They did not obey his command right away.

The huge demon hissed once more while leaning down; yet Alexis was frozen, and Ayako was reaching very slowly for her crossbow. The thing was slow, and it was taking its time, leering down at them.

That was why Uriel snarled and gave Alexis a shove, yelling at them both.

“I said run!”

Alexis gave him a worried look while he stumbled back. Ayako did run, and she pulled at him. Uriel stayed back, arms outstretching at his sides. While they began to sprint, he faced the demon, claws ready. He did not retreat yet.

The bigger devil roared, seeing the angel run. It tried to lift one of those gigantic scythes. But as it let it reach forward, Uriel swiped a claw. Fire brushed the side of the limb, making the beast flinch enough to step back.

That was when Uriel ran, after daring to burn the demon. Bolting away, even his own body shook when the angry screech echoed. He panted, sprinting, jumping. He got closer to the other two, who had managed to put some ground between them. They were fast, but that thing was big. In seconds, they heard those gigantic limbs slam on the ground. It emerged from the shadows where they left it, marching with big strides, sinking its scythes into the ground.

Ayako groaned and lifted her crossbow to aim for the thing’s skull. The bolt was covered in poison, a toxin that demons were susceptible to. She shot, and the arrow sunk right into its neck with a very big crack. However, the thing was barely slowed down. It only got numb and angry, judging by how it began to swipe at them from behind. Another demon would have fallen to the ground, paralyzed.

“It’s too big! It won’t work!”

Alexis was running wildly, because the scythes were aiming for him. He screamed and hopped to a side, right as one sunk to the ground where he had been.

“We can’t outrun it!”

“We have to!”

Uriel moved his claw again, with fire. He made the demon flinch, but not stop. That huge skull moved down to bite at him. He was right under those pincers, sidestepping every time it tried to bite his head off. He jumped over a log, which Ayako and Alexis had run around. The scythe descended again, aiming for the angel.

If all this was not horrible enough, they now had even more company. They could hear the sounds of the smaller demons, circling the chase. It was like if they were waiting, to see if there would be any spoils left for them to scavenge.

Alexis looked at the two, heart skipping beats. He saw them shoot and burn what they could, short of breath. They were looking between him and the huge demon, with dreadful fear in their eyes.

But the fear was not for themselves… it was for him.

His frightened expression twisted when another furious growl echoed behind him. Slowly, he frowned, serious, determined; he took a deep breath. He unsheathed his sword, focusing on what he wanted to do. He couldn’t keep running. Not with them.

Ayako and Uriel gasped, because Alexis slowed down. A scythe loomed over him, ready to fall on him; yet he was not running as fast as he could, he was eyeing it.

“Alexis, move!”

Move he did, but not how they wanted. The angel snarled, sidestepping when the scythe descended, at the last moment. It sunk by his feet, right before him. Sword in hand, he struck the long limb, cutting into it with hatred and anger. Ayako winced; Uriel paled and threw himself to the ground, fearing having the bigger devil above him. They both expected flames, golden flames, and them to reach for all the demonic flesh that filled this forest.

However, nothing glinted from that sword. Alexis kicked at the limb and retrieved his weapon. The devil roared, in pain, but not dead. It was only a scratch for it, a scratch that Alexis intended as a distraction.

“Over here, disgusting carcass!”

Those pincers twisted in what could be a hateful roar. The huge demon leaned, in order to face the angel that jumped over a log to run in a different direction. Ayako yelled in fear, seeing Alexis bolt away without them, waving his arms up at the demon, seeking its attention.

“Alexis! What are you-?!”

She had to dodge. By throwing herself onto a nearby rock, she avoided being pierced. The demon was turning, moving its long limbs to walk away. Its hind legs almost stabbed her. Uriel growled, already up. He eyed the huge body above him, which was finally going away. Those bony scales slid past him, without fire or blood. It chased Alexis, like if he was the only thing that mattered.

“Where do you think you are going?!”

Uriel slammed his claws around one hind limb, right when the demon would have stepped away. The thing hissed, feeling violet fire, nails sink past its exoskeleton. Looking back, it leaned its huge skull down, to see the two behind it, stabbing and shooting at its limbs.

