with the rest of the Devils who had risen into the air, the flame trailing behind me solidifying into even more clones as I ascended.

There was a movie I'd enjoyed in my first life called 300. It was a fantastical take on the three-hundred spartans' last stand at Thermopylae. One of my favorite exchanges from that movie came when a spartan warrior met with a noble from Persia. The noble had said, "Our arrows will blot out the sun." to which the warrior replied, "Then we will fight in the shade." That one sentence did so much to demonstrate the mindset of the Spartans. They would never give up. They would never surrender.

Flying upwards towards a veritable sea of Fallen Angels, my mind drifted back to that exchange for a fraction of a moment as the sky disappeared above us. Kokabiel, Satanael, the other Fallen, the ceiling of the energy barrier – we couldn't see anything but the wall of blinding, white light spears falling towards us like a divine fist sent straight from the cloud-sitter himself. I would have expected some of the Devils ascending with me to turn and flee at the sight. Not one of them did.

Magical shields rose around me as we ascended to intercept the light spears, but there were far too many light spears. They would overwhelm a hastily formed shield.

Flame clones rushed in front of the assembled Devils, positioning themselves ahead of my allies to take the hit for them. Several flew in front of Alivian as he began to change into his draconic form. No sooner were they in position than they were impaled by over a dozen light spears each, tearing them apart.

What spears weren't absorbed by my clones either deflected off of our shields or flew past us towards our allies on the ground. I was already moving to send more flame clones to die in their place when shadows spilled out of Clarissa's cloak, rising into the air into a dark umbrella that covered both the Devils and exorcists. The spears slammed into the impenetrable shadow and were swallowed, their light devoured by the starving darkness.

The Fallen Angels seemed shocked and a little afraid when our view of them returned. They'd thought to end this confrontation with a single volley, but none of us has been so much as scratched. We were on them before they could send a second volley.

We tore into their ranks like a tsunami spilling into a city, scattering them.

I sent my flame clones away from me at strange angles in an attempt to break their formation as they disengaged to fight them. We may not have been so prepared if they were able to scrounge together a second volley.

Angels fell to flame whips, flame swords and razor-sharp blades of Wind as I tore my way into the enemy. I noticed Bafeel zipping by around me at the speed of a shooting star, Angels falling apart in Pegasus's wake as Harpe flashed back and forth in her hand.

Alivian was coated in red energy as he struck with his tail, claws and jaws. That same red energy shot off of his body in small orbs any time a Fallen moved in close enough to attack him, tearing a hole through any of his attackers brave enough to get too close to the dragon.

Issei flew around Alivian, covering the large dragon's many blindspots and crushing Fallen Angel's skulls with nothing more than his absurd strength, boosted further by his Sacred Gear.

"Boost!"

Arondight, Kalawarner and Tomoe had advanced together. It was clear that Tomoe and Kalawarner were far too slow to keep up with Arondight, but the two of them were able to carve a steady hole through the Fallen in Arondight's wake. The three of them took up a position beneath the rest of us, fighting the Fallen who got past the rest of us as we rushed ahead to buy our ground-bound allies more time.

Akeno and Yubelluna were flying upwards at each other's back. Lightning erupted out of Akeno to claim Fallen lives as the air in front of them exploded. Akeno was dealing with all nearby threats and allowing Yubelluna to focus on tearing through the Fallen ahead of them with reckless abandon. The two queens' powers were well suited to working together.

Things were almost going well.

I hadn't realized Kokabiel and the four six-winged Fallen around him had yet to move.

X

With Clarissa…

For as long as Clarissa could remember, she had survived. When she'd shown off a small light charm in the town square, she curled into a ball and hid under her mother's illusion as the woman who raised her allowed herself to be taken in Clarissa's stead. When her mother was tied to a stake and burned to death, she'd slunk away from the laughing witch hunters, leaving her mother to a slow, agonizing end. She'd used dangerous rituals to transport herself to the Underworld where she was discovered by Ryrova Phenex, the future Lady of the Phenex Pillar. She had fallen to her knees and begged to serve the arrogant woman, knowing that she would be safe in the Devil's peerage. When she was reincarnated, she was stuffed in a lab and told to create potions and enchanted items the Phenexes could sell to increase their wealth. Clarissa had done so willingly, knowing the alternative was to be cast out. She'd hardened herself. Her only goal was to live in relative safety.

