Michael’s eyes widened. "How are you still alive?"
ImpossibleI transferred every injury I ever healed to him—and even added [Job Reversal: Unhealing]. Raphael stood frozen in shock.
Dagon sneered, “Speechless? Die.”
The ice Raphael had absorbed exploded within him, sending him sprawling and unconscious.
“Damn… you two are lucky,” muttered Dagon, swaying. “With more mana, you’d be dead.” He collapsed shortly after.
Meanwhile, Gabriel and Camiel clashed in a relentless melee. Gabriel summoned lightning blades, which Camiel blocked by erecting a steel pillar. He then crushed the pillars to dust, using them to attack Gabriel.
Gabriel responded instantly, invoking [Genesis] and [Psalms] to erect an absolute shield, nullifying the attack. Camiel pressed on, incorporating light-infused strikes into his assault. Gabriel held firm, focused on deflecting the oncoming attacks—until Camiel transports himself behind him instantly.
In one swift motion, Camiel's sword morphed into a gun. A steel bullet tore through Gabriel’s chest. The force shattered his shield, leaving him exposed. Camiel seized the moment, unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks. To make matters worse, the bullet began to solidify inside Gabriel, causing his soul to break apart.
"This is the end for you," Camiel said with a hint of regret. "It was a good fight… but, as I said, my name will be the last thing you hear before you die."
Gabriel’s mind raced. This is bad—my healing and restoration spells aren’t working. If this continues, I’ll die… I have no other choice.
Suddenly, a brilliant light erupted from Gabriel as he unfurled his wings and dawned his armour, healing all his wounds, restoring his mana, and making him stronger than before.
Camiel narrowed his eyes. “Going all out? Fine, so will I.”
Dark light enveloped him as he unfurled his wings. Gabriel responded by flapping his wings to launch razor-sharp feathers, which Camiel’s auto-defense blocked.
Camiel lunged, slashing precisely; Gabriel barely parried before thrusting his lance. Camiel intercepted the thrust, ready to decapitate—until the lance’s tip split open, unleashing a lightning blast that severed Camiel’s left arm.
"GUH!!!" He staggered back, gritting his teeth.
Gabriel swung at his head, but Camiel dodged and was met with a bicycle kick to his chest that sent him flying.
Camiel crashed to the ground, coughing blood. Rage flared in his eyes as he retaliated, sending a flurry of slashes at Gabriel. But Gabriel dodged with ease and hurled his lance straight at him.
The sheer force of the throw caused the realm itself to tremble. Everything in the lance’s path was erased.
“So, this is your ultimate move? I’ll show you mine.”
Camiel dropped his sword, and the earth turned to steel as it touched the ground. Before Gabriel’s lance could strike, the metallic ground rose to deflect it.
"What the—"
Before Gabriel finished his statement, the steel ground morphed into a massive mouth and clamped down on his lower half.
When did he remove my legs? Gabriel wondered.
"Master… what just happened?" Uriel asked, his face darkened.
“Camiel’s [Steel World]. He reshapes the environment at will—a deadly technique. Gabriel might be doomed.”
"Come now, Samael," Metatron said, stepping forward. "That’s no way to talk. Your student thinks Gabriel is about to die."
Samael’s eyes widened. "Teacher! You’re finally here… What took you so long?" His eyes twitched.
"Relax," Metatron chuckled. "You’ve got everything under control. I just came to check on you."
High above, Gabriel soared and fired a concentrated lightning blast at Camiel, who stood unmoved.
Is he an idiot? Why isn’t he dodging?
The instant the lightning struck, the steel ground absorbed it and countered with a storm of steel bullets laced with amplified lightning magic.
Gabriel narrowly evaded the first wave, but the bullets ricocheted off the air, homing in on him. This is bad! Even [Divine Ender] didn’t work. What can I do?!
“Pitiful. This is where you die!” Camiel sneered, lunging to drive his elbow into Gabriel’s face. The impact sent Gabriel soaring into the sky. His vision blurred. Darkness closed in.
