The trumpet sounded.  Though the demons had seemed loud, and though the battle between Mara and Azazel had seemed to shake the very ground, this sound pierced through the chaos with a tone that could be felt in your bones.  The demons stopped short, shrieking as the heavens were opened in a blaze of light that turned several to dust simply from its intensity.  Azazel was forced to cover his eyes, while Mara and Ethan looked upwards to see that hope had not abandoned them after all.  The cavalry had arrived.

            Michael and I struck first, barrelling into the demonic army like meteors, tearing through their lines with righteous fury.  Right behind us came Gambiel and Jeremiah, engaging the enemy with no less fervour, joined by their brethren in the seraphim and cherubim a heartbeat later.  Bright swords of Heaven clashed with the dark claws and teeth of Hell’s children, a tornado of war in the sky and on the ground.

            Seeing that we were already turning the tide, I dove towards my daughter and her love, alighting beside them.  I helped them both to their feet, smiling.

            “It is good to see you both.”  I grinned, embracing each in turn.  Ethan was a little taken aback, never having been hugged by a nine-foot tall archangel before, but I think he still appreciated it.  I then turned towards Azazel, my sword blazing with holy fire.

            “Mara, send him on his way.  We will hold things here, but Ethan has a job to do.”  I told her over my shoulder, as Azazel bared his teeth at me in rage.  We circled each other warily, preparing for a rematch that had been coming since the dawn of time.

            “Yes Father.”  I heard my daughter say, and I was aware of her kissing Ethan in my peripheral vision.  Inwardly I smiled, happy for her, but outwardly I roared as I clashed with my demonic brother.  Each strike of our blades together was like striking the earth with a comet, earthquakes and thunder were in every blow, lightning in our slashes.  I felt his blows like some cosmic hammer striking my celestial anvil, as forces were unleashed that could crush planets.

            In the midst of this chaos, as the angels of Heaven and the demons of Hell began one of the first great battles in our Last War, one tiny human life slipped through the lines to go on towards his destiny in God’s Plan.  What happened to him next, however, is something even I don’t know.  He passed from my sight, and the next chapter of his life is not mine for the telling.

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