Then Riser was born.

Lord and Lady Phenex hadn't been overly excited at the child's birth. They had been hoping for a daughter. Instead, they received another son. Riser may as well have been an afterthought. When Lady Phenex decided she was too busy to raise the troublesome child, she'd pawned the responsibility off onto Clarissa.

Clarissa hadn't seen what was so 'troublesome' about the boy. He was curious and eager to use his power. Clarissa had been the same from what her mother had told her. She began to teach him very simple magic control to keep him from hurting himself. The bright smile that lit up his face whenever she showed him something never failed to brighten her day. After spending over one-hundred years sequestered in a lab, the genuine joy and curiosity of the boy was beautiful.

As Riser grew older, Clarissa saw the way Lord and Lady Phenex moved on from their third son. Ruval was already stronger than Riser would ever be in their eyes, and Raycal was there in case something happened to Ruval. Their new daughter was far more important than their son.

Riser never seemed to notice or care. He arrived for his lessons every morning with an eager smile on his face and listened to all of her teachings with the diligence of a raptor caring for her clutch.

Then, in the wake of Rias Gremory's defeat, Lady Phenex had thrown her away. Clarissa had been told she was a corrupting influence on Riser and traded for an unused bishop piece. Nearly two-hundred years of loyal service was rewarded with exile. She wasn't even given time to gather what meager possessions she'd amassed.

Lord Gremory had made a grand show of bringing her to a brand new lab, telling her of all the wonderful things she would make for his family.

That was when Clarissa shattered. She'd spent the near entirety of her existence serving a Devil faithfully only to be thrown away to serve another.

Then Riser came.

The foolish child traded away a mutation bishop, a piece of unparalleled value in the Underworld, for a hermetic witch with strange magic.

Clarissa busied herself doing what she'd always done, making sure to serve Riser well out of an unfounded fear he would one day trade her as his mother had. He had said he wouldn't, but he was still young. There was plenty of time for him to grow displeased with her.

Then he returned from his meeting with Satan Leviathan with a Sacred Gear in his hand. Many Devils would have traded him their entire peerage and a vast sum of wealth for the chance to bind the Sacred Gear to themself, but Riser didn't think about trading the Gear. He didn't even think about taking it for himself. He'd given it to her.

For the second time, Riser had given something priceless for Clarissa. It was then that she realized the truth. Riser was nothing like his mother. How could he be? Ryrova Phenex hadn't raised him.

Clarissa was the one who read him stories when he was restless as a child. She had shown him how to use his magic; to properly dress. She had taught him the etiquette a Pillar Devil would need. She'd been the one to comfort him when his training caused him pain; who had helped him to stand back up after being knocked down.

Ryrova Phenex could burn in the very Hell flames she commanded. Riser was Clarissa's son, and she'd be damned before she let these poor excuses for human mages harm her son's peerage.

Clarissa reached into the satchel at her side and pulled out a rounded vial, uncorking it and sending the golden powder within towards the magicians charging through Kuoh Academy's gate. The sparkling powder created funnels in the air, plastering itself directly onto the approaching magician's eyes.

Shouts of pain rose up as spell circle's shattered uselessly in front of them. They scraped at their eyes in an attempt to clear their eyes of the substance that stole their vision from them.

Xenovia and Irina ran forward, swords held aloft. They cut down the defenseless mages while Clarissa and Griselda covered them with lightning blasts and shield spells.

Terrified screams rang out from behind Clarissa as four mages were erased by an orb of pure nothingness. Rias's Power of Destruction was tearing through scores of magicians as her knight and rook fought back anyone that got too close to her.

