CHAPTER 91: CHAPTER NO.91 WHEN ANGEL MEETS SELENE

[Location: Central Park, New York]

Meanwhile, on Gabriel’s side, it’s been one whole week since she descended from heaven in search of her grandnephew, Dominic. Seven days have passed since she left Tom’s apartment in disappointment. Four days have passed since she met her brother, Azrael and the Greek God of War—Ares in Central Park.

After getting the clue of Dominic’s fight in Central Park, she convinced her brother to wait with her there, for any chance Dominic came back.

So, they waited for two whole days, lurking there. She played with children from time to time, having fun. Though there were times when some shady-looking people tried to take her with them, but her brother’s one death glare and the shady men instantly scattered like pigeons chased by a lion.

Azrael’s mere presence exuded an aura of absolute stillness — the kind of silence that felt like the moment before a soul was reaped. None dared linger after catching his eyes.

"Brother, you’re scaring mortals again," Gabriel pouted, floating a few inches off the ground as she munched on a caramel apple. "You should smile more! Smiling brings warmth!"

Azrael didn’t even look up from the park bench. His hood covered most of his face, the faint shimmer of black feathers visible beneath his cloak. "Warmth brings rot," he murmured dryly.

Gabriel blinked. "That’s not how smiles work."

The Archangel of Death sighed quietly. His younger sister was, as always, a paradox — radiant, divine, utterly unbothered by the mortal world, yet somehow lost in it.

After another day of waiting with no sign of Dominic, Azrael finally stood up. "He’s not here. The traces of Aether have faded. Let’s go back to home, I’m tired of waiting for a brat, I’ve much more important things to do than chasing after a brat who probably doesn’t even know we exist."

Gabriel lowered her caramel apple, eyes wide. "Brother! Don’t call him a brat!"

Azrael gave her a sideways glance, the shadow under his hood shifting with his expression. "He is a brat. Even when he was born, the stars flickered as if embarrassed. Half-Demon, half–something else, and all trouble."

Gabriel puffed her cheeks, crossing her arms. "He’s still family! Brother Helel’s grandson, remember? That makes him my grandnephew! Yours too!"

ChatGPT said:

Azrael paused mid-step, the faintest twitch of irritation crossing his normally impassive features. "Half of Heaven disowned Helel, Gabriel. You’d think we’d learn from his bloodline by now."

Gabriel’s glow dimmed just a little. She floated down to the bench beside him, her bare feet not quite touching the grass. "That’s mean, brother... Helel fell, yes, but he was still our brother. And Dominic... he’s not to blame for what came before him."

Azrael folded his arms beneath his cloak, his voice cold but measured. "You speak like compassion alone can redeem corruption. Do you forget what that child’s birth caused? Heaven trembled. Hell roared. Even the mortal veil fractured."

Gabriel tilted her head, her golden curls swaying with the motion. "And yet, the world still stands. Maybe that means there’s hope."

The Reaper’s silence said everything. Hope was a word that didn’t exist in his vocabulary.

Just as Gabriel opened her mouth to argue again, a faint tingle brushed her divine senses — a ripple of mana, whimsical and erratic, very unholy. Her wings shimmered faintly as she turned her gaze toward the north end of Central Park.

"Brother," she whispered, eyes wide. "Do you feel that?"

Azrael’s aura flared briefly, like a ripple through still water. His tone sharpened. "Witchcraft."

"Witchcraft?" Gabriel repeated, half-curious, half-worried. "But... the flow feels playful. Not dark."

"Playfulness is just another mask for madness." Azrael’s eyes flashed silver under his hood. "Stay here. I’ll erase it."

Before Gabriel could protest, he vanished — a shadow streak across the grass.

Moments later, a soft hum filled the air where he’d gone — the sound of a broom cutting through the wind.

"Oraa! Why does this world’s mana feel so weird?!" a cheery voice shouted in Japanese.

Gabriel blinked. The voice was approaching fast.

And then —

Thud!

A blonde girl in a black witch outfit came tumbling out of the sky, her broom spinning like a broken propeller before crashing into a patch of flowers. She sat up, dizzy but grinning, holding a bubble tea in one hand that somehow hadn’t spilled.

"Uwah... okay, maybe New York’s ley lines are too strong for casual flight..." she muttered, adjusting her pointy hat.

Gabriel’s eyes sparkled. "Oh my stars—are you a witch?"

The girl froze mid-slurp, her straw still in her mouth. "...Eh?"

"I’ve never met a witch before!" Gabriel floated closer, circling the poor witch like a curious kitten. "Oh! You have mortal energy but also demonic traces! That’s so strange! What’s your name? I’m Gabriel, by the way!"

"Uh—Selene. Selene Tsukimiya. And wait, Gabriel—like, THE Gabriel? Archangel Gabriel?!"

Gabriel clasped her hands proudly. "Yes! That one!"

