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Castiel slashed through another demon, as more desperate souls called out to him. He payed them no mind: he was here for the Righteous Man only. Castiel had been chosen for this holy duty- to be the guardian of the Michael Sword and his brother. Of course, even an angel can't be expected to dive into the depths of Hell and have enough grace by the end of it to deliver a soul to Earth, to rebuild it and it's body. He'd been sent out with another eleven angels with him. They'd all known some of them would not survive. Castiel's only concern was the Righteous Man, and his companion's only concern was his ability to complete his order. He felt honored to have been chosen for this specific mission.Castiel barely blinked as Ophaniel was slain- he was not the first of them to perish between this hellfire and brimstone. Matriel and Kadkadael quickly repositioned themselves to cover the gap, and that was that. Castiel had a mission.When Castiel finally reached the darkest creek in Hell, there were only four of the original twelve angels left, himself included. "Dean Winchester, son of John Winchester and Mary Campbell, brother of Sam Winchester." sounded Castiel's voice. "I am here to return you to Earth, by God's command. Come with me." Dean Winchester's soul was bright, incredibly bright. At the edges, it was singed with demonic corruption, cracks of black snaking through the outer edges of this almost-pure soul, backcast on the paper burnt brown of guilt before fading into the light. Even so, Castiel could barely see through the amount of light and divine radiating off it to make out the coul's current colour: a silvery light pink of perverse enjoyment. Castiel had never been blinded like that before. The soul turned to the angel, and the soft yet bright emerald turqoise of hope mixed with a dark smoke grey of shame, guilt, self-hatred. Who are you? What are you? the soul spoke."I am Castiel, and I am an Angel of the Lord. I've been ordered to save your soul from damnation and return it to Earth. Will you come with me, Dean Winchester?" Castiel asked in his true voice. Dean Winchester's soul turned the broken dark smoke blue of devastated relief as he breathed, yes. Castiel used one of his many arms to hold the soul close to his chest, under one of Dean's arms for leverage and holding onto the other shoulder for grip. Somehow, this close, Castiel felt a connection to this mortal, and he smiled. This is what it feels like to be a guardian. I will protect you, Dean Winchester.He gathered more arms around Dean, intending to protect the soul he carried, and flew upwards, his brothers aside him. Going up was faster than going down, as Castiel had what he came for and no longer had to find his way.Agiel's grace was ripped into by a demon on the way up, grabbed onto and shred to pieces. Castiel kept going.Kerubiel had sustained too many larcerations to his wings to be able to fly. He fell away, another angel left at the mercy of the demons in Hell.Finally, Castiel and his two remaining brothers broke ground. They each lay for a time before Castiel spoke, unraveling his arms. "We succeeded, brothers. The Righteous Man is saved." Castiel stood up, yelling for all angels to hear. "Dean Winchester is saved!" Because for some reason, the man's name seemed more.. relevant than what he is, than why he's important. It feels more True. More Real. More.. personal.It would still be a long mission for Castiel to wash every atom of corruption from Dean's soul, to re-piece his memories, to build his body up again from the dust. But for now, Inias and Amitiel had done their part, and nine of their brothers had given their lives for this mission. Castiel looked at the soul in his arms, so bright with divinity with the beautifull contrast of the black corruption snaking into it, and thought, I'm going to cure you.