⬖ Unlike an Angel.

Welcome to the Center of Ermensinde.

The camaraderie between the supernaturals of the Afterworld is nothing more than a facade. Two forces united only by their duty to serve the universe, working in tandem because their existence has been given no other purpose. The monstrous angels in the Afterworld are mostly left untouched by mortal customs. They live in their true forms, freed from the bounds of mortal morality and physical needs. Demons, on the other hand, have been enveloped in the mortal plane, trapped in bodies that allow them to blend in and burdened with humanity.

Angels and Demons, despite their unity, have never been able to understand one another. 

The demons’ proximity to mortals has gifted them with heart, yet angels are the ones praised for being the manifestation of holiness and purity. To doubt their divinity would mean to doubt their capabilities of maintaining the universe’s structures, as per The Creator’s wishes, but their divinity is not to be mistaken for empathy and holiness ascending a mortal’s comprehension. Creatures of God they are, but they lack the warmth of The Creator’s other masterpieces. 

For this reason, demons are often confused by the incessant worship of angels by mortals. Perhaps it was this distinction that made them seem so god-like. To have an existence completely removed from the traits and morals of humans must come across as god-like. After all, is that not what a god is?

What is a ‘God’ to a mortal, and what purpose do they serve? 

Throughout history, mortals have made proclamations about divine protection by deities. Even when the foundations of the world were being torn apart, the universe continued to be protected and the beings within loved. Only the power of a deity and their closest allies could bring such miracles to the world.

To mortals, an Angel is a deity’s subservient ally. A beam of light in a time of darkness. A creature that has ascended the likes of mortals and the physical plane.

So what is a Demon?

Supposedly, they were harbingers of chaos. However, no such chaos was something anyone would pay any mind to in a metropolis like New Diamanda. The city itself was an embodiment of chaos. The streets and the skies alike were busy, providing hardly any room for such a spectacle to draw eyes. Hidden by the bright lights and the sound of the city’s bustle, a cacophony of metal clinging emitted somewhere in the canopy of the city.

Another clang.

Floating in the sky was an amorphous mist and a woman clad in black, pink and blue. No, she was a demon. Tsua was her name, and she seemed to be in poor shape. As she swung her scythe and twirled it above her head, she heaved loudly. Every motion seemed a great effort for her, yet the misty creature was not letting up.

Tsua would perform a brief feint at the semi-sentient creature before rapidly turning over her shoulder and launching her scythe through the misty creature. It was a last-ditch attempt to strike it where it hurts. The mist it was shrouding itself with had gotten so pervasive that it was nearly impossible to land a hit where it would actually do any damage. After battling with it for what felt like an hour, Tsua was enervated. She was not only battling this parasitic spirit, but also the onset of exhaustion from days of overwork.

“Oh, come on! You can’t be serious right now!”

The misty spirit rushed over to Tsua, towering over her as her scythe boomeranged back into the palm of her hand. Its great size and power were far too much for that of Tsua, who was nothing more than a Rank 5 Expeller Demon. Her purpose in New Diamanda was only to ward off these spirits, yet she was paralyzed by the sheer size of it. Realistically, this was not a battle she would win alone. Despite her sealed fate, Tsua swung at the creature one last time. She let out a loud roar to give her muscles that last push it needed to swing down.

But nothing hit.

Before Tsua could even process what was going on, she had landed on the ground with a loud crash. The cement had cracked underneath the momentum of her crash landing, leaving her exposed skin to experience a burning sensation due to her injuries and cement burn. Tsua was prone, probably in some dark alleyway. She wouldn’t know. Her eyes weren’t open.

As the world spun around her, she let out a pained groan. More than anything, she longed for a nice bath and to take a break from her duties for a bit. Tsua prayed that this short period of rest would be enough for her to hobble back to her feet and continue after that creature, which Tsua found to be disgustingly powerful. Most of these spirits were squashed before they ever reached such a size, yet there was a rising sense of unrest within the city. Tsua couldn’t pinpoint the reason. All she knew was that it was making her work far more rigorous than it should have been, especially considering New Diamanda was a newer city.

She lay on the ground for a few moments to finally catch her breath and calm her nerves, which practically felt like they were on fire at this point. But when she opened her eyes, she did not expect to see a pair of dark crimson eyes staring back down at her. Three pairs, actually.

Tsua let out a loud yelp and scrambled to her knees, only to end up slumping back into a sitting position. She had no business trying to stand back up right now, especially when her head was spinning so much.

“Fuck… I’m so exhausted,” Tsua whined as she rubbed the side of her head. However, her poor physical condition was not enough to deter her from shooting daggers at the newcomer. For better and for worse, it was someone she knew. However, she was one of the last people Tsua wanted to see right now. 

