Fragile Hearts (Book 1 - Complete)

Time seemed to slow down for the two of them. Caught in each others embrace.

Rikka noticed Uriel as they fell. She waved to him as they fell passed.

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Jegudiel focused his mana. "This hard without a heart." He said to himself. He saw Siege glance at him as he fell. Followed by seeing Rei'nai. Jegudiel was using the mana he had left to keep himself alive. Even doing so, he knew he would die soon. His heart was gone, and he had lost too much blood. But He knew he had one last thing to do. He had to see Kyo, he had to pass on his memories. To prevent more demon seeds from awakening.

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Karri answered Brianna. "Yes it is." She saw something falling, and some tears formed by her eyes. She knew it was half of Nome.

Jegudiel glanced at Karri, as he fell passed. I'm sorry. He sent to her mind.

Karri fell to her knees, and cried.

Siege and Rei'nai arrived at the same time, and walked towards Karri and Brianna.

"It's time to go. We're done here." Siege said patting her shoulder with his good hand.

"I know." Karri struggled to her feet.

Rei'nai pulled her arm over her shoulder. "Your not alone. All four of us will miss him." Rei'nai led her away.

Siege turned to Brianna. "You shouldn't worry about your friends. They're alright." He turned to leave.

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"I'm going to leave." Rebbie said walking towards the railing. She looked up and saw Jegudiel.

"Catch." He said to her.

Rebbie nodded and outstretched her hand.

Jegudiel struggled to reach his hand out.

Rebbie caught Jegudiel, and quickly shifted his weight. She placed him on the floor, and glanced at Kyo. She then jumped off the side, and went to the lobby.

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Alex waved to Brianna as they passed her. "I'm sorry for being weak." He said to Rikka.

"It doesn't matter now. Your safe." Rikka started crying. "But Kalne..." She dug her head into Alex's shirt.

Alex tightened his hug on her. He saw Jegudiel get caught by someone, he also saw the lobby coming fast.

Suddenly Nome appeared and took hold of the two. He adjusted their weight, and landed softly on the lobby floor. He placed them on the ground.

Alex looked up to him. "Thank you." He said sitting up.

Rikka was still crying, she reach over and hugged Alex again. He hugged her back.

Nome nodded, and walked away. Rebbie landed beside him. "We'll wait for the others outside."

Rebbie nodded.

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Izuna had seen the three fall passed. She slowed her speed, and eventually came to a stop. She waited for Uriel.

Uriel was stunned for a moment as he saw Rikka and Alex fall. Rikka seemed to only wave at him before they disappeared from sight. He stood still for a moment, confused by what he had just seen. Soon, his common sense kicked in, and he immediately began descending the stairs again, sighing a bit angrily. After completely returning to the floor he was previously on, he began climbing downwards again until he saw Izuna, who seemed to be waiting for him. He nodded to her, relieved that she was for the most part, in good condition. He was glad he trusted her with staying alive.
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Brianna looked at Karri sadly, feeling sorry for her as she watched her cry. She lucked up at the two near people as they approached. They didn't seem like they were going to fight her, so she relaxed a bit. When she heard the metal armed man mention that her friends were safe, she nodded.

"Thank you..." She said, smiling in spite of her worry. She took one last glance at the three people standing before her, and waved goodbye. She didn't feel like they were her enemies now that Karri had explained themselves; they were only following their beliefs. Brianna and her comrades weren't their enemies the whole time. She descended the stairs, and began to make her way towards Kyo. Suddenly, she saw Alex and Rikka both falling as she was about to climb down. She was puzzled for a moment, and suddenly stopped moving, wondering about what she had just seen.
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Kyo watched the girl walk away from them, and slowly stepped towards Jegudiel. The Angel of Endeavors appeared to be bleeding heavily, and had a large wound in the vicinity of his heart. Wincing at his injuries, Kyo continued walking until he was directly in front of Jegudiel, and sighed.

"Your one complicated guy you know that? Doing all of this, kidnapping Alex, sending us on a wild goose chase...you haven't changed..." Kyo said, smiling slightly. He shook his head sadly as he waited for his former friend to respond.

"What fun...would it be without...a journey." He said coughing up blood. "There never was a chance...in saving me. Kyo. The events of ten years ago were unfortunate. Tell Sarene I'm sorry."

Blood pooled around him. He felt his mana starting to run thin. "Kyo. This path was dangerous...I knew that I might die at the end of it." Jegudiel's eyes were glazed over now. The blood loss had rendered them useless now. "The threat isn't over. I was just one of the holders... of the demon.." He coughed again. "..seed experiments. Many more people will...die." He coughed up more blood. In his mind he began to see a figure. A woman with long hair, and purple eyes. Tears formed in his eyes. "Will you take my memories, and my sword?" His phantom sword formed in his limp hand. "To stop the betrayer, many hardships will appear...Those close to you could die... I'm reaching my limit... either take my memories and sword, or don't. This decision is yours."

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Izuna smiled as Uriel came into view. She was a bit beat up, but nothing serious. "I see your alright." Her bright smile appeared. "I guess we're done here?"

