Under the blinded gaze of Justice, Vesuvius felt the crushing weight descend upon his shoulders. The world seemed to slow, the bone-crushing pressure creaking against his armor loudly.
The angel in the sky with tied eyes did not move to attack; instead, it waited as the arm of the weight gradually lowered. "Every greedy action, theft, and life you so unjustly stole is what you feel! It is the weight of your crimes," the angel proclaimed.
With each centimeter lowered, the pressure mounted, the dragon's armor groaning under the strain. Vesuvius's paralyzed legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground.
Suddenly a melodious but manly voice rang out, perfectly clear even among the sounds of battles, "Justice, you say? Justice is subjective, and in your case, also blind, my little sibling."
Accompanied by a rain of black feathers, an androgynous, blonde man appeared beside Justice, leisurely flapping their eighteen black wings, each growing to staggering lengths, dwarfing their owner like the feathers of a peacock.
"You see, while you kept hypocritically blabbering here, you could have already struck down the young dragon; instead, you have wasted your only and last opportunity as I, the greatest of all the angels, have arrived!"
Then, with a whirl of a hand, a beam of graphite-black light burst from their slender fingers, striking the angel of Justice from the sky and pushing them to the ground, where it drilled a hole through the stone, vanishing into the depths of the planet below together with Justice.
The overbearing pressure vanished immediately, allowing Vesuvius to feel both relief and a surge of anger. He hated feeling so powerless, unable to defend himself, forced to rely on others for protection.
'Just wait!' With the pressure lifted, Vesuvius's souls underwent the final stage of transformation. One ignited into a massive star, radiating with fierce, searing power. The second became a shifting anomaly of space-time, pulsating with raw potential.
While his body still burned with energy as it transformed, he could finally use his domain powers. The world around him changed, and his domain expanded so quickly he couldn't even grasp it, and it didn't stop growing.
"Raguel, Raguel, tell me, why can't you see the truth?" Lucifer's voice echoed slightly, filled with a mix of taunt and genuine curiosity.
The angel paused, their wings flapping silently, almost contemplatively, before finally speaking. "The only truth is—"
"—justice?" Lucifer cut in sharply, his tone tinged with a blend of amusement and exasperation. He had heard these words too often, always feeling a mix of pity and regret as he watched his sibling cling to what he viewed as naive convictions. "Why can't you realize that your beloved god of light is just using you?"
"He took us in when we were abandoned; we both love light and goodness, so we must repay their—"
"—love? I see you are still as blind as ever." Lucifer's snicker echoed around the cavernous space, his humor self-proclaimed as unmatched, for he always saw himself as superior in all things. "Then let us fight, so you can remember why I am the oldest and best angel!"
He knew there was no convincing his sibling, as it was in their very nature to follow their leader, valuing hierarchy with the utmost importance.
Lucifer paused, a flicker of realization dawning in his eyes. "Or perhaps I am mistaken, Raguel? You've never been one to lead armies, yet here you are. And why the delay?"
He knew Raguel too well; bluster and bravado were never their style. 'Justice is swift. They were never one to delay their actions.'
The angel remained silent, but then Lucifer exploded into laughter. "Defying the orders of your god yet not falling? That means you truly know this entire farce is just an unjust power grab."
Seeing the silent angel, a sly smile formed on his face. "Perhaps you don't truly believe in the justice of this war, maybe you harbor your own doubts. Of course! You preside over the realm of justice—how could you not question what is right? You didn't come here to win this battle; you came here to do what you considered to be just."