The Heavenly Castle Of Angelicae

The Cloud Sea was not a place that she had been to before and given just how easily it was to get lost in, the statuesque blonde could easily see why. Ships apparently went missing all of the time in the region, never to be seen again and yet that did not have the slightest effect on Bastila at all. She trusted in her own senses and with the power of the phoenix flowing through her veins, there was little chance that she would be steered wrong. There was this sense of rightness that pushed her forwards and as she glided through the fog, she did not for one moment believe that she was lost. It was not her fate to become just another lost soul who vanished into the mist. No, she had a job to do and a family to return to afterwards. A job that was not for the faint of heart but the fire mage was anything but lacking in that. Ever since her and Sakura’s encounter with Miguel, a spectre from the past, she had struggled to maintain her composure and so in order to hopefully settle herself down, she had agreed to the task that lie ahead of her. The rage that burned inside her needed to be purged and unfortunately, that meant that a great many lives would be taken, in order for that to be done. It was simply the way it was.

Her appearance hidden by her uniform, Bastila would finally see a large silhouette through the fog. Her destination at last. It was an island, centred around an enormous castle. It was a truly beautiful building but it would not remain that way for much longer. For her goal was simple, to destroy it all. Not a single being could survive and neither could the building itself. It was a mission of the most barbaric sort and yet one she was actually looking forward to. She had not spoken a word to her daughter of what was to take place, despite knowing the hurt that it may cause her most precious treasure. Bastila had promised Sakura that there would be no more secrets and yet here she was again, breaking her word. She hated herself for having to do it but she just could not bear to speak about her task, let alone asking Sakura to join her. This was more than just an assassination. It would be demolition, no more, no less.

As she flew closer to the castle, the keen eyed woman began to make out figures, all wearing robes and clearly holy looking from their garb. She would take a deep breath, pushing aside any doubts that might have about the mission and instead focused on her anger and rage. Bastila attempted to bring up as much of it as she could in order to increase her resolve. The blonde would need all of her power today, knowing that she would be facing beings of a different nature to what she had before. She had fought humans and beasts but never creatures from the heavens and that was her goal today. Bastila had never believed in angels, her faith having been destroyed by the horrors of her past, only believing in the flame of the phoenix, who had come to her in her hour of need. The beings she would face today were not her gods and the thought of doing battle with them did not cause her to feel the slightest sensation of hesitation. If anything, it was the local people who she felt sorry for but a feeling that she forced aside. They were just targets to be removed, that was it.

The bystanders would look up towards her as she got in range, unsure of what to make of her but their confusion soon turned to horror as she darted down towards them, a pair of blazing claws starting to carve through them without mercy. Bastila wasted no time and instantly went into her phoenix form, covering her entire body as her full takeover blossomed. They had no answer for her and could only try to evade her, screaming and shrieking at the top of their lungs. Yet, there was no stopping her and the tall blonde was soon making quite a kill count for herself. Her flaming claws and talons, striking at all those who she came across. The courtyard would be covered with the ashes of those slain and as she went about her work, her blue gray eyes would blaze, hidden by her uniform but her palpable anger was impossible to miss. More and more of the bystanders would be brutally slaughtered and to her immense surprise, there was no instant retaliation from those within the castle. Either they were afraid, or simply shoring up their defences. It would not matter though as she would soon achieve what she had set out to accomplish. No one survived, no one. Her movements were a combination of savagery and grace, moving from victim to victim without a moment wasted. Efficiency at its best.

The massacre only took a few minutes and by the time she was finished, there was little left of the courtyard, only flames remaining. Yet, as she was about to move on,  a large set of eyes would fall upon her, causing the blonde to swiftly turn around. It was a black cat, staring at her with its yellow eyed gaze. It came within six feet of her and then stopped, not moving an inch further nor making any noise. The feline did not appear to be afraid of her but as the blonde took a step towards it, the cat would instantly back off, keeping the distance. Such a strange animal but since it caused her no harm, Bastila would simply turn around and head towards the castle entrance, her furry new friend following behind her, like a shadow. The takeover mage had no idea what the creature’s purpose was but it seemed that it would be with her for the long haul.

