Chapter 247

Neo watched the angel woman step slowly down from the raised platform. Her white wings folded tight against her back, and the soft glow of her holy aura dimmed as her bare feet touched the stone floor. She stopped halfway and fixed her eyes on him.

"How do I know you aren’t a fake one?" she asked, voice sharp with suspicion.

Neo let out a short laugh. The sound echoed off the high walls of the hall. "How about we fight? I get sick talking that much to a low-ranked angel."

Her face flushed deep red with anger. She gave a single sharp nod. Neo turned and walked into the side room without another word. She followed. The heavy door shut behind them with a solid thud. Neo locked it. Neither of them noticed Eva slip in through a narrow gap and hide in the shadows near the wall.

Inside the room they faced each other and took their stances. Neo planted his feet wide, shoulders squared, arms loose at his sides. The angel woman mirrored him, her body light and balanced, one hand open, the other ready. They lunged at the same moment.

Fists and feet blurred. Hits and kicks cracked through the air at high speed, each exchange so fast that afterimages trailed behind their limbs. Neo’s knuckles brushed past her cheek. Her heel whipped past his ribs. The room filled with the sharp snap of contact and the rush of displaced air.

Neo’s eyes narrowed. He entered Lord of the End mode. A thin film of TBATE energy coated his body like living armor, dark and steady. Power surged up from deep inside him, hot and heavy. He clenched his fist. The energy thickened around his knuckles, glowing with a low black light. He drove forward, hammering her with a rapid string of punches and kicks. His muscled arms and legs moved with clean force, each strike aimed to end the fight quick.

She had great footwork. She slipped past most of the blows, twisting and stepping just enough to stay clear. Her eyes glared at him. She opened her palm. White holy power gathered in a bright sphere, then shot forward as a holy arrow aimed straight at his knees.

The arrow struck true. Pain exploded through Neo’s legs. He dropped hard onto his knees. The impact jarred up his spine. He could not stand. He could not move. The holy energy locked his joints and burned like fire under the skin. Neo gritted his teeth and forced his body to shift anyway. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He raised one hand. EN energy gathered, dark and dense, shaping itself into a full sword. A black halo of power shimmered around the blade once it finished forming.

He swung.

The angel woman called up a sword of pure holy power in the same instant. The two blades met with a hard crash. Sparks of clashing energy—black and white—flared bright and died. The force of the impact pushed both of them back a step. Then they closed in again. Their swords flew at each other in a blur of strikes. Each clash rang loud, splitting the air and throwing more sparks across the room. The yellow glow of her divine blade and the dark halo of Neo’s EN sword flashed over and over.

Neo shifted his stance. He drew on the fused swordsmanship of Astrid, Nara, and Sa. The three styles locked together inside him as one. He raised his sword high over his shoulder, every muscle in his broad back and arms tight with power. Then he brought the blade down with everything he had.

The edge bit into the angel woman’s shoulder. Blood welled up at once and ran down her arm in a thick line. She bit her lip hard enough to draw more blood of her own.

"Alright," she said, voice tight. "I lose."

Neo grinned. A low-ranked angel had actually thought she could beat the fusion of three sword styles. She had lasted longer than most, though. That much he would give her.

She lowered her sword and let the holy energy fade. "I lost." She nodded once more, then turned and left the room. Neo locked the door behind her.

He waited a few breaths, then called out, "Eva. Come out."

Eva stepped from the shadows near the wall, quiet as always. Neo looked at her and said, "We need to think of a plan."

He opened his system map. Four dots glowed steady in the backyard area. Neo stepped to the window and looked out. Nothing moved in the open space below. The dots stayed fixed. He frowned.

They must be in a prison under the ground. The place’s layout had changed since the last time he had been here. He did not know the way in. He needed help.

The angel woman he had just fought came back into his mind. Neo unlocked the door and stepped out into the hall.

"Come back," he called.

She returned, still holding one hand to her bleeding shoulder. Her eyes went to Eva and narrowed.

Neo said, "It’s alright. She’s one of my women."

The angel woman nodded after a moment. "What do you need me for?"

"Can you take us to the underground prison?" Neo asked.

She studied his face. "Why?"

Neo kept his voice even. "Team Support 7 betrayed the angel army. I know what they did was wrong. But they were my previous team. We spent a lot of time together. I want to see them one last time before they get sent away. For the old days."

The hard look on the angel woman’s face softened. She understood the weight behind the words. Showing them the way to the prison was not a big risk if he only meant to look.

"Follow me," she said.

The three of them moved together through the corridors. The angel woman led, taking sharp turns and narrow side passages that Neo would never have found alone. He felt a quiet flash of relief. If he had tried to search on his own he would have gotten lost in the shifting stone halls. After many turns they reached a huge iron door set deep into the wall. The angel woman knocked in a precise pattern and spoke a short secret code. The door unlocked and swung open.

Inside, a guard woman stood watch. The two angels spoke in low voices. They clearly knew each other. After a short exchange the angel woman turned back to Neo and Eva.

"Just go and meet them. You have five minutes."

Neo nodded. He took Eva’s hand and they moved fast down the short passage beyond. The air grew colder and damper. At the end of the hall stood a single large cell. Four women waited inside.

Neo grinned. He teleported straight through the bars.

The four women jumped at him the moment he appeared. Arms wrapped around his neck, his chest, his back. They hugged him tight, voices overlapping in sudden relief. Neo’s arms went around all of them in return, solid and steady.

"Nice to meet you," he said, while Metatron held his coat, crying, saying they set us up, we didn’t betray the angel army, and Neo rubbed the top of her head, saying I know, Metatron, and how about becoming my harem and live in my tribe.