The Damned and The Pure Series: Books 1-4 (The Damned and The Pure Series Box Set)

by J. D. Stonebridge

  He watched as Gabriel cracked her knuckles. In a split second, Gabriel vanished in a gust of wind. The next thing he felt was a blunt kick to his back, but when he turned, he only met a gust of wind before a fist connected with the side of his face. He swung his spear, but it only met the wind, and another bone-crunching punch met his torso. He could clearly see Gabriel's elbow as an afterimage, disappearing with the burst of wind.

  Michael lost his footing again and again with a blow to the face, a blow on the back, and a blow to the back of his knees, making them buckle. He fell to his knees then all went black after he glimpsed Gabriel's foot as she drove it into his face. Michael tumbled violently to the ground. He screamed as before. After Gabriel pummeled him, Azrael's black flames showered from above. His body caught fire, but with a thrust of his arm, the flames were snuffed out.

  "Your attacks are pathetic!" Michael shouted, sounding less mighty than before. "You can bludgeon me all you wish, and you can strike me till you use your last ounce of strength, but I will never fall!"

  "I know," Gabriel replied. "How does one deal with an unyielding force?"

  "One does not!" Michael retorted, flying up and away from the flames.

  "Fool!" Gabriel spat. "One shall ensure that the unyielding never fights back!"

  Daniel appeared in front of him and drove his sword of light against his torso. Michael spun his spear to parry and used the momentum to counter. Daniel disappeared and Gabriel took his place, her leg already propped up to deliver an axe kick that landed on his shoulder.

  Michael grunted as his form slammed to the ground. To his surprise, Azrael waited below, and as she raised her hands, a purple swirl appeared from the middle of her palms.

  Before he could react, the swirl billowed, and as it parted, he saw grayness. Michael shouted as he fell into the Gates of Purgatory. The gates closed like a slamming jaw after he passed through.

  Silence followed. Daniel and Gabriel landed near Azrael. "It worked." Gabriel nodded. "He will find a way out, but hopefully, this buys us some time." She turned to the one-man melee that was occurring far from them.

  A flurry of Lucifers and Caelums clashed swords, countless sparks flew, and each striking sword flashed a timbre that echoed in the empty land. One could say this was the music of war. Lucifer did as he observed it from a distance. He traced his fingers in the air with a waving motion, as if playing a rhythm in the gallery of sounds.

  Despite the differences in form, it was an equal fight. Caelum's copies would dissipate as Lucifer's blades would hit them, but in turn, Caelum's sword, Attrition, dispelled Umbra's form and dissipated them. Both sides would replicate to replace the fallen illusions so the battle continued. To Lucifer, however, the fight was pointless.

  His eye twitched when he saw the real Caelum's actions. He was easy to spot due to his aura, but what made him interested is that the framework of Caelum's soul, what Lucifer and any virtue could see, was slowly breaking. That crown can indeed bless you with the framework of God but only for so long... With that knowledge, he quickly formulated his plan and disappeared.

  Caelum found himself tumbling back as a massive force pushed him. In a small clearing where the Caelums and Lucifers fought, the real Lucifer appeared. Light swirled around his hands, and with a flick of his arm, it gathered and exploded, its force throwing Caelum into a tumble along with a few of his copies.

  "Fascinating what humans can achieve." Lucifer laughed. "This splitting of the very elements of the mortal realm. Atomic fission, as I recall. To undo the bindings of creation and unleash destruction. You really have to hand it to man!"

  With another flick of his hand, light pooled near Caelum and exploded. Caelum blocked but was still thrown off by the shockwave. Lucifer took a deep breath and raised both of his hands. With a downward swing, Caelum suddenly found himself surrounded by the pooling light.

  A large explosion cleared half of the warring illusions, but Caelum remained unscathed. He was thrown around by the shock, but like Michael, suffered no wounds. Caelum found this to his advantage, but the moment he stood, he realized what Lucifer was doing.

  A sharp burning pain climbed up Caelum's spine, making him stagger. His thighs felt like something hot was stabbing into — no, stabbing out from them, same with his arms, and eventually his chest. The crown on his head heated up as well. Caelum fought the feeling, but it was surprisingly familiar. Ariel, who was invisible and trying her best to avoid the battle, whispered to him.

