Stella glared, unmoving, even with her restraints gone.
Gabrielle gave up trying to read her mind and sighed instead.
Not that the executioner could block her probing—but that astral body was too broken to decipher. In other circumstances, the archangel would've considered killing her out of mercy.
But she still had a purpose in this world—at least, if Lilith's glimpse into the future was accurate.
They were in the right place, and the carriage stopped in the middle of nowhere.
Only that greater demon would know where they were exactly and—
"Why?" the Church girl asked, her voice hoarse.
The archangel put on a soft smile, but her sickly, fragile persona was long forgotten.
"Your only concern should be to run back to the Inquisitor and tell him what you saw."
Come on, girl, this archangel has places to be.
Lucifer's plea for help echoed in her mind, but the only power God had granted her was the ability to stop time.
She couldn't skip forward or rewind; she had to hurry.
"Your house'll lose power," Stella noted, her thoughts a paranoid chaos. "The only thing keeping the Church away was the Green Mage—so you're sending me to spring a trap."
Damn that blonde and her smart, suspicious mind.
She deduced everything without Gabrielle saying a word.
Of course, she was way off. What did an archangel care about the Duke of Aset, or small fry like Otto Ostfeld? She set a much more intricate trap for a way bigger fish.
She needed the Green Mage's disappearance to leak out, so Maou Midori would make a move.
"Feel free to warn the murderer of your family about that belief, too," Gabrielle sighed in the end. "You figured me out—but you can only do something about it if you leave. Now."
Color drained from the executioner's face.
Ah, she wasn't supposed to say that first part.
It was too late now—the archangel snapped a finger and everything froze.
"Making me do all the extra work," she grunted, hauling the tall blonde out of the carriage.
She seemed so thin. How was she that heavy?
The cardinal sent from the capital must have already been approaching.
She found a fancy carriage frozen in place with ominous red markings.
"Lilith was right for once." Gabrielle put the executioner down on the highway, considering the distance. As for her next steps, "they should stop right around here once I'm done."
She left Stella there, in the middle of the road, strolling towards the cardinal's carriage.
They must have been going at a breakneck speed, but with the world frozen, she hopped on with ease. No bodyguards, only some young scribes and attendants, all motionless, and—
The cardinal's eyes followed her every move.
He wasn't strong enough to completely break her spell, but—
"Impressive," Gabrielle nodded at the man in his mid-fifties. "You must've been serving your saint for a long time. Mind taking me to him?"
She didn't wait for an answer—the cardinal couldn't move his lips anyway.
Gabrielle leaned in instead, reaching out towards him, preparing her spell.
Then, touching his forehead with a single finger, they both vanished from the world.
Ripped away from the plane of existence, the flow of time restarted without them.
***
"So if this isn't purgatory—am I dreaming?" Konrad asked, watching his own (or was it Nimrod's?) body drift in the void. Either way, it was anything but comforting.
"Not dreaming, no."
Lu spread his dark wings, and the floating lights scattered.
Not helpful. His guardian angel seemed impatient, feet tapping against the void—how?! They were floating—like he waited for something. Or someone.
The little orbs of light, each smaller than his fist, returned to orbit Konrad, bringing warmth.
They whispered something, but he didn't understand a single word.
Everything smelled of ozone, stinging his nose—but at least, there was air to breathe.
"Are these—souls?" he tried a different question, reaching towards one.
They avoided his touch but remained close by.
"Mhm, you could say that," the angel nodded, his porcelain face—sweating? "They're spirits."
This wasn't how he remembered him from his deathbed.
Wait, was this the first time they've met since? If this wasn't a dream—
"The spirits don't like that you—well—exist." What a thing to say at their reunion. The angel avoided his gaze, scratching his temple. "They dragged you here to come to a decision."
"W-what did I do to upset them?" Konrad stuttered. The lights didn't seem mad.
Lu folded his wings and walked—somehow—through the void toward Nimrod's unconscious body.
"It's my fault," he admitted. "Your body was stillborn before I reincarnated you. I had no idea it would throw a wrench in so many people's plans, and change fate itself."
Memories of his birth came flooding back. The mother, drenched in blood, and—
"We can't let them take him back, but I'm willing to make concessions," a familiar voice startled him. Konrad spun to face another Lu, but with snow white wings.
No, that wasn't right. It was a taller, more mature, and feminine version of his guardian.
Purer, more beautiful, and yet so very familiar.
"G-gabrielle?" His eyes widened as the realization hit, but he had no doubts about it.
Even without her frilly blue dresses—she wasn't naked, but also didn't wear clothes—it was her.
And definitely an angel. Were they siblings, too?
"We can erase Konrad's memories and restore Nimrod's rightful fate," she said, her voice icy, measured. "In turn, you let him live, and help in our fight against Maou Midori."
She spoke to the floating lights, now orbiting around her, glowing with anticipation.
"Shhh, Gabby, he's hearing everything." Lu's wings fluttered, but she paid him no mind. A chill ran down Konrad's spine, and while he didn't understand half of it, he couldn't let this happen.
"Wait, wait, hold on. No? Can you even do that?"
It was a stupid question. Of course, she could.
She was a freaking angel, stopping time at will—and all his missing memories?
"The spirits chose Nimrod for a purpose. But your presence had overwritten everything," she explained, shooting a glare at Lu. "You'll have to make do with the purpose I have for you."
"What purpose?" Konrad demanded, the spirits bouncing back and forth between them.
What was even going on? Had these angels always used him for whatever mysterious goal?
Was this a rehash of his old life with corrupt bosses, but this time they were supernatural?
They wouldn't answer, but he didn't leave it at that, either.
"No, I refuse." Konrad drew himself up, defiant, even floating in the void.
The angels froze, the spirits all orbiting around him at a dizzying pace.
"Excuse me?" Gabrielle raised an eyebrow, like someone unused to defiance. "You shouldn't even be here. If my idiotic brother didn't reincarnate you—"
"But I'm here now," he cut in, voice hard. "Was Blessed Nut meant to destroy the mountain tribes? And what about me? If you want something so bad, you'd better not toy with me."
Lu and Gabrielle exchanged a wide-eyed look.
Good, now they'd finally take him ser—
He almost missed Gabrielle's finger. A point, a flash—and everything went white.