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“Where do you think you’re going? You really think you can run from us?”
Well she at least had to try, Yui thought to herself as she continued to run through the endlessly twisting halls, menacing laughter echoing around her.
How was this happening? She’d certainly found it odd that the home of the relative her father was sending her to stay at was rumored to be a “haunted mansion”. But never would she have guessed that it would actually turn out to be inhabited by vampires.
Her boots skidded against the marble floor as she finally found her way back to the entrance hall.
“Come on! Please, open!” Yui muttered desperately as she tugged and pounded against the doors. But no matter how hard she tried, they refused to budge. Almost like they had been welded shut.
“Just accept it. There’s no escape.”
Yui whirled around, back pressed against the doors. Standing around her in a loose semi-circle, were the six Sakamaki brothers.
The one with the red hair, Ayato, grinned, showing off his fangs. “Face it. You’re our prey now.”
She swallowed, doing her best to keep her voice from shaking. “I’m...nobody’s prey. Just let me go.”
Her plea was met with nothing but amused chuckles. “Go ahead and cry if you want,” the one wearing a hat, Laito, laughed. “Nobody will hear you.”
Yui screwed her eyes shut as they began to step forward, sending out a desperate prayer with all her heart.
“Please, God! If you’re listening, then I beg of you. Save me!”
As soon as that last word formed in her mind, there was the smell of ozone and the crackle of thunder. Electricity charged through the air, making Yui’s hair stand on end.
Then, came a sky splitting BAM! and the room was filled with a blinding light.
Yui’s eyes flew open, mouth open in awe as a pillar of lightning came out of nowhere to strike the spot right in front of her, swirling in a maelstrom of energy. The glow soon subsided to reveal a girl with long black hair. She knelt on the ground facing away from her, head bowed, the hem of her coat trailing over the bright red carpet.
Her appearance had come without warning, but even more surprising was that on the girl’s back, was a pair of pure white feathered wings. They ruffled slightly, sparks still racing across her pristine plumage.
The girl slowly got to her feet, but said nothing. Even so, her very being seemed to radiate immense power, causing the arrogance that the six vampires had previously displayed to falter.
Reiji, the one with glasses spoke first. “Who are you…? Why are you here!?”
Still not saying a word, the winged girl reached out her hand. Light seemed to collect in her grasp until it took the form of an elegant silver sword. She drew it from its sheath and kicked off the ground, launching herself forward.
“Gaaah!!”
Yui stood frozen in complete disbelief at the sight in front of her. In the blink of the eye, the girl had run Reiji through the chest with her sword, skewering him to the opposite wall. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, eyes bulging with pain.
She finally raised her head, expression grim and resolute. “My only purpose is to protect her.”
The eldest son, Shu, took a shaky step back. “An...an angel!?”
While the rest of the Sakamakis were still stunned with seemingly no idea how to react to her appearance, the youngest, Subaru, sprang towards her with a furious bellow.
The girl roughly pulled her sword out of Reiji who collapsed with a scream and turned to face the next threat. She raised her weapon and swung wide, the force of the blow batting Subaru away like he was nothing. His body spun through the air, crashing through the railing of the second floor. He did not get up.
“N-no way…” Kanato, the smallest of the six, trembled, clutching tightly around the teddy bear in his arms.
“Impossible…” Shu muttered to himself. “Angels...they shouldn’t exist…”
Ayato was the second one to recover from his shock. “Who cares what she is! We’ve got to kill it!”
Shu shook his head and tightened his fists. “Right.”
Both of them came for her next, but the serene look on the girl’s face never wavered. The wings on her back extended and she took to the air, just out of reach. A strong flap sent a blast of wind that blew Ayato off his feet and forced Shu to kneel. He braced himself on one knee, shielding his face as the unforgiving gusts tore at his hair and clothes.
