Problems for Shemhamzai began when his leader decided to go with Rias Gremory's group to the rank promotion exam. Even then, he felt a bad feeling and tried to warn Azazel about it more than once, but he only brushed it off. The news of the disappearance of the Gremory heiress's group became confirmation for the deputy governor of the fallen, and the beginning of the end for their race.
The news he received about the disappearance of his boss forced Shemhamzai to prepare for the worst-case scenarios. He declared martial law and sent out a command for all cities and border fortresses to maintain contact. At that moment, the first problems began — it was not possible to establish contact with two fortresses.
The scouts sent out found only devastation and corpses at the designated place. An inspection showed that the tragedy had happened not long ago, about four to five hours ago. Traces of the battle showed large-scale magical elemental damage. Such a thing could not be done without at least a hundred high-ranking mages. This information greatly narrowed the list of possible opponents, and any of them were not good for the fallen.
During the next communication session, an hour later, to Shemhamzai's horror, two more settlements did not go on the air. This time, traces of the past carnage were still visible on the ruins. Torn limbs and body parts, crimson streams of blood abundantly decorated the burning parts of the fortresses. Such terrible news forced the current leader of the fallen to reconsider the threat of unknown opponents.
After discussing everything with other faction leaders, they ordered all fallen angels to gather in the largest cities. Such a move was due to the desire to protect their brothers and, of course, to repel the enemies who dared to exterminate them like cattle. A ten—winged fallen was sent to each of the four megalopolises to lead, in case of an attack by the rest of the angels. In the capital itself, only two of the strongest fighters remained to defend. Barakiel, as the general—defender, and Shemhamzai to control and coordinate all groups.
Another tragedy allowed us to find out who was opposing the fallen angels. During the evacuation, one of the bases was attacked. Only half of the team was able to move to a safe place before the blocking barrier appeared. Due to the sudden appearance of the barrier, some of the angels appeared in the city only in parts. The more successful ones lost only a small part of their flesh, like a couple of fingers, and the less successful brothers could lose the lower part of their bodies, or appear as a twisted and unidentified mass.
Having sent the angels a short distance from the city under attack, they were able to identify a whole flock of evil dragons that were circling in the sky and pouring their breath on everyone. It was not possible to find out anything else, since the scouts were eliminated before they could escape.
— I'm glad you came so quickly, — Shemhamzai greeted his acquaintance. They were currently in the command center, along with other analysts. — Your help would be very welcome.
— We are allies, — the Demon Lord replied, shaking the outstretched hand. — Of course I will help you. Especially if this is our common enemy.
They were unable to have a normal conversation when they were interrupted by one of the people in the room.
— Commander, — a loud voice attracted the attention of those around him, — state of emergency! Communication with other cities has been lost. We have been cut off from the rest.
— Not only communication is being blocked, but space itself! — another fallen one spoke up.
— Immediately raise the alarm! — Shemhamzai exclaimed. — These bastards have decided to attack us. Let Barakiel take control of the elite, and we will coordinate the regular troops and volunteers. Try to also determine the source of the interference and bypass it.
In a matter of seconds, the sky of the underworld was covered with dark clouds, but instead of ordinary water, lightning rained down on the ground. This caused numerous destructions and casualties among the weak fallen, despite their attempts to defend themselves. Barakiel tried to use his power to take control of the storm, but failed. Only the area around him submitted to the fallen, while the rest of the lightning tirelessly fell down on the city and its inhabitants.
Before the fallen angels had time to really get used to the change of scenery, a numerous roar of hundreds of evil dragons was heard. Among the crowd, one dragon could be seen standing out, whose body was covered in lightning discharges. It was he who was the source of the annoying storm. The attempt to attack failed immediately — the other dragons protected him and did not allow him to get close. Barakiel had to fight the enemy on his own, but Lightning Lightning couldn't do anything to the unusual dragon.
— Ajuka, can you help me deal with this, — the fallen one asked, continuing to give orders.
— Okay.
With the appearance of Ajuka on the battlefield, the situation changed in favor of the fallen angels, but it did not last long. Shocking the representatives of biblical mythology, Azi—Dahaka entered the battle. One of the strongest evil dragons, and a master of magic, he completely bound the Demon Lord with his onslaught.
— Damn! I'm going to the battlefield, — the fallen one immediately made a decision. — Continue your work.
He quickly headed for the exit. When his hand almost touched the door handle, Shemhamzai's sense of danger rebelled. Even without knowing what exactly was threatening him, he dodged. Using the wings that appeared, the fallen one jumped to the side.
— What the?! — Pain pierced the man when his left hand and wings fell to the floor. Something invisible cut them off without any problems. — How? When?
The angel's mind was filled with confusion. All his men, who had been alive just a few seconds ago, were now lying with their heads cut off. However, apart from the corpses, the room seemed completely empty. Before he could fully comprehend the situation, his intuition warned the fallen one again, but this time he could not escape his fate. The man's body was pierced by numerous scythes, holding the nimble angel while the leader of the invisible squad deprived him of his head.
— The command has been eliminated, — Pluto reported to his comrades holding the barrier. — Now we have to prevent anyone from leaving this place. I hope they will not disappoint Lord Hades.—
A small squad dressed in the famous invisibility helmets of their god returned to the border of the barrier, closely watching the battle unfolding in the sky.
***
Barakiel was full of anger. First, he learns that someone kidnapped his friend and commander, and then unknown people decided to kill his brothers and sisters with impunity.
The Fallen was filled with impotent rage. The bastards had managed to completely destroy four large outposts left after the confrontation with the demons. Each of them contained at least several thousand fighters, but they still managed to leave behind not a single witness.