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Nome opened the door and the two stepped outside into the sunlight.

Rebbie didn't move.

Sarene's blade was at Nome's throat.

"Haven't you had enough fighting?" Nome asked. "Jegudiel is inside. Probably dead by now.

Sarene's eyes were fierce.

Zenos' hand landed on her shoulder. "The two have seperated, he isn't the one for which you grudge is harbored."

Jason arm was in a sling, he too didn't make a move.

Sarene lowered her blade.

Nome stepped forward and formed a sword. "This is yours isn't it? Something he took from you?" He presented it to her.

Sarene examined her old sword. She sensed it's familiar presence. Some tears formed at her eyes. She quickly turned away from him to hide her weakness. "It doesn't know me as it's master anymore. I myself am unable to wield any phantoms swords as well."

Kelly watched them from a distance. She was confused by everything that had happened.

The three angels and Kelly entered the tower. Nome and Rebbie, waited for the other three.

"Fun? Are you serious?..." Kyo asked, astounded, but smirking at the same time. He felt a bit hypocritical by saying that; he was usually the thrill addict himself. However, he narrowed his eyes as Jegudiel continued speaking, unsure what to say about what he was learning.

Demon seed experiment?... Kyo wondered. His chest tightened a bit as he saw Jegudiel begin to cry; he knew how strong of her person his friend was, and it shocked him that he was shedding tears. But he couldn't really blame him; it wasn't like he knew Jegudiel's pain. He listened intently, and looked slowly at the sword that Jegudiel held up to him. His throat tightening, he nodded at Jegudiel.

"It's the least I could do...for a world that probably despises who I used to be..." Kyo replied quietly, looking away sadly. "I owe this to everyone. It's time I started pulling my own weight." He remembered his thoughts back at the medical center about leaving the group, and realized how childish his feelings were.

Kyo reached out and took the phantom sword by it's handle, and nodded, looking down at the tear-stained face of his former friend.

"Ready when you are..."
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"Yes, the others are expecting us I believe." Uriel said, smiling slightly at Izuna. "Come, Rikka and the others will most likely be waiting below."

Jegudiel was silent for a moment. "I'm going to give you everything...except the betrayer's face and name...If she knew you knew...she'd take you out before anything else."

He reached up and placed his hand on Kyo's forhead. "This will hurt...over 2000 years of memories... but bare with it."

A instant later, Jegudiel sent all his memories to Kyo. Everything from his help with the ancient hero's group, to his meeting with the four guardians before Kyo had arrived.

A after a minute Jegudiel's hand fell and the last memory he transferred lingered. The long haired purple eyed woman. "I meant...to keep that one...she was...my love...once... upon a time." He coughed for the last time. "The sword's name is the same as my love's...Azral..." Jegudiel closed his eyes. His mana finally running out. His hand went limp and his breathing stopped.

Jegudiel's wings pulsed, and began to dissipate. As with most angels that died on the middle plane. Their wings would disappear, so they the fact of angels could remain hidden. Even though this world already knew of their existence.

A single black feather floated down beside Jegudiel. The only one that didn't disappear.

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Izuna ran over to Brianna. "I hear everything's taken care of. I see your fight went well. Your not even hurt." She said smiling brightly.

"I...didn't fight..." Brianna replied, her eyes full of guilt. "I couldn't bring myself to fight someone like her; she didn't have anything against us, and was only following her path. I can't fight someone like that..." She finished, looking away from Uriel's probing stare. The fallen Angel didn't say anything.

...perhaps your decision wasn't wrong... Uriel thought, reminiscing on his battle with Siege.
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Kyo nodded, and he felt an explosion of memories surge through his mind. He saw everything from Jegudiel's eyes, surging before his own, and he gritted his teeth in an attempt to withstand the pulsating pain that was echoing through his mind. When he reached the final memory, Kyo looked down at Jegudiel curiously; he didn't know about this woman's existence. He looked down at the phantom sword he clenched in his right hand, and nodded somberly.

I'll remember that...Azral... Kyo thought as he saw Jegudiel's wings disappear. He was truly dead now. With a heavy heart, Kyo began to stand up fully before noticing something lingering; a black feather. Frowning, Kyo knelt down and picked it up slowly, looking at it and observing it for a short moment. Finally, Kyo simply put the feather in pocket; in his eyes, he believed that it was a lasting piece of Jegudiel's soul on this plane. Putting it away suddenly made him remember the orbs that Kalne had given him. Remembering what she had said, he stood completely straight and looked upstairs, sensing three people coming toward him.

What a day... Kyo thought, smiling a bit exhaustively, despite the lingering sadness for both Kalne and Jegudiel.

Karri saw Jegudiel, and forced herself to look away.

Rei'nai was still holding Karri.

Siege saw Kyo, and Jegudiel. "So your the one he truly wanted to kill him. He just believed you didn't have the power." He said walked forward.

Rei'nai followed after Siege.

Siege stopped beside Kyo.

Rei'nai helped Karri passed. The two started down the stairs.

Siege examined Kyo. "I dunno what relationship you two had, but he was a great man." Siege walked in the direction of the stairs.