Sona had gathered her peerage around herself. The King pushed forward with her peerage, driving the magicians back through the gate. Xenovia and Irina joined their push, Griselda following behind them to cover them with her magic.

Clarissa threw a small, blue ball at a group of exorcists as they tried to surround Valerie. The young dhampir tore into them with the claws of her right hand, catching the blood that fell with her hemomancy and sending it as blades and sharpened rods into her other attackers. The small cup in her left hand was glowing a faint white; that glow grew brighter with each magician Valerie slew.

Clarissa's ball landed in the midst of a group of exorcists and popped like a firecracker. A swirling vortex of sharpened air erupted in the space, cutting through the exorcists legs and then their bodies as they fell through, mulching them like a blender.

There was a yelp of pain behind Clarissa. She turned and found Rias's rook – the small, white-haired girl – holding her side and backing away from a crazed man with white hair. He was wearing the very same robes the men who'd killed her mother had worn – exorcist robes.

"Filthy fucking Devils." the man seethed, lovingly running a finger up the fuller of his blade. "I'm going to fucking kill you all." The man reared back to strike again when an enraged cry cut through the air.

"No!"

A flash of black hair was all Clarissa was able to see before the arrival of a woman with large, black, feline ears on top of her head. She wore a kimono that was falling off of her and was staring hatefully at the man who'd stabbed Rias's rooks.

"Do not touch her! We had a deal."

Clarissa idly crushed another magician with his own shadow as the two figures faced off.

The man laughed. "Like fuck I care about any deals. I'll kill all you fucking Devils." He lunged towards the woman with his sword, but a rapidly summoned spell circle appearing in front of the feline woman's hand blasted him backwards.

She scooped up Rias's rook, the small girl having already succumbed unconsciousness from blood loss.

"Koneko!" Rias cried, blasting her way through magicians with the Power of Destruction to try to get to the woman.

The black-haired woman glared at her with hate-filled, slitted, yellow eyes. "Her name is Shirone!" The woman waved her hand and a vertical teleportation circle appeared before her. She stepped into it, carrying the unconscious body of Rias's rook with her. They both disappeared in a flash of yellow.

Rias's power exploded uncontrollably as she screamed, but Clarissa ignored Rias's deadly rampage.

When the barrier was first erected, Clarissa had tried to transport everyone to Kuoh Academy through a teleportation circle, but the barrier had interfered with her magic somehow. The woman with the black hair had just used a form of teleportation Clarissa had never seen before. Most importantly, it made it through the barrier. Clarissa had studied every part of it she could before the circle faded.

"Valerie!" Clarissa called, shadows flowing up around her into a dome. "I need you!"

Two figures slipped into Clarissa's dark, shielded sphere before it closed around her. Valerie had answered her call. The second figure was Riser's fiance.

Not wasting any time, Clarissa said, "Valerie, I need you to transfer me as much power as you can when I tell you to."

Seekvaira's eyes traveled up and down Clarissa's body. "You're not injured?" she said in confusion.

"No. I'm going to try to replicate that woman's teleportation spell to get the church delegates and Sona Sitri out of the barrier so they can send help, but I'll need more power than I can produce on my own to even attempt it."

Seekvaira's eyes hardened. "I'll protect you."

Valerie stepped up behind Clarissa and laid a hand on her shoulder, Valerie's other hand securely gripped Sephiroth Graal. "Are you ready?"

Clarissa took a deep breath, then the shadowy dome around them collapsed. "Now." Clarissa said.

Before any of the magicians, or the Fallen Angels that had made it past Riser's group, could take advantage of the downed dome and attack, Seekvaira covered all three of them in a bubble of accelerated time. The world slowed down around them as Clarissa held her hands up.

Clarissa had been successful in replicating other magic user's spells before, but she'd always had days or even weeks to research and experiment. She was trying to replicate a spell immediately and was eating through all of her mana in the process.

Sephiroth Graal glowed bright in Valerie's hand as energy poured into Clarissa.

Clarissa closed her eyes as she pictured what the spell had looked like. Each individual symbol woven into the exterior of the spell's circle passed through Clarissa's thoughts as she worked.

