Livia smiled, "I never treat anyone like glass........because everyone has hidden potential and power...........everyone......."

There was an audible crunching as Mawthrough's now armored fists clenched, but he daren't move for fear Eros would carry out his threat.
The women surrounding Eros suddenly walked forwards, swarming Occidio and Minerva, not attacking, but making them so crowded they'd have to cut them down if they wanted to attack Eros.

Eros looked at Ezekiel, rolling his eyes once more.
"Oh, well aren't you no fun. Well then, let's have a deal then. I like deals..."

"Here's a deal for you - let her go, or I will tear you apart."

"How about this, instead. It's a top quality offer which means I let her go. That's what you want, right?"
Mawthrough's eyes narrowed.
"Go on..."

Eros chuckled again. "Occidio, you owe Mawthrough for helping him sort out whatever it was you needed him for, and Minerva the same, from what I've heard happened in Hell. So the first stage of my deal, is you drop your sword and sheath your claws, or what happens to her is on your heads..."

Minerva drew in her claws, but Ezekiel began to walk forward. "A coward as always Eros, a weak, little coward......"

Occidio sheathed his blade as well.

Ezekiel made it two steps before an explosion stopped him, at least, and Mawthrough looked at him with almost desperate eyes having just shot him in the chest.
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. But for the love of God don't push him any further, not while he's holding her..."

His eyes returned to Chastity in his grip, and he showed hate for her captor, fear for her situation, and love for her all in the same look. Then he looked up at Eros.

"Alright, you bastard. Now what?"

Eros smiled. "Well, this next step is going to be rather pleasant for me. We're going to fight, you and I, one on one."

Mawthrough could barely contain himself. "Oh, believe me, that's not going to be pleasant for you in the slightest, you degenerate piece of -"

"But... first, we're going to trade. I'll give you Chastity back, and then we'll fight. But I want you to give me something that you would only surrender if Chastity was on the line... I want you to give up your kingship. And your powers."

Mawthrough stared in mixed horror and anger. A fight between a human and an angel... he'd get obliterated, but the alternative was even worse.

"...Fine, you bastard. You win."
He sank to his knees, and Eros smiled as blackness started leaking from him, swirling out, dissipating in the light. His horns vanished, his muscles shrank - until only a human, a hybrid no more, stood before them, his powers now non-existent, drained by the powers of heaven.
He looked up at Eros through round human pupils as opposed to his demonic ones.

Then Eros threw Chastity aside, swooped over to Mawthrough, picked him up and slammed him through the wall into his palace while the women outside converged on the others, still not attacking but crowding them so much they'd have to kill them if they even wanted to draw their weapons again...

Ezekiel clicked his teeth together, causing any of Eros' servants to die immediately. "Weaklings.....with all that power......he is still weak........the power of a leader of a circle in hell, and the power of a damn lesser celestial......I'll let this proceed until it gets boring........" He crossed his arms.

Ezekiel shrugged, "When they became that beings playthings, they lost their innocence, they are no longer human, they can longer be classified as such, and I am Ezekiel, the Arch Angel of death, get in my way, and I send you the next life, do so in that life, and you no longer get to live.........."

If he'd had his powers, it wouldn't have hurt him.
But as a human, he was yelling in agony just from the one attack as he was sent hurtling through the wall, bouncing off a few more and slumping to the ground, struggling to rise...

Eros laughed.
"All bark and no bite without your powers, eh, your majesty?" He kicked Mawthrough in the guts, and Mawthrough buckled under the blow, groaning in pain.
"Going...to..."
He rolled over, pulled out Regret - but Eros simply swatted it from his hands, picked him up and threw him again.
He hit the wall and crashed to the ground yet again, and Eros laughed and placed his foot on his head.
"I wanted a fight, not a punchbag..."

Chastity flew in, and Eros turned and smiled.
"Hello, darling... just taking out the "King of Lust" with the rest of the trash..."

Ezekiel clicked his teeth again, launching all of the women around Minerva and Occidio into the walls around them, killing most, crippling others.

He laughed, met her attack with a swing of Mawthrough into the fire.
Mawthrough howled as his no-longer-strengthened flesh was charred by the flames - then Eros threw him aside and started towards her.
"Attacking your master... silly girl... your master had to use some trash to block your stupidity..." he laughed...

Ezekiel continued to walk, then stopped just shy of ten feet of Eros, sizing him up, the black sword on his back not even moved.

Genesis combined all five shadow blades, and sent out a shockwave that was felt throughout all of the realms.

Occidio fell to his knees, as the blade formed the life blade, and called to him, and the four other hybrids that had fought Lucifer before while wielding those blades.

Eros smiled, feeling the shockwave and feeling like it was in honor of his latest conquest.
He sidestepped her fireball, and picked her up by the scruff of her neck.
"Because a woman like you deserves to belong to me, and if I do heaven a service, then that's a bonus..."

