When Angels Fall

𝐈𝐈 Chapter One 𝐈𝐈 The Caedes

When an angel falls, the world falls too. We take one final breath and brace ourselves for impact. No one morns the loss of an angel for they now belong to the dark.

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A boy lurks in the shadows, his green hair sticking out like a sore thumb. Every passing moment was a moment to be wasted. His body roared in pain from the arrow lodged in his bare leg, blood leaked from the wound and stained the white toga that loosely hung off his body. The dogs would find him soon. Quietly, Deku walked out of his hiding spot and turned the corner. He pressed his back against the cold wall, feeling the rough stone scratch against his barely covered back. The hardest part of the plan was hiding his wings. Stretching further than most, Deku's wings are one of the largest pairs in Paradise. Every other angel's wings reached the back of their knee but Deku's brushed the floor which made him imperfect. Incomplete. Luckily for him, the floor was flat due to it being tiled so he didn't feel any discomfort. Deku made a run down the corridor. No one was in the corridors because of the Caedes. the Caedes was Paradise's version of a gladiator fight. The strongest angel would enter the arena and battle Hell's most vile creatures, this decided which side was superior. And that leads to Deku's plan; Break into the holding cells and free the creature. Even if it is of hellish nature, it's still a living thing and it wouldn't survive anyway, not with Toshinori Yagi  as it's opponent. Toshinori Yagi is Paradise's symbol of peace and goes by the name 'All Might'. Almost every year the world of angels use All Might as their gladiator because in their eyes he is indestructible. At the end of the corridor was an old door with Norse rune inscriptions etched into the wooden frame. Roses made of gold covered a metal plaque that read: 

HOLDING CELL

Hell's chosen

Deku scanned the uninhabited area around him and nothing was in sight except towering gold and white pillars with concrete sculptures of angels wedged in between every second one. Satisfied, he placed his hand on the door knob. Green bolts of electricity shot from the tips of his scarred fingers and the door flung open. Cracks developed in the stone wall that the door had collided with and Deku cringed at the sight knowing he was in trouble. There were two cells on each side of the room and each cell had a chain cascading down from the ceiling, a seat and a rectangular window. All cells were identical except the one in the left corner. In this cell sat what Deku predicted was Hell's chosen gladiator, sent to battle All Might. The creature looked up at Deku fearfully and backed up against the far wall. The creatures piercing yellow eyes closely resembled a goat's and luminous red freckles were spread across their obsidian like skin. Upon closer inspection he saw that the creature was already in chain mail armor like in medieval times and was chained to the floor. Without hesitation, Deku walked into the cell and began to break the metal chains. Once it was free, the creature didn't even thank Deku but instead melted into a pool of smoking liquid. Hell is weird, the green haired angel told himself. He knew that there were many ways to get to hell but turning into a puddle on the floor? That one is new. Deku quickly jotted the new information he had learnt into one of his diaries, not leaving out a single detail. The crowd could be heard screaming anthems outside, chanting and demanding for Hell's gladiator. Deku always wanted to be a gladiator. He hated fighting, yes, but there was something so captivating when he watched the Caedes. The only tournaments he attended were the ones with All Might as Paradise's gladiator, -which has been all of them since he was four-. His mother used to take him to watch but he never enjoyed the bloodshed and chants of the crowd. A shout echoed from down the hall, cutting Deku from his memory in the process. He looked down and cursed. His leg, he almost forgot he was bleeding out. What? He had other priorities. He ripped a piece of fabric off of his toga and tied it tightly around his bare leg. Once he finished and was satisfied with his work, he limped towards the door. He couldn't heal his leg on his own for it would take time- time he didn't have. Deku could see three angels running in his direction with spears in their hands and blue belts tied around their waists. The dogs. Deku's eyes widened and he broke into a swift run. "Get back here!" One of the three shouted. Deku kept running but because of his injury they were gaining on him. Deku took a sharp left and hid behind a concrete statue. One of the people, a girl, caught his gaze. She placed a finger to her lips as if to say 'be quiet, I won't tell them where you are.' He nodded a silent thank-you and did as the girl instructed. She turned to the rest of the group and changed her expression to a frown. "He isn't here but I could have sworn he went towards the cathedral," The girl explained. Both of the men she was with nodded for they didn't expecting their friend to lie. As they ran towards the cathedral the girl gave Deku a wink and left. He hated to admit it but the girl was much braver than he is. Her manipulation skills were admirable since she showed no out-of-the-ordinary behavior and she managed to keep a straight face. 

"Wow, a statue? Aren't angels supposed to be smart?" A voice mocked. Deku turned around and came face to face with the creature he had freed just moments before. "Why are you still here? They will kill you." The creature didn't look phased but instead took out a pencil and a sheet of old papyrus and began to write. Deku leaned forward to get a better look at what the other was drawing and gasped. He grabbed the paper, holding onto the corner of it with two fingers. "I want to come with you." Deku demanded. The creature shot him a questioning glare, "an angel wanting to go to Hell. Are you serious?" They laughed and Deku only nodded sheepishly. The obsidian man gave Deku a crooked smile and continued with drawing on the paper. A pentagram was drawn in the center of the page with the number 2 scribbled in the middle. The number symbolizes how many people are entering the portal so that the other side can keep track- like a  bus pass. Deku jumped excitedly when a red portal materialized on the wall behind the statue. He didn't even ask the creature how it works, instead he walked through excitedly.

He couldn't breath. Hell's air was so thick that every time he took a breath it burned his lungs. Someone touched his shoulder and he felt his breathing even out. The creature chuckled besides him, "I was gonna tell you angels can't breathe down here but you just walked through the portal like a moron. Are you brain-dead?" He yelled. The creature was visibly upset. After all, if an angel or demon dies in front of the opposite race that person can be executed- unless you are in a gladiator tournament. Deku mumbled a half-hearted apology and fixed his toga. He looked so out of place in their domain. His green hair and white toga didn't go with Hell's home decor. The room was just your average sun room. Why they had a sunroom underground was beyond an angel's imagination and he dared not to ask. "Not what you expected ay, angel," the creature joked, "your kind is just dramatic. No fires here." And with that he walked off. The green haired angel stared at the other man, it was evident that he had taken offence to the demon's words but he refused to admit it. Hell was quiet and nothing like what the ancients preached about, there was no lava, there was no ear-piercing screams and it upset Deku to know that it was so much like his world. He had the expectation that if he jumped through a Hell-bound portal that he would see a completely different world.  When the man came back into the room he didn't look like himself. If he didn't reek of sweat and dirt, Deku doubted he would have recognized the man. Now the demon had tall red hair that spiked like mountains breaking into quarters and a scar that ran down from the top of his right eye to the bottom. "Sorry I changed my look, I hate the gladiator form," the red haired demon held out his hand, beckoning Deku to shake it, "I'm Eijiro Kirishima." He gave a toothy grin, showing all sharp edges which startled Deku. The angel took a step back and shrieked.