As the two armies fought, it was apparent that the Dark Elves were at a severe disadvantage. The number of those who fought under the Angels was too high to actually hope for an easy fight. There was also the fact the Angels were interfering in the fight due to Ira’s previous actions. An outpour of healing magic helped to strengthen the enemy side. There were also the low-ranked Angels who would fly over and kill elite soldiers who were caught off guard.

It looked like Ira’s side would be the one to suffer and the Valkyries were nowhere to be seen. Though, the reason for their lack of presence was intentional. The Valkyries were hidden within the ranks of the Dark Elf Army. The large-scale battle masked the trail of bodies that followed them as they pushed forward. And without them actually summoning their wings, they would never be discovered.

Avery led the Valkyries closer and closer to the enemy line, cutting apart anything in her way. Her true goal wasn’t a surprise attack from the Valkyries but letting the Will of Purgatory turn the dead bodies of the enemies into undead. Divine power could easily dispatch them, but the confusion and disarray would be vital to gain the upper hand.

There were a few soldiers who could recognize Avery’s black armor and her eye-catching divine weapons but they usually died before they could pass the message along. So, the Valkyries pushed through little by little until they were at the very front. The Dwarven war machines had been reduced in number so the main pressure came from the bombardment of Angels.

Avery raised her shield and blocked the incoming rain of divine arrows that poured from the sky. The source was a low-ranked Angel with two white wings who continuously shot from a bow made of golden light.

“Avery!” A Valkyrie shouted at her side with a meaningful gaze.

“We’ll start now.” Avery’s wings spread out wide and the air became hotter in an instant. She took to the sky and attacked the Angel who was taken by surprise. Not just by Avery’s sudden appearance but by the Valkyries who came flying in behind her.

Before the Angel could react, Avery was already stabbing her sword deep into its heart. The faceless Angel’s body contorted strangely before it slowly faded away into a golden light.

The dozens of Angels that were in the sky immediately switched their targets to the Valkyries and an aerial battle took place. With the Angels preoccupied, no one on the enemy side could be healed, slowly pushing favor toward the Dark Elf Army.

Meanwhile, Harper and a group of heavily armored soldiers, as well as Werewolves, pushed forward with a pale woman in tow. Since the Will of Purgatory was instrumental in the next step of the plan they made sure to defend her from all attacks.

“Come on, Wilma!” Harper shouted as she opened up a path. She summoned her phantom in front of her and let it cut through the human soldiers who stood in her way.

“I think this is far enough is it not, little one?” The Will of Purgatory asked as she tried to avoid the enemies around her.

“Fine.” Harper was too preoccupied to notice the overly cautious behavior of Wilma.

From where they stood, a barely visible white fog began to gradually drift over the battlefield before it drove itself into the bodies of fallen human soldiers. No one on the Angel’s side noticed their comrades crawling up from the ground or the strange groans they emitted as they did so. It wasn’t until those fresh corpses began to attack did they finally realize something was wrong. Even then, the battle made it so that no one could quite figure out what occurred.

“Traitors!”

“The Dark Elves are disguised as us!”

"You're fighting the wrong side!"

“We’ve been betrayed by the Parvians!”

The first thought of three human nations was to assume the others had betrayed them. After all, who would’ve assumed that the dead were brought back to life in the middle of a battlefield?

Soon the situation turned chaotic and allies began attacking each other at the front lines while those behind them were left confused. The Dark Elf Army capitalized on that very confusion and increased the aggression in their attacks.

“Calm down! There is no betrayal. The fallen have been raised as undead.” Harith’s shouts rippled across the battlefield but some of the damage had already been done. Seeds of mistrust had been planted as some soldiers had already attacked and killed their allies.

Harith grew annoyed at the fragile mindset of the mortals below him. At the current rate, the Angels influence could weaken the dissension but it wouldn’t completely eradicate it. If they couldn’t grasp a decisive victory it would prove to have negative effects further down the line.

“Ira.” Harith spat out in a rage. The Valkyries and Angels continued to fight and he began to see what Ira’s plan was.

All of a sudden, a blinding flare of light lit up the sky. Harith looked only to see huge fireballs falling toward the Army.

“What?!” He flew forward at an incredible speed and brought out the full extent of the divine power within himself.

Golden rays of energy shot forward and hit the fireballs but not all of them could be stopped. The ones that slip by hit the ground and exploded into massive pillars of flame that incinerated anything caught within it. Even those outside the radius of the attack suffered and issued high-pitched screams.