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Izuna stood at the top of the stairs. "I'm sure Kyo's waiting for his love, and father." She said bluntly, before started down the stairs.

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The three of the looked over to the crying Rikka and Alex. Then resumes their walk to the door.

Four people entered. They merely passed each other without an questions.

Zenos searched for presences. "Jegudiel is truly dead. While not how we wanted. Our mission is complete." His heart was heavy.

Aryus was forced onto his knees on the damp, brick floor, watched by Zander, standing next to an unconscious Fia, and a tall, armored Demon with his aura surging around him lightly like flames; Remorse. Aryus knew that it would be useless to struggle; he'd be either shot dead by Zander, or impaled by Remorse, with no hope of going back to the Lower Plane or Upper Plane; his spirit would be forever enslaved by Remorse. His chest tightening, Aryus begin to remember his memories of before, just after he was taken by Uriel. He remembered his blinding annoyance of Kyo, and the strong, burning desire for vengeance he had against the Upper Plane. It all seemed so foolish now.

"I'm sure you understood our deal Aryus. I'd give you the power to topple the Upper Plane and the Angels, and you agreed to kill Kyo, Brianna, and Uriel, and bring their souls to me. What happened?" Remorse replied, narrowing his eyes behind his armored helmet, grinding his greaves into Aryus's back. Aryus gritted his teeth in pain as he felt the skin on his back slowly tear open, causing blood to slowly leak from behind his coat, and slowly dripping on the ground.

"Why didn't you use the Vindicator sphere hm? Even with just one soul, your power could rise to unimaginable heights; you wouldn't have anything to fear from those ordinary Upper Plane soldiers." Remorse said again, digging his foot deeper into Aryus's back, causing the wound to widen. Still, Aryus didn't cry out in pain or say anything, he stayed silent, immobilized by the pain. Remorse narrowed his eyes. "Better yet, you could have absorbed the souls of Kyo and those other Angels into the sphere; I could still extract the souls from it anyway."

Remorse knelt down, this time applying the full weight of his knees on Aryus' open wound, and grabbed Aryus' gauntlet, casually peeled back the lid on the outside of the gauntlet. A crimson sphere was formed, but it appeared to empty, and devoid of anything. Sighing, Remorse let it drop, and lifted his foot off of Aryus, walking away from him and toward Zander.

"Oh well. I thought you had it in you Aryus, but I guess not. You're just one of those failed slaves." Remorse said, sighing again, holding up the back of his hand. A purple flame surged around it, and in it, Zander and Aryus could hear several shrieks and screams from some unknown direction. Even Zander had to wince at it.

"I...was never your slave." Aryus said quietly and angrily. He slowly began to stand up, his arms trembling. "How could I bow to someone that destroyed my ambitions, and turned my dreams to dust?..." The brace that was being used to bind Aryus' arms together began to crack, small pieces of it slowly falling to the cold stone floor. Zander began to reach into his coat for his gun, but Remorse stopped him.

"Souls that were extracted from a fighting vessel tend to yield more power. Let's see if your hatred is enough, even if it was being dulled by your encounter with Kyo..." Remorse said, a sickening smile forming. He reached in front of him, and with a blinding burst of flame, two curved swords that seemed to be on fire appeared in his two hands.

Aryus finally snapped, and so did the braces restraining him. In a quick movement, the braces shattered, and Aryus black aura exploded outwards, surging around him like a wildfire. His eyes burning with rage, he charged at Remorse, his gauntlet raised. He aimed a punch for Remorse's face with his bladed gauntlet, and was blocked by the Demon Overlord's two swords. Nonetheless, the explosive impact shook the walls of the fortress. Screaming with anger, Aryus continued pounding away at Remorse's guard, even causing him to skid backwards. After pushing away Remorse with a kick, Aryus slowly raised his gauntlet into the air, and an orb began to form out of it.

"Dark Matter-" Aryus began to say until suddenly, Remorse was standing over him, his armored hand clenched around Aryus' bladed gauntlet. The orb that had been forming suddenly crackled and faded away. With one hand, Remorse lifted Aryus' into the air, causing extreme pain to his hand. Flailing, Aryus' left wrist suddenly protruded a blade, and he aimed directly for Remorse's throat. But before it could make contact, a wall of flame rose up, burning his hand. Aryus almost screamed in pain, but gritted his teeth, quickly pulling his hand back from the scorching flames.

"Your anger used to be so ferocious. Seems like I was right; Kyo has gotten weak, and he spread that weakness to you..." Remorse said coldly, staring Aryus directly in the eyes. The Demon Overlord slowly winded up his sword, and prepared to impale Aryus through his abdomen. Aryus, realizing this let out one last cry of rage, cursing everything he could think of; Remorse, for stealing his hopes and dreams, Kyo, for leaving him behind so that he could leave a better life, the Angel's, for their oppressive idea of justice, and most strongly, himself, for being so weak. The tightness in his chest now began to spread, choking his heart, and causing even his own eyes to burn. He felt tears begin to well up, but he refused to shed them; he was a Demon, and Demon's never cried.