He pressed his lips to hers - but Mawthrough slammed his fist into the side of Eros's head before they made contact, and the angel simply threw her back into him and the pair tumbled into the main hall, like a ballroom.
They landed with her on top of his weakened form, looking into each other's eyes.
"I'm... sorry..." Mawthrough managed.
Then Eros walked in, laughing.
"I suppose you can exchange one last bit of romantic garbage, as a last favor from me."

Mawthrough looked into her eyes.
"I... I love you... so much... I'm sorry..."

Minerva and Occidio flew forward, both with their weapons in hand, both flying toward Eros, while Ezekiel continued to survey the battle.

Occidio wasn't back at full power, but he still retained his slayer abilities. "Eros, if you're going to attack or kill anyone, fight me!!!!"

Minerva stood back, hoping that this would raw Eros away from Mawthough.

He kissed her back, gently, holding onto her, tightly wanting to make it last -

Then felt something stir, on the edge of his consciousness.

Something... inside...

He looked at Chastity, a look of love and sorrow on his face.
"Chastity... just kiss me again... kiss me like you've never kissed me before... the best kiss of your life... of our lives... please...PLEASE..."

Eros gave a low chuckle.
"Begging... how quaint. One last kiss - then I'll give her so many. I'll have her cursing your name, begging me to make her forget your foul taste..."
He moved closer, ready to finish him off...

Then he paused, and spoke to Occidio without turning.
"If you take another step, I'll kill them both with but a single movement. Then you can enjoy having even more innocent lives on your conscience... I can't fight you because then Ezekiel would kill me, or you'll kill me, why won't you just let me do my job? Don't even attempt to test me..."

He smirked at Chastity.
"Have fun, little pet - because once you're done, you're mine in every way..."

Occidio's blade shook, but not from this situation, but from the call of the life blade. "Eros, you are a pathetic coward, YOU KNOW THAT!!!!!!!!!!!"

At the gates of heaven, Irene Mystic awoke, having slept at the gates for thousands of years. She stirred, having heard the voice of the only man she'd ever been with.

He felt her passion, her love, and responded just as strongly, the love inside him ripping out in this do-or-die kiss, the memories they had together flooding back...

Eros then grabbed Chastity, lightly pulled her off Mawthrough, brutally ending the kiss, then slammed her back on the floor.
"Enough... it looks so wrong not seeing those lips on mine..."

Mawthrough was writhing, his mind on fire - memories were still pouring through him, memories that were spiking his love... his love for her... transforming it... into... into LUST...

Eros looked over at Occidio, chuckling as he leant over Chastity.
"Maybe... but I'm the guy with the girl..."

He shut his eyes, bent down, she was pinned, no way to escape, he readied his lips -
WHAM.

He staggered upright from where he'd been blasted, glaring at Occidio - only to see he hadn't moved. Neither had Minerva, or Ezekiel. But that only left -
He whirled round to see a fully powered, fully horned, diamond-pupiled King of Lust pull Chastity to her feet and hold her in his arms.

"WHAT!? BUT YOU'RE A DEMON... IN HEAVEN... YOU SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO THAT!"

Mawthrough ignored him, holding Chastity close.
"What should I do to him?" he whispered in her ear, giving it a lick, his wounds healing, his rage barely checked - a single word from her to kill would set him off...
"What should I do to Eros... for daring to take you away from me... for daring to try and destroy us... tell me what I should do, my love, my life, my lust incarnate... my queen..."

Without saying a word to Minerva or Occidio, Ezekiel simply began to walk away, his sword never being touched during the entire process.

That thought hadn't even occurred to him, and coming from her lips it was the greatest idea of all time.
"Oh yes... my mother would rip him raw... he'd have a hard time keeping up... and he'd be so fun to BREAK..."
He looked into Chastity's eyes, kissing her gently - then looked up at Eros, a dark gleam in his eyes.
"I'm going to tear off your wings, make you beg, and send you screaming into something that you're going to WISH was eternal torment..."

Eros took a step back - and Mawthrough licked Chastity's neck.
Lightning seared into Eros's wings, scorching them clear from his body and he dropped screaming.
"You will never own her."
Another bolt, causing him to writhe and plead for mercy.
"HOW DARE YOU TRY TO OWN HER? HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT HER, HOW DARE YOU TRY AND KISS HER, HOW DARE YOU EVEN TOUCH HER!?"
Each yell was punctuated by another bolt of dark lightning into Eros's body, as well as a lick of Chastity, and a stroke of her body...

Then Mawthrough relinquished her, summoned a portal, lifted up Eros and held him over it.
"But the final straw, Eros, the one thing you did that means I'm going to love this, is that you made her think I was dead. Not because you tried to kill me - but because when I looked in her eyes, I could see that you'd broken her heart. And that. Is. BEYOND, UNFORGIVABLE!!" he roared, and flung a screaming Eros into the portal.

It closed, cutting off his shouts.
Then Mawthrough turned back to Chastity and opened his arms wide, begging her to run into them.
"I'm so sorry this had to happen..."