When in Gehenna

Chapter 33: Fallen Angel

Note: I am sorry for not updating last week.  I try to write my chapters on Sunday afternoon, but my sister needed help with Physics homework.  Unfortunately, I never actually took Physics, so I spent the weekend learning about it so I could help her.  Now, on with the story!

It was almost another month before Rin saw Yukio or Angel again.  Although the fighting had been hard, Gehenna was winning the war.  It helped that quite a few of the exorcists had refused to take part in the war, thus depleting the number of fighters available to the Vatican.  The soldiers of Gehenna were also able to make portals to and from Gehenna, allowing them to perform hit and runs on known targets.  

In what would later be known as one of the final battles of the war, Rin and Amaimon were fearlessly leading their troops on the battlefield.  Although the opposition was fighting with the fierceness born of desperation, the Gehennan forces were able to hold their own.  About halfway through the battle, when the exorcists were clearly about to lose, Angel appeared with reinforcements. The Vatican forces were able to regroup, and the battle evened out between the two groups.  Rin and Amaimon decided to go after Angel, trusting their comrades to hold out until they were able to deal with the main threat.

"You will not win this time" Angel greeted the two demons with a smirk, his sword drawn.

"We will see." Rin and Amaimon wasted no time in attacking.  They took turns fighting Angel and holding off the exorcists who kept trying to help him.  Although Angel was an excellent swordsman, the continuous losses and retreats were taking their toll on his ability to remain calm.  His anger and frustration made him lash out instead of taking time to plan out his movements.  Swipes that would once have at least injured their targets now barely grazed them, or missed entirely.  He was still able to put up a fight and get a few good blows in, but Rin and Amaimon were quickly wearing him down.  Twice, he tried to flee the fight, but the brother not fighting him was able to prevent his escape.

Rin and Amaimon worked seamlessly together.  When one brother went on the attack, the other went on the offence, protecting the other from any outside interference.  The other exorcists quickly learned that to interfere in their fight was to die.  The nearby fighting began to die down as exorcist, demon, and fae alike stopped to watch the battle, knowing that this would be a turning point in the war.  The three opponents fought fiercely, giving no ground and showing no mercy.

Finally, Amaimon was able to land the killing blow on Angel.  As the Paladin went down, the exorcists closest to the fight froze in terror and despair.   A few shouted out that Angel had fallen, and word quickly spread to the other exorcists.  They attempted to retreat, unable to grab Angel's body as they were chased by the forces from Gehenna.  Many were cut down, but some were able to escape.  Once the battle was finally over, A pyre was built and Angel's body was burned, as a way to prove that he was finally dead.

The next few battles seemed to be easier as many of the exorcists seemed to have lost their hope.  Everyone could tell that the end was near, it was just a matter of time.  However, the Vatican suddenly seemed to regroup and regain the hope they had lost with the death of Angel.  A captured exorcist finally told his captors that there was a new Paladin, rumored to be the human brother of the son of Satan.  Rin knew that he would be facing his brother before the war was over, finally finishing what had been started when a little boy decided to train as an exorcist to fight the evil demons.  He refused to regret his actions, and was only sorry that it would end this way for his brother, since he refused to change his views.  Time would tell the outcome of the war and the outcome of Yukio's fate.