A lone Light Angel dangled from Fenn’s grip, wings twitching helplessly behind him as it clawed at the large claws clutching at his neck. The angel’s lance was held on the dog’s other arm, the tip steaming. A wisp of vapor coming from the Hellhound’s shoulder betrayed where the spear had met flesh, managing a small cut.  

On a beast his size, such a wound was insignificant, but several others such scratches marred the dog’s hide, along with slightly discolored patches of scales where an angelic lance’s beam had met its mark. As the largest, most obvious threat, Fenn drew in most of the enemy fire, and against so many small foes, he had little choice but to rely on the toughness of his hide to fend off the blows he could not avoid. Against the angel’s projectiles, Fenn had done what he could to procure cover. Several upturned vehicles and smouldering wrecks on their wake revealed his attempts at shielding himself, their surface twisted and bent both by the beams of light and the use he had given it. Thus far, the angels had managed to do little more than inconvenience them. Admittedly, he had expected more.

He cocked an eye towards his companion, still locked in battle with what remained of their attackers.

An inhuman scream split the air as the demoness viciously tore the wings off of the angel on the ground. He was left to bleed to death as the last remaining Affinity charged at her in outrage. She sidestepped his charge, plunging her sword through his skull in the same motion. Her clawed foot met his torso as he passed, kicking him away even as she held unto the sword. Its own momentum and the added power of her kick all but served to cleave its skull in two as her sword was wrenched free. 

Lily sighed and stretched. Her sword vanished into aether, and the Affinity fell to the ground. 

Another to add to the pile. Several other corpses, belonging to both bestial and humanoid angels littered the streets around them. Some held similar wounds to those borne by the ones Lily had dispatched, while others were crushed, mangled, or charred until their muscles shriveled and curled inwards, as though they had tried to shield their bodies with their limbs as fire consumed them.

Fenn turned his gaze towards the one still held in his grasp. The angel’s struggles had waned. Its arms simply wrapped over his in a seeming attempt to loosen the pressure on his throat. Fenn grunted. Bone cracked. The soldier fell limply to the ground. After a moment’s consideration, Fenn discarded the angel’s weapon as well, letting it clatter onto the asphalt.

They seemed to have reached a lull in the fighting. No angels were flying at them for the moment, but he did not doubt that there were others either on their way or fortifying their defenses closer to the tower. These angels had not been the greatest of warriors, but they had responded to the threat with surprising alacrity. Courtesy of those figures outlined against the sky? Were they scouts relating their current position to the rest of their forces? The Imp could stand to root them out if that was the case.

And there was more. The scent of demon had seemed to grow rather than diminish as the pair progressed through the streets, and he was certain it did not belong to the rabble gathering at the human settlement’s outskirts. Now his ears pricked as footsteps approached. Not from the human settlers, he knew. Those had either ran in a panic or locked themselves within their homes at the first hint of their approach.  

“We have company, Imp.”

Lily’s feline ears swiveled around, turning backwards as if trying to catch the sound of the same steps Fenn had heard. “I know,” she said quietly, her gaze fixed forward. “Another demon, it smells like, but not someone from the Council.” She glanced up at him. “Ideas?” 

The dog rolled his shoulders, falling onto all fours again. As long as this new party did not get in their way, he did not care what they did about them. So far, they did not seem inclined to try. Acknowledging them might change that. Or it may net them a potential ally, if their goals happened to align with theirs.

“No. Do as you will, but do so quickly. We must keep moving if we are to reach that tower.”

Lily shrugged, sounding like she was of much the same mind as Fenn. “Let’s keep moving,” she said while trying to wipe off the blood that had coated parts of her tail, “If they’re an enemy we can deal with them, and if they happen to be an ally, then nothing will change.” 

“And the ones in the sky? Should we ignore those too?”

A mild look of surprise washed over Lily’s features. She turned her attention skywards, eyes narrowing at the far-off figures. She blinked, and Fenn could see that her eyes had changed; no longer slitted like a cat, but completely round and with a yellow sclera. “Angels,” she confirmed, her hawk-like eyes reverting to those of a cat again. “Army of Light, the humanoid ones.” 

“I don’t like their eyes on us,” the dog grunted as he began moving forward. “Let us move to a side path, put some buildings between them and us.” The way forward would be contested either way. If they insisted on moving forward on a straight line, the angels would be able to set checkpoints to obstruct their progress. Better to vary their approach if they could. Lily followed in silent agreement.