Chapter 21: Antsy

To give credit where it was due, Alia made for a surprisingly good pillow.

Her lap was soft, warm, and just the right amount of squishy. After dinner, they’d all piled back into Grace’s room, and somehow Grace had ended up with her head in Alia’s lap while Zephyr braided her hair.

It should have been relaxing. It would have been relaxing if Grace’s brain would just shut up for five seconds.

[But, how!? How am I supposed to sleep when there are demons out there RIGHT NOW?] Grace thought, staring up at the ceiling. [People are dying. Villages are burning. And what am I doing? Getting my hair braided while using a Love Sister’s thighs as a pillow.]

She glanced up at Alia, who was chattering away about some angel gossip involving two Bravery Sisters and a very compromising position in the sacred fountain. Any other time, Grace would have been all ears. But tonight…

“—and then Seraphiel walked in on them and was like, ‘THE FOUNTAIN OF DIVINE PURITY IS NOT FOR SUCH ACTIVITIES!’ but everyone knows she’s just jealous because—”

“Hey, Alia?” Grace interrupted.

“Hmm?”

“Have you guys ever actually fought a demon?”

The room went quiet. Clearly not the direction they’d been expecting Grace to steer this conversation in.

“Well… no,” Alia admitted. “I mean, come on! That’s not exactly our department. We’re more about the… aftermath. You know, comforting the traumatized, erasing sadness, that kind of thing.”

“Through sex,” Grace said flatly.

“Through intimate divine connection,” Zephyr corrected, resuming her braiding. “But yeah, basically sex.”

Grace sat up, dislodging both Alia’s hands and Zephyr’s braiding work.

“But those demons you mentioned earlier. While you two were off… boosting morale did any Bravery Sisters show up?”

Alia and Zephyr exchanged a look.

“I believe Hesta was there,” Alia added, twirling a strand of her red hair. “She was amazing! Sliced through three demons like they were nothing! Heard it took like a whole day for those demons to get back up again.”

[Right. Only I can actually kill demons. The only one who can save people for real is me. And I’m here getting my hair braided.]

Zephyr’s eyes narrowed.

“Grace, what are you thinking? You’ve got a suspicious look on your face…]

“Nothing! Just curious!” Grace’s voice came out way too high-pitched to be believable. She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I’m super tired. You guys should probably head back to your rooms.”

“But we were having a sleepover!” Alia pouted.

“Rain check? I just need to… recover from all that training today.”

After much whining (Alia) and suspicious glances (Zephyr), Grace finally got them out of her room. As soon as the door closed, she leaned against it and closed her eyes.

Eternia’s words from their first meeting echoed in her mind.

[Like she said… I am what she’s doing about the demon problem.]

Which meant she was going to save the world. Not “Grace was gonna help save the world” or “Grace was gonna be part of saving the world.” No. SHE was going to save it. And how was she supposed to do that if she couldn’t even make it through basic training without collapsing?

A serious realization dawned on her.

[I need to get stronger. Better. Faster.] She narrowed her eyes. [And I need to do it soon.]

Twenty minutes later, Grace was creeping through the darkened halls of the angelic barracks, heading toward the training grounds. The sourceless moonlight of the celestial realm cast enough light that she could see where she was going, but hopefully not enough that anyone would spot her.

The training grounds were deserted, as expected. Grace imagined most angels were on duty or sleeping or… boosting the Angelic Dominion’s morale.

Perfect.

Grace picked up one of the practice swords—much lighter than the ones Seraph had made her train with—and moved to the center of the yard.

“Okay,” she whispered to herself. “Just like Seraph showed us. Stance wide, grip tight…”

She began going through the basic forms, slowly at first, then picking up speed as her muscles remembered the movements.

Thrust. Parry. Slice. Block.

[Huh. This isn’t so bad when there’s not a six-foot-tall muscle goddess screaming in my face about proper elbow positioning.]

As she moved, Grace began to imagine she wasn’t alone. In her mind, she was surrounded by demons—horrible, twisted creatures with glowing red eyes and razor-sharp claws. Just like the one that had killed her.

Thrust—take that, demon scum!

Parry—not today, evil spawn!

Slice—that’s for Sister Nymera!

Block—

“Your grip is all wrong.”

“AAAAAAHHH!” Grace screamed, whirling around and nearly dropping her sword.

Diana stood there, arms crossed over her very exposed chest (seriously, did she EVER put on proper shirts!?), looking thoroughly unimpressed.

“D-Diana!” Grace clutched her chest, willing her heart to stop trying to escape through her ribcage. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question.” Diana’s gray eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight. “Training hours are from dawn to dusk. It’s well past dusk, rookie.”