  "Your vessel cannot hold on to the souls for long."

  "I know, that's why I have to finish this," Caelum stated. "One way or another. I have a plan. I'm just that crafty, you know?"

  Ariel didn't have to ask. She could almost feel Caelum's thoughts rush into hers. I know, said Caelum's thoughts. I know the souls will burst out of me soon, I just hope I'm near enough.

  Ariel gasped. A-are you planning to...take Lucifer down with you?

  "Nah," Caelum sighed. "I don't want to, but I will if I have to."

  Caelum rushed towards Lucifer, but as he did, Lucifer summoned more of the pooling light. As it exploded, Lucifer noticed that Caelum dove into a shadow. He turned and jumped off, just in time as Caelum rose from the shadow behind him, bringing his sword with him. Lucifer quickly raised his hand and from it, a blinding light flashed, eradicating the shadows Caelum used.

  Caelum spat, disgusted, but he wasn't out of ideas. Just as Lucifer created more of the pooling light, Caelum threw his sword at him. Lucifer motioned his hand to catch the blade but it stopped just out of his hand's reach. The sword moved sideways in mid-air, as if something still held it, then rushed to strike Lucifer’s face.

  The pooling light dissipated as Lucifer groaned. Caelum tossed his hand out and a whip-like line of darkness retreated back to him, pulling the sword along as it wrapped on the hilt.

  Lucifer rubbed the pain from his eyes. In the blur, Caelum's aura rushed to him. The demon shouted as his blade connected and stabbed through Lucifer's chest.

  Yes!

  Caelum's slight triumph was cut short when Lucifer grinned. The blade did not go through at all. It went through a small slither of light and out in a different slit over Lucifer’s torso, making it look as if he’d stabbed him.

  "Just as you have dominion over the shadows," Lucifer whispered as he grabbed Caelum's head, "I rule over the light!"

  Lucifer's hands touched the crown. He channeled power from his very soul and flooded the crown with it. To this effect, all of his copies fell and disappeared. Forgive me, Umbra, Ignis. Lucifer mourned in silence.

  Overloaded with power, the crown splintered and embers sparked from it. Caelum screamed; his head felt as though it was both burning and being squeezed. He clawed Lucifer’s arm, forcing it off but it was no use. The olive crown that had allowed him a framework similar to that of God’s burst into flames. The demon opened his eyes and saw the ashes falling from his head, and soon, the crown was nothing.

  Gabriel gasped at the scene, seeing Lucifer overload the crown with energy. A scream tore from behind her, diverting her attention from Caelum and Lucifer. Gabriel's grasp at victory disappeared when she saw Michael, his spear sticking out of Daniel's chest.

  "Daniel!"

  Daniel, unable to utter a word, burst into fragments of light. Michael absorbed the light into himself.

  Michael stomped the blunt end of his spear against the ground. "You are the true fool, Gabriel," he stated. "My spear allows me access to all worlds. With the seal of Purgatory both opened by that lowly demon and unsealed by Lucifer's sacrifices, you might as well have kept the portal open for me."

  Daniel's swords vanished, leaving Gabriel and Azrael less mobile. Michael brandished his spear in their direction, but Azrael quickly reacted. She revealed all the hundreds of black, translucent wings she had, and they exploded in a flurry of raven-like feathers. Michael found himself lost in the near-blinding cloud of blackness.

  "Azrael! No!" Gabriel shouted.

  Michae
l spotted the dark figure as it appeared in front of him. A reaper! The dark figure lunged at him but was met with a quick stab of his spear. Another appeared in the flurry of feathers and managed to touch Michael. He groaned as a strange burning pain that seared from the touch. He disposed of the reaper, and three others appeared. He spun his spear around, but as another one managed to touch him, he realized what Azrael was doing.

  She is trying to dismantle the angelic souls inside me!

  Azrael kept careful watch of Michael inside the flurry. They are unlike mortal souls. But the same laws apply.

  Michael's frustration rose as every other reaper managed to touch him, and with every touch, Michael could feel his vessel grow more unstable. He realized he was fighting only to avoid pain, and it had led to unfavorable outcomes. Michael instead stood still and allowed the reapers to slowly distort his vessel. It will hold just long enough for me...