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It was unfortunate that she had to ruin such a lovely piece of architecture but as Bastila sprinted through the castle, it was something that she would just have to accept. The signs of holiness that were all around her though were items that she was glad to be rid. She had never focused too much on her dislike of the angelic, instead honing in squarely on her former husband and his band of men. Her fear of him had turned to hatred over the years and even now as she roared onwards, every face she saw seemed to be his. One day, it would actually be his and she knew, as the blonde expected that he did too, they would not both survive the encounter. He had stalked her for far too long and what was worse was that had extended to Sakura too. She had hoped beyond hope that he would simply forget all about them but it had been just a false one. There would be no escape, unless he was put down for good. Bastila would not dirty her daughters hands with such a task, no, it would be hers. Perhaps then, the pair would be free at last to begin their new lives, away from him and his foul influence.

She could still feel the gaze of the black cat following her, still bemused by just what it was doing following her but the statuesque blonde could not help but feel a protectiveness over it. If it was going to track her throughout the castle then she mused that it was her task to defend it from harm. Bastila had always had a fondness for felines and the one following her did look awfully similar to one that she had kept as a child. Hers had been such a little bundle of joy though and liked nothing better than to jump into Bastila’s arms whenever it could. That was something that her new friend seemed far more reluctant to do but given the blue grey eyed woman’s appearance and mood, it was not hard to see why. She was anything but friendly and loving at the moment.

A door would suddenly burst open from her right and a group of armoured guards would burst out towards her, wielding weapons of various types. Perhaps if she had been finally right, Bastila may have given them the chance to speak but not today. Bursting into ash all of a sudden, she would suddenly disappear for a second, causing the guards to suddenly form a circle around each other, only for her to suddenly appear above them, causing a large burst of flame to ensnare her flames below. That certainly caused the warriors to break formation, rolling around as they tried to put out the fire. Bastila did not waste a moment though and began to engage them, her talons hardy enough to clash against the weapons of the guards without taking any real damage. Her phoenix form provided her with all the defences she needed and as the poor men and women desperately tried a way through, they struggled to put any real dent in her. It was as though they were using toy weapons against her and she batted them away as such.

As time passed, they began to panic and lose composure, resulting in them beginning to make mistakes. The phoenix was able to start to carve through their well trained formations, striking more and more of them with her powerful strikes. Leaping into the air, she would then beat her wings, sending a large burst of flames down towards them, scorching and burning through their armour. It was not a pretty sight at all and the cries of the guards could be heard throughout the castle as they fell to the floor. It was difficult to tell how many she killed during the battle and the more she killed, the more it eroded their confidence. They were bathed in the flames of her ancient powers and had no real answer for it. The bodies soon piled up although there would be little left of them and by the time the fight came to an end, there was again simply ash. If she were to guess, there were about twenty of the brave fools who had perished. They had given their lives in order to protect their angelic masters but what Bastila found rather sad was that not one of those masters had decided to actually try and defend them from the mage. Clearly, they were not all that concerned about their patrons and so with that in mind, she would return to her hunt, leaving the charred ash behind her.

She had been given a good brief into what awaited her and as the blonde moved on, her mind quickly recalled the next stage of complications that she would be forced to face. Apparently a group of bird-like creatures, a rather fitting foe for her and as her eyes turned towards the large stained glass windows on her left, she saw an almost human sized dove staring straight back at her. It was at least seven feet in height and remembering her mission, Bastila would dart straight towards the window and crash through it, slamming hard into the bird and unleashing a barrage of powerful talon strikes. The bird fired back using its own impressive claws, surrounded by powerful gusts of wind that battered against Bastila’s flames. It was magical in nature no doubt and as both flying creatures headed towards the ground, each struggling for control, blasts of flame and wind could be felt in the area around them.

