Her spine bent like a spring to lessen the impact of the knee to her face, but it still did a lot of damage and her short form wobbled on her feet. The boy instantly pulled his hand back and aimed the tip of the scythe toward her chest.
“Gh…”
“Ange!”
Mutsuki shouted without thinking. That silver blade glistened a disturbing amount in this dim light and it was about to reach his roommate’s heart.
He could feel the blood rushing from his face as he watched.
“Suit – Adamah!”
The tip dug into her shirt a bit, but then it stopped.
“…”
Lucia realized he could not stab here because there was something incredibly hard below her shirt, so he swept the blade to the side instead. At the same time, Ange kicked off a column and moved away.
It was a blink-and-you-missed-it exchange. Mutsuki’s eyes only caught up after Ange fell to her knees.
Was “the way to deal with that troublesome angel” this place itself? The space filled with so many obstructing columns was a poor battlefield for Ange and her large sword. On the other hand, Lucia’s curved scythe allowed him to target his prey from flexible angles.
“What are you going to do now? You can retreat if you want. But only if you’re fine with leaving Mutsuki-kun behind.”
The boy calmly sat in a place protected by the many columns and support beams.
“Tch.”
The girl twisted her face where she had been kicked and held the front of her blazer uniform.
Her clothes had been cleanly sliced from her chest down to the top of her skirt, but she fortunately did not seem too badly hurt. A trail of red blood ran diagonally across her cute belly, but that was all. Her chest was unhurt despite the direct hit.
Just like Micha’s underwear, Ange’s sports bra and spats were known as a Suit. They were armor made with a special material unique to angels. When it hardened, it was impossible to pierce. However…
“Shouldn’t you be retreating? I aimed for the wrong spot that time, but I’ll penetrate you next time.”
Lucia gave a challenging smile while rubbing his cheek against the scythe resting on his shoulder.
And he had a point. Ange was safe since the boy had happened to target her heart, but what if he lopped off her head or sliced through the abdomen next time?
“Ange…”
Mutsuki pleaded her to leave even as he trembled in fear.
But instead of nodding, the girl flipped her long hair back and stabbed her sword into the floor.
“Mutsuki, close your eyes.”
“Eh?”
“Don’t ‘eh’ me. Close them, you pervert.”
She made her usual lopsided frown and he finally realized her underwear was visible. Part of him felt this was no time to be embarrassed, but he himself grew embarrassed when he actually focused on her state of dress. It was too much for him, so he did as he was told and looked to the ground.
The girl sighed.
“Plus, you wouldn’t want to see this.”
She grabbed her sword in both hands.
“A living creature is about to be ripped to shreds.”
“What!?”
“Prominence – Loop!”
Drawn by Lucia’s shout of surprise, Mutsuki also looked to see why she sounded so confident.
She split her giant sword in two like a pair of scissors, giving her two long blades.
The sense of weight remained and the two curved single-edged swords were clearly quite sharp.
Also, these were the weapons of an angel that fought with fire. A blue flame passed through the portion that had supported the center of the blade back in its original form, making it look like a hacksaw. Just seeing it was enough for Mutsuki to know how dangerous it was.
“Ange of the Double Flame.”
“—————”
“So that’s where the name comes from!”
“Ahhhhhhhh!”
Lucia was dumbfounded as Ange charged toward him with a weapon in each hand.
“Tch.”
Even split in half, it had more than enough power to overwhelm the boy. The sound of the scythe catching just one of them was loud enough to think the scythe was going to break.
And by that time, the other blade was already on its way down.
This wide swing was using the back of the blade. In other words, the flame blade.
Lucia’s back was bent, so he managed to sway out of the blade’s path, but the blue flames scattered by the passing weapon still scorched his skin.
“I’m not done yet!”
As the boy tried to pull back, Ange stepped further forward and placed her body weight behind the first attack.
The boy and scythe were knocked backwards and his smoking body crashed into the wooden wall.
“Kh!? D-damn you’re fast.”
“No, I’m not.”
Lucia grimaced from the damage and the angel’s foot was already right in front of him.
He somehow managed to escape to the side and Ange’s flying kick shook the entire tower when it hit the wall.
But she used that as her first step and made a second and third step on the nearby column and wall.
“You’re just slow!!”
As if to pay him back for earlier, she stabbed a sharp midair kick into his cheek.
“Hmph.”
She watched his body fly off and made a light landing.
“…”
She was strong. Even as a bystander, the difference in their strengths was overwhelming to Mutsuki. Lucia clearly had superhuman power, but Ange outdid him in everything.
“I’m no match for you.”
The boy had avoided an actual fatal blow, but his skin was burnt and he had been kicked across the room. His voice was weak as he got back up and he raised his hands as if to surrender.
“Improper interference in the human world is a first degree violation of the Angel-Demon Detente. In particular, involving the bearer of a special power for no reason is punishable by Nemesis 66.”
“Yeah, I know. And that 66th form of divine punishment is a requisition of your material form in the physical world. In other words…”
“Death.”
She mercilessly approached with both swords at the ready.
“Ah…”
Mutsuki frowned and seemed to entirely forget the situation.
The boy’s burnt skin cells were rapidly healing and the scorch marks were vanishing, so he clearly was not human. Still, he looked just like Mutsuki or Ange. Getting kicked on the cheek had left a bloodstain on his lips. Mutsuki did not want to see him sliced to pieces.
It was because of his fear that he did not feel any hatred for the boy.
Not to mention the friendly smile on the boy’s face.
“Heh heh. Thanks?”
Mutsuki’s thoughts must have gotten through to him because Lucia winked his way.
That confident expression did not look like someone prepared to die.
In fact, boldness filled his face as he faced Ange again.
“Not to worryd I said I’m no match for you, not that I can’t win.”
“!?”
He lowered his raised hands.
In that instant, black water poured down from where it was hidden in the dark ceiling. This downpour was made up of the blood-colored demonic creatures known as Succubi and they quickly surrounded Ange and Mutsuki.
However, this was not enough to turn things around. Wings of blue flame had already surrounded the girl and Mutsuki as a shield, so the black water vaporized and turned to ash as soon as it fell down.
“What was the point of that? Surely you didn’t think that would help.”
“Ahh, ahh. Are you sure you should have burned them?”
Ange was confused that he had not tried to escape while making his futile last attempt, but Lucia made a show of looking upwards. When the girl noticed a sudden presence, she too raised her head.
“Those little guys were protecting you.”
It was already too late.
“Obstacle gone. Resuming capture of intruder…positive.”
It looked like a giant spider to Mutsuki.
It hung down with eight metal stakes driven into the columns and it viewed everyone inside the tower using round eyes made by placing countless cameras at different angles.