Mira jumped left and right, evading, attacking and destroying the surroundings. Masako and Riney were doing their best to minimize damage, even though most of it had already been done.

  Val was hurdling toward the ground, and he looked toward the ongoing battle while falling. Once he faced the ground, he had landed.

  Val found himself on his legs, uninjured, after sticking the landing. He did not recall making any effort to land well. For a moment he stood there, unsure. He observed, and at one point, he even took a step back.

  In the corner of the girl's vision, Val was looking at her. So, she abandoned her battle and, with extreme speed, she closed the distance between the two. Masako was able to catch up, and he gave a good punch to Miras' side and she went flying away from Val. And by doing so, Masako was able to identify who he had saved from death. His eyes widened while he was still moving toward Val after shoving Mira away. His sword withdrew, and he did too. He jumped back, without even daring to throw a suprise attack on Val. On the other hand, the angel stood still as ever, without reacting.

  The three sides were at a standstill. Mira crashed into a building, and so she was cast aside. The two hunters faced Val with their swords drawn, not sure they were going to be able to beat the angel. And lastly Val, who stood still in front of those two, just hoped for something or someone to pull him out of that situation.

  He didn't want to fight. He didn't want to die. He just didn't want to be there.

  He wasn't even able to take a step back or try to escape. He simply watched. Val stared at the two with a blank expression, which was the only one he had worn in these days, cutting out the times he wasn't in dire situations.

  The fire engulfed the inn even more, it was now completely lit. Thw whole village burned.

  Masako couldn't take his eyes off Val, and so couldn't Riney. It seems they had actually found out he was an angel.

  Val looked up with his eyes. A ring floated above his head, a dead giveaway to who he was.

  Riney: "Why did he send you here?"

  Riney was almost shouting, over the sound of fire roaring and screams left and right. Val did not respond.

  Instead, he took a deep breath in. Then, as he breathed out, tears started flowing. He looked down.

  Val: "I am an angel."

  He wiped his tears that were now falling to the ground, and looked at his hands.

  Val: "I am an angel.."

  He repeated his statement. It felt like everytime he said it, the lump in his body got a little lighter.

  Val: "Do you understand? I am an angel!"

  He put his hand on his chest, but he was not able to raise his head. He didn't want to see their faces.

  Masako: "Were you the one who killed our best friend?!"

  Masako did not take his eyes off of the self-proclaimed angel. He looked at him, his eyes showing anger. Masako also joined Val, as he cried too.

  Masako: "Why?! Huh?"

  That caused Val to take a step back. Anywhere but there. Anywhere but there.

  Images of the first encounter with humans flashed in his mind. Awful, images, showing clearly that Val was the culprit the brothers were searching for.

  He wanted to get them out of there. He wanted to not remember that. He wanted to change the events, so that he had nothing to do with that person. Like that, these emotions he was feeling, would go away.

  Val snapped back to himself. He was scratching his forehead, which bleeded. He did everything to get these memories out of him. He held his head in his hands, and scratched. almost all of his forehead was covered in blood, and the top layer of his skin was gone.

  Hysterically he continued scratching.

  He gave a hit to his own head with his fist.

  Val: "I don't... want..."

  He spoke half thought thoughts out loud. On his knees, he continued obsessively scratching, reaching for those memories to get them out.

  Riney took that as a yes.

  He looked down, then he gripped the handle of his sword with incredible strength. His legs started glowing blue.

  Masako turned to his brother.

  Masako: "Wait--"

  Riney took off.

  Val, grabbed his head and brought it to the ground. But an arm raised itself and wandered out of Val's control. As the arm moved on it's own, it encountered resistance.

  Val stopped moving. Masako did the same, as he saw something he would've never hoped to see.

  Val released his head from his right hand, and raised it to see. But he would've preferred he hadn't.

  Beside him, Riney laying down, back-up. But he could only be idented by Val as Riney because of his armour.

  His head wasn't on his shoulders. It was crushed and blown away, the remains on Val's left forearm.

  He watched, his arm still raised after delivering the blow. The tears stopped, and so did his breathing. His mouth remained open, and not a single muscle in his body dared to move.

  For Masako, it was so sudden, that he didn't even know how to react yet. He just watched, in the same position.

  The two both suffered a terrible loss.

  Paralyzed and immoble, they stared at the ground wielding a blank expression. The hunter held a sword too, but his grip on it was far too weak to make any use of it.

  Anything around them lost meaning. Everything was going up in flames, but they still kneeled there, not able to think anymore.

  They weren't sure what to make of the things that had just happened. Time passed, and many opportunities to save some of the villagers passed too.

  Crackling, screaming, roaring, all these things could be heard, but the two seemed to not be able to hear.

  Val was desperately trying to find a reason for ending up here.

  What did he do? What sin did he commit, so wrong, that this is what he deserved?

  Was this, in some way, retribution for what he had done to heaven?

  Masako seemed to have something to say.

  Masako: "Kill me."

  Was it a plea? A challenge, maybe?

  Val didn't move, still he stared blankly at the ground. But he heard.

