CHAPTER 92: CHAPTER NO.92 GRANDNEPHEW, IT’S ME! (1)

"Brother, can’t we hurry, at this rate, even residual signature will—"

"It’s already gone."

Azrael’s words hung in the air like the last toll of a funeral bell. The faint shimmer above the park faded, swallowed by a sudden stillness that pressed against the chest. Gabriel turned her gaze skyward — the ring of clouds had already sealed shut, leaving nothing but a gray, innocent sky, as if Heaven itself had pretended it never intervened.

"...Gone?" she whispered, voice trembling like glass.

Azrael lowered his hand, the faint glow on his palm dissipating. "Completely. Whoever or whatever caused that resonance cloaked themselves perfectly."

Selene let out a shaky laugh. "Y-yeah, that checks out. I’ve been chasing that kind of energy since yesterday. Every time I think I’ve pinned it down, it slips through like I’m trying to grab smoke with chopsticks."

Gabriel blinked at her. "Chopsticks?"

Selene fumbled. "Uh—! Mortal utensil! Very efficient for noodles!"

Azrael ignored both, already scanning the skyline. "So. Zeraphira, the daughter of Wrath Satan, and Dominic, in the same city." His voice was unreadable, the kind that made the air colder just by existing. "Helel’s bloodline does have a habit of disturbing cosmic order."

"Brother! Don’t say that, I’m sure grandnephew would be great..."

Selene’s head whipped around. "W-wait, hold on—your what?!"

Gabriel clasped her hands together, beaming as if she hadn’t just shattered several layers of celestial decorum. "Well, he is! I mean, Helel was our elder brother before the Fall, and Dominic’s his descendant, right? That makes him family!"

Azrael’s brow twitched ever so slightly beneath the shadow of his hood."...Gabriel," he said flatly, "we don’t... acknowledge the Fallen as kin."

Gabriel tilted her head, utterly unbothered. "But biologically—well, spiritually—it still counts, doesn’t it?"

Selene blinked between them, baffled. "Wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me the son of the Demon King and the Primordial Sin has a literal angel bloodline in him?!"

Gabriel smiled like a teacher proud of a student catching on. "Of course! Helel was once the brightest of us, the Morning Star. His essence couldn’t simply vanish from the cosmos. Even if his soul fell, the spark that made him divine would persist in his descendants."

Selene’s jaw dropped. "S-so... Dominic’s like... half holy, half hellish?"

Gabriel clapped her hands softly. "A perfect mixture of paradox! Isn’t that fascinating?"

Azrael exhaled through his nose, long-suffering. "It’s blasphemous."

Selene muttered under her breath, "More like anime protagonist level bloodline nonsense..."

Gabriel giggled. "I think it’s romantic."

Azrael gave her a look sharp enough to flay a seraph. "It’s treasonous."

Selene giggled while sipping her bubble tea, "Well, now that the signature is gone, how about some bubble tea?"

Gabriel invaded her personal space, standing so close that Selene could see the faint shimmer of starlight reflecting in the angel’s eyes. "Bubble... tea?" Gabriel echoed, as though the words themselves were a forgotten hymn.

Selene blinked. "Uh—yeah? You know, mortal drink, divine happiness? Sweet, chewy balls of joy?"

Gabriel’s wings twitched in curiosity. "You consume spheres?"

Azrael groaned audibly. "Gabriel."

But Gabriel was already leaning over Selene’s cup, eyes wide in awe as she watched the dark liquid swirl with pastel bubbles. "It’s so pretty," she murmured. "It looks like bottled nebulae..."

Selene beamed, suddenly back in her element. "Exactly! That’s what I said when I saw it for the first time at Akihabara—uh, mortal food market!" She thrust the cup toward Gabriel. "Wanna try?"

Azrael started, "Absolutely not—"

Too late. Gabriel took the straw, poked at one of the tapioca pearls with childlike reverence, and sipped.

For a moment, Heaven itself seemed to pause. Then—

"...!" Her eyes went wide, wings fluttering as if struck by lightning. "It’s delicious!" she gasped. "It’s like drinking a rainbow that has feelings!"

Selene clapped her hands, thrilled. "Right?! You get it! You totally get it!"

