Laughter, joy, love. Freedom.

Those were things she treasured. In her young life, she had not had these things. It had been reserved, given in small amounts, from ones who expected quietness. She had been expected to be what they wanted. Love was not in the equation.

But… she did not want to live a life of misery just because she was born to it. She was not cold or greedy. She did not want to feel satisfaction when seeing the bad luck of others. She did not want to follow fate’s dictations.

She wanted to bend fate, and take what she wanted from it. She wanted to give, but at the same time receive. A selfish irony.

She was happy with it. She could not regret a single choice in life when looking at those eyes. There was only pure happiness in her heart while looking at their smiles, at their caring beautiful expressions. They would look at her, full of trust, a simple bond. No conditions or requirements. She did not need to be perfect, she could speak as she wanted, act on the deepest of thoughts. She could make mistakes, and correct them. They would always be there for her.

Only the most beautiful of things had come of it. Holding her two children closer for a moment, she let them run off out the gates. And sitting there, she enjoyed the vision of her loving home. It was safe, it was all she wanted. It had been unexpected, but she wouldn’t change a thing. While looking at the warm outlines of their figures, she felt the blur of her thoughts. When looking at Uriel, she sent him a warm smile from the steps of the entrance. He neared with his own warm smile; he proceeded to crouch slowly at her side, like in a dream. He raised a hand to her cheek, brushing it lovingly while he looked into her eyes. His smile, it was so sure of itself, and at the same time shy; he would look right at her, at her very soul.

It was so familiar, that she felt fear when something glinted, right before her eyes. In an instant, a flicker crossed her vision. Like a blur, or static, her surroundings changed, just for a second. His beautiful handsome face, ripped at one side, stabbed. His eyes had twisted, contorted into the guiltiest of expressions; tears had glinted on his tan skin, mixing with the red. His claw had trembled, and she swore his loving laugh had turned into a mournful cry.

In an instant it came, and as fast it was gone. She stared, and could not see a trace of it. He was still smiling at her, brushing her cheek kindly. She kept sitting there, while he stood and walked away through their patio. The blood that had been on him was all gone, a faint blur on his healed scars, nowadays forgotten.

She looked forward again, heart beating faster. She focused on the joy around her. She kept trying to brush away the whispers in her mind. The vision was still sweet; Ariel and Aurora where still running about, laughing and chasing each other. Nothing was there to make her fear, yet something was not right. The golden color that had painted the scene had lessened, exchanged by a less vivid orange.

She breathed out when someone emerged from the woods that surrounded them. Alexis was walking onto their road, carrying small lumber in between his crossed arms. He was smiling too; he shot a caring smile when he passed by the children. Slowly, he was coming back after a day in the forest.

His steps were slow, but determined. He was nearing without doubt, this place was safe. That was why her smile faltered when another blur overwrote her dream. She could still see him, but in that instant, she wished she couldn’t. Gone was his snarky smile, unseen was his laid-back stance; he was still moving, but in a way that haunted her very core. Her vision was breaking, all color drained around, only leaving a blue and grey mist. Flickering, his figure was hard to discern there, but she could see it clearly still. Limping, his expression was one of shocked pain, a lost stare forward. There was red over him, on his arm, on his body, behind him, dripping down onto the moist ground. He had been carrying simple lumber… but now he was holding something that glinted, in between gore and red. Almost dragging it in his arms, it was something long, torn and disfigured, so bloody that its color was not obvious. But she could see that golden color, and the haunting stare of those amber eyes. His eyes were begging, full of pain, sending a question she could not answer.

She stood, she did. But as she began to run, all flickered around her. In a blink, it was all gone. Al around her, an ashen mist, a grey lifeless void. She turned on herself, looking all around, wondering where the joy went. She was alone, marching without direction through it, reaching forward, and seeking. But she could not see anything but grey.

She ran. She ran and searched, she yelled into the dark. But no one answered. She pulled at her hair and screamed, calling for her children, for Uriel and Alexis. She let herself fall to her knees, suffering in a very livid nightmare. She had felt alone most of her life, and she could not bear the thought of losing sight of them.

She cried there, still calling, until her calls turned into sobs. She stared at the ground, feeling a strong swirl of air howl around her. It was only when something slid at her feet that she opened her eyes more. She stopped crying, icy eyes staring at the feather that floated down to her. It was ripped, deformed, twisted; it was painted in red, with blood, but she still could see its black ashen color. It was a sick joke of what angel’s feathers would look like, rotten and vile. The smell of blood sickened her so much that she covered her mouth with a hand.

