“So this is the capital?” Cleo asked, her eyes widening. She climbed on top of Palan’s head to get a better view and squinted because of the wind blowing against her face. Though it was nighttime, she could still make out a crystal clear lake in the distance with a cabin on the shore and trees surrounding the wooden structure like sentinels guarding a gate. There was a flock of pink birds standing on one leg on the shore, their bodies unmoving. The lake rippled as Palan landed beside it, startling the flamingos out of their sleep.
“It’s like we entered the borderlands again,” Palan said looking around. Raea landed beside him and frowned at the fleeing birds. Lights flashed in the nearby cabin, causing Raea and Palan to turn their heads. Palan snorted and slunk towards the residence with his body melding into the shadows. His footprints were deep, but his feet made no sound.
Raea’s brow furrowed. The cabin had a picture of a golden eagle engraved on the door. Where had she seen that before? “Ah!” Raea said and covered her mouth with her hands, but it was too late. A silhouette appeared by the window, the shadowy hand reaching for the curtain. Raea glanced around before leaping into the air just as the curtain was pulled aside. An angel stuck her head out of the cabin and squinted into the darkness.
“Where’d the flamingos go?” she muttered as her gaze roamed around the lake. She took in a deep breath before shouting, “Anybody there?”
In response, a black snake head appeared in front of her face. She stared at it with a frozen expression. “Snake…?” she asked. Danger Noodle’s jaw unhinged as it lunged forward, swallowing the angel’s head before she could scream. Her limbs flailed, but Danger Noodle wrapped itself around her body and constricted once, causing a series of cracking noises to ring out. Her body stopped struggling.
“Don’t eat her,” Palan said to Danger Noodle after confirming there was no one else inside with his heat vision. “I don’t want to be too full.” Danger Noodle dropped the angel’s corpse onto Cleo who yelped and stored it away.
“Palan!” Raea half-shouted, half-whispered as she landed beside him. “You can’t just murder strangers like that!”
Palan raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. “I thought you got over this phase of don’t kill random people,” he said. “Haven’t you done it enough?”
“There’s just something sacred about the capital, okay?” Raea asked and bit her lip. “No one else has to die. You’re here for Sariel, that’s it.”
“What exactly did you think was going to happen when the rebels said they were attacking the capital?” Palan asked. “These people were going to die regardless.”
“I … I didn’t think that far,” Raea said and lowered her head. “Talking about it and actually seeing it happen is a very different concept.” Her voice lowered. “And truthfully, my wrath subsided a bit after I died. I don’t feel comfortable doing this. I was born here. Raised here. I don’t want to see it destroyed like this.”
“It’s a pretty nice place,” Cleo said and nodded. “It looks very peaceful. That angel didn’t even fear for her safety when asking if anyone was there.”
“Right?” Raea asked.
“Mm. I love ruining fresh snow,” Cleo said and smiled. “There’s just something satisfying about knowing you’re first.”
Raea’s expression darkened. She sighed. “We’ve already flew this far. Let’s just fly the rest of the way to the tower, please.”
“When attacking a city, you should reduce the number of inhabitants,” Palan said and furrowed his brow. Everyone knew that. “What if we’re fighting Sariel and a bunch of angels come and interfere?”
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“Only the heads of the families are archangels,” Raea said. “The rest are greater at most. They can’t hurt you or interfere in a fight of that magnitude.”
“Then I’ll kill the heads of the families,” Palan said and nodded. “Where are they?”
“I don’t want to see them die,” Raea said.
Palan’s eyes narrowed. “Then go back. Cleo and I are enough,” he said. He measured out a space using his thumb and pointer finger. “I’m this close to accomplishing my goals. I’m not going to stop because you got cold feet. Follow me or not, it’s up to you.” Rage surged through his chest as he whirled around and stomped the ground, pushing his body into the air.
“That’s not fair,” Raea murmured as Palan flew away from her. She spread her wings and jumped after him, leaving a trail of red and green light behind herself. Her lips trembled as she passed over the forest. She used to play at those very outskirts with Owen watching over her. There was a family of foxes that she had befriended after Selena had left for Hailing Academy. Were they still there? She searched for their burrow, but the trees blocked the view of the ground. A cluster of buildings resting on the side of a mountain came into view. It was the Ingel’s residence, the region of the golden eagles. That’s where their symbol had come from.
A golden light flashed, causing Raea to peel her gaze from the buildings below. She heard Cleo shout as the lizardman glowed like a lightbulb on top of Palan’s head. “What the heck is this?” Cleo asked and glanced around. Her whole body was shining as bright as the sun. She checked her arms and legs and even her tail, but she couldn’t find the source.
“Turn it off,” Palan said. A wailing sound resounded from the mountains below, and the side of the mountain was lit up as lights flooded the windows of the buildings.
“I can’t!” Cleo said. She tugged on her belt and rummaged through her space. Footsteps rang through the night as the doors of the buildings opened. A few angels pointed at the glowing lizardman in the sky. “This!” Cleo raised her hand, pulling out the necklace she stole from Miriam. It was pulsating with a golden light that seemed to resonate with the wailing sounds coming from below. “Uh. What do I do with it?”
“Throw it away,” Palan said. He narrowed his eyes and pointed at the angels down below. A black hole formed above them, and a few shouted as dirt began to rise into the air. Pebbles, rocks, then roof shingles soon followed. A child screamed as he was lifted off his feet, but his mother held his arms, tethering him to the ground. But that didn’t last long. Soon, she was thrown into the air as well, followed by her companions. The walls and doors the angels were holding onto for support became useless as they were torn from the ground, surging towards the slowly growing ball of dirt, buildings, and bodies.
“Stop!” a voice shouted. An angel flew into the air above Palan, riding on a green cloud of wind. “In the name of the Creator, I, Bartholomew Ingel, smite thee, foul archdemon.” A massive green spear formed above Bartholomew’s head. It was made of millions of blades of wind, but it looked like solid metal. The archangel grunted and swung his hand down, the spear following his arm motion.
Palan snorted and flicked his wrist. The ball of bodies and buildings flew up into the path of the spear. Before it made contact, the spear trembled and stopped. “Using hostages! Despicable,” Bartholomew said and glared at Palan. “Who are you?”
“Dead men shouldn’t worry about things like names,” Palan said. “Kill yourself and I’ll let these people go.”
“I don’t bargain with demons,” Bartholomew said.
“Then I guess you can see them in hell,” Palan said. After spending a while with the centaurs, he understood a small part of their religion—enough to know about hell. Bartholomew’s eyes widened as Palan clenched his hand. The angels pasted against the ball of dirt and stone screamed as blood rushed out of their orifices. The ball released grinding and crunching noises as it compacted and shrank.
“Stop!” Bartholomew said and pointed at Palan. The spear of wind charged forwards, but split into six pieces right before it was about to collide with the ball. The six pieces flew towards Palan while the bloody ball flew towards Bartholomew. Bartholomew dodged and cheered to himself when he heard the telltale squelch of flesh being pierced. His eyes widened when his stomach dropped. Literally. The lower half of his body fell out of the sky, his intestines dangling from his torso like a string of sausages. Raea was hovering behind him, blood on the edge of her tail. She pursed her lips as the archangel fell out of the sky with a groan.
“You should spare them,” Raea said to Palan.
“They’re already dead,” Palan said and shrugged as he released his powers. The silent ball fell out of the air and collided against what remained of the buildings before rolling down the mountain.
Raea bit her lower lip and sighed. Before either of them could say anything, a thundering voice rang out, causing them to stagger backwards in the air and their ears to bleed.
“LEVY WANTS TO PLAY TOO!”