"Now." she said, Seekvaira's time bubble popping the moment the words left her mouth.

A bright, yellow, upright teleportation circle appeared in the center of Kuoh Academy's courtyard. Clarissa's teeth were clenched in exertion as she struggled to hold the spell in place.

"Through the circle now!" Seekvaira yelled, drawing everyone's attention. It didn't take anyone very long to figure out what was happening.

Seekvaira blasted back magicians and mages that tried to make it to Clarissa, shielding the mage with glowing shields and barriers of all colors, her father's magic easily dealing with any attack sent toward the trio.

Rias and her knight were the closest to the circle. The two of them charged towards it only to be met by the crazy-eyed, white-haired man in exorcist robes.

Rias's knight spared a glance at his King as she stopped to fight the man. Making a split second decision, he kicked his King through the teleportation circle and blocked the rogue exorcist's blade with a sword he'd hastily created with his Sacred Gear.

"That's cute." the rogue exorcist said as he laughed, leaning into the knight's blade. "You died for your King."

A second sword appeared in the man's other hand that dropped below the knight's guard and impaled him through the heart.

The knight staggered for a moment before falling heavily to the ground, his sword clattering uselessly away.

Sona had taken advantage of the few precious seconds the knight had stalled the exorcist. She and her peerage had flown through the teleportation circle while the exorcists' back was turned. The only members to not make it through were her pawn and knight who were both in the air. Saji had flown up shortly after the volley of light spears to help Tomoe, Kalawarner and Arondight keep the flood of Fallen from reaching the ground.

"Can't…hold…it." Clarissa said through gritted teeth, sweat pouring down her forehead as the teleportation circle began to flicker.

The group of exorcists the church had sent had been sprinting towards the teleportation circle as fast as they could, but they were the furthest away. They'd forced the magicians outside of Kuoh Academy's walls and were now having to run all the way back.

Rias's knight's body fell to the ground right as the church's delegation was reaching the teleportation circle.

"Freed!" Griselda said in shock, her eyes narrowing as a spell circle appeared in front of her hand to blast the man away.

The sword in the man's right hand glowed bright yellow. His speed increased drastically as he easily maneuvered around Griselda's spell to attack her. Irina jumped in front of him to deflect his sword, but she wasn't expecting the strength of the attack, letting Freed knock her sword from her hand and rear back to strike her. His blade was stopped by a large, blue sword.

"Go!" Xenovia cried as she struggled to hold Freed off. "Send backup!"

"We won't–" Irina's protest was interrupted as Griselda grabbed her collar and dragged her through the flickering teleportation circle. Moments after it sent them away, the circle shattered.

"Fool." Freed said, smiling evilly down at Xenovia. His second sword snaked under her guard but the blade stopped against a wall of frozen time just as it was about to pierce her chest. Seekvaira hadn't been prepared to save Rias's knight, but she was expecting the trick when Freed tried it again.

A shadowy tendril rose up from the ground to wrap around Freed's neck, pulling him back away from Xenovia. Both of Freed's swords caught on barriers of immovable time, wrenching them from his grasp as he was pulled backwards. Xenovia recognized the opportunity for what it was and dashed forward, skewering the man as he thrashed about like a fish on a hook.

The shadowy chord holding him aloft dispersed as Clarissa fell to a knee, panting from the exertion of holding the teleportation circle open.

Xenovia moved quickly. She scooped up the sword that was knocked from Irina's hand, as well as the two Freed dropped – and a third sheathed at his waist – and put them all into the space where she pulled her blue sword from. It seemed she wasn't willing to risk what happened with Vali's body happening again.

"We need to support them." Seekvaira said, her eyes watching the sky. The magicians around them were all dead, dying or fleeing, but the Fallen Angels in the sky still drastically outnumbered their airborne allies.

"I can't fly." Xenovia said, looking between the three devils, uncertainty dancing in her eyes.