Selene nearly dropped her bubble tea. "No way! I’ve only ever seen you in manga! You were supposed to have, like, long glowing hair and a super sparkly aura and—ohmygod you do! You’re like a literal holo filter IRL!"

Gabriel blinked, confused but pleased. "A holo-filter?"

"Compliment! It means you look angelic!"

Azrael reappeared behind them in a blur of black feathers. His gaze fixed coldly on the witch, the air temperature dropping ten degrees. "Gabriel, step back. She reeks of the Infernal Nexus."

Selene froze like a deer in headlights. "W-wait! Don’t reap me! I haven’t finished watching Re:Zero yet!"

Gabriel quickly stepped between them, wings spreading protectively. "Brother! Don’t be rude! She’s cute!"

"She’s a witch," he replied flatly.

"She’s also drinking tea!" Gabriel argued, as if that balanced things out.

Selene’s hands shot up. "Uh, I-I swear I didn’t mean to intrude! I was just following a mana ripple—super strong one—from last week! It had the signature of—uh..." she trailed off, eyes darting.

Azrael’s voice lowered. "Say it."

Selene swallowed hard. "Dominic Nocturne von Morningstar’s presence? Well, my contractor wanted to find him, and since she found him, I was free, so I thought, Why not watch anime and do cosplay and I was thinking of becoming... a witch. See a witch becoming a witch, super funny—"

Azrael’s expression darkened, shadows coiling subtly beneath his cloak as he took a single step forward. The grass beneath his boots withered."Your contractor found him?" His tone was calm — too calm. The kind that came before worlds ended.

Selene yelped, broom snapping upright like a frightened cat. "W-wait! Don’t kill me! It’s just—uh—technicality! She technically found him, but not, like, officially-officially! I didn’t even get to say hi to him! I swear on my limited-edition Rem figure!"

Gabriel blinked, head tilting. "Rem... figure?"

"It’s... um, holy," Selene said quickly, clasping her bubble tea like a sacred relic. "In Japan."

Azrael’s voice grew cold as frost. "You speak nonsense."

Selene puffed her cheeks, frowning. "You’re scary! No wonder everyone thinks death’s edgy!"

Gabriel giggled behind her hand. "Brother is a little edgy sometimes."

Azrael’s head turned slowly toward her. "...Gabriel."

She quickly floated to his side, tugging lightly at his sleeve with the innocence of a child. "Please don’t smite her. I like her energy. It’s very... sparkly."

Selene perked up immediately. "Yes! Sparkly! Harmless! Also totally not aligned with Hell’s agenda! Like, ninety-eight percent neutral, two percent chaos!"

"That’s still two percent too much," Azrael muttered.

Gabriel sighed, then looked at Selene. "So, your contractor—who are they?"

Selene hesitated, tapping her lip. "Uh... well, she’s kinda scary, super hot, crimson hair, probably plotting world domination, but in a loving way? Her name’s Zeraphira?"

Both angels went still.

Azrael’s aura deepened, like night swallowing light. "That name again.

"

Gabriel blinked. "Brother, you know her?"

He didn’t answer immediately. His silver eyes gleamed like twin scythes in the dark. "Zeraphira Baelgorath, spawn of Satan of Wrath. Known consort to the Fallen Morningstar’s heir."

Gabriel blinked, her lips parting slightly. "Consort...? You mean she’s... married?"

Azrael’s tone was razor-flat. "Bound, in Hell’s terms. Blood oath, not matrimony. It means her soul is tethered to Dominic’s existence."

Selene flinched, holding her broom like a shield. "W-wait, consort? Oh no, no, no! She didn’t tell me she was bound! She just said he was her darling and that I should help him if I ever found him! I didn’t know it was a Hell-level binding contract! Do I look like someone who can read infernal glyphs?!"

Azrael’s fingers twitched under his cloak, and a faint echo of metallic reaping chains shimmered into being, rippling with shadows.

Gabriel quickly stepped between them again, wings wide, golden feathers scattering faint glimmers of light. "Brother! Stop! She’s scared!"

"She should be," Azrael said, not cruelly but simply, like a statement of weather. "That contract brands her by proxy. Hell’s stain doesn’t wash off."

Selene’s eyes darted between them nervously. "Okay, okay, okay! I’ll just—uh—unsummon myself? Wait, can I unsummon myself? I don’t think witches do that—"

Gabriel tilted her head curiously. "You can’t just poof away?"

Selene shook her head, hat wobbling. "Nope! The mana field here is messed up, like, big-time messed up. It’s dense, like soup! I can barely open a gate!"

Azrael’s gaze sharpened. "Dense mana... in Central Park?" He turned slowly toward the skyline, where twilight shimmered faintly over the trees. "The veil’s thinning again."

Gabriel frowned, following his gaze. "Like before? When Dominic fought here?"