Suddenly, there was a burst of light, and Aryus suddenly felt the pressure on his hand disappear. Looking up, Aryus' eyes widened. Standing next to Zander, a large, bat wing shaped bow drawn back, was Fia, fully conscious and preparing another arrow of light.

"Over my dead body!" Fia said angrily, her bright eyes suddenly darkening.

"Tch, like I'd have the guts to kill him..." Kyo said quietly to Siege, looking down at the dead Jegudiel. "Yeah, he was a good guy...at first...I was glad to see that side of him again before he died..." Oddly enough, Kyo felt like something was lodged in his throat. Turning his back to everyone, Kyo sighed sadly; now seeing the memories that Jegudiel had given him, he felt more of a connection to the Angel, and as a result, felt a strong, painful sadness that was choking away at his heart.
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Brianna blushed at Izuna's remark, and followed after her, blood rushing to her face. Uriel chuckled, and followed after them. He knew that Jegudiel and Kyo were once upon a time, close friends. Not even he was sure how Kyo would react to the death of the Angel of Endeavors. Finally reaching the bottom, he saw Kyo, who's back was turned to everyone, the dead corpse of Jegudiel, along with three other people; three of the people that had stopped the group to be exact. Siege was one of them. He was about to step forward and try to talk to Kyo, but he stopped; he realized that Kyo was deeply upset over the death of Jegudiel, and he also realized that maybe it would be best if he left him alone. Brianna however, had another approach.

"Kyo! I'm glad you're safe..." Brianna said smiling despite knowing that Kyo seemed more distant. Her eyes widened as she saw the cut on his hand, and quickly moved over to it, and began a healing spell. She kept both of her hands on Kyo's single hand, and looked up at him, her eyes oddly bright.

"Yeah..." Kyo said, nodding. He looked down at Brianna and made an attempt to smile at her reassuringly. Somehow, he was able to do it. "Jegudiel...I think he might've known what would happen to him if he continued living...I think that's why he wanted to die here today..."

Brianna looked up at him, confused for a moment, but slowly beginning to understand his words. After Kyo's hand was finished being healed, she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled herself in for an embrace. Kyo, smiling sadly, pressed his hand against Brianna's back, feeling her warmth on his body. He smiled, his dismay lessening slightly. He looked over Brianna's shoulder, and saw Uriel, quietly watching the two.

"Hey Dad, c'mon. We're got room for one more!" Kyo said, grinning at his father, intending for him to join in the embrace. Uriel looked at him skeptically, and shook his head, but nonetheless, couldn't help smiling. He looked down, and he felt a familiar presence enter the tower.

Zenos...

Izuna looked over railing and could just barely see Rikka and Alex. She also saw the angels and Kelly. "Seems everyone is okay." She jumped down and walked passed the three angels. "See ya down in the lobby." Izuna smiled brightly to them, and sat on the stair railing. A second later, gravity kicked in and she slid out of view.

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"Why'd she do it?" Rikka asked. "Why did Kalne sacrifice herself?" Her face was red and her head hot.

Alex kept his embrace on her. He started to pat her head. "You know Kalne better then the rest of us. Maybe she knew what coming here meant. Possible to do with that silver energy you have hidden inside of you."

Rikka thought about his words. "It's still not fair. I didn't want to get stronger this way. I didn't want to lose someone close to me."

"I understand how you feel. I've lost people close to me as well. But your not alone. I'm here for you."

Izuna jumped from the railing as she reach the bottom of the stairs. "That was fun." She said smiling.

"Captain." Kelly said walking over to her. "How'd everything go?"

"It's better if we explain it all at once with everyone. Then piece this thing together. It really seems complicated."

"Understood."

The three angels stood in waiting. The wanted to talk with Uriel.

Kyo finally pulled away from Brianna as he sensed the presence of three of his brethren. He glanced over at Jegudiel's body, thought for a moment, and slowly walked over to it. He knelt down and took a look at his friend's face; he could still see that remnants of the Angel's tears. Sighing quietly, he reached down, and picked up Jegudiel's body slowly, and after getting a good grip on it, started walking down.

"I think some people are waiting for you down there Pops." Kyo said to Uriel. The masked Angel nodded, and followed after Kyo, along with Brianna.
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The group finally appeared in plain view as they finally descended the last set of steps. Kyo breathed a sigh of relief.

"It had to be a tower...not some place with elevators or a grass plain...a tower..." Kyo said, rolling his eyes. He stepped forward slowly until he was in front of the three Angels, gave a nod to them, and slowly knelt down, laying Jegudiel's body down before them.

"I know it may not mean much but...Jegudiel wants me to tell you...he's sorry for what he's done to you..." Kyo said to Sarene. Uriel soon followed after him. He saw Rikka and Alex in the distance, and sighed a bit sadly. He reached into his pocket and felt the four orbs Kalne had given him. If he was right, the red orb was for Rikka, and the blue one was for Alex. Though that event had occurred just today, he felt as though it were strangely distant with everything that had just happened today.

