Faythe continued to glare at Ekho as Ira couldn't take his eyes off the horror that lay in front of them. Bodies upon bodies were discarded all over the area. No human life was spared as blood painted the white snow that surrounded them.
"This is….This is horrible." Ira's eyes were fixated on the gruesome scene.
"Ekho…" Faythe growled under her breath. "I'll ask once again, did you do this?" her eyes narrowing at the girl that stood beside her continued to give her a sick maniacal smirk as she watched as Faythe was growing impatient with her. "Ekho…." Faythe called out to her in a low tone.
"And I'll just repeat myself Faythe, what if I did?" She replied, her smile never fading as Faythe was about to say something, but Ekho cut her off before she had the chance to. "You get so worked up over the littlest things," Ekho added as she turned her head to the pile of bodies that lie before them
]
Ira turned his head towards Ekho, who ignored his gaze. "Littlest things?" He repeated.
Ekho continued to pay him no mind. "Stand down…" Faythe quickly said, sensing that Ira was about to do something stupid.
"How can you be so calm about this?" Ira stepped towards Ekho, quickly turning her to face him. "This isn't little!" He shouted at her as she gave him a cold deadpanned look. "People were massacred! And all you have to say that this is little! What's so little about this?" Ira screamed at her as Faythe gritted her teeth as she feared that she losing more control over the situation.
"I said stand down!" Faythe shouted at Ira, but Ira paid her no mind. "Didn't you hear…." Faythe eyes widen a bit as Ekho quickly grabbed Ira by the throat with her right hand, clutching it tightly. "Ekho!" Faythe called out to her.
"I don't recall ever saying that you could put your hands on me," Ekho stated as Ira quickly grasped Ekho's wrist with both of his hands as he tried to remove her group from his throat, but to no avail. "I gave you one job and that was to keep Faythe alive for the sake of the mission, while I kill the demon that we were sent here for." Her cold eyes bore down onto Ira as he was forced to look up at her as she continued to hold him in a submissive position. "Now that Faythe is up, I don't see why we have to keep you around; if you die right now; it wouldn't matter." Ekho continued to talk. "How about it…Want me to pop your head off?" She asked him as Ira's eyes lit up at the sheer thought of that statement.
"Ekho that's enough!" Faythe shouted from behind her as she quickly placed her hand on her shoulder; her gauntlet reappearing as of a sign that she was serious.
Ekho continued to gaze down at Ira as she slowly diverted her eyes back at Faythe for a split second. Letting a small sigh escape her lips she returned her look back towards Ira. "Touch me again and die, your choice." She released him as Ira began gasping for air upon release.
Turning her attention back to Faythe, she spoke. " To answer your question, no I didn't do this," Ekho answered her as her eyes traveled back to the gruesome destruction in front of them. "If anything, I'll say that this is the feeding ground for our large friend," Ekho stated. "Look." She pointed out. "Ice Shards are all around the bodies, meaning that they were probably frozen solid before the demon came.
"So it ate them like frozen popsicles." Faythe added with a grim look on her face as Ekho nodded her head in agreement.
Regaining his composure Ira stood up and views the scenery once again as well. "So what next?" Ira asked.
Faythe didn't hesitate to answer. "We need to leave for now…" She gritted her teeth. "We have to find a place to hide, it's about to get dark soon anyway." Faythe stated as she turned her back towards the devastation behind her.
"So what about this?" Ira pointed at the chaos that painted the snow filled scenery. "We know where the demon's resting spot is, why not just wait for it and attack?" Ira asked, trying to get Faythe to rethink her earlier statement.
Faythe stopped walking for a moment and turn her head back to glance at Ira. "We don't know that for sure." She said sternly. "For all we know, this could have been one of many massacres. Look at some of the humans that were killed. "She pointed at the lifeless bodies that lay before them. "Most of their bodies are still completely intact, which means it wasn't just the big demon that killed these people." Faythe pointed out. "We'll be outnumbered, especially if we have to keep an eye out for you." Faythe turned her back towards Ira and Ekho and continued to walk away. "We'll be dead in a matter of minutes trying to keep you alive." She hissed under her breath as Ekho simply shrugged as began walking after Faythe.
Ira couldn't help but let out another sigh as he placed his hand on the sword. "Iva…."He said to himself as he began to follow the two angels.
