"BOOM—!"
It was the sound of a massive object nearly twenty meters tall slamming into the ground. When the dust cleared, what appeared was a gigantic artificial mechanical dragon, wrapped in black miasma.
Its entire body was riddled with warped dents, as if it had been battered by some blunt weapon.
"Yaaahhh—!"
With a girlish shout, a radiant, holy figure plummeted from the sky above, slamming something down hard upon the dragon.
"BOOM—!"
The ground groaned again, and the evil miasma-clad dragon let out a miserable shriek—or rather, the twisted, malformed souls attached to it screamed, until they were purified by divine light, vanishing like mist in the sunlight.
All that was left was the deformed wreck of the mechanical dragon.
Then, with a dainty tiptoe, a small and delicate figure gracefully landed on the ground.
She had long, golden hair with fluffy curls at the ends. Her porcelain-doll-like face featured a pair of large, beautiful emerald green eyes.
Her slender frame was dressed in a white one-piece dress, over which she wore a blue coat with a skirt hem, along with a white shawl. A white bow with a cross hung at the collar—overall, a cute and stylish ensemble.
Most notably, she had a pair of delicate, pure white wings on her back and a glowing golden halo above her head.
Yes, this adorable girl radiating charm from head to toe was unmistakably an angel—an angel anyone would fall for at first sight.
However, this angel, as lovely as she looked, currently wore a very disgruntled expression, completely ruining the cute aesthetic—especially considering that her fragile-looking arms were gripping a brutal weapon nearly as tall as she was: a spiked club.
Wait a minute… what the hell?
She's clearly an angel—wings and halo look genuine, and the holy light she emits definitely gives off divine vibes.
Clearly, she's a messenger of God. So why on Earth is she carrying around a weapon that looks more fitting for a delinquent or a barbarian?
Talk about shattering expectations.
"Today was supposed to be my big debut as an idol!!!"
The adorable angel, scowling and holding her spiked club, had a cloud of gloom over her face.
In the next second, that cute face twisted into something like an angry demon mask, and with both hands gripping the club, she charged toward the still-twitching remains of the dragon.
"BAM—BAM—BOOM—!"
A brutal barrage of smashing followed. If any human were to witness this, they'd absolutely think this wasn't an angel at all but some demon in angel cosplay.
Finally, once she seemed to have vented enough of her frustration, the angel wiped the fragrant sweat from her delicate face.
She looked visibly refreshed, and even gave a soft smile—finally resembling the ideal image of a beautiful, heavenly angel.
But then, seeing the dark and stormy skies overhead, her mood soured again. She reached up and flicked her halo with a pout.
"Of all times to repair itself, it had to be now—"
She cut off her grumbling as if afraid someone might overhear.
The halo on her head had originally been broken due to some unfortunate accident. And just now, of all times, it had restored itself. Along with that, she received a message from the [Lord].
Clearly, the [Lord] had always been capable of restoring her halo and returning her to her angelic position.
Yet, when she was down and out, struggling alone, there had been no response at all. It was obvious now—the [Lord] didn't really care about her unless she was useful.
When she wasn't, she was disposable.
So yeah, this angel was definitely harboring some serious complaints about her [Lord]. Maybe it was time to consider transferring to another faction. This place was practically run by a black-hearted boss.
At this moment, the golden-haired angel also felt kind of sorry for her superior—probably still devoutly loyal to the [Lord], poor soul.
If she really were to switch sides, maybe she should drag that superior of hers along too—the one doing even worse than she was in the human world.
Hmph.
"Stupid weather."
Currently, this area of the human world was still stuck in thunderstorm conditions—partially due to influences from elsewhere.
In truth, the weather could have been cleared up, but the gloomy skies helped keep humans indoors, making angel operations easier. So they'd just decided to leave it stormy.
Hmm?
The blonde angel blinked.
Because of the storm, flashes of lightning occasionally lit up the dark city. Just now, in the momentary light, a shadow stretched toward her from behind.
Tch, seriously? At a time like this, some idiot human wants to come and mess things up?
Wait a sec… that shadow looked odd. Were those horns on its head?
"Uuhhh~~"
The sound that escaped the angel's small lips was almost a whimper.
She suddenly felt a bone-deep chill—an eerie gaze had locked onto her, and the cold reached all the way into her soul.
Something absolutely terrifying was behind her.
"Just when I was running low, I run into another angel."
A pale, emotionless voice came from behind her. The sound alone made the angel break out in cold sweat.
She felt like she'd just become a gourmet delicacy, targeted by some monstrous predator.
Another flash of lightning. The shadow got closer. The angel could now be certain—whatever it was, it wasn't human.
It was more like a demon, and not just any demon. This one was enough to make even an angel like her tremble in fear.
Another flash of light. Judging by the shadow, the figure was now directly behind her. Her head, as if no longer under her control, slowly turned toward the presence behind her.
Her emerald eyes widened in shock, shaking. Her flawless face turned ghostly pale—like she was terminally ill.
"AAAAAHHHH—!"
The angel let out a blood-curdling scream, one loud enough to drown out the thunder.
"Pathetic~"
The pale voice spoke again. The shadowy figure behind her seemed to be doing something to her.
"Not nearly as good as that one."
Then, just like a broken doll, the angel was tossed to the ground.
SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH—
Rain poured down relentlessly, drenching the fallen angel. Nothing else was visible around her.
Roughly a minute later, a beam of divine light streaked across the sky like an arrow.
"Ugh, seriously, I'm swamped over there and still have to come deal with this mess…"
Another golden-haired angel arrived, zipping through the sky and landing beside the one lying in the rain.
"Hey, you idiot, what the hell are you—slacking off again? I swear, I—"
She froze mid-scold, dead fish eyes going blank. Her lips twitched violently.
Because the angel lying unconscious in the rain… her once majestic angel wings had been stripped bare.
What remained looked like a pair of naked chicken wings, surrounded by a few scattered feathers.
Déjà vu hit hard.
"Hehehe… that bastard… where are you?! Get out here and face me like a real fighter!!!"