In the distance, Alexis saw the demon swing the biggest of scythes. Uriel and Ayako retreated, moving back as the limb cut through multiple tall trees, which fell to the ground strongly. He struggled to spot them in the dark, and so he yelled, jogging again.

“Hey, bonehead! I’m here!”

Uriel had shielded himself, because the demon had begun to lean towards him, pincers first. But the thing lifted its head away when it heard Alexis’ yell. Hissing, it moved once more, climbing over the trees it had thrown.

“No, you don’t!”

Uriel tried to grab it again, to pull at it. He did not succeed. The thing was aware of his efforts and it moved accordingly. Ayako saw Uriel grab the point of a leg, and then saw him be kicked back, strongly. The thing pushed him away, like garbage.

She reached for Uriel as he fell back. They huffed, as they both hit the ground, facing the direction of the wooden blockage. They stood as quickly as they could after the hit, fearing for Alexis’ life.

“We have to-”

She could not finish. The two eyed the shadows that began to circle them, like vultures. They were not as many as when Alexis had been with them; only the most starved and desperate of devils gathered around the two.

It was a lesser threat, but one nonetheless.

———-

They had never seen this much water.

She stared at it while they walked north, slowly. With a calm pace, they headed through. Her eyes were fixed on her dear necklace, now ripped to reveal a glinting stone. A beautiful golden pulse was flowing through it, beating in the direction where her father was.

“How will we get past that dam?”

Ariel frowned, having the same question herself. She eyed the huge mountains at their sides, and then the dam, wondering how they would go past it all.

“Maybe we should go up one of the peaks. See that wooden bridge?”

They looked upwards. Ahead, in the distance, over many cliffs and rivers, there was a hanging passage. Old and creaky, it swung along in the wind, tied from one peak to the next, a serpentine path that finished past the dam. It was the only path they could see, and the only one they knew of.

“Maybe they used it to go through.”

Aurora frowned and looked down to her stone. The pulse was flowing north, right in the direction of that bridge. However, something told her it was not right, that Uriel would not have allowed them to take such an unkempt path.

“Uriel would have protested.”

“He would have, but he is brave when he has to be. They would have gone through if needed. Which they have… so another fact that makes this so strange.”

Aurora bit her lip, not wanting to admit she did not like the bridge.

“I see why there are no humans around. I don’t think they cross it much.”

Ariel pondered and stopped walking; she halted by a big pond with many trees and bushes. She spoke, while crouching by the water.

“But they still must cross it sometimes; it would not be there if not. There must be a path to it, somewhere. Maybe in one of these two mountains. The problem is guessing which one.”

She guessed it had to be the western mountain, as she could see a footpath. But then again, the bridge seemed to originate from the eastern one; the end of the bridge rested past the dam on the western peak.

While splashing some water onto her face, Ariel did not notice something move over her. Something big began to curl down, something slimy. Scaly moist skin, one of a reptile. From the shadows of a tree, a huge mouth opened, leaning down towards her head. It would have swallowed her up, head first, if not for Aurora sniffing the air.

Her wings shivered as she swiped her head to look at her sister. Whatever had leaned down was gone. Both jolted when something dashed, sinking into the water with a single small splash. They did not see it try to gobble Ariel, only a shadow over them.

The two stepped back, glaring at the water. They now could smell the scent of a demon, muddy and scaly. The water had concealed its presence. But now they knew. Two huge eyes emerged to the surface of the pond. They rolled a little in their sockets before fixing on them both. The demon was of the size of a crocodile, but fatter. They swore it was a gigantic frog, until they saw the salamander like tail swaying in the water. It was keeping still, eyeing them. They became more wary when the demon smiled with that huge mouth.

It emerged a little more and then spoke, with a voice that was well mannered and calm.

“Are you two lost?”

Ariel did not feel right in the presence of this devil. She had not seen it try to swallow her, and so, she only had her distrust and instinct. Before Aurora could answer it with the same dislike, she did, with a firm tone.

“We aren’t. Mind your own business.”

Those two eyes blinked, slowly. The irises were big, two black rounded voids. And they were still fixed on them, with an intent they found disturbing. Yet the voice was far too humane, too contrasting to that feral appearance.

