"Impossible!"
Dr. Wade's voice trembled — panic, disbelief, and fury flashing across her face.
"Why would you accuse me? How could I possibly be the Demon Queen?!"
"Run."
Before either Archangel could respond, Balder seized Adam by the arm. A pillar of flame burst beneath their feet, launching both skyward in a streak of crimson fire.
Arguing? Explaining? Only a fool would stay behind to debate an angel.
The two Seraphim — Gabriel and Sariel — glanced at each other. Centuries of battle-forged instinct told them everything in a single look.
Without a word, Gabriel ascended in a blaze of light, wings slicing through the air as he chased after Balder. Sariel, on the other hand, turned toward Dr. Wade.
"Only a Lord of Hell may not be judged by angels," Sariel said, his voice calm but heavy with divine authority. "I will not kill you, Doctor. I will take you to Heaven itself. The Almighty will decide who you truly are."
He stretched out his hand. Divine energy crackled across his arm, the weight of Heaven pressing down—
And then… his fingers closed on nothing.
Sariel froze, eyes narrowing.
His target was gone.
A low, sultry laugh drifted through the smoke. "Oh, dear… guess you finally noticed."
Her voice had changed — softer, darker, and charged with a sinful allure that could make even devils kneel.
The air shimmered. Smoke swirled around Dr. Wade's body as it shifted — her curves deepened, her legs lengthened, and her wings unfurled in a ripple of rose-tinted light. Behind her, a long, slender tail whipped lazily, its tip shaped like a pink heart.
She was no longer the scientist. She was temptation incarnate — the Queen of Allure, the one even Hell's princes feared to love.
Every angel below the rank of Seraph fell under her spell instantly. Eyes glazed, wings trembled, thoughts clouded with desire.
Only Sariel remained unmoved. His soul was forged in vengeance — temptation burned, but could not sway him.
"So it's true," he said coldly. "You really are her."
"Then do it," she smiled. "Try and kill me."
For a heartbeat, Heaven's light flared across Sariel's eyes.
To slay her — the one who had once seduced a legion of angels — was an order older than time.
But the Queen only giggled, brushing a lock of crimson hair from her face.
"I don't really like fighting," she purred. "Next time, maybe I'll play with you a little longer… my not-so-little angels."
A swirl of pink mist wrapped around her — and she vanished.
Sariel's wings snapped open. "You can't run from judgment!"
He launched himself into the sky, following the faint trace of her soul like a divine bloodhound.
Meanwhile, far above the clouds — Balder raced through the air with Gabriel hot on his trail.
By all logic, this should have been over. Gabriel was one of Heaven's Seven; Balder, only a Prince of Hell.
Yet the silver-winged Seraph found himself chasing shadows. The demon moved like smoke — every strike missed, every flash of light sliced through nothing.
Gabriel signaled to the squad of angels following behind. Four-winged soldiers broke formation, splitting off in multiple directions — a classic pincer maneuver.
Adam noticed. "They're spreading out. Surrounding us!"
Balder only smirked. "Of course they are. Anyone with half a brain would."
Adam clenched his jaw. "Let me go. I'll hold off the six-winged one. Even if I last a minute — thirty seconds — it'll buy you time to escape."
Balder's smirk deepened. "Not yet."
He glanced ahead, the corners of his mouth curving into something wicked.
"Actually… now it's my turn."
Adam nodded once, without hesitation. A short exchange passed between them — then they split, flying in opposite directions like twin comets.
Moments later, Gabriel descended at supersonic speed — and chose his target.
He ignored Adam entirely. A mere artificial being wasn't worth his time.
The Demon Prince was.
One Seraph, one Demon. A streak of gold and a trail of crimson, racing across the blackened skies of Blackstate.
Then Balder stopped. Dead still in midair.
He looked ahead — several more angelic auras. The trap was closed.
"Looks like you've accepted your fate," Gabriel said, his sword glowing white-hot.
"In that case—die."
Balder's grin didn't fade. "Maybe… you should look behind you first."
Every instinct screamed for Gabriel to strike now. But some deep, primal whisper urged him to look.
Two seconds of hesitation.
Then he turned.
BOOM!
Scarlet light erupted across the horizon — a pillar of infernal power tearing through the clouds.
Gabriel's eyes widened. "Another Gate of Hell?! How many have you—"
"Guess," Balder said softly.
Chains of light exploded from Gabriel's wings. "Enough! Heaven's Lock!"
Golden chains rained from the sky, binding Balder's limbs and wings. The heavens themselves turned white as Gabriel raised his blade.
A holy sword split the sky. The world itself seemed to shatter under its brilliance.
The strike hit true — and Balder's body split cleanly in half.
But instead of blood, his remains crumbled into dirt, scattering like dust in the wind.
"A decoy?" Gabriel hissed. "When did—"
From everywhere at once, Balder's laughter echoed.
"Checkmate, Seraph Gabriel."
He knew the term — a human word, from their ancient games. Checkmate. The point of no return.
And then the earth trembled.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Pillars of scarlet fire erupted across the land — one after another.
One Gate. Two. Three.
By the time Gabriel counted, there were nine.
Add the three that had already opened elsewhere — Uriel's, Michael's, the one in the west—
Twelve Gates of Hell.
Balder had opened all twelve.
For the first time in eons, Gabriel's composure cracked.
Thirteen Lords of Hell — including the Queen of Allure — were now free to descend upon Earth.
Even four Seraphim couldn't face that alone.
He looked skyward. The time for hesitation was over.
Gabriel pulled from his robes an ancient horn — forged from celestial gold, etched with divine runes.
The Horn of Doom.
A relic of the Almighty.
Once, it was said, a single blast could summon the apocalypse itself.
Now, it would summon the Seraphim.
He lifted it to his lips—
And blew.
The sound split the world.
A single note that rolled through Heaven, Earth, and Hell alike.
In the lower heavens, Raphael froze mid-hymn. "The Horn of Doom… Gabriel has sounded it?"
Far above the silver seas, Remiel stopped in mid-flight, his expression grave. "He wouldn't blow it unless Heaven itself was in peril…"
And in the deepest sanctum of the Seventh Heaven, Raguel — still and silent for ages — opened his eyes.
"Gabriel…" he murmured. "Twelve Gates of Hell. So this is your checkmate, Balder."
He turned once toward the great Throne behind him — the place where the Almighty had not stirred for a thousand years.
"Forgive me, my Lord."
A moment later, a pillar of light erupted from the mountaintop.
The fifth Seraph descended.
The war between Heaven and Hell…
had begun.
~~----------------------
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