Chapter 87: Brought to God Almighty

The burning city leaking tall spires of smoke served as the backdrop of the prowling spider demon. August inched away with shaky feet, destined to hit her back against the brick wall behind.

The monster sneered, whipping her bladed hands in anticipation. "For your stubborn resistance, I will make your demise a sight to behold. In the end, you will beg me to feast upon your head. You will plead for your misery to come to an end."

August gulped, hoping that whatever Prillon and Jalen did worked or she was toast. Soon her back hit that fated wall and she could move no longer. However, the sensation that moved across her back turned her terrified expression into a nervous smile.

"Faced with death, you show pleasure?" The spider demon gasped incredulously. "You are trapped, mortal. There is no one to save you anymore."

Through the brick wall, a hand emerged and seized the back of her shirt.

"Who's actually trapped?" Her heart silently rejoiced even though she stared down death in the form of the monster responsible for her parent's deaths. "You or me?"

The spider demon did a double take, now scanning their surroundings with scrutiny. "What?" With a wave of one hand, it dispelled the illusion obscuring the blood sigils that stretched down from both buildings to meet on the pavement. The spider demon struck its blades against the air and, as expected, an invisible prison had locked them in. For the next few minutes, the barrier imprisoning them flashed from the frantic pounding of the demon. Even after the demon resorted to using an assortment of its abilities, the barrier held firm.

Sweat caked August's forehead as she chastised herself for deviating from the plan. Her last step was to lure the demon into attacking her, and everything else would fall into Jalen's hand. But she had failed. Her thirst to make the monster feel an iota of the fear and dread it inflicted on her spurred her to reveal its predicament. Thankfully, Prillon's trap still stood firm, so there was a chance to correct her mistake.

Reality setting in, the spider demon turned to regard her in a new light, fear and confusion written on its pale, ghastly face. "Who helped you, mortal? This spell holds an enormous amount of power. Only an archdevil could achieve this feat. Was it Belial?"

"I don't need to tell you," she said, her quaking voice growing stronger. "Soon you will see him for yourself."

"You underestimate my tolerance for your impudence, mortal. You are still within arm's reach. And your ability could prove vital if I am to face this predicament."

"Then why don't you stop yapping and fucking do it? All this time you've been telling me in great detail what you'll do when you catch me and yet you haven't done shit. And my gosh, your voice is annoying as fuck. I'd rather get pecked on by a thousand bloodthirsty crows than listen to you speak another word. So tell me, are you a tsuchigumo, the demon that brought Hermosville to its knees, or just another bug waiting to be squashed?"

A scalding wave of energy radiated from the demon, the gnashing of its dagger-like teeth sending a chill down August's spine. In the time it took her to blink, she found herself in the swirling tunnel of the portal with a black blade fast approaching. Before it reached and skewered her, a large white wing wrapped around her body, a loud clang ringing as the blade glanced off.

What she could only describe as angels—with expansive pure white wings and donning silver armor that emitted a radiant glow—grasped the bladed hand and pulled the demon into the portal. If the demon was fearful before, now it gazed at the angels that numbered five surrounding it in horror, a sliver of perplexity in its eyes when it spotted her in the arms of another angel.

Tears of joy fell down August's face. At last, her part was complete. Though premature, she felt elated knowing that there was no escape for the monster that killed her parents. The angel carrying her sped away from the other angels and exited the portal by the valley of a towering canyon beside a long, winding river. The angel soared between the two flanking steep rock faces.

"Wait!" she shouted. "We are forgetting someone. Mr. Mangles. Please, go back."

If she did not feel her connection to the Saint of Graves sever, then Mr. Mangles was alive. She just knew it.

The angel banked toward the canyon's cliff that overlooked the portal below and landed softly. When her feet hit the ground, she could finally observe the angel who saved her. He was tall, taller than anyone she had ever seen except for Jalen in his scary form, with a long symmetrical face and pure white hair that fell to his shoulders. His armor was golden, embellished with intricate patterns she couldn't comprehend, and gleamed with heavenly light. The most striking feature of all was the six white wings that fluttered on his back. The top pair were the largest and fluffiest, easily spanning several feet, while the bottom pair were long and narrow. A golden scabbard sword hung from his waist.

"My orders from God explicitly state that I ensure your safety," He said, his tone commanding and sipping with otherworldly power. "So this is as close as we can get, mortal."

"God?" She glanced at the portal below, tentatively fighting her fear of heights. "What are you talking about? This is all so confusing. Jalen never told me that they'd be angels on the other side. That it would be an angel that would pull me in. I thought it was him."

"You need not know the full extent of the Lord's plans. Your part was to lure the demon in and you did so amicably."

Still in over her head, she turned to the angel. "So what is your name, sir?"

The angel's silver eyes peered down at her. "I am Kaldor, servant of the Most High. Now look upon the portal, mortal, for they have arrived."

At the conclusion of Kaldor's statement, the demon skidded across the rocky ground, skimmed the surface of the river, and slammed into the wall of the other canyon. The angels spilled out of the portal and assembled in the air around the spider demon. Both sides observed each other with caution, the demon using its eight spider legs to tentatively climb up the canyon's walls, while the angels circled overhead. As she tried to ascertain their tactics, someone else came through the portal. She jumped and waved her hands, hoping to catch the attention of the barely discernable dot that was Mr. Mangles. Fortunately, the Saint of Graves, badly beaten with only two of his six arms left, instinctively spotted her. Then he grinned and disappeared into her dream world, the portal behind him vanishing into nothingness.

After that, she turned to Kaldor. "I'm good to go now."

