Not too far away, Katie was watching all of this unfold with her mouth wide open. Thanks to the carelessness of the Angels, who weren’t expecting any enemies other than the Section U Agents, the two of them were able to get quite close without being discovered. They heard most of the exchange between Sabriel and the Section U officer. 

Katie recognized Section U almost immediately. What seemed like an eon ago, a few of Mr. Isaac’s goons possessed the bodies of Section U Agents they killed in an effort to toy with Katie’s class and break them further. They were dressed identically to the men in the convoy. Still, she had to admit she didn't expect what followed. 

The Angels, as expected, wiped out the convoy in a successful ambush while taking very minor losses. But in a twist, it turned out that the convoy was fed to the Angels as a distraction so Section U forces that have already infiltrated Los Angeles could make a move on their base and slaughter the Angels remaining there. 

It seemed like a lot of work to go through and sacrifice to make to kill two dozen enemies, but when those killed were unreplenishable Angels and those sacrificed were expendable humans with replaceable weapons, it was quite a feat.

Just as Katie was still marveling at what happened and the Angels were getting ready to leave, Katie felt someone poking her from the side. That someone turned out to be one Gadreel. Annoyed, Katie slapped Gadreel’s hand off her. What do you think you're doing? Quit touching me! You're really not my type!

Beside her, Gadreel found himself deeply and severely confused. You do remember that I hired you and paid you for this, right? Maybe it’s time to do your job? Just maybe? 

Gadreel poked Katie in the side again, and Katie finally realized what he wanted. Somewhat excited, she stood up, stretched her arms, and immediately got shot in the left eye by an arrow. 

Not far away, an Angel lowered his bow. He was keeping an eye on the surroundings. As soon as Katie stood up and the cloaking spell Gadreel cast on her wore off, he saw her, and he didn't hesitate to shoot. 

“Ouch.” Katie groaned. The arrow went right through her eye and came out on the other side of her head. Even worse, the destructive celestial energy was ripping through her skull with every passing moment. She couldn’t quite pull the arrow out immediately, so Katie decided to just let it stay there for the moment. It wasn't bothering her. Not exactly...

The Angel with the bow raised his eyebrows when he realized Katie was somehow still standing. A Demon would’ve died from an injury like that! What in God’s name was this girl? But before he could act, Katie’s form disappeared in a cloud of red. 

She appeared right behind that bow Angel. 

The Angel turned around quickly. An arrow was in his right hand, and he quickly swung it around and went for Katie’s neck. Unfortunately for him, Katie was quicker. All the agony she had experienced made her faster and stronger than most supernatural beings. She easily grabbed onto Angel’s arm, snapped it, and slammed her fist into the back of the Angel’s neck. 

Following a bone-cracking sound, the Angel collapsed on the ground, his spine broken. He immediately tried to heal himself, but before he could, Katie stepped on his back again. Crack!

“Hey, you there!” By this point, the rest of the garrison had noticed Katie and witnessed her brutalities. They were getting into battle formation, and Katie was all too happy to make a move on them and try to take them head-on. 

As she charged at Sabriel and the other Angels, the fallen bow Angel barely had a moment to take a breath before he found another figure towering over him. Gadreel. The fallen Angel silently rested his hand on the Angel’s forehead. 

“Sorry, brother.” He whispered quietly before going to work. 

At the same time, next to what was left of the Section U convoy, Katie immediately found herself surrounded by Angels from all flanks. A red branch blade appeared in Katie’s right hand as she shoved the weapon into the chest of one of the Angels. As soon as the blade was inside its victim, it started sucking the Angel’s blood out of his body and into Katie, feeding her. The Angel tried to dislodge the weapon, only to end in failure. Katie was too strong, even for him. 

That Angel was indeed a tough one. When he realized he couldn’t free himself, he instead grabbed onto the weapon and held it, and thus Katie, in place. Using that precious opening, three more Angels started dissecting Katie with their weapons, carving through her Branch Armor and opening up her insides. 

“Impressive.” Katie muttered before using her dashing powers again. This time, she appeared behind another Angel. Her original victim, now freed, took a few steps before suddenly collapsing. Countless bulges slid from the injury to the rest of the Angel’s body.

