"...So, whenever anyone gets the opportunity, they will stab him through his heart," The six angels nodded to Eiichi's words.

In the large lounge of the manor, all seven angels were present, discussing for their upcoming battle. The air was so thick Akari could cut it with a knife.

"We don't know if he will bring an army of his minions or not but it's better to be prepared in advance. It's just the seven of us involved with this case." Eiichi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Since it's such an important mission and also one that could potentially destroy the world, shouldn't the heavens also send an army of angels? I never get how the heavens manages things.

"Aside the battle, I think we're forgetting something," Van suddenly stated. When he turned towards the only female in the room, all eyes shifted to her as well. "We don't know how Akari-chan's soul will react to the King."

"Oh…" The damn aftereffects… If it's that strong when the minions are around, then who knows to what extent it'll be if the evil king is present. And the possibility of a worse aftereffect scared her.

The one sitting beside her, Nagi, noticed her flinching and wordlessly grasped her hands, trying to reassure her. Nagi…

After thinking for a while, Eiichi spoke, "Raphael, stay with her. We have seen before that power of healing has no effect on the after effects she faces. Even so, remain with her for we don't know when she could get seriously injured. Aside that, you'll focus on healing everyone."

"As you command, Lucifer."

"Gabriel," Eiichi brought the youngest angel's attention. "You'll be in charge of maintaining the barrier around the mansion."

"But I can also fight!"

"You'll take part in long distance combat from here." He ordered before tenderly smiling at the pinkette. "I know how capable you are, Nagi. That's why I'm giving you the most important duty." His gaze shifted to the female beside Nagi for a second. "Protect Akari. I'm leaving her to you."

The young angel nodded with determination. He'd rather do anything than break Eiichi's trust in him. "I'll take care of her."

"Yamato, Belial and Uriel," Eiichi turned his gaze to the said angels. "The three of you will defeat the army he brings. Michael, you're with me against the King of Hell."

"Yes!"

"Remember, our sole objective is to protect Akari and defeat the king." The leader looked at each and everyone present there. "According to the message sent from the heavens, it appears that the king is already on the move towards this place. The battle will take place tomorrow."

Tomorrow…..

"Till then, replenish your strength. That's all for the night." With that, Eiichi got up and left the lounge.

One by one, everyone left and Akari also headed to the room where she stayed whenever she was in the mansion.

That night, Akari couldn't sleep. She had so many things on her mind. This day ended up being the most eventful day of her life. Her mind was so heavy. She tossed and turned in her bed and when she had enough, she got out of the bed and went to the balcony in the room.

The air was chilly, more so in the forest. But it felt nice too. The stars could be seen twinkling. She stood there with her eyes closed, casually enjoying the breeze.

"I figured you can't sleep."

She jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice. The familiar voice sounded deeper in the dead of the night. "Oh, Eiichi…! You surprised me."

"I came to check up on you and found you missing from bed." The male joined her in the balcony. He wrapped her sweater over her shoulders. "You'll catch a cold."

"Thanks…" she mumbled. "How can I sleep tonight?"

"Scared?"

"I'd be lying if I say I'm not." A faint sigh escaped her lips.

"Understandable. Any human in your place would be afraid."

"But…" She cut him off and turned to him with a genuine smile. "More than that, I feel safe because you guys are with me. When the seven of you are together, how can I not feel safe?"

"I'm glad to hear that." He smiled back.

"I trust you guys." Especially you.

"We'll keep your trust then. You have nothing to fear, Akari. We'll keep you safe."

.  .  .  .  .  .  .

The next day, the air around the mansion was so serious. The angels were all on lookout. Akari was in her room alone for most of the day. Since she was alone and had nothing to do, she passed her time by writing a report about yesterday's joint live to share with her friends.

It was when the sun was about to set that all seven angels entered her room abruptly. They were all in their angel form. From their grim expressions, she could tell that the King of Hell was here.

"Best of luck, guys." She flashed an encouraging smile at the seven angels. "I'll pray for your safety."

As Eiji, Kira, Yamato and Van exited the room, Eiichi walked towards her. "Don't rush there recklessly. Or do anything that Nagi or Shion refrains you from doing. Do you get me? Don't act on your own."

"I promise. I already learned my lesson. Trust me a bit too, will you?" Stepping closer, she surprised him by wrapping her arms around his back. "You're going to be there, fighting a whole army of evil. So, please stay safe."

When she pulled away, Eiichi squeezed her shoulders. "You have my promise."

Her heartstrings were being pulled when Eiichi also left for the battle. Nagi and Shion stayed in her room. The former had noticed a certain change in his leader and the human's attitude and interactions. He recalled the words Eiichi had told him in private earlier.

