Alastor's POV

It has been two days since we left Ragna on this boat. Thankfully the weather was good for sailing so we might arrive at Cedra in a few days.

Two women and two children alone on a boat, that ought to raise some attention at the borders. But as long as the guards were common soldiers it would not be a problem.

As for the passengers, the boy did not dare to come near me. He was still shaken up by the slaughter I carried out at the town. Pretty natural I guessed since he was still a kid. Although everyone else would probably be the same if they saw what I did.

I have talked a lot with Tasha and learnt a bit about their background. The kid Edward was the only son of the House Osborne, a relatively small noble household which did not hold much influence but still a noble. Edward was a very shy boy and pretty mediocre in magic. Apparently, many have said that he was talentless but if you asked me, there was no such thing as talent. Okay perhaps a little bit but everyone, if taught the right way, could achieve something with efforts.

Edward was a rare type of man, the kind who pitied the demon. Perhaps it was because he was still young. But when he met Tasha's eyes during a slave auction on the street, seeing how she was beaten almost to dead, he could not stand the cruel treatment they were doing to her and that was how Tasha ended up being saved by Edward. His parents did hesitate a little bit when they heard the news but they caved in when seeing their timid boy begging for something the first time in his life.

This action did bring him some persecution as normally when one purchased a demon slave, it usually did not last long as they were only seen as amusement and pleasure objects. They would be either thrown away or ended up dead after a few months. But it has been three years since Tasha stayed with Edward and it was clear that he treated her well. So rumors started spread around that Edward was a demon sympathiser, making the target of bullies and such at school.

As for Tasha, she was deeply grateful to young Edward and pledged to protect the young master. But when she knew of the trouble she caused for her dear Edward, she wanted to leave but Edward insisted that she stayed.

The story was so dramatic and touching it almost brought a tear to my eyes. Just kidding! Why the hell did she just tell me her life story? I only asked her about Edward's family and she started babbling about how she met him and such. How could someone talk that much? It exceeded my understanding.

We finally crossed the borders without much trouble. Thanks to my negotiation skills, the soldiers did not even bother to check us and simply let us through.

Now that we were located in the northern part of Ceadric, the area reminded me of home. This was where I stayed for most of my life after all. I did not go out a lot but I remembered where Caine village was, or used to be.

After the attack, Mephisto did send some lookouts to search for any info but they did not find any survivor or news regarding this incident as even all the soldiers attacking were killed by someone else.

When I thought about what happened, I had a sudden urge to go back to there, where it all started. Perhaps I should, if not for finding clues then at least for closure.

And so I convinced the others to take a detour, or rather forced them to.

From afar, we could see a small town. Perfect, just what we needed right now. When I left the castle, I did not consider take in these two with me so supplies ran out pretty quick.

As we approached the town, there seemed to be a commotion going on here. I could see a group of people on horse, equipped with weapons.

"Why are you stopping?" asked Tasha.

"Are you blind? Look over there. Can't you see those guys are armed?" I told her.

"Doesn't look like farmers to me. Bandits?" Tasha said.

"Stay quiet! I will go take a look!" I signalled Stella to follow me while Tasha and Edward would stay behind.

I jumped on a nearby tree to observe the situation. Sure seemed like bandits.

"Where is the usual tribute? I thought we have a deal, old man." a guy who seemed like the leader of the bandits said, next to a pile of goodies.

"I am very sorry sir. This month the crops did not sell very well so this is all we could gather. If you could please give us more time..." the old man, who seemed like a village elder, begged the bandit.

"Really? If I bring only this amount back, the boss will not be very happy you know? And you know how he is when he is not very happy. Just look at the village next to yours, Cain or something, look how it ended up!" the bandit laughed out loud.

Did he just say Caine village? It seemed I would have to talk to this guy a bit.

"Please just give us a few more days." but the old man was pushed to the ground without mercy. The others bandits, watching the scene, simply laughed at the poor old fool who continued to kneel on the ground.

But then someone stopped their laughter.

"You cowards!!! Have you no shame, terrorizing innocents like that?"

I turned my head to the source of the voice. I could not believe my eyes. It was that god damn blue haired celestial who held Alice hostage during the attack. What was she doing here? Could the celestials have sensed my presence here already? I decided to stay hidden for a little longer to watch how things unfolded. At least now the village would not have to worry about the bandits.