Just as they were about to hit the earth, Bastila was able to roll the bird over and force it to the ground first, causing it to take the brunt of the crash, even if it did knock the wind out of her too. Rolling over, she would be momentarily staggered although compared to the flattened bird, she had been rather lucky. Its wings were badly damaged and as it struggled and cooed desperately to return to the sky, Bastila momentarily felt sorry for the creature but with a shake of the head, she would roll once more over to the bird and put it out of its misery, another opponent defeated. It was proving to be quite a long, drawn out battle and as the woman returned to her feet, she was curious about just how her stamina would hold out. Her missions had been generally short and this was probably one of the longest ones that she had taken part in so far. Still, she was not ready to be retired just yet and as a rallying cry of cooing came from above, a smile would cross her features although it would be hidden by her mask.

Another half a  dozen of the birds were floating above her, seemingly ready for battle and after remaining still for a moment to catch her breath, Bastila would once more leap back into the sky, tearing towards her foes. They would counter by flapping their wings quickly in order to send a barrage of razor sharp blades of wind towards her, forcing her to have to barrel roll out of the way in order to avoid taking any damage. They were clever creatures and positioned themselves well, making it quite difficult for Bastila  to get inside their guard. She would prod and poke against them with her more basic abilities but they kept in shape, forcing her to continue flying around the group. In the end, she was forced to tap into something rather more powerful and began to spin around in a circle, unleashing a devastating wave of fire that did break through their defences. Most avoided it but by doing so, they left two of the doves to receive the full blast of the attack, charring them almost to the bond and causing them to fall from the sky, crashing to the ground below.

The remaining four squawked with fright at the damage done and simply dived down towards her, the fear clouding their apparent intelligence and leaving themselves open for her to deliver a powerful jet of flame from her mouth, striking the lead one firmly and causing his wings to catch alight. He would flap desperately to keep himself in the air but there was little he could truly do and he soon fell to meet his fellow doves on the ground, another one having bit the dust quite literally. Now that she had scored a few kills, it was not as difficult and Bastila was able to get in up close and personal and continue with her more desired approach for the day, as physically as possible. The doves left were clearly not as effective from that range and while the mage battered one of them with her flaming talons, the other two rather foolishly fired a pair of wind attacks in order to try and get her off of their ally. Not a smart move by any means and Bastila simply moved behind the dove she was fighting, allowing the blasts to hit it instead, taking it out of commission too.

The last two simply tried to escape, flapping as fast as possible away from the approaching phoenix but Bastila was having none of it. They could not be allowed to flee and so with a swipe of her hands, she would cause a prison of flame to envelop the pair, watching as it then filled completely with fire, burning the two to a crisp. Their shrieks made her ears bleed but she watched without the slightest movement. The whole affair took about thirty seconds but by the time the flames dispersed, there was nothing of the doves left. Another wave defeated and as Bastila briefly pondered to herself, she mused that it would no doubt soon be time to finally face one of the angels themselves.

Rising up and re-entering the window that she had crashed out of before, the takeover mage would once again continue with her mission. As she progressed through the castle, she would occasionally come up against another bystander or two, striking them swiftly and killing them cleanly. She was not interested in torturing her foes and as the corridors became littered with bodies once again, a far stronger magical aura caused her to pause. There was indeed another magic caster approaching her and as Bastila reached the end of what seemed like the hundredth corridor and entered a large hall. A winged figure was waiting for her.

She looked rather sweet to be honest. A young, pink haired young angel who wore a matching dress, as well as wielding a large yellow staff. The look on her face though was anything but sweet though. No, her blue eyes were blazing with anger although it did little to make Bastila pause. This was no doubt one of the so called council that she had been warned about and as the flames began to dance around the Hidden Blade mages again as she prepared for her next battle, the angel would speak.

