Ann Arbor Train Station, Ann Arbor, Michigan - 12:19 PM

  I stretched as I left the Angel Express’s Subspace Depot, leading everyone except Ash and Bethany onto the platform. Both of them had important work to do and time was becoming scarce. The Tea Witch, it seemed, was on track to finish her project before the Patron’s Ball.

  Sara had already apprised me of everything that was going on in Ann Arbor, and I had already passed that on to everyone else. Malphazarin had already moved Heaven’s army from Ottawa to here even though I had given him a time limit of five days. Given the average Angel’s flying speed, it wasn’t really a surprise that they had beat us here.

  Corwin was glued to the safest place he could be, right next to me. There shouldn’t have been any problems given the instructions I had left Malphazarin, but it was better to be cautious.

  There was another reason for it, too.

  “That’s a good boy,” I whispered as I scratched the top of his head. The Evolution Hound, currently in his original form of a yellow labradoodle, leaned against my legs as we walked. “Be a good boy and stay with me.”

  That reason being that Corwin was adorable. His tongue was hanging out of the side of his mouth, his tail was wagging, and he was having a grand old time. I had no doubts the dog was going to do as I told him; he had been trained very well.

  We turned the corner on the platform to see our welcoming committee. Malphazarin, the general of the Heavenly Host, stood front and center on the road. Behind him were two other six-winged Seraphims each with a pair of four-winged Angels behind them. A plethora of others, most of whom seemed to be judges and inquisitors, were lined up on the road.

  Off to the right side, in a wing of their own, were humans. Even from this distance I could recognize the Avatars of Angelic Patrons. Michael’s was first in line followed by Metatron’s, Gabriel’s, Raphael’s, and Uriel’s. Only the second had a protected aura, and I read all kinds of jealousy, curiosity, worry, and a little fight in their emotions.

  Which was fair; they had been working with the Heavenly Host for a while now. Each one had been doing quests, making friends, and working their way to becoming leaders in their own right. They had put in a lot of effort only to be told that some upstart who suddenly finished the big fight they were gearing up for was going to be in charge. I’d have been a little peeved, too.

  “We greet the Consort of the Highest Sister,” the Angels said in unison.

  The members of the Heavenly Host all spread their wings and bowed to me in reverence. All except one. I immediately perked up when I saw who it was.

  Malphazarin picked up on this, too. “You are to bow, Brother Glaraphel,” he warned, unmoving.

  “I’m afraid that if I do, General, then Anthony will become cross,” the Inquisitor replied, staring right at me. I took a moment to focus on him. He didn’t seem to be in any distress despite the Seraphim’s attention. His halo had fully reformed during his absence, which I was glad to see. “He has been very clear on how I am to address him during my service, and I do not believe that would change now.”

  “It sure hasn’t,” I agreed with a laugh. “It’s good to see that you took what I said to heart. And while I wouldn’t go so far as to reprimand you in front of your bosses, I certainly wouldn’t have liked it. I’m already uncomfortable and all they’re doing is bowing. Stand up, everyone. I’m sure you all have better things to do than sit around waiting for me.”

  Just as they had bowed as one, they stood up the same way. The majority of the Angels flew away into the city while Malphazarin and one of his Seraphims stayed. None of the humans seemed to know what to do and started speaking amongst themselves, sending me a few glances here and there.

  Glaraphel also hung back and was joined by Tarleann, the Dominion judge who had firmly labeled me a Half-Angel instead of a Nephillim. They were likely able to stay because they had dealings with me before.

  “It’s good to see you both,” I told them honestly as they approached.

  “It is an honor, Consort,” Tarleann returned with a smile. “Pray, tell me, has the boon I left in the Highest Sister’s ring been helpful?”

  Subconsciously, I rubbed my thumb against the golden object hidden by my glove. Back when it was Esaraphelscion’s Love, it could give me the abilities of different Angel’s halos so long as they were freely given. So far I only had the Seraphim’s ability, which was defensive in nature, Tarleann’s as a Dominion, and the one I received from Coe’s Halo skill book. Hers would give buffs to my allies, but they hadn’t quite needed it just yet.