Time passed as the three walked for hours, trying to locate a decent hiding spot to stay clear of any demon activity. They were successful in not encountering any hostility, but the cold was starting to set in for the three, but most importantly Ira.
A harsh blizzard began to blow as the three tried to shield themselves as best they could. "We need to get inside!" Faythe shouted as she shielded her face from the winter storm that brooded over them. She turned her head back to see Ekho doing her best to take the situation calmly as she fought against the winter blast as well, but Ira was beyond freezing at this point. She saw his body shivering frantically as he desperately tried to keep up with his temporary teammates.
"Hey!" She shouted behind her, calling out to Ira who could barely lift his head up to look at her. "Shit…."She cursed as she saw how blue his skin was turning and the fact that his movements were slowing up with every passing second.
"Why not just leave him here?" Ekho stated bluntly. "It's not like the Chairwoman would mind." She crossed her arms as she gave Faythe that same blank stare, but her words were serious.
"That's not what we do Ekho, our mission is for all of us to come back alive." She slightly glared at her.
"Well, you're sure doing a good job of that aren't you? We already lost one and now you're on the verge of losing another." Ekho responded. "How does that make you feel by the way?" Ekho asked her. "Just admit it; you want to leave him behind to." She added as a small sadistic smirk formed on her face. "Just tell the truth, Faythe, you are no different than me." She ended as Faythe simply walked passed Ekho, heading towards Ira who dropped to his knees at this point. She saw him, his body shaking as he tried his best to keep warm. His skin was a pale blue as he could barely formulate a sentence. All her ears could pick up was the sound of his teeth chattering as he managed to look up at her, trying to put on a brave face.
"Earlier was a mistake…" Faythe spoke as she knelt down in front of Ira and lifted her hand to his forehead. Feeling the cold for herself, she stood back up; glancing behind her. "We're going to have to set up camp in that house over there." She pointed to across the yard, seeing no other option that they could take. "I know it's not ideal and that it would be easier for them to find us, but if we can seal off the windows a bit, then maybe we can get by." Faythe explained to her as Ekho just stood there with her arms crossed, narrowing her eyes at Faythe's back.
"I don't want to be responsible for somebody else dying. So let's go." She ended as she helped Ira up and guided him to the nearby house as Ekho just shrugged her shoulders and followed quietly.
A few hours have passed and like before the three had a small fire going. Ira had warmed up a bit as his body temperature returned to a tolerable level. He and Faythe sat in front of the fire, not saying a word, while Ekho sat in the corner of the room, sleeping peacefully; as if the cold, demented girl never existed.
The sounds of the flames danced around the room as the warmth of the fire comforted the three individuals. Ira's eyes slowly glanced back and forth from Faythe to Ekho. He then brought his eyes to flame in front of him and let loose a low sigh.
"If you have something you want to say, and then say it." Faythe spoke up, breaking the silence between the two and even causing Ira to become somewhat alarmed by Faythe's sudden statement. "You've been staring at me and Ekho for a while now if there's something you want to say then speak up." Faythe slightly narrowed her eyes at him.
Ira didn't respond immediately, his eyes gazed at her for a second as he slowly brought them down to the flames that danced in between them. "It's just…I…Well….Thanks…For saving me back there." He struggled to get out. "If you didn't….Well….I would have just been another frozen treat out there if it wasn't for you." He looked at her, trying to give her a cheerful smile. "So, you know, Thank yo….."
"Don't get the wrong idea." Faythe interrupted. "I only saved you because the chairwoman made it our mission to make sure we all come back safely." Her eyes lowered slightly as she stared at the flames. "I've already failed by losing our navigator, but that doesn't mean I can't make sure that the rest of you can get back in one piece." She closed her eyes. "I just can't believe that she put someone as useless as you on the team and…."
"You're alive…." This time Ira interrupted her.
"Huh?" Faythe's eyes blinked for a second. "What?"
"I asked you if you are alive," Ira repeated himself as he stared at the flames as well.
Faythe eyes narrowed at him again. "What do you mean by that?" She retaliated as Ira never brought his eyes to meet hers, but answered her question anyway.
"if someone as useless as me wouldn't have been here, you would have been killed. If fact; both of you would have been dead if I didn't step in the last minute." Ira explained to her calmly. "I understand that I'm not worth much to either of you, but the least you could do is give me some credit for helping you stay alive through all this." Ira slowly looked up at her.