After another attack, he and his friends split up to protect the four largest cities where the rest of his brothers should be hiding. Many fallen angels, tired of blood and constant battles, preferred to enjoy a peaceful life. In the centuries since the Great War, none of the Biblical factions wanted to resume full-scale battles, which contributed to the increase in the number of fallen who refused to fight. Lightning of Heaven did not blame them. He himself was thinking of retiring and living peacefully with his family, but... But not everything always turns out as we want.
Having lost his wife, Barakiel focused on protecting his race. The alliance with demons and angels was supposed to be a turning point, where everyone could live peacefully, and he could finally make peace with his daughter, become one family with her again. However, this remained only a dream, as it turned out, an unrealizable one. After all, right in front of him was a dragon, whose power filled the sky above the capital with thunderclouds and brought death and destruction. A dragon that was immune to his lightning of light. A dragon that spoke in such a familiar ringing voice.
— A-akeno?
— Not only did you become a bad husband, but also a bad father, — the girl said in her dragon form. — Even after fighting for so long, you could not recognize your daughter, Barakiel.
— Why, Akeno? Why are you doing this?
— Naturally, to protect your family! — Her answer was accompanied by lightning—fast breathing, directed straight at the ten-winged angel. — It was you who started this when you sent assassins after my husband and new family!
— Wake up, daughter! — the man begged, — this bastard is only putting your life in danger. It's better to come with me, — he hopefully extended his hand to her. — We... we'll think of something. I'll come to an agreement with Azazel. He'll understand and won't punish you harshly. Just please, stop and let's go home.
— Ha-ha-ha! — In response to the fallen man's mental anguish, Akeno only laughed loudly. — You're too mired in your fantasies, Barakiel. You won't be able to come to an agreement on anything, not only because you won't survive today, but also because your perverted boss is dead. Ha-ha! While I was destroying the fallen angels, Azazel suffered an accident — he was torn to pieces by a big, scary wolf.
— Impossible!
— Believe it or not. I don't care, but neither you nor any of the other fallen angels will survive today.
— Akeno, I...
— Calm down, — a hand was placed on his shoulder. During the conversation, Barakiel stopped paying attention to his surroundings, completely focused on Akeno, so he did not notice the appearance of the Demon Lord on the battlefield, as well as the drastic reduction in the number of dragons. — She will not listen to you no matter what you say.
— But...
— We must capture Akeno and obtain all the information she knows. After that, you can try to talk to her.
The two of them prepared to capture Akeno, but an unknown man appeared in front of her.
— No, no, no, — as if he were little children, he shook his finger at them. — I can't let you do this. Not only is she a young talent, but I also promised to protect her from danger.
— Who are you?
— Let's not interfere with the relatives sorting things out, — ignoring the question, the evil dragon created ten different magic circles in front of himself. — During your battle, I managed to notice something unusual. Will you show me again? — Without waiting for an answer, the spells flew to their target, but changed course halfway. — So this is the famous Kankara formula. Impressive, a little.
Realizing that he would not get rid of this enemy so easily, the Demon Lord attacked with all his might. Dozens of spells, reinforced by his demonic energy, were rapidly approaching the target, but, to the shock of the scientist, without any manipulation, magic shields appeared in front of them.
— Ha-ha! Very good. You are a strong mage and a dangerous opponent, — the man praised him. — but you were just unlucky with the enemy, — circles began to appear around him. First tens, then hundreds. Ajuka couldn't continue counting after the fourth hundred, but the magic circles continued to appear until they filled the entire sky. If they were ordinary spells, the demon would not be so shocked, but all the magic belonged to different schools and directions, even races. — You will never defeat me in the magic arts. After all, I am known as the dragon of a thousand spells. The great Azi-Dahaka will not lose to some demon.
Ajuka tried to defend himself. In the first seconds, he succeeded. With a huge headache, he analyzed and deflected the magic using the Kankara formula, but this could not last long. Among the spells launched at him, there were some that he had only heard of in myths, which is why he could not influence them.
First one, then another, gradually the damage accumulated, and the hail of magic continued to rain down on him. When trying to dodge, the demon ran into barriers. He could easily break them, but it required seconds of his attention. Seconds in which up to six spells could reach him. The worst thing in this situation was the collateral damage. The magic hit not only its target, but also the city below, as well as the brave men who tried to come to his aid.
— Is that all already? — the dragon asked with pity, seeing the falling corpse. — Although he held out for five minutes under continuous fire. This is already an excellent result.
Having stopped creating new magic circles, Azi enjoyed the work of his hands. More than ten thousand dead birds and hundreds of thousands of wounded. There was not a single intact building left in the metropolis. He had not created such beautiful paintings for a long time. For more than a thousand years.
The evil dragon also did not forget to keep an eye on the young dragon. Akeno had pleasantly surprised him today when she was able to cope with the small fortifications of the fallen on her own. The mass evil dragons created by the Grail from all sorts of waste completely fulfilled their role as meat shields and extras while the girl was doing her magic.
Her sacred gear had incredible potential, but the former Himejima did not have time to master each individual element, so she focused on lightning, which was close to her. Previous experience and active practice allowed her to greatly enhance her magic and control. Bringing death to the enemies of her mistress.
Aži Dahāka watched with a smile as the girl stopped holding back. After the appearance of the Demon Lord, the grim reapers carried out their part of the plan, eliminating the top of the fallen. Without outside interference, Akeno focused on killing his target. Taking advantage of the fact that Barakiel did not want to hurt her much, she completely dominated their fight until she dealt a fatal blow. The storm of emotions could not shake the girl for long. She returned to her task, for there were still three targets to destroy.