  “I’m saving it for a rainy day,” I replied. She continued to smile as if being useful in the future was all she wanted. Given that she was an Angel, it was likely exactly what she felt.

  “For my own edification,” Malphazarin started as he looked down at Corwin. “This is the… dog that you said was to be protected at all costs?”

  I nodded as I set my hand on his head. “Yup. This is Corwin, and he’s a good boy no matter what kind of evolutions we forced him through.” The Evolution Hound wagged his tail as I said his name and tried to lick my hand. I rubbed his neck so he couldn’t.

  “Anthony was very insistent that I never attack him, either,” Glaraphel stated as he stood behind the other Angels with his arms behind his back. “I have seen nothing but devotion and obedience from Corwin, despite what he has become. If one were to ask for my opinion, I would say—”

  The Power stopped when he realized that Corwin had left my side and approached him upon hearing his name. A look of disgust crossed his face when the Evolution Hound sniffed him. Glaraphel took a step back before he could get licked, clearly uncomfortable being so close to a Demonic entity and not being able to slay it.

  “Come back, Corwin,” Jeff said with a snap of his fingers. The dog immediately listened, turning around and running back to his human, who knelt down and gave him all the love he wanted. “He’s the bestest boy, and that’s just a fact. Very gentle, except when fighting. You’ll see it; he’ll rip through just as many Demons as you Angels will.”

  “If his contribution to the war will be so great, then we will accept him despite his deficiencies,” Malphazarin stated as a matter of fact.

  “Right, because he ain’t got no thumbs,” Mercury said with a sage nod, reaching out to scratch Corwin’s back.

  The general grimaced in distaste. “I was referring to his—”

  “Corwin is perfect in every way,” Kayla interrupted. She, too, reached over to pet the Evolution Hound. He was practically dancing in place at all the attention now. “Aside from the aforementioned lack of thumbs, of course.”

  Unsure as to what was happening, Malphazarin looked at me. I tried my best not to laugh at the utter look of confusion on his face. What they were doing was harmless, even if it was directed towards the General of the Heavenly Host, and I loved them for it.

  “Everyone, this is my second in command, Kayla,” I said, gesturing towards everyone as I introduced them. “Jeff, her husband, is the owner of this perfect dog, which cannot be argued against in any way. Jamie is there in the back, and the ninja is Mercury. Bethany, his sister, and Ash, our smith, are working on projects back on the train. They’re all a part of my guild, and are directly under me as a separate entity from the Heavenly Host. Please treat them well.”

  Glaraphel seemed to relax at the mention of Bethany. He had been her protector back when I fought the Soul Shearer, and it seemed he had been a little worried when he hadn’t noticed her.

  With a nod, Malphazarin cast his gaze over them again. “As you are the Consort’s personal strike team, I welcome you amongst us. I will only ask that you be tolerant of our reactions to your pet. None shall attack, but it is instilled in our very beings to do so. It is the natural order of things.”

  “I’m glad that he’ll be safe here,” Jeff said as he stood back up.

  “Indeed. Now, to business,” the general said, turning back to me. “Consort, I have called upon the Council to go over any and all plans for our attack, and request your presence at our current temporary headquarters situated in the University of Michigan.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “An excellent suggestion, but…” I raised my hand and conjured a stack of notebooks. “This is our plan. Everything we need from troop distribution, logistics, support, and more can be found in those documents.”

  “Just like that?” the other Seraphim asked, regarding the papers curiously.

  “Just like that,” I confirmed with a nod. “I’ve been to Hell, which Tarleann has probably told you, and I have seen their city. This is as close an approximation of their forces as anyone will get along with their contingencies and most of the tactical responses the Burning Palace will have in response to losing two Demon Lords as well as their entire advance Earth invasion force.”

