Shuri stared at the black-robed figure with cold eyes. After a long silence, she spoke carefully. "I understand."
She walked from the command center, approaching several twisted figures waiting for orders. They looked like they used to be human, but something had changed them into something else entirely.
"Bloodstorm One, Dizzy, Inlay, Smoke Eater—you're cleared to go. Start the mission."
On Manhattan's edge, the European deity had just set up her defenses when every instinct screamed danger. She could feel it—something was hunting her, watching her like prey.
She spun around, scanning the nearby buildings. Several strange shapes appeared on top of a building across the street.
Gabriel, always alert, felt the same threat. She moved in front of her goddess, her voice carrying supernatural power: "ENEMY ATTACK COMING!"
On the distant rooftop stood a tall figure dressed in pure white clothes. Small, stubby wings stuck out from both sides of his head—a sick copy of what angel wings should look like. Without warning, he let out a wild roar toward the sky.
The sound—a high-pitched, animal howl—bounced off Manhattan's concrete walls. Before the echo died, answering calls came from everywhere around the city.
Gabriel's face hardened as countless figures started climbing up the walls around them. Like a disturbed nest, the vampire swarm moved toward them with one goal in mind.
They were being surrounded—cut off before the real attack began.
The white-dressed figure roared again before launching himself at the angels with impossible speed.
Gabriel could only shout one last warning: "GET IN FORMATION! READY FOR BATTLE!"
"BOOM!"
The crash between the lead vampire and the angel defenders sent shockwaves that broke windows all around. Within moments, the European deity and Gabriel confirmed what they'd feared—this attack had been planned long before they arrived in New York.
Both the numbers and strength of these vampires were way beyond anything they'd faced during their first push forward.
The special creatures leading the horde were especially deadly.
One of them looked completely wrong—his whole body kept twisting, with spiral patterns moving across his skin. When he raised his arms toward nearby angels, they immediately got dizzy and lost their balance from some unknown power.
The white-dressed leader used these weak moments, ripping through angel ranks with terrifying speed.
Gabriel and the European goddess tried to help, only to face enemies built specifically to counter their abilities.
Gabriel faced a humanoid thing made entirely of sharp geometric pieces—like a living puzzle with razor edges but no face. After a quick fight, Gabriel realized how dangerous this enemy was. Each movement seemed to break the rules of space, like the creature existed partly outside normal reality.
Gabriel's quick assessment confirmed one scary fact—touching this thing would likely hurt even her divine form badly.
Meanwhile, the European deity fought a short bald enemy with long eyebrows and piercing eyes. He pulled out a fancy container filled with swirling smoke, breathing it in slowly. The change happened instantly—dozens of different arms burst from his chest, each attacking with its own mind and supernatural speed.
With both celestial leaders tied up, the battle went downhill fast.
The angel army, already weakened from the earlier ambush, faced overwhelming numbers. Conservative guesses put vampire forces at ten-to-one odds, maybe twenty-to-one.
The European goddess saw horrifying scenes—angels surrounded by vampire swarms, dragged from formation despite fighting hard. The creatures built pyramid-like piles on top of fallen celestial warriors. Brief, pained screams came before terrible silence. When the feeding ended, only scattered pieces remained of beings who had existed since Earth was made.
These vampires went beyond bloodlust—they ate divine flesh with unholy hunger.
Rage and horror filled the European deity. If the angel army had been at full strength—if Hell's recent invasion hadn't wiped out so many—this kind of resistance would be impossible. At full power, the Angel Corps could have used the ultimate celestial technique: [Judgment of God].
But these scattered remains...
Hatred boiled in her as she shouted desperately to Gabriel: "USE THE BACKUP PLAN! WITHOUT HELP RIGHT NOW, WE'RE ALL DEAD!"
Seeing their losing position, Gabriel let out a quiet sigh. Under normal circumstances, the enemy in front of her would be no challenge for an archangel of her level.
Unfortunately, recent battles had cost her dearly. The four archangels had joined together against Hell's most powerful lords in a massive fight. Three died completely, while Gabriel survived with serious injuries that still hadn't fully healed.
She looked regretfully toward the European deity, questioning her earlier choice.
As an archangel, Gabriel worked independently from regional hierarchies. After Heaven's devastating war against Hell, she recognized the critical need for unified leadership—someone to bring together scattered celestial forces and prepare for the inevitable next conflict.
After thinking it through extensively, she had picked the European deity for two main reasons: her impressive performance during the Hell War, and Europe's historical importance as Christianity's birthplace. Her personal connection to those lands influenced her hope that Heaven's glory might be restored starting with that continent.
Current events suggested her choice may have been wrong.
But what other options were there? The North American representative with its disturbing aura? Something fundamentally wrong came from that entity—an arctic coldness that went beyond mere temperature.
And Jason? Gabriel mentally scoffed. If circumstances hadn't "invited" that being into Heaven, Gabriel would have immediately identified him as an extremely powerful demon lord disguised in human form.
Despite lacking solid evidence—no demonic energies showed up when near him—Gabriel's gut feeling about Jason remained unshakable. She would bet her immortal soul that this "Jason" had significant connections to Hell's hierarchy.
Gabriel strongly suspected the recent sealing of Hell's dimensional access involved Jason's direct help.
Enough thinking. The European deity's desperate plea needed immediate response.
Her expression hardened as she faced Inlay's incoming attack. Rather than dodging defensively, Gabriel met the strike with her own counterattack.
"BOOM!"
The collision created explosive force that knocked both fighters back.
Before Inlay could attack again, brilliant golden light erupted from Gabriel's form. Five additional pairs of pure white wings appeared across her back with careful precision.
Twelve-winged angel—the highest celestial rank.
This transformation immediately got the attention of every being on the battlefield.
Even the European deity looked momentarily shocked. She understood Gabriel's injured physical condition, yet she still had the power for this ultimate form? The ancient archangel clearly kept significant abilities hidden beneath her modest exterior.
The intensified holy light coming from Gabriel's transformed form created a suppression field that vampire forces couldn't push through.
The once-frenzied creatures pulled back instinctively from this primal radiance.
Respectful awe spread across angel faces as they saw Gabriel's true form.
The special vampire commanders grouped into defensive formation, watching the transformed archangel with careful calculation.
Floating above the battlefield, Gabriel extended her hand. Reality shimmered as a flaming sword appeared in her grasp. Her gaze swept across the assembled vampire elite with cosmic detachment.
"Prepare..." the archangel said, her voice resonating with ancient authority, "...to die."