“The last thing I remember was healing someone who was crushed by a boulder,” Raea said and bit her lower lip. “Then a series of dreams overwhelmed me. They felt so real.” She shuddered and pulled the cocoon tighter around her body. She raised her head and looked at Pyre. “Has Palan returned?”Pyre answered as if he could sense her gaze. “Not yet,” he said. “But it seems like he’s evolved, or you wouldn’t have had to gone through that … metamorphosis.”“All of you,” Elrith said and looked around the room, “scram. I want to speak with Raea alone.”“Can I just plug my ears?” Pyre asked. Elrith’s attendant sighed and grasped Pyre’s hand, tugging him outside the room. Michael narrowed his eyes and stared at Elrith while walking towards the door, continuing to make eye contact until Elrith closed the door in his face.“Now then,” Elrith said and turned around. A white chain opened the door while another wrapped itself around his waist. Elrith’s eyes widened as he was tossed out of the room

Palan’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Elrith. “Let her go,” he said as his tail uncoiled from around his body. Its mouth opened and hissed at the angel, showing a pair of pointed fangs. “Or what?” Elrith asked and raised an eyebrow. He stepped in front of Raea, blocking her from Palan’s view with his towershield held horizontally across his body. It still managed to cover the region between his shoulders and knees. “Stop,” Raea said and tugged on Elrith’s arm. “He’s my demon.” Elrith’s brow furrowed, and he shrugged his arm out of Raea’s grasp. “All the more reason for me to fight him,” Elrith said and took a step forward. “My baby sister can’t be contracted to a weakling.” Elrith straightened his shield and thumped the front with his left hand. “C’mon, you exhibitionist. Give me your best shot.” “This is your brother?” Palan asked. His tail floated in the air behind him, like a snake extending itself from a tree trunk. “Yes,” Raea said and tugged on Elrith’s arm, pulling him off

“Stop trying to eat me, you stupid noodle,” Cleo said and smacked Palan’s tail as she tried to crawl away. “It’s a good name!”Raea sat on the ground by the fire, her clothes still wet, and watched Cleo’s futile efforts. A smile was on her lips, but her eyes still seemed sad, threatening to wet themselves at a moment’s notice. Palan frowned as he stared at Raea and lifted Cleo fifteen feet into the air with his tail, causing her to scream bloody murder, scaring away all the birds in the nearby vicinity. The clasp on her bag came undone, and objects began to pour out: Raea’s discarded cocoon, Palan’s rotting severed hand, a necklace with over thirty teeth, multiple orbs borrowed from Pyre, a smaller pouch containing hundreds of essence crystals, a clump of musky wolf fur.Raea gaped as more miscellaneous objects continued to pour out of Cleo’s bag. “How do you even fit all of this inside that tiny bag?” she asked. A cloth object fell onto Raea’s face, blocking her vision. She removed i

“We were unable to locate Pyre,” a soldier said to Michael as Raea and Palan were returning with their new armor. “General Elrith’s attendant has also gone missing.” Michael frowned and glanced at the Raea who wore a blindfold.“Do you know where Pyre went?” he asked.“I think I saw him when I ran out the gate,” Raea said and furrowed her brow. “I wasn’t really paying attention.”Michael frowned. “Pyre is just as important to me as Elrith is,” he said. “I refuse to leave without him.”“But we can’t delay any longer,” Raea said. “Elly’s out there all alone with a broken arm. What happened to marching immediately?”“General Elrith is an archangel; he can take care of himself,” Michael said. “Pyre is barely a greater angel with no combat skills. If something happens to him….” He shook his head and looked at the gathered army. “Find Pyre and Elrith’s attendant. They must still be in the camp.” Michael turned around and gestured towards the soldiers at the gate.“W-wait,” Raea said towards

A lance struck Elrith’s shield, causing him to let out a hiss. He was supporting his towershield with his broken right arm while maneuvering it with his left. His opponent relentlessly struck at him, not giving him a second to breathe. Elrith charged forwards, ignoring the screams and clanging metal behind him, and swung his shield outward, knocking his opponent to the ground. He panted and said, “Damnit, Owen! Listen to me!”Owen climbed to his feet and used the back of his hand to wipe the blood leaking from his nose. His eyes were clear. “Forgive me, Sir Elrith,” Owen said as he charged at Elrith, brandishing his lance. “I have to do this for Lady Raea.”“Help me rescue her, you blockhead,” Elrith said as he deflected a stab with his shield. Sweat dripped from his forehead. Behind him, the crowd of demons were steadily pushing through the army of halflings.“If I lose to you here, Ishim will kill Lady Raea,” Owen said as he grunted and swung his lance again.“Where is she?” Elrith