  Malphazarin took the papers from me and started reading through them. Despite how much information there was, it only took him a minute to become satisfied. “This is very thorough, Consort,” he praised.

  “I’m a very thorough kind of guy,” I replied with a shrug. “I trust that’s going to be enough to see you through a meeting?”

  “Indeed. Does this mean you won’t be coming?” the general asked.

  “All of my thoughts are there, but I may still show up. I have some catching up to do, and I suspect some questions to answer from my fellow mortal brethren,” I answered, eying the Angelic Avatars. They were no longer huddled up, but they were most certainly waiting for us to finish.

  The general gave them a quick glance before nodding. “I shall leave Sister Tarleann and Brother Glaraphel in your service for now. If you remain within the city’s limits, I will send a message to them should we need you.”

  “Sounds good to me, thanks,” I said as I raised a fist towards him. He looked at it curiously before seemingly understanding. Malphazarin reached out and shook it like a handshake before he and the other Seraphim disappeared in a show of speed. I chuckled. “Yeah, should’ve seen that coming.”

  “General Malphazarin has not interacted with many humans. I know that he understands hand shakes, but I don’t believe anyone has tried to fist bump him yet,” Tarleann explained, taking the lead now that she was the highest ranking Angel amongst us. “Please don’t take it as some sort of slight, Consort. Everyone else has been treating him with respect befitting his station.”

  “Nah, it’s no big deal. I can tell what kind of dude he is,” I assured her. She slowly glanced at Glaraphel, and he simply nodded at the way I spoke. I approached him and thumped my fist against his armor. “And you. I’m glad to see that you’re in one piece. I had no idea what was going to happen to you, to be honest.”

  “It heartens me to hear that my well being brings you joy, Anthony,” the Angel said with a smile.

  “What happened to you?” I asked before shaking my head. “I mean, I know what happened to you. Your halo was siphoned of its holy energy, but I mean what happened to you, specifically.”

  The smile quickly left his face as he was reminded of his failure, and he set his jaw. “It did nothing more than cause me to take longer to reconstitute in Heaven.”

  I arched my eyebrow at him. “That’s it? You’re sure?”

  He worked his jaw for a moment. “It was also supremely uncomfortable. I had to remake my halo, which is what made the process take so long.”

  “Well, shit. That sucks. Still glad you’re back with us.”

  “And I’m glad you did not fall to the same tricks I did, Anthony,” he responded with a nod. “I assume that you had taken care of the shadow man while you had the chance?”

  “Eh,” I deflected, looking away as I scratched the back of my head. “I didn’t really have the power to kill people there. Not those from America, at least. If my hunch is right, though, it should all work out.”

  “I’m not sure if I would trust any hunch when it comes to one of the Fallen’s minions, but I have come to trust you, and thus I will not begin a crusade to find and kill him,” Glaraphel stated. “No matter how unhappy it may make me.”

  “Yeah, sorry, man,” I told him, though I knew there was no way Coe was going to come anywhere near the Heavenly Host now that he was what he was. Even for him, that was suicide. “Hey, we’ll catch up more later. It looks like the Avatars are done waiting.”

  I nodded in their direction, and everyone turned to see the approaching newcomers. Even though Michael’s Avatar had been closest to the general, and thus higher up in the hierarchy the Angels loved so much, it was Metatron’s who led the charge.

  The blonde woman, who seemed to be a few years older than Jeff, was all smiles as she confidently approached. Her white robes were trimmed in Angelic gold. A halo was stitched into the fabric, going around her body at heart-level.

  “You must be this Consort we had heard so much about,” she said, her voice husky with a thick Canadian accent. “I’m Jennifer Clark, Avatar of the Scribe of Heaven, Metatron. Behind me is Michael, under Michael, Lee, under Gabriel, Diana, under Raphael, and Stan, under Uriel. Michael’s been with the Heavenly Host the longest, but even the newest of us have been around for more than a month.”

