Norah was all decked out in shimmering pale armor over her elegant robes. She found herself quivering at the sight of those golden doors to the palace that was once her home. Oh gods why am I nervous? This is what I’m meant to do…but it does go against everything…I was raised to believe…I could turn back, and stop the plan. But I won’t. I can’t.

She took in a breath of confidence to freeze her nerves to stone, and bursted through the doors. Vita was sitting on her throne alone with no guards around, aside from Gabriella of course.

Vita seemed to be exhausted to the bone, her once luxurious hair was now messy and frizzled, and her once kind eyes were now filled with crazed madness. Vita’s mouth was moving but nothing could be heard. Did Allen do this…? What exactly did he do to her…?

Grabriella rushed to Norah as if nothing had changed between them.

“ Oh Norah thank the gods you’re here! Vita has been going crazy. I mean she’s furious at me and calling me a failure..Please you gotta-”

“ Gabby, I'm not here for you or for Vita. I’m here to defeat you both.”

“ Ha ha very funny, Nori. Now come and help-”

Azrail’s steps echoed through the empty throne room as he appeared with Allen’s body in his arms and the antlered mutt right beside him. The death god wore his dark cloak and a crimson stained silver scythe with slanted lines along the blade that floated beside him.

Vita barely seemed to notice as she was still muttering to herself as she pressed her hands against her ears. Gabriella was holding Norah’s hand with confident eyes.

“ Come on, Norah. Let’s show this misbreed what we’re capable of,” but Norah pulled away and backed up to stand at Azrail’s side.

“ I’m sorry Gabby, but I’m finally doing what’s right,” Norah easily ignited her colorful flames in her hands ready for battle.

Azrail gently set Allen’s body to the side as Taurus curled up beside his friend’s body.

Vita finally looked at the intruders in her throne room and fury carved into her face. She stood up from her throne using light matter that was the color of sunlight itself and used it to form a staff.

“ Take care of this fool, worthless angel,” Vita commanded.

The archangel unsheathed her lightning dagger and she charged at Azrail screaming in fury.

“ I will destroy you for possessing Norah with your evil magic!”

Gabriella lunged at the god, but Allen appeared between Gabriella and Azrail blocking her attack on Azrail with his demonic dual fencing swords then he released the cross his swords made to launch Gabriella into the floor.

“ Poor little birdie. Always in such a rush, I’ll take care of this, darlin’.” Allen said with a grin that emitted a bloodlust aura.

Black tentacles sprouted from Allen’s back and the tentacles constricted around the angel. Allen flung Gabriella out of the palace and into the rose gardens outside. Allen and Taurus chased after her.

“ I insist you dance with us, lass.” Allen said with a sickening grin as he gazed down at the angel. She snarled at Allen then sprouted to her feet and began swinging her dagger trying to slash his throat. Allen merely blocked and dodged with ease.

The archangel and the nightmare lord dueled with fencing swords and dagger clashing together producing sparks. Leaving Taurus to hang to the side, ready for the attack.

Gabriella glared with intense hatred at Allen while their weapons were pressed closely together. Allen however showed no signs of irritation or hatred but boredom. His bored expression only fanned the archangel’s loathing.

She locked eyes with Allen, and the lightning to travel through his swords and electrocuted his body.

Taurus separated the two by tackling Gabriella to the ground. The mutt snapped and bit trying to sink his fangs in her throat while Allen was recovering from the lightning.

She used her dagger to stab the mutt in the shoulder, shoving Taurus off of her. Allen took the opportunity and jumped on top of the angel with his feet landing on each side of her body and his swords piercing through her shoulders. He no longer had a bored expression on his face, but an expression of sadistic fury. The archangel simply chuckled through her pain.

“ Finally you’ve gotten serious! If all it took was to threaten that useless dog to get you serious I would’ve done it sooner!”

“ Tch,” was the only response Allen gave. No sarcastic remark, no comment, not even chuckle.

Gabriella gazed at his unscarred eye, seeing that his honey colored eye was filled to the brim with a malicious idea that made Allen grin from ear to ear. This grin made Gabriella’s body freeze to where her own heart feared to beat.