She would have stared at it for longer… if it were not for the screams. Their screams. It made her jump to her feet, no matter how much her mind hurt. She yelled, she called, hoping to know where they were in this black void. She ran again, following the echoes of Uriel’s dreadful voice, and the cries of her daughters. She gasped for air, which she struggled to feel in her lungs. Her hand rose up desperately as she spotted their shadows ahead. She discerned Uriel’s tall shadow there, shielding one of her children, cowering. He was backing away from something, something that neared. Its steps were silent, but each made her vision flicker, twist and bend. She could barely think, her steps led nowhere close to them. Uriel never cowered, much less when something threatened his loved ones… yet that was what he was doing.

Her heart filled with horror when two things rose up sharply over everything. The black mist was building up with an unnatural wind. A figure was leering, approaching calmly. Two huge wings, covered in red, all black in the shadows. They loomed over them, bending down to threaten.

Uriel made a desperate move forward, with a growl that shook her surroundings… but everything flickered again. This time, it was with a blinding golden flash.

The screams… the screams would forever stab her like a knife. She covered her ears, screaming herself as she heard the screech that once had been Uriel’s voice. That golden glint had shot up from the dark, flowing downward with a huge strong bat of wings. It had stabbed right through Uriel… and crept all over him. That fire was crawling all around, turning the ashen mist into a red golden sunset. Not only Uriel fell with that fire. She gasped for air, pushing through nothingness as that thing neared a smaller figure, armed with a sharp weapon, which had been the origin of that devilish glow.

She begged, she fought and struggled with all her might. Her head rumbled, a whisper became louder, and with each frozen second, she could only determine that it was far too devilish for it to be her own.

“Take him down…”

Her eyes widened, horrified and scared. The young figure was now cornered, and the attacker was looming, laughing at the fear it could see. She could not advance, she felt herself wounded, she could not move.

As the monster lifted a golden glowing hand… the voice screamed in her own head, echoing as if it was the only thought she could have. It felt authoritative, a command she had to obey.

“Kill once more.”

The monster swung his weapon down, in a horrible ashen blur.

——————

Her body shot upwards.

“No!”

Her scream was loud, desperate. Her breath was pained as she sat there in the dark room. Her eyes wide, she did not seem to realize she was on a bed, in a small cabin. As the cold sweat fell down her face, two reacted to her ear splitting scream. Uriel had jolted on his own bed, and then had stood sharply towards her; Alexis on the other hand, had slammed open the door of the bathroom, peeking out with his shaving knife still in hand, facial hair half trimmed. Both gave her the most shocked worried look they could.

“Aya?”

While Alexis stood frozen by the door, Uriel was already at her side, leaning at the edge of her bed. Not needing the light that came from the bathroom to see, he grabbed her hands while she gasped for air.

“What’s wrong?”

She looked at his violet eyes, which glinted in the dim light of the early morning. The care was there, and she was afraid it would all twist and bend like in her horrible dream. She quickly went to grab her own head, much to their worry. With a hiss, she admitted to what they already knew.

“A nightmare.”

Uriel sat at her side and laid a hand onto her back; running soothing circles, she trembled while Alexis left the bathroom. He did something he rarely did, dismiss his shaving. At the moment, he did not care that his beard was not well trimmed yet; he dropped the knife on a table and stood at the edge of the bed with a concerned stare. He had many nightmares of his own, and if someone could relate to this, it was him.

“What kind of nightmare?” She was not answering yet; so he began to list possibilities, not entirely sure. “Someone breaking into your office and stealing your dear crossbow? Someone stalking our home? The end of the world? Maybe a monster chasing you?”

That last one hit too close.

She looked up from her lap, trembling. With a hand on her head, her icy eyes fixed on the angel, who was eyeing her with confusion. She gave him a look he felt haunting, one which erased all his jesting approach. He tensed under her stare and could not avoid staring back, shivering.

She could still see those bloody wings, that golden fire… things that could only come from an angel. But she did not admit to any of it.

“I… I dreamed our home was burning down. It was a fierce fire, unnatural and horrifying. It destroyed everything it touched.”

It was half the truth. Her voice came tired, exhausted and fearful. The worry for her children was all too real, her eyes were teary. She averted her gaze from Alexis, ashamed to have been scared of him for a minute.