  "I almost have him," Azrael whispered. "A bit more and I will be able to release the angelic souls inside him." But just before she reached her goal, Michael charged in her direction. How did he.... Unable to react fast enough, the spear drove into her chest.

  "Azrael!" Gabriel screamed, unable to see properly through the cloud of feathers.

  Michael stared at Azrael's cold eyes. The Angel of Death was a being that was constant, above death itself, as she was akin to Death, the Horseman. “Do send my regards," Michael said, "to your sister, Death."

  To Michael's amazement, Azrael suddenly grabbed the spear and pushed it deeper into herself, forcing Michael to lose his grip on the handle. "What?"

  "The key . . . to vanquishing the first angel…is now mine!" Azrael said as she held the spear. Azrael formed into a black figure and burst away from Michael, carrying the spear with her. "No!"

  The black comet flew high and crashed nearby. Azrael's body landed sideways on the ground as the flames dissipated. Her eyes clouded, and the flurry of feathers ceased.

  "Even more foolishness," Michael sighed. "My spear will never answer to you."

  He extended his arm, and with a thought, called the spear. The spear twitched and burst out of Azrael. A quiet scream, almost like a sigh, escaped from her lips. The spear spun towards Michael but stopped before reaching him.

  Gabriel and Michael watched in disbelief as the spear hung in mid-air. Michael lunged with his hand out, urging the spear to return to him, but it did not heed his command.

  Slowly, a figure materialized beside the spear, hidden previously by the remaining black feathers. Ariel's shape became visible, holding the spear in her hands. Before Michael could react, the feathers changed direction and zoomed towards him. The black feathers encircled his legs and arms, binding his body. Michael struggled to break free, but the feathers held the final wish of the Angel of Death.

  Chapter Eighteen: A Toast to Defeat

  While the demon screamed in agony, the angel’s thoughts brimmed with the scenes that passed. Her eyes fell upon Azrael who had perished in order to return the weapon to her. Why? Ariel wondered, but the answer came to her as soon as she asked it. The spear that lay balanced on her palm was the same she had taken from Raphael. It was the spear she had stolen and used for weeks. And a moment before, Michael had held it in his hands. His words echoed in her mind.

  My spear allows me access to all worlds.

  This is Michael’s spear! The Master Key! Ariel exclaimed in her thoughts. All this time, she had been carrying the most powerful weapon in the universe, one that God Himself bestowed upon the archangel.

  Then, another thought tugged in her memory. Behind her closed eyes, she could see Caelum, controlled by the demonic soul named Power, as he stabbed Lilith with the spear she had thrown. Ariel opened her eyes again, staring at the weapon in her hand with a bewildered expression. She returned her thoughts to the days before, when David had gathered them to explain what they discovered.

  We need the Master Key, one that can destabilize a soul, even something of Lucifer's. We also need something more primal than Lucifer that will allow us to penetrate his soul.

  What they thought was just any other spear, forged for Raphael to fight the forces of Hell, was indeed the Master Key and Michael’s own weapon. The blade had absorbed Lilith's blood. A dark energy emanated from the blade that had been buried inside the first woman as though Lilith’s essence remained within the weapon that had finally ended her suffering.

  And we need to make sure that Lucifer is in our world, as anything in this world will follow the laws of reality, David’s voice sounded in her mind. She looked at Lucifer who held Caelum in his hands to destroy the olive crown.

  She took a deep breath, realizing that David had stated the turn of events so well that he might as well have been guided by their Father. He is almost a prophet.

  The great opportunity to slay the archangels who preyed on God’s creations presented itself to the angel. Her courage betrayed her, however, though she knew Caelum would not last long once the crown broke. A grim thought crossed her mind that it was too late for the demon. Her heart sank at the realization. Caelum's goal had been to delay Lucifer from gaining the souls. He had succeeded, and now it was up to her to ensure Lucifer fell.

  She may end up living in a world without Caelum, a lonely world with Gabriel and the Tenneys, but it was a worthy sacrifice. She readied her spear, and for a moment, meditated to clear her mind of doubts about the outcome. This is my last fight.