They soared into the deep blue sky, the figures of the demon and the watching angels long gone. A vast river, sandwiched by grass-topped canyons that stretched into the horizon, lay below her, a range of mountains encasing the landscape. Gusts of biting winds chilled her bones as Kaldor continued to fly higher.

Oh, crap!

It all became too unbearable; the thin air and her fear of dropping to her death compounding as the ground shrunk into a massive landscape. She gazed up into the heavens to find out where the angel was taking her, but the harsh radiance of the sun enveloping an indiscernible object put that option to rest. Instead, she decided to ask the angel.

"Where are we going?" Her voice was high-pitched.

"To meet God," Kaldor said. "Then that would conclude my part to play."

As they drew closer, the obscured object turned out to be a floating island, spotting elaborate engravings and magnificent patterns. Kaldor flew past the island's steep side to the top, which was flat and covered with obsidian tiles. There, at the center atop a throne of glistening feathers, germs, and gold, Jalen sat with a tiger woman on his lap. A tall angel dressed in a white gown that trailed behind her stood to his left. Her face was long and her eyes shone silver, just like Kaldor's. Her wings were golden and full and the most beautiful August had ever laid her eyes upon. To his right was a black-skinned humanoid, with a third glowing eye on his forehead, clad in red and white robes that draped around his shoulders. Further down from Jalen's platform were hundreds of angels that rested on their knees, their eyes shut and their hands clasped before them.

Kaldor landed on the aisle between the praying angels and marched forward. She slowly followed, utterly overwhelmed by the collection of celestial beings.

Jalen is God? She quickly buried those thoughts. It seemed ridiculous.

Once Kaldor reached Jalen, the angel dropped to one knee and bowed his head, his six wings draping to the floor. "O Most High, Almighty One, I, Kaldor, archangel of war and might, bow before Your throne in humble adoration. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Your glory fills the heavens, and Your majesty is beyond our comprehension. I humbly await Your permission to speak."

All around August, the praying angels transposed into melodic praise that soothed her tense nerves. "Praise be to You, O Great I AM, who was and is and is to come. Your throne is established in righteousness, and Your reign is eternal. We, the heavenly host, sing in unison of Your boundless grace and infinite mercy. Glory to You in the highest, and peace to Your people on—"

With a raise of his hand, Jalen commanded silence. Then his gaze fell to Kaldor. "Speak."

At the corner of her vision, August spotted the scornful look of the female angel standing beside Jalen. The angel's silver eyes burrowed holes into her soul. Fear spurred her to backtrack and look to Jalen for help. Thankfully, her savior was aware.

"What is it, Orinth?" Jalen inquired. "Why are you scaring her off?"

"The mortal spits in Your presence, my Lord," the golden-winged angel said, still looking at her with disdain. "Who is she to stand before Your Grace when we angels are only fit to address You on our knees?"

Jalen sighed. "August, kneel."

Not needing to be told twice, she assumed the same posture as the archangel before her.

"Speak, Kaldor."

"Thank You, Most High," Kaldor proclaimed, embers of joy seeping into his tone. "Present with me is the mortal, August. She played her part in luring the demon into Your domain outstandingly. Now the demon is under the watchful gaze of the five angels tasked with ensuring her infernal presence is never misplaced."

"Wonderful! That is the best news I've heard in a long while." Jalen grinned, smothering the tiger woman on his lap into his chest. "Now. Overseer…"

"Zenithar, Great Maker." The three-eyed humanoid adorned in red and white robes bowed. "It is truly the greatest honor to be in your presence. Nothing in the near infinite cosmos rivals this feeling of adoration permeating within me."

"It is also good to see one of Aleph's creations in the flesh. Anyway, forgive me for forgetting your name so soon, Overseer Zenithar." He preemptively raised his hand to silence Orinth, who opened her mouth to speak. "Tell me why you came. As you can see, I have business to attend to, so make it quick."

"As you wish, Great Maker. I am an emissary of the Primordial Watcher. When Aleph caught wind of your presence in the cosmos, it sent me to find you and alert it to your exact location."

"I see. And I presume you have already reported our location?"

"Yes. As we speak, Aleph is concluding its duties and will soon be on its way."

"Hm." Jalen cupped his jaw. "That presents an issue. I do not want this system to be disturbed. I am housing humans on the other side of the planet."

"Oh, worry not, Great Maker. The Primordial Watcher's presence in a system will not affect any celestial bodies if it so chooses. I believe it mentioned that your true form possessed that same ability."

"Very well." Jalen rose from his throne and descended the ornate steps, his tiger woman moving to Orinth's side, where they exchanged words. "It is time I met that tsuchigumo. I can not delay it any further."

Overseer Zenithar took a few steps after him. "Then, please permit me, Great Maker, to record your actions in Aleph's stead."

"Fine." He stopped beside August. "We will have a discussion about your rewards when I'm back. So start thinking of what you want. Oh, before I forget. Orinth, tell Lyrius to assure the humans that if a red star fills their sky, they are still safe."

August watched him walk up to the edge of the floating island, still appearing as a human, and jump overboard. Then he shot above in his scary form. One after the other, the angels stood up and flew after him, hundreds of white wings filling her view, their endless flaps gracing her ears.

Orinth conjured a portal and entered it with her head held high and her shoulders stiff. The only people who remained were Kaldor, the tiger woman, who looked remarkably beautiful as the golden sun filtered through her rich fur, and August.

"You can stand up now," Kaldor assured her.

So she obliged him and caught sight of the army of angels soaring in the distance.