Between the Cross and the Flame

Chapter 17: Haniel

"Come on, Samel, put your back into it!"

Haniel panted hard, sweat pouring from his forehead. He gritted his teeth and strained his muscles to the max, pushing the boulder as hard as he could, yelling at himself like a drill sergeant internally. The boulder finally moved an inch, then two, and finally it got moving. Haniel frantically lurched forward to continue with the momentum and ended up running the boulder into the opposite cave wall. He jumped up in the air and whooped.

"Samel! No celebrating! Encourage the others!" Satan barked.

Haniel quickly ceased his celebration and began to cheer for the other soldiers. Del, Mavet, and a few other demons finished the boulder run, then Chaya and the majority of the others, and finally the last few stragglers. Satan clapped and congratulated the recruits, somehow sounding positive through his stone-cold neutral expression. Haniel realized that one person was missing.

"Where's Irvin?" he asked Del.

She pointed to the other end of the cavern. Haniel followed her gaze, and he wanted to laugh and throw his head into the wall at the same time. Irvin was slumped over the boulder, visibly breathing hard, the boulder not having budged.

"Is he asleep?" Mavet said.

"No, no, I think he's dead," Del corrected.

Haniel rolled his eyes. "I've got him. You guys make sure Satan doesn't put him through the ropes course again."

Haniel jogged over to his friend, where the sandy blonde still hadn't moved. Irvin barely slid over the side of the boulder when Haniel shoved him. He groaned and mumbled something about exercise being overrated.

"Come on, Irvin, I'll help you finish," Haniel encouraged.

Irvin finally got to his feet as Haniel began to strain at the boulder. Between the two of them, they sent the boulder tumbling across the cavern and crashing into the opposite wall. Haniel high-fived Irvin as he threw his arm around his shoulder. More carrying Irvin than supporting him, Haniel joined Del, Mavet, and Chaya in the crowd around Satan. The archdemon nodded at Haniel as he set Irvin down.

"Well done, but 'Leave No Man Behind' isn't exactly the motto here," Satan said. "Every demon here has three lives left, last I checked, and losing one of them to stupidity is sometimes a valuable lesson. Don't practice wasting your one real life saving one of us."

"Sorry, it's a habit," Haniel muttered.

Satan's eyes lingered on him a moment, then flickered to Irvin. "Alden, I think it's about time we assign you to something more suited toward your skillset. Stay after training today, and I'll set you up with Communications."

"Thank you, Sir," Irvin huffed, still breathing hard.

"Alright, you pansies, let's get to it! Pair up! First one to take down five opponents wins extra rest time tomorrow!"

The recruits raced to find a space to square off in. Del instantly grabbed Mavet, landing a kick in his thigh before he could blink. Haniel made eye contact with Chaya, and the blonde shrugged, putting his hands up in a defensive stance.

"Look, I don't want to hurt you, so I'm going to take it easy- " Haniel began.

In the blink of an eye, Chaya had raced at him, backheeling him in the knee. Haniel grunted and fell forward as Chaya looped one of his legs around his neck, then the other, and with a strong jerk, Haniel went spinning to the ground, Chaya landing to the side unscathed. The blonde covered his mouth with his hand and helped Haniel to his feet.

"Oh no- I'm so sorry- I didn't mean to- " Chaya stammered.

"It's fine! I'm fine! That was incredible! Incredibly painful, too, wow does that do a number on my shoulder," Haniel chuckled. "At least someone's been paying attention to fighting lessons, I see."