Velvet Redemption

As I walked up to Death, I saw her sad expression. She’d just gotten me back, and here I was rushing off into battle again.

“I have no excuse, Death. It’s just necessary to fight. . . one last time,” I said, stroking her hair.

“I know. . . I just wish it didn’t have to be this way. I wish that we could just be together in peace since you killed Lucifer. He was supposed to be the last fight,” she said.

“Hey, look at me,” I said, softly.

Her ice-blue eyes met mine, and I spoke quietly while I pushed the few remaining strands of hair out of her face.

“Life isn’t fair. You taught me that once, remember?”

She nodded while saying nothing.

“Then understand that I have one last battle to fight. After that, we’ll go anywhere you want for as long as you want. It’ll just be us, and I won’t leave your side,” I said.

She threw her arms around my torso and held me close, saying, “There will always be one more fight, Justin Pierce. Don’t make me a promise you can’t keep. When you kill Michael, Heaven and Hell will need to be dealt with in some way. So instead of promising to never leave my side just promise that you’ll always come back to me after you leave. . . no matter how long it takes.”

I kissed the top of her head and said, “I promise.”

Umbra pulsed, eager for Michael’s blood. It didn’t like these touching moments I was having, apparently.

I know, Umbra. I made you a promise too, I thought.

“Death? We need to go, babe. It’s time,” I said.

I looked up and realized we were surrounded by demons.

“Hang on,” I said, pulling away from Death.

I drew Umbra and held it up for all to see.

“Demons, listen up. I killed Lucifer, and I took his blade. You’ll pay attention to what I have to say, or I’ll kill you all one by one. You wanna stay here in Hell? Fine. I’ll leave you alone. If I catch any of you on Earth, though, I’ll kill you myself. And don’t think that I lack the power to do so,” I said, pumping lightning into Umbra and slicing an invisible vertical line in front of me.

A gargantuan bolt of lightning flew out from Umbra and obliterated the land I had sliced the blade at. The bolt was at least 100 yards long.

The demons gasped and drew back. I’d made my point. Whether they were smart enough to heed my warning would be seen in due time.

I walked over to Death and said, “Let’s go.”

She pulled me close, and we faded from sight.

We appeared in an extremely different realm. There was lush green all around me, going up tall snow-capped mountains. We were in some valley. I looked up to see not a cloud in the sky and beautiful yellow sun.

The place just felt so. . . peaceful.

“Are we in-”

Death interrupted me to finish my sentence saying, “Heaven? Yes.”

There didn’t appear to be anyone around here, either.

“And the people? The souls?”

“They’re kept in a different piece of Heaven. The angels exist in one part, and they exist in another part. The deceased humans have a colossal city called New Jerusalem to reside in. The angels live in a different part of Heaven that isn’t populated with cities. It’s just full of nature, the first realm created by God,” Death explained.

“What separates the two?”

“The humans don’t know about the angel part. There are portals from one to the other, but humans cannot access them. Angels hold all the keys here,” Death said.

“Well, you are certainly a sight for sore eyes,” I heard Daniel’s voice say as he landed next to us.

“Hey Dan,” I said, relieved to see he was okay.

“Don’t ever call me that again, Pierce.”

“Really? First time seeing me in three years, and you want to pick a fight?”

“Well I sure as Hell wasn’t going to hug you,” Daniel said, crossing his arms.

“Whatever. I forgot that angels don’t have hearts. It must have been a side effect of having my memories wiped,” I muttered.

“I suppose you’re both looking for Michael, then.”

“We are,” Death said.

“You’ll find him about 10 miles north of here in the First Garden,” Daniel said, pointing.

“I assume you’re talking about Eden,” I said.

“No, the first garden. It was made before that,” Daniel said.

“Just. . . whatever. He’s 10 miles that way? Should we expect to fight any angels along the way?”

“No. Michael has good spies. He knows you’re here,” Daniel said.

Death asked, “What does that mean?”

“It means, he wants to kill you in one final duel,” Daniel said.

“He’ll get a duel,” I muttered.

“You’d better go,” Daniel said, motioning in the direction of Michael.

I nodded and took off into the sky.

Death called out, “Justin wait for me!”

I saw Daniel grab her arm and heard him say, “Sorry, Death. This is something he has to settle alone. I can see it in his eyes. This fight to the end will consume him entirely. I’ve no doubt that he’ll win, but this final battle isn’t about you. It’s about Lilandra.”

I missed the rest of the conversation as I flew through the sky. After a few minutes I saw a gorgeous garden ahead of me. There were hundreds of trees with fruit I couldn’t identify.

I flew over the trees and bushes all containing different kinds of fruit until I came to a clearing in the center with a large opening.

There was a large golden throne, and on it sat Michael. His eyes were closed, and his head rested on his fist.

I landed in the clearing, noting the few angels that were there with us. They backed away, knowing what was about to happen.

