Angel

The Angels (天使 Tenshi) are one of the Three Factions in High School DxD, alongside the Devils and Fallen Angels.

Summary
Originating from Heaven, the Angels are powerful beings who serve the Biblical God, and have the powers to inflict pain upon Devils/demons due to their light-based powers. After the death of the God from the Bible in the Great War of the Three Factions, the Angels were incapable of increasing their numbers normally until the creation of the Brave Saint system which allows the Angels to reincarnate humans into Angels. Unlike Devils and Fallen Angels, Angels need to purify themselves when making love and both the Angel and partner must undergo a lengthy purification ritual (it takes several hours). They must also need to do it inside a specially crafted barrier and they both must not harbor any kind of possessive feelings while doing it, rather it must be done out of pure love.

In Volume 12, it is revealed that there are also traitors in the Heavens who were giving out information to the Khaos Brigade. Ironically, these top-class Angels were able to do so without falling due to a loophole in Heaven's system. These Angels, however, became Fallen Angels after leaving the Heavens and escaping to the Khaos Brigade.

Appearance
All Angels are similar to humans except with white feathered wings and a halo positioned directly above their head, the only exception being the Archangel Michael who has golden wings. Also, their rank is denoted by the number of wings they have (Irina, for example, initially only had one pair of wings but gained another pair in Volume 17 for her achievements).

Angel are often seen in white-colored clothing, mostly priest attire.

Abilities
All Angels have light-based abilities that can cause severe damage to Devils, and can create numerous light-based weapons such as spears, arrows, and swords, with the spear being the most commonly used weapon. Like Devils, all Angels have a unique ability which allows them to communicate with different people from around the world without the language barriers.

After the peace treaty between the Three Factions, the Brave Saint system was created by the Seraphs using the technologies of the Devils and Fallen Angels, to increase their lost numbers by reincarnating humans into Angels. Reincarnated Angels can also use their traits better when acting as a group.

Angels, like other factions, have their own system of magic and spells.

Seraph
Seraphs (, plural Seraphim), also known as Burning Angels, are Angels who are guardians of the Throne of Heaven. They are the ones maintaining the system used by the God in the Bible following His death. The members of the Seraphs are the Archangel Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel, who were titled the "Four Great Seraphs". The significance of this title, however, is unknown at present but are known to represent the Kings of respective cards, Michael is Spades  ♠, Gabriel is Heart  ♥ , Raphael is Club  ♣ , and Uriel is Diamond  ♦.

In Volume 6, it is revealed that there are other Seraphs, numbering ten in total, but were not named. The Seraphs that have appeared so far in the series are Michael, Gabriel, and Uriel. A fourth Seraph, Metatron, appeared in a short story titled Nekomata☆Ninja-Scroll, evidently, living as a ninja in the human world due to his fascination with the craze.

Archangel
The only known Archangel is Michael, the leader of the Angels and Seraph.

Known Angels

 * Michael: The Leader of the Angels and current God, an Archangel with 12 golden wings.
 * Gabriel: One of the Four Great Seraph guarding the Throne of Heaven.
 * Uriel: One of the Four Great Seraph guarding the Throne of Heaven and is famous for his Holy Flames. He appears briefly in the side story "Armageddon at Sports Day"
 * Raphael: One of the Four Great Seraph guarding the Throne of Heaven. Only named in Volume 2, has yet to appear in the series.
 * Metatron: One of the Ten Seraph, twin of Sandalphon. The voice of the biblical God. He appears in the side story "Nekomata☆Ninja-Scroll".
 * Sandalphon: One of the Ten Seraph, twin of Metatron.
 * Raguel: One of the Ten Seraph.
 * Raziel: One of the Ten Seraph.
 * Sariel: One of the Ten Seraph.
 * Remiel: One of the Ten Seraph.

Reincarnated Angels

 * Dulio Gesualdo: Michael's Joker; possesses the Longinus, Zenith Tempest.
 * Irina Shidou: Michael's Ace.
 * Griselda Quarta: Gabriel's Queen and Xenovia's swordmaster and guardian.

Trivia

 * Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are named after biblical figures from Christian and Hebrew beliefs.