[Great. Of all the angels who could’ve caught me, it had to be Miss Perpetually-Annoying.]

“I was just getting in some extra practice.”

Diana raised an eyebrow.

“After complaining all day about how sore you were? You were literally a puddle at the end of class.”

Grace sighed, lowering her sword.

“I… I heard some angels talk about a demon attack today. I want to make sure I can fight them soon. So I came here.”

“So you thought midnight solo training with terrible form would get you there?” Diana scoffed. “You’ll just reinforce bad habits.”

“Well, it’s the best I could do,” Grace muttered.

Diana stared her down. Grace could see her mind working.

“Listen, rookie,” Diana said, uncrossing her arms and stepping forward. “Demons aren’t training dummies. They don’t just stand there while you figure out where to stick your sword. They’re fast, they’re strong, and they want nothing more than to tear your pretty little head from your shoulders.”

“I know that,” Grace said, trying to sound confident. “But I have to start somewhere, right?”

Diana shook her head. Then, to Grace’s absolute shock, she held out her hand.

“Give me the sword.”

Grace handed it over, half-expecting to be marched back to her room in disgrace. Instead, Diana moved to stand behind her, so close that Grace could feel the heat radiating from her body.

“Here,” Diana said, placing the sword back in Grace’s hand and then covering it with her own. “Like this.”

Grace’s brain broke.

Diana’s very naked breasts were pressed against her back. Diana’s hand, far larger than her own, was over hers, pretty much covering it.

[Is this really happening or did I fall asleep on Alia’s lap?]

“Your stance should be like this,” Diana continued, nudging Grace’s feet apart with her own. “Center of gravity lower. You’re too rigid—a demon would knock you over with one swipe.”

“R-Right,” Grace stammered, trying desperately to focus on the lesson and not on how Diana smelled like leather and something sweet she couldn’t quite place.

For the next hour, Diana drilled her relentlessly. No breaks, no mercy. By the end, Grace was drenched in sweat and trembling with exhaustion.

“That’s enough for tonight,” Diana finally said, stepping back.

Grace nearly collapsed without Diana’s support. She leaned on the sword, gasping for breath.

“W-Wait!” She called out. Diana stopped and gave her a long look. “S-Same time tomorrow?”

Diana arched a brow so slowly it almost let out a creaking sound. But, Grace couldn’t just let this opportunity slip through her fingers. She wanted to be out there, fighting, as soon as she could. If Diana could help her, even as annoying as she was, Grace had no problem begging for help.

“Do you even know why I helped you out just now?”

“… Because I’m cute?”

Diana blinked.

Then, she started cackling. Laughing, actually laughing, so loud her voice echoed.

[Okay, rude.]

“No, no, no. Look, listen to me.” She crouched, getting at eye level with Grace. “You’re the only one who can kill them,” Diana said bluntly. “Not just weaken them or send them away—actually kill them. Make them gone forever.”

Grace straightened up a little.

“Well, yes, exactly! That’s why I need to train harder, so I can—”

“So, we can’t have you ruining your own training,” Diana cut her off. “Don’t get it twisted, rookie. You’re a weapon. The only weapon that works against them permanently. And a weapon needs to be sharp.” She gestured at Grace’s sweaty, exhausted form. “You’re about as sharp as a sack of grain right now.”

“Oh,” Grace said, shoulders slumping.

Diana sighed, running a hand through her short black hair.

“Look, what I’m trying to say is that a few good hours of actual, supervised training will make more progress for you than centuries of solo training. Your enthusiasm isn’t… completely terrible. But enthusiasm won’t keep you alive against a real demon. So, you shouldn’t be out here trying to do things on your own. You have lots of angels willing to help you improve. So just go back to your room, get some sleep, and take advantage of that fact in class.”

Before Grace could do that, she needed to ask:

“… So you’ll help me?” Grace asked.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t *not* say it either.”

“Bratty little…” Diana’s mouth twitched again. “You have dozens if not hundreds of angels willing to train you personally. Ask them. Anyway, stop talking to me. Go to bed. If you’re late for morning training because of this little midnight adventure, Seraph will have both our heads.”

As Diana turned to walk away, Grace called after her:

“Uhm, thanks!” She called out. She almost didn’t say it, felt too much like conceding victory or something, but it wouldn’t feel right not to say it after all this free advice she received.

Diana paused, looking back over her shoulder with a smirk.

“Don’t thank me yet,” she said. “You’ll be cursing my name before we’re done.”

As Grace watched Diana disappear into the darkness, she couldn’t help but smile.

In a way, this too was progress! Actual progress! Diana had helped her, had acknowledged her potential.

[Demons beware. Grace Lightsinger is coming for you… right after she takes a very, very long nap.]

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