"You think that just because you saved us, you deserve credit?" Faythe responded. "Like it's an accomplishment or something, like you deserve a medal for your good deeds?" She grew irritated by his statement.
"That's not what I…" Ira tried to explain.
"Do you even understand how dangerous it is out here?" Faythe cut him off. "You are nothing but a simple human, swinging around a sword that was given to him by a demon that was trying to kill you because she wanted you to put a fight." Faythe words were finding its mark one by one. "This isn't about what you've done and getting recognized for it. No merits are worth getting noticed, especially if you're not guaranteed to live the next second you let your guard down." Faythe explained to him, her golden eyes refusing to leave his face as she displayed the annoyance that he brought on her.
He sighed depressingly as his eyes traveled back to the flames. "It's just…I don't know, I just wanted to be useful." He let his words fall from his mouth. "I failed at saving the people that I was living with, I couldn't even save Iva," Ira spoke as Faythe listened carefully to what he had to say. "Hell, so far I've been pretty useless to just about everybody." He stated as he slightly glanced back to Ekho's sleeping form. "I was even useless to Ekho, and if you didn't wake up when you did, I probably would have been dead." Ira realized. "Damn…." His eyes narrowed as he balled his fist up as he came to his own realization.
Watching the disdain at his own issues, Faythe let out a slight sigh of her own. "We aren't the same as regular humans." Faythe began to explain. "Regular humans don't belong on the battlefield, we do." She brought her eyes back to him. "The blessings that we received strengthened our bodies and gave us the abilities that we have to fight off the demons that plagued the earth." She explained to him as Ira lifted his head up to listen what she had to say. His eyes met her eyes as she carried on her same demeanor.
"No mattered how hard you may want to, there's really nothing you can do to help us." Faythe stated. "That sword of yours can barely save you from a low-class demon, nothing more; nothing less." She pointed out reality to him. "You managed to get this far, but not on your own. If you were by yourself, you would have died back when your sister tried to kill you." She closed her eyes for a split second before reopening them. "Just accept it…You're way out of your league here." Her words hurt as Ira knew it to be true.
He lowered his head again in defeat as he looked back at Ekho for a second to tear his eyes away from the angel in front of him. "So…Tell me then…" Ira responded. "What's it like being an Angel?" Ira asked her as Faythe expression broke for a split second before looking down at the flames herself.
"That's what you are right? You have the wing to prove it and…"
"Don't be ridiculous…" Faythe let out a low growl as the mere thought of Ira's interpretation rubbed her the wrong way. "Don't stereotype us with something that we have no right to be." She almost hissed at her own statement as Ira reacted by giving her a questionable look.
"What do you mean?" He decided to press on. "You've been blessed and…"
"This is not a damn blessing!" Faythe shouted as she stood up, glaring down at Ira who was taken back by her sudden reaction. "The abilities we have are a curse, something that we have to live with for the rest of our lives to remind us of the sins that we committed when we obtained these powers." Faythe told him. "Nothing good comes out of us using our abilities; the only thing we're doing is trying to atone for something that wasn't our fault! She began to seethe as Ira continued to look up at her in shock. "We are not angels, hell we're not even people anymore. We're just humans that were cursed with an ability and our reward is to cause pain to others that don't deserve it" She calmed down a bit. "Actually…When you think about it…We're no better than demons." She finished as she sat back down and wrapped her arms around her knees as she pulled her legs closer to her. "We only commit sins, it's not like we do anything virtuous, we're nothing but sinful demons in angel form, nothing more, nothing less." She spoke more to herself than Ira as he recalled Ekho saying something similar.
-Quick Flashback-
"Angel?" Ekho cut him off. She let off a deep sigh as she stared at the fire as it danced in front of them, feeding off the wood that they tossed in. "Angel..." She snickers a bit. "That's funny," Ekho replied.
-End of Flashback-
Remembering the previous event, Ira spoke again. "Ekho said something like that while you were out." He stated as he tossed a piece of wood in the flames. "She said something like "Angel or Demon, It doesn't really matter to me." He quoted her.
"She did, did she?" Faythe let a fake snicker escape her lips. "Yea that sounds like her alright, straight to the point as always." She took a deep breath.