“You have made a grave error by attacking our castle, masked warrior,” she hissed, “We do not take kindly to anyone attempting to invade our land and will defend it with all of our might. You have killed many innocents in order to reach this hall and I will make you pay for doing so. I do not know why you have come and I do not care. You have made the biggest mistake of your life by making enemies of us and it is my solemn duty to teach you that lesson. I am Maya, a member of the angelic council.”

“Considering that you have allowed your believers to suffer without even bothering to help them says a great deal,” Bastila countered, “You have proven your cowardice by doing such a thing and I think you are a disgrace for acting in such a way. I believed in your kind once. I was suffering and prayed to your kind on a daily basis but you ignored me, as you ignore all those who believe in you. You say one thing and do another which makes me not believe a word that you say. I am here to end this castle of yours and to send your council into disarray. Your life, however, is not one that I have been ordered to end. You are to watch as this castle is destroyed and then you will relay a message to those of the outside world. That is what your fate is, angel. Like it or not.”

There were no more words spoken and the two ancient beings would engage in battle. Maya would raise her staff and unleash a flurry of magical stars that darted towards the phoenix. They travelled quickly and Bastila was forced to create a fire shield in front of her, defending her from harm and protecting her. In response, the blonde would then disappear and reappear beside the angel, causing a blast of flame to burst from her new position. Maya was swift though and managed to avoid it, jumping upwards and creating a planet shaped orb in her hands and then launching it at Bastila. Dodging quickly to her left, the blue grey eyed mage would then leap up and deliver a powerful blaze kick, catching the angel in the chest and hurling her backwards. Not a single moment was wasted and the phoenix would then surround herself with flame and charge towards her foe, catching her in the stomach and launching her backwards, crashing against a large pillar and stunning her for a moment. Taking advantage, Bastila would then open up with a barrage of punches and claw strikes, attempting to knock the angel out but Maya was tougher than she looked and countered with a strong kick, knocking the mage backwards.

Angered by the damage she had taken, Maya scrambled back up to her feet and began to perform a dance-like movement, resulting in a group of shooting stars to appear above Bastila’s position, before raining down an enormous strike of moonlight. Gasping from the force of the attack, Bastila would wrap her wings around her, before releasing her powerful flame like aura in a fiery burst to negate the angels’s attack. It had certainly been effective though and the phoenix mage had to shake her head for a moment in order to get the cobwebs out. Maya on the other hand would take the offensive, her staff glowing with galaxy magic as she delivered a mighty strike with it. All Bastila could do was grasp the weapon with her talon, causing a massive explosion of energy as the two powers met. The attack was strong enough to send them both hurling backwards and tumbling to the ground in a heap.

Time was short and Bastila was just a little quicker on the draw, rolling over onto her front and unleashing one final scorching plume of flame from her mouth which struck the angel hard, knocking Maya down for the count. The battle finally over, Bastila would slowly wander over to the gasping angel before she withdrew a collar from her outfit and attached it to the angel’s neck. The item swiftly cut off the angel’s magical power and left her unable to do much of anything as the collar then burst to life, wrapping ropes around the pink haired girl and immobilising her.

“As I said, your part in this is to survive and inform others of what had happened here,” Bastila said simply to the girl, “Now, stop struggling and let us continue, shall we?”

Without another word, she would hoist the girl up in a fireman’s carry and proceeded to leave the hall by way of a back door and continued on her way. Maya would continue to kick and throw the occasional insult towards her but she Bastila simply ignored her for the most part although she did spank the helpless girl on the backside to humiliate her once or twice, as a parent might do to their child. One thing was for certain, Maya would not forget her encounter with Bastila and given how much there was left for the mage to do, it would no doubt become an even more painful experience for the angel by the end. As it was, the blonde haired phoenix would snag the bottles that the girl had attached to her dress and drank them as they moved, restoring her health and magical power. She had no doubt that she would need all her strength from the fights that were still before her and each one would be harder than the last.