While she tried to steady her breaths, Uriel held her. He spoke up after a minute, affirming sadly.

“All these days, you’ve tried to hide your worry, but you think of them as much as I do. This dream can only be the result of you pushing away your concern. You wanted to come, firmly, but you still look back.” He moved a claw, looking out the window of the cabin. “If it helps to ease your thoughts, I can look through an armor. Just give me a minute, and I can check how-”

“N-no, it’s fine.” Uriel blinked, feeling her grab his wrist and pull him down. “It’s fine… It was only a dream. They are fine, I’m sure of it. There’s no way it can happen.”

Uriel spoke again, offering kindly. He missed them too, as much as them. He was sure that they were fine too, but a little assurance wouldn’t hurt them.

“An accidental fire can happen. I’m sure Lykaios is looking over them, but the girls are handling the kitchens themselves.”

Alexis spoke, much more trusting of their skills.

“They wouldn’t burn down the manor. I know you still criticize their cooking, but they have picked on your talent.”

“No, they wouldn’t burn anything. I’m just saying that I can prove that they are fine, I just have to focus and try hard to-”

“Don’t Uriel.” Just as he was about to move away to invoke that spell, Ayako begged. There was something he could not decipher in her eyes, while she asked with a tired tone. “You would hurt yourself. You could faint if you do it.”

Alexis pondered for a moment, but after doing so, he agreed with her, wholeheartedly. He pointed at him and shook his head worriedly.

“She’s right.” Alexis moved closer to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “You’re too far. This is the farthest you have gone from the manor. If you try to shove part of your mind into one of those things to see, you could drop down. And we can’t have that, not now. I worry for them too, but you don’t need to suffer a seizure to see what we already know.”

“…I could stand it.”

“It’s not a matter of endurance.” Alexis scoffed, always having hated how Uriel surrendered himself into pain. “You should not hurt yourself, at all. What would Ariel think if she saw you spying from here? She would learn from your actions, and one day try to mimic the way in which you use your spells, hurting herself.”

“She wouldn’t do something so careless.”

“Then don’t be a careless moron yourself, dammit. The girls do what they see us do.” Alexis had seen how tired Uriel got sometimes, just by doing lesser incantations. And he was not about to let him jeopardize their journey now. “It was only a nightmare… Right?”

He looked at her, really wanting to hear from her if she was fine. Both of them were staring at her blue eyes, caring, loving. Something did not feel right about this journey anymore, but she could not pinpoint what. That dream was strange, and completely unrelated to anything around them. They were not at home; they still had to find that fortress.

She was not fine, but she nodded anyway, to not worry them more.

—————–

 

She eyed the three very carefully.

As she stood by Everard, Cecilia watched the trio load their things into their bags, packing their stuff to leave. She asked Ayako, zealously, suspicious.

“Soooo… you’re really leaving for Feiren?”

“Of course! Where else?”

Cecilia knew that sly smile, that plotting gaze. She had not seen her for many years, but she knew Ayako. In all the years she had been Godric’s apprentice she had seen Ayako act on her will, one way or another, against every show of authority.

“I don’t know. You could be bluffing, saying you’re heading south, only to make a turn and head back north, a little far away from the town, where we can’t see you.”

“I see everything, Cecilia!” Everard cracked his knuckles, making Uriel smile nervously while he glared at him. “He may have bested me once, but I swear I will beat him if they dare near the forest! I won’t be fooled; I’m always watching, axing trees down, twenty four hours each day in the week!”

Ayako laughed loudly, waving a hand dismissively at Everard, who towered near them.

“Oh, please, why would we lie?” Alexis yelped, because Ayako pulled at him and nudged him, displaying his face to the two. “This one here doesn’t know how to lie! He’s far too innocent, a naive dork! Let me tell you, when we were in Feiren, there was this shady woman, yelling at the crowd about her self crafted elixir, which could cure any ills, bring miracles to the wounded and sick. And guess what? He was the first to look at her and near the small crowd, to listen to her blabbering! His eyes glinted with wonder while she yelled, about how it was made with a magical herb, some strange scales, and angel feathers. He almost bought a damn bottle! It was only a watered down fish stew with a little fluff from a bird, yet he really believed in her words.”

He pushed her off, grumbling with annoyance. He was not happy that what she was saying was true.

“It really looked like a real elixir… Besides, how was I to know it wasn’t really made with angel feathers? I just thought it could be real, an improvement of what angel blood can do.”