When he awoke, bullets were closing in. He swung his lance to shatter them, only to feel Camiel’s devastating punch.
As Gabriel hurtled toward the gaping split of the steel floor, he transported away at the last second and unleashed [Acts Reversal: Holy Frost], freezing the terrain and halting Camiel’s control over [Steel World].
“Shit, this is bad,” Camiel muttered as he retreated to avoid Gabriel’s next strike.
As Camiel retreated, he released countless microscopic steel particles. They were so small they didn’t seem to exist—until they punctured Gabriel’s chest, riddling him with holes.
“Hah… You nearly got me,” Camiel chuckled. Then his eyes widened. “When did you regenerate your lower half? And… where’s your lance?” He frantically scans the battlefield.
Gabriel smirked. "So, you finally noticed… Too late."
A flash of gold tore through the air as Gabriel’s lance impaled Camiel from behind, straight through his heart. Blood gushed while Camiel collapsed. Gabriel lunged for the finishing blow—until Camiel activated a steel construct in the sky. A beam of light forced Gabriel to retreat.
"Missed me," Gabriel taunted.
“I wasn’t aiming at you.”
The ground detonated, shattering the ice. Gabriel attempted flight, but steel spikes erupted, skewering his soul and damaging his spirit.
“Die, bastard!” Camiel roared, activating the construct again. A final beam cascaded down, obliterating Gabriel’s position amid billowing smoke. Camiel grinned—until a voice echoed in his head.
“Where’s the celestial death energy?”
His smirk vanished. “Damn it… Where is he?!”
Gabriel emerged from the shadows. As Camiel whipped around, unleashing a storm of spikes, he thought, Got you now, pest.
But before he could fully turn, his soul began turning to stone, and his legs shattered.
When…when did he use [Exodus 9th Commandment: Punishment of Piety]?!
“Have a taste of your own medicine.” Gabriel’s lance impaled Camiel once more.
Camiel shattered, and Gabriel followed up with a condensed lightning blast, erasing him completely.
Gabriel raised his arm in triumph.
“Wow… Gabriel won,” murmured Samael.
“Of course he did—he’s the strongest,” grinned Uriel.
Metatron nodded, “Using [Punishment of Piety] at the last second was brilliant.”
"I know, right—" Samael suddenly froze. "Impossible!"
"What’s wrong, Master?" Uriel asked.
Samael ignored him and glanced at Metatron "Do you sense it too, Teacher?"
"Yes… How is he not dead?"
A beam of light descended on where Camiel died, and to everyone’s shock, Camiel stood, fully restored.
“You are a worthy opponent,” he admitted. “I got too cocky.”
Gabriel’s eyes widened. “H-how?! I killed you!”
Camiel smirked. “You did. But I always have a backup plan. Didn’t Samael teach you that?”
He raised his hand, “Destroyer Armor… to me!” A suit of gleaming steel enveloped him, erasing his magical signature.
"Is that supposed to make you stronger? What a jo—"
Before Gabriel could retort, Camiel surged with blinding speed, shattering Gabriel’s jaw and tearing off his left arm clean off.
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
That speed is unreal! I must stop him before he overwhelms me, Gabriel thought as he retreated, slipping just out of reach of Camiel’s relentless assault. Gabriel recalled his lance and unleashed a series of thrusts aimed to pierce the new armour. His strikes landed—yet the armour remained unscathed.
“Impossible! It must be a fluke—!”
Camiel’s fist then slammed into Gabriel’s face, sending him reeling. Desperate, Gabriel activated [Acts Reversal: Holy Frost] to freeze Camiel, but before the ice could suspend Camiel, a devastating punch launched Michael through the air.
Gabriel gritted his teeth, clenching his chest as he tumbled. "Oh, I see… your armour absorbs magic. That makes things simple—I just have to stop using magic."
With renewed resolve, he activated [Leviticus: Anointing] to increase the potency of his abilities and [Leviticus: Offering], sacrificing all his magic for pure, raw strength.