Valerie took a deep breath, creating the teleportation circle hadn't been easy on her either. She walked up to Xenovia and the last of Sephiroth Graal's white glow faded as two white, spectral wings extended from the exorcist's back. "They won't last longer than an hour, but hopefully we'll have help by then."

Xenovia levitated off the ground. She was a little shaky at first, but she quickly regained control of her movement. "Thank you."

As one, the four survivors of the melee on the ground took to the air.

X

With Riser…

Another cloud of noxious gas poured out of a spell circle before me as flame clones poured out of my flaming wings. The Fallen Angels caught in the cloud hacked as their veins blackened. They fell out of the sky a moment later.

We'd made staggering progress in eliminating the Fallen arrayed against us. Their numbers were less than half what they started with, and several of them began to share concerned looks.

"Riser!"

A glance downward showed Seekvaira, Clarissa, Valerie and Xenovia – a pair of spectral, white wings extending from her shoulders – flying up towards me.

The Fallen nearest to us began to flee when they saw our reinforcements, allowing me a moment to speak with them.

"Where's everyone else?" I said, fearing the worst.

"Most of them got out of the barrier. We need to wait for assistance to arrive." Seekvaira said, her voice clipped as she fired a bolt of demonic power into an overeager Fallen that had decided to attack us. Her eyes drifted over my shoulder and widened in panic. "Alivian!"

Following her gaze, I saw her queen engaged with one of the six-winged Fallen – the only male – that had waited in the air with Kokabiel. It seemed they were not content to observe any longer.

Clarissa took off like a bullet, charging straight towards their airborne duel, shadows bleeding down her arms and crawling up her face as she commanded her new Sacred Gear.

Issei also moved to assist them, but he was tackled out of the air by another of the six-winged Fallen, Kalawarner following behind them to aid Issei. Saji, who I hadn't seen in the air until this moment, matched Issei's falling arc and flew beneath him as he spiraled downwards. A thin, fluorescent blue line shooting out of his Sacred Gear to lock around the six-winged Fallen currently grappling with The Red Dragon Emperor, dragging him down with them.

An agonized cry drew my attention as Tomoe's arm was torn off by yet another of the Fallen leaders. Arondight dashed into the Fallen's face before she could finish Tomoe off. Arondight and the Fallen entered a deadly ballet as swords flashed against each other.

"Valerie–" I began to say, but she was already moving.

Valerie's hand wrapped around Tomoe and the two were trapped in a bubble of time as Seekvaira isolated them from the threats of the battlefield. We couldn't see very well through the sphere, so she wouldn't be able to let them out for a while for fear of pulling Tomoe back into the fight with only half an arm.

The final of the six-winged Fallen dove towards Yubelluna and Akeno. The two Devil queens supported each other as they led the Fallen away from the rest of us, lightning and explosions shaking the air in their wake.

An amused laugh broke through the air as Kokabiel descended towards the few of us that weren't engaged with other Fallen – Seekvaira, Xenovia and I.

"I must admit, this has proven to be mildly amusing." the Fallen said as he drifted down until he was at our eye level, his hands resting easily at his sides as he smirked at us.

Xenovia hefted her sword before her. "You will fall, cretin. The Lord will–"

Kokabiel threw his head back and laughed. "'The Lord' is dead. I'm surprised you didn't know. That whore of a teacher never told you?"

Xenovia's features hardened to stone as she said, "You lie."

Kokabiel shrugged and said, "Believe whatever you wish, little exorcist. You'll die all the same."

"Now." Seekvaira said, and I acted.

While Xenovia had pulled Kokabiel's attention away from us, we'd shared a serious look and began preparing the area for our fight. Subtle shimmers in the air, the wings on my back growing slowly larger, Seekvaira's hand sliding behind her back to signal our ally – we'd done as much as we could while still being subtle.

Out of the tops of my extended wings, two flame clones flew down towards Kokabiel, a sword grasped in each of their hands.

Kokabiel looked almost disappointed as he blasted the flame clones apart with light spears. They were easily destroyed, but they hadn't been meant to hit him.

