Chapter Text
Heaven is being ruled by perfect order. Every angel has their own duties, their own positions, and every each one of them are apart of hierarchy of the 9 choirs of angels. Angels serve under the Father and the Heaven itself under unwavering laws. Among the greatest of angels were six brothers and a sister, the Virtues, grouped under the second triad whose job was to fulfill God’s plan in the universe.
Their true names are too sacred to be known by mortals, so they will not be included in this introduction.
1. Ahn Suho — the Virtue of Kindness. He is known as a formidable fighter. However, his actions are driven by loyalty and care for his friends and other angels, rather than the urge to hurt. He’s protective, dependable, and willing to sacrifice himself for the people he loves.
2. Yeon Sieun — the Virtue of Patience, someone who’s remarkably restrained. His greatest strength is his self-control and ability to stay composed under pressure
3. Go Hyuntak, ‘Gotak’ — the Virtue of Charity, whose love and care for others often outweighed concern for himself.
4. Park Humin, ‘Baku’ — the Virtue of Humility. Despite his usual personality, he is someone well-respected as he doesn’t seek status or recognition. He treats others as equals, and uses his influence to keep peace rather than elevate himself.
5. Seo Juntae — the Virtue of Diligence, an angel whose relentless devotion never wavered. He isn’t naturally the strongest or most confident, but he consistently works to become braver and more capable, showing determination despite setbacks.
6. L̵̺͍̲̬̦̠̠̘̃͛́̿̋̎͜ͅe̸͔̅̌̽͒̀͌͊͝͠ę̷͚̖̥̫̱̓̚ ̶̧̡͕̮͍̘̓̄̒K̵̖̠͕̯̟̮̾̉͘ả̶͚̜͙̦͌͊̅͜ͅn̸̩͖͎̰͔̆̌̉̄̆͌̚̕g̴̯̠̣͕͉͕͚͋ ** — the Virtue of Chastity. He represents this virtue in a way where it works best. He interprets it into a broader sense: integrity, purity of heart, and faithful self-restraint, not just sexual purity alone.
7. ‘Yeong-i’ — the Virtue of Temperance. She refuses to let her painful past (a past before she ascended to Heaven) shape her choices. She remains kind, resilient, and emotionally balanced, which makes her a bit popular among the other angels.
For centuries, they served Heaven faithfully.
Until Yeong-i broke its oldest and one of the most important laws.
~
While watching over the Human Realm (by walking amongst humans), Yeong-i met a mortal unlike any she had ever encountered. What began as curiosity slowly became friendship, and eventually (and quietly) became love.
Yeong-i knew the law.
That “Angels must never form attachments (especially, romantic attachments) with humans.”
To Heaven, such love tainted divine judgement. It threatened the balance between the realms. The punishment for breaking this law was absolute: the angel would have their grace stripped away and be erased from Heaven forever.
For a while after Yeong-i has realized her feelings, she tried to bury it. She avoided the human, prayed endlessly for forgiveness for committing this lowly sin, and distanced herself from even the angels.
But love refused to disappear.
Eventually, Heaven discovered everything.
Yeong-i was arrested before the Heavenly Court. Her wings were bound in chains of holy light as the Archangels declared her guilty of violating divine law.
The Court demanded silence.
No angel was to interfere.
~
The angels lowered their head.
The Virtue of Kindness closed his eyes, refusing to believe this was happening, but also not doing anything to stop it.
The Virtue of Patience clenched his fists but remained still.
The Virtue of Chastity and the Virtue of Diligence obeyed without question. The latter glanced at his side. None of them moved except for only two of the Virtues. The Virtue of Humility and the Virtue of Charity.
Hyuntak looked upon his sister. Not as a criminal but as someone who had simply loved too deeply.
“If Heaven cannot show mercy,” he said, “then it has forgotten what Charity truly means.”
Baku stood beside him without hesitation, “I won’t abandon my sister, my family.”
The courtroom erupted.
The Archangels ordered both of them to stand down.
Neither obeyed.
Baku turned to move and started to attack to distract them from Hyuntak shattering Yeong-i’s celestial chains. Countless angels pursued them through Heaven’s endless skies, and a battle unlike any before broke out.
The three fought desperately. Not to overthrow Heaven, no, but simply to remain together.
Yet no angel (even if they were Virtues) could win against Heaven itself.
One by one, their wings were pierced by divine spears.
Screams tore through the Heavens as brilliant white feathers scattered into the endless sky, drifting like snow before dissolving into light.
Their wings had never simply been part of their bodies.
They had been part of who they were.
Those pure white wings had been symbols of their divinity, their purpose, their place among Heaven’s countless angels. They had carried them through endless skies, through centuries of duty, and through every prayer they had answered.
The final blow of spears came without mercy.