"What do you mean? Does she feel the same way you do?" Ira threw another question at her as Faythe calmly shook her head at the statement.
"No…" She hugged herself a bit tighter." Ekho's a bit different than us." Faythe answered truthfully.
"Us? You mean the other two girls as well?" Ira followed up as Faythe nodded her head in response.
"Ekho's….Just different from Nyx, Yure and I. Actually; none of us are the same, but Ekho…" Faythe lifted her head up a bit, her eyes falling on Ekho's sleeping form before she turned her attention back to Ira. "Her powers are different from ours, which causes some…Complications." Faythe tried replied.
"Complications?" Ira repeated.
"You do know what her powers are right? I'm sure you've seen that much." Faythe asked him as Ira nodded his head back at her.
"Yea, it's sound right?" Ira answered.
Faythe nodded. "Her ability causes a lot of strain on her mind when she starts losing control of them." She closed her eyes a bit as she continued to explain. "Ekho's power of sound is unique and the massive area that she can cover with that alone is a lot for her to take in and control on her own, so we constantly have to keep an eye on her….Sometimes….Sometimes, we find Ekho talking to herself; Other times she'll tell us about these crazy nightmares she has and the people she sees in them. A lot of the time they're of her mother." Faythe's eyes saddened a bit as she looked up at Ekho once again. "She tells us that she keeps hearing voices in her head." Faythe serious expression returned to her face. "Every time her powers began to spiral out of control, she tells us that there is a voice in her head that constantly tells her what she is. That's she's not an angel; none of us are." Faythe's words settled as she continued to look at Ekho's sleeping body. " That's when she starts acting differently." Faythe eyes narrowed a bit.
"Like how she…" Ira was cut off by Faythe again.
"She's more sadistic and aggressive." She answered. "She loves the idea of taking life without remorse and will do in the most demonic way possible." She lightly gritted her teeth. "There's nothing angelic about her when she gets to that point." Faythe ended as Ira quickly diverted his eyes to Ekho who body wasn't slumped against the wall anymore.
His eyes shot up when he felt someone breathing behind him. "You know it's not nice to talk about someone when they aren't awake to listen." Ekho quickly glanced over at Faythe, who returned the look as she looked up at the sound user.
Ira was still stunned by how fast Ekho had moved as he slightly glanced behind him to look at the white haired girl. "You aren't having any kind of thoughts of getting rid of me, are you?" She addressed Faythe, who sighed and slowly stood up to face the shorter girl that stood close to Ira.
"You know what our mission is Ekho, let's just get it done and head back to Cherubim." Faythe replied. "You're starting to lose control of your powers again and…"
"Are you getting scared Faythe?" Ekho interrupted.
Faythe's glare darkened a bit as Ekho turned to Ira, showing him that same sick smile that she displayed for him earlier.
"And what about you? Are you scared yet?" She asked him as Ira kept his eyes on her as best as he could. He remained silent as fear was slowly setting in at what he had already seen the sound user do in her previous battles.
Ekho's eyes diverted back to Faythe as her sound gloves began to glow on her hand and Faythe's gauntlets appeared on hers. "I'm so glad you understand what's about to happen now." Ekho continued to speak. "Oh good, you can hear them too." She said as Ira gave them both of a confused look.
"Hear…What…Hey! What's going…?" Ira tried to speak, but Ekho spoke over him.
"Then you know we're completely surrounded and their leading the big one to us." Ekho continued to talk as Faythe kept her eyes locked on to her.
"Are you going to be able to hold on to what little control you have left?" She simply asked her as Ekho's sadistic smile continued to spread across her lips.
"Oh, I don't know." She dragged out. "You know, the more blood the better." She answered as she stretched her right hand out to her right side and a large sound wave shot out of her hand and blasted a large hole in the wall, but hitting a group of low-class demons, killing them in the process.
She never took her eyes off Faythe as her attack landed and completely annihilated a group of demons in her wake. "Looks like their here." Her smile widens as she slightly cocked her head to the side to see a large group of demons outside of the small house that they tried to find comfort in and the large skull demon stood behind them, roaring immensely as the demons around it quickly charged towards their prey.
