Becoming The Strongest Angel With A Saintess System

Chapter 17: Fallen Angels

Walking through heaven's halls with Alia and Zephyr was... surprisingly nice.

"And THEN," Alia bounced as she walked, gesturing wildly, "the princess says 'but I can't possibly kiss her, I'm too shy!' So Zephy here just grabs both of them and—"

"Perhaps we should skip to the happy ending," Zephyr cut in smoothly, though her smile suggested the middle part had been very interesting indeed.

Grace couldn't remember the last time she'd just... chatted with people like this. Back on the farm, her only conversations had been with chickens, and they weren't nearly as good at telling scandalous stories about divine matchmaking. And, before that, her parents. She'd never really had just a simple, non-blood related, non-animal, sentient being to speak with.

It was nice. As... eccentric as these girls were.

"Oh! Oh!" Alia grabbed Grace's arm, pressing way closer than strictly necessary. "Tell her about the time we had to help that knight who was crushing on her squire!"

"You mean when you literally pushed them into a supply closet together?"

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Did these things really all happen?" Grace asked, shocked. "Some of these stories are so outlandish."

"Baby," Zephyr drawled, "we're hundreds of years old. These stories are just the tip of the cake."

Grace found herself giggling at their back-and-forth. Maybe having friends wouldn't be so—

The temperature in the hall suddenly dropped.

Ahead of them, a crowd had gathered, angels pressing against the walls to clear a path between two figures locked in what had to be the most intense staredown Grace had ever witnessed.

Celestia stood on one side with her rainbow wings spread wide, but her usual playful smile was nowhere to be seen. Across from her...

Grace's breath caught.

The other angel was tall, maybe even taller than Celestia, with wings of shifting grey that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it, black leather pants and black gloves. Where Celestia radiated warmth, this angel emanated something colder, darker.

Grace wanted to ask who this was, but the tension in the hall was so thick she was afraid speaking might shatter it.

The two angels stood so close their chests nearly touched, the contrast between Celestia's rainbow wings and the other angel's grey ones making the air itself seem to crackle with tension.

Grace couldn't help but notice how they both seemed to be breathing a little harder than necessary, how neither seemed willing to be the first to step back.

"Who is that?" Grace whispered to Zephyr, unable to take her eyes off the scene. The grey-winged angel was gorgeous in a dangerous way, like a storm about to break.

"A member of The Veil," Zephyr breathed back, actually pressing closer to Grace as if seeking comfort. Her breath tickled Grace's ear as she added, "Fallen angels who've turned their backs on Eternia's teachings. They're... complicated."

"Wait, they're evil!?" Grace squeaked, perhaps a bit too loudly because several heads turned their way, including the fallen angel's.

Those eyes, dark as midnight and twice as dangerous, fixed on Grace for a moment that made her knees weak.

"Shh!" Zephyr's hand clamped over Grace's mouth, which was very distracting for several reasons, not least of which was how soft her palm felt against Grace's lips. "Not exactly. Or, I mean, some of them are, but not all of them. A lot of them still fight demons, still protect humanity. They just..." She bit her lip. "They believe Eternia abandoned us, so they fuel their power through Sins instead of Virtues."

"Like Hatred," Alia added, for once completely serious. "That's the only one I know, though."

Grace's eyes widened as she watched the fallen angel lean even closer to Celestia, her grey wings rippling with dark energy that somehow made her even more attractive. It honestly wasn't fair. When she thought "fallen angels", this wasn't what came to mind. She imagined something uglier, something more hateful. Not... This.

"The village of Redwood," the Veil angel's voice was deep but no less seductive than the other angels around her. "We'll be handling that... situation. Personally." Her smile was wicked.

"I remind you that you have no authority here," Celestia's reply was soft but carried enough power to make the air hum. "You cannot tell us where to go, or where not to go. The Dominion still stands as guardian of—"

"Oh, I'm not claiming authority." The fallen angel's smile was sharp as a blade as she pressed even closer. Celestia stood firm even as now their breasts were quite clearly pressing against each other. "Just giving you fair warning. Whatever happens there..." She reached up, one finger trailing down Celestia's cheek. "It's on you. Though it doesn't have to be. We could... coordinate."

The way she said "coordinate" made Grace feel things she probably shouldn't be feeling about fallen angels.

"I-Is it just me," Grace whispered to Alia, trying very hard not to stare at how the fallen angel's leather pants left absolutely nothing to the imagination, "or is this kind of..."

"Hot?" Alia finished with a grin. "Oh honey, wait till you hear about the Great Schism. So much sexual tension, so little time. Did you know Celestia and their leader used to be—"

Zephyr smacked her upside the head.

"That's not our drama to talk about."

"But the—"

"NO."

... At that moment, Grace truly understood there was quite a bit of angel history to learn. A lot of it.

The fallen angel finally took a step back, and oh.

OH.

[Is that on PURPOSE!?] Grace's brain stopped working as she got a full view of those leather pants, which, at the back, were less "pants" and more "strategic strips of leather attempting to be pants." The back view was... educational.

"Well," the fallen angel's voice dripped sin like honey, "I suppose I should go before I overstay my welcome." She glanced over her shoulder, and Grace quickly understood why she showed up with those pants because that pose was clearly intentioal. "But do come visit sometime, darling~"

The temperature in the hall dropped about twenty degrees.

Celestia's rainbow wings flared with barely contained fury, but the fallen angel was already airborne, her laugh echoing through the halls as she vanished in a swirl of grey feathers.

"Alright, alright," Celestia's voice could have frozen fire. "Back to whatever you were doing."

The gathered angels scattered like startled birds. Alia and Zephyr, those absolute traitors, disappeared so fast they left afterimages.

Which left Grace alone with a very annoyed archangel.

[Don't say anything weird don't say anything weird don't—]

"So..." Grace managed weakly. "I, uh, feel like I have a lot to learn."

Celestia's expression softened as she looked at Grace, though there was still murder in her eyes when she glanced at where the fallen angel had disappeared.

"All in due time, little one." Her smile returned, though it held an edge. "Don't concern yourself with snakes like that. You just keep your pretty head down and focus on training."

Grace had a feeling there was a story there.

A very interesting story that probably involved significantly fewer pants.

She made a mental note to ask Alia about it later.

Assuming she could find where those cowards had run off to.