Camiel lunged again like a blur; Gabriel dodged, pivoted, and smashed his lance into Camiel’s face, stunning him. Seizing the moment, Gabriel attacked—but was met with a brutal kick to the gut as Camiel closed in, their clash resuming with renewed fury.
Gabriel observed, He doesn’t feel pain anymore… I can’t waste my attacks. He sidestepped a haymaker and drove his lance into Camiel’s sternum with such force that the shockwave fractured the armour, finally piercing through. Camiel stumbled, dropping to one knee.
Now’s my chance—
Before Gabriel could strike again, Camiel’s right arm morphed into a blade, blocking the attack.
What the—!? His armour repaired itself!?
Camiel roared, overpowering Gabriel and sending him tumbling. Gabriel hurled his lance at a weakened spot, which bounced off the regenerating armour. Camiel slashed Gabriel across the chest and raised his sword for the final blow. In a split-second decision, Gabriel converted his remaining strength into mana and unleashed [Revelations: Divine Ender]—a colossal beam of holy light that engulfed Camiel, tearing through nearly 90% of his armour.
"What the hell?!" Camiel exclaimed in disbelief.
His armour was supposed to nullify all magic. No spell, no matter how powerful, should have worked against him. And yet, Gabriel’s attack had torn through it as if it were paper.
Gabriel smirked, wiping blood from his lips. "Confused? It’s simple—I enchanted [Deuteronomy: Law of the Land] onto my attack, converting the magic into pure shockwaves with the same destructive force as Divine Ender."
Camiel’s armour twitched, already beginning to regenerate. Gabriel lunged repeatedly, aiming to shatter Camiel’s spirit before the armour could fully recover.
Camiel grimaced, leaping backwards to escape. Gabriel refused to let up, relentlessly closing the distance. Camiel continued to retreat, his armour mending itself with every step. Gabriel hurled his lance to slow him down, but Camiel deflected it with the armoured plating on his forearm. Then, Camiel’s armour fully regenerated—and like last time, it adapted.
He was faster. Stronger.
The power boost tipped the scales. Camiel’s speed now outmatched Gabriel’s. He blitzed forward, overpowering him, landing blow after blow. Gabriel reeled under the assault, each strike hammering him like a meteor.
“Enough. [Exodus 4th Commandment: Day of the Lord],” Gabriel growled as he caught Camiel’s fist mid-strike and slammed his forehead into Camiel’s skull. Dazed, Camiel was then pummelled by a savage barrage of punches. Even after his helmet shattered, Gabriel continued his assault until Camiel countered with a headbutt that snapped Gabriel’s arm.
“Damn it… still not enough?” Gabriel groaned, retreating momentarily. Camiel pursued but found Gabriel still slightly faster.
Tch. Annoying pest. Camiel halted mid-air and shifted his stance. Drawing back his fist, he punched—at nothing.
The air trembled, and a shockwave ripped through space, striking Gabriel from afar. His armour shattered, and a hole blasted clean through his chest.
Gabriel coughed blood and activated [Numbers: Amplification and Multiplication]; his soul surged with renewed energy, multiplying his power. Regenerating rapidly, Gabriel slammed his fist into Camiel’s face—but even that barely dented the armour.
His eyes widened. Even now… it’s still not enough!?
Both warriors clashed, landing multiple blows on each other, neither gaining the advantage. Gabriel kicked Camiel, and though the latter blocked, the force still sent him flying.
Gabriel controls his spear, causing it to slam into Camiel’s back, launching him forward. The impact dented his armour. Seizing the moment, Gabriel lunged, attacking with his spear a second time, but Camiel twisted mid-air, deflecting the incoming spear. Gabriel caught his weapon effortlessly and smirked.
“Don’t you know? An angel’s weapon can’t harm its master—” Gabriel began, only to be cut off as Camiel’s foot struck his gut, drawing blood. Camiel then drove a fist into Gabriel’s chest, shattering his heart, and Gabriel gritted his teeth, breaking Camiel’s arm with the sheer force of his left hand.
Impressive... even with such an injury, he can still fight and wound me. Camiel smirked at the thought.
