The Child of Light and Shadow

In The Hands of The Demon King

"Who the hell is this?" Azazel barks right away, and regrets it not a full second later, because Sammael's mana comes bearing down on him, forcing him to his knees.

"Hell?" she asks, smirking coyly. "I already dislike you. I wouldn't do anything to piss me off further if I were you, you dirty old man."

"An angel?" gasps Sammael. "You would actually come down yourself? What brought this on? Is the boy really the one?"

I convey every insult possible with a single look, but he's not looking at me, instead focusing on the sheer presence Sammael has. "She'll explain at the palace. We should go." If she's been in my mind, she should know of the enemy we still have left. The people around us start whispering about her, while most of them just clap.

"I won," Marcus breathes out, and I notice the murderous look in Aisha's eyes. Her fists are clenches, and she's taking in deep breaths. Snow, on the other hand, has tears in his eyes while Yukiki pats his shoulder.

"All will be explained later," the angel tells them, briefly moving her eyes over me, then giving me a nod. "We have much to dis-"

Without warning, a splash of green hits her back, and she releases a scream. I jump back immediately, turning around to face the powerful mana suddenly standing behind us. The person is someone I don't visibly recognize, but their mana is definitely one I've felt before. She's tall and curvy, barely dressed in anything as the green snakes atop her head coil around her face. Her skin has scales in a few places, and her eyes are an unnatural golden color, but she looks human otherwise.

"J-Juno," Sammael grunts as I slowly step in front of Snow and Yukiji.

"Not possible," I remark. Juno is dead. I pierced her body all over. No one could have survived that. "She's dead."

The woman before me, most definitely a devil, grins. "You disposed of my previous body quite mercilessly, yes. However, instead of just letting myself get killed, I hitched a ride inside your own body." She gives a slight chuckle as she spreads her arms, and I start pushing the kids back. "I couldn't take hold of you, of course, since your willpower is rather impressive, but I could most definitely hide proficiently enough for Sammy not to notice me. Once you opened your soul with the ritual she told you of, I was free to step out in my true corporeal form. Thanks for this, Jonah." She brings her hands, which have metal claws instead of fingers, to her lips and licks them. "We've worked so hard on achieving this, and you practically handed it to me. Now, shall I show you what I'm capable of in this body?"

Before she can move, Raksha strikes her with a blade of wind. Juno jumps to the side swiftly enough to dodge, then retaliates by spitting out more of that disgusting green acid. A wall of ice erupts between us, but quickly starts being melted away.

"Run," Sammael says, pushing forward. "Get to the castle, and tell the others of this. Call for Ozymandias. He'll know what to do."

"He's the enemy," I reply, and the Apostle starts to protest. "I don't have time to explain the full situation right now, but that's the truth. If Ozymandias comes here, attack him. He's working with the devils." I turn toward Aisha, Raksha and the others. "Let's go. Those two can handle it." I doubt they can, however. Azazel and Sammael are strong, but not nearly as strong as Juno. At the very least, they'll be a distraction, and allow us to escape.

Raksha quickly summons a whirlwind all around us, and starts propelling us toward the palace, barely lifting us above ground. As we fly, I notice sick people everywhere. They look just like the ones from the palace. Did it never get resolved? Damn. Of course not. Spells wear off when the caster dies, but Juno never really did die.