Strangely enough, the small black cat would still be there too, having come out of hiding once the fight was over, still following the mage as it had since the start. It did not meow or anything like that but simply followed, as though it had a message for Bastila or something like that. There was no fear in its eyes though, simply determination, similar to the look that Bastila had on her face, hidden by the outfit. She had already proved her mettle against one angel and now it was time to take on another. Bastila could already feel the same sensation as before, warning her of the arrival of another holy being. Maya began to struggle harder as she realised what was happening, knowing that one of her allies was near. It would do her little good though as Bastila was easily able to keep her in her clutches although her phoenix form was well under her control as to not burn the girl with its flames. Oh, Maya would feel toasty but she would experience no pain from it. She had already taken enough damage from it. No, she was just a helpless passenger now.

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Bastila soon found the source of this newest magical aura as she took a right turn and began to sprint up a staircase, her way was blocked by a blue haired angel, a beautiful pair of blue wings appearing from her back Her power level seemed stronger than Maya’s and as her next foe looked down upon Bastila, her gaze blazed a bright blue. She had a distinctive coldness about her and as the phoenix looked up at the woman, her aura blazed orange, mirroring the intensity of the angels’ in front of her. For a few moments, neither said anything and the only sounds came from Maya as she continued to struggle against Bastila. In response to that, the blonde would deliver another humiliating slap to the backside of the pink haired girl, before depositing her on the ground to watch the spectacle. The galaxy magic wielding angel would not be able to help her ally with the collar attached to her and so Bastila was comfortable with leaving her lying there in her bonds. The blue grey eyed woman would then climb the staircase, her visage hidden by her uniform, until the two were face to face.

“Is there any point of us even speaking?” The blue haired angel asked, raising an eyebrow and looking over Bastila’s attire, “Your actions have made it perfectly clear as to what your intentions are and it seems obvious to me that there is nothing that I can possibly say in order for you to stop this little rampage of yours. So, should we get on with this?”

“Well put,” Bastila replied simply, before hurling a flaming talon before the angel, catching her in the jaw and launching the holy being backwards, crashing into the wall behind her. Deciding to take on a different strategy this time around, the phoenix would dart in close and begin to assault the angel from the inside, sending painful and powerful blows that kept the angel on the defensive. Yet, her attacks did not seem to do too much overall and as Bastila smashed the woman with an almighty right, she saw the reason why/

The angel’s entire body was covered in an ice like armour under her attire, shielding her from arm. A small smile would appear on the angel’s face and she began to return fire with ice covered hands, sending jolts of cold through Bastila’s body. It was a barrage of ice and fire, the strongest defence versus the most overpowering offence and as the blows reigned in from both parties, it was difficult to tell who was winning. The phoenix was not slowing up and yet the angel’s armour was not cracking either. It became more a battle of wills than of skill and the two ancient beings just smashed each other out of anger and rage. Bastila was already seething and the angel seemed to be becoming infected by it too, not to mention the immense hatred that had spawned from the death of her believers. A battle of the most brutal kind.

Things only seemed to change when Bastila caught her opponent with a mighty knee to the midsection, causing a gasp to burst from the angel’s lips and a cracking sound to be heard. The angel’s armour had finally buckled under the ferocity of Bastila’s assault and the blonde did not fail to take advantage, aiming her blows for that precise spot, again and again. The angel desperately tried to push her off in order to get some distance but the hidden blade mage was straight back at her with even more blows. All of the mother’s anger and hatred was pouring out of her as she struck, all those years of fear and pain bursting from her. Blow after blow found its mark and the angel’s body began to break and shatter due to the force of it. All Maya could do from her defenceless position was cry out in horror as her fellow angel was slowly but surely destroyed. There was not a moment of doubt from the rage filled blonde as she scored an incredible uppercut to the angel’s jaw, sending her off of her feet and smashing through the wall of the castle. With a spine curdling shriek, she would tumble to her doom, her mind and body too stunned by the vicious blow to attempt to use her wings. A large shattering of ice would then be heard as she hit the ground, her body turning into simple shards of ice.

