The Spider Queen

(Alpha Star System- Inner Regions)

(Planet Zyanora- Branch Of The Nephilim Church)

Rachel pressed her hand against a scanner and a beam of green light swept over her fingertips.

The door slid open to reveal a wide-open training hall with dozens of dummies, androids, and holographic projectors.

There was no one currently in the training hall because the pope was holding a grand welcoming ceremony for the new converts.

Rachel had opted to skip it because she really didn't want to have to sit down next to the other saints and saintesses and deal with their unpleasant stares.

It didn't really bother her… okay maybe it did just a little bit…

Rachel let out a heavy sigh as she walked over to one of the android units standing motionless against the wall.

The Nephilim Church was the first place that she had ever called home but outside of Bishop Walsh there was really no one that she would consider as her family.

The petty spates and disputes between the archangel faction and the demon knights were just tiring to deal with.

Rachel did not feel the urge to pick a side and besides since she was a saintess it was just assumed that she was a member of the archangel faction.

Maybe she needed to take a break away from the church…

Rachel opened up her communicator and scrolled down the hundreds of contacts until she saw a familiar name.

Sophie Peterlor…

The saintess didn't feel like messaging any of her casual hook-up partners and just wanted to spend a few weeks with her friend.

Rachel: [Hey Sophie! I'm free for about two weeks later this month… can I come over to stay for a bit?]

Truthfully Rachel felt a bit nervous messaging her friend out of the blue like this, but it didn't take long for Sophie to reply with a positive response.

Sophie: [Sure! I'm on a starship heading back to planet Gaia right now and I should be back by this Friday]

Sophie: [Just message me what day that you want to come, and I'll meet you at the transit station]

Sophie: [I look forward to seeing you!]

A warm smile spread across Rachel's face as she sent Sophie a few more messages before closing the communicator.

She planned to talk to Qiana and Astrid as well to see if they were available any time within the next few months.

The summer vacation between semesters was the perfect time to catch up with her old friends since they were attending a different university than her.

Rachel was in a much better mood as she stared at the metallic android standing menacingly in front of a wall.

She took out a plain longsword from her storage ring and held it in front of her body. Rachel took in a few deep breaths and gradually calmed herself down.

Quafes didn't technically need to breathe but mimicking human behaviour was something that most would try to copy.

"Hear my cry Lord… your humble servant seeks to drown my enemies in a sea of holy fire and fury…" Rachel chanted slowly as she felt holy aura surround her body.

"Raziel… keeper of secrets… he who watches the threads of fate… the eternal eye that sees all under the heavens…"

"Lend me thy strength."

Archangel's Descent!

Rachel screamed as her body was engulfed in white flames and cracks appeared on the floor beneath her feet.

It was a though she was undergoing a baptism of flames as the loud sounds of trumpets could be heard coming from some unknown location.

The white flames gradually dissipated to reveal a beautiful girl with dark skin and black messy hair that fell below her shoulders.

She wore golden armour that gleamed under the dim lighting of the training room and her plain sword was now covered in intricate runes.

Two magnificent wings sprouted out from behind her back and a golden halo hovered gently over her head.

Rachel slowly opened her eyes and a piercing white light shot out which swept the entire length of the training hall.

There was small golden runes floating in the middle of her pupils that glowed softly with an ominous light.

Power. Strength. Domination.

Rachel could feel something flowing through her body from a place beyond the void. It was an incredibly addicting feeling that she could not help but indulge.

Archangel Raziel was the keeper of secrets and Rachel could now hear whispers entering her ear as she channeled his power.

Most of these whispers were too soft or in a language that she could not understand but some were as clear as day.

(Traitors… traitors… in… the royal family…)

(Sin! Sin! Sin!)

(Unnatural! Abominations! They are… being born… from human… hubris…)

Rachel furrowed her brows as she tried to ignore the whispers. She was not strong enough to understand the meaning behind the cryptic messages.

"Android number ten… activate kill mode… voice command override… Rachel…" Rachel loudly yelled as she approached the giant robot.

The android's eyes slowly turned red as its fingers curled up into a fist. Rachel had barely any time to react before dozens of turrets popped up on its body.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Rachel took to the skies and flew around the hall desperately trying to avoid the endless barrage of plasma fire that was shot towards her direction.

White flames coated Rachel's longsword as she casually swung it in the direction of the android and an arc of fiery light erupted from the tip of her blade.

The android raised up its hand and a translucent plasma shield was generated around its fingertips which successfully blocked the attack.

Rachel clicked her tongue impatiently and ignored the whispers that were getting louder and louder in her ears.

(Watching you… the pope… he… is… watching you…)

(Some… want… you… gone from… the…)

(Enemies closing in… closing in…)

Rachel focused on the qi flowing through her meridians even as her mind could not help but focus on the whisper that said that the pope was watching her.

That was a bit… concerning.

The Quafes girl continued to fly just out of the range of the android's attacks and several plasma shots passed over her head.

Rachel began to circulate her qi in a certain pattern that ended with her qi flowing into the sword held in her hand.

Holy Sword Art- God's Judgement!

An enormous illusory golden sword surrounded Rachel's blade and she swung it forward with as much force as she could muster.

Half of the training hall was instantly destroyed, the android was cleaved in two and a large cloud of smoke rose into the air.

When the smoke and debris cleared, Rachel saw that there was now a massive hole in the wall and dozens of robot parts lay scattered on the ground.

Oh boy… Bishop Walsh was not going to be happy about this…