"I have full confidence in you all. But if something were to happen to me and the King grew stronger, then Akari will be in your hands, Nagi. Do everything you can to keep her safe."

Nagi's whole body glowed as he accumulated a tremendous amount of divine energy to create the strongest barrier around this room. Akari watched him in amazement.

Once he had created a barrier stronger than ever, Nagi summoned his bow. Before heading towards the window, he told her, "The barrier I've cast is truly amazing. So you don't have a thing to fear, Akari."

"Thank you, Nagi. You too, Shion."

The albino boy had taken his stance in a prayer form and exuded healing energy to support his friends in the battlefield.

Akari felt an ominous energy and winced. The army has arrived….

Meanwhile, in the battlefield, which was the forest and the ground before the manor, the five angels stood before an army of minions. In front of the army stood a ghostly pale 'man' with contrasting black hair and hollow black eyes. There were black symbolic marks under his eyes across his cheek. He wore a regal outfit, befitting for the 'King of Hell'.

The angels were actually shocked at how similar he looked to the king of heavens.

"Hand over the girl." The ominous aura spread all over as the King spoke in his chilly voice.

"Never. She is under divine protection." Eiichi unsheathed his sword. Following his lead, Eiji took out his sword, Kira opened his holy scripture, Van concentrated his divine energy and Yamato pumped his fists with divine energy.

"I see. So she's within that barrier."

Once Eiichi raised his sword, the battle commenced without further ado.

The army comprised of atleast a thousand minions, if not more. But they all believed that their divine powers would surely help them.

"Haah!! Shaa!!! Hyaaah!!!" Yamato punched the minions that came his way.

Van channelled his divine energy into balls and shot them around, hiting the minions and destroying them.

Kira flew into the sky to give him a better range. His holy book floated in the air before him and the pages turned on their own. With each chants, there were large blasts all around, destroying countless minions with each blast.

"Shit, those are getting closer to the mansion!" Yamato exclaimed, noticing some of the minions escaping their visions and going towards the mansion.

All of a sudden, those minions were shot and purged. A shrill voice shouted, "I've got this!" Nagi's job was protecting this manor, after all.

"Ahh..!!!" Akari clutched her head due to the aftereffects. My head feels like it'll burst!!

"Akari…!" Shion cried out. His healing powers were of no effect this case, as per always. "Forgive me for being so powerless…!"

She creaked her eyes open and patted the boy's head. "You're not powerless, Shion. I'm used to this so I'm fine. . . Focus on helping… the others…"

The three angels, four including Nagi, were taking care of the thousand minions. That left the King of Hell to be dealt with. The king had his trident out as his weapon.

As Eiichi marched towards the king, any minions that came near him got destroyed by his overflowing divine energy almost instantly.

"Nii-san is amazing…" Eiji could help muttering, slashing another minion with ease. Eiichi's  energy was so strong that a white shiny glow was covering him. Seeing his brother was inspiring for him. So Eiji used more of his divine energy to bind the generals of the king together and squash them into nothing but dark particles.

Eiji fought the stronger minions of the king to clear Eiichi's way. While fighting seven generals at the same time, one of them landed a hit on him, resulting in a deep cut on the side of his stomach. "Urk…!" Eiji winced in pain.

But the next instant, the wound healed. Eiji's eyes flashed with recognition. Shion's healing powers…!

Clang

The noise of metals hitting reverberated all across. Neither Eiichi or the King backed down. Both of them moved at the speed of light. The others could only see flashes of their weapons hitting the other repeatedly.

Eiichi could feel it. The evil energy of the king matched his divine power. They were equal in terms of strength. Unless he used his full strength, Eiichi cannot win.

As both of them hit with their weapons, the king growled. "My vessel…. Give me my vessel…"

"Vessel?" Was he talking about Akari? But what did he mean by vessel?

"Nii-san!" Eiji's shout alerted him when he jerked back. A ball of darkness hit him squarely. Shion's healing powers healed him just as instantly. The brunette wiped the shadow from his face, as if completely unaffected.

"Ughh!!!" Akari clutched her chest where her heart was. Her whole body was aching. Almost as if all her bones were being broken. She recoiled from the impact and fell to her knees on the floor.

My heart…. It hurts!!! I can't breathe…. Shion got down beside the girl and tried to heal her, but it was of no use. Her soul was reacting to the dark energy. She could do nothing regarding her pain either. All she could do is pray for them to kill the foe as quick as possible. She covered her mouth with her other hand to stop coughing blood.

Eiichi…. Everyone... please be safe….

To be continued