“You know, it is my business to deal with demons who dare trespass into my watery land…” Both jolted, because it rose out from the water with one long stride. As it slid out, it leaned up, enough to loom slightly over them. Its head bowed to let its eyes look down on them. Even with that threatening pose its voice showed no menace. It spoke again with a gentler tone, while swaying its long tail. “But that would make me as rude as you, little devil.”

It began to laugh silently, which made his chest inflate and deflate rapidly. His bluish skin trembled while he moved a little away. The sisters watched his every move, reminded of Lykaios and his animalistic traits. They had heard many times of wild devils, and what they could do.

They had nothing but resent in their eyes, perhaps more than for any human. Aurora’s fangs were showing in her scowl, her wings tense.

“No need to look at me that way.” Not yet, at least… “I am not that different from you.”

He had no claws, nor horns, or wings, and maybe he had no human looks, but he was a demon. He hoped to ease their trust, for his convenience.

He made a pout when Ariel pulled at Aurora, to lead her west.

“We’ll leave you to… whatever you were doing in that pond. You can have it all for yourself, we are going to-”

“To that footpath?” Ariel faltered, mocked by those big eyes. “Do you want arrows to pierce you? Axes to cut your tail off?”

The devil circled them, in a manner that made them squirm. They held hands while he whispered with a sly smile.

“That western mountain does have a path. But one I do not advise you to take. At the entrance of a tunnel, there are more guards than you can count. They are very zealous of anyone going through. They take security very seriously and only let through the most honorable of humans. What makes you think they will allow you through, little devils?”

He was telling blatant lies, but the two could not know that. Ariel looked at Aurora, and feared at the thought of humans trying to harm them again. She growled, facing the demon with her chest puffed out.

“We are not taking that tunnel.”

“What then?”

“…” She hated his smile, a lot. Aurora was eyeing him too, suspicious. So she answered angrily. “That bridge. We will go up the eastern peak.”

The demon smiled more, and if they knew of his thoughts, they would have been crept out.

“Ohh, that bridge?” He slid a little, to stand right by Ariel’s side. She made a disgusted face when he laid his tail on her shoulder, like a supportive arm. “Yes, I can see you traversing through it. However, you would need to go through the valley first, right through my territory. The path that climbs up the eastern mountain is far ahead.”

He was grinning without teeth, snickering at the thought of them manoeuvring past lakes and deep ponds.

Ariel pushed his tail off. She and Aurora had grown hearing what a demon had done to Alexis, even though vaguely. They did not trust their kind, only Uriel and each other. Their glares showed how much they would want to push this devil deep into the water where it could not peek out.

“You will try to stop us if we try to move through the valley, I guess?”

“Not at all!” He waved a finned hand, pointing behind him calmly. “It’s not usual for me to see my kin here! Why would poor Chao disrupt two young ladies, lost and in need of guidance?”

Aurora eyed him while she tucked her wings closer. He was looking at her, at her feathers, like a wolf would look at deer.

“Is there no other path?”

She hated the thought of going through that much water, somewhere he knew well. Neither trusted him. And they did well to do so.

Smiling again, he nodded to her wary question, lying once more.

“No other path but that tunnel. I’m sure you know to stay clear of men and their malice. I can lead you away from their hateful eyes, if you want me to.”

Ariel pulled at Aurora. He watched the two move away from him, swaying his tail happily.

“No need for you to follow us, we can manage.”

Oh, but I will follow.

He licked his mouth, watching the two from afar. They kept glancing back at him, distrustful and wary. It was only when they could not see him that he moved again. He slid down into the water, only letting his eyes emerge as he swam through the river, north.

He had wanted to swallow the oldest first, knowing those sharp horns could hurt if eaten in a wrong way. Then, he would have loved to corner the remaining one, easily. Those wings looked tasty, and much less twisted than others. Sadly, he had been spotted by the winged girl, right as he was going to eliminate the biggest threat of the two.

He followed, hoping for them to get lost in between water.

————-

This was a horrible idea.

But he had to do it. He had to take it away. He couldn’t let it hurt them. He was at fault.

He groaned as he swung his sword backwards. The big demon hissed again, every time he moved his sword. It was the only thing keeping it from stabbing him from above. He had to dodge, time and time again. This time, he crawled under some fallen logs when it tried to clamp its maw onto him. As he pushed forward, he flashed it again with a flicker of the flaming runes, reminding it of the lethality angels possessed.