Azrael pinched the bridge of his nose beneath his hood. "The world trembles on the edge of celestial collapse, and you’re both bonding over tea with edible spheres."

Gabriel turned to him, smile bright enough to blind a mortal. "You should try it too, brother."

"I’d rather bathe in mortal sin."

Selene whispered, "Wow, edgy much."

Gabriel giggled. "He always talks like that." Then her tone softened. "But truly, brother... if our grandnephew carries even a fragment of Helel’s light, shouldn’t we protect him?"

The air around them grew heavier. Azrael’s wings unfolded slightly, feathers rustling like falling swords. "Protect him?" His voice was low, cold. "You forget what Helel’s light did to us all."

Gabriel’s smile wavered, but she held his gaze. "Helel didn’t fall because of malice. He fell because he loved too deeply. Because he wanted freedom."

Azrael’s silence was sharper than any blade. Selene could practically feel the divine tension rising like static.

Then—Gabriel’s expression brightened again, as if she’d decided the argument was over by sheer willpower. "Regardless! He’s family. And family means—"

Selene, unable to resist, chimed in: "—nobody gets left behind or forgotten?"

Gabriel gasped, eyes sparkling. "You know the creed!"

Azrael actually looked pained. "...What creed is that?"

"Disney," Selene answered solemnly.

Gabriel nodded as though she’d just quoted scripture. "Wise mortals."

"Gabriel, I know you came down to find your grandnephew, but we have wasted more than a week searching—"

Gabriel puffed her cheeks, wings drooping slightly. "I wasn’t wasting time, brother! I was... blending in!"

Azrael’s voice was dry enough to parch a desert. "Blending in? You glow in three different spectrums of light. Mortals think you’re a cosplay drone show."

Selene burst into laughter, nearly choking on her tapioca pearls. "He’s not wrong!"

Gabriel’s expression turned scandalised. "I wore mortal attire! Look!" She gestured proudly at her current outfit — an oversized pastel hoodie with ’Angels Don’t Cry, They Respawn’ printed across the front. "This is what the youths wear!"

Azrael turned his head slightly, as though his dignity might physically disintegrate if he looked directly at her. "You are the Archangel of Hope... wearing a meme."

Selene wheezed. "Ten outta ten drip, though. You’re rocking it, girl."

Gabriel beamed. "Thank you!"

Azrael simply sighed, wings folding tighter. "Helel save me from enthusiasm."

The witch floated lazily alongside them on her broom, her eyes flicking toward the skyline. "So, what’s the plan now, Mr. Angel of Doom and Miss Heavenly Kawaii? We lost the trail. If we sit here, it’ll fade for good."

Gabriel looked thoughtful, her gaze rising toward the sun. "The resonance we felt wasn’t demonic alone... There was something calling back. A harmonic. As though a fragment of Heaven recognised its own."

Azrael’s hand flexed. "Meaning?"

"Meaning," she said softly, "Dominic must’ve awakened some part of his angelic lineage, but... it somehow feels different than Helel... more close to father’s—"

"GABRIEL!" Azrael’s voice cracked through the air like thunder muffled by restraint. His wings flared once, scattering feathers of pale silver light that dissolved before they hit the ground. Even Selene flinched, her broom wobbling.

Gabriel blinked innocently, caught mid-sentence. "W-what? I was only saying that it feels a little—"

"Do not," Azrael cut her off, his tone low and heavy, "invoke Father’s name in connection to the Fallen. You tread too close to blasphemy."

The sudden weight of his aura bent the nearby grass flat, and even the clouds overhead rippled faintly. Selene’s bubble tea began to tremble in her hand.

Gabriel’s glow dimmed a little. "I-I just... just want to see him, hold him, make sure he’s okay," she finished softly, her voice trembling but steady. "He must have been so lonely... all this time."

Azrael’s expression flickered — a crack in the marble mask — before hardening again. "Loneliness is the price of rebellion."

"But he didn’t rebel," Gabriel whispered. "He wasn’t even born at that time, even our niece Lilith wasn’t born."

Azrael’s wings shifted, feathers glinting faintly under the grey sky. "Blood is not absolution, Gabriel. The children of rebellion carries its curse, whether they know it or not."

