Previous | Table of Contents | Next
“Oh,” Raea said and nodded. “Just a minor side character named … Abaddon!? You don’t mean that Abaddon, do you?” Her brow furrowed as her footsteps halted. Palan ignored her and continued walking, so she grabbed Danger Noodle and pulled him back. “What kind of contract did you make?”
“Isn’t Abaddon one of the four sinners?” Justitia asked Pyre. “Like, no one would ever name their child Abaddon, right?”
Pyre shrugged. “Abaddon isn’t a bad name,” he said. “It has three syllables, very sophisticated. One syllable is too few. Two syllables are eh. Four syllables are just unwieldy like Justitia. Isn’t that a mouthful to say?”
“Thanks,” Justitia muttered. “Asshole.”
“Well?” Raea asked as she tugged on Danger Noodle. Her feet were planted against the ground, but she was being dragged along by Palan, leaving two parallel lines in the dirt floor. The black snake hissed at Raea before squirming out of her grasp and coiling around Palan’s chest, looking at him with an aggrieved expression. “You can’t just say something like that and keep us in suspense.”
“Can’t I?” Palan asked and raised an eyebrow. “It’s just a minor matter anyways. I can guarantee you there’s no mana exchanging involved.”
“I no longer trust your definition of minor,” Raea said and pursed her lips. “It’s really Abaddon? One of the four sinners?”
“Yes,” Palan said. “I guess there’s no point in hiding it anymore since you’re perfectly fine with me killing Sariel anyways.” His brow furrowed as he spoke in a lower voice, “My sister contracted an illness—the plague; at least, that’s what people called it. I heard the only way to cure it was through a shaman, so I went out to look for one. And that shaman happened to be an archangel named Abaddon. He knew my reputation as a hunter and offered me a deal through a contract. He’d save my sister if I brought him Sariel’s head. The end.”
Pyre tapped his pipe and hummed. “You know, the influx of random demons has been bothering the higher ups for the longest time now,” he said. “So it turns out Abaddon’s partly responsible for that. If his goal was to waste the angels’ resources on establishing the guardians, then he’s done a very good job.”
“Aren’t you a bit too calm about this?” Justitia asked Pyre, staring at the smoking half-angel whose eyes were half-closed.
Pyre rolled his eyes. “Like I’ll take an angel who ran away like a whipped dog seriously,” he said. “Hell, I don’t even take Solra seriously.”
“So this whole time you were wanting to go to the capital was because you needed to kill Sariel?” Raea asked and pursed her lips. She was still being dragged along by Palan. “I feel like I was manipulated by you.”
“You were using me as well,” Palan said and shrugged. “You wanted your merits to go back to the capital. I just happened to want to go to the capital too.”
“And what?” Raea asked, folding her arms over her chest. “Were you just going to kill Sariel while I was receiving a promotion? Was that your plan? What would’ve happened to me if you did that? Wouldn’t I be the world’s greatest traitor?”
“Of course I would’ve taken you with me to Eljiam,” Palan said and snorted. “Let’s not dwell on hypothetical situations, alright? It’s a waste of effort.”
“It is not,” Raea said as she pinched Palan’s red tail. It let out a squeak before hissing at her.
“Right,” Palan said as his left arm was entangled by his tail. “I forgot. You’re the one who got mad at me because of a dream.”
Raea’s brow furrowed as she stopped in place. “Hey!” she shouted. “That dream was totally true! You did have bigger plans than just reuniting with your sister! Did I really see the Creator that night?”
“Alright,” Pyre said, cutting in before anyone else could speak. “Let’s not talk about the Creator. We all know he doesn’t exist, or if he does, he’s unimportant. Can we talk about more serious things like Palan’s newfound powers?”
“Blasphemer,” Justitia said under her breath. “You’re ending won’t be very happy.”
“Oh please,” Pyre said and laughed. “That much is obvious—my whole life hasn’t been very happy after all.” He grinned at Justitia as he pulled out his pipe. “Is someone feeling a bit bitter about being tortured? How badly did I hurt you? Everything just blends together after a while.”
“I probably should’ve known they wouldn’t get along well,” Palan said to Raea.
“I think it’s a miracle that they get along with you,” Raea said with a pout. “But Pyre was right. Your power did seem to change.”
“I think it’s because I realized how pitiful I was acting,” Palan said as he rounded a corner. Chattering could be heard as they entered the cafeteria. “Once you … lectured me—still annoyed about that by the way—I had a moment of clarity and my understanding of my power increased. Gravity doesn’t always have to drag things down.” He furrowed his brow as a harpy flew past him, carrying a crying dwarf. “It’s a bit hard to explain, but I just feel it. Now tell me”—his gaze locked onto Raea’s—“what’s with the harpies? I’m usually not a very curious person, but this warrants a few answers.”
The group stared at the ceiling of the passage. “Well,” Raea said and scratched her cheek. “You know how they call me the harbinger? I’ve somehow become their leader…. I mean, it’s not a bad thing to be looked up to by so many people. It’s a nice feeling actually.” She nodded.
“That doesn’t explain the cursing dwarves,” Justitia said as a dwarf spewed profanities overhead as he was dragged away by a harpy.
Raea bit her lower lip. “Mm. Harpies are a bit slow,” she said. “So I wanted them to become a little smarter. Education is important. Once I help them reestablish their ancestral territories, I don’t want them to return to their previous ways. I hope they can become a more peaceful nation.”
“Once you help them what?” Palan asked.
“Reestablish their territory,” Raea said and nodded. “That’s my job as the harbinger. If they’re so sincere in treating me as the harbinger, shouldn’t I answer their sincerity by trying my best?”
“And you say I’m the one manipulating you,” Palan said and snorted.
“They’re sincere with no ulterior motives,” Raea said and crossed her arms over her chest. “Besides, I need a goal to distract myself.” She stared at the ground. “Without one … I don’t feel very stable. I need something to angrily work towards to vent my wrath or it’ll devour me. I don’t want that to happen.”