There was a sickening sensation of muscles and bone separating where they had always belonged. Pain erupted through their backs with such force that neither of the three could even find the energy to scream anymore, Their voices caught in gasps instead.
Blood streamed freely down their backs. It soaked through the pristine fabric of their robes, and disappeared into the clouds beneath them. Where pure white wings had once unfurled with grace, there remained only torn and bleeding wounds that throbbed with every heartbeat.
The absence hurt almost as much as their injuries.
They instinctively tried to spread their wings that were no longer there, muscles responding to instincts etched into them since the day they had first learned to fly. Nothing answered the command.
The world titled as they realized that their bodies began to fall.
One by one as they fell, they felt their halos cracking and their grace being stripped away.
As Judgement was passed, Heaven pronounced the same sentence upon all three:
“From this day forward, you shall no longer be counted among the angels. Heaven has cast you out. Yet if your deeds prove your hearts worthy once more, you may return. Not by birthright, but by redemption.”
Baku shut his eyes against the sting of the wind, “It hurts…” he whispered.
Hyuntak’s face was pale. His lips stained with blood where he’d bitten through them to keep from crying out. Even so, he forced himself to reach out to his family, his siblings.
Their hands found each other in the middle of the fall. Their fingers locked together tightly.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Until their sister did.
“...Do you regret it?” she whispered.
The two brothers answered at the same time, not even hesitating, “No.”
That lifted some of the guilt from Yeong-i’s shoulders. After that, no one spoke again as they entered the Demons’ Realm and slowly started to descend.
The purity that had once defined them twisted beneath the darkness of the abyss. By the time they landed, three new demons stood where angels once had.
Yeong-i still carried the guilt of having dragged her brothers into exile.
Hyuntak bore no regret, believing that protecting family was worth any punishment. And, Baku, though frightened by the darkness consuming him, never once wished he had stayed behind.
They didn’t notice it at first, overwhelmed by everything they were feeling, that as the time passed, their demon horns and wings slowly started to grow.
Now that they were here, they had no idea where to go. It was atleast comforting to know that they still had each other, but would the demons even accept them, former angels??? Would they be cast out here too? If so… where else could they possibly go?
Hyuntak and Baku spent a while trying to figure out a plan while Baku carried their unconscious sister, who had fainted only minutes after they landed.
Then, a voice suddenly called from behind them.
“Hey, angels. Looking for a place to crash?”
The fallen angels immediately turned around. Standing there was a demon, of course it was. Baku and Hyuntak instantly tensed as they put their guards up.
Before either of them could react, another demon (wearing glasses) walked up and casually put their hand on the first’s shoulder. He chuckled at their wary expressions.
“Relax. We were sent by the Demon King. Apparently, we’re supposed to help you get settled in or something.” He shrugged. “So come on. Don’t make this any harder for any of us.” As he finished speaking, his gaze drifted to Hyuntak.
“Damn… you’re hot, especially since you’re covered in blood.” He grinned, “Want me to carry you?”
“...What the— no????” Hyuntak responded but then he was suddenly scooped up into the demon’s arms. “Hey! Put me down!” He struggled for a while, trying to wriggle free, but the demon didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. Eventually, Hyuntak let out an exhausted sigh and gave up as he looked back at Baku and said, “...Baku, just follow them.”
Still carrying Yeong-i in his arms, Baku hesitated for a moment before reluctantly trailing after the two demons.
“Can you two introduce yourselves atleast..” Hyuntak unconsciously pouted as he asked the demon carrying him.
The first demon smirked as he looked back at them, “Name’s Satan, the Avatar of Wrath. But you can just call me Wooyoung, that’s like my alias or something..”
Then, without missing a beat, the demon carrying Hyuntak grinned, “Keum Seongje. That’s the name I usually use here.” His smile sharpened. “That’s all you get for now, princess~”
Hyuntak opened his mouth, prepared to yell at Seongje for calling him a ‘princess’.
His eyes drifted to Baku, who quietly followed behind them with their sister, Yeong-i, still cradled in his arms. Normally, Baku would have been the first to complain, argue, or make some kind of noise. But now, he just looked somber, didn’t even say a single word in response to the introductions.
Seeing him like that made Hyuntak swallow any remarks he would have made. He clicked his tongue and looked away instead, deciding to keep quiet for now.
The rest of the walk was quiet. Except for the sound of Wooyoung whistling.
Eventually though, they stopped in front of a large and dark manor.
“We’re here.” Wooyoung said.
The massive doors slowly creaked open on their own.
Seongje put Hyuntak down as the three walked inside.
Before the doors closed, they heard Seongje say, “We’ll fetch you when it’s time.” and then Wooyoung, “Everything you need is already in the house, so don’t bother going out.”
With that, the doors slammed shut behind them, leaving the three alone in the eerie silence of the manor.