The dead numbered thirty-seven.Azrael stood in the compound's courtyard as the first light of full dawn broke over the ruined barriers, watching the Forsaken lay bodies in rows. Mortals mostly—their fragile forms hadn't withstood the violence as well as angelic or demonic flesh. But there were exiles too. A fallen angel whose wings had been torn away. Two demons who'd died shielding mortal defenders. Even one of the original Forsaken guards, her throat crushed by a celestial blade.They'd covered the bodies with whatever cloth could be spared. Sheets. Curtains. Someone's jacket. The makeshift shrouds were already stained with blood that had stopped flowing hours ago."We need to burn them before disease spreads," the priestess said, her voice carefully neutral. Professional. "Or bury them deep enough that scavengers won't dig them up.""Burn them," Azrael decided. "Let both realms see the smoke. Let them know the cost of their assault."Maya approached from the direction of the infir

The war council met in the compound's largest chamber—what had once been a warehouse floor, now cleared of debris and marked with maps scavenged from a dozen sources. Azrael stood at the head of a scarred metal table, black flame flickering along his knuckles as he studied the intelligence spread before him."Here." Sariel's clawed finger tapped a junction point on the map. "Demon supply route. They've been funneling weapons and essence through this corridor for weeks. Hit it hard enough, and we cut off three major footholds at once."Vex leaned forward, his regenerating horns casting jagged shadows across the table. "It's also heavily fortified. At least two warbands guarding the shipments, maybe more. We'll be walking into a meat grinder.""Then we don't walk." Azrael's voice carried the weight of decision already made. "We hit them at dawn when their guard rotation shifts. Fast, brutal, gone before reinforcements arrive."Maya shifted beside him, arms crossed. Her expression was ca

The Hall of Radiant Judgment had stood since before mortals learned to count years. Its walls were carved from solidified light, its ceiling an impossible sky of perpetual dawn. Nine thrones circled the chamber's center—eight for the High Seraphim, one elevated above the rest for the Goddess herself.All nine were occupied.Kelean stood at attention below the thrones, wings folded in perfect deference, armor gleaming. He'd been summoned to give testimony, and he would do so without hesitation or doubt. This was his purpose. His design."The Fallen One has recovered a fragment," he reported, voice steady despite the weight of divine attention pressing down. "One piece of the weapon he wielded as champion. When he touched it, his memories partially returned."Silence from the thrones. Then the Goddess spoke, her voice like music that could shatter mountains."Partially?""Yes, my Goddess. The erasure you performed was thorough, but the relic itself carries imprints of his former essence

The war council assembled in what had once been the building's executive boardroom. Maps covered every surface—crude sketches of the compound's defenses, the surrounding city blocks, approaches both realms might use. Azrael stood at the head of the table, the relic at his hip casting faint shadows across the papers.Gabriel sat opposite him, wings folded tight, looking uncomfortable being on this side of the planning table. The oath-bound filled the remaining seats—Sariel, Vex, the priestess, Kira representing the Flame Disciples. Maya stood near the door, rifle slung over her shoulder like always."Three days," Azrael said, pulling everyone's attention. "Gabriel says that's when the assault comes. I want details. Numbers. Command structure. Everything you know."Gabriel spread her hands on the table, steadying herself. "The Goddess is committing four full legions. Roughly two thousand angels, all combat-trained. Kelean leads the primary force—he'll hit your eastern defenses hard and

Sariel's strike team reached the northern staging area first.The abandoned factory complex should have been crawling with angelic scouts. Gabriel's intelligence had shown three hundred angels gathering here—weapons caches, supply chains, command structures preparing for the assault three days out.Instead, they found empty buildings and silence."This is wrong," Sariel said, wings spread as she hovered above the courtyard. Her oath-mark burned beneath her skin, responding to danger she couldn't yet identify. "Where are they?"Her team fanned out, checking structures with weapons drawn. Nothing. No angels. No supplies. Not even evidence they'd been here recently."Could be false intelligence," one of the angels in her team suggested. "Maybe Gabriel was wrong about—"The sky erupted with divine light.Angels descended from every direction at once—not three hundred, but thousands. They'd been waiting. Hidden behind suppression wards that masked their presence until the moment Sariel's te