Palan exhaled as he dropped the carcass in his hands. His arms, tails, torso, and face dripped with blood. This was the seventh time he had eaten Raphael. Asura hadn’t revived after she had been eaten once. The carcass by his feet wriggled as pink flesh and bones sprouted out of the largest piece, taking the shape of an infant before rapidly expanding to the size of a human. Once Raphael’s mouth was fully formed, he asked, “Where am I? What happened?”

In response, Palan stomped on the angel’s throat, breaking his neck. That was the fourth time Raphael asked the same pair of questions. Maybe the process of dying and reviving again took a toll on his memory? Danger Noodle glanced at the corpse before swiveling its head to face Palan. Its tongue flickered as it said, “Am full.”

At first, his tails fought over the corpses. But after the fifth time, they were fighting to feed them to each other. Palan sighed at his tails before dismembering Raphael’s body with his hands. He shoved the angel’s organs and limbs down his unwilling torso-mouth. The process of revival started once again, and Raphael’s body reformed. “Where am I? What happened?”

Palan ignored the dazed angel and glanced at Asura. She still hadn’t revived. “Why’s it taking so long for Asura to revive?” he asked Creed. The sloth demon was the most sensible amongst the six beings despite how he looked. If Palan had met him in Eljiam, he would’ve assumed Creed was a lesser demon who hadn’t eaten anyone to evolve.

“We’re only automatically revived if we die outside the tower, except Raphael of course. If we die inside the tower, then Raphael’s always around to bring us back to life,” Creed said and shrugged, “unless something’s stopping him. Like having his face eaten five minutes or so.”

“So that’s why you two revived after he ate you,” Raea muttered.

“Pardon?”

“Nothing,” Raea said and shook her head. “Anyways, where did Cleo and Headmaster go?” She had been too busy focusing on the angels and demons inside of the room, making sure they had no plans of attacking Palan while he was in the middle of eating.

“Oh, they went that way with Sandra,” Cory said and pointed at the closed metal door. “I totally did my best as your best friend to save Cleo, but she willingly went with them.” The harpy’s head bobbed up and down. “In fact, I’m not sure why I even used the word save. She wasn’t in any danger at all.” Her feathers puffed up as her body sank down, making herself comfortable.

Raea stared at Cory who cleared her throat by chirping and turned her head to the side. “Well, alright,” she said. “But who’s Sandra?” Raea hadn’t recognized Sariel during that brief moment. It would be more surprising if she did. The Watcher she knew was always calm and poised. Whenever she spoke to the public, golden light would shine upon her and obscure some of her features. Most angels didn’t dare look Sariel in the face. The Sariel that had entered the room looked more like a flustered maid than the spiritual leader and decision maker of the angelic race.

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“Sandra?” Creed asked and raised an eyebrow. “Is that the name she’s going by nowadays? We just call her Sariel.”

Palan froze. “What?” He glared at Raea. “That was Sariel?”

“I, I don’t know?” Raea asked and glanced at Creed.

“The person that entered earlier was indeed Sariel,” Creed said and nodded. He scratched his cheek when he saw Palan’s ugly expression. “Is that an issue?”

“No,” Palan said and shook his head. “I just had something to speak with her about. It was my original reason for coming to the capital.”

“Oh,” Creed said, his expression unchanging. “Speak with her. Of course.”

“That’s right,” Palan said and seized Raphael. He stomped towards the metal door. “I’m going to go find her. I’ll be bringing him with me.”

“You can’t take Raffi outside!” Levy said and rushed forward as Palan kicked open the metal door. For something meant to prevent six might beings from escaping, it was awfully flimsy. “Bad things will happen.”

“To me?” Palan asked and raised an eyebrow. Levy grabbed onto Raphael’s hand. The blind angel was still groggy from reviving so many times and didn’t struggle.

“To Raffi,” Levy said while shaking her head. Her body trembled as she tugged on Raphael’s arm, but Palan didn’t budge. “Levy doesn’t want to hear it again.”

“Just let him go, Levy,” Camael said, calling out from his bed. He had crawled into his sheets and pulled out a book while Palan was feasting.

“But Raffi…”

“It’s the easiest way for that demon to learn why we’re not allowed outside,” Camael said.

“You let Palan eat him without complaining,” Raea said. “How bad can the punishment be?”

Levy sighed as she released Raphael’s hand. She patted his shoulder. “Sorry, Raffi. Levy tried.”

“Huh?” Raphael asked, his voice clear. “What’s going on?”

“I’m taking you outside as a never-ending supply of food,” Palan said as he crossed the threshold and walked down the steps.

Raphael shouted as his body was pulled backwards, “W-wait! Asura! Stop him!” A chill ran down his back as his upper body crossed the metal door. Only his feet were still left in the room. He tried to clutch the carpet with his toes, but he wasn’t that dexterous. When his toes passed the threshold, his body stiffened. The next instant, a blood-curdling scream ripped its way out his throat. Raea, Cory, and even Palan flinched upon hearing it. Uriel, Creed, Camael, and Levy had already covered their ears with their hands.

Raphael’s body trembled as the scream increased in intensity. The trembling turned into violent shaking as blood leaked out of every orifice. His red skin turned pink, then white, as the blood was drained from his body. The scream continued as his skin flaked off like ash, revealing pulsating muscles holding his body together. Raea turned her head away as the muscles dropped off of Raphael’s body like bits of string cheese. The scream only stopped when his abdominal muscles were stripped away.

Then the sizzling sounds started. His organs turned from pink to white to black as they were cooked before Palan’s eyes. Raphael’s brain oozed out of his eye and nose sockets before evaporating into nothing. The angel’s white bones seemed to age in fast forward as they turned yellow and crumbled to bits. Over the course of ten minutes, Raphael had been reduced to a pile of yellow dust. “Isn’t that a little too harsh?” Palan asked and prodded the mound with his foot.

“It’s not over,” Creed said and sighed, covering his ears again. A ghastly figure rose out of Raphael’s remains, turning into an angel’s transparent body. The screams resumed as ghostly ants appeared out of nowhere and ate Raphael’s spirit starting from his toes. The ants dispersed once they finished eating Raphael’s head. A breeze appeared from the nearby wall and blew the yellow dust back into the room. Creed looked at stained carpet. “He’ll reform in a week.”