He was very disappointed when he asked if the elixir could regrow limbs. The woman had shut up for a moment; she looked at him all over and told him that her elixir couldn’t solve that kind of problem. The woman ignored him and kept trying to sell the bottles to the rest of the crowd. If she did so because she truly couldn’t heal an amputee, he did not know, but she hid well her dismissal. Uriel had sighed loudly and dragged him away from the obvious scammer.

Cecilia was smiling awkwardly, truly questioning how anyone could fall for a scam like that. She was sure Alexis could not be more ingenuous, but Everard was still not convinced of their honesty.

Alexis flinched, because Everard neared and loomed over him. His eyes looked down at him intensely, calculatedly. His voice rumbled with inquisition while he eyed Uriel and Ayako.

“He may be honest, but I don’t trust you two.” Alexis grinned more nervously when Everard leaned down, close enough to show how many scars he had on his face, past his thick long beard. “No, I need to hear a promise! A man’s promise! You have to swear you won’t let them drag you along! You say you will go to Feiren, and that’s what you will do!”

“A man’s pro-?”

“Swear it!” Everard slammed a fist on his chest, to then step even closer. “Are you not a man of honor?! Have you feigned your firmness?! Are you too flimsy to act on your own words?!”

“Fine, fine!” Uriel blinked, seeing Alexis lift a hand while he laid the other on his chest. Ayako was surprised to see him swear he wouldn’t let them change course, without faltering. “As a man, I swear to lead them south.”

Everard glared right into his eyes. He laughed loudly with a smile after seeing him hold his gaze for a minute, satisfied.

“Ah, now I’m pleased! Men have to keep their word! If you don’t, you’re not a man!”

“Yeah…” Alexis turned and mounted his horse, glad to not smell the beer in his breath. “I think we’ll be going now, unless you want to make Uriel promise too.”

Everard shook his head, smiling contently.

“No, I only need one of you to promise. I see you three always stick together.”

Cecilia knew better. Still, she let Everard believe what he wanted. She neared Ayako and whispered a warning.

“I’m serious; you don’t want to keep on heading north. Those demons will stalk you through the woods, and they are not pretty. You could die there; we won’t be able to rescue you if needed. Not even these people walk deep into those woods.”

Ayako smiled, appreciating her concern. She nudged her weapons and winked at Cecilia, speaking surely.

“Don’t worry, we’ll go back home.” She jumped on her horse behind Alexis. She waved goodbye, yelling a few last words. “If we do find any demons on the way back, we have our trusty weapons! We are too stubborn to die to any wild devils!”

Cecilia whispered again, fumbling with her hands while they marched away.

“Yes, I know you’re stubborn and crazy. You haven’t changed at all.”

No one heard her sigh, Everard had walked away, sure the travelers would not come back.

But they would.

As they rode south, they made a turn with their horses. They directed them slightly to the west, facing north, away from the road that would bring them to the town. Parallel to the western woods, they neared the northern ones, determined to bring an end to their journey.

Ayako looked at Alexis, glancing at his face over his shoulder. She asked while they marched.

“How did you manage to lie?! Your eyebrows always tremble, and you fidget!”

Alexis laughed a little, glaring ahead.

“I’m not breaking any promises. I said I would go back south as a man.” He looked back, winking mischievously. “But I’m no man, Aya. I’m an angel. And angels have always roamed north.”

She began to grin, sharing the same sly expression. While they snickered, Uriel followed behind them with the blankest of faces.

“The things I have to hear…”

—————

 

He took a deep breath. Groaning, he leaned his head away, disgusted by the smell of bone and carcasses.

“It retches with decay.”

The three eyed the forest, right at its edge. The trees towered here, a line of pillars that looked like huge tombstones. There was not much space to walk in between them; the paths were narrow, then wide, a serpentine space between crocked trees. Their color was grim, almost stone like; their wood was very thick, strong and durable. All was dark ahead; the forest was gloomy and scary.

Yet, there they were. They had halted right at the feet of the first line of trees. There were many stumps behind them, where the townspeople had cut days ago. There were abandoned axes in this area; they constantly changed places in which to cut, and they could only wonder why.

“Can you smell any?”

Uriel knew Alexis was slightly worried, but he knew he was determined too. He answered his question honestly, with a deep frown.

“I can smell demons in there, yes. But I can’t discern where they are exactly. The smell is everywhere, and I don’t like it.”