"The Angel of Endeavors is dead. However, he gave us some very valuable information. Memories, to be exact, that he transferred to Kyo." Uriel said, turning his head to Kyo.

Zenos walked forward and examined Jegudiel. "It matters not. We weren't told to get information for his actions. We were told to kill him outright."

Sarene and Jason were uneasy about that comment.

"I told my two comrades that it was dead or alive, instead of just dead." Zenos turned away. "He was a great man. He helped the hero's group arrive at their destination, lead countless campaigns against the Lower Realm. Now he's dead here, I want to know why he got this way."

"Something called a demon seed." Rikka was standing, tears still in her eyes.

Alex stood up and stood behind her.

"He told me it was the cause of why this all happened, and why I had to kill him. He said Yuki had one inside her as well."

"I see." Zenos turned to Kyo. "Tell me if you know what happened on the day he turned his back on the upper plane. Was it because of this Demon Seed?"

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Kelly and Izuna stood over Kalne. The others talking in the distance.

"Two deaths. One on each side." Kelly said.

"It's not what you think. She chose this." Izuna said, not showing her smile.

"We should probably give her a burial before we leave on the airship." Kelly said.

"I'm sure they'll take care of her." Izuna said looking back at Rikka.

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Karri ran over and hugged Nome.

Nome patted her head. "Are you alright?"

"I will be." She said crying.

Siege was adjusting his metal arm, trying to fix it from Uriel's attack. He winced in pain as he popped it back into place. he flexed his fingers. "So is that it?"

"The favours were with him, you owe me nothing." Nome said.

Rei'nai stretched. "So where is everyone headed? I'm going somewhere sunny myself."

"Probably going back to war, I hear the alliance is having feuds again." Siege explained.

Rebbie didn't speak.

"I'll be investigating the memories he left with me. My life disappeared ten years ago. The only thing I have left is to find out the mystery's behind that man." Nome said.

"I'm... Going home. I need more training." Karri said, finally releasing Nome from her hug.

"I hope we shall meet again. Under better circumstances." Nome said.

The five said their goodbyes and headed in different directions.

Uriel himself winced from Zenos' comment; he hadn't been expecting something so blunt. But he refocused when Rikka mentioned some sort of "Demon Seed". He nodded to Kyo.

"Can you elaborate on that?" Uriel asked. Kyo nodded and closed his eyes, beginning to go through the flood of memories that weren't even his to begin with. Skipping through several memories from the extremely distant past, he reached a point where there was a sudden black void, an empty hole in the memory and suddenly, and Kyo found what he was looking for.

"I think so..." Kyo said, slowly opening his eyes. "Jegudiel also mentioned another thing, something that he didn't give me memories on: someone that betrayed him. His behavior immediately changed after the hole in the memory that he had wiped out for my sake. He seemed concerned for me, and told me that if I knew about that person, that person would seek me out and kill me. I think he, or she, or it might be a key in all this mystery."

"I see. This person must have gotten close enough to him to plant this demon seed. Which all lead to today's events." Zenos rubbed his temple. "Things have become complicated. But I realize most of what happened now. The fact this person betrayed him, and our orders to kill him without question, can only come to a signal conclusion. The person we're after is an Angel. One with great influence as well."

"So it's a conspiracy?" Jason asked.

"Seems, that way." Sarene replied to Jason.

"Uriel, Kyo, Brianna. Be careful. If you truly intend to follow the footsteps of Jegudiel, I fear a similar fate could befall you." Zenos turned, and motioned to Sarene and Jason that they were returning to the Upper Plane. "For now we must be cautious, should the betrayer notice us."

The three turned to leave.

Kyo, Brianna, and Uriel all nodded; they knew exactly what all of this meant. But they were too deeply involved in this conspiracy to pull out now.

"Hey guys, good luck." Kyo said, waving the other three Angels. "If we find out anything, you'll know."
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"Fia?! What're you-?!" Zander began to say when suddenly, Fia disappeared from sight, and appeared next to Aryus' side, her bow drawn back, and aiming directly for Remorse's head.

"Zander, don't get in the way!" Fia said, giving an uncharacteristic glare at the gray haired man. Zander stepped backwards slowly, shocked by her piercing glare, but said nothing. He took a glance at Remorse, and waited for his reaction.

"Hm, I didn't expect this. But you two still won't be enough to stop me. Don't get your hopes up." Remorse said, smiling arrogantly underneath his helmet. Before Fia could get a chance to let loose her arrow, the Demon Overlord suddenly appeared in front of her, his two blades raised above his head to strike down with. Fia's eyes widened, and she immediately prepared to move when suddenly, there was a black blur, and Aryus was now in front of her, his two hands pinning Remorse's blades against his own body, tearing through his clothing and opening several shallow cuts on his abdomen. Aryus quickly turned his head, and shot a glance directly at Fia; she understood exactly what he intended for her to do. In the blink of an eye, Fia quickly draw back her bow, and fired an arrow of light directly at Remorse's face. Aryus quickly pulled away from the Demon Overlord, and was temporarily blinded by a spark of light. After the dust had settled, Remorse was slowly regaining his balance, reaching up for his helmet. He placed his hand on the crack that appeared in his helmet, and suddenly, the entire helmet collapsed into pieces, his face being revealed. He glared at the two with his red eyes, and clenched his fist; the atmosphere in the room suddenly began to heat up, and Aryus, Fia, and even Zander was finding it more difficult to draw a breath.

