Angel's Ascension: Strife (Book Ten)

Chapter 28: Taunts of Death

"Did you guys hear that explosion!? It sounded so loud but I don't see anything." Yori held a hand to her forehead and scouted over the town. "Something like that gave me the chills." She rubbed her shoulders as her wings twitched. Her ears picked up on the sound of chatter when people emerged from the town.

"Looks like they heard it too. They dropped the nuke and I bet it landed on Lucina's head." Tex chuckled. With a hand over her mouth, she puffed smoke out and leaned against a pole. "Just wonder how those demons back there did against her before it came." She kicked at the sidewalk and smoked the cigar.

Cheyanne hugged herself as she stared at the ground. "It'd be great if they all got out unharmed. Talai, can't you sense them out or something?" She asked.

Talai shrugged in response. "I can't tell because that nuclear explosion is clouding a lot of auras. My head just gets fuzzy but that may be me." He tugged on his ears and gritted his teeth. His wings folded, and he quickly paced back and forth. "Ugh, it's killing me and I just want to see that idiot come out of nowhere with a huge grin."

"Aw, you really miss Ignis, huh?" Psy asked with a smug grin. "I have hope for them to make it out of there." She flapped her dress and pulled up on her leggings.

"I'd think of a tracking device but my headache has gotten worse." Princess seated herself on a bench and drank water. "Once I rest we can go find them."

Psy hurried to her side with a wet rag. "Here let me check to see if you have a fever or not." She held a hand to her head and frowned.

Hanna eyed a crowd of people chatting. "I'll see what all this commotion is about." He strolled up to the crowd and bowed. "Hello, I'm Hanna. Can you mind telling me what's going on?"

An old lady faced him. "Oh, sorry if we were too loud. See we got the news that a nearby city got nuked. They say the angel was caught up in the blast."

"Yeah, we don't have to worry about any more threats from her coming our way." A young guy chimed in.

"Ah, I see. So it was confirmed they got her." Hanna saluted them. "Thanks for the information!" He returned to the others with a large grin.

Sio faced him with a raised eyebrow. "What did you find out? Is Lucina dead?"

Hanna nodded and held a hand to the sky. "Yep! She's no longer around to cause chaos and destruction. We can rest easy now." He laughed.

"That's great news! We don't have to worry about fighting." Skylar replied with a smile.

"Nice to know, I can see us staying for a bit to relax," Ember said with both hands on her hips. She soon eyed the others and rubbed her abs as the group headed through the town.

Yuno perked her nose up and exhaled. "For once I don't smell her scent so they may be right. I'm still on edge about her though."

Gwen bumped her with an elbow. "No need to worry, Yuno. We can find a way to get the dead back as Lucy did!" She exclaimed.

"That's right, we can contact the Creator or Death to figure out how to restore all these lost lives," Sio added with a hand on his chin. "Nexus badly needs it or we will be the only crew left to carry out missions." He frowned.

Lucy quickly jumped onto a roof and let her legs dangle off the ledge. "It's really over, huh? It feels like such a journey going from here to Heaven then Hell and back. We've fought angels, demons, and ourselves, too." She soon picked up an orange leaf and examined it. A gentle breeze blew in and she released it as the breeze continued. Her head bowed as she closed her eyes and smiled.

Do you hear that mother? We did it, our home is safe and now we can focus on getting our friends back. Lucy chuckled to herself. The sound of rushing water alerted her once she opened her eyes. A wave of water rolled through the streets toward them. Most of the group joined her on the rough while people ran away.