"That's...that's just..." Laila stammered before almost jumping on Matt to embrace him. "Thank you!"
Despite her happy demeanor and the joy that he could feel from her, Matt could feel something else as well. "What did I do wrong?"
Laila broke the embrace and sighed, looking longingly as her wings. "I...appreciate you giving me my grace back. It's amazing."
"But?" Matt urged.
"But...well... I should have killed you years ago. You chose a demon as a familiar. Not only did you break the rules by having a second familiar, but you collared an angel, taking me from Heaven as far as they are concerned. And then when they decide that I should fall because of that offense, you...defy their will and give me my grace back. And most of these things happened in
extremely
fast succession. This is-"
"Bad." Matt grumbled. "Right. Maybe they're fucking right. Every damn decision I make lately seems to lead everyone I care about closer to our collective doom!"
Laila reached forward and held Matt's face so that he'd have to look at her. "Now you listen here. Every decision you made, you made with a loving heart. Even when I told you not to. They're wrong. You're a good person."
"Whooptie Doo." Matt muttered flatly. "I'm a good person. Why do I get the feeling that my good intentions mean exactly Jack and shit to those in power?"
"Because they...don't..." Laila sighed again. "That's just not how the world works. Intentions don't matter as much as actions. And as far as your actions go..."
"You fucked up."
Both Laila and Matt turned to the direction of the sudden voice to see a large, muscular man. He could have easily been related to Laila with how similar their features were. He had the same blue eyes and platinum blonde hair, as well as similar white and gold armor. Though he did have purple accents to his armor, and two magnificent pairs of wings as opposed to Laila's one pair. While his face wasn't hidden behind a headpiece as Laila's had been, just by standing there, he had an intimidating aura about him.
"Mara." Matt called out immediately, needing to know where the demon was. Almost instantly Mara appeared fully clothed right next to him, baring her teeth, ready to attack.
"No!" Laila shouted, taking a few seconds to have her own armor materialize over herself. "This is not a fight we can win! We need to talk!" Stepping in front of Mara, Laila gave the angel a pleading expression, taking a few tentative steps in his direction. "Look, I get it. I know how this looks. I know you're here to deal with the problem, but just... Just hear us out.
Matt
doesn't know the rules. He doesn't mean to...break so many. Please just...give us a chance to fix this."
At first, the angel made no move at all but then he walked forward, literally walking through Laila as if she were a ghost, his eyes on Matt and then turning to Mara as he spoke, "Allow me to make sure you stay dead this time."
"I thought that was you." Mara grinned wildly. "You blindsided me before, so I didn't get a good look. However, I already made a promise to my Master that if I saw you again, I'd rip you a new asshole. He does so hate when I lie. I'm just waiting for him to give the word."
The angel let out a sinister chuckle. "I'd like to see you try, filth."
"Okay, okay!" Laila yelled, getting in front of the angel again. "I get it. I'm fallen, so you don't acknowledge me anymore, but I know you hear me. This doesn't need to devolve into a fight! None of us want that!"
"Speak for yourself." Mara growled, licking her lips.
"Not the time, Mara!" Laila shot back only to have the angel walk through her again, still refusing to acknowledge her existence.
"Is this really happening right now?" Matt asked, visibly dumbfounded.
"Actions have consequences, boy." The angel's voice rumbled deeply as he spoke. "Your disrespect must be dealt with swiftly."
"Oh. No, that part I get." Matt waved off the comment. "I fucked up, and you're here to yadda yadda. I get it. What I'm talking about is that angels are supposed to be this...perfect version of humans. We're supposed to be awed at just seeing one of you, and here you are in all your fucking splendor, pretending someone doesn't exist because you don't agree with them. Considering you guys existed before the concept of time and all, I just expected more maturity than I'd find in a five-year-old."
"
Matt
!" Laila growled, once again appearing between him and the angel.
"Laila...I get what you're trying to do, but...look at him. He's not going to listen to reason." Matt sighed. "He came here to kill us. Plain and simple. You
know
that."
"The boy speaks true." The angel reached behind him, a huge sword appearing in his hand as he pulled it forward. "I will offer you a chance to surrender. I promise I will make your deaths painless."
"Such a kind offer and all, but I'm not trying to die today." Matt spat out. "Sorry Laila, but...Mara?"
"Say it, Baby..." Mara almost moaned, her eyes wide in excitement as she crouched into an attack position, her body shaking in a feral bloodlust. "Say it. Say it. Say it."
"Master..." Laila warned.
"Sic 'em." Matt growled.
A loud sound rang out, and it was like a gun had gone off. It took Matt a few moments to catch up with the speeds at which things were moving, but he finally saw that the angel had brought his sword down, which Mara had gleefully blocked with a familiar, equally large weapon.
"Hey!" Laila protested. "That's mine!"
Mara pushed off, separating her and the angel momentarily with a forceful thrust of the sword, apparently using enough of Matt's grace that it didn't burn her at all this time. "We share things now! Weren't you paying attention? I kinda need it more now than you do!" Going into her own attack, the two beings traded slashes back and forth, attacking and defending at impossible speeds against the massive weapons as Matt and Laila watched.
