With each stray gust of wind, the sweet scent of the tall grass would trickle into our noses, yet we remained still, crouching in the undergrowth and ignoring the mild irritants.

Only a few shallow rays of violet passed through the dense foliage of the trees; very little light actually reached the ground.

In spite of the plants remaining the main source of luminescence, this lavender tint is just enough to interfere with the camouflage of the creatures.

I'm quite surprised that we hadn't seen any until now... and this one is quite large to boot.

The wandering creature is patterned in dim magenta shades, though I imagine it's normally dark red to match the environment.

Looking to my side, I saw Rena eyeing the beast cooly.

I'm not going to help her here; it's all to see what she can do and what instincts she has. She's obviously very self-sufficient already, but that doesn't mean she can defend herself.

She had already taken a few subconscious steps forward, the shortsword ready at her side, slightly shearing the grass as she leaned inward.

I thought maybe it was just for books, but there was this intensity to her focus, even in a potentially dangerous situation, that radiated out from her; even without meeting Rena's gaze, it was clear she had stilled her emotion in a profound way.

The creature had long, double jointed hind legs, with most of its muscle around the thighs.

It's eating the foliage right now, but I can only imagine it uses huge bursts of power to launch its tusks through any attackers...

I don't think it's too difficult to figure out the best time to attack here, so I'm simply going to sit and watch, although I'm starting to realise I don't have much patience.

Those pointed feet are apparently not very dextrous.

It somewhat awkwardly turned to its side, searching for more food to eat.

I went to glance at Rena, but she had already vanished, leaving only smothered grass where she'd been crouched.

She dashed forward, dirt kicking up in her stride.

She's keeping her weight low to the ground; I'm not sure that's something I would have done on my first try without the system's abilities... Has she practiced a weapon before?

In a short breath, she neared the beast and suddenly took an unnaturally long step. Its hind leg kicked out behind it—completely instinctual; yet she'd expected it and quickly used the freedom her stride granted her to veer off to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike.

However... she wasn't able to plan the length of her steps in advance, and she was forced to dodge on the same side as her blade, making it more difficult to attack.

It's only used to scuffles with beasts where its strength could dominate, the creature's only able to turn its head towards her—she's just too nimble for it.

So, in the end, that small mistake is negligible.

Planting her foot into the ground, she twisted and thrust the keen edge of her sword through its skull.

It slumped to the ground, lifeless, and its weight pulled the sword from her hands, but she didn't seem to mind, using the opportunity to wipe her hand on her clothes.

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I don't think she needs me to tell her anything; it's just a matter of getting used to it.

"Impressive."

I muttered loudly enough for her to hear while revealing myself from the treeline.

She furrowed her brows at what I said as if it were incomprehensible to her, leaving me a little confused.

"But I made mistakes?"

"And?"

She looked lost upon hearing that.

"It doesn't matter; you succeded. Just try to correct the mistakes next time."

I don't feel my words are anything remotely profound, but her eyes are darting from side to side as if presented with the answers to some unquestionable truth... or something. I'm not exactly sure, but she seems to be working through it in her head.

Just what kind of life do these angels live?

I shook my head slightly and turned to the side.

A massive root protruded from the ground not far away; I could have easily mistook it for an enormous trunk, but it soon folded under its own weight and snaked across the ground into the distance—not that I could tell how far, the path is obsured with a seemingly infinite number of trees.

But even in spite of that, it's obviously some kind of path.

Its side has been almost entirely carved into an intricately designed set of steps leading to a rounded white door, matching the shape of the root.

It has a certain austere countenance to the design, yet gives off a sense of humility; it's approachable, yet pushes you away...

I heard Rena pull her sword from the beast and quickly turn around. She came to my side and looked up at the door as well.

She looks equally perplexed, but there's a light of recognition in her gaze.

"That's the same as the capital. Someone from there must have built these paths when the outpost was first constructed..."

She muttered it quietly, almost to herself, but I heard it all the same.

So... the capital.

On a grand scale, I can imagine the effect this would have on people; a simple stylistic choice would have a massive effect on your image.

Just what kind of person rules over the angels? If any...

I observed the twilight sheen interfering with the sanctity of the door.

And what kind of person rules over the demons?

Freiya perhaps...

I closed my eyes for a moment before speaking.

"Let's go."

"Mm."

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POV: Angel Outpost

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A hollow knock echoed through the hall around her.

Laurie found herself lost in the reflection of the glossy, serine, unwavering door, her cream blue hair was uncharacteristically frazzled, and dark bags now contrasted her golden irises.

Even the air tasted bitter in their home of feigned opulence.

She knew they'd never been anything other than disposable nobodies in this safe corner of the world.

She never dreamed big.

She just cared for her friends, but the world didn't care enough to let her have even that.

Kharn and the others didn't hide their strength like she did; they were too powerful--it showed too much potential... he'd be sent to another battlefield without her only to die in obscurity with the rest of them.

"Mmh"

A grumble came from the other side of the door, lacking the energy it usually had.

She walked inside.

The room was dark, but Kesef's back could be seen.

There was a weakness in his posture, one contrasting the strictly principled design.

He was already wearing his armour, and his blade lay in his lap while he polished it.

With little energy, he turned his head to the side and looked at her.

Laurie could see the redness around his eye pointing in her direction but said nothing about it.

She looked down and spoke.

"She's gone missing, like we thought."

The slow swiping across the blade stopped for a moment.

"And... early last evening, the barrier detected two angels passing through. It was a oddly low angle, but considered unimportant at the time."

He looked at her with more clarity now, she was also gritting her teeth.

"We traced possible starting points in an arc to the library and uncovered a deconstruction enchantment on one of the walls..."

She paused.

"It led to the storage between the two library sections. We just don't know how it was fixed, it could only be done with a rare... perhaps unique magic."

Kesef suddenly pushed his sword into the floor and used it to stand.

As he turned to face her, his reddish brown hair swayed.

"Then let's go. We'll start East, then rotate clockwise through the villages, leaving an amulet at each of them..."

Kesef had always been a natural leader, but he always lost out to Adrian. The six of them had been a team for a long time and had subjugated a number of demons without losing a single member.

From the outside, Laurie was seen as the weak link, but she was actually the second-strongest behind Adrian—now that Rita was gone.

Laurie struggled to come to terms with it.

Just how had they broken so easily, to something so... ridiculous.

She could only stew in her emotions with no comfort to be found, she felt like a frog being boiled alive, yet she was completely aware of it and still unable to do anything about it.

Her mind turned to Kharn; she also wanted to apologise for snapping at him before they leave.