Chapter 657 Zadkiel Vs. Ano.
Zadkiel stepped through the shieldwall and stood at the front of humanity's army. He immediately knew the danger the flower-patterned man held. It was completely different from the aura he emitted. The aura was strong, calm, and sharp!
In the Legacy Company's thousand monitor room, the Primordial Gods had gathered there. It was the center of their headquarters. The monitors showed the video feed of the battlefield through mounted cameras.
''He is strong...'' Aether rubbed his clean-shaven chin and pondered aloud. He knew Zadkiel and the rest of the angels couldn't handle one Demon General. It was rather unfortunate that they had already sent their first ranked general.
''Shall we send our first player?'' Chronos asked.
''No, they aren't ready.'' Gaia said and frowned. They had activated every TV in the players' quarters, where they could see the battlefield. They wanted them to get used to the bloodshed and the possibility of dying. It was still too soon to send them.
''Then, what should we do? Zadkiel can't handle him.''
Aether listened with his eyes closed. As he stared at the darkness, a vivid image appeared in his mind. It showed scenes from battles where Ano and Zadkiel fought. In each battle, Zadkiel died a miserable death and was turned into a bloody rose.
He then changed Zadkiel to figures of different Archangels and put them against Ano. After several seconds, only one Archangel survived Ano and even seemed to slightly injure him!
He opened his eyes with a smile and said, ''Pull Zadkiel away from the battlefield.''
''What?'' The Primordial Gods frowned.
''Yeah.'' Aether folded his arms and continued, ''Send Archangel Gabriel, Herald of Visions and the Messenger of God.''
''Gabriel?'' They were startled at first. Gabriel was the odd one out of all the Archangels. He could be said to be quite untrustworthy.
''Yeah, he is only one who can survive this battle.'' Aether said confidently.
...
On the battlefield.
''Haah...'' Ano took a lower stance and almost looked like he was falling forward. Everyone looked at him strangely, wondering what he was planning to do.
Zadkiel paled slightly and held his sword in tighter grip.
''Whoo...'' After exhaling, Ano raised his head and looked straight at Zadkiel—his target. He then kicked the ground, blowing the snow away, and then he launched forward.
He moved across the hundred meter distance instantly and appeared within the reach of Zadkiel. The crescent-shaped sword tore through the air and slashed diagonally towards Zadkiel's throat—at the gap between helmet and chestplate.
Zadkiel lifted the shield and blocked the sword with an inch to spare. However, the brute strength of the sword strike broke his posture, causing him to lean slightly to one side. That gave Ano the time he needed to jump to his side, and he almost immediately stabbed the sword across Zadkiel's hip.
Zadkiel panicked and twisted his hip to the side slightly. The crescent-shaped sword still managed to graze across the armory and even made a lengthy cut in the waist.
'He is too fast and precise!' He was thinking anxiously in his mind. He immediately knew he was outclassed.
The rest of the angels could only watch helplessly as Zadkiel got pushed back. This fight was out of their league and they would just get in the way and might speed up Zadkiel's death.
Ano didn't rest for a moment and slashed horizontally. The sword cut through the chest plate and even grazed the skin. A lot of blood gushed out from the crack in the armor.
Zadkiel gritted his teeth and pushed the shield forward. With the shield, he managed to hit Ano in the shoulder and push him a step backward. Then, he raised his sword and slashed it down vertically.
Ano nimbly stepped to the side and dodged the vertical slash. He looked like he was dancing on the snowy ground.
''The Flower Bloom!'' The flower-patterned image on the blade suddenly started shining. Ano slashed down at the ground, cutting through the soil and causing a five-meter long crevice to appear. Then, a beautiful white-colored rose bloomed from the crack, and it was almost five meters in height.
However, as soon as the flower bloomed, all the soldiers started feeling worse. It was like they suddenly had fever and felt like puking.
'Poison?!' Zadkiel was the first one to notice. He quickly covered his nose with his shield-wielding hand and turned to the army. ''Cover your nose and mouth!''
They did as they were told, but now they were completely useless since they couldn't wield their weapons.
''You should look at me..." An indifferent voice sounded behind him. Zadkiel whipped around and saw a crescent-shaped blade only an inch away from piercing through his throat.
'I am dead...' Zadkiel thought and resigned himself to his fate.
Clank... out of nowhere, Ano's sword was deflected to the side. Then, an illusionary slash tore through the air and slashed through the white-colored rose. The flower turned wrinkly and disappeared into specks of light. Everyone started feeling normal again.
''?!'' Zadkiel turned to the person who had saved him and was startled. A beautiful golden-haired man held a rapier with its blade touching Ano's throat.
"Oi, oi.'' Gabriel grinned. ''You have fast reflexes.''
''...'' Ano stood indifferently as the rapier's blade grazed his throat. He saw Gabriel appear, but was taken slightly off-guard by his speed. However, he still managed to react. The crescent-shaped blade was touching Gabriel's torso and was an inch away from tearing through his flesh and heart.
''Zadkiel, you were ordered to retreat!'' Gabriel said while slight sweatdrops trailed down his face. ''I was ordered to fill your shoes.''
''W-What?'' Zadkiel was shocked and soon realized why. He felt ashamed. It was because he was too weak and the Primordials had to decide on someone to replace him in fighting Ano. He could team-up with Gabriel, but it was too dangerous. They could mess up others' rhythms and cause their deaths.
Gabriel wasn't necessarily stronger than he was. However, he was the best at ''survival'' and was perhaps the most skilled Archangel in using weapons. They seemed to be the weapons of choice to counter Ano.