“Justin Pierce. . . the last remaining thorn in my side. It seems you have a true gift for escaping angel magic and causing further mayhem at my expense,” Michael said, opening his eyes to scowl at me.

“You know why I’m here,” I said.

“You’re here for some childish notion of revenge, no doubt,” Michael said, sounding bored.

“It looks like you understand my purpose completely. No hard feelings, but since you condemned my friend to thousands of years of misery as a demon, I’m going to take your life,” I said.

“She did that to herself. The stupid fool didn’t obey orders, and she left Heaven. That’s what happens to angels that disobey my orders,” Michael said.

“You didn’t change Daniel into a demon,” I said.

“That was different. I wanted the worthless bastard to come back into Heaven so I could trap and kill him myself. I knew Lilandra was going to stay on Earth to keep looking for my old sword,” Michael explained.

“It’s ironic that Lucifer seemed to care more for his demons than you do your angels. They served him and revered him even in death. Tell me, Michael. When I kill you today, will any angel mourn your death? Or will the subjects that have obeyed you out of fear since God became silent simply forget your tyranny and rally behind a new leader?”

Michael rose from his throne, his white clothes and gold sword swaying in a wind that suddenly blew through the garden.

“No one will lead these sheep aside from myself. Not a single soul in all of existence is more qualified,” Michael shouted.

“You really do have a temper when people challenge your authority,” I said.

“I’m the last archangel in Heaven. I’m the only one worthy of this throne behind me,” Michael said.

“I’ve heard enough. It’s time for your reign to come to an end, asshole.”

“I, too, have heard enough. Draw your demonic blade, Pierce. I’ll cut you in two!”

Umbra roared as I released the blade from its sheath, and our duel began. Michael was in

front of me before I could blink, but I had Umbra out to greet his blade.

Our weapons snarled upon contact with each other. There could not be two more opposite weapons in existence. Michael’s sword, Velvet’s replacement, was an angelic blade designed to throw Lucifer out of Heaven and cement the archangel’s rule.

Umbra was forged for Lucifer to challenge Michael’s rule and decimate anything that stood in the way of the king of Hell.

“Look at yourself! You’re worse than Lilandra. To get revenge, you became the devil himself!”

Michael tried to drive me back, but I would have none of it. Umbra pulsed, and an orb of lightning surrounded the two of us, cooking one archangel and one pissed off Justin Pierce.

Michael growled, realizing that I wasn’t going to die so easily.

“I should have just killed you when I had the chance,” Michael said.

“Do you know how many times I’ve heard that since Lilandra found me and started me down this path? Your regret shouldn’t be that you didn’t kill me, it should be that you banished Lilandra!”

I kicked Michael backward, and he flew into his throne, cracking it a little.

I flew up and then dived down, ready to carve Michael’s face in two. He dove forward, and I sliced his throne into two pieces instead.

Michael thrusted his blade at me from behind, and I spun to block it with fury. Umbra hit Michael’s sword and destroyed the archangel’s momentum.

Our swords clanged as they met several more times. Umbra was ravenous for this archangel’s blood, and the sword got its first taste when I finally landed a blow on Michael, cutting his left thigh.

He grimaced at the thought of being injured by someone he detested as much as me.

In a blind rage, he charged straight at me and brought his sword down. I side-stepped to avoid the attack and thrusted Umbra forward at Michael, slashing the tip of his shoulder.

He leapt back and then forward again with double the speed. His thrust was too fast for me to block, and he cut my left side.

We continued on like that for several hours, slowly tearing pieces off each other. It was a brutal war of attrition, and neither side was going to cease until the other was decimated.

I hurled a bolt of lightning at Michael, and he flew up into the air to dodge it. I pumped a good chunk of my aura into a launch and flew straight up at Michael. Disappearing from sight, I reappeared behind him with a bolt of lightning in Umbra ready.

Michael looked for me, and when he finally saw me coming down from above, it was too late.

He didn’t even have time to raise his sword. I cut straight into his white flesh with Umbra and slammed him down into the ground. His impact made a good crater, and I stood over him.

At once, he roared, “This is my realm. My realm!”

The ground started to shake around us as his golden aura built, and then a column of light engulfed the two of us, roasting my flesh and launching me back off of him.

I flew backward and landed against what used to be Michael’s throne.

“You can’t kill me, Pierce. Lucifer tried, and he failed. I’m just unbeatable. You might make me bleed, but that’s the extent of your success,” Michael boasted, getting out of the crater surrounded by his holy aura.

“I didn’t come here to make you bleed. I came here to make you die. So shut up, Michael. Quit stalling, and come at me!”

Michael obliged and sprinted for me with all of his strength.

“This is the sword of a king, Justin! You’re just wielding scrap metal! My blade will always be superior to anything you hold,” Michael said as he barreled down upon me.

“Lilandra once said that swords don’t make a warrior. A warrior makes his sword. That’s where you got sloppy, Michael. You made the same mistake as Lucifer,” I said, exhaling and focusing my aura.