Dirty blonde hair, multiple sets of red eyes, fluttering wings attached to her head, and a blinding halo crowning her head. Who else could it be but Seraphina?

“What the hell do you want?” Tsua snarled. 

“Excuse me? I believe that I should be the one questioning you for this poor conduct. I have yet to see you finish off that spirit, yet I find you sitting here looking like… that,” Seraphina answered as she briefly scanned Tsua up and down, scrutinizing her current appearance.

“Are you serious right now?”

“I am. Did I indicate that I was not serious? There is no reason for you to be sitting around while the city is in peril. Your only duty is to get rid of them. That is something you should be well aware of, Tsua.”

Tsua rolled her eyes.

“Seraphina, can’t you ask Seychelle to request more Expellers? Every since Luella and Elias got transferred, I’ve been doing everything myself. I’m so tired!”

Seraphina’s face was unmoving. She was unimpressed by Tsua’s pleas of exhaustion.

“I hardly see why that is necessary. You should be more than capable of completing your rounds every day. You are from the Afterworld. Something as trivial as exhaustion should not be affecting you in such a way,” Seraphina pointed out as the bottom sets of her eyes scrunched up. She was contemptuous, as always.

Tsua’s fatigue was not enough to subdue her urge to argue. Seraphina’s gaze was piercing, annoyingly so, and Tsua wanted nothing more than to give her a piece of her mind. So with whatever strength she could muster, she pushed herself off of the ground and marched over to the angel who was standing only a few feet away. Despite the radiant light emitting from Seraphina’s halo, Tsua kept her eyes wide open.

Seraphina did not react to Tsua, even when she grabbed Seraphina by the shirt and pulled her closer down.

“Do you really think that I’m not affected? Look at me, Seraphina. Do I look well to you?” Tsua inquired as she furrowed her eyebrows.

Another glance up and down.

“Well… besides the way your hair is disgustingly clinging to your face… you look fine. This is nothing that should be impacting you for more than a short time. You are acting like your pain is that of a mortal. As if this is life-threatening to a supernatural. It is merely your duty. By the time morning comes you will be healed.”

That of a mortal.

Tsua was not a mortal, yet capable of many things that mortals were. She was able to feel physical pain, happiness, frustration, sadness, tenderness, longing, all of it. Her role was as a protector, but there were times she felt far more connected with the mortals she camouflaged with than other supernaturals.

“It’s not about the injuries. Seraphina, I don’t know what is going on. These parasites are so much worse than they usually are… they’re growing at exponential rates. I can’t possibly beat them on my own.”

“Insufficient at your duty as always, I see. If you cannot defeat these parasitic spirits, then what is your purpose?”

Tsua released Seraphina’s shirt, dismayed by her rigid beliefs. 

It wasn’t like Tsua didn’t try. She did try. Every single day of her life. Omaira would praise her abilities occasionally, commenting on her potential to excel. Seychelle didn’t seem to agree, though, and by extension, Seraphina. Tsua was born with the obligation to protect, but for what purpose? The only people who were witnessing her work were the ones dismissing her efforts.

Tsua was beginning to truly understand the strained dynamic between demons and angels. Right now, she hated Seraphina more than anything else.

“Is that all you have to say?” Seraphina inquired with an innocent tilt of the head.

“Just go away,” Tsua answered.

“I expect to see you trying to find that spirit again. You must eradicate it before it causes more damage. With every moment you are wasting here, you could be doing something else.”

“Enough. I get it. I’ll get back to work, good god.”

“What about the ‘injuries’ you were just whining about? Are you just being laz-”

“No. I was just vocalizing my issues, but seeing as it’s pointless, I stopped. I’ll get back to work.”

Seraphina paused, but Tsua did not give her the chance to continue her thoughts. Seraphina’s silence was Tsua’s sign to leave, and that she did. With her scythe in tow, she sauntered off to escape wherever she had landed. The scenery was quite unfamiliar, but it seemed to be one of the hidden outdoor museums that were tucked away in unexplored corners of New Diamanda. Wandering into one of them was considered good luck, but Tsua decided that it was probably an omen of bad things to come.

New Diamanda was a maze of a city. With tons of winding alleyways and different levels of the city, there was never a shortage of places to be. Yet despite the freedom that such a city could offer, it still felt like Tsua was always being watched and scrutinized. 

As she made her way to the exit, the largest statue in the room towered over her. At the base was a woman crafted from stone tinted blue and hovering above her was a round creature with transparent floating ‘wisps’ that gave it a ghost-like appearance, wings, and plenty of carved eyes. It was an angel whose gaze that Tsua could not escape.

And so Tsua glowered back at the plentiful blue eyes, which were unmoving just like the angel it was depicting.

What is an angel if not inhumane?

And what is a demon if not an angel?

Tsua was proud. Not of her work conduct, but because she was unlike any angel.

⬖ FIN