Using the distraction caused by my attack, a black blur and its rider swooped down from behind us. Bafeel swung the scythe form of Harpe down towards Kokabiel at a speed that was almost faster than I could see.

Kokabiel's eyes widened as he tried to dodge backwards. He struck a temporal barrier, held in place to allow Bafeel to strike. The Fallen screamed in pain as two of his wings were severed from his body.

Taking advantage of the opening, I extended both of my hands, creating two spell circles in front of me. From the first shot a sharpened blade of air that slammed into Kokabiel's chest, his attempt to dodge once more foiled by Seekvaira's barriers, allowing the blade to tear into his flesh and send his blood falling to the ground. At the same time, fiery tendrils extended from my other hand, wrapping around Kokabiel's arms and legs and solidifying into chains.

Xenovia did not stand idle as Kokabiel was assaulted. She flew forward and slashed downwards with her sword, but Kokabiel summoned a light sword to deflect her strike, my chains only slowing his movements.

I started to cover him in more chains when he fixed me with a rage-filled glare.

"No." the Fallen said, all traces of his amused attitude from only moments ago gone. His hands tightly gripped the chain I'd wrapped around his wrists and he snapped his arms upward. I tried to fight his strength; I should have just let go of the chain.

Kokabiel's strength threw me skyward at breakneck speeds. I wasn't able to gain control of my flight before I slammed into the top of the domed barrier, splaying out against it like a starfish. As I pulled air back into my lungs, I was able to get a good look at the battlefield.

Alivian and Clarissa had bound their adversary in his own shadow and were in the process of dispatching him.

Issei and Saji had also managed to bind their opponent. The Fallen struggled weakly against the bright, blue chord of Saji's Sacred Gear as Issei repeatedly pummeled her face, allowing Kalawarner to fly into the air to join the battle against Kokabiel.

Arondight's opponent was falling out of the sky, blood leaking from several wounds in her sternum. My knight joined Bafeel in a charge towards Kokabiel that claimed two more of his wings.

Yubelluna and Akeno were flying back towards us, but Akeno was badly injured. She had a deep gash in her stomach and leaned heavily on Yubelluna for support as my queen tried desperately to get her to the rest of us.

I entered my fire form and used a gust of Wind to launch myself towards them, honing in on the flame of Yubelluna's necklace, hoping to make it to them before Akeno bled out.

Reentering my normal form, I pressed my hand up against the hole in Akeno's stomach and flooded it with the flames of my Immortality, causing Akeno to cry out in pain. I gently took her from Yubelluna, allowing my queen to defend me as I healed Akeno.

Akeno's breathing evened out and she stared at her freshly healed stomach in shock as I recalled my flames from her body.

"How…?" Akeno said in breathless disbelief.

"Later." I said, my tone clipped as I spun around to see how the fight against Kokabiel was proceeding.

Valerie and Tomoe were no longer trapped in Seekvaira's time bubble, but Tomoe's arm had yet to be healed. It had regrown halfway to her elbow, but was otherwise incomplete. I realized why Seekvaira had removed them as dozens of light spears thrown by Kokabiel passed through the space the orb once was. Had she let the spears hit the orb, Seekvaira would have been sentencing both Valerie and Tomoe to impalement by holy spears the moment she dropped the bubble.

Arondight, Kalawarner and Xenovia were engaged in melee combat with Kokabiel. It was clear Arondight was the fastest of the four, zipping around Kokabiel's attacks and striking the openings created with expert precision. Bafeel and Pegasus made passes against Kokabiel whenever they had an opening.

The Fallen Angel snarled in pain and frustration. He planted his feet against one of Seekvaira's temporal barriers and leapt off of it, moving too fast for her to block his path. Kokabiel flew towards the ground, away from the overwhelming force in the air. Kokabiel screamed a war cry as he barreled through the air towards Valerie.

A lesser Devil might have frozen in fear or fled – Valerie did neither. Sephiroth Graal glowed bright in Valerie's clenched fist as she held her other hand before her. The glow condensed into a translucent, armored knight in thick, plate armor. The knight's face was hidden behind a full-face helmet.