  Val: "Huh."

  His left arm, which had killed Riney, was resting on his legs.

  Rineys' body and many other ones were scattered around him.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Masako gripped his sword, which was on the ground. He gripped it with strength, but his tone did not change.

  Masako: "Just kill me."

  Val still didn't react. He was listening. He had no intention of taking any other lives.

  Val: "N-"

  Masako gritted his teeth, and his tone shifted to anger.

  Masako: "Either you kill me now--"

  He paused, then he got up.

  Masako: "Or, I promise to hunt you down, and i wont give up until i kill you."

  He pointed his sword at Val, and finally, the angel raised his head to look at him. That was something he didn't want to do.

  ???: "Don't you think it's a bit rude to be having a conversation while excluding me? You're making me angry."

  The small girl returned from Vals' right, where she was thrown towards before. It seemed like she had recovered, and had now returned to finish what she had started. Masako quickly turned toward her, still gripping his sword.

  Mira Leide, the embodiment of Wrath. She represented the concept quite well. Acting on impulse, and without reason. Her appearance and her name did not fit her at all, though.

  Val turned toward her. She was dressed the same way she was when they had first encountered, back in the forest.

  Mira: "You!"

  She pointed her arm toward Val, changing it into a sharp blade.

  Mira: "Are you two people, perhaps?"

  Val only stared. She wasn't making any sense, and so Vals' brows furrowed looking at her. But the nonsensical question was not what was bothering him.

  Val: "It's your fault."

  Val looked toward Mira, and came up with this statement. Mira only answered with a dissatisfied "Huh?" and a confused look. But Val sticked with it.

  Val: "Yes, it's all your fault. It's yours and only yours. Everything here is all your fault."

  What he said clearly did not reflect what he was feeling. If he truly believed the words he spoke, then the lump he had lived with for a long time now wouldn't be there.

  Mira: "What are you going on about? Are you ignoring my question? That's rude!"

  Val almost couldn't even hear her over his own thoughts. He felt like what he said made sense, but also that it made none.

  Val: "If you hadn't come here, everyone would've been alright! I would've remained locked in that room, and they would've killed me without getting hurt! Everything would've been okay!"

  Val spoke fast, and with a tone that almost seemed happy. It sounded like he had made an extremely important discovery.

  Val: "Yes, that's it. It's all because of you!"

  He said "All" instead of addressing exactly what it was that was wrong.

  Rineys' headless body lay there, immoble, directly to the left of him, though he still refused to even acknowledge it.

  Mira: "How can you say that everything would've been okay if you would've been dead?"

  Val stopped rambling for a moment, and stopped to look at the girl who had raised her weapon at him.

  Mira: "In fact, i would even say that i saved you! I'm your savior! Don't you think?"

  Val resumed to simply staring. He thought, and thought, but putting the blame of Rineys' death on Mira felt like the best option.

  Mira: "Wait, are you disrespecting your own savior? Saying that _this_ is my fault? Yeah, that's exactly what you're doing! That is extremely rude..."

  Mira was now getting angry.

  Mira: "That is a line i will not let you cross!"

  Mira crouched down, and her arms changed again. Val could not clearly make out what was she was doing. But even so, the girl leaped out of sight.

  Val remained still, looking in the direction where Mira was a moment ago. And then--

  Val and Mira were eye to eye. She had her arms extended toward Val, and one of her scythes was slightly piercing the side of Vals' face. Val was holding her neck, and he held her suspended. Val had suddenly gotten up, and caught Mira by her neck before she could finalize her attack.

  Miras' grin turned to worry. After a moment of being held like that, her face went from worry to fear. She looked terrified.

  Masako simply watched the two, knowing there was not much he could do. But he did notice something worth inspecting, and he waited until the two moved elsewhere to reach it.

  Val looked at Wrath with no expression, even though many emotions were swirling inside of him.

  Mira: "A-are you... O-one of, of Altairs'?"

  Again, something Val could not understand yet. But in that precise moment, it did not matter.

  Val prepared for something.

  Mira: "Seems I-- uh, seems I might h-have made a mistake. Mind letting me go?"

  Val would not listen, and instead he dashed away. Masako could not see the two anymore.

  And so, he took the opportunity. He ran toward Rineys' body, and over it, something was hovering. A small sphere, it looked like it was made of glass, the size of a small orange. A light emitted from it, a blueish/white light. But it also reflected the red color of the roaring flames all around, making an interesting mix of colors.

  Masako seemed to recognize this strange artifact floating over Riney. He ran toward the two, grabbed the sphere, then Riney. He then turned around, and made a run for it, through the village.

  --

  This fight was terribly one sided. It was a constant defense against a constant attack. Though the attacker was many leagues above the defender.

  Val grabbed Mira by the arm, and flung her toward the trees. She collided, and snapped many trees after the first like they were twigs. The strength with which Val had thrown her was incredible. But even so, his move could be turned against him, as Mira had gained distance, and so time to recuperate.

  But Val showed up where she had landed not even a second after. Then he threw many punches. One after the other, they damaged Mira more and more. And suddenly, she slipped out of his attack.