Gabriel retaliated, thrusting his spear into Camiel’s head multiple times, leaving deep gashes. Camiel countered with a brutal punch to Gabriel’s face, shattering his nose.
Although Gabriel’s angelic armour redirected most damage, the strain shattered it. With resolve, Gabriel yanked Camiel’s arm and condensed the absorbed force into his spear, driving it into Camiel’s chest and shattering his armour with a gaping hole. As he aimed a decisive thrust at Camiel’s head, Camiel deflected the attack, absorbed its power, and countered with a punch that beheaded Gabriel. Both warriors collapsed, unconscious.
Elsewhere, Astaroth and Ariel clashed, their souls scarred by battle.
“Didn’t think you’d last this long. I’m impressed.” Astaroth panted.
“Me too. I was under the impression fallen angels were weak,” Ariel smirked.
“Hah! I’ll make you eat those words.”
Astaroth surged forward with blinding speed. Ariel narrowly blocked as a relentless barrage forced her onto the defensive—her arms buckled and bones fractured. “[Isaiah X Ecclesiastes X Judges: Godspeed X Unyielding Strength],” she invoked and countered with a powerful kick that sent Astaroth flying. Though Astaroth blocked, the force broke her arm. She grunted in pain but quickly recovered.
“I see you’ve upgraded. No matter—your death will be swift.”
Astaroth vanished and reappeared in Ariel’s blind spot. A near-missed punch erased the very ground, and Astaroth taunted, “Incredible instincts… but how long do you plan to dodge?”
Ariel barely avoided another strike. “This is a pain. [Revelations: Eternal Seal].”
Astaroth’s speed was sealed, levelling the field.
“Sealing my speed changes nothing. I can kill you with one hit,” Astaroth declared.
“Only if you can actually hit me. Now you’re just a slow nuisance.”
Astaroth’s grin turned to a frown. “You dare mock me?”
Furious, Astaroth transported behind Ariel—only to be met by Ariel’s pre-set trap: the ground, enchanted with [Romans: Almighty Bomb], detonated as she struck with [Revelations: Divine Ender]. The shockwaves cleared the smoke, revealing Astaroth had vanished once more.
A chill ran down Ariel’s spine. Spinning around, she caught Astaroth preparing an attack from behind. “[Psalms: God’s Protection],” she invoked—a shield formed, only to be shattered by Astaroth’s kick that even grazed her, erasing part of her nose.
Astaroth smirked and lunged again, but Ariel anticipated it. She dropped low, sweeping Astaroth’s legs. Traps laid earlier activated, primed to finish the fight, but Astaroth caught herself mid-fall, countering with a devastating kick that sent Ariel flying.
Astaroth, however, found her abilities failing. Ariel had sealed not only her techniques but also her very movements. The seal used—[Samael’s Infinity Seal]—was nearly absolute. Even among archangels, only those with immense mana could cast it. Jophiel, despite having the smallest mana pool among the archangels, would still require over half her reserves to invoke this seal, even though her mana vastly surpassed that of Uriel, the strongest angel general.
For any general or weaker archangel, attempting this would be suicidal—not just due to the extreme mana cost but also because of the immense strain it placed on the magical circuits, and yet Astaroth managed to break it.
She wasn’t as strong as Camiel, as talented as Dagon, nor did she possess an overpowered ability like Azazel. For her to break the Infinity Seal was a bitter pill for Ariel to swallow.
Unlike the others, Astaroth relied on manipulating time rather than raw power or skill. Breaking this seal should have been impossible. That left only one explanation—she had performed a miracle. But how? Ariel pondered as she deftly evaded Astaroth’s attacks. If I’m to make a guess, she used a pre-programmed ability to age it. Ariel pondered.
Frustrated, Astaroth created a cage around Ariel. On the surface, she seemed to have the upper hand, but breaking the seal had drained her. Ariel could sense it. Her strikes had become sloppy and predictable—a direct result of her dwindling mana reserves.