As her summoned knight barred Kokabiel's path, their blades locked as Kokabiel tried to force his way through the obstacle, Sephiroth Graal disappeared as Valerie created a large spell circle in the air before her. A bolt of vibrant, purple energy exploded out of her circle, heading directly for Kokabiel.

Kokabiel dodged back from the knight to deflect Valerie's spell. He moved to fly around the spectral knight but barreled over to scream in rage and pain as Arondight and Bafeel arrived, each Devil knight taking another of his wings as they passed to hover between him and Valerie.

Kokabiel was covered in injuries. Only four of his ten wings were still attached to his body. Blood fell like a waterfall from numerous lacerations covering his chest and stomach, his dark cloak torn to ribbons from the strikes. The Fallen cadre was panting as if he were a human who had just run a marathon with another human over his shoulders. His eyes darted around the battlefield, taking in the rest of the forces arrayed against him as we slowly closed in on him. None of us could match the speed of Arondight or Pegasus; we were too far away to assist, but we were closing the distance to him with each passing moment. Kokabiel's expression turned frantic as he looked towards the ground. His gaze honed in on a lone figure and he propelled himself towards the courtyard, barely dodging two flashing blades as Arondight and Bafeel attempted to strike at him again.

Saji looked away from the six-winged Fallen Issei had killed just in time to watch Kokabiel impale him with a light spear. Saji staggered, looking down at the holy weapon in his chest uncomprehendingly as he fell backwards.

Kokabiel caught Saji's falling body then dashed to another body on the ground. I hadn't seen Rias's knight fall, but he was lying there unmoving all the same.

Kokabiel crouched over the knight's body and hissed up at us. "We will meet again." There was a bright flash of pure, white light. Kokabiel and both bodies were gone.

All of us were stunned into silence. Just like that, the fight was over. The courtyard, roof and lawn of Kuoh Academy were littered with corpses. Fallen angels and magicians lay unmoving in piles and the ground was painted red. We'd won, but we hadn't emerged unscathed.

"Did we lose anyone else?" I said, cutting through the melancholy hanging over the group like a cloud to try to figure out if anyone else was gone.

"Rias's rook." Clarissa said simply. "A half-feline woman with black cat ears took her away after she was injured. I do not know if she lived through her injury."

Kuroka. It made sense she was here if Vali was. The people who'd teleported away at the start of the fight were likely the rest of Vali's Khaos Brigade team. Did that mean Kokabiel and Satanael were working with the Khaos Brigade? It would explain the magicians.

"Is anyone injured?" I asked the group. Valerie was already continuing to restore Tomoe's arm, but if anyone else was hurt, I wanted to fix them before they ran the risk of their injury growing worse.

"If it isn't too much trouble?" Seekvaira said, a pained smile on her face.

I was beside her the next moment. "I didn't see you get hit. What happened?"

She pulled her left hand away from her side, revealing a deep puncture wound. "He threw a spear at me to force me to let him free of the Time barriers I'd trapped him in. I was so focused on keeping him contained I forgot to refresh my personal barriers. I won't make that mistake again."

I pressed my hand against her wound and poured the fire of my Immortality into it.

Seekvaira hissed in discomfort, but her grimace quickly turned to a relieved smile. "Thank you, Riser." she said as I pulled my hand away, the hole in her dress revealing healthy skin.

I nodded and turned to look up. The barrier was still in place. "You said some of us got out, right? How much longer until–"

The blue dome that had served as our prison shattered into thousands of sparkling particles. A large group of Devils dove through space the barrier once occupied, their heads swiveling back and forth as they looked for enemies. A purple-haired woman I recognized flew towards me when she saw there were no Fallen in the air.

"Are you okay, Riser?" Ingvild Leviathan asked as she came to a stop in front of me. "Sona said there were a lot of strong Fallen left."

Sighing, I looked at the devastation around us. "We got all but two of them. Kokabiel and another he was working with escaped."