"You-!" Remorse shouted, his cool composure now gone. He immediately extended his palm at the two, and flames began to swirl around his body, spiraling into the air and causing sparks to slowly rain down, illuminating the darkness of the fortress. In one quick movement, he appeared behind Aryus and Fia. Aryus didn't even have time to turn completely before he felt Remorse's armored hand connect with his stomach, causing his already shallow wound to tear open. The force of the punch sent Aryus flying backwards, his wounded back colliding with the stone wall. Aryus tried to scream in agony, but he found that it was impossible with no air in his lungs. He slowly slid down the wall, leaving a trail of blood, and weakly glanced at Fia as she began to back away from the towering armored Demon.

"I originally planned to kill you, but death would be too simple..." Remorse said coldly, slowly advancing toward Fia with each step, the heat from Remorse's aura causing sweat to pour down Fia's entire body. "But I think it'd be more fitting to take your soul, and burn for all eternity..."

In the distance, Zander watched on, his eyes wide with shock.

This...no...I didn't want it to be like this...I didn't know... Zander thought, his mind racing. He glanced at Aryus, and noticed that the Demon was now on his feet, panting heavily, but still resolved to fight. This appalled him even more.

What the-? Why? Why are you still going to get up when you know you'll just get knocked back down? Zander thought anxiously, watching as Aryus slowly stepped forward clumsily, his eyes fierce despite his intense fatigue. In the corner of his eye, he saw Fia's eyes widen as she saw Aryus slowly making his way toward her. Above her, Remorse raised his two blades, ready to slice down on Fia. She caught another glimpse or Aryus, this time directly behind Remorse now, his body bent into a sprinting position.

"Aryus! No!!!" Fia screamed as Remorse swung down his blades. There was a sickening sound, and suddenly, Fia felt a damp warmth all over her clothes. Slowly opening her eyes more, she saw Aryus' back, still bleeding, but there was something else. In front of Aryus, impaled by his bladed gauntlet, and by Remorse's two blades, was Zander, his gun pressed tightly against Remorse's forehead.

"Zand-?!" Remorse began to say, until there was a sudden bang, and Remorse was forced backwards by the impact of the gun, forcing him to grab his face in pain. Yet somehow, he was still alive.

Zander weakly turned his head and glanced over his shoulder at Aryus, smiling weakly. He reached downward, found Aryus' gauntlet, and pulled himself in deeper, causing more blood to spill out of his body, and onto the ground.

"You idiot! What are you doing?!" Aryus shouted as he tried to pull Zander off of his gauntlet. Fia was speechless, and held her hands to her mouth, stunned by the sight.

"Ungh...she...chose you after..all..." Zander said, coughing out blood with each word he spoke. He shut his eyes tightly as he gasped and tried to make another effort to speak. "You need to...absorb my soul with that gauntlet. Then you two can...get out of this alive...I'm already going to die...at least you two can escape..."

"Zander..." Fia tried to say before tears began to flow out of her eyes. She tried to say more, but ended up dry heaving every time she looked at the bleeding, gray haired human.

"But..." Aryus said, the malice now out of his eyes. He only looked shocked now. Zander turned his head again, this time to glance at Aryus from his other shoulder now, blood now flowing from his mouth.

"Please..."

Aryus gritted his teeth and shut his eyes, but he began murmuring something under his breath, his gauntlet suddenly glowing a deep, crimson light. Zander's body began to show a red tint to it as the blood began to spill out of his body faster, but this time, flooding into the red orb that had just revealed itself in Aryus' gauntlet. Within seconds, Zander's body went limp, and his body turned to dust, leaving nothing behind but ashes, and a single silver necklace that landed on the ground, bouncing once before becoming completely still.

Rikka had finally calmed down. But her heart was heavy. She could see Kelly and Izuna standing where Kalne was.

Alex left Rikka's side and walked over to where the Kalne was. He examined Kalne. "We can't just leave her here."

"What do you suppose we do with her?" Kelly asked.

Rikka saw Kalne's custom shurikan and pulled it out of the wall. It took her a few tries.

"There's a beautiful hill outside overlooking a nearby valley." Izuna said.

"What about the angel's body?" Kelly said looking over at Jegudiel and the three angels.

Kyo knelt down and picked up Jegudiel's body, steadily regaining his balance as he felt the weight shift on his shoulder. He looked down at Kalne, and sighed sadly as he began to think. He wanted both Jegudiel and Kalne to be buried close by, but he wasn't sure how Rikka would react to that.

"Kalne sacrificed herself to give us a chance to kill Jegudiel, Jegudiel sacrificed himself so that he wouldn't transform into some kind of monster..." Kyo said aloud quietly. "They both sacrificed themselves for humanity, so I'm thinking that...maybe they could be buried in the same hill." He waited quietly for the others opinion.

