“In a few days, Solra is going to lay siege to Marossa,” Pyre said, narrowing his eyes while smiling. He lowered the pipe in his hand and blew outwards. The pair watched the cloud of smoke fly up into the air before it was dispersed by the wind. “Most likely, he’ll initiate the attack by sending in the archlings—it’s what I call the halflings who evolved to an archangel mana level—to create havoc and kill the most number of soldiers possible before they die. He knows the council members are there, and he knows about Dinah’s charity zone. Once she cancels out the archlings powers, he’ll have the normal halflings assault the city walls with cannons, then when the walls fall, they’ll assault the soldiers with hand cannons—projectile weapons I created.

“Without powers, the angels will be helpless against the long-range weapons, and Dinah will be forced to cancel her zone of charity. For a moment, the angels might regain the upper hand as they stop the projectiles and counterattack, but that’s when Solra will personally step in and cancel out all the powers again. Two angels of charity can’t cancel each other’s powers, it only amplifies the effect, which means Dinah can’t stop him.

“This is probably the angels’ last stand in the second sector,” Pyre said as he lowered his head and took a drag on his pipe. He grinned and touched his nose. “The whole time I was missing, I was actually helping Solra create those weapons and archlings, which is why I know so much about their plans.” He laughed. “Now … as for the best time for you to eat an archangel … maybe at the end of the battle when Solra steps in or wait until it’s all over? If you could locate the dead archlings’ bodies, I’m sure eating them would add up to an archangel. It’s safer, but there’s no guarantee they’ll still be there for you to eat.”

“Interesting,” Palan said as he leaned back. “Will we know when it starts from here?”

“It should be loud,” Pyre said with a nod.

“Good,” Palan said as he stared at the outline of Melissa’s body inside of his tail. “I still need a few days to digest this. Let’s hope it doesn’t start before then.”

“It may be another week or two,” Pyre said, waving his pipe. “There were a few halflings on the verge of evolving before I left. Solra might wait for them first.” He chuckled. “So are you going to hunt an archangel or eat the scraps like a vulture?”

Palan narrowed his eyes and licked his lips. “What do you think?” he asked. If he weren’t in such a hurry to become an archdemon to save Raea, he might really have chosen to wait for the battle to end. But he didn’t have time, and he didn’t know when another chance like this would present itself. Opportunity only knocks once.

***

Inside of a dark room with stalactites hanging from the ceiling, Solra was resting in a pool of water. Steam rose from the surface of the pool, and Solra let out a sigh as he rolled his neck. Footsteps echoed through the cave, causing him to raise his head. Ishim appeared at the entrance to the room, a dark expression on his face.

“What’s the matter?” Solra asked as he sat up, letting water cascade from his body. There were wrinkles all over his skin, and the outlines of his bones could be seen.

“The madman’s gone,” Ishim said. “I tried following your orders, but he’s not here anymore. It’s like he fell into a hole somewhere and vanished.”

“So he knew,” Solra said and sighed. “He shouldn’t be on his way to inform Michael.” The old angel’s brow furrowed. “His madness wasn’t faked. He really does wish for the current society to be ruined.” Solra shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Even if they know, what can they do?”

Ishim grunted. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “When the battle starts,” he said and clenched his hands, “can I be part of the first wave?”

“Huh?” Solra asked. He was just about to sink back into the water but stopped as he stared at Ishim. “You know the first wave is going to die, right?”

“I know,” Ishim said and nodded.

“Then why?” Solra asked. “Who will help me reestablish the nation when we win?”

Ishim shook his head. “I don’t care about any of that,” he said. “I just want revenge for my father. The first wave is the only time I’ll be able to use my powers of wrath. I want to kill the council members with my own hands.”

Solra sighed as he let his body sink into the pool. What did Anidun do to leave such a strong impression on Ishim’s mind that he was willing to die for vengeance? Anidun wasn’t even his biological father. “You think you’ll be able to kill any of the council members with your powers?” Solra asked, staring at the ceiling. “Dinah will cancel your powers out before you can do any damage to them. You’ll only be able to kill the regular soldiers.”

“I want to try,” Ishim said, narrowing his eyes. Black flames sprang into existence around his body, but Solra pointed at him, and the flames disappeared.

“You’ve thought this through?” Solra asked.

“Yes,” Ishim said and nodded. Blood poured from his palms where his nails cut into his flesh. He hated having his flames stifled. It was like his anger was being denied. He ground his teeth together while Solra floated in silence.

“Alright then,” the old angel said after a while. Ishim nodded and left before Solra could say anything else. A sigh escaped from the wrinkled angel’s lips. He had to admit that wrath was strong—maybe the strongest sin. But without a firm foundation like Meffie’s, it would consume the user. It seemed like Ishim was too weak and lost himself to his anger.

Solra got out of the pool and toweled himself off. Maybe it was better for Ishim to die in the coming battle. Solra didn’t want to imagine the aftermath of Ishim’s feelings if he were to survive and achieve his revenge. The old angel sighed again as his bones let out creaking noises while he got dressed. Yes, it was better that he die. It would be better than wrath without meaning.