He still couldn’t burn it, he could hear the smaller devils creep, somewhere.

“C-come on! I can’t die here! Not now!”

From that tall mountain, this forest had not looked that long. He had seen the fortress past this labyrinth. He couldn’t run forever, there had to be an end to this.

His eyes cried a little, because his vision was fogging. He did not know for how long he had run, but it had been a while. And he was tiring. All was getting blurry.

With him exhausted, the thing saw its chance. It swung a scythe parallel to the ground, downwards, to try to cut him in half. He turned to look back when he heard it, and paled when he saw the sharp edges close in, fast. So he did the only thing viable enough.

He pointed his longsword right at the scythe, with his eyes closed.  He heard a fleshy thud, and then his feet slid against the ground, pushed back fiercely. After the clash, he opened his tired eyes. His blade had sunk into the huge limb, edge first. He held for dear life onto the handle, even if his weapon was being pushed ferociously. It was the only shield he had against the bony spiked razorblades.

The shove did not last forever. He screamed, because the beast lifted its limb, angered by the weapon that stabbed it. He hanged on the air while those void eyes stared at him, the sword, and the bleeding wound. He paled, seeing the monster take drive, move its scythe backwards.

“Nonono, don’t you-”

The devil swung him forward like if he was grime on a hand. The sword slid out of the wound with a very bloody sound. He was hauled forward, strongly and fiercely, in an instinctive move.

He crashed on the ground a few feet away, between trees and bushes. He hit his side strongly, and it rendered him immobile. He laid there on the ground, much like his sword. He panted and hissed, failing to stand quickly. Out of breath he trembled, hearing those limbs close in, right behind him.

He closed his eyes, and just let himself wait there, incapable of reaching for his weapon. He waited, for one of those scythes to stab him, right through. He was sure it was the end of him.

But nothing stabbed him.

He opened his eyes, vision blurry. He heard rumbling growls, angered ones. In the blur, he saw flickers of light, glimmers of sunlight stabbing the branches ahead. He began to try to move, confused by the lack of deadly stabs or bites.

He pushed himself up with one arm, lying down while looking back. A sigh escaped him, confused and relieved. The monster was roaring, circling the area where he had fallen, like if it was scared of nearing. It kept swiping its limbs, desperate to reach for him, but unable to advance.

Alexis coughed, crouching and holding his side. He glared at the beast, which ended up moving away into the shadows, head low, with a sound that could be a whine. Without it circling him, he looked ahead, to the light. The forest ended in the far distance, the trees were parting.

“What are you so scared of?”

What can scare it more than an angel? What lies ahead?

He did not know. But he had to get out of there.

Even if he limped a little, he stood. He grabbed his sword and walked towards the light. Each step took him to more spacious ground, to fresher air. The sickening rotten scent lessened, exchanged by a soft breeze. When he emerged from the woods, it was to a beautiful sight.

He stopped there, staring at the wide hills before him. An unending view of green, a big valley with snow at its edges. In the distance, at the center of it all, rose a huge mountain. On top of it, stood something that took stole his breath.

“There you are.”

High towers, looming walls. The stone was carved right on the mountain; the fortress emerged out of it. Covered in snow in the heights, it shadowed the valley, unfazed by the howling wind above. It was dark, old, decayed… but it was still beautiful. Even from here, the big statues of angels were visible, guardians that watched the valley from the walls. It was a huge temple, so big that he would swear it was the biggest one in the human world. It had tunnels, which sunk in and out from the cliffs, from the depths of the stone.

He stood upright, seeing his objective so near. He had a moment of doubt however; he did not march for it. His body turned to look back into the forest, worried sick for Ayako and Uriel.

He would have gone back in, to search for them, if it were not for one thing.

He saw something. Something that estranged him, shook him. A glimpse of red, in the sky. While he stared at some hills, he saw something fly, something too big to be a bird or eagle. It had landed, soared down swiftly, to hide where he could not see, past the hills.

“It can’t be.”

He began to walk towards that hill, seeing the glimmers of a fire. He had seen red, flying… he could not mistake an angel.

He knew now what had scared that beast. And he did not know how to feel about it.