Chapter 169: The Cutest Ceasefire in History

The demon princess, Virelle, looks up in dawning horror as the clash between her mother and a Saint Sister draws toward its climax.

A small, muffled squeal escapes her chest and she grips Veena’s leg tighter as she watches Hela summon a greatsword the size of a castle spire across the skies above them.

The entire battlefield holds its breath, watching, mouths gaped in open awe as Vexena is impaled by a dozen glowing blades, one after another in rapid, blinding succession, before a colossal construct of searing, holy light tears through the sky and strikes the Demon Queen down with the condensed fury of a god’s fist.

The entire battlefield shudders as one as Vexena crashes into the ground, the earth folding open beneath her in an instant, a crater blooming outward with a boom~ that rattles loose every remaining shred of courage from every mortal soul for miles in every direction, dust and debris blasting outward in a wide, choking ring and scattering the Demon Queen’s soldiers still brave enough to be standing nearby.

"MAMA!" Virelle screams, jetting off toward her mother through the air in a furious dash.

The dust clears slowly, drifting away in long grey ribbons, to reveal Vexena still alive, standing at the crater’s center, swaying only slightly, blood trickling steadily from various wounds, obsidian armor scorched, cracked and shattered across her body.

She vibrates visibly from head to toe with a barely restrained power and fury that has nowhere left to go but out, eyes intently focused on Hela hovering high above.

She wipes her chin with the back of one hand, smearing dark blood across her cheek and knuckles, and twists her jaw back into place with an audible click~. A barely restrained roar grows deep in her chest as she snarls at Hela, who hovers effortlessly above the field looking, infuriatingly, like she hasn’t even broken a sweat.

"Good hit!" Vexena calls up begrudgingly. "You’re not mortal, are you?"

Hela nods, almost appreciative, drifting a little lower, studying her opponent with something like genuine respect.

"Not many mortals, or immortals, honestly, who can land a hit on me." She smirks, a faint hint of respect curling at the corners of her mouth. "And even fewer who take a hit like the one I just gave you."

Vexena spits blood, wiping her mouth again, already rolling her shoulders as she rises out of the crater with pure, stubborn, unbreaking will. "Bring it!"

Hela beams, face glowing with delight as she pulls more and more holy weapons into reality around her in slow, lazy spirals, divine energy buzzing as swords of every size slide through the air around her, humming like struck crystal.

Vexena’s stance drops, horns low and sparking, arms spread wide, hands closing around two swirling balls of crimson magic that stretch and compress in her palms, hardening into twin crimson, crackling blades that exude pure demonic power.

"Ready?" Hela asks, grinning with anticipation.

"Ready." Vexena snaps back.

The two barely get the chance to move a muscle before Virelle slams into her mother from behind, knocking her off balance before either of them can leap into action, small trembling arms wrapping tight around her mother’s waist. "Are you okay? You’re bleeding!"

Vexena startles, shoulders dropping instinctively at the sight of Virelle’s pulsing pink eyes looking up at her, before she quickly averts her gaze, stiffens her jaw and her resolve, and scolds the young princess sharply. "Get back, Virelle! Can’t you see I’m—"

Hela appears beside them in a blink, faster than either of them can track, and scoops Virelle off the ground, grabbing her under both arms like a very cute, very cross little doll.

She whisks the tiny princess away before Vexena can so much as reach for her, holding the small demon child out at arm’s length like a trophy on display.

Vexena’s eyes go completely, utterly deranged with anger, wild and furious, pupils blown wide with something well past reason. She lunges for Hela, every last reserve of power screaming through her limbs, murder written plain across every pore in her face, screaming with a bloodlust so total it tears from her lungs and echoes off the cratered earth.

And a sword of light materializes out of thin air directly between them with a resonant clang~, blocking the Demon Queen’s strike dead and knocking her clean backward into the mud with a force that leaves her gasping, winded, staring up at the sky through a twirling haze.

Hela studies the wriggling, disgruntled child in her grip with a genuine, dawning surprise. She tilts her head like she’s just discovered something entirely unexpected in the middle of a warzone.

"I had no idea you had such a cute little daughter tucked away, Your Majesty." Hela squeals, "She’s absolutely adorable!"

She pinches Virelle’s cheek between two fingers, cooing at the scowling princess, then reaches up to tickle one of her small, budding horns.

Virelle squirms furiously against the grip, tiny fists flailing without landing anything.

"I hate Saint Sisters." She pouts, crossing her arms with fierce, tiny dignity.

Hela sets her down gently, careful as anything, and pats the top of her head one last time.

Virelle responds with the fiercest, wettest raspberry a small demon child can possibly muster, followed immediately by a solid, well-aimed kick square to Hela’s shin, her boots flaring with demonic magic.

It does absolutely nothing to the Saint Sister, who doesn’t so much as flinch.

Virelle turns and bolts back to Vexena’s side at a dead sprint, tiny boots slapping through the mud, throwing herself against her mother’s legs, wailing about being babied by a blonde-haired monster.

Hela watches her go, chuckling warmly, her expression commandeered by something soft and maternal, a look that stands entirely at odds with the circle of greatswords still glowing and humming patiently around them.

"Well then," she sighs, long and wistful, pressing a hand briefly to her own chest. "I’ve completely lost all desire for violence now. That was simply too cute to recover from. I don’t think I could summon the will to hurt you now... even if I tried."

Vexena blinks, incredulous. "T-That’s it? You’re just... walking away? What happened to your sworn duty to kill me?"

"Call this a temporary job," Hela shrugs, already dismissing her remaining blades one by one with idle, lazy flicks of her fingers, each one winking out of existence with a soft, heavenly chime. "Contract work, if you will. Can’t really say I’m committed to the cause."

Vexena squints at her, utterly baffled, blood still dripping steadily from her split lip down onto the ruined front of her armor, clearly trying and failing completely to reconcile any of the utterly unhinged happenings her daughter, Veena, has dragged her into.