"She could have asked first..." Laila murmured, before seeming to notice Matt again and began making a cross shape with her hands and muttering words Matt didn't understand. He got what she was doing when a swipe of one of the swords caused a stream of glowing white arrows to fly in every direction and they deflected off an invisible dome that now appeared to surround Matt and Laila.
"Thanks." Matt acknowledged with a nod.
"It won't hold if he directly attacks us." Laila grumbled.
"I can feel your fear, you know." Matt turned momentarily from the chaos outside the barrier and hold Laila's hand. "I know how bad this has to be, but I'm hoping at the very least that between my magic and yours she can hold him off enough for us to come up with another plan. What have you got?"
"Oh?
Now
you want to listen to me?" Laila shot back, the panic clear in her voice.
"I always
listen
to you. I just don't always agree with you." Matt flashed Laila a smirk.
Laila rolled her eyes and shook her head, but before she could actually speak, there was a loud thump against the barrier, as Mara used it as a springboard and bounced off of it, launching another attack, this time the swipe of the sword, shooting out a stream of fire, which the angel blocked with a barrier that looked similar to the one Laila and Matt were currently protected inside.
"How are they not wrecking this place?" Matt asked, looking around at the mostly unaffected surroundings.
"I told you they don't bless them like this anymore." Laila replied, looking on in concern. "But going back to the plan...well...there is no plan. That's why I wanted to talk this out. He'll be able to follow us anywhere we teleport to. We can't beat him, so-"
"You sure about that?" Matt asked, distractedly.
"Yes! I'll help her in a bit, I just wanted to make sure you were safe as possible but even with my help-"
"Laila..."
"What?!" Laila scowled before she realized what had his attention. Another object bounced off the barrier. Laila recognized it as an arm, and it was not Mara's.
"Is...he holding back or...?"
"No..." Laila gasped. "He's not." Putting her hands against the barrier, her eyes began to glow as her jaw dropped. "Oh my God..."
As curious as Matt was of Laila's behavior, he was enraptured by Mara. He remembered both Laila and Mara herself had insisted that just because Mara was nice to him, it in no way took away from her demonic nature. In Mara's own words, she was on her best behavior with him. He could clearly see the monster now.
She wasn't even using the sword anymore. Her teeth bared in a feral snarl, her entire body became the weapon. Her claws, her teeth, her feet, her tail, she attacked with everything. She was hurt, but the pain had only focused her resolve. Not to say that the angel wasn't without fight of his own. He was fighting her back with just as much passion. Even though he'd lost his weapon with the arm, his swift movements and the way he used his magic to keep Mara away gave him a fighting chance.
The more Matt watched, the more he could see what was going on. The angel was a better fighter. But Mara was overwhelming him with sheer power, speed, and ferocity. The only thing keeping the angel in the fight was that when he'd get enough distance, he'd heal himself. Already, half of his arm was back. A dark thought crossed Matt's mind, and once it was there, he had no choice but to act on it.
He knew he could focus on healing, but what if tried to do the opposite? Stop the angel from healing himself. He got the feeling that Mara would eventually win regardless, but maybe she would get hurt less if he helped. Accessing the magic pool, he could immediately feel that Laila was somewhat...exploring it, while Mara was pulling as much as she possibly could. There was still more than enough for him to use.
It was odd trying to reverse heal someone. It wasn't natural. The magic felt awkward and clumsy, as if he were trying to write with the wrong hand from right to left. He could tell when the magic hit. The angel flashed him a dirty look and Mara glanced back and gave him a wink before going back to work.
Matt could feel the angel fighting the spell and he put so much effort into keeping it going that he hadn't been paying attention. He remembered Mara telling him that the reason elemental magic was so easy was because it was so basic. But the more complicated the magic, the more chaotic the results. This was why spells, words designed to focus the magic to do specific things, were necessary. Since Matt didn't need words to heal, he assumed he wouldn't need it to do the reverse.
And it turned out that Matt was wrong. Very, very wrong. His intention had been to simply stop the angel from healing himself, but what he'd actually done was the equivalent of pinning all of the angel's limbs together, leaving him completely helpless to Mara's fury. And she took full advantage, putting all of her energy into attack after attack. By the time Matt realized what he was doing and stopped, it was a moot point. Mara was quite literally beating the angel to death.
"I...should...stop her from killing him, shouldn't I? With their limited numbers and all..." Matt asked Laila, who was currently looking at him with a blend of awe and fear.
"Y...yes. You...you should do that..." Laila murmured quietly.
"Mara. That's enough." Matt stated, watching as she stopped in her tracks, her eyes still wide with excitement, riding a high from her own sadistic streak.
"My Master has chosen to show you mercy." Mara grinned wickedly as she stepped on the angel's head. "You should show him the proper gratitude, mongrel."
"Mara..." Matt repeated in a warning tone.