Allen removed his swords and Gabriella then began to run. But she didn’t get very far from him when the shadowy liquid formed around her and became tentacles that constricted Gabriella’s limbs.

She screamed in pain as a freezing burning sensation scorched her skin where the tentacles were. Then she felt a hand on her wings. She screamed some more as a slow agonizing slice was made where her wings connected to her body. Silvery blood oozed from her back, and when the tentacles released, her she tried to fly but her wings weren’t there but she could feel them. Gabriella turned to see Allen was holding her wings with the injured dog at his side. She pathetically stood to her shaking legs, desperately trying to get wings back from him.

Taurus knocked Gabriella to her knees to make her watch as Allen shredded her wings to nothing, but flurries of feathers. She wailed and groveled at his feet begging for her wings back.

“ I haven’t done anything to you! Why?! Why are you making me suffer so much?!” the angel begged. Allen still remained silent as he grabbed her arm and dragged her away from the palace as Taurus followed with a limp. They eventually reached the edge of Heaven. Allen tightly grips her throat and holds her over the edge. Gabriella claws at his wrist in desperation.

“ Let me go! Let me go at once you demon!”

“ Very poor choice of words,” he smiles kindly then releases the angel, causing her to fall. The nightmare lord kneeled down to his dog and tore cloth from his cloak to bandage Taurus’s wound the best he could.

“ Are ye alright?”

“ Aye I’m fine,” the shollie licked Allen’s face. The pair walked away from the ledge as they headed back to the palace.

Meanwhile

Vita soon charged at Azrail, but Norah used her flames to form a great sword and blocked Vita’s attack. Then Azrail used his scythe to shove Vita aside and the three were locked in a battle, but whenever the life goddess and the death god were dueling they seemed to be holding back.

When Vita was trying to bash Azrail’s skull with her staff Azrail used his scythe to block the attack from above. Norah shot a turquoise flame ball at Vita’s stomach causing the goddess to fall to the ground. She got back up, shoved Azrail into a wall then flung herself at Norah. She blocked her attack but the goddess was using her staff to slowly crush Norah into the floor.

Norah twisted her flame greatsword to stab Vita in the hip. Vita dropped her staff backing away as she screamed in agony as the flames burned through her golden blood that was spilling on the floor. As she started a healing spell Azrail held Vita in a headlock preventing the goddess from concentrating so she began making this noise as if she was choking on the air.

Azrail’s normally stoic eyes were now burning with a murderous intent as his grip tightened around the goddess’s fragile neck.

“ How does it feel Vita being helpless? How does it feel to be helpless as you’re forced to give up your creations? When you have to watch the love of your life’s soul be turned into dust. When you’re utterly powerless,” Azrail hissed.

The metal that froze Norah nerves now melted into molten mush once Azrail glared at her with those soulless eyes. She dared not move. She remained still as stone as she watched Vita suffocate and burn.

Allen entered the throne room, swiftly he jumped and constricted his legs around Azrail’s neck causing Azrail to release his grip around Vita.

She coughed as Norah held her down with Taurus’s help. Allen twisted himself so he stood in front of Azrail while Azrail was on his knees so he was eye level with the Boogeyman.

“ I will not allow you to go back on your word! You swore you wouldn’t kill her because that’s not what Ferro wanted!”

“ Why do you care?! You love to kill! You want her dead just as much as I do!”

“ I would rather suffer a thousand of my deaths than see you break a promise you made. So snap out of it so we can continue with the plan. I promise it’ll be more satisfying.”

The two stared at each other in long silence then Azrail stood to his feet and calmed himself down. Taurus limped over to Allen crouched down and gently patted his dog’s ruffled fur. Azrail walked over to Norah using his scythe as a walking staff.

“ Carry her,” Azrail commanded as he gave a nod to Allen. Allen nodded then used his fencing sword to make a cut into Azrail’s wrist. Azrail got the shimmering golden blood on two of his fingers.

He used his fingers to draw a pattern in the air. The pattern in the air glowed and grew into a doorway. On the other side of that doorway was a place where the floor was water that was surrounded by starry empty space.

“ Come. We will place Vita under judgment,” Azrail said as he walked through the doorway with Allen and Taurus following. Norah pulled Vita to her feet then followed behind them.