"C-Can I… h-have a choice?"
Elarion gently but firmly pushed Cael away, a soft smile curling his lips as he extended his hand.
"Only if you're ready to burn in hell with me."
Cael smiled back, shaking Elarion's hand.
"I would ask for more, goddess," he said with a wink.
They both laughed, but their joy didn't last long.
The sky darkened—not with clouds, but with wings. Angels descended, their forms glowing with divine light, surrounding the city from all directions. Each raised a radiant spear, their brilliance merging into a vast canopy of light—bright as the sun.
Elarion bit his finger and raised his hand, laughing heartily as he looked at Cael.
"Here's your chance. Drink my blood… and be reborn as a fallen angel."
Cael licked the blood dripping from Elarion's finger. Instantly, his wings turned black, and the pressure around him shifted. Dark mana surged through his body. His appearance twisted into something grotesque yet elegant—his once-pale skin darkened. He bowed before Elarion.
"What is your first order, Master?"
Elarion sat on the ground, crossing his arms.
"Show me your will. What will you do?" He winked. "You are free to choose anything."
Cael rose into the sky, lifting his spear. A radiant wave of dark mana flowed from its tip as he pointed it toward the angels.
"I was once a slave to the heavens. Now, I'll burn this farce of gods and bring peace to Earth—with the will granted to me by my new master. If you don't want to die, surrender now!"
An angel with four wings—clearly their leader—stepped forward, his voice cold and his expression emotionless.
"Cael… what happened to you? If you stand with gods no longer, you shall perish with them."
Cael laughed, holding his face as if amused beyond reason.
"What a joke. You, who know nothing, should die reflecting on your ignorance."
He raised his spear to the heavens. A surge of radiant black mana spiraled upward, devouring the angels' divine light. With silent fury, he sliced through their wings mid-flight, moving with deadly grace. As he reached the leader, he halted, hovering in the air with a quiet, knowing smile.
"This is my will—to defy the gods. If you have the courage, come at me."
Elarion watched the sky, smiling as he muttered to himself:
"Easy, slave. All I did was play with his heart… give him emotions."
The angel leader pointed his spear at Elarion.
"He's controlling you! Can't you see that?"
Cael shrugged, glaring at the angel.
"It's my own choice. My master gave me free will. Look below—you see your comrades fallen, yet the gods do nothing. They don't care."
Without warning, the angel leader thrust his spear into Cael's heart. Cael coughed blood, laughing bitterly.
"Look down."
The leader looked—and behind him stood Elarion, hacking at his wings with a blade, slow and deliberate. The angel screamed in agony and dropped his spear. Elarion saw the pride in Cael's eyes and smiled.
"You learn fast. I'd like to keep you around."
Elarion held the angel's body and kicked him into the air. Cael caught the angel's dropped spear and slammed it into the ground. Elarion winked.
"How about a little game?"
He soared higher, kicking the angel toward Cael, who kicked him back. Blood sprayed through the air as the angel screamed. Cael and Elarion laughed joyfully.
"Master, I didn't know I could enjoy something like this."
"Cael, you'll enjoy many things with us."
They kicked the angel again and again. His cries echoed through the sky as they laughed and talked.
"Why aren't the gods helping you?" Cael giggled.
Elarion struck him hard, the sound of breaking bones echoing.
"Cael, don't be mean. The gods are probably enjoying this. After all, your suffering is their only pleasure."
Cael grabbed the angel by the head, dragging him through the sky before slamming him to the ground. He laughed at the angel's screams.
"The gods will punish you for this!"
Cael sat on the angel's chest, ruffling his hair.
"Poor thing… The gods won't help you. Unlike my master." His smile darkened. "Earlier, when you pierced my heart, I didn't die. My master's power saved me. Tell me… did your gods give you such power?"
He seized a nearby spear and pressed it slowly against the angel's chest, just above his heart. He smiled.
"Are you ready to witness the difference in our power?"
He plunged the spear into the angel's heart. The angel gasped, teetering on the edge of death. Cael pulled the spear free, and Elarion healed him, sitting beside him with a cruel grin.
"Seems like the gods didn't bless him after all."
The angel blinked rapidly, staring at them with fear in his once-cold eyes.
"W-we will never succumb to your threats."
Elarion brushed the angel's hair back, smiling darkly.
"That choice is long gone. Prepare to suffer for the gods' stubbornness."
He raised his hands, summoning a massive dowel over the battlefield.
"Cael, put them in the dowel. They'll be precious sacrifices for your rebirth."
Cael moved quickly, placing the fallen angels into the dowel, driving spears into each of them. The leader, bound in glowing mana threads, could only watch as Elarion drew a ritual circle with their blood. Elarion extended his hand toward Cael and whispered:
"Rise from the ashes. Be born as the disaster that will destroy your own kind. I, the son of miracles, grant you immortality and power. But never hesitate to chase your dream. You, once a toy of the gods, shall bring suffering wherever you go."