"Yes," Azrael murmured. "But this feels... newer. Wilder. Not his doing."

Selene blinked, frowning. "Wait, Dominic fought here? Like, for real? My familiar sense must be fried, I totally missed that! Ugh, Zeraphira’s gonna kill me!"

"She might," Azrael said dryly.

"Brother," Gabriel sighed, folding her arms. "Can you not scare every mortal-born you meet?"

"I’m not mortal-born!" Selene protested, puffing her cheeks. "I’m half-spirit, thank you! My grandpa was a yokai!"

Gabriel gasped softly. "Oh! That’s fascinating! Which one?"

Selene blinked. "Uh... a tanuki?"

Gabriel’s eyes sparkled. "The shapeshifting raccoon one! Oh, how adorable!"

Azrael pinched the bridge of his nose. "Heaven help me..."

Selene giggled nervously. "Sooo... about Dominic, you guys know him too?"

Gabriel smiled sweetly. "He’s family!"

Azrael’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You could say that."

Selene’s ears perked. "Ooh, family drama! Wait, is this, like, a celestial soap opera?!"

Azrael stared at her blankly. "...What."

"Never mind!" she squeaked.

A breeze rolled through the park — soft, almost playful, carrying with it a faint scent of roses and ash. Gabriel’s wings rustled. Azrael stiffened. Selene froze mid-sip of bubble tea.

Something unseen brushed through the air, a whisper of power far too refined for mortal sorcery. The ground trembled slightly, just once, like a heartbeat beneath the soil.

Gabriel glanced around, voice low. "Brother... did you feel that?"

Azrael’s expression darkened. "I did. That wasn’t witchcraft. That was—"

"—aetheric resonance," Selene finished quietly, eyes wide behind her glasses. "That’s not normal... that’s divine-grade."

A soft pulse of light rippled above them. For just an instant, the clouds parted in a perfect circle, revealing a blinding streak that shimmered like sunlight trapped in crystal. It vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Gabriel’s breath caught. "Heaven’s seal... it just reacted."

Azrael turned sharply toward her. "Impossible. Heaven hasn’t responded to Earthly mana in over a millennium."

Selene nervously adjusted her hat. "S-so uh... just throwing this out there... but maybe something—or someone—with mixed celestial energy woke up nearby?"

Azrael’s gaze snapped toward her. "Explain."

Selene swallowed. "Dominic’s energy signature—it’s... weird, okay? It’s not purely demonic. It’s layered. Like there’s something holy woven into it, buried deep. I thought it was an echo or contamination, but now—"

She froze when she saw Gabriel’s expression. The angel’s face had gone very still. Her soft glow dimmed just slightly.

"Holy...?" Gabriel whispered, almost to herself. "But... how?"

Azrael didn’t answer. His eyes narrowed beneath the hood, silver light flickering like scythes drawn under moonlight. "If that’s true," he murmured, "then the Fall may not have been as final as we thought."

Selene blinked. "The Fall? You mean like, Lucifer’s whole—whoopsie rebellion thing?"

Gabriel shot her a scandalised look. "You can’t call it a whoopsie!"

Azrael ignored both of them. His attention was already fixed on the direction of Morningstar Manor — though none of them could see it from here, his senses knew. The veil shimmered faintly with concealed wards.

"Gabriel," he said quietly. "Return to the Celestial Gate. Tell Michael to watch the seals. If Heaven’s resonance stirs again, we may have an incursion."

Gabriel hesitated, glancing between her brother and the nervous witch. "What about her?"

"I’ll deal with her," Azrael replied simply.

Selene immediately hid behind Gabriel. "N-no you won’t! Angels aren’t supposed to kill civilians!"

Azrael raised a brow. "Civilians?"

"Anime rule number twenty-one!" Selene declared. "Never hurt the supporting cast before they finish their character arc!"

Gabriel’s laughter broke the tension completely. She floated a little higher, still smiling. "I like her."

Azrael closed his eyes briefly, exhaling through his nose. "You would."

Then — a faint shimmer in the air again, stronger this time, pulsing toward the city skyline. Azrael’s head snapped up. Selene’s broom vibrated like a tuning fork.

"That’s it," Selene whispered. "That’s her mana. Zeraphira’s."

Gabriel’s eyes widened. "So she’s here too?"

Selene nodded quickly. "Yep. And if she’s here, then Dominic is definitely close by."

Azrael’s gaze turned toward the distant horizon, his tone like a quiet verdict."Then it seems the Morningstar’s heir no longer hides in shadows."

Gabriel looked uneasy. "Brother... what will you do when you find him?"

Azrael didn’t answer immediately. The wind carried the faint scent of sulfur and rain through the trees.

Finally, he said, in a voice almost too soft to hear—

"That depends on whether he still carries Heaven in his soul... or only Hell."

***

Stone me, I can take it!

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