  Lucifer, on the other hand, did not spare a moment's thought. With the crown destroyed, the souls inside Caelum started to destroy him from the inside. However… he has done something which I can only congratulate.

  Though he has succeeded in stopping the demon, he was afraid the vessel would break and explode. The force of a million souls expanding and releasing all at once was something to be mindful of as it was enough to destroy at least half the world. It could destroy even me, given that I am foolish enough to be too close.

  The souls would be scattered about. With Azrael now dead, the souls would not go to Purgatory, and Lucifer, in his state, did not have an effective way of gathering souls once they scattered to the mortal lands.

  Congratulations indeed. You have forced me to do something very drastic.

  He released Caelum from his grasp, and the demon fell hard on the ground. Caelum began to convulse, curling on the ground and clutching at himself as if he could hold the souls inside with his embrace. Caelum forced his eyes, pure with hatred, to look into Lucifer’s. With painful grunts escaping his lips, Caelum stretched out one hand to grab the archangel’s ankle.

  “Shall we…” Caelum looked up to him with a pained smile on his face, “...end this with a blast?”

  Lucifer smiled in response. “Oh, not yet,” he cooed. Lucifer leaned over Caelum. “The party is just about to begin.”

  Before Caelum could utter another word, Lucifer’s fingers dug into his back. Caelum’s mouth gaped, the silent scream of pain caught in his throat as Lucifer’s palm passed through the skin and went inside his body. The archangel dug in deep until he reached beyond the vessel and touched the demonic soul inside. Caelum arched his back, feeling the painful tug of his soul. He was forced to relinquish control over the souls that had attached to his own.

  He thought back to when he’d skimmed over Mikaela’s works. Her handwritten notes were his key to understanding them and how to control them inside the vessel. Now, he had to let them go. To let the frantic souls escape him would not only give him a chance to destroy Lucifer but also would make it more difficult for the archangel to gather the souls again.

  At least let me buy time for them! Caelum screamed in his mind. His skin glowed incandescent, and light spilled from his mouth when he parted his lips. The souls inside him began to break, his skin cold as ice and his blood burning like lava. He felt his skin crumbling, his body breaking from the inside. But then, a hand went over his mouth, slamming the jaw shut.

  “Easy now, you will only hurt yourself,” Lucifer whispered. H
e twisted his other hand inside Caelum’s body, his palm glowing brightly. Caelum’s muffled screams made him convulse as Lucifer began the transfer.

  “Let me shoulder all your burdens,” he told Caelum, feeling a twisted sense of benevolence. “For I shall be a merciful God.”

  A cold sensation spilled from Caelum’s back like smooth, pure water poured on a feverish body. The sensation spread around his torso, crawling to his limbs and fingers until the burning in his blood slowly melted away. His body stopped resisting the pain, and the grim idea of what was to come beckoned him. After all the pain he’d endured, Caelum welcomed what he imagined.

  An immense power flowed through Lucifer’s hand that was stabbed inside the demon’s body. A triumphant smile spread across his lips as he siphoned the souls bit by bit, letting them flow out of Caelum and into his own body with his guidance. Though he felt joy at the fruition of his plan, there was a shadow of doubt about what might happen next.

  Ariel watched as Lucifer released Caelum. The demon’s body collapsed like a limp rag doll as the archangel stepped away from him. Her angelic eyes peered beyond the vessel of the demon and saw that his soul remained inside, stable and alone. This is the opportune moment. Now is the time we can attack!

  Hearing Ariel’s thoughts, Gabriel rushed like a diving falcon towards Lucifer who was still basking in the afterglow of absorbing all the souls. Just before she could reach him, she landed her foot on the ground and pivoted her body, sending her entire form spinning towards him. The attack connected as Gabriel’s wooden scepter slammed on Lucifer's arm. The blow gave Gabriel some confidence as Lucifer's physical form was not as mighty because his shoulder buckled on the impact.

  Lucifer darted backwards and light began to pool around Gabriel. A smile tore across her face as she grabbed one of the pooling lights with her bare hand and lunged at Lucifer. Gabriel roared, her hand glowing with the light as it raced towards Lucifer's face. With her speed, Lucifer was unable to dodge her attack. It hit his chest. Just as Gabriel timed it, the pooling light exploded, sending both of them flying away from each other.