But I was wrong, incredibly wrong. The celestial, who I thought was quite powerful, just received a full punch in her stomach, making her fall to the ground. How the hell was she that weak? And where were her wings? I could see something poking out of her back, almost deformed with feathers covering it. Did her wings get cut?

"You again? Damn annoying bitch. Every time I come here, you just can't shut your mouth heh? Did you miss my punches that much?" he continued to beat the fallen celestial. When his fists started to feel sour, he turned to kick her. She was completely a bloody mess.

But none of the villagers even tried or showed to care about her. Even what the old man say surprised me.

"Please sir! You could just take that woman and sell her as slave. It could make up for the small amount this time."

"Are you kidding me? Who the hell would want a monster like her? Just look at the thing on her back already make me want to puke." as he kicked her one final time, he fixed his clothes and mounted on his horse. "I am tired already. I will come back tomorrow and if you don't have enough, it will be your head old man."

With that said, the bandits left the village. Every villager has already left the town square, leaving a bloodstained woman lying down on the ground.

"Serve you right!" I thought out loud. While she did not directly kill Morgan, she was still one of them. I should just leave her to die.

Then I saw that she was still breathing. With her delicate hand, she tried to crawl away but it seemed like her bones were broken.

....

....

....

I would hate myself for this.

* * *

Gazel's house

Alastor's POV

"....where am I?" so she finally awaked.

"My house. And you are on my bed so don't move or the wound will open again. Don't want to make it more bloody than it already is." I said to the lady on the bed.

"You...I know you.... You are..." she sobbed. Seeing my face must bring back bad memories. The woman started to panic, looked around for a weapon to defend herself.

"Don't move!" I said louder.

I caught her hands and kept her lie down on the bed.

"You are too weak to even hurt me anyway. Please don't let me regret saving you!"

As I said, she calmed down a bit. I looked at her one more time. She was in rag, her face dirty by mud. The body covered with scars. What the hell happened to her?

"Since you are here like this, I assume the guys up there did not take kindly what you did."

But she remained silent. Her eyes still started at me, watching my every move. I only saved her since she released Alice last time but now I was starting to regret this already.

Judging from the situation she was in, I figured that Mikael has exiled her and cut off her wings for letting me go. What a bastard! Taking out on others because of his own failure! I should have absorbed him completely instead of just his arm.

"Why?" she finally spoke to me.

"Let's just say this is thanks for letting Alice go." I said to her while checking her wounds.

"But you are a demon." she talked back.

"And you are a celestial. So what? A pair of wings won't make you that different from me. Demons have feelings too you know.

As for me, I don't really like watching woman being abused. Unless they are my enemy."

"Aren't we enemies?"

"...No. Not yet. You were simply doing what you thought was best. You do what your heart tell you. I like that kind of person." I said to her. "But you are an idiot for defending those ungrateful jerks at the village."

"I did what was right to do. I could not let innocents people suffering like that."

"And look at that bravery, that kindness had led you to. You can't even beat a kid. Even after what you have done, not a single one of them cared about you. Even after the bandits left. When I asked them if I could borrow a room to take care of you, you know what they said to me? 'Let that monster die! We don't want anything to do with it.' Those are the people you tried to defend." I raised my voice.

"They.... were simply scared since I look hideous like this." the woman moved her hand to her back, reaching for what's left of her wings.

"The same thing was said about us demons. We are different so we must die. Screw them! No wonder so many demon lords wanted to destroy to the world."

After finishing checking her wounds, I renewed the bandages. She was a bit distressed by what I said. Perhaps I said too much. Now I was starting to feel sorry for her. What was wrong with me today?

"Drink this it would help you sleep." I gave to her a potion, specially made by Amelia.

She slowly took it and as she drank it, it clearly showed on her face that it did not taste good.

"It's bitter" she gulped.

"Of course it is. Plenty of poison and all."

"What?" she almost tried to spit it out but I stopped her.

"Just joking. See that wasn't so hard was it? Drinking a random potion from a demon. Now sleep! I will be downstairs so come back when you are awake!"

I fixed the blanket to her neck to cover her tattered clothes. I then went to the door. As I opened the door, I turned back and said to her.

"Just so you know. You are still beautiful if you ask me."

The celestial's face turned to red when she heard what I said. Her eyes tried to look away from me. Seeing how embarrassed she was, it was totally worth it.

* * *

Ikarus' POV

What was happening to me? How did I end up in a demon's home? And he was taking care of me at that. Ever since that day, I have had these bewildering thoughts, these doubts against my faith and my own judgment.