The girl then dove down, striking like a bird of prey. Her boots collided with Shu’s chest and there was a loud BOOM as fragments of debris flew into the air. The dust soon cleared to reveal the crater of shattered floor tiles that Shu had been bashed into.
Seeing that things were not going well, Laito rushed towards the sword display on the wall.
“Ayato!” he called and tossed one over to him.
Ayato caught it as he got to his feet. He brandished it before him, baring his fangs in an attempt to look intimidating. However, he couldn’t hide how his hands were shaking where they gripped the hilt.
Another beat of the girl’s wings cleared away the rest of the dust. They fanned out to their full size, raised up in a circle behind her that reached up to twice her height. Majestic, yet dangerous in their beauty. The shadow they cast loomed above Ayato, making him look very, very small.
Before he could reconsider his decision to fight, the girl was already on him. Her sword collided with his in a deafening clang. Ayato’s eyes were wide as his form was knocked completely open. He lost his footing and stumbled, falling backwards onto the floor.
Yui watched the scene unfold before her in astonishment. Of course she had always been a devout believer. But never would she have imagined that an actual angel, one of God’s messengers, would appear before her of all people. She could scarcely believe this was real, but seeing her now, effortlessly battling the monsters that had been out for her blood, Yui knew.
The girl before her was truly a warrior sent by Heaven.
From across the room, the angel met her eyes but for a moment and somehow, just that glimpse was enough to ignite the courage in Yui’s heart and dispel all her fears.
Quickly pulling out her rosary once more, Yui clutched it to her heart and again began to pray with all her might, hoping that it might help provide the angel with just a little bit more strength. Perhaps it was her imagination, but it did seem like the subtle glow of her aura became slightly brighter.
Noticing that something was off, Laito made his way towards her and grabbed her wrist, trying to wrestle the rosary away. “You’re doing something aren’t you! Call that thing off right now!”
“No!” Yui cried, fighting to keep it in her grasp, “Stop it! Let go of me!”
Laito gritted his teeth and upon seeing that his current approach was futile, started dragging her away instead.
“Kanato!” he called out to the last brother, who looked up with a start from where he had still been standing paralyzed as he watched the angel rain down her judgment. “We’re getting out of here! Come on!”
Appearing to snap out of it, Kanato nodded and was about to make his way over but stopped in his tracks, eyes wide at the sight before him.
Laito, who had been attempting to force an unwilling Yui along with their escape, was now stumbling away from her, clawing at his neck as he gasped for breath.
Kanato whirled around in confusion. The angel stood with her hand extended, Ayato lying battered at her feet. Her nails squeezed the air like talons and Laito was slowly lifted off his feet as more strangled sounds found their way out of his throat. She then swept her arm to the side and he was thrown violently against a nearby wall, body crumpling into a heap.
Now left as the last one standing, something seemed to change in Kanato’s eyes. He launched himself towards her with a screech, hands extended as if to tear out her throat.
He never even got close. The angel simply raised her hand once more and he was caught, suspended in the air. Kanato snarled, still trying to reach her but was held a safe distance away by some mysterious force.
The angel regarded him for a moment with disdain. Then, her eyes lit up with an ethereal blue light. The spot where her palm touched Kanato’s forehead also began to glow.
At this, Kanato’s struggles became more desperate, the rage in his eyes shifting into fear. The glow intensified until it became too much to look at. Cracks like molten gold snaked across his skin, and there was a bright flash. With a final ear splitting scream, Kanato’s body blackened to ash and crumbled away until nothing remained besides the teddy bear he always carried. It fell to the floor, bouncing once against the pile of soot that had once been its master and was still.
The remaining vampires were completely silent, horrified at having witnessed the death of one of their own.
In contrast, Yui felt her heart skip a beat, mesmerized by how the dissipating embers made the angel look all the more radiant. Their eyes met once more and her stony expression which had never once wavered suddenly softened, her lips working upwards into a tiny smile.