“FREEZIA!” Maya screamed, grief stricken by the death of her friend.

A burst of light would then immerse the spot where the ice angel had died, shooting up into the air and splitting the cloudy sky for a moment or too. The death knells of an angel, Bastila assumed or a signal to the owner of the castle perhaps. The phoenix mage simply watched it happen, while kneeling down and retrieving another pair of potions that the angel had dropped during the fight. Drinking every drop of them, she would feel her health and magical power return to full strength again, before standing up and walking over to Maya.

“You cruel piece of filth!” The pink haired angel spat at her, “She did not deserve that!”

“Deserve has got nothing to do with it,” Bastila replied grimly, before picking up the pink haired girl without another word and continuing onward. From what she could remember of the mission brief, there should be one more angel to be defeated, before the final target would emerge and face her in battle. At least, that was what the job giver had said, even though he himself was not entirely sure, saying it was as much a myth as it was truth. Still, it did not matter to the blonde and with Maya over her shoulder once again, Bastila would dart up the rest of the staircase, her hatred and anger still not having been satiated. Not until the job was done.

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The blonde was reaching the peak of the castle and she knew it, her pace increasing by the moment as she continued to tear through the place, her talons and fists slaughtering any poor fool that was left standing. Her job was drawing to a close and as she charged onwards, she was certain that by now she must have attracted the attention of the final member of the council. Bastila had to admit that she was looking forward to battling with this next angel, a fire wielder as she was and the hidden blade mage knew that it would no doubt be a tough affair, if her previous battles were anything to go by. Yet, she was confident with her feelings of extreme hate pushing her forwards constantly. Anger was such a powerful motivator and although Bastila knew in the back of her mind that this was not the real her, for today, it did not matter. She was overcome by her emotions and all that mattered now was unleashing her rage, before it consumed her or those closest to her. Surely, they would understand her need to do this although when she thought about it, who was going to know about her mission today?

To her utter bafflement though, the next figure to get in her way was not an angel but a drunk lunatic wearing a vampire costume. He reeked of alcohol and as he came giggling over to her, Bastila completely became overwhelmed by the red mist of rage. Alcohol was one of her former husband's greatest vices and his drunken rages against her would forever leave their marks upon her, both mentally and physically. Her aura did not seem to put this guy off though and instead he would start to spout the corniest of jokes, one after the other. “Who helps the little pumpkins cross the road safely? The crossing gourd. Good one? No? Then how about this. What treat do eye doctors give out on Halloween? Candy corneas. HAHAHAHA! Hilarious! Alright, one more then. What type of plants do well on all Hallow’s Eve? Bam-BOO! Thank you! I will be here all…”

Before he could utter another word, the blonde mage reached him and launched a flaming talon in his direction, striking him with such force that he ended up slamming into the wall and landing in a heap, motionless. She was not in the mood for any such foolishness and even Maya went silent at the display, her struggles coming to a complete half at the destruction. It appeared that the pink haired angel had come to realise the magnitude of what Bastila was going to do and her earlier struggles had been replaced by fear. The galaxy mage kept her mouth shut and if the masked mage did not know any better, she would say that Maya was quivering. Must to the amusement of the blonde.

After about five minutes longer, the pair would reach the peak of the castle, with a pair of enormous double doors facing them. Without a moment of thought, Bastila would open them with a kick from her flame covered foot, causing the doors to break off completely. Standing before her would be an incredibly tall red headed woman, dressed completely in a set of armour with a long spear. The look she bore was a no nonsense one and as a symbol of Bastila’s own resolve, the angel would burst into flame herself, matching the hidden blade member’s intensity visually. The tension grew and grew and soon enough, Maya would once more be placed on the ground by the phoenix mage, before Bastila would begin to approach her next devilry, ready for combat.