Ayako walked back to them, having tied their horses at a nearby hill. She had left the mounts there, knowing they could not traverse through with them. As well, she left a note, knowing that the town would come to cut here soon. They would find the horses, and she was sure Cecilia would know what to do. She would take them back to town for them, hopefully.

“Horses are tied. I left them enough water, and there’s grass nearby. They’ll do fine while we’re gone. Are you ready to go in?”

The three eyed the woods again, subtly inching closer to each other.

“They will smell me.”

“Surely.”

“Without a doubt.” Uriel added, looking at him with a frown. “Are you still sure of this? This is the last chance to head back. We can still go back.”

Alexis looked at the two. He asked with a shy smile, brushing one of his arms with apprehension.

“How many feral demons would it take for you to let me get hurt?”

Uriel’s eyes narrowed. Heart beating, he affirmed, without a trace of doubt.

“If they are as feral and unintelligent as described by Everard… they would need to be a horde for me to crumble and let them touch you.”

His firmness was all he needed to feel safer. He did not like the prospect of walking where demons threaded, but that place was calling him, there was something indescribable in his heart. Still, he looked at her too, and asked with as much consideration.

“Do you really share my curiousness, Aya? Do you truly want to head there? I don’t want to drag you just for my wish.”

She gave him a sad warm smile. She spoke, taunting his doubt.

“Oh, Alex, what makes you think I would lie about my wonder? As much as I love to help you answer your questions, I have many of my own. If there’s a small chance I can ease the pain you both feel… I want to take it.”

He looked at their eyes, always supportive and caring. They would follow him anywhere. It was something that always eased his most dreadful fears. He would even near beasts like that bat again, as long as they were there.

After breathing deeply, he nodded, wearing a serious frown.

“Okay, alright.” He tapped his old sword, there, concealed under his cape. “Let’s not waste time then. It’s only a few wild demons, feral and stupid. They can’t be more than twenty. They will be easy to deal with if they get close. We’ve had worse, haven’t we?”

Both answered, having his back.

“Much worse.”

“Nothing we can’t deal with.”

He nodded again, and then he took the first step into the shade of the trees. They followed suit, hands ready. Nothing crawled out the dark as they ventured deeper, but they still eyed every branch and path warily.

Alexis kept a steady rhythm, knowing that if needed, he could kill with ease.

They would only be animals, a bothersome pack of beasts that liked to trouble this town… nothing like Uriel.

————

 

One hour, that was what they spent in the dark.

The forest was as big as the one where he hid when he fell. The more they walked, the darker it became. They had stopped seeing snow around them; they could not see the sky anymore. The trees were taller now, and their branches covered everything above them. Tangling together, it was a labyrinth of black and grey, a decaying oak tone all around them. Many fallen logs, stones and ledges, an uneven terrain they had to course through. All the while, they could hear the rumor of wildlife.

It took them an hour to notice it was not wildlife. No animal roamed here.

“You hear it, right?”

Uriel asked, hoping he was not the only one who was hearing it. The other two whispered like him, making sure to look all around them, backs close together.

“We hear it, yes.”

“Whatever it is, it is not small.”

Alexis gasped silently, seeing something move in the distance. Something slender, yet of thick limbs. It made noise as it avoided his sight; it resembled the noise chains would made while dragged along rough metal. That thing was heavy, yet agile and fast.

“I think we found the demons.”

“No, Alex. They found us.” She took out her crossbow, spotting another one stalking them, hiding and moving in the dark. “However, they seem shy.”

“To be honest, they seem to be wary of him.”

Uriel said that while looking at Alexis. The angel snorted at him, still nervous for their stalkers.

“Oh, and you don’t have anything to do with it? Your nails are sharper now, like your eyes.”

“They see me as competition; they see her as a feeble obstacle. It is you who truly scares them. At the same time, they really want you. Your scent must be driving them crazy, they are animals after all. They are circling us.”

They had no doubt these things were feral. They finally spotted one, there, above, and they felt dread and disgust. It was hanging onto a tall branch; it looked down at them from the shadows. A loud hiss echoed from the depths of those big maws, which twisted and opened, thanks to the four pincers that moved out of them. The demon was not big, but not small either. It had the size of a big dog, but it was faster than one while it climbed down the tree. It had huge scythes for arms, which it used to move. Its legs were once human like, but now they were slender and crooked, clawed and spiked. All its body was slim, made of bony carapaces, like if it had a whitened armor for an exoskeleton. The thorax was full of small spikes, which looked like bones that had pierced through from its insides. It hid, crawling on its fours. Its skull kept twisting with those pincers, making a haunting scratching echo all around them.

