The breeze was comforting.

A demon was sitting on a hill between the trees. He was staring intently at his claws, while some small violet flames tangled around them. His gaze was full of doubt.

He knew why he had acted. He knew perfectly. He would feel guilty now if the angel had died. For one single reason… the reason that made his mind pound: he was beginning to believe in his innocence.

He saw everything. How Alexis had tried to run again, how he had tried to reason first instead of fighting, and once he did fight, how it was barely a struggle to flee from that axe. Any angel would have been outraged, by the simple fact that humans dared to think of themselves as a worthy match. History records always proved that angels were arrogant assholes towards humans; but somehow, he was not.

That truth only made Uriel feel horrible. He still dreaded; he still shivered every time he thought Alexis could murder him.

But how can I keep feeling this way?

How could he, when he had seen him act strangely multiple times, when he had heard the same affirmation over and over again, that he did not hold any intention of killing.

Uriel let out a trembling breath. He clenched his claws and let the flames die. The breeze became cold again. He hugged his knees and let his head rest on them, while he stared at the dark.

“Am I just being what they think we are?”

An evil creature which just wishes to oppress?

Now he did not know who had more right to fear. He was always around, watching, accusing someone who was thinking the same as him: that he may die. Both had right to assume.

He knew. He knew that angels were wrong, that in reality, not every demon was evil.

Then, why would all angels be evil as well?

Uriel sighed, and then began to fumble with the point of his tail.

“…But he is the first.”

He gasped and jolted when a voice called behind him.

“Well, it’s the first time he meets demons that don’t have intention of killing.”

Uriel tensed up and gulped. He leaned his head slowly to look behind. His whole body froze when he saw Ayako there, looking at him with an amused smile, like if she had heard the juiciest information in the world.

The human chuckled when Uriel stumbled quickly onto his feet. He almost tripped with his hurry, and when he managed to stand upright, he questioned her with a nervous look and tone.

“How long have you been there?!”

She raised a finger to her lips and looked up to the sky with a thoughtful expression. Uriel leaned his head to a side with bafflement, because she only ended up shrugging.

“Enough time! I was going home… and I spotted you there, moping!”

She finally had left Alexis be, after their traditional argument. She should rest and get better. She was not worried about leaving anymore, even if Lykaios was probably far and busy now. She had no reason to worry.

Uriel grumbled when she steeped closer with no second thoughts.

“I- I was not moping!”

“Ok Uri, whatever you say.”

He gave her a clueless look, still unable to react to her easy going nature. She sat on the grass at his side, calmly, and began to look at the sky. He did not move; he only stared at her for a while. He listened when she said the next words, because he saw how her eyes held gratefulness.

“Thank you for helping him.”

The demon looked down at his claws. He averted his gaze with a blush, because she was now looking up at him.

“Don’t think I believe yet. I only… I just couldn’t let those three do such horrible things. I would have broken my word.”

Ayako raised an eyebrow, because the tall devil sat again, at her side. He sat, but he was not daring to meet her eyes. She could see clearly past his lies and excuses.

“Break your word? You would have not. It would have not been you who wounded him. You would have been free, as you would say.”

Uriel huffed and scratched one of his horns; he tried to explain himself.

“My coldness upon what was happening would have been like if I had attacked him myself. You were not there to save him; I was the one who told you to leave. If I had not intervened, it would have been like if I had manipulated the situation, for my own goals.”

No matter if Ayako had agreed to leave, he would hate that she blamed herself.

Uriel knew well why he had jumped to save him. The words he just said were only an excuse to not admit his true reasons. He brushed his tail against his chest and closed his eyes, because he felt his heart pound again. Ayako did not miss it.

“So, the demon is curious, huh?”

She tried to contain her laugh when Uriel whipped his head to stare at her, mouth agape. His face was a poem, because his fangs peeked in his baffled expression.

“Excuse me?”

She raised her hands, closed her eyes and shrugged. She seemed to want to mock him with her tone.

“You finally see that I am right! He is really harmless. And now… you wonder! A weird angel! Yours!”

Uriel blushed even more and let out a trembling puff of air, almost flaming. She lost it when he roared at her and denied like a child.

“NO, I do not! I am still weary! I hold no wonder, nothing! What the heck are you implying?!”

Ayako stood again, with a chuckle. She left him sitting there, began to leave, taking again the southern route towards her village. She gave him some last words, with contempt.

“You know very well what, Uriel! See you soon!”

She knew he wouldn’t leave. Both knew.

Uriel growled and glared with annoyance while she walked downhill.

Her words only threw his true emotions into light. Demons felt many things for angels. Hate, hunger, pride… All angels always returned that rage; they always fought, but not always won. In fact, many lost against their demons. And not all demons decided to kill quickly.

Uriel shook his head, to try to push those dark thoughts away.

