The Power of Spirits

Lenora and the other Angels watched in awe as the battle raged on.
Helga lashed her whip repeatedly, making it move like a snake to try getting past Gina’s guard. However, Gina was able to dodge it every time, gracefully dancing through the air and striking back with her wires, which seemed to flash blue in the moonlight.
Helga was barely able to avoid the gleaming silver strands, and she eventually got cut on the cheek. This caused her to bare her teeth and growl in frustration.
“I will not be humiliated by you.” She muttered. “Just so you know, I was only playing around.”
Gina smiled serenely. “Oh? I had thought thou were doing thy best. Go ahead, show ve thy true skills.”
Meanwhile, Vaughn shook his head in disbelief as he watched his partner.
“Helga, let’s just get out of here while we can.” He said with a slight distress. “We’ll just get killed trying to fight Angels above our class.”
Theodore let out a jovial chuckle. “Don’t tell ve thou art a cowardly Desirae!”
Vaughn shrugged. “It’s not a matter of courage, it’s just that I never wanted to be on the frontline. But someone has to watch my sister, and so here I am.”
He sighed wearily as Helga yelled and a fiery power surged around her.
“It appears we won’t be retreating.” He lamented, pulling his bowstring. “I suppose I’ll just die with her, fighting a futile battle.”
While he aimed an icicle arrow at Theodore, Helga lashed at Gina with a more fiery whip. The Maid General ducked and weaved around the burning leather, then flew around while throwing her wires at the Devil. They tried to wrap around her, but she dove under the perimeter and came back up to throw a fireball.
Gina sidestepped it, and fired back with a blue bolt of lightning. Helga intercepted it with a strike from her whip, and kept it going to lash at Gina’s leg. Then in a surprising maneuver, Gina flipped upside-down and smacked the leather weapon away with her silvery fingertips.
“That was close, I’ll admit.” She remarked with a slight smirk.
Helga scowled as she withdrew her weapon, and her aura flared up even more.
“Fine…you want my full power?” She muttered. “I’ll show you…and I’ll break you!”
The air around her started to get hazy as it heated up. She cracked her whip, and the snap it made echoed thrice.
“SALAMANDRA!” She called out with ferocity.
Behind her, a giant snake appeared as an extension of her aura. It was colored with red and black scales, and its orange tongue was dripping lava.
Lenora, and the knights and maids around her, gasped in fear and awe.
“The true power of a Regalia…” She murmured. “Spiritual Release…”
She looked at her sword and shield, Carnwennan and Prydwen. Regalias were the weapons of the soul, and those with especially powerful Regalias could ascend to higher ranks of Angels or Devils. Yet, for Lenora herself…
She shook her worrying thoughts away and focused on Gina, who had a curious expression on her face as she witnessed Salamandra’s true power.
“So that’s thy Spiritual Release.” She mused.
Helga smirked. “I’ll show you what a Desirae can do!”
She snapped her whip once more, and her snake hissed viciously as it shot towards Gina at blinding speed. She tried to move away, but it coiled around and constricted her, preventing escape.
The onlookers gasped in shock, but Lenora kept a determined frown. She believed in her friend, as Gina was the strongest person she knew. And there was one crucial thing missing from this fight…
Helga laughed triumphantly. “Now perish, you bitch! Salamandra, MOLTEN DEVOUR!”
Salamandra hissed and opened its maw, showing the raging inferno within. It moved to eat up Gina, who was sweating from the heat…and smiling in a strangely calm manner.
Then suddenly, the serpent stopped. After a moment of staying still, it attempted to move again, but to no avail. It hissed angrily as it continued to struggle, but an unseen force was preventing it from devouring its prey. Helga scowled, taken aback by this interruption.
“What’s going on!?” She said with frustration. “Salamandra, what’s wrong!?”
Gina laughed softly. “Thou have walked into the spider’s parlor. Arachne, come.”
Her aura, an electrical blue, sparked to life in the form of a black widow spider, which was a little bigger than the serpent. Several dozen blue lines appeared, crossing each other as they were spread across the sky. They were wrapped around Salamandra, preventing it from attacking Gina.
Helga’s eyes widened in shock. “W-what…is this?”
“Vy Regalia is Arachne.” Gina said in a cool manner. “With it, I can create webs to ensnare vy enemies. While vee were fighting, I was creating these webs. Do thou see now, how thou have been outplayed? It was such a simple thing to do.”
Helga gulped and attempted to flee, but was unable to move. She looked down, finding herself stuck in Arachne’s webs. She struggled against her binds, but couldn’t make them budge. As she continued futilely to fight the trap, she grew more and more panicked, eventually shouting out.
“Please! Not like this! This is too humiliating! LET ME GO!”
Gina scoffed. “Thou art the one who wished to fight a Dominia. And now, thou will meet thy end. Arachne…Widow’s Bite.”
The spider nimbly crawled on the webs, approaching its target with a frightening swiftness. Helga screamed in fear and struggled even harder against the webs, but to no avail.
Once Arachne got close, it slowed down and creeped the rest of the way. It positioned its head over Helga’s, and she looked up with bloodshot eyes.
“Go away…” She whimpered. “Please…”
Arachne screeched as it chomped down on the Devil’s head, and she let out one last shriek as electricity coursed through her body. She disintegrated into black dust, which became little embers before fading away.
Vaughn lowered his bow as he saw his sister’s defeat. After a moment of stunned silence, he turned to Theodore with a dark glare.
“...I shall retreat, but I will be back.” Vaughn said in a low tone.
While he turned and flew away, Theodore waved him off with jovial words.
“Thou better get stronger, if thou truly want to fight again! Hahaha!”
Meanwhile, Gina let out a small huff as her aura faded, along with Arachne and its webs. She brushed off her uniform, then flew over to the onlookers.
“The deed is done.” She said with a small smile, showing her glowing fingertips. “However, this isn’t over yet. Half of thee, stay behind to tend to the wounded and the dead. The rest will join us to aid King Solas.”
The knights and maids nodded, and began to split up. Meanwhile, Lenora flew up to Gina and hugged her.
“Thou were strong.” The Princess said happily. “It was most impressive!”
Gina chuckled and patted her head. “Do not relax just yet, there is more to do. Stay here, and help with the wounded.”
Lenora backed away and looked down solemnly. Even if she wasn’t strong like Gina, and the Satanael was that vicious…
“I must fight alongside Father, like everyone else. Please, take ve with thee.”
Gina frowned slightly. “I understand, but I cannot take thee into danger. King Solas was hesitant to let thou fight here.”
“I’ll stay in the rearguard, I promise. But I absolutely will not be left behind.”
After a moment of intense staring, Gina sighed and nodded in acceptance.
“Alright, thou may come. But if the worst happens…please, flee to the Earth Realm.”
Lenora returned the nod, then went to join the gathering Angels. Once they were all in formation, they followed Theodore and Gina to the crimson storm in the distance.