Angus landed on the ground in front of me, moving at a speed that would have been alarming if I hadn't already somehow accustomed to it.
He did so with surprising lightness, as well,, for being a full grown man...angel. Man angel.
I suppose angels are often men, if I think about it. But his delicate features and pastel, fancy looking clothes make it feel weird to me somehow. Maybe it's just my anime years confusing me.
Though, in my defense, Angus doesn't exactly act like the impressive glowing gold type.
He huffed, crossed his arms, and pouted. He tapped his foot. He shuffled.
And then he huffed again.
He acted far more like a toddler than an angel. Just...in general, really.
His wings fluttered in what was probably irritation. It looked more cute than anything else, though. Which was a consistent issue. I often find it difficult to see any seriousness out of the man. It's a debuff for sure.
I can't help but wonder if his bones are hollow. For flight, I mean. He's not all that big compared to the demon king, but he's the size of a normal human. His wings are appropriate for his size...I think...
But then again, they're smaller than an albatross.
I think.
He's also magic, though. And I am definitely just distracting myself. The demon king would probably kill me himself if I tried to start up a conversation about angel anatomy.
Angus looked at me, and then at the demon king, who was watching the entire spectacle with a look of profound boredom mixed with a simmering contempt. He was leaning against the tree, a perfect, infuriatingly relaxed statue of judgment.
"Okay! Okay! I can do this!" Angus declared, pumping a fist in the air. [I just need to focus my divine energy! Like... like a holy laser beam! Pew! Pew! (゜-゜) He struck a pose, one hand on his hip, the other pointing toward the pulsating stone. A single, faint spark of rainbow light shot out of his fingertip. It hit the black slime with a sad little fizz and disappeared.
The stone pulsed, a lazy, mocking beat.
"You must be joking, but I find no humor in it." the demon king said, pushing himself off the tree. He looked at Angus as if he were a particularly disgusting insect he'd found in his food.
Angus deflated, his shoulders slumping. "I. I said it resists purification."
"Did you?" The demon king spoke as if Angus might not have actually said so....
And I truly couldn't remember if he'd said it out loud or only said that to me in his private little pop up messages.
...I really have just adapted to his ridiculous tics already, haven't I?
It's probably what they call trauma bonding. I think.
It wasn't as if I'd have much else. It's either bond with him or bond with the demon king.
I'd rather die than that.
Or, more accurately, I'll definitely die before that. I don't have much of a choice there. He's very clear about that.
So, Angus it is.
I watched the demon king as he walked, not toward the stone or the slime, but toward Angus. The angel-boy backed away, his wings fluttering nervously, until he was pressed against the trunk of a gnarled, black-leafed tree. The demon king stopped, standing over him, a tall, imposing figure of white and gold against the encroaching gloom.
"Your divine power is a joke," he said, his voice a low, dangerous murmur. "I'll destroy your goddess effortlessly if this is all she can muster as a messenger." He reached out a single, elegant finger and tapped Angus on the forehead. A flicker of red light, so faint I almost thought I imagined it, danced around his fingertip.
Angus flinched, but there was a rare defiance in his eyes. "Don't speak ill of the goddess! It's her handiwork that created those bindings!!"
The demon king leaned in to the other, rather dangerously close.
A part of me almost thought that he'd bite the angel's nose. Or throat.
Rather than violence, however, he spoke in a low growl. "I have not forgotten that for a moment. Nor will she."
The threat hung heavy in the sour air.
Angus paled even further. He didn't back down further, but it was a near thing. "I. I'll do it! I'll destroy the seed! Just give me a moment! I need to...to channel my inner divinity!"
"Do so," the demon king said, stepping back and returning to his previous position by the tree. He resumed his posture of a bored, impatient spectator, as if the entire confrontation with Angus had been nothing more than a minor, irritating distraction. "But do not waste my time."
"Not because of you!" He huffed and crossed his arms. "To show! How powerful! The goddess is!"
He wasn't convincing. He wasn't even trying.
The demon king didn't respond to that.
Angus closed his eyes again, his brow furrowed in concentration. A soft, rainbow-colored glow began to emanate from him, a gentle, pulsating light that pushed back against the gloom of the clearing. He started to chant, a low, melodic hum that was a strange mix of a Gregorian chant and a pop song chorus. The words were in a language I didn't understand, but the intent was clear: he was trying to muster up every last drop of holy power he possessed.
It was... not impressive.
The rainbow light grew a little brighter, but it was still a faint, flickering thing, a struggling candle against a tidal wave of corruption. The black slime continued to bubble, the stone continued to pulse. The buzzing in my ears didn't let up.
Angus coughed and sputtered.
"...I am. Limited because this isn't my job but!! I can do it!!"
He'd gone from saying he couldn't to insisting he could and I...
Really couldn't decide which one was more likely to be true.
Though I certainly had a particular feeling about which one it was.