"Satanael." Kalawarner said. "He was banished while I was still a member of the Grigori. He…I'd sooner fight Azazel. Azazel actually has morals." Coming from her, that was terrifying news.

A flash of bright white light erupted in the center of the courtyard. Dozens of exorcists appeared in the wake of the flash, Irina and Griselda among them.

Griselda was tense as a coiled snake, but she sagged in relief when Xenovia descended down in front of her. "You're alright." She stepped forward to hug the blue-haired girl, stepping back in surprise when Xenovia flinched. "Xenovia?"

There were tears leaking out of Xenovia's eyes as she said, "Is God dead?"

Griselda visibly flinched. The rest of the exorcists looked between her and Xenovia in confusion.

Xenovia's features morphed in hatred. "You knew! You knew and you lied to me!" She was screaming, tears pouring from her eyes.

"Xenovia we need to–" Griselda was cut off by two more flashes of light.

Just to the right of the space where the exorcists arrived, a brilliant white light the color of polished ivory flashed, leaving a man in its wake. He had long blond hair and green eyes. An elegant, white robe made from silk hung from his shoulders. There was a glowing, golden halo hovering half-a-foot above his head. An Angel had descended to Earth.

The second flash was a cold blue and appeared near the entrance to Kuoh Academy. Several figures appeared in the flash. Rias, as well as Sona and her peerage flanked Serafall Leviathan. All of them appeared to be on guard, but they slowly relaxed when they realized no one was fighting.

Serafall's eyes narrowed as she looked at the Angel. "Michael."

Michael – the Archangel – nodded his head respectfully. "Serafall. I believe we have much to discuss."

Before Serafall could respond, Rias charged ahead of her, knocking Sona and Tsubaki aside. "Kiba!" she screamed, her eyes scanning over the survivors, searching desperately for her knight.

The assembled reinforcements watched in silence as Rias flew up to Akeno. "Where is he!" she demanded, her eyes desperate.

Tears gathered in Akeno's eyes. "I…I didn't even see him fall."

"Where is he?"

"He…The Fallen…Kokabiel took him." Akeno said, starting to sob.

Rias swayed in the air, her expression one of abject loss. Without warning, she threw her head back and screamed, waves of destructive energy flying off of her. Her fists clenched before her, but I'd seen enough

I grabbed her wrist before she could complete whatever she was doing. Rias turned to me with furious eyes, but I spoke before she could say anything. "This is not the time or place." I said in a feverish whisper, motioning with my head towards where the Archangel Michael silently observed. "If you cannot control yourself, go home before you start a war between Heaven and Hell."

Rias's arm shook in my grasp. A teleportation circle appeared beneath her, and I flew back so it didn't suck me away. It didn't transport her fast enough for her agonized sobs to go unheard.

Silence fell in the wake of Rias's departure.

Sona was the one to break it. She'd seen Tomoe testing her newly healed arm, but she'd noticed someone missing. She flew up to me and quietly said, "Saji?" pain and morose comprehension coloring her tone.

I nodded. "Kokabiel took him too. I'm not sure if either of them were actually dead yet."

Sona's eyes clenched shut and a single tear escaped the corner of her eye. After taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and turned back to her sister. "We have a serious problem. Two high-ranking Fallen Angels led the assault – Satanael and Kokabiel. They escaped with the bodies of three Sacred Gear Users – Sword Birth, Absorption Line and Divine Dividing."

I'd never seen Serafall knocked off her rhythm. I'd seen her furious when I'd first told her Sona might die, but I'd never seen her look afraid.

Serafall turned to look at Michael, her face deathly pale. "Michael, we need to have a serious discussion."

A.N.

There it is. What did you think?

There'll be a small Satanael perspective at the end of next chapter, but I can't promise when that'll be out. Work just got crazy so this story might be silent for a while.

Any theories on what is going on? Is this just the Fallen Angels? Is it the Khaos Brigade? What's the end goal here? What caused things to snowball so far from canon? This was the part of my outline I was most looking forward to writing. Some stuff and things are on the way.

Thanks for reading.