Palan’s brow furrowed as he sailed past a tree. Danger Noodle extended from his body and wrapped itself around one of the trees branches, bringing his journey to a halt. He lost track of how long he flew in the air, but he knew he was launched in a straight line towards the west. His feet touched the ground after he released the branch, and his tail coiled around his body. He was all alone—finally. So why did his lack of companions make him feel so lonely? Cleo escaped with Linda. Sally and Elrith vanished off the face of the planet. And Raea … Raea was waiting for him to save her. And he’d have to if he ever wanted to dissolve his contract with her; otherwise, he could die at any time.

Danger Noodle flickered its tongue as it stared at Palan. Palan snorted, “You’re a part of me,” he said. “You don’t count.” He left the wooded area and found a road lit up by the moonlight. He sighed as he realized Cleo wasn’t around to conveniently carry food for him anymore. And it seemed like the angels had killed off the majority of the wild animals in the second sector. Thankfully, demons could last for a long time without eating a meal. He decided to follow the road, heading west. Going east would only bring him back to Ni’En and there was no road leading north or south. At least there was always food to be found in a city.

The fact that he was still alive told him Raea was alive, for now. A sense of unease attacked his stomach, and he quickened his footsteps. As a demon, he had to face death nearly every day in Eljiam, but there was something different about knowing he could die at any time for no reason whatsoever. His eyes narrowed as he experimented with his powers, using them to increase his speed but trying to conserve as much mana as possible. Now that Raea was gone, he couldn’t rely on her mana pool anymore. But maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. Hadn’t he abhorred that contract? Wasn’t he free now?

Before he could save Raea, he’d have to become an archdemon. The reason he lost the fight against Raea’s parents was because his mana pool was too low. Their total mana was higher, and they could recover from their injuries—Raea’s dad, at least. He’d have to target her mother first. Since he couldn’t meditate anymore because Raea wasn’t around, the only way he could evolve was by eating more angels. Weren’t there a few archangels in the army in the west, the direction he was heading towards? Michael had been on his to-kill list ever since the archangel zapped him in the chest back in the borderlands. It was about time he settled the score. Palan believed he could easily kill the old general if neither of them could use their powers. Adding on the bits of poison he obtained from corroding metal with Raea’s power, he felt invincible.

A day and a half passed before Palan saw a city on the horizon. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t encounter any carriages on the road, or he would’ve seized them by force. His stomach growled as he wet his lips with his tongue. Maybe it was because his body was too used to eating three meals a day for the past few months, but he felt hungrier than usual, and there were lots of tasty meals waiting for him beyond those city walls. Even though his stomach was goading him to run faster, he slowed his pace and stepped off of the road, approaching the city from the fields instead.

The city’s walls were short, like all the other city walls in the second sector. Palan easily hopped over it while breathing through his mouth. Although he felt less uncomfortable in cities, it would still take a while for his nose to adjust to the putrid stench that seemed to accompany every hive of angels. Palan sneaked through an alleyway before stopping at the first door he saw. He placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it before pushing the door in. Of course it was unlocked, angels didn’t need locks in their perfect society.

Palan checked the walls and ceiling for booby traps before entering the building. His electromagnetic sense told him there were hundreds, maybe thousands of people nearby, but he could make out two people living inside the residence he was currently in. Palan closed the door behind him, and a female voice called out, “Who’s there? Is it Josh?” Footsteps echoed through the hall while Palan slipped into a room and pressed his back against the wall with the doorway to his side. An angel appeared, and Palan stretched his hand outwards, seizing the angel by the throat and lifting her into the air. His hand tightened as the angel’s eyes widened and bulged. A second later, there was a cracking sound as the angel’s limbs went limp. Her body fell to the floor with a thump, and Danger Noodle’s jaw dislocated before swallowing the dead angel.

Palan licked his lips and walked down the hall, heading towards the room with the remaining resident while dragging his tail. An unsettling rubbing noise was created by the fat snake’s body as it refused to lift itself off of the floor. “Archie?” a male voice called out. “Who was it?” Sheets rustled, and Palan heard feet touch wood. He pressed his back against the hall’s wall so that he couldn’t be seen unless the remaining angel was at the doorway.

“Archie?” the angel asked. “Don’t tell me you’re going to try to scare me again. You know it’s not going to work.” He appeared at the doorway, and Palan lunged forward, grabbing the angel’s neck and forcing him onto his back with his powers of pride.

“If you scream, I’ll kill you,” Palan said as he pressed his knee into the angel’s chest and tightened his hand around the angel’s throat. The only sound the angel could make was a slight whimper. “Understood?” Palan waited for a few seconds before he loosened his grip on the angel’s throat, but he kept his glowing knee against the angel’s sternum, ready to shatter it at a moment’s notice.

“Who are you?” the angel whispered with wide eyes. Palan wrinkled his nose as the smell of urine assaulted his nose. “Where’s Archie?”

“You don’t get to ask questions,” Palan said, increasing the weight of his knee. The angel let out a gasp as a cracking noise rang through the room. “What city is this?”

“Oel,” the angel said through clenched teeth.

“Where’s the army located?”

The angel’s brow furrowed as he stared at Palan. Another cracking noise echoed through the room as Palan covered the angel’s mouth, muffling his scream. Palan narrowed his eyes at the angel before releasing his mouth and shifting his hand back to the angel’s throat.

“M-marossa,” the angel said with tears welling up in his eyes.

“Which way to Marossa?” Palan asked.

“N-northeast,” the angel said. “P-please, what happened to Archie?”

“She’s in the hall,” Palan said. He wasn’t lying—Danger Noodle was behind him, lazing around in the hallway. “Have you heard of Hailing Academy?” Palan remembered Raea’s parents mentioning that place as a location that could turn Raea back into a non-fallen angel. Once he became an archdemon, Hailing was the first place he wanted to go.

“It’s in the first sector. Everyone’s heard of it. Families want to send their children there because it provides the best education,” the angel said. He seemed much more cooperative after discovering his wife’s location. Palan waited. “It’s north of the capital, which means it’s northeast from where we are now. If you go through the checkpoint, you’ll arrive in the Western Region—that’s its name—and there’ll be a road heading to Hailing.”

Palan nodded. “Which way to the checkpoint?” he asked. He wasn’t planning on going through it, but it wouldn’t hurt to know its location.

“It’s north of here,” the angel said while wincing. “Past Marossa.”

“Last question,” Palan said, easing up his knee. “Are there any archangels in this city?”

“No,” the angel said.

“Alright,” Palan said. “You can join”—his hand tightened with a sickening crunch—“your wife now.” Palan stood up and turned to look at Danger Noodle. It shook its head. Apparently it was too full to eat a second angel. Palan shrugged and sat down next to the man before tearing out his heart and eating it. Palan’s mouth began to salivate. Food always tasted better when he was starving.