Becoming The Strongest Angel With A Saintess System-Chapter 22: Little Warrior, Part One

Grace woke up feeling like she'd been trampled by a herd of divine horses. Twice. Every muscle screamed in protest as she dragged herself into a sitting position, her brain struggling to process why everything hurt so much.

[Oh right. Diana and her surprise midnight training session from hell.]

She was pretty sure muscles she didn't even know she had were sore.

As she contemplated taking the day off and switching careers from angel to vegetable, a familiar golden glow appeared in her vision.

「Quest Gained!」

Category: Bravery

Objective: Slay a Demon

Reward: +5 Bravery

"Are you KIDDING ME?!" Grace shrieked at the floating text, then immediately clapped her hands over her mouth. The last thing she needed was for Alia or Zephyr to hear her shouting at thin air.

[Great. Even my goddess thinks I need to hurry up and get to demon-slaying. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Eternia, but have you SEEN me try to swing a sword? Surely, you could give me a year or something, no!?]

She flopped back onto her bed with a groan, then immediately regretted it as her muscles protested the sudden movement.

"Fine," she muttered to the ceiling—and by extension, to Eternia. "I'll kill your stupid demon... Just as soon as I figure out how to stand up without crying."

By the time Grace finally dragged herself to morning training, she was already fifteen minutes late. Seraph's eyes narrowed dangerously as Grace tried to sneak into the back row.

"LIGHTSINGER!" Seraph's voice boomed across the training yard. "Care to explain why you're late to MY training session?"

Every head turned to stare at Grace, who felt her face heat up to approximately the temperature of the sun.

"I, uh, overslept?" It wasn't technically a lie.

"OVERSLEPT?!" Seraph looked like she was about to burst a blood vessel. Her muscles—and seriously, did the woman have muscles on her EYEBALLS?—bulged as she stalked over to Grace. "Do you think DEMONS care if you OVERSLEPT?!"

[Pretty sure demons would be thrilled if I overslept. I'm literally the only one who can kill them.]

She kept that snarky little comment to herself.

"No, ma'am!" Grace squeaked.

"Twenty laps around the courtyard!" Seraph bellowed. "AND you get to be Diana's sparring partner today!"

Grace's head whipped around, scanning the training yard until she spotted Diana standing off to the side. Their eyes met, and Diana's lips curved into a slow, predatory smile.

GULP

"But first!" Seraph clapped her massive hands together. "Everyone pair up! We're practicing defensive maneuvers!"

From that unfortunate incident, the next three days passed in a blur of sweat, pain, and the occasional flash of golden system notifications that only Grace could see.

Day one was pure, unadulterated torture.

"Wider stance!" Diana barked, circling Grace like a shark. "You're still too rigid!"

"I'm trying!" Grace panted, her arms trembling as she held her practice sword aloft.

"Try harder," Diana replied, then swept Grace's legs out from under her for the twelfth time that morning.

As Grace lay flat on her back, staring up at the perfect blue sky of the Angelic Dominion, she had to wonder if death-by-training was a possibility for an immortal being.

Diana's face (75% obscured by her breasts) appeared above her, blocking out the sun.

"Get up. Again."

[I've made a terrible mistake. Diana's not helping me—she's enjoying torturing me!]

Later that day, Grace practically dragged herself to healing class with Mara. After getting her butt kicked by Diana for hours, she was ready for something—anything—that didn't involve getting knocked on her face repeatedly.

"Divine energy flows from the heart, through the arms, and out through the hands," Mara explained. "It's like a river of pure light."

Grace tried her absolute hardest to focus on this whole "river of light" business and not on Mara's insane chest. Seriously, the woman's robes looked like they were one deep breath away from surrendering completely. It was like they were holding on for dear life, those poor, strained fabrics.

"Now, everyone place your hands on your partner's injury," Mara instructed.

Grace's partner was this shy angel named Lily. Poor thing looked terrified as she held out her arm with its tiny practice cut. Like Grace was gonna somehow make it worse instead of better. Which, to be fair, probably wasn't outside the realm of possibility.