"Makes sense." Brianna said, nodding.

Uriel didn't respond. He really didn't want to have his own input on this.

Rikka, Alex, Kelly, Izuna, Kyo, Brianna and Uriel, stood at distance. There were a few people from the airship as well.

Everyone took a minute a silence for the two graves.

One marked with Kalne's huge Fuuma Shurikan.

A few minutes earlier...
Kyo climbed up the ramp into the airship, looking around for something. Everyone else had already gathered at the burial site, and he didn't have much time to get what he needed. He looked around the room, and he noticed the hangar door that Shin had damaged the day before. He walked over to the still damaged doors. Repairmen that were working on fixing the door looked up curiously, but didn't ask any questions as Kyo approached them. He knelt down, and began gathering up scrap metal.

"You guys don't need this do you?" Kyo asked them. They shook their head and resumed their repairs. Kyo stood up again, and found a metal crate that he laid the pieces of scrap metal on. Letting his mana flow out of his body gently, the pieces levitated into the air, and began to melt, losing their shape and becoming liquefied. He melded the shapeless pieces of liquid metal together until it became an ordinary bar of iron. Picking up the newly-made iron bar, Kyo reached behind him, and pulled out the sword that Nome had entrusted him with before his death. Holding the two items beside each other, Kyo summoned Tsurugi, and began his work.
---------------------
Present time
"It ain't the best but...it's something..." Kyo said quietly, holding an iron replica of Nome's sword in the air, and sticking it at the head of Nome's grave.

No other words were spoken. After awhile people headed back to the airship one by one.

Izuna left to check on repairs.

Kelly went to report to Hashnel.

"So where do we go from here?" Alex asked.

"I don't know." Rikka replied.

The two turned to the three angels. "What are your guys' plans?"

"Well first things first...Kalne wanted me to give you two these." Kyo said, digging in his pocket. He found the two orbs he was searching for, and pulled them out of his pocket. He handed Rikka the red orb, and reached into his pocket and handed Alex the blue orb. "I'm not sure what their purpose is but...I'm just following what Kalne told me." Kyo said, smiling reassuringly at them.

"I think we could head back to the Empire..." Brianna said aloud. Uriel nodded.

"I would not mind a moment of tranquility." Uriel said exhaustively.

"Hold on, I think we're forgetting about someone." Kyo said. Brianna and Uriel both looked at him, curious.

"Aryus. Come on, don't tell me you forgot?" Kyo asked, rolling his eyes. Brianna and Uriel both glanced at each other before turning their attention back to Kyo.

"Didn't he leave out of his own free will?" Brianna asked.

"Well yeah but...you're forgetting I used to be just like him. If I were to put myself in his shoes...he'll probably come running back to us after he cools down." Kyo said, smirking.

"Well okay but...how's he going to know where we are?" Brianna asked.

"Well, we're heading back to the Empire right?" Kyo said, grinning.

"I'd think you planned this all out but...I know everything just seems to be coincidentally working out for you." Brianna said teasingly. Kyo rolled his eyes.

Rikka knew what the orb meant. She took a breath and took a couple steps back. She then poured some mana into it.

There was a puff of cloud, as it's contents came out. A large shurikan attached to a chain landed on the ground. It wasn't nearly as big as Kalne's. Normal shurikan and Kunai also dropped onto the ground. A few scrolls were among them. A piece of paper floated down, and Rikka caught it. She read it, and was silent.

It said:

Rikka. If your reading this, I'm probably gone. I'm sure I trained you as well as I could. But now you must continue training in a way that will make your own style of fighting. I've included supplies for if you still want to follow a near ninja path. I've also included scrolls on techniques that should be helpful for you. I'm happy for the time we spent together, and I'm sorry I had to leave you. - Kalne Ukahara

Rikka swiftly picked up everything, and somehow hide all on them on herself. She picked up the chain shurikan and tied it to her back.

Alex had watched, he looked at his own orb. He was reluctant to open it, so he didn't.

Rikka glanced at Kalne's grave. She had finally made up her mind. "I won't be going with you." She said. "If anything, this has taught me that I'm unable to protect anything. I'm going to train more, and I'll go alone."

Alex didn't like this outcome, but he trusted Rikka. He knew she was going through a lot of stress, it was probably best this way. he nodded acknowledgment to her.

"Aww...that's a shame." Kyo said sadly. "But if that's what you want, then so be it."

Brianna frowned. "Alright...I hope we meet again..."

Uriel nodded. "Good luck."

Kyo and Brianna sighed sadly; the group had diminished so much now.

Rikka nodded. "Thank you."

Izuna appeared. "As long as no one enters Bay 2, we're ready to leave. We're leaving in 20 min so make sure anyone whose coming has their stuff."

Alex took a last look at Rikka before heading back to the airship.

The angels followed after him.

---------------

Rikka waved goodbye to the airship as it took off.

Alex, and group waved back from a windowed area.

None of them knew what the future held, but they knew it would involve Demon Seeds.

