Chapter 520 - A more or less satisfying ending

The world shrank to a cold burn. Loriel felt the broken cobblestones against her cheek, the taste of blood and dust on her tongue, but her fingers did not release the shaft. She heard the sound of her own lungs filling with fluid, a wet rattle that boded nothing good. The angel who had struck her stood over her, his blade still smoking, and he raised his arm for a second blow, this time aimed at her nape.