That was another trick that resulted from the combination of the Mu plant and the vampire essence. The bulges were tiny plants that could grow at a terrifying rate by sucking the blood of its victims, a feat only possible thanks to a liberal and creative use of blood magic. It got into the Angel’s body when the Branch Blade created a breach, and it was bleeding the Angel dry from the inside as well as growing itself to a very unpleasant size. Inside the Angel's body. 

The Angel’s eyes turned white once again, and all of the bulges exploded inside him. But between that and taking the hit, as well as losing all the blood, the Angel found himself weaker than ever. He barely had the chance to take another step before Katie dashed behind him once again and jammed her Knife into his spine. 

In less than a minute, several Angels have fallen at Katie’s hands. Making things even worse was that Katie was too mobile to be surrounded and cornered. At first, the Angels thought Katie would be worn out at the rate she was teleporting. What they didn't know was that their attacks only helped to fuel her movements. 

In a sense, the more they struck Katie, the more they were helping her kill them. 

With a loud clash, Katie locked blades with Sabriel's sword. As the Angelic blade melted through Katie’s weapon, Sabriel couldn’t help but ask a question. The ultimate question, even. 

“Who are you? You are not working for Section U! Why are you coming after us?”

“Nope.” Katie used the opportunity and grabbed onto the sword with her bare hands. It was never a good idea to press unprotected skin on a weapon radiating with celestial energy, but Katie did it anyways. 

The blade scorched Katie’s skin, filling the air with a barbeque smell. Just as Sabriel was contemplating his next move, Katie suddenly let go of the weapon, grabbed onto the Angel on the shoulders, and slammed her head into his face. 

That was already a brutal move. Add that to the fact that Katie still had an arrow lodged inside her eye socket…

“Ahhh!” Sabriel screamed and backed off, now with a bloody hole in his face. Katie was about to press the advantage when she was pounced on by two more loyal Angels. 

Not far away, three Angels realized the situation was direr than ever. They exchanged a silent glance before coming to a unanimous decision. Two of them closed their eyes and channeled all of their grace into the third Angel, who promptly found himself lifting into the air. Wings grew out of his back and a halo appeared over his head. A lance took form in his grip. Unlike the weapons the garrison was using, this lance was made of light from tip to tip. 

In a blur, the winged Angel slammed right into Katie, his lance cutting clean through her body with no resistance at all. Katie could tank bullets with her bare skin, but the light lance cut through her body like it was made of paper, a testament to its strength.  

And then the lance exploded.

For a moment, bright light filled the battlefield. The blinding illumination made sight near impossible. The combined force of three Angels, unleashed in a single blow, proved to be as deadly as it sounded. 

Sabriel finally sighed. There were a lot of casualties, and even now, he still had no idea who the girl was or why the hell she was after the Angels, but at least this was now over. Now, he could finally move what was left of his garrison back to Los Angeles. Just as he was about to check for the casualties, his eyes suddenly landed on one particular Angel who wasn’t supposed to be here.

And...what was he doing? 

“You are…” It didn't take Sabriel too long to realize who this Angel was and what he was doing. When he did, he was furious. “Gadreel! How dare you? Release him at once! A coward like you doesn't deserve the holy grace!”

Gadreel was quite famous...or rather infamous in Los Angeles. When Katie first found him and took him home like he was a stray puppy, the poor Angel was being hunted by dozens of his own kind. Granted, his pursuers were mostly Angels with little grace left as more powerful Angels had more pressing issues to deal with. 

As the commander of a local garrison, Sabriel quickly realized the Angel who not only fled from his duty but also slaughtered the Angels sent to bring him back to justice.

The surviving Angels, following their leader's lead, raised their weapons to Gadreel, who was feasting on another Angel Katie crippled. Noticing that the Angels have turned their attention to him and his shield was suspiciously gone, Gadreel looked around and frowned. He didn't expect that hit to be enough to kill Katie. 

“Uh...Katie? You still have a job to do!”

A few Angels looked around, but Sabriel scoffed. “Your friend is dead! Your foolish endeavor killed her! Now, release our brother and return with me. You will answer for your crimes!” 

Gadreel looked up at him again before snapping the maimed Angel’s neck mercilessly. With his grace completed, the Angel merely twitched briefly before dying from the wound. 

“Katie! It’s now or never!”

Gadreel repeated once again. Now is your moment, Lockwood! 

