—Sigh.
"Well, I just finished the DxD light novel..."
The voice of the young man in front of his screen betrayed a mixture of satisfaction and a hint of fatigue.
Damien is a medical student with no remarkable history or particular past.
He had just taken his last exam.
To celebrate, he had decided to spend the day binge-watching shows and reading light novels.
A simple pleasure.
"I would have preferred a slightly different ending, but overall, the story is decent."
He was referring to the conclusion of the light novel, which had left him with a twinge in his heart.
He already knew that Issei couldn't have all the girls in his harem, but seeing it actually happen had still disappointed him.
That was the source of his bitterness.
A simple reader's whim, nothing mean or comparable to certain SNK fans.
"I wonder how Adrien will react when I tell him that Issei has an angel in his harem."
His friend Adrien hadn't finished the light novel yet, since he was the one who had recommended DxD to Damien.
Unlike Damien, a moderate Christian, Adrien was still a somewhat traditional Catholic.
Thus, Damien's recommendation was a bit of a sadistic joke.
"I love my dark humor, but I don't understand why Adrien says it's the reason for my being single."
Unfortunately, Damien never really understood the concept of "limits" in his jokes.
That's also why he can count on the fingers of one hand the people he can call friends.
After all, it takes a certain IQ to understand dark humor... and Damien's humor dangerously borders on pure offense.
—Bing!
The sound of the timer pulled him from his thoughts.
"Ah, my food is ready."
With a satisfied smile on his lips, he took his meal out of the oven. A delicious smell filled the room...
But the pleasant moment of tranquility was brief.
—BOOM!
The explosion violently threw him against the wall. Dead on impact, Damien didn't even have time to realize what was happening to him.
Later, the investigation would reveal that the cause was a rusty gas pipe, neglected by the stingy landlord who refused to replace it.
Damien, too busy with his studies, had never noticed the dilapidated state of the pipes.
Result? He died because of some jerk's stupidity.
...
(Unknown location, era: the Flood)**
"I do not know you."
A gentle voice, bathed in infinite paternal tenderness, had just uttered words that chilled Damien to the soul.
Before he could fully understand the situation...
—BOOM
A thunderclap tore through the heavens, and he was projected out of the resplendent place where he had regained consciousness.
"What's happening?!"
Confusion overwhelmed Damien.
He was in pain... severe pain.
A sharp pain pierced his chest, while burning tears escaped from his eyes.
His body was falling toward an unknown place, from an equally unknown height.
'What the hell is happening to me!!!'
He remembered preparing food, and after that... nothing.
Nothing at all in his mind.
'The seventh heaven? Michael, Gabriel, my brothers and sisters?'
Suddenly, an enormous amount of information, equivalent to centuries of experience, poured into his mind.
Damien had just merged with the four-winged angel named Sanguinius.
Yet, against all expectations, it was the simple mortal's soul that had dominated.
Why?
The answer was atrociously simple: Sanguinius was broken.
The angel couldn't bear his fate. Nor his Father's rejection. Before the fusion, he was nothing more than a delirious shadow, a soul lost in its own torments.
Thus, a twenty-year-old human had easily absorbed what remained of him.
"His name is Sanguinius?!"
Damien was both shocked... and irritated.
He was a Warhammer 40K fan.
'This guy is nothing but a horny angel who slept with mortal women then started whining when he faced the consequences.'
So, Damien didn't appreciate that someone of this sort bore the name of Sanguinius.
Despite his anger, he forced himself to stay calm.
He had other priorities now than the insult to his favorite Warhammer 40k character.
'I'm surely in the time of the Flood according to my new memories.'
Yes, the Flood that struck Earth was indeed due to the fallen angels.
According to his knowledge, the Biblical God wasn't the only one behind this apocalyptic situation on the globe's surface.
Several pantheons had also decided to reset humanity, which they no longer deemed worthy of their attention.
Despite this collective decision, the trigger for this catastrophe remained Azazel.
"That idiot is really Zeus's friend..."
Even saying this, Damien wasn't in a position to judge him.
Sanguinius too had played with mortal women and given birth to those beings now called: the Nephilim.
"Why didn't this idiot perform that damn ritual, if he really wanted to put his little brother into a girl?"
Damien was referring here to the creation of a miracle child, which is a creature different from the Nephilim.
The former are born from an "ordinary" union between an angel and another species, while the latter come into being through a sexual act performed during a sacred and complex ritual.
—bam
—splash
A shockwave propagated far after his brutal landing in the waters of the Flood.
Damien would have liked to use his wings to fly and avoid getting soaked, but that seemed to be part of his punishment.
"I see... I was no longer worthy of having white on me, huh."
The immaculate white of his wings was now just a memory. It had been replaced by a dark, almost disturbing shade.
He didn't even have his halo anymore.
"Sigh... at least I'm not alone in this mess."
Not far from him, Damien spotted a few fallen angels emerging from the chaotic waters of the Flood, beating their wings in the stormy sky.
"Lord Sanguinius!!!"
"Dohnaseek?"
As I mentally engrave this apocalyptic scene in my memory, an old acquaintance calls out to me.
"You seem to be taking the situation rather well."
Despite his respectful tone, Damien could see deep sadness in the eyes of the angel before him.
"I'm in a miserable situation too..." he replied with a sigh.
Damien wasn't lying.
At that moment, his heart was filled with grief, just like the fallen angels around him, whose tears flowed silently.
Despite this, he preferred to move forward without looking back.
'Especially since the Biblical God doesn't forgive easily... unless you're human.'
As a Christian in his past life, he knew how things worked in the holy writings.
'Either you're good or you're bad... and forgiveness is reserved only for mortals still alive.'
A simple summary, but accurate, in light of his biblical knowledge.
Since he was no longer a mortal, he had no choice but to turn the page.
"Did you just come to check on me?"
Sanguinius's question received only a nod from his interlocutor.
"Yes... but also to inform you of something."
Dohnaseek glanced around, then approached Sanguinius, lowering his voice.
Naturally, he erected a magical barrier to prevent prying ears from listening to their exchange.
"Lord Kokabiel has charged me with gathering angels lucid enough for a meeting with Lord Azazel."
The news slightly surprised Sanguinius, before an involuntary smile formed on his lips.