The armoured angel did not move a muscle, “Greetings, intruder. I am Genesis, the owner of this castle and the one who is going to put an end to your carnage. You have committed sins today that cannot go unpunished and in the name of my sect and my race, I will put you down and send you to hell. I am the final member of the council and all that remains from keeping this castle from becoming a desolate ruin but that is what you desire, is it not? You wish to use us as bait in order to call upon our mistress. We are simply pawns in your little game. Come now, there is no point in trying to deceive me, let us talk plainly, before we face each other in combat.”

“What is there left for me to say? You seem to already know the answers,” Bastila replied, “My goal is precisely as you claim it to be. I am tasked with bringing this castle down, as well as all those who dwell within. Let us do what must be done and bring an end to this.”

Without any further talk, Bastila’s latest battle would begin, with the two beings darting towards each other and engaging in a battle that caused the entire room to almost burst into flame. It was not one for the timid and as talon met spear and flame met flame, the castle seemed to nearly shake the magical power being used. Genesis was by far the most powerful angel that the blonde had fought during the job and she was caught several times by the spear wielding woman’s attacks although the defensive power of her takeover stood up quite well to it. The windows of the room would explode due to the ferocity of the contest and as the two fought tooth and nail for control, their movements became difficult to read. There was a measure of respect between the two though and it had to be noted that Genesis began to smile after a while, seeming to enjoy the challenge. Bastila’s expression was of course impossible to figure out but she had to admit that she did take some pleasure from being able to go all out.

Both women began to show the signs of fatigue and wear after a while but neither gave up, each continuing to fight with everything they had, fighting toe to toe without giving any quarter. Maya could only watch, mesmerised rather than fearful this time around. She seemed to be captivated by the contest and the pink haired girl seemed to find herself torn about who she wanted to win, much to her own amazement and surprise. She had rarely seen a human go toe to toe with her kind before today and was somewhat amazed by what she was seeing, despite the feelings of grief that she had regarding her own defeat and the death of Freezia.

Burned and battered, Bastila would finally swat aside a desperate lunge from Genesis, before slamming down hard upon the angel’s spear with her talon and breaking it in two. The effect was rather instantaneous and the angel’s power level started to weaken with her weapon gone. Sensing the link between weapon and warrior, Bastila would then force her aching limbs to push onwards, as she started to overwhelm her foe, knocking Genesis further and further back until the angel was up against the already broken window. The owner of the castle had fought bravely but as the blonde went to work on her weakening body, she seemed to realise that she was beaten. The fight seemed to leave her and as Bastila unleashed a powerful combination, ending with a powerful body blow to the angel, Genesis would stagger and then fall to the floor.

Knowing that death was the only to summon her last target, Bastila would proceed to deliver a crushing kick to the angel’s skull, putting her out of her misery. Taking a few steps back, Bastila would then again witness the familiar burst of light that exploded from the angel’s body as she died, blowing the roof of the castle off completely and causing the ground to begin to shake violently. Yet, as Bastila took a few moments to savour her victory, the realisation dawned upon her about just what was about to happen. So, after chugging down the latest set of potions left behind by Genesis, the mage would swiftly retrieve Maya, before jumping from the rooftop of the castle, her enormous wings reaching their full span in order to carry the weight. Behind them, the  once holy building would come tumbling down, killing any remaining humans that were still inside.

Landing with a rather large bump, Bastila would once again drop Maya on the ground and then looked up to the sky. As if in answer, a large beam of light would then fall upon the ruins of the castle, before a winged figure would descend. This was who Bastila had been waiting for and the one that she had truly been asked to kill. The mistress of the angels and the leader of the group as far as she knew. Angelicae.

“I cannot believe that your scheme actually worked,” Maya uttered, watching the figure descend, her eyes wide with awe.