It was not alone. The cracking noise repeated, from more of those things.

Uriel moved Ayako and Alexis behind him, even though they were as ready to fight as he was.

“Ayako, do you have any of that old toxin of yours?”

“Yes. Not much, but I do.”

She was a woman who liked to come prepared. Smiling, Uriel cracked his own claws, mimicking the slicing of those scythes around them.

“Good. It will make things easier.”

They eyed the branches and trees for a few minutes, advancing in a circle, in order to see every angle around them. There were at least five of those things, but they remained calm. If the town could squash these things and force them away, so could they. They were not smart like that bat had been.

When the first devil lunged, Uriel opened his claws swiftly. Alexis yelled in alarm, seeing a big shadow lunge from in between two tall rocks. Before it could swing its two scythes into him, a big claw swung in the way. Uriel clawed downwards at the skeletal devil, sending it down onto the ground with a very noisy crack. He got a hold of one of its long scythes, and pulled upwards, revealing its long body more. With a fierce stomp, he kicked down onto it, crushing it against the rocks. The thing stopped moving, its middle cracked open, revealing its insides past the thick exoskeleton. Now, they could see it better, and all saw how its skull had no eyes, but just two void long sockets, deep on the rough thick bone.

While stepping back, Uriel ignored the disgusted look Alexis gave to the thing. He had no time to ponder, because more were on the move. He whipped his head to a side, as he heard Ayako shoot. One of those things fell down to the ground from the branches above them, shot down by her good aim. That one began to lash on the ground, affected by the toxin Ayako had brought. She did not think she had to use it before, but it was proving to be useful. She ran up to it and stopped its trashing with a quick stab of dagger.

Alexis felt slight relief, stepping back as the two faced any devil that crawled near. Trembling, he took out his own sword, watching Uriel punch and Ayako shoot. They had their backs to him now, and fearful of the fight, he inched slightly away.

He shivered when a hiss echoed behind him. All his hair rose up, while his hands clasped his sword tighter. He slowly turned, and then saw another one there. It was prowling, leaning onto its four pointy limbs. It was slightly bigger, and its pincers were longer; it resembled a mantis more. Its armor was tougher as well, and for good reason. It was smarter, surely the alpha of the pack. It had taken advantage of the distraction the others provided, to sneak up to him.

When it lunged, he yelped strongly.

When Uriel heard that yell, he instantly looked back in alarm. Afraid at first, he felt relief when he saw the devil drop down to the ground. Alexis had swung his sword and stabbed the beast’s shoulder. It was still alive though.

“G-guys!”

He was struggling against the jolts of the devil, clasping the handle of his sword for dear life. The thing had gone head first against the blade, but even if its side was stabbed and impaled, it was still pushing towards him. Hissing and screeching, its scythes were swiping near him, long enough to reach past the longsword. Uriel dropped down the devil he had been strangling and ran fast towards him. With a kick to its skull, he unlatched it forcefully off the sword, sending it rolling along the ground, much to Alexis’ relief.

The angel panted while Uriel blocked any paths towards him. Ayako stepped closer, and the three saw the things hiss at them, in anger. They smiled a little then, because they were stepping back, threatened by the death of the biggest of them.

Alexis began to laugh, impressed by his own kill. Uriel did not stop him when he taunted the demons above them, which were crouching and hissing.

“Come on, are you scared?! Don’t you want a piece of this?!”

The demons hissed again. Suddenly, they all lifted their sharp heads, upwards. Their pincers began to shake and twist, making a noise that rumbled through the forest. It was a shaky screech, like the one a swarm of wasps would make, just much stronger and haunting. Their eyes had no obvious life in them; it was like if skeletons were yelling from hell.

The three paled, Alexis lowered slowly his sword. Mouth agape, they all saw hundreds of shadows move, closer, emanating from the darkest parts of the woods. A huge horde of them gathered around them, hanging by the branches or leaning on the rocks, tilting to glare at them with their gaping eyes. They were not lunging… but with their numbers, they were now inching closer.

“You had to taunt them.”

Alexis had clenched his teeth, all color drained from his face. He looked down at his sword, then up again at the swarm of demons. He raised his weapon and tried to give a warning, which he hoped they would understand.