  “And I’m Anthony Franklin. Hi,” I greeted as I shook her hand. I introduced my guildmates again before offering an apologetic smile. “Sorry if this came out of the blue. I know you all probably have a bunch of quests relating to the Heavenly Host, and I’m here treading on toes. One moment I'm blowing up every single Demon in Washington D.C., then the next I have Malphazarin telling me that I'm now in command of his entire army. Out of all of the outcomes I could have expected, this is one I, personally, didn’t see coming.”

  It was, however, the outcome that Sara had been hoping for. I wouldn’t complain, either; having an army at my back when assailing the Burning Palace was going to make things much easier for me.

  “How exactly did you do that, by the way?” Michael asked as he crossed his arms. The surprisingly average, black-haired man sounded a little aggressive, but I could tell from the way his eyes moved that he was getting messages from his Patron. His Archangel was very forward and intense.

  “I had my Monstersmith put together a Hellbreaker using materials I had gotten from across the United States and Chernobyl,” I answered honestly, not taking offense to his tone. “That includes pieces from the Hanford Site as well as parts of my own Angelic body, which I can transform into sometimes. I’m holding onto a lot more holy energy than it might seem at first glance.”

  <<<>>>

  [[Notice]]

  The Patron [Michael] demands to know how you got your hands on the knowledge of how to make a Hellbreaker.

  <<<>>>

  “I knew a guy who could get me the blueprints,” I said with a shrug.

  <<<>>>

  [[Notice]]

  The Patron [Michael] demands to know where you got the blueprints for a Hellbreaker.

  <<<>>>

  “Michael, I’m not giving up my sources,” I replied, snapping away the message. “Either way, it’s already been used. Making another one is going to take too long, and we have work to do.”

  <<<>>>

  [[Notice]]

  The Patron [Metatron] turns their gaze on you from Heaven.

  The Patron [Michael] turns their gaze on you from Heaven.

  The Patron [Gabriel] turns their gaze on you from Heaven.

  The Patron [Uriel] turns their gaze on you from Heaven.

  <<<>>>

  “Damn, I think I’m being watched,” I deadpanned.

  I kept my face impassive even as the Heavenly Avatars each received some kind of message from their Patron. Their show might have cowed some lesser person, but not even every Archangel participated.

  Diana was the only one to look contemplative instead of combative, as well. She looked at me with curiosity. As if to answer her question, I retrieved the staff of her Patron from my inventory and held it up.

  <<<>>>

  [[Notice]]

  The Patron [Raphael] is glad to see that his staff has been useful, and proposes a contest for the information.

  <<<>>>

  “A contest is a good idea,” I agreed with a nod. “How about two of us against two of you. Standard arena rules with Dominions creating an enclosed space. If you reach one hit point then you freeze. If both members become frozen, that team loses. If you win, then I’ll give up the specifics of how I got the Hellbreaker blueprints and give y’all better positions in the Heavenly Host. Malphazarin will listen to me if I tell him to do it. If we win, then your Patron’s bless my friends back here as best they can for the final battle. Are you okay with that, Tarleann?”

  “I am, Consort,” she answered swiftly, lowering her head.

  “Combat? Yeah, that sounds good to me,” Michael said, suddenly becoming excited. He paused as his eyes scanned something in front of him. “Saint Mikey agrees. Just two on two, though?”

  “Yeah, why not?” I offered with a shrug.

  He turned to Uriel’s Avatar, Stan. “You up for it?”

  Stan was about Jeff’s size, but he wasn’t nearly as armored. He cracked his neck and nodded as he crossed his arms. “Yeah, I reckon we’ll be enough.”

  “Be enough, he says,” Mercury laughed before nudging me with his elbow. “Who are you putting in, coach? You know I got this, right?”

  “You would, yeah, but no,” I told him before turning around. Jamie took a step forward as if anticipating me calling on her, but I smiled at the Mills instead. “Y’all ready?”

  Jeff grinned while Kayla’s eyes shot open. A myriad of emotions passed through her before she settled on acceptance. “Yeah,” she sighed. “I suppose so.”