Aryus took one glance at his bloody hand, and disappearing particles that remained of Zander as they slowly were absorbed into his gauntlet. He clenched his fist as he felt Zander's aura disappear, and slowly begin to augment his own, feeling an explosive rush of energy begin to surge through his body. He gritted his teeth as the pressure around his body began to tighten, giving him a feeling of being constricted by a snake. As he shut his eyes in pain for a moment, he saw the image of Zander impaling himself upon Aryus' own gauntlet and felt a rush of anger.

Who said you had to do that you idiot?... Aryus thought. In the distance, Remorse was recovering from the attack on his face, flames began to surge all around him, lighting up the dark fortress with a bright orange glow.

The covenant...it's broken. I have a chance now. Aryus thought. He took a swift glance at Fia, who still seemed to be overcome by her tears for Zander.

"Fia, can you help me one last time?..." Aryus said, still feeling his newfound power growing and even morphing his appearance slowly by the second. The Demoness looked up slowly, her eyes red and nodded, a look of anger beginning to show alongside her sorrow.

"For Zander..." Fia said quietly, standing up, and aiming her bow at the ceiling. A fierceness that Aryus had never seen before appeared in Fia's eyes.

"Evanescent Rain!" Fia shouted, pulling back the string on her bow despite having no arrow. As the string shot forward, a thin coat of mana became visible on the string, creating five arrows of mana, and shooting them into the sky. As they reached the apex of their ascent, a seal was suddenly conjured just underneath the arrows as they began to descend. When the arrows passed through the seal, they suddenly tripled in size, charging with more mana as they became augmented by the seal. Having passed through the seal, the arrows plummeted to the ground in the blink of an eye, and landed around Remorse. The effect was similar to an artillery shell, causing immense damage to the floor, and burying Remorse in an explosion of mana. Aryus decided to take his chance now.

"Scarlet Ascension!" Aryus shouted, stabbing the ground to the right of him with his gauntlet. He began to sprint forward, building up energy in his gauntlet as it scrapped against the ground, causing it to glow with a deep scarlet light. Just before he reached Remorse as he was being pounded by arrows, he suddenly swung upward with his gauntlet, pulling it out of the ground and letting loose several pillars of scarlet mana directly at Remorse. The Demon Overlord saw the attack coming and tried to escape by moving backwards, but at that moment, an arrow landed just behind him, propelling him forward and preventing his evasion. The first pillar hit its target, exploding on impact with Remorse, followed by the other pillars, consecutively hitting him and exploding. Aryus breathed heavily as he gazed on, hoping that his power would be enough. When the dust settled, Remorse was still standing, but appeared to be bleeding from his side, as well as grasping his limp, right arm.

"You think you've won? You only injured me this much because the initial absorption of one's soul into the orb is amplified for the first few hours before it stabilizes...you won't be this powerful in a few hours...If you want to kill me, then you'll need to drain more souls..." Aryus said, his voice echoing before his body became more and more transparent, until he disappeared, black particles vanishing into the air.

Aryus sighed in relief, and looked down at his gauntlet, and the crimson orb that was lodged into it. Some liquid substance seemed to have appeared inside of it, occupying about a twentieth of it. He glared at it angrily.

One soul, and that's all that happens? It's not worth it...

"Aryus..." Fia said quietly, making her way over to him. She noticed that instead of the previous grayish blond hair he had when she first met him, it had not changed color, becoming jet black now.

"...A few years ago, I made a contract with Remorse. He would give me the power to kill the Angels, in return for one thing; I had to absorb at least one soul by the time I'd meet him, or my powers would become useless against him. Every time I kill someone with this gauntlet, I can absorb their soul, stealing their mana and strength, boosting my own. But I never did, not even when I fought against Orcs. Seeing him...made me go soft I guess. But if I didn't absorb any souls...I'd die, and possibly have my own soul taken. I knew that...but I never did..." Aryus finished quietly, looking away from Fia angrily.

"It doesn't make you weak..." Fia said, looking up at Aryus, her fierceness replaced by a gentle look. "Killing others to make yourself stronger isn't the only way."

"I was an idiot...I wanted everyone to just leave me alone, so I decided to fight to end fighting...stupid." Aryus said, looking down.

"Sometimes we just have to fight...I don't have any more reason to fight any more, since Remorse probably won't be able to find me anymore...but that's only because you're with me." Fia said, placing her hand on Aryus' arm. "Is it okay if I stay with you?"

"You wouldn't want to. You said yourself you have no reason to keep fighting. I've decided...to return to my brother. I at least had some kind of path to follow, some meaning to keep living. Being by myself...it didn't make me feel any happier, like I thought it would." Aryus said.

"It's alright, I'm don't want to fight for myself anymore, but I'm fine if it's for you." Fia said, smiling exhaustively.

"You're so stupid, choosing to travel with me out of anyone else in this world..." Aryus said, sighing. "But you look like you've made up your mind. Fine, but we're going to need to find Kyo and Brianna if we're going to reunite with the group."

"Then you're in luck, cause I have a mental connection with Brianna, so I can find her in no time!" Fia said cheerfully. Scowling a bit, Aryus nodded.

"Then let's hurry. We can't keep them waiting for too long."