“Leave! I can burn you all with a single swing! You will fall like flies!”

Certainly, they were hundreds. If he invoked the burning spell and the flames touched a single one of them, they would all burn. They would trash and move wildly, spreading the fire all around them. The forest felt far too small now.

He would have done it. He wanted to defend himself, Ayako and Uriel. But when the first beast descended with inhumane speed down some trees, he knew he could not do anything without risking Uriel’s life. That speed was almost ghostly; their moves were savage and unpredictable. Their limbs were long and pointed, allowing for chaotic moves and long strides.

He sheathed his sword and bolted. He pulled at them, screaming.

“We have to outrun them!”

They ran with him, but Ayako did look back, shooting a few bolts. The demons moved like a horde, a wave of white and black. They had left an opening, which let them run away, not with much advantage.

“I don’t know if we can!”

Uriel was running ahead, gasping. He was trying to take much more distance from the horde, in hopes that Alexis could be sure he would not burn him if he had to kill.

“This was a bad idea!” He punched a demon that tried to fall on him from above, sending it away with a broken jaw. “I knew there had to be something horrible in this silly journey! It had been too good until now!”

Alexis yelled back, hoping they would reach the end of the woods.

“We thought it was just a small pack! We couldn’t have imagined there would be so many!”

Ayako frowned, horrified by the sight behind them. There were enough demons to reduce the town to shreds, maybe enough to cause a massacre in Feiren. She did not know why so few of them roamed out these woods.

“It does not make sense! They are wild, yet they conceal themselves here?!”

They looked starved, desperate, ravaging anything in their path. They were chasing fast, and only her bolts and a few swipes of sword were making them step back enough. They were still scared of Alexis, but they were closing in, adamant.

They ran a lot. They were so startled and tired that they did not pay attention to what laid around them now. They ran past a terrain that was all scratched, caved, and cracked. Bones rested around, of multiple living beings. Yet they did not see them while going forward. They jumped over a fallen trunk, heading for the glimmers of what they thought the end of the woods.

They had seen flickers of light above, what they thought to be the forest’s edge, the sky… but when they neared that area, it was all gone. Pitch black, like if the branches had moved and covered it.

They would have kept running. But something unexpected happened.

“Guys…” They slowly halted, to look back. Ayako had been the first to stop running, alarmed by what the demons did. Or better said: what they didn’t do. “They have stopped.”

Uriel glared, confused. The three stood with a defensive stance, bewildered by the sight. The demons had stopped, sharply. They were moving side to side, only daring to swipe the air or ground, like if they were afraid to take one single step forward. The horde was still circling them, but not moving closer anymore.

After a long dreadful minute, the expression on those bony skulls changed, even though they had no eyes or skin. They began to let out a sound that would resemble a whine, and then began to crawl away, crouching fearfully. Slowly, they moved away, back to the shadows, looking back in terror.

“Why are they…”

They stood there, confused, wary. Uriel was the first to pay mind to their surroundings. His heart skipped a beat; there were bones. They were scattered, impossibly white, like if something had torn every single possible bit of nourishment off them. There was a thick scent here, in this earth and patch of trees.

His violet eyes widened, because something moved near Alexis. Something huge, something he had thought to be a tall tree. A big long scythe ascended, lifted, triple their size. It began to loom slowly, over his angel.

“Watch out!”

Alexis turned, and then froze for what he saw. Staring upwards in a slowed moment, his wide eyes fixed on the sharp point of a huge bony limb, of something huge, which stood over them.

The scythe descended, with a rumble.

“Hmff!”

He rolled on the ground, forcefully. Uriel had tackled him away, pushing him to the ground. While they fell, the limb had stabbed downwards, piercing the ground like a colossal sword.

While lying there on the ground, both looked up with wide eyes. The scythe belonged to something dreadful. A huge figure moved in between the tall trees. Of the same look as the other devils, but of a size that would put a building to shame. A huge grey and white skull lowered from in between the branches, leering at them. A wide open maw, with sharper fanged pincers, which parted to reveal a gaping void as a mouth. Its slender void eyes, two black sockets, fixed on them, while a deafening hiss came out of its insides.

Uriel stood slowly, seeing its long armored body lean over them. Five other long limbs moved, calmly. It was a towering demon, looming over them, malicious.

Uriel whispered grimly, fearing and knowing he could not fight this thing.

“Run.”