Indeed, many of his kind were feral beasts, to no end. Demons saw angels as… He did not even know how to describe it. But if bound, demons felt like the owners of said angels. They felt compelled to bring them down and prove themselves superior, stronger. They wanted to dominate them. It was a dangerous wonder. Many angels had suffered worse fates than death.

His heart was pounding inside his chest. Something in him begged him to be near his angel, indeed. Something in him had made his blood boil, when he saw those three. Something was keeping him from leaving, even if he knew Alexis wouldn’t try anything.

And he kept on trying to deny it.

Uriel’s figure was engulfed in small flames for a second. A sudden ignition, which reflected his inner conflict and all the thoughts he was trying to suppress.

He was just staying to make sure no more hunters came; only to help her. Nothing else…

——————————————-

 

Godric was walking side to side in the office. They were worried. A lot of days had gone by, without notice of those three. Cecilia was fidgeting at her desk, biting her lip in thought.

“Maybe… they lost against it?”

Godric glared at her, even if the fact was possible.

“They were the best ones I could hire; they have never failed a hunt, like Ayako”.

They had taken out many powerful angels in their region. Maybe they were just chasing it, tiring the angel. If they had not found it, they would have already returned to the village, for more supplies. They couldn’t spend that much time in those woods.

If they are chasing, why are they not sending a message with a falcon? The angel seems to be of the evasive type, not a dangerous one.

Their thoughts were cut off. The main door was slammed open, letting light get into the dark building. Cecilia frowned when she saw Ayako step firmly into the room, her icy eyes full of pride and anger.

Godric shivered when Ayako hauled something onto the ground, letting it roll along until it touched their feet: an iron mask.

Ayako huffed and crossed her arms, unfazed by their shocked glances and stares at the mask. There was small trail of blood on its surface.

“Look at what I found.”

A small shadow entered the room behind her. Lykaios sat at Ayako’s side; he licked one of his paws with an uninterested look on his red eyes. Cecilia gulped and glanced at her and the tamed lynx, dreadful. She was clearly not sick anymore.

“Where…?”

Ayako let out an unamused laugh and answered Godric’s question with disdain.

“I worried as well, so now that I felt better, I decided to go back to the woods. The angel always left feathers around for me to find, for me to follow. It had been mocking me, playing along with the hunt… But it seems those three bored it.” She pointed at the mask with a hand, shrugging. “And now, they are gone. I found no trace of them; the nest near the waterfall is empty. So, do you still think I am not the only one able to face the angel?”

Godric finally spoke, with a tone full of horror.

“But they were-”

“Strong together?” Ayako snarled and rolled her eyes. “The angel is stronger, even by himself. I have never had these problems before. It is dangerous. It must be fierce, clever, and wise! Surely! It has left no trace of them, so did it scorch them to tiny ashes? What spell could do that, I wonder? Who could handle that monster, other than me?”

While Ayako turned for the door, Godric knelled silently to pick up the mask. They did not dare object to the hunter’s next claim.

“I hope this prevents others from throwing away their life. I will find it. If someone can, it’s me!”

Only I can know.

Ayako halted at the door and let Lykaios pad out with a silent purr. She screamed one last thing before she got out as well.

“Ah, one last thing. Cecilia?” The girl grimaced when Ayako roared. “Don’t go into the forest again, if you don’t want to end like them! Got it?!”

Both winced when the door was slammed shut again. Ayako left them baffled and speechless.

After a tense silence, Cecilia sighed and leaned onto her desk, hiding her face onto the huge folds of her tunic. She did not like how Godric agreed silently with Ayako.

So much for wanting to help…

Godric was looking down at the mask in their hands. They shivered as they imagined how the angel was. No one would want to take the job now. It was not worth the risk.

Perhaps they should try to make Ayako stop the hunt… but they knew she wouldn’t, she was too stubborn.

“No more lone expeditions without my consent, Cecilia.”

“…Fine.”

She only had tried to prove herself. And now they had to rely on Ayako again.

Outside, said hunter walked towards the fields surrounding the village, to head for her cabin. Lykaios chuckled while he padded at her side.

“So gullible you humans are…”

Ayako gave him a grateful smile and ruffled his black fur playfully. Because he was the one who took that mask, always knowing.

“By the way, where did you drop them?”

“To be honest, I’m uncertain where exactly. I needed to steal a map to get back here.”

“…”

“What? Don’t give me that look; at least I know I dropped them in a northern town. I ran for days.” He assured her doubts with a warm smile. “Don’t worry; I doubt they will remember anything. The town where I left them was full of vagabonds, and I found it appropriate. They may think they got a concussion in a tavern.”

The blood on the mask was a plus that he did not add: Uriel had given a nice punch to her jaw. So he felt slightly better about that arrow.