Cam remained frozen, his heart racing as he stared at Balthiour.

A few demons gathered around Balthiour, but they did not attack him. Kalaziel and Rathanael had stopped battling the demons nearest them, and now looked on as Balthiour stood among the demons.

“What have you done?!” Cam called out, his voice shaking.

Balthiour turned to face Cam fully. “I did what was right.”

Cam shook his head, sweat dripping from his brow. “What was right?”

Balthiour also shook his head, as if he were addressing a naïve child. “You don’t understand, Camael. The demons are the rightful keepers of humanity. The angels have been fighting a futile battle. This slaughter today was an example of the angel’s weakness. ”

“No,” Cam said, “I don’t believe that. And the Balthiour I know would never think that.”

Balthiour smiled, though his eyes remained severe, giving him a terrifying look. He reached down and pulled his shirt up, revealing the black wounds that ran along most of his torso. Black veins spread from the wounds, darkening the skin to a dark purple, like bruising.

No. It can’t be.

Cam tried to speak, but no words could come out. A crippling fear had frozen him.

“A few months back,” Balthiour said, as if reading Cam’s mind. “I was too afraid to tell anyone at the time, knowing that the infection had spread too far before I could seek help.”

He lowered his shirt and began slowly stepping closer to Cam.

“But then a strange thing happened,” Balthiour went on. “I started to see things differently. Feel things. Things that felt right; and had somehow felt right all along, but I just couldn’t see it before. I began to realise that the demons are the purer spirits; the personification of our holy origins. It is the angels that are the tainted ones.”

Cam remained frozen, trying to understand his words. He watched Balthiour slowly move closer, while the demons remained in place.

“And what would Miniel say to that?” Cam asked. He hoped that invoking the name of Bal’s lost lover would help get through to him. “Have you forgotten how much she suffered when she became infected?”

“I’ve forgetting nothing!” Balthiour shouted. “I… I’ve felt her… now.” He looked away, becoming solemn, before his eyes flared with anger again. “This has brought us together more so than our previous selves ever could. And if she were stronger she would’ve understood what I know.”

Balthiour waved a hand to encompass them all. “Take our current situation, for example. Angels against demons. The same old story. But, the demons now have the advantage. They have done something that the angels have never been able to do. Brought forth a pure form of themselves onto the mortal plane.” He gestured towards the bloodied remains of the pure demon. “That should tell you that it’s the demons who rightfully belong in this world. Now, no longer will the Summer Solstice or the Winter Solstice be significant, their minor shifts of powers are nothing compared to the presence of pure demons.”

Cam looked around as Balthiour came to a stop several paces in front of him. He knew that he had to take Balthiour down. There was no other way out for them now. The infection had gone too far and clouded his mind—it was clear now. Cam cast another look at Sablo’s body, grief tightening his chest.

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“I can’t let you go on, Bal,” Cam said in a sad voice. “You know this.”

A shiver ran through him at the thought of going up against their Commanding Angel.

“I know,” Balthiour said. He raised his arm, igniting his light sword. “I know more than you know.”

Raising his left arm, a black spear of light extended from his hand.

Cam took a step back, staring at the black sword with wide eyes. He was witnessing something that should not be possible—light created from darkness. He swallowed, planting his feet into a battle stance and ignited his own light sword.

They rushed towards each other.

Cam blocked Balthiour’s onslaught of attacks, intercepting his light and dark swords while attempting his own attacks. Their clashing swords emitted bright flashes of light that lit the area. Cam felt a particular numbing sensation ripple through him whenever his sword hit Balthiour’s black sword.

Commotion all around told Cam that the demons had begun attacking again, which meant that Kalaziel and Rathanael could not help him in this fight. But somehow, Cam knew that he would have to be the one to take Balthiour down.

Cam had to adjust his fighting style to account for Balthiour’s blades extending from his knuckles, and had to dodge jabbing strikes along with the conventional swipes.

Blocking one attack and shifting his position for a horizontal swipe, Cam blocked the black sword and lashed out down Balthiour’s centre, but his attack missed as Balthiour jumped back. Another succession of attacks were blocked and countered as the two combatants darted around each other, their clashing swords sending rapid bursts of light over them.

The next combination of attacks pushed Cam back several steps. His back pressed against one of the pillars as Balthiour prepared his next strike. Cam ducked as the black blade cut through the pillar, sending out chunks of concrete and chips of rock.

Cam stumbled to the side, and saw the floor above them shake and rumble. The remains of the pillar crumbled, sending deep fissures running along the upper floor. The spreading cracks reverberated around the shaking building. Large chunks of the upper floor broke apart and fell towards them, crashing down in showers of dirt and dust.

Ducking through the falling debris, Cam became aware that Balthiour was no longer near him. He searched the area frantically, expecting a sudden attack during the chaos. He caught a glimpse of a dark clothed form, and saw Balthiour jump onto a window frame.

No. He’s not getting away.

The floor shook as Cam ran through the falling rubble. He searched the area for his remaining brethren, but could see anyone around him, not even demons.

The entire building suddenly jolted to the side, causing him to stumble. Balthiour jumped out of the window as Cam came to the wall. The building continued to tilt as the lower levels cracked, sending booming echoes reverberating through the walls. Cam reached the wall and jumped onto the window frame that Balthiour had gone through. He steadied himself as the building jerked, falling to the side.

Hot sunlight embraced Cam as he leapt down to the scaffolding around the building. He saw Balthiour running away on his right side.

The building tilted further, causing the wooden beams to break away and swing on their supporting cables. Cam was thrown to the side and had to slide down the remaining planks of wood. The rest of the scaffolding snapped and the wooden planks fell away. Cam grabbed onto a loose cable and began swinging down through the crumbling wreckage, at times running along the building and pushing himself away to avoid the falling pieces.

Balthiour’s dark shape reached the end of the building and jumped off the remaining scaffolding. He landed against the wall of the opposite building and pushed himself up, jumping to the roof.

Cam couldn’t let him get away, and willed himself to keep up. He let go of the cable and fell around thirty feet to the street, hitting the ground and rolling back to his feet as chunks of concrete and wood fell around him. He sprinted to the opposite building and jumped up to the second floor windows, then pushed off the ledge and soared upwards. Another push off a windowsill sent him flying up the roof. As he climbed over the edge and surveyed the rooftop, he saw Balthiour in the distance, jumping from this roof onto the next building.

Cam turned back as the crumbling building collapsed on the street behind him, filling the area with huge, billowing clouds of dust and showers of dirt. He hoped that Kalaziel and Rathanael had gotten out in time, but he couldn’t go back for them. Not while Balthiour was getting away.

Breaking into a run, Cam cleared the roof and jumped to the next building, focused on Balthiour in the distance.