The cage had been prepared earlier in the battle when Astaroth had vanished and reappeared. This was her ultimate technique. Not only did it release searing heat capable of cooking its target alive, but any attempt to touch or escape it would trigger a devastating time bomb. The technique forced the opponent to choose between a slow death or a swift one.
The intense heat seared Ariel’s flesh, but worse yet, the cage emitted a unique radiation with the same properties as her bomb, slowly ageing its victim out of existence.
Ariel was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Her only option was to turn this into a battle of endurance.
“[Genesis, Psalms, and Deuteronomy: God’s Protection—Holy Garden.]”
A divine barrier materialised, nullifying Astaroth’s attack entirely.
Damn her! How does she still have that much mana? After using that seal, a reverse chapter, and all those cascading spells? Even Samael would be drained by now. She should be empty! Astaroth seethed. It's time I ended it.
She vanished and reappeared behind Ariel. Ariel pre-emptively punched, but Astaroth dodged and countered, causing her to reel from the impact.
“Is that the best you’ve got, weakling? I’ll show you true power and best you in close quarters,” Astaroth taunted.
Ariel growled, attempting a leg sweep, but Astaroth dodged with mocking ease. As Ariel’s anger left her vulnerable, Astaroth exploited the opening—jabbing brutal blows that broke Ariel’s ribs and shattered her jaw.
How is she overpowering me? I was trained by my brother! Ariel fumed. Forcing calm, she assumed her stance. Her aura trembled, chilling Astaroth.
Ariel realised she had a glaring weakness—she couldn’t replenish mana like she used to. Angels had a nose and lungs for a reason: to absorb mana from the air. As the ‘Angel of Nature,’ Ariel could draw in more mana than any other angel, which was why her reserves were unparalleled. But now, both her nose and lungs had been destroyed in the battle. She could no longer restore her energy.
Astaroth had deliberately targeted these, ensuring Ariel’s reserves would dwindle.
Astaroth lunged, throwing a vicious jab aimed at Ariel’s throat—to sever her last means of absorbing mana. Ariel saw through her plan, then dodged and countered with an [Infinity Seal]—enhanced punch that shattered Astaroth’s ribs. Despite the pain, Astaroth struck again, but Ariel flipped effortlessly. Before Astaroth could deliver a final blow, she vanished beyond Ariel’s Holy Garden.
“You will rue this day for forcing me to go all out,” Astaroth seethed as she surged her mana.
“[Ultimate Domain: Time Void],” she declared. A black void expanded, consuming Ariel’s divine field. Gritting her teeth, Ariel clung on—a battle of endurance began. Both poured everything into their abilities, but Astaroth’s domain soon waned.
“No! I won’t lose to you!” Astaroth roared, pushing past her limits. Just as Ariel’s strength faltered, a familiar voice echoed in her mind:
<
<
<
Ariel grinned and unfurled her wings; Astaroth mirrored the gesture, believing she had the upper hand.
“[Ecclesiastes: Perfect Time]!” Ariel vanished and reappeared behind Astaroth. Shocked, Astaroth countered with a backhand strike, but Ariel dodged and delivered a brutal punch to her chest, shattering her spirit and sending her flying.
Astaroth looks up at the sky, pondering how she could lose when she had the advantage. No, it can’t end here, she steeled her soul, forcing a final mana surge. As Ariel watched, Astaroth’s ultimate domain shattered. In the next instant, Ariel found herself impaled by the cage—its detonation imminent.
Leaping back, she bisected her soul to escape, redirecting the damage to her hands with [Chronicles: Divine Counter] and destroying them in the process. As she recovered, a chill ran down her spine.
Impossible! How did she—?
A devastating punch to her face cut her thoughts off.
“Checkmate,” Astaroth grinned. But Ariel wasn’t ageing out of existence.
“What?! How are you still alive?” Astaroth gasped.
Ariel smirked. “It seems your mana ran out.”
“Impossible! I had more than enough to kill you… What did you do to me?”
“Look at where you’re standing,” Ariel said, pointing at the ground beneath her.