Angels versus Demons, Heaven against Hell, The Holy War Between Good and Evil, whatever people choose to call it,  is usually depicted as a violent battle with flaming swords, golden shields, chariots and all that lot. It is said to have started long before the earth stood and will last for millenniums to come. This belief is another timely reminder not to believe in things just because the majority of the population thinks it’s true.

Well, to be fair, it's not entirely false. The said war did somehow start out like that, but it was only a matter of time until one of the sides threw in the towel and said, "This is exhausting, you know what? I have a cooler game we can play."

And thus initiated the creation of humans, strange, naked, needy little things that scrambled on two legs. The only impressive thing about them was that they had free will,  the freedom to choose between right and wrong. With them started the cosmic game of pick-up-sticks, contrary to the usual “cosmic game of chess” trope used in popular culture, because honestly, it’s not as complicated as chess. At the end of the day, it's just a matter of whoever has the most sticks, simple as that.

The first two sticks went to hell after the fruit incident, third was Abel who was heaven’s win, but after that was Cain who was another point for hell, and so on. The game continues to this day, as the angels and demons do the all hard work, the higher ups  simply wait and watch the game play out.

But like any other game, it has rules too. One of which is that angels and demons are not allowed to physically inflict harm on any being mortal or immortal. Currently, that rule is the only thing that’s keeping Vale from punching the angel standing in front of him right in the face.

“Hey Nat! You like AC/DC, don’t you?” asked Vale, wryly.

“Y-yeah why?”

“CAUSE YOU’LL BE PLAYING HIGHWAY TO HELL ONCE I TELL ON YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT!” roared Vale as he grabbed Nat by the collar.

“Wait! Wait! I told you I can explain! Just let me go first!” whimpered the angel, trying to shake off the demon latched on him.

“Fine, speak, then I’ll decide if it’s an acceptable reason or not,” replied Vale.

“I know we have a deal, okay? All these years I’ve been trying my best to keep my promise. Ever had an angel encounter during the past four decades?”

“N-no," muttered Vale.

“Right. That’s because I’ve been shoving all your records under the desk ever since!”

Vale recalled the night of the said agreement. It was a few decades ago when heavy metal was just starting to gain popularity. Vale was accompanying a politician’s teenage son to a rock concert, not because he liked the music but because he needed the cred, as usual. It was at that event when he caught a certain high ranking angel leading the mosh pit all while screaming and headbanging to Black Sabbath.