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There was not a single word spoken by the figure as she landed atop the rubble, her expression completely unreadable. Her gaze would be upon the remains of her once lovely castle, all of her work having gone to waste. There was nothing left for her to do but silently rage and as she finally did turn towards her Bastila, her hands would clench, finally a sign of her anger. Her power was off the scale compared to the others that the mage had faced and when she spoke, every word seemed to thrum with power, “Congratulations. You have managed to attract my attention. I hope that you are proud of yourself for what you have done. My entire sect has been destroyed, my believers killed and my lovely castle now just a ruin. There is no other punishment that can be paid other than your death and by the time I am finished with you, I swear that you will beg me for it. Prepare yourself.”

Summoning all of her power for one last fight, Bastila would take her stance and the final part of the job would take place. Angelicae wasted no time and actually took the offensive first, summoning a pair of light blades and flying in close, delivering a graceful yet powerful barrage of attacks that Bastila was only just about able to evade, being forced to jump back and out of harm's way. Taking a breath, the mage would unleash a powerful blast of flame from her mouth that would tear towards the angel, only to be locked as her opponent summoned a shield of light. Angelicae would then raise a hand to her sky and cause a bright light to come down over the takeover mage, resulting Bastila having to blast it away with her aura ability, negating the attack although it took a fair amount of her magical power to do so.

Once she was free of it, Bastila would then take the offensive by leaping into the sky and unleashing a powerful flame wave with the beating of her large phoenix wings. The temperature was immense and even the angel seemed to struggle with the heat, forcing her hands up to try and deflect. However, she was only partially successful and her left arm would be severely burned by the attack, causing her to shout, “Damn you!”

“Not a very angelic thing to say,” Bastila replied dryly, diving towards the holy being in an attempt to crash into her. Angelicae would attempt to jump clear but instead found herself directly in the path of Bastila, sending the pair of them slamming to the ground. The blonde mage was able to get off a few physical strikes but they did not do an awful lot, with Angelicae seemingly unfazed, before teleporting away by use of her light magic and reappearing behind the mage. It was fortunate that Bastila’s senses were so keen as just as the angel’s attack was about to strike her, the hidden blade member would suddenly turn to ash, appearing directly beside the archangel and catching her with a powerful blast of flame.

With a shriek, Angelicae would attempt to escape the attack but Bastila would unleash a power blade kick, catching her in the midsection and sending her flying. The attack was powerful and before Angelicae could recover, Bastila struck again with her fiery dance, burning the angel severely and causing her to reel. In desperation, she would try and summon a light barrier but she lacked the strength and the flames burst through it, setting her ablaze and robbing her of precious energy. Charging forwards, Bastila would lunge forward for the kill, forcing the being to the ground and delivering a flame fuelled beating unlike she had ever done before. The mage did not know just how many times she struck the angel before she died but so lost was she in her wrath filled assault that it did not matter. The attack only came to an end when she felt the last gasp of life leave the angel and only then that she rolled off of her. Completely exhausted.

The job was finally complete and as she sat there panting, Bastila finally began to feel the rage that had clouded her mind begin to fade away. She could not continue to live with such feelings and the blonde knew that the only way that she would ever be free would be with the death of her former husband. As long as he lived, he would haunt her forever and as that realisation struck her, she planned her next move. She would find and kill him. There were no ifs or buts. It was the way it had to be. Only then could she and Sakura finally lead the lives that they deserved to.

Struggling up to her feet, the tired mage would walk over to the bound Maya and kneel down beside her, “Now, in exchange for your life, I want you to spread the story of what you have witnessed here. Tell them of what happened to the castle and those who dwelled within. Ember is what you can call me and that is the one that you will use when retelling this tale. If I find out that you have not kept your word then I will find you. Understood?"

“I understand,” Maya replied with a nod, not saying anything further.

With that, Bastila would remove the collar and watch as the pink haired angel flew away, savouring her victory for a few moments. A yowling would then interrupt her thoughts and to the amazement of the mage, the little black cat from before would approach, finally trusting her enough to come close, rubbing its head against her knee. With a masked smile, she would gently pick it up and place it in her lap, taking a well deserved rest before heading home.

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