As the girl's mask cracks slightly upon being hit with Yue's Arrow, she quickly cover her face with her hands while the fragments of the mask slowly fall onto the ground, a soft red glow emerging from behind the girl's fingers: a crimson mark in the shape of a rose around her eye. Yue is shocked upon seeing a vanguard while Ezra steps back slightly, he notices something familiar about the girl but doesn't quite understand what, has he seen this girl before?
He pushes those thoughts away and swings with his whip, but she dissappears in a cloud of scarlet smoke. As the smoke clears Qiang asks about the girl but Ezra and Yue are just as confused as him. Yue suggests that they are quite close to the enemy and immediatelly begins to move, running through the forest along with both Ezra and Qiang who follow closely behind.
"Miss Yue, do you know where you're going?!" Ezra yells out while he follows her behind.
"No, but this girl might be a sign we are on the right track!" She runs before she abruptly stops in her tracks with a fearful expression on her face, Ezra and Qiang soon stop next to her while Qiang feels something in front of them he can't quite understand what.
"What's goin' on...?!" He yells before Yue covers his mouth, "What... Is that...?" Ezra says as he stares into a wall of branches and vines which do not connect to any tree, clearly not a natural construct.
While they stand confused vines quickly latch onto their legs and arms, restraining them onto the ground, the vines and branches of the wall move and unveil a man with long golden hair which turns white at the ends of it, the man seems to be a young man, abouth twenty years old, who's skin is absolutely perfect without a single scar or mole while his body is adorned with a white robe, he looks as if he had fallen from heaven.
"Intruders... In thy garden... What act of blasphemy is this...?" The man said, his voice a perfect pitch while it sounds soft but loud enough, almost as if it resonates in the ears of the listeners.
Everyone freezes immediatelly, Yue's eyes narrow and she breaks out of the vines, slashing with her hand to summon a vulnus spell which hits the man straight in the head, he recoils back slightly, both Qiang and Ezra escape the vines and go towards Yue's side. The man looks at them, looking confused rather than injured as his face looks completely unscathed. The ground beneath Yue's feet moves, dragging her forwards towards the man before he punches through her body, destroying a huge chunk of her body.
Her body then slowly regenerates using her regeneratus spell and the man's face twists into a slight smirk, "i see... This is quite the interesting sight thine eyes hath witnessed..." He says slowly as Yue begins to stand up again he aproaches her with a smirk, his hands behind his back as he inspects her body, "your Manna is quite great... A Vanguard, perchance?" When Yue nods, the man looks even more impressed and laughs slight, telling her about her potential. "I see you're still quite afraid... This one's name is Angelonia."
Yue steps back slightly, Angelonia moves towards her, grabbing her arm and throwing her away, ripping the arm off, "very impressive... I wonder, can you heal a wound of the heart?" the man grins, showing his perfect white teeth.
"Angelonia... Who gave you such a girly name?" Yue uses regeneratus again, and starts to make fun of the man before her to mask her worry.
"Girly?" Angelonia laughs and his hair grows longer and silky while his face and body gain softer features, "women, men, black or white, it is all the same." He says his body changing race, one second he is white, the next second he is black, then tan and so on. His gender changes along with his skin color and his height as well. "I, Angelonia, am a being above such mere concepts as gender, sex or race! I am an immortal and you lowly humans should all bow at my feet!"
"Bow at your feet?" Yue says with a curious look, an idea coming to mind. She goes down on one knee and showers the immortal with praise, "oh, Angelonia, eternal and beautiful, please have mercy on our worthless lives!" Angelonia's face lights up and they seem delighted at the praise, "well... Since you're asking so nicely, which is rare for a human, i will allow you three to live! I shall guide you to my abode, but first, i must ask thee a question!" Yue nods and the Immortal continues, "what are you humans doing in this ancient forest? I can tell curiousity is not guiding you here."
Yue starts talking about the war and all the events that had happened, Angelonia's face darkens once Yue starts talking about a Principle, he immediatelly starts leaving through the forest, Yue follows and gestures for Ezra and Qiang to follow as well.
After walking aimlessly for what seems to be a few hours, they walk onto a part of the forest that is cleared of any trees for miles with many ruins laying on the ground, the ground seems wet even though the rest of the forest ground is dry.
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As Ezra looks around he seems the ruin walls are wet with a golden liquid, he walks forwards and touches the liquid, it feels as if it is still fresh. He sees the window opening and more of the golden liquid inside of the ruined building, he peers his head inside and sees a body with more of the liquid smeared on the walls.
He jumps back quickly with a frightened look on his face, the Immortal apears next to him, his face shows a melancholic look as he stares at the building, "those people were my brethren once..." Ezra looks confused and shocked, asking how they died to what Angelonia simply utters a single name, "Lucifer".