Sabriel growled in fury as another one of his already numbered brothers bit the dust. Gadreel, the fool...couldn't he see the dire situation all the Angels were in already? Instead of doing his duty to his people and his creator, he was turning against his own brothers! For what? To live a little longer? To have a bit more power to run on? That coward! He would take care of this disgrace of an Angel once and for all, here and now! Let Gadreel's fate be a warning to all those who sought to abandon their post!

Just as he was about to make a move, poor Sabriel found himself facing the ultimate dream-crusher once again. Out of nowhere, one Katie Lockwood jumped into the fray once again. The Angel realized that somehow, this maniac of a girl survived a blow that should've killed her with ease. He watched as she dashed to one of the decapitated Section U bodies on the ground. She picked up a Section U rifle from the ground and took aim at Sabriel. 

“Say cheese!”

With a grin on her face, she pulled the trigger to the powerful weapon. 

She expected a lot. She received nothing. 

Nothing happened. Katie pulled the trigger a few more times, but once again, nothing occurred. She went as far as turning the weapon around and staring into the gun barrel and pulling the trigger. Once again, nothing. 

“Oh…” The brunette looked up at the Angels before shrugging and dropping the rifle. “Oops. That's awkward. I swear it went a lot better in my head...”

Not far away, Gadreel clapped his forehead and sighed. 

The Angels looked at each other in confusion. So...do we fight her now? They were used to fighting serious enemies, trained men and women who would bleed and die without saying a word that wasn't a military order. Even the less disciplined foes they have encountered usually filled their mouths with war cries or swears. But this girl...she was different from all of them. No...to her, fighting in a battle to the death wasn't anything worth getting serious about. If anything, it was a game. A relaxation. 

And in a sense, it was terrifying.

That was when Katie suddenly acted. One moment, she was standing there awkwardly like a teenager with stage fright presenting to a class of audience. The next second, she became the cruelest and deadliest killing machine. With lightning speed, she dashed into position behind another Angel. This time, the Angels were more than ready. Several blades carved through her immediately, but that didn't stop Katie from making her entrance by nearly beheading one Angel. 

Unlike before, this time Katie was completely covered in her red Branch Armor. The blows she endured devastating, but it was nothing she couldn’t grow back from. 

It quickly became clear to Sabriel that this was a battle they couldn’t win. He wasn’t afraid of dying, but losing dozens of Angels in a fight as meaningless as this one? It was anything but wise and these forces could've been spent elsewhere. Plus, someone needed to report what happened here back to High Command. Gadreel the traitor had found a company in another powerful female creature. Sabriel didn't know if the higher-ups knew about this, but he didn't, and he doubted they knew the pair have started hunting Angels for their grace.

He could try to deliver the message psychically, but Sabriel doubted the pair would give them the time to report this.

Finally, he made up his mind. 

“Move! Get back to Los Angeles!” Sabriel glanced at the wounded Angels on the ground. There was little hope for them to make it out alive. “And brothers...cover the retreat.” 

Before Gadreel and Katie could do anything, the Angels on the ground started igniting their powers while the luckier Angels who remained intact through all this made a run for it. If celestial grace was gasoline, then these Angels were trying to set the gas aflame rather than let it be stolen by the pair of bandits. 

Gadreel furiously did what he could to salvage some of the powers before it was too late. Katie pondered chasing after the fleeing Angels, but as a professional, she instead chose to stay and protect her client by finishing off the Angels that Gadreel couldn’t get to in time. 

Finally, it was all over. 

Two Angels were killed by the Section U forces. Katie massacred 8 more Angels. Gadreel was able to absorb the grace from 6 of them. 

“So, are you happy now?”

As Gadreel was finishing up, Katie casually walked over, holding onto another one of the Section U rifles. She took aim at one of the vehicles and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. “I don’t get it. Are all the rifles broken or something? Or do they just don’t like me?”

“I believe these weapons are locked onto the DNA of their users. Only their users can use them. You're lucky they didn't blow up in your hands...or maybe unlucky is the better word.” Gadreel let out a small smile. He was clearly in a much better mood despite just sucking the life out of six of his own people. After all, he could last longer and had more power at his disposal. “And yes, I am happier now.” 

Katie sighed in frustration and snapped the rifle against her knee, breaking it in two. 

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Shoutout to Sweg, Bobbitshark, and Richard Johnson for their support! I'll give an overall appreciation note to all my patrons at the end of the next chapter. 

Also, if I am to commission another artwork for this novel, which character and which scenario should I do it for? Leave the ideas in the comments below!