"Remember, feel the warmth in your chest, let it flow down your arms, and into your fingertips," Mara continued, bouncing between pairs of angels. And yes, "bouncing" is definitely the right word here.

Grace squeezed her eyes shut, trying to find this magical energy Mara wouldn't shut up about. She'd managed to do it a couple times before, but it was always like trying to catch a slippery fish with your bare hands. At first, nothing happened—big surprise there. But then, she felt something! Like a tiny little sun had decided to take up residence right in the middle of her chest.

[Hey! I'm actually feeling something! Yay!]

She grabbed onto that warm feeling like her life depended on it, mentally shoving it down her arms toward her fingers. It was the weirdest sensation, like warm honey flowing through her veins. When she peeked one eye open, her hands were actually glowing! Actually glowing with golden light all around Lily's cut.

"Oh!" Lily gasped. "It tingles!"

They both watched, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, as the cut on Lily's arm just... closed up. Like magic. (Because, duh, it WAS magic.) Grace had done that! With her own hands!

"I did it!" Grace practically squealed. She might have jumped up and down a little too. So what? She'd earned it!

「Skill Upgraded: Soothing Hands (Lvl. 2)」

If healing class was a nice surprise, what happened in Venus's class that evening was like getting trampled by a carriage.

"Intimacy is about connection," Venus purred, stalking around the room like she owned everyone in it. And, as per usual, and as seemed to be the norm in the Angelic Dominion, she was basically naked. Really, Grace could see EVERYTHING and it was very hard to listen like that. "It's about making someone feel safe, desired, and cherished. Like even in a world that doesn't care about them, a world that is actively hostile to them, you are there to make it all better."

That sounded great and all but Grace was having a hard time taking her seriously when the clothes she wore didn't so much as hide anything and instead more like highlighted everything.

[How is anyone supposed to concentrate with her dressed like THAT?]

"Today, we'll continue practicing the art of the kiss," Venus continued, like a predator looking for her next meal. And guess who ended up being the main course? "Grace, dear, would you care to assist me with a demonstration?"

Grace almost died right then and there. She made this weird choking sound that was halfway between a gasp and a squeak.

"M-Me?!"

"Unless there's another Grace in the room," Venus said and all the girls laughed in a way that made Grace feel so embarrassed.

The walk to the front of the classroom was like a death march. Everyone was staring at her, and Grace could pretty much hear their thoughts. 'Poor Grace, she's about to combust on the spot.' And they weren't wrong!

Venus smiled at her, and then—oh goddess—she TOUCHED Grace's face with one perfect, elegant finger.

"Relax," she murmured, all quiet and intimate like they were alone and not surrounded by a bunch of nosy angels. "Just follow my lead."

And then...

BAM! Venus was kissing her!

But it instantly became obvious to Grace that this wasn't like the awkward practice kisses they'd been doing before. No, she understood now that Venus had been going easy on her the whole time. This was something different. No tongue (Grace would have actually died for a second time if there was) but Venus's lips were impossibly soft, and she knew EXACTLY what she was doing. Grace's brain basically turned to mush. Her knees went all wobbly, and she was 99% sure she made some embarrassing noise that everyone definitely heard.

When Venus finally pulled away, Grace just stood there like an idiot, pretty sure that her brain had just leaked out her ears and onto the floor.

"And that, class," Venus said, looking all perfect and composed while Grace was having a full-blown meltdown, "is how a proper kiss should feel."

「Skill Upgraded: Golden Tongue (Lvl. 2)」

By day two of this crazy training spree, Grace started noticing changes. Not just the "oh hey, I can swing a sword without falling over" kind of changes from before, but something else too. She actually felt... kind of good? Almost confident?

[Is something wrong with me? Did someone slip an aphrodisiac in my breakfast!?]

"Again!" Diana shouted, knocking Grace's attack away like she was swatting a fly. "You're telegraphing your moves!"

"I-I am not!" Grace shot back as if she knew what "telegraphing moves" even meant. She tried a blow to the left before going right.

PANG, PANG! Their wooden blades crashed into each other. Diana still blocked her, because of course she did, but something weird happened. Her eyebrows did this little jump up her forehead. If Grace didn't know better, she'd think Diana was actually impressed!