Yui blushed and quickly looked down, clutching her rosary to her chest and trying very hard not to think what were probably quite blasphemous thoughts to have towards a holy being. Her heartbeat only grew faster as the angel stepped closer. She held her hand out, the action so gentle, one could hardly believe that the same hand could destroy with one touch.
“Yui Komori…”
Yui drew in a breath at the reverence with which that voice spoke her name, like it belonged to the most sacred of texts.
“Y-yes... I-I…” Words failed her as she slowly reached forward, drawn to her by some otherworldly power.
But before they could touch, there came a low, threatening snarl.
The two of them turned towards it. There was the sound of metal striking stone as Ayato stabbed his sword against the floor to brace himself. Blood dripped from a cut on his forehead, blinding one eye. The other blazed with fury.
“You are so going to pay for that.”
Next came a clatter from above, and Yui looked up to see Subaru pushing away the pile of broken boards he had been buried under. Similarly, grunts of exertion came from the hole in the floor as Shu began to drag himself out. Reiji also slowly got to his feet, one hand clutching the wound in his chest.
Wicked chuckles came from the side too where Laito braced himself against the wall, massaging at the red marks around his neck. “Yeah. Maybe we should pluck off those wings of hers to start.”
The angel just laughed. “Is that supposed to scare me? Coming here means I’ve already given them up anyway.”
Although she seemed unaffected by the intimidation, Yui still felt nervousness take hold. The angel’s arrival had taken the vampires by surprise, giving her the advantage. But after getting a chance to regroup, they would be able to launch a more coordinated counterattack. Slowly, the remaining five closed in, circling them like sharks in the water.
Then, they pounced.
But instead of raising her sword, the angel grabbed for Yui’s hand and pulled her against her chest. Great downy wings spread out and enveloped her in a feathery cocoon, shielding her like she was the most precious thing in the world.
“Close your eyes!”
Yui did just that, burying her face into her shoulder as strong arms held her, gentle but firm. The next thing she heard was a high pitched ringing noise, followed by distant screams of agony.
Then, silence.
A moment later, she felt the wings pull away and very slowly, Yui opened her eyes.
The room was empty aside from them now. There was no sign of the vampires except for a few dark streaks of ash against the ruined floor, forming a star-shaped burst around them as if they had been at the center of an explosion.
“D-did you…?”
A tiny chuckle. “Lowly creatures of the night. They’re nothing when faced with the might of Heaven. They should have known better than to mess with my charge.”
“Your...charge…?” Yui repeated, still feeling bewildered by the whole situation.
The girl before her nodded. Her wings gradually settled behind her, their feathers sparkling softly in the dim light, providing a stunning backdrop for the gentle smile on her face that was filled with such adoration. As if she were kneeling before her god instead of a mere mortal.
“My name is Amaya, an angel of the Lord. You’re safe now.”
“Amaya…” The name fell easily from Yui’s lips, as if she had been speaking it her entire life.
“I was called here by your faith,” she continued, her hands resting over hers. “I’ve always watched over you, and that unshakable belief of yours is what gives me strength. No matter what, I’d never fail to come to your aid.”
Yui brought up her hand which was still clutching her rosary. Earlier, the vampires had mocked her for thinking it could ward them off but it seemed to have saved her in the end. The thought made her smile. And they said that nobody would hear her.
“Anyway,” the angel, Amaya, then stood, still keeping a slight hold on her hand. “Shall we get out of here?”
Yui gave a firm nod and allowed herself to be helped to her feet.
Soon after, the two were walking out of the mansion gates, still hand in hand.
Once they passed through, Amaya glanced back over her shoulder. For a moment, her eyes again lit up with heavenly blue.
Inside the mansion, a spark ignited among the ashes still scattered around the foyer. The spark grew, first into a flame, and then into an all consuming blaze. Eventually, the entire mansion would collapse into itself, becoming nothing but rubble.
But by then, both Yui and Amaya would have already left the place far behind.