Ezra stares in confusion, looking around the many ruins and asking himself if Lucifer was capable of doing something like this? Angelonia speaks of Lucifer's deeds, his betrayal of the heavenly gardens and of his power, describing his power as "godly".
"Out of all of the Immortals, he would be considered one of the strongest, the Pillar of Space-time, and the twin brother of Michael the Pillar of War." Angelonia says, "Pillars are the beings which hold up the heavenly temple, and once one dies or dissappears they get replaced... But Lucifer's place remains vacant to this day."
"Do you fear him? Is that why you trembled at the thought of a Principle?" Yue suggests while Angelonia nods reluctantly, "i cannot fight with you, i will remain here, lest Lucifer returns to finish the job..."
"Um... I- i thought Lucifer couldn't defeat an Immortal...?" Ezra trembles slightly, Angelonia shakes his head, "you don't understand who you will be facing against! He is more powerful than me and is a Pillar!" Ezra tries to refute his statement but is immediatelly cut off and shushed by the Immortal before him, "i will not fight! Never!"
Yue sighs at that, "we're not asking you to fight, just to give us a slight hint please...? We don't have much time in this forest, just a mere day!" Yue begs, "Lucifer will know i'm here! I cannot do such a thing!" He shouts, "how is that so?" Yue replies with a smirk, "why don't you run to liuxuan? You'll be protected at the capital." Angelonia seems to fume at that, yelling fearfully at Yue, "do you think a mere few humans could protect me?! Huh?!" He repeats frantically, "maybe not... But who knows... Perhaps you could see a familiar face there? You never know."
The Immortal growls and points in a direction, "go straight from there, you will find what you are looking for..." His body melts into the ground and he completely dissappears. Yue laughs slightly and follows the direction as they were shown.
Meanwhile, as the sun sets at the horizon, blood drips onto the floor of the dark room as Helena remains chained, her left arm completely severed off while her right arm had all her fingers cut off, her head is pointing downwards to the floor, her expression lifeless and miserable. Before her stands a tall figure in a blue and white suit and a blue cape, his head adorned with a white theater mask.
"My dear sister, do you see the price to pay for treachery?" Astaroth lifts the longsword up and swiftly slashes her right arm off, Helena screams in pain and squirms but that is quickly supressed with a biting of the tongue, blood drips out of Helena's mouth and onto the floor. Astaroth chuckles darkly and lifts her chin up with his fingers, his glare quickly flashing between Helena's teary eyes and her naked body.
"Painful, isn't it? And here you though you would be able to betray the Ten Principles of Peace just like that without repercussion?" He says, poking the sharp point of the longsword in her face but they are interupted by a sudden knock on the steel door of the room, Astaroth turns his head only to see the steel door melt to the floor and a figure in black and golden armor pass through the door frame. The figure apears tall with long black hair, a golden chestplate, shoulder guards and gauntlets. Astaroth grins behind his mask, his eyes narrowing.
"Lord Azazel... I see you have arrived... Perhaps you could've knocked?" Astaroth jokes slightly but Azazel continues to stare at him coldly, "do you think you are deserving of such a gesture?" He asks, and Astaroth merely looks away, sweating slightly. Azazel looks at Helena briefly, Helena strains her eyes, lifting her head up with some difficulty.
"Why... Are you here... Father...?" She says, her voice hoarse while Azazel does not respond, only staring at her with a sharp glare, although he seems cold he feels a strange feeling in his heart... Is it perhaps regret...? Or maybe sadness? He doesn't understand it either and just continues to stare.
"Well... I'll leave you two alone, i have some unfinished business to attend to urgently." Astaroth says and quickly walks out of there.
Ezra and Yue stand in front of an extremely tall wall, while Qiang is laying below a tree with his arms behind his head, Yue shoots a spell at the wall, cutting a part of it but the wall regenerates, as if it took no damage in the first place. Qiang snickers, "give up, the wall ain't budgin'!"
"I have to save Helena, i will not stop until i do and i will not let the same thing happen again!" Ezra shouts in a furious tone, remembering the day of his sister's murder makes his blood boil further.
"No need to get mad, i am only statin' facts. No matter what you do, the wall heals so why don't you rest up and think of another solution?" Qiang suggest with a chuckle, seemingly uncaring about the whole situations, "i also wanna help Helena but this ain't doin' anything"
Yue sighs, "what other way is there? I can't teleport past it, the wall is disrupting my Manna and we can't phase through it either..." She sighs, defeated and turns around, starting to walk towards Qiang until the wall collapses fully into a giant puddle of water on the ground, Ezra and Yue turn around with in confusion which quickly turns into fear as they see Astaroth standing on the other side of the puddle, he doesn't say anything only takes off his theater mask to reveal a grin on his face.
TO BE CONTINUED...