"Better," Diana admitted, looking like the word physically pained her to say. "But still not good enough."

[Wait, hold up. Did the Most Annoying Angel just give me a compliment?]

Grace wanted another one.

The third day brought something even weirder. Grace was leaving Mara's healing class, feeling pretty good about herself, when she caught her reflection in one of those super shiny marble columns. She did a double-take so hard she nearly gave herself whiplash.

"What the...?" She leaned in super close, almost pressing her nose against the marble. Were her eyes... glowing? She'd vaguely noticed it before but now, it was so much more obvious. Even her hair was all... shimmery!

Trait Gained! 

「Divine Attraction」

As your attributes increase, become more attractive to everything around you.

[Oh, great. What exactly does THAT mean?]

She got her answer two seconds later when some random angel walking by did a double-take, stared at Grace like she'd grown a second head, and then-

WHAM! Walked face-first into a pillar.

"O-Oh, frick. Do you need healing?" Grace jogged over and helped out with her broken nose.

By the end of day three, Grace was feeling pretty darn awesome, even though every muscle in her body was screaming at her. She was standing straighter, walking with more confidence, and yeah, it hurt enough to make her want to cry, but those moments with Diana's face changing into an impressed look? Worth it. Completely worth it.

Grace was just heading back from her last training session, daydreaming about the hot bath waiting for her, when Seraph's voice nearly blew out her eardrums.

"LIGHTSINGER!"

Grace nearly jumped out of her skin, whirling around and bracing for impact. What had she done wrong this time? Breathed too loudly? Existed in a slightly annoying way?

She turned and there was Seraph, grinning like a maniac, her muscles literally bulging out of her uniform. Her biceps had biceps.

"You've shown remarkable improvement," Seraph said, still yelling even though Grace was standing RIGHT THERE. "Ha! Ha! REMARKABLE!"

"Uh, thanks?" Grace wasn't sure if this was a trap. Was Seraph about to tell her she'd improved from "absolutely terrible" to merely "embarrassingly bad"?

"In fact," Seraph continued, and then the weirdest thing happened—she lowered her voice! To normal people volume! It was somehow scarier than the yelling. "I think you're ready for a little field test."

Grace tilted her head.

"Field test?"

"Mhm," Seraph nodded, with her hands on her hips. "We've received reports of a demon causing trouble in a small village to the east," Seraph explained casually, like she was talking about the weather and not actual demons. "Nothing too dangerous—just a nuisance, really. But perfect for a rookie's first mission."

[Wait, is she saying what I think she's saying?]

"You want me to...?" Grace's brain couldn't accept it.

"Fight a demon!" Seraph boomed, slapping Grace on the back so hard she nearly fell face-first. "What do you say? Ready to put all that training to the test?"

Grace's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. A demon? A real, actual, not-pretend demon? Not just Diana whacking her with a practice sword, but a genuine monster from the pits of wherever they came from?

「Quest Update: Objective Available」

The golden text appeared right in front of her face, pulsing like it was excited about this development.

[Oh sure, NOW you're giving suggestions. Where were you when Diana was using me as a punching bag?]

"I..." Grace's throat felt like she'd swallowed sand. She took a deep breath and somehow found her backbone.

There was really only one way to respond.

"Yes. I'm ready."

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Seraph's grin got even bigger, which shouldn't have been physically possible. She showed so many teeth she looked like she could bite through steel.

"Excellent! We leave at dawn. Pack light, fight hard, and try not to die!" She spun around to leave.

Grace stood there like she'd been turned to stone, her brain trying to process what just happened.

[A real demon. Tomorrow. With Seraph. What could possibly go wrong? Oh wait, EVERYTHING.]

Part of her—the smart part, probably—was screaming to run after Seraph and say "Just kidding! I'll stick to practice dummies, thanks!" But the other part—the part that kept seeing that golden quest notification and thinking about getting strong enough to actually make a difference—knew this was her big chance.

A demon. HER demon.

Grace couldn't help the little smile that crept onto her face as she headed back to her room to get ready. Sure, she was terrified out of her mind, but also? She was kind of excited.