My Angel Girl

Hell was silent for the first time in eternity.

Kikidori stood atop a jagged cliff overlooking what remained of the infernal wasteland. Blackened earth stretched as far as the eye could see, broken only by rivers of lava that now sputtered weakly. The sprawling legions of demons—once numbering in the millions—had been reduced to a pitiful remnant of barely a thousand. Heaven had struck with divine precision, laying waste to hell itself in a final, catastrophic assault.

Kikidori stared at the carnage below, his face unreadable. He ran a clawed hand through his unruly dark hair and muttered under his breath, "Well… this fucking sucks."

Behind him, a few surviving demons limped away, their broken bodies dragging weapons that would never taste angelic blood again. Kikidori ignored them. He had no interest in their pathetic plans to regroup or rebuild. It was over. Hell was done.

But heaven had left them alive.

"That's the worst part," Kikidori growled to no one in particular. "They didn't even bother to finish us off. Like we weren't worth it." He kicked a loose rock off the edge of the cliff, watching it tumble into the void below.

His mind wandered, unbidden, to the angel he had spared. Her defiant eyes still lingered in his thoughts, her voice ringing in his ears. He didn't even know her name, yet he could still see the curve of her lips as she had dared him to kill her. What the fuck had possessed him to let her go?

"Stupid," he muttered, shaking his head. He flexed his wings and took off into the charred sky. Hell was boring now. If heaven had truly won, then maybe it was time to find something else to destroy.

In heaven, Ere'ana stood at the edge of a serene garden, staring into the endless golden horizon. The war was over. The angels had emerged victorious, their hymns echoing through the halls of the divine kingdom. Yet Ere'ana couldn't bring herself to celebrate.

Her violet eyes scanned the shimmering fields of light, but her thoughts were far away—back on the battlefield. Back to him.

That demon. The one who had stood over her with his blade raised, ready to end her life. She had prepared herself for the end, but instead… he had let her go. No demon had ever shown mercy to an angel before. It didn't make sense.

She leaned against a glowing tree, running a hand over the faint scar on her neck where his sword had hovered. "Why?" she whispered to herself. "Why didn't he kill me?"

A rustle of feathers signaled someone approaching.

"Ere'ana," a soft voice said.

She turned to see her friend, Seraphiel, walking toward her, his golden armor gleaming in the sunlight. "You're not joining the celebration?"

She shook her head. "No."

Seraphiel studied her for a moment. "Still thinking about him, aren't you?"

"I don't even know his name," she admitted. "But yes. It's… strange. He looked like every other demon, but he didn't act like one. For a moment, I thought…"

"What?"

"Nothing," Ere'ana said quickly, brushing past him. "I need to go check on my family."

"Your family?" Seraphiel frowned. "On earth?"

"Yes," she said firmly. "I'll be back soon." Without waiting for a response, she spread her wings and descended toward the mortal realm, the golden light of heaven fading behind her.

Earth was a cacophony of sound and chaos. Cars honked, people shouted, and neon lights flickered in the night. Kikidori stood in the shadow of an alleyway, his demonic form invisible to human eyes. To them, he was nothing more than a faint red glow, a whisper of unease at the back of their minds.

He smirked as he watched a drunk man stumble out of a bar, cursing at a parked car. Humans were pathetic. Weak. Easy to break.

"Let's see how you handle this," Kikidori muttered, extending a clawed hand. The air around him crackled with dark energy as he prepared to unleash a burst of destruction. The man froze in place, his face twisting in terror as the oppressive energy enveloped him.

But before Kikidori could release the spell, a golden light pierced the darkness.

"Hey!"

The voice stopped him cold. He turned, his eyes narrowing as an angelic figure stepped into view. Her light was blinding, her form radiant and beautiful—and painfully familiar.

It was her.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Kikidori muttered under his breath.

Ere'ana stopped a few feet away, her glowing wings folded behind her. She stared at him with wide eyes, recognition dawning on her face.

"It's you," she said softly.

"Yeah, it's me," Kikidori snapped. "What the fuck do you want, angel?"

"What are you doing?" she demanded, her voice sharp. "You're going to kill an innocent man!"

Kikidori sneered. "And? He's just a human. Who gives a shit?"

"I do!" Ere'ana shot back, stepping closer. "You don't have to do this!"

Kikidori let out a harsh laugh. "Don't have to? Lady, in case you haven't noticed, I'm a demon. It's kind of what I do."

"You didn't kill me," she said, her voice softer now.

He stiffened, his grip on his dark magic faltering. "That was… different."

"Why?"

Kikidori glared at her, his crimson eyes burning. "I don't owe you an explanation."

The drunk man, oblivious to the battle of wills happening just feet away, stumbled down the street and disappeared into the night. Ere'ana watched him go, then turned back to Kikidori.

"You're not like the others," she said quietly.

"Don't pretend to know me," he growled.

"Maybe I don't," she admitted. "But I want to."

Kikidori stared at her, his mind racing. For the first time in centuries, he felt something he couldn't quite name. It wasn't anger or hatred—it was something far more dangerous.

"You're playing a dangerous game, angel," he said finally.

"And yet," Ere'ana replied, a faint smile on her lips, "here we are."

The end of Chapter 2