I made a small- yet brilliantly sharp-edged knife of lightning in my left hand, and I held Umbra in my right hand.

I’d never tried this before, but Lilandra had taught me during our time together that although stronger weapons could shatter a blade made out of an element on contact, the weak point of any blade was the flesh holding it.

As Michael got within striking distance with his blade, he brought the golden sword into his right hand and prepared to slash across to the left with a quick one-handed swipe.

I wasn’t going to give him that chance.

With the lightning knife, I slashed upward at Michael’s wrist, severing his hand holding the golden sword.

Blood flew everywhere, and the archangel barely had time to gasp at his wound before I drew back Umbra with my right hand and began my speed strike technique on Michael’s body, hitting his chest repeatedly.

Michael’s aura shattered like glass around us as I slashed him to ribbons with Umbra. I roared, and the ground around us began to blow back from the fury of my strikes.

Michael screamed in sheer agony, but I wasn’t done, not by a long shot. Throwing the rest of my aura into this last attack, I cut deeper and deeper into the archangel.

The trees closest to us began to catch fire from the heat flying out of my strikes, each one charged with several thousand volts of lightning.

Finally, I stopped at strike number 2,000. I raised my lightning knife, brought it down, and sunk it into Michael’s skull with a sickening piercing noise.

Catching my breath from the fury of my attack, I kicked Michael’s body, and by the time his corpse hit the ground, it had turned to ash.

I fell to my knees, sinking Umbra into the ground to hold myself up.

Angels murmured at the death of their leader, but I didn’t anticipate any of them coming after me. They all secretly hated him for the most part and only served him out of fear, I guessed.

“That’s it, Umbra. I’ve done it,” I said, slowly sheathing my new blade. The sword couldn’t complain one bit. I fulfilled my promise to kill Michael.

I looked down at my green shirt and tried to wipe Michael’s blood off.

As I slowly stood up, Daniel flew down with Death, and she ran over and hugged me.

I pulled her back and kissed her, knowing that we could be together now. My fight was finally over.

Death revealed that she had been holding onto my long green coat and gave it back to me. I smiled. This article of clothing was the only thing I’d had with me since the start of this crazy journey. I slowly slid it over my wings and sighed.

I love this coat, I thought.

Daniel walked over and held out his hand.

“A handshake? I killed Michael and Lucifer, and you want to give me a handshake?”

He frowned and said, “Well what do you want, a hug?”

“Gross. Not on your life. I’ll shake your damn hand,” I said, doing just that.

This angel had once been one of my worst enemies, but I couldn’t have been more relieved that he had fought with me toward the end. He was a great ally. . . and a wonderful friend, though I’d never tell him that.

“Not bad, Pierce,” Daniel said, letting go of my hand.

“I knew you’d kill that bastard,” Death said, smiling.

I sighed and looked up into the sky. It was over at last. I’d finally saved Earth, and not a single soul would know about it except Daniel, Death, and Joshua when I got back and told him.

I started to walk away with Death, and Daniel called out to me, “Pierce! What happens now?”

I turned and said, “Why don’t you take over Heaven? Just don’t become an asshole, or I’ll come kill you too.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow and said, “Okay. . . what are you going to do about Hell?”

“Don’t you worry about that. I’m taking a long vacation. . . I think I’ve earned it. I’ll see you soon, Daniel, but hopefully not too soon,” I said, turning away and doing a backwards wave.

“Death, will you please take me back to Purgatory?”

“What on Earth for?”

“There’s just one last thing I have to do,” I said.

She shrugged and pulled me close as we faded from sight and appeared in the black and white dessert of Purgatory.

I walked into the Warden’s chambers. The suit of armor, still slightly dented from our last encounter, stood up and said, “You’ve got some nerve coming back here.”

His eyes of fire were as bright as the first time we’d met, and I said, “How would you like a promotion?”

We stood there in silence for a moment, and he finally said, “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about a promotion for you. . . from Warden of Purgatory to king of Hell,” I said.

The Warden seemed intrigued and asked, “What is the catch?”

I sighed from exhaustion and said, “No catch. Here is how this will go. I’ll return here in a month with the new leader of Heaven. You’ll release your lesser criminals to go with him to Heaven, and you’ll take your nastiest bastards to Hell with you. From there, you’ll place order in Hell with that iron fist you pride yourself on so much. You keep your demons in check down there, and in return, Hell is yours.”

“Mine?”

“All yours. Keep your demons there, and we’ll have no problems,” I said.

“I’ll see you in a month then,” the Warden said.

I nodded and turned to leave with Death.

She asked, “You’re putting him in charge of Hell?”

“I sure don’t want to deal with it, and this way, any innocents here in Purgatory get to go free. Beings like Pizaris won’t have to suffer anymore,” I said.

Death shrugged and said, “If you think that’s the best plan, I’m not going to question you. Where to now?”

“Surprise me,” I said, smiling.

She put her left hand on my face and softly pulled me in as we kissed and faded from view. The two of us were set for the best vacation ever.