-Same time Cherubim-
Nightfall shrouded over the area of Cherubim. The small refugee city was beautifully lit with the lights that flickered on and off in all the small houses that sat below the Cherubim tower itself. On the rooftop of Cherubim sat Ether looking over the human's lives that her organization has managed for the past decade.
She sighed depressingly as her mind was fixated on the people that she sent out. "Still no word; nothing at all." Her eyes appeared to sadden as remained on the city below.
"I see you're worrying yourself as always." She heard a masculine voice coming from behind her.
Unalarmed by the sudden presence, Ether spoke. "And you have impeccable timing as always, Midas." She spoke kindly to him as he stood beside her. "I told you earlier that you need some new glasses, those just don't fit your face." She spoke without looking at him.
"That may be true, but I still think it goes with my image." Midas retaliated kindly. "Besides, there are more important matters at hand at this current time." He ended as he slowly glanced over towards Ether and saw the glum look on her face.
"Still worried about your children?" Midas asked her as he pushed his glasses up on his face, looking out into the scenery as she did.
"I just….I just wished." Ether took another deep breath." I just wished…Ugh, I hate waiting." She displayed her emotions in frustration as she slammed her hands on her seat handles. "Why do I have to sit here and wait? I could be out there fighting with them!" She shouted. "This sucks, why do I have to be stuck to this stupid wheelchair?" She continued on. "What can I do? Roll over a demon's foot or something, how the hell is that going to help anybody!" She continued to babble on as Midas lightly glanced over to her. "I just…Ugh, I don't know what to do. I send people on these missions and I worry myself to death….I'm a horrible person." She lowered her head as Midas continued to look at her.
"Rolling over a demon's foot would be a start though." Midas countered. "Imagine the excruciating pain they would be in, you would be the perfect distraction. "He let a small laugh escape his lips.
"Don't patronize me," Ether shot back, sending a small glare in his direction.
Catching himself by stopping a few extra chuckles, he spoke. "Believe me, that wasn't my intentions Ether."
"That's Chairwoman to you." She crossed her arms at him, but returned to her previous expression. She looked down at the small city lights below them again, sadden by the burden that she carried. "I don't know Midas; do you think I made the right call?" She asked him.
Taking a breath of fresh air himself, he spoke. "You put a lot on yourself Ether. What you're doing is sending people who have the abilities out on the battlefield to help others." Midas spoke as he looked down at the city below them. "See for yourself." He pointed down below at the lit up with life and excitement. "Around the world, people are dying; slaughtered left and right; but you….You Ether, created a small glimmer of hope for the world, with an assist from the blessings of course." Midas explained to her.
"We may not be able to save everybody, but…Thanks to Cherubim; your creation, we can at least save the race from suffering from complete annihilation. " Midas ended as Ether looked up at him as he smiled down at her. "Now, give our Angels some credit, they'll come back successful and in one peace." He ended as Ether could only nod her smile still on her face as she looked down at the city before them, reassured with hope.
"You're right." She told him with new found confidence. "Thanks, Midas. You always know what to say" She ended.
-Back in Shinjuku-
Faythe gritted her teeth as her eyes glanced from all around them. They were completely surrounded and the presence of the large demon didn't make things any better. Her eyes darted from the demons to Ira who pulled out his sword, but his body was shaking a bit from fear as his eyes narrowed at the demons that surrounded them.
Faythe could hear a slight snicker from Ekho as she turned her eyes directly towards her. "Oops, sorry I didn't mean to let them in." She gave Faythe a fake innocent smile. "I'll try to be more careful next time."
"Ekho…" Faythe growled as Ira slowly took a few steps back as the low-class demons began to close in on the three.
"Guys, could someone think of something, please," Ira stated as he gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands as his eyes glanced from all sides of him as well.
Faythe continued to try and read the situation as she tightened up her fist, sending another glare back at Ekho for her sheer recklessness. The sounds of growls and hisses could be heard all around them, including the large and audible thuds coming from the main demon itself.
Ekho seemed unfazed by the turn of events as the sound ring on her gloves began to glow in the palm of her hand. Ira kept his eyes locked on the demons that were in front of him as Faythe eyes continued to dart in all sorts' directions. There was no denying the disadvantage and life threatening situation they were in. She swallowed a bit as she got a good look at her surroundings as the cold hard fact ran through her mind as she surveyed their predicament. They weren't going to get out of this situation alive.