Raea exhaled as she stared at the sight below. Her wings beat heavily, causing swirls to appear in the clouds of ash around her. Angels lay dead or dying on the ground. The ones that had survived were heavily charred, and moans escaped from their lips. The ground was filled with rivulets of lava, and holes peppered the streets. The last vestiges of sunlight were fading away, causing the lava to light up the sector with an eerie glow.

“Still no tunnels,” Raea muttered as she looked towards the sky. The suns weren’t out, but she knew that this time she was heading west … probably. She lowered her head, squinted at the checkpoint wall off in the distance, and leaned forward, flying towards it. To her surprise, there weren’t any projectiles launched at her. Broken ballistae and black marks, which she recognized as lightning strikes, marred the surface of the wall.

Raea’s eyes lit up. This was the first trace of the rebel army that she found. She inhaled through her nose, causing her chest to expand outward. As she exhaled, dozens of fiery needles formed in the air below her and rained down onto the streets. While the needles were falling, a black halberd was forming in the air above her head. A few guards on the walls shouted and pointed at her. Seconds later, blades of wind, lightning bolts, white chains, and arrows flew towards her.

Raea licked her lips as she covered her body with greed, much like Palan had when fighting against her father. Unlike when Palan did it, the oily sheen on her body didn’t disappear on collision with the other powers. The blades of wind and lightning bolts dispersed noiselessly upon contact with her body. The white chains shattered as she batted them away with the back of her hands. The projectiles splintered into hundreds of pieces when they hit her chest.

Raea laughed at the absurdity of the situation. She was untouchable. This must’ve been how Madison felt with her narcissism. Although Raea couldn’t reflect attacks with her barrier, it prevented her from getting hurt, allowing her to lord over greater angels and below. Hot air was expelled from Raea’s lips when she realized she compared herself to Madison, and she clenched her hands, causing her palms to shriek as her claws slid against them like nails on a chalkboard. The halberd abruptly expanded, forsaking form for size, and slashed towards the angels on the wall. In an instant, every angel and siege weapon was reduced to ash.

Screams from the streets drew Raea’s attention towards the ground. Her needles still hadn’t found any tunnels or passageways for the rebels to enter from. She frowned as she pointed directly below her, ignoring the crying angels in the vicinity. The halberd rose into the air and slashed the earth, melting the ground and people. “Too shallow?” Raea asked herself when her efforts proved futile again. The halberd swung once more, digging deeper into the ground, but there still were no signs of passages. Raea’s brow furrowed. Maybe the rebel army hadn’t been planning on using tunnels in the first place?

Her gaze landed on the desolate checkpoint wall. Maybe she should’ve let a few angels live. Then they could’ve told her about the state of the siege weapons and lightning strikes. Perhaps she’d find clues about the rebel’s location. A completely black figure twitched, causing Raea’s eyes to narrow. Her wings spread outwards, and she glided towards it. She didn’t land on the wall, otherwise her powers would disperse; instead, she hovered above the dying angel.

Raea grabbed the charred body by the back of its neck. “What happened here?” she asked. The figure in her hand shuddered.

“S-save me,” the figure said with a raspy voice.

“I will ease your suffering in a second,” Raea said, her face emotionless. “Did the rebels attack the wall? Before the flames, I mean.”

“Y-yes. S-sa—“

“Have a little patience. Which way did they go?” Raea asked.

“W-west…,” the figure said and gasped.

“Mn.” Raea grunted and clenched her hand. There was a snapping sound, but it was drowned out by the roaring of the flames below. Raea flicked her wrist, tossing the body into the lava-filled canyon she created, and dusted her hands off. She didn’t understand why Palan killed people that way. It made her palms feel dirty. Although she was a bit confused about why the dying angel was so compliant, she decided to believe his words. Maybe it was the sound of her voice and the fact that the angel couldn’t see. The headmaster and his secretary had been stunned stupid when she spoke even though they knew what she looked like.

The flames behind her continued to burn as she flapped her wings and ascended. Behind her, in the eastern part of the first sector, the flames she created earlier were still alive and spreading. Hundreds of charity angels were working in concert to dispel them, but they were fighting a losing battle. One angel had set a circle of flames around his own house, hoping to fight fire with fire, leaving nothing behind for the black flames to burn. Unfortunately for him, the black flames spread along the stone ground and continued towards his house.

Raea didn’t seem to notice or care about the destruction she left behind. The fire in her chest egged her forward, only allowing her to focus on two goals: Find the ones responsible for Selena’s death. And kill them all. Nothing else mattered. Raea’s lips trembled as she flew over the checkpoint wall and back into the second sector, heading west. Palan was calling upon her powers. She couldn’t pinpoint his exact location, but she had the general sense of his direction. Thankfully, he was in the west; otherwise, she’d be forced to choose either reuniting with Palan or destroying the rebel army. Perhaps they could destroy the rebel army together. She decided that would be for the best.

Raea’s eyes flashed. If he didn’t want to help, then she’d do it without him, then kill him as well. He was the one that provoked Madison after all. Long ago, she had forgiven him, but after her evolution … was that forgiveness justified? A simple sorry wouldn’t—and didn’t—bring Selena back to life. He could show how sorry he was by helping her avenge Selena’s death even at a risk to himself. No. A risk to himself was necessary to prove his sincerity. Raea’s wings flapped harder as she urged herself forward.

A laugh bubbled out of Raea’s lips as the wind forced tears out of her eyes. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. A floating demon with three snakelike tails surrounded by a black glow appeared in her vision. He had evolved, and his appearance had changed, but Raea still recognized him. She slowed to a halt and hovered in the air.

“Hello, Palan.”