Selene, sensing the tension thick enough to chew, quietly slurped the last of her bubble tea. "Sooo..." she began cautiously, "if I’m understanding this right — you’ve got one sparkly apocalypse dude with mixed blood, seven obsessive demoness fiancées, and now Heaven’s sending family to check on him. That’s... totally normal Tuesday stuff, right?"

Azrael gave her a stare that could peel the soul from bone. "You find humour in blasphemy?"

Selene squeaked. "Uh—no! I find humour in not dying horribly!"

Gabriel giggled softly, wings fluttering like silver silk. "She reminds me of Raphael when he’s nervous."

"Raphael doesn’t drink mortal sugar sludge," Azrael muttered.

Selene raised a finger. "Yet."

Gabriel suddenly clasped her hands together, her halo flickering faintly as if struck by a sudden idea. "Brother, I think I know where he might be!"

Azrael blinked. "...You think?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yes! When the resonance appeared, it felt familiar. It wasn’t just celestial — it resonated like a song I’ve heard before. The hymn of Dawnlight."

Azrael’s eyes narrowed. "Helel’s creation."

Gabriel nodded again, smiling faintly. "But altered. Softer. Like someone sang it through tears."

Selene’s expression turned curious. "You mean like a remix?"

Azrael groaned. "She means corrupted resonance, witch."

Gabriel shook her head. "No. Not corrupted. Humanised."

Her voice was quiet, reverent even. "Whoever Dominic has become... he’s not Helel reborn. He’s something new — something balanced between Heaven and Hell."

Azrael turned away, his cloak brushing through the grass as he began walking toward the edge of the park. "Balance breeds instability. The universe rejects paradoxes, Gabriel. We’ll verify his nature, and if necessary..."

He didn’t finish. He didn’t need to.

Gabriel’s smile faltered, the glow around her dimming just a fraction. "...Brother, please don’t hurt him."

Azrael paused mid-step. "...We’ll see."

Selene hovered behind them, broom bobbing nervously. "You two are, like, terrifying in completely different ways, you know that?"

Gabriel looked back at her, expression as soft as moonlight. "Will you help us, Miss Selene?"

"Help?!" Selene blinked. "Lady, I’m barely qualified to exist in this mess. You’re talking about meeting a guy who’s apparently part demon, part angel, and fully doomed!"

Gabriel clasped her hands, tilting her head slightly. "Please? You’ve already sensed his energy before, haven’t you?"

Selene sighed dramatically. "Ugh... I did sign up for an adventure when I left the coven. Fine. But I’m charging double for divine-grade chaos."

Gabriel’s eyes sparkled. "You charge?"

"Yup," Selene replied, flicking her broom upright. "Witchcraft doesn’t pay for itself. Besides, last time I helped a celestial, I ended up cursed with glowing hair for a month."

Gabriel gasped. "Oh no! Did it hurt?"

"No, it clashed with my wardrobe!"

The angel blinked, utterly missing the sarcasm. "I’ll... make sure that doesn’t happen again."

Azrael exhaled sharply. "Enough. Gabriel, cloak your light. Witch, lead the way. We’ll start from the city’s ley-line convergence and trace the residual harmonics."

Selene raised an eyebrow. "Translation for mortals?"

"Follow the shiny trail," Azrael said flatly.

"Oh! Why didn’t you just say that?" she chirped, swinging her leg over her broom.

Gabriel followed gracefully, her wings folding away into a faint shimmer. "This is exciting," she said, smiling brightly. "It’s been so long since I visited Earth properly. Mortals are always so... creative!"

Azrael muttered under his breath, "That’s one word for them."

Selene giggled, pushing off into the air. "Let’s go then! Operation: Find the Emo Grandnephew is a go!"

Gabriel’s eyes widened. "Emo?"

"You’ll see," Selene replied cheerfully, zooming ahead as her broom streaked toward the skyline.

Gabriel floated after her, humming softly. "Brother, don’t you think she’s wonderful?"

Azrael sighed and followed, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "Father preserve me from enthusiasm and mortals with brooms."

And so, under a sky that pretended to be calm, three figures — an Archangel, a Reaper, and a Witch — vanished into the silver horizon.

***

Stone me, I can take it!

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