  She landed very far away from Val, far away enough that he wouldn't instantly be there.

  Mira: "This must mean he's angry at me, right?"

  She wiped blood off of her face, and laughed a bit. She was slightly slouched over, showing that she was not in the best shape. But apart from that, she didn't look all that hurt. You could tell she had been attacked, though.

  She had a plan in mind. The one that had worked once on the hunter.

  She raised her arms, which changed back to normal.

  Val was approaching at high speeds. He had spotted her. Though as soon as he noticed Miras' extended arms, he pounced back, recognizing that her attack might be very dangerous. He gritted his teeth while looking at her.

  Mira: "There!"

  She smiled. Her arms were pointed at Val, and he stood still.

  Suddenly, the ground under Val shook. He quickly looked beneath him. And then it shook less, and less. Val stood still.

  Under him, there was a pop, and a spark flew.

  Miras' smile faded quickly.

  Mira: "You're ... not? ..."

  Miras' attack had failed miserably. The explosion she was able to muster this time was nothing compared to what she had produced against Riney. And she seemed to know why.

  Val understood that it was time to attack once more. And Mira knew that too.

  She started moving backwards, with fear on her face, replacing her smile quickly.

  She turned around quickly, trying to get away. She ran.

  Val got to her quickly. He threw a kick to send her back to where she was before. She flew backwards, and hit a tree with her back, gritting her teeth in pain. She felt that.

  Val pounced over her, and grabbed her head. He pinned her body down with his leg, and pulled on her head he had grabbed.

  Nerves, veins, they split unequally as Val pulled on the girl's head.

  When he determined that he had pulled enough, he dropped the head to the left of her body.

  He looked at her for a second, and then he turned a and dashed back toward the village.

  --

  Miras' body remained there. Once Val had left, it twitched slightly. And then again. And then, a whitish light started coming out of her body. It seemed to stop over her, and at the top, it formed itself in the shape of a sphere. Miras' arms, which should've remained still, sprung to action. The moved, toward the sphere that was forming. They tried to move it toward her.

  Desperately her arms moved back and forth, trying to get the light back inside her. They moved fast and irregularly.

  On the top part of the light which was now in the shape of a sphere, there formed a thin layer of something that looked like glass. Thanks to this, the arms where able to get a grip on the light. Once she brought it all back inside, her arms could finally spread out, and rest.

  --

  The angel walked through the burning buildings. He saw in the corner of his that people looked at him and ran.

  Probably because, as his reflex told him, he glared at everyone. It was different from doing it without a halo floating over his head.

  He continued toward the other end of the village. Everything was going up in flames, and this village he was starting to get accustomed to will surely be no more.

  More people were gathered ahead, probably trying to find a way to escape. But the angel was spotted, and the group turned to look at him.

  Man: "Run!"

  He called it out to his fellow humans, and they followed the order. The man, however remained behind, facing the monster before him head on.

  Val stopped walking and looked at the man, almost with pity. His legs were shaking as he raised his fists to defend his people.

  Val simply jolted a little. A faint movement toward the scared man.

  He jumped and fell backwards. He couldn't help but let out a scream. The man got up again, and ran back toward his group.

  Val had no intention to hurt the people of the village. He still could not bring himself to hurt someone like that.

  But another person remained, someone he could not see before since the man was in front.

  It was a young boy, and he was lying down on his back, with his arms and legs spread. Val approached him slowly.

  He stood over the boy. His face looked like it showed fear, but it looked fake.

  Boy: "I have nothing against you! Please don't hurt me!"

  His tone made him sound almost ironic. But Val couldn't do anything but believe him.

  Val: "Uh..."

  He thought of his options.

  Val: "um"

  A partner would be useful.

  Val: "Make a deal with me, otherwise i will k-kill you."

  He would never.

  Val: "You are to obey my every command and request, without any ifs or buts. Alright?"

  He extended his hand. The boy reached out too, and grabbed it.

  Boy: "Ugh, fine."

  A light enveloped their hand, and then it dispersed around. The contract had been sealed.

  Instead of letting go, Val pulled on the boy's arm.

  His eyes widened as the unexpected strength pulled him to his feet.

  Boy: "Thanks..."

  Val was also surprised, as now the boy he thought he had seen was almost as tall as him. He now realized this was a young man.

  Val: "What's your name?"

  Boy: "Ugh... uh.. oh, yeah, um it's uhhh... Eisen?"

  Val expected something to follow, and signaled by tilting his head. They looked each other in the eye.

  Eisen raised his arms to say _I don't know!_

  Val understood, and even though he was a bit weirded out by the human having only one name, he went with it.

  The two turned away from each other, and looked at their surroundings.

  Val: "Well, uh... What now?"

  He was asking about what to do about the whole village burning down.

  Eisen: "Ion know, you're the boss."

  Val looked back at the strange guy with a dissatisfied expression.

  Val: "I guess, uhm, let's get out of here?"

  Eisen also turned back to look at his contractor.

  Eisen: "Yeah sure, whatever."