Harith found the source of the attack and narrowed his eyes. A woman covered from head to toe in black armor with fiery wings.

“You.” Harith recognized her as Ira’s wife and immediately moved to attack with a sword made from divine light.

Avery noticed his approach and moved to meet him with her sword in hand. They traded blows causing a powerful explosion to spread through the air but Avery’s armor absorbed the impact while a small wound formed on Harith’s flesh.

“You can’t win this.” Harith noticed her weapon was made of Godsteel but he didn’t flinch. His wound emitted a golden light and closed. “Ira will be captured and the rest of you will be killed like dogs.”

Avery response was a silent one. She seemed unfazed by the threatening words and held her sword and shield at a ready stance. Then, for no reason at all, she let relaxed her guard.

“Giving up so easily?” Harith smirked. An Angel with eight wings was no easy opponent and Avery was bound to find that out very soon if they started to fight.

Avery pointed her sword behind him and took a quick glance only to become speechless.

Valkyries approached, Valkyries that weren’t originally with the Dark Elf Army were flying toward the Angels. Adding the newly arrived Valkyries, there were more than a hundred in total on the battlefield. A number that couldn’t be compared to the total number of the Angels but the bulk of the Angels were further away. With half guarding the main camp and half protecting the Tartarus, it opened up a perfect opportunity to attack. While Harith and other high-ranked Angels would be perfectly fine, the mortal army would end up far worse.

“Damn you!” Harith’s rage threatened to burst out but he didn’t lose sight of what was more important. Ira hadn’t shown himself so he couldn’t call the Tartarus forward just yet.

“Retreat.” Harith’s solemn order rang across the battlefield much to the surprise of the generals and commanding officers on the ground fighting.

Once the Valkyries arrived, they understood why the order was given. A bombardment of magic rained down as the Valkyries passed over, it was a direct mirroring of what the Angels did in the beginning of the fight.

The intensity of the magic was something to see as soldiers died by the number.

“I will promise you now, Valkyrie. You will lose this fight and everything you hold dear.” Harith’s eyes burned with rage as he flew away.

Of course, Valkyries flying toward Avery tried to intercept them but he lashed out, swinging his golden sword and killing two of them in an instant causing the others to take distance.

As he escaped unimpeded, Avery simply watched. There was no joy in her expression, in fact, it could be said that she was far angrier than him. His threat held implications of harming her children which almost made her lose control of herself.

Like Harith, Avery had to remind herself of the bigger picture.

“Not yet.” She put her sword away and flew forward to meet with the Valkyries.

“Avery.” Casey removed her helmet and Lauren who flew next to her did the same.

“Mother. Grandmother.” Avery greeted them. “We should go find Ira before we continue speaking.”

“Lead the way,” Lauren replied before gesturing to the rest of the Valkyries.

With the enemy retreating, the Dark Elf Army did the same. Ira sent them away in droves and the battlefield became still. Only the bodies of the army serving under the Angels remained as they couldn’t be collected in the hasty retreat.

…

A few hours later, Harith found himself kneeling in front of a pile of corpses. Some were even soldiers who could’ve been seen in the battle that took place earlier in the day. As far as anyone else knew, they died from their wounds before the Angels could save them.

“This news of your defeat is very disappointing, Harith.” A golden cloud of energy was formed above the fresh corpses.

Each of their souls released a massive amount of power allowing for the communication to happen. It was an effective yet incredibly cruel action as those souls were permanently destroyed upon their sacrifice.

“I know, that is why I will–”

“You will what? Trust in the mortals to produce results? You said it yourself that you were forced into retreat by mere Valkyries. Some Gods are beginning to question whether or not you should be in charge...Gavreel’s death is very unfortunate, it was only through her success that you managed to get this far. If you cannot distinguish yourself the next time you cross paths with the Avarus, you will give up command to another high-ranking Angel.” The voice spoke with no room for negotiation.

“I promise that I will capture the Avarus. I will not fail again.”

Harith’s declaration wasn’t met with a reply as the golden apparition disappeared from sight. As soon as it did, Harith drew his sword and lashed out at the corpses, cutting them into pieces in an instant. There was only one person he could think of at the moment and each thought was one filled with hostility.

“The next attack will be the last, Avarus,” Harith whispered to himself.