3.30: The Almighty Clarence

For the brief span of a few seconds, the giant angel and I stood pointing at each other in a fashion that reminded me of a particular Spiderman meme. Then we were at each other’s throats. Literally. I moved with blinding speed and found myself digging the points of my razor sharp claws into the soft skin of my opponent's neck. I could feel the intense burning sensation of a holy blade being pressed against my chin, and I gave the huge angel a slightly manic grin with my fangs bared.

“Not bad for a former Angelspawn recruit, eh?”

Instead of a response, I felt a massive shove on my chest and had to spread my wings wide to prevent myself from being thrown across the room. I started charging up a [Coldfire] spell when several columns of light appeared off to my left. The rest of my clan had shifted into defensive postures and we watched as the shape of three Angelspawn figures took shape. As soon as their eyes focused on everything around them, they all froze with a mix of emotions written on their faces. I quickly realized I was looking at a trio of brand new Angelspawn characters, and I immediately closed my hand to dispel my arcane power and slowed the frantic pace of my wings. I fluttered to the ground and then folded my large wings against my back.

I looked back at the angel and gestured at him in annoyance before I turned my eyes back to the new arrivals. He took the hint, sheathed his weapon, and walked across the room in three very long strides. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes as he warmly greeted the new players and then motioned for them to follow him outside the small building we were all gathered in.

“I am quite surprised to find out that the great Allexus used to be an Angelspawn. I'm even more curious now about how you became a powerful demon. The fact that you can move as fast as Clarence is impressive.”

I blinked several times before suddenly bursting into laughter at the absurdity of the angel's name.

“Clarence?! His. Name. Is… Clarence?! Bwahahahahahaha. Ha. Ha. Eh. Hehehe. Ohhhh. That's hilarious.”

My clan members quickly joined me in laughing loudly before Emelia moved close to me and gave me a slightly concerned look. She glanced back towards Kyra, Ash, and Ghost who were all chuckling softly despite obviously being in pain. I sobered quickly and let out a soft sigh.

“Jade, Tifa, Judas, Ikelos would you guys mind escorting the Demonspawn out of here? I was hoping being around so many demons would counteract the effects of their Redemption Meter, but I didn't anticipate how hard it would be this deep in the city.”

Ash looked at me with resignation and she spoke softly as she moved over to me.

“I'm sorry, Allie… I hate being an-”

“You're good, Ash. I didn't think this through. I'm the one who's sorry for putting you three in danger. Now I want you to get out of here as quickly as you can. Don't stop for anything. K?”

“Don't worry my lady, I will ensure we get out safely.”

I smiled at my demon retainer and nodded as he helped Ash to the exit of the building. I quickly moved in front of them in order to ensure that… Clarence wouldn't give them any trouble. As I stepped out of the church-like structure, I saw he was still happily chatting with the three new players. I motioned for my clan to move and I bade them all a quick farewell and watched them depart at a very quick pace. After a couple of minutes, the huge Angel finished with the trio, and he wordlessly turned back towards me with a glare dripping with loathing. His hand drifted downwards towards a huge metal rod that was attached to the leather belt that was cinched around his muscular waist, but he stopped short when Hana stepped between us.

“Clarence. Wait. Allexus is not here to fight. She's actually here to find some information.”

The huge angel turned his gaze towards the small Angelspawn woman in front of him and let out an irritated grunt.

“Why would I help the likes of her, Hana? She represents everything that I abhor. A failed Angelspawn who succumbed to corruption and became the very thing she was born to fight. I knew she was a problem from the moment I laid eyes on her.”

“Hey! Fuck you too, asshole! You were about as welcoming as an arctic snowstorm. You practically drove me into the waiting arms of a demon lord. One of the perks of becoming a demon was I didn't have to see your rage-inducing face every time I logged in.”

He let out a loud growl and drew the rod from his belt. As he twisted the handle with his other hand, a huge blade extended from both ends and then flared outwards to form an enormous double bladed claymore. I was about to draw my own weapons when Areandra fluttered between us and then landed softly on the ground. She glanced at me before turning towards the hulking angel.

“Enough! Allie, killing him would accomplish nothing. In fact, it would prevent you from obtaining the information we're here to find. And you… Clarence… are you really so stupid you would challenge her? You know you're absolutely no match for her. You're not even an archangel. I'm not saying this to insult you. I'm saying this to state the fact you stand absolutely no chance of beating her. Instead of throwing your life away uselessly, just hear out what we have to say. If you are still determined to kill yourself afterwards, then I won't try and stop you.”

I blinked my eyes in amazement at the lithe Fallen Angel. I hadn't interacted often with her, and when I did she always seemed quiet and reserved. Seeing her speak with such intensity brought a huge smile to my face, and I resheathed my weapons as I considered her words. I saw the angel twist the handle of his weapon again, and he gave a single nod to Areandra as he realized she was correct. After a moment of glaring at each other, we headed back into the nearby building without another word.

Once we were all gathered inside, I let Areandra explain the basis of what we were looking for and what we were planning on doing. The massive angel seemed shocked that we wanted to include Angelspawn in our challenge, and even more amazed that we actually cared enough to prevent the effects of the Corruption Meter from killing what could be considered potential enemies. I couldn't tell if he knew that we were planning on using this as an opportunity to recruit and corrupt some of these Angelspawn players, but if he did, he made no mention of it. He actually talked at length about several different methods to accomplish what we were seeking, and then went as far as to give us an item that would assist in setting up the enchantments we'd need.

“Not that I mind, Clarence, but why are you being so helpful now?”

“Would you rather I attempt to kill you again, Allexus?”

“First off… I'd love to see you try. Second, no… I'm just surprised you're assisting us so much.”

The large angel's golden eyes stared at me and then he let out a long sigh.

“You were right about me being so unwelcoming. Perhaps if I had been a better influence you wouldn't have so easily allowed yourself to become… This.”

I scoffed at his logic but refrained from saying anything when I caught a sharp glance from Emelia.

“So… you feel bad about me becoming a demon and so to make up for that you're helping us?”

He nodded solemnly and then turned back towards Hana and Areandra. After ensuring we had everything we needed, Emelia, Tesrif, Areandra, Hana, and I exited the building. We walked slowly towards the Heaven Gate, and then stopped a few hundred feet away. I turned towards Hana and gave her a huge grin.

“So… How'd you like to join our clan, Hana? You'd make an awesome addition and you'd even get access to everything my clan has to offer.”

Hana gave me a confused look.

“How would I go about doing that? I know you possess the ability to change an Angelspawn into a demon, but how exactly does that work?”

“I'm so glad you asked…”