We ignored the innocents, to go after someone we presumed wicked. But what I saw that day was no demon nor villain. All I saw was a boy trying to save his family. And we took away that family from him.

After the trial, I was thrown out of Avant-Heim. When I woke up, I found myself next to where we first encountered that boy. But no one else lived there anymore. The town was completely destroyed, its residents dead. I thought we as celestials were supposed to be the embodiment of justice, an example to follow for the others races.

What we did was no better than those bandits.

Even though I lost my wings, I did not lose hope. I still believed in what I must do. So when I learnt about how the nearby village was plagued with bandits, I decided to protect it from the bandits. But the villagers did not accept me. They called me demon for how I looked like. Despite the fact that I was trying to save them.

At that moment, I realized. Could it be how demons have felt all these years? Being misunderstood by the whole world? If that was true, then what did I believe in for my entire life?

Was this my punishment for what I have done? Perhaps it was. I will embrace my sin and accept my retribution.

But it was so hard. Living alone in the wood, suffering all these beatings. I could not endure it any longer.

And he came to me. The boy.

I destroyed his family. I killed his mother. And yet he still chose to save me, despite what I did.

How long has it been since the last time someone was kind to me? He saw me redden when he called me beautiful. But it was not embarrassment that I felt. It was happiness toward the kindness I received. Tears poured out of my eyes. These tears used to be filled with anguish and sorrow, now were tears of joy.

* * *

Alastor's POV

I could hear her crying from downstairs.

"Still a child at heart." I smiled.

After moving her here, I asked Stella and the others to go back to the town to purchase supplies. Without me and the celestial, they should be able to buy something.

After a while, the girl finally went downstairs. Better ignored her crying.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked her.

"Yeah. Thank you!" she bowed her head to thank me. Quite a sudden change in attitude. Women never ceased to surprise me.

"You still did not tell me your name. By the way I am Alastor."

"My name is Ikarus Salem. You can call me Ikarus." she told me.

"Well Ikarus! What's your plan after this?" I asked her.

"I don't know. What about you? Why are you here? I thought you are at the Demon Continent." Ikarus spoke.

"I was but after a while I got bored so I decided to travel a bit for some fresh air. As for my plan, I don't know. Perhaps become the demon lord, destroy the world. Kidnap a princess, lock her in a tower with a dragon. Something like that."

"...."

"I am just joking!" I smiled at her. "But seriously, I am on a journey to create a world for my family."

"A world for your family? What do you mean?" She asked me curiously.

"A world where me and my family can live in peace without worrying about getting killed. I am a simple man, Ikarus. I am not trying to change the world nor do I wish to destroy it. I am not a benevolent nor a virtuous one. All I want is to be left alone, live my life as I see fit. But if this world would not allow me to have that right, if this world wants me dead, then I will make sure that it will go down with me.

And so before taking my decision about what I should do with, I intend to travel and see the world through my own eyes. I will see to it whether this world is still worth saving." I proclaimed.

"Then let me go with you!" Ikarus said to me. Caught me in complete surprise.

"Hum...why ?" I asked her.

"I know you are not evil. You want to see the world for yourself. And I want to be a part of it."

"Why? So you can kill me when the time comes?" I inquired.

"So I can make sure that you see the good side of it." she said to me.

"...You are weird." I jested at her.

"People have told me that." she finally smiled. "Anyway what now?"

"We wait for the others. Do you want something to eat?" I asked Ikarus.

"So there are others with you. Don't mind me. I will just sit here." Ikarus moved to the table and sat down on the opposite of me.

I looked at where her wings used to be. They were big, pure white the last time I saw it. Now all that was left was greyish broken. She saw me examining her and moved her hands back to caress her back.

"Did it hurt?" I asked her gently.

"Most painful thing I have endured. But that is not the worst of it. They are a part of me and now I lost them. A celestial's wings is everything to them. Once we lost it, we lose our power, everything.

But you don't have to worry about it. I will try to not be a burden to you." Ikarus forced a smile on her face.

I felt sorry for her. Letting me go has caused her to lose everything. If only I could do something about it. Then suddenly, a thought came to me. For the year I stayed at the demon castle, I have met a peculiar demon lord. Her power did not impress me that much compared to the others. Most likely because I did not know what I could use it for. Perhaps now it was time to test it.

"Ikarus, would you like to have your wings back?"