I laugh endlessly as I plunge a clear, silver knife into the mahogany table.
      "Are you kidding, Trancy?"
      I am truly and honestly overcome with joy with the thought that this geezer thinks that he can kill me this easily.
       "Do you need some water, Sir? Are you drunk?" I laugh harder, my hands sliding down to my hips. This is the most fun I've had at this school in years. The last time was when Xael tried to socially murder me in the 3rd grade, but quickly failed when I told everyone that he wet his pants, right after I doused fountain water on him.
Phillip Trancy looks down at his perfectly shined shoes, as he gives off an ominous aura solely because of his constant silence.
     "I wouldn't laugh as hard as you are, Miss Cassius." He adjusts the tiny glasses that sit on the bridge of his nose. He slowly begins to crack his fingers one by one, I guess he thinks it make him seem stronger. It's not working.
      "After all, my supreme Guardian Raphael is classified at a 5-star destructive level." He spews stupidly.
      I step forward, my barefoot feet sliding against the comfortable carpet. I stare up at the ceiling, in the direction of the Heavens. I think of what will happen to me next, of what my fate will amount to. Surely a girl who has struggled all her life cannot die this easily.
      "If your puny Guardian is a 5-star, than surely I am a 6."
       He laughs a horrible sounding laugh, a laugh that resembles the sound of fingernails scratching chalkboards, of old cats dying.
"Let's end this, Persephone. Once and for all."
      I'm sure the Heavens have kept me alive this long for a reason, a purpose in which I must fight longer to reach what is planned for me. Which is why I will endure this, why I will fight Raphael, why I won't submit to death.
    "If a fight is what you desire, Trancy," I speak seriously now, as I create a very noticeable shift of aura. "then so be it."
      Phillip Trancy speaks only one measly sentence, a small series of simple words that make known the commanding presence of a fight.
"Guardian Raphael, I summon you for the sole need of expelling evil."
       Golden light immediately streams above Trancy's head, as white fabric begins to emerge, twisting and turning around in the light, until I can make out feet, arms, a face. And that face, an indescribable beauty, a face from none other than the Heavens. The wings, full of glorious and large pure white feathers, flap continuously, the sound of a billion birds flying. Raphael, his hair so long and golden it seems as if he himself was made of nothing other than pure gold, his eyes so blue as if they were filled with the sky. He holds a transparent glass staff as long as a King Cobra, the very tip of it a heavily detailed sculpted wolf's head.
This Guardian encounter is wildly different from the one of Xael's. Phillip Trancy is an advanced spirit user, which means that he can summon his Guardian at his own will. Gabriel, an angel of an immature master, contains the power to summon himself.
      "You have an opportunity to choose death!"
Trancy screams.
       I glare at him, my mind, heart and soul full of nothing other than overflowing hot-white rage.
      "You think I'd die like this?" I scream back louder than him, as a chuckle escapes from between my lips.
"I had always hoped, Miss Cassius." He replies quietly, his eyes facing above him where Raphael dwells.
    I slowly shift my hand to the pocket of my pink satin nightgown, my fingers turning around the dangerous blades that I make sure to always be in my midst. These particular knives I have stolen from the academy's kitchen, only thought of for the sole reason of protection.
"Incipiunt domini mei loquitur!" The heavenly voice of Raphael booms in Latin,
"Begin, for my master speaks!"
          Trancy lunges forward, not grasping any hesitation, as he plunges his knightly sword in my direction. I dodge every time, my eyes quickly picking up the sight of my face drawn in the blade.
             I pull out one of my knives, blocking one of his attempts, my arms becoming heavier and heavier until I break free.
            As that old scumbag leaps toward once more, in another murder attempt, I roll forward, and kick the gigantic, round glasses out of his wrinkly face. I hear the glasses shatter, a relieving sound. He cannot see anymore.
He stumbles backwards, a strong blow, but still not strong enough. I can feel the presence of Raphael behind me, the aura of the room itself screaming danger.
Raphael grabs my wrist, electric streams of pain course through my veins. This time, it is easy to see him, unlike Gabriel's ghostly tendencies. I kick myself free, as I roll in another direction, a blade in my mouth, and in both of my hands.
I must take care of Raphael first, with him following me around, there's no way I can get to Trancy. Although, it will be difficult, for Guardians do not die. "What can I do?" I rapidly think to myself.
Without thinking I hurl one of my knives at him, as it painlessly shoots right through him. "Idiot!" I smack myself in the head.
Raphael, the Angel of Healing. Because of this, it should be easy from him to recover from almost anything.
Trancy arises, surely Raphael's doing. The loyal Archangel still stands protectively in front of his master.
I sprint forward, jumping on top of Raphael, every single inch of my body burning with pain.
A scream escapes my lips, but I still hang on.
I grasp his gigantic, white wings, and to my surprise, they begin to peel off. Feather by feather, they drop and change color, from the pure white of their past, to the black pigment of the midnight. The feathers begin to rot, the wings which I had noticed as very beautiful, tear away, a state to which they will never return.
Raphael's heavenly screams pierce the air, his long arms touching his soon to be dead wings. He grasps his wings tightly, obviously trying to heal them, but the look in his eyes is ghastly, purely terrifying. He slowly falls to his knees right in front of me, where I can see the very whites of his blue eyes, the large tears that run away from his face.
Trancy steps back with awe, shock so easily represented with each individual wrinkle drawn on his face. Trancy falls onto his knees as Raphael is, the room completely filled with nothing but the sound of a Guardian in pain.
Even I know that a Guardian without wings, shall die.
Raphael's cries begin to slow, his tears dropping less. His face hits the carpet, blood stains his back, and the room is now completely silent.
He is dead.
Trancy turns to me, his eyes filled with terror.
"May the Heavens have mercy on your soul."
I swiftly release my knife as it thunderously slams into his heart.
"This is my fate." I speak silently.