The archangel of Kindness walked toward the guarded place,
Where he sees Barachiel, aiding the wounded people with grace.
The blond archangel noticed his presence right away,
And his red-colored eyes seemed to ask if he was okay.
But he was obviously not.
Yes, from from it, no doubt.
His focus shifted from the face of his friend,
To one of the injured children.
He felt something form in his throat,
A clear feeling of pity, he supposed.
The sight, it was still horrible for Jegudiel,
They were...only so little.
Knowing very little...
And yet, they are stuck in a war, abundant of evil.
He doubts they fully understand what's going on,
Perhaps, only dreaming of a nice, comfy home.
The archangel sighed, as he recalls his past life,
If only did he not defend Lucifer, would he have been corrected earlier?
Was it his fault that things weren't going any better?
He felt disheartened, can he protect them all?
...
Oh, he remembered it clearly,
The beautiful day that their promised brother was born.
His eyes were as bright as the morning sun,
So they named him...Lucifer.
But as the years go on,
They've noticed something, that's not very right.
Lucifer showed greed, showed clear defiance,
Showed jealousy, lust and pride.
He wanted a lot of things,
One of it was to lead them all under his wings.
Jegudiel, along with Selaphiel thought it was only a phase,
And didn't dare do anything about it.
"He's just young, he'll learn,"
He remembered his own lips speak out those words.
But if...if he didn't believe his heart at that point,
Would Lucifer, have a different turn?
Suddenly, he felt responsible for every cry on earth.
"Selaphiel, Michael, don't punish him too much,
He yet, doesn't fully understand...
He will need love and guidance if you want him brought upright,
Don't be too hard on him, he just dreams bigger than us, he'll learn his lesson, he'll not lose sight,"
What wrong words he have told.
Those didn't give him any good future as he thought they would.
And now, he felt even more guilty,
When he saw how much Lucifer had lusted to rule the world.
He remembered that dreadening feeling,
When he held a comrade into his arms,
one clearly dying.
When he looked around heaven to see how much of a mess Lucifer was making,
When he had no choice but to aggree, to cast him out of heaven, entirely.
The shouts, the heat in his skin,
The burning tears in his eyes,
The shouts of his comrades as they die,
It was too much for him to continue being kind.
And yet...if he had learned to put little trust and heart when he saw young Lucifer crying,
If he had fooled himself that that once small creature could cause countless wars and suffering,
Perhaps...perhaps he wouldn't have to see that day,
Where the seven virtues casted him away.
Perhaps he wouldn't have plagued the world with pain,
And these poor children, misery they do not deserve.
Jegudiel felt stupid, felt responsible,
If only he wasn't such an enabler.
He have failed everyone, has he?
If only he had guts to crush Lucifer's dreams.
If only he had realized that Lucifer truly want to be god,
And it wasn't just a young dream, that won't eventually last.
Tears fell from his cheeks,
And Barachiel quickly knew he wasn't holding up.
He quickly came to his aid,
Asking, if he was alright.
"You have bruises everywhere,
What creature have you fought, anyway?"
"These aren't as painful as theirs,
Don't worry too much about me, my friend,"
"And your tears? How can you explain them?"
"Some dust just got to my eye, it wasn't a big deal as well,"
Barachiel was far from convinced.
But Jegudiel seemed to carry himself fine, at least.
"Treat Haborym as well,
Once mended, he will be effective in the battle field,"
"I will. And you?"
"I still have to look for the other missing children,
They must be out there, somewhere."
"Are you sure? They may have been captured,
And you need to go inside the palace if that ever happened,
I...am not aggreeing with you on that subject,
You might get ambushed and killed.
I know you're persistent and eager, yet,
I think it is much better if you were in the battle field instead.
Where we are abundant and can see each other's back,"
"But the children, who will save them if I consider that?"
Barachiel was suddenly quiet,
Knowing that he can't stop his friend.
He looked the other way, a bit upset,
But Jegudiel smiled, and assured him well.
"I'll...be sure to come home,"
"Promise that,"
"I would really,"
"No, I need you to promise that,"
"I will come home, silly,"
"No, promise that, say it with the words, 'I promise,'"
Jegudiel's eyes were almost teary.
Barachiel was holding his a bit better than him,
But he knew, there were tears, about to fall.
"I promise to come home,
And after that, we'll rest in Father's kingdom for a very long while,
Singing and training the younger ones.
I promise that, I'll come back.."
And Barachiel forced himself to believe it all,
Even if he knew the dangers that trail behind.
"Come home as soon as possible,
After you gather what you opt to find."
...
Jegudiel wandered on the trails he had went before,
Searching for the children as he killed nearby demons.
He felt his shoulders ached from defeating Azazel's monster,
But he didn't dare told Barachiel of his true condition.
He knew that he would have just been told off,
And he'll feel ever more useless.
His thoughts may have wandered further,
But he heard several voices.
His eyes suddenly widened when he saw a pile of ash-
In which several children suddenly appeared.
They do not look entirely humans,
But were children nonetheless.
And despite their unusual appearances,
The kind angel still considered them innocent.
He quickly embraced the children for comfort,
As they took turns to cough.
"Were you hiding there all along?
To cover your scent from the demons?"
They only nodded as they cling to him closer,
And he quickly noticed one of the children point a finger.
"There, I swore I heard a mother and child talk over there,
But we couldn't move and help them, because they might blow our cover away."
Jegudiel nodded and quickly checked the covered hole,
But...he didn't find anyone there anymore.
"Are you sure this is where?"
"Yes, I'm sure of it."
"I'm sorry, but he's not here,
What does he look like?
Can you describe him for me?"
"White hair, green eyes, and pale skin,
He isn't the most talkative,
But he would never be able to hide that deep,"
"He's really not here and I don't see any kid,
I'll...I'll send you all to the safe house,
And I'll come back and look for him,"
...
Third time Jegudiel went back,
But he seemed to not find the boy at all,
Is the little one tricking him?
Where must the young boy go?
Frustration grew in the archangel,
Had he been killed? How to tell?
He wandered a bit, looked here and there,
And eventually, a rotting corpse, he was able to smell.
He pushed some debri aside,
And saw a woman, who looked like she had just recently died.
Her neck seemed bitten, and her guts were emptied,
Her legs were missing, and her arms all twisted.
Her face showed a horrified expression,
And Jegudiel felt bad, he wasn't able to save her from her tormentor.
After being distracted observing the corpse,
He felt a quick surge of an unwelcomed sensation.
The pain suddenly caught up to the angel,
*sighed* "I killed too many demons today..."
He tried to stretch his back and heed Barachiel's advice,
Perhaps...what his friend thought was more wise.
But just as when he was about to give up,
He heard someone running on the rooftops.
His eyes suddenly caught sight of a demon,
Holding more children, than he could have afford.
"Oi! Wait!" He uselessly said as he flew to the roof,
He felt surprised however, as he finally saw the figure.
"Azazel?" He asked, a bit confused,
Azazel wouldn't have been this careless,
And would have never been alone.
Jegudiel looked out for potential ambushes,
But none seemed to show up rather than him.
Still, he wasn't left at peace,
And made sure to keep a safe distance from him.
"Let go of the children, Azazel!"
"Are you sure? It's pretty high up here,"
"I...I didn't mean that of course!
Give them to me! And let's settle the score!"
"You can't just boss me around,
I'm the one giving the conditions,
You're simply not allowed."
"I will kill you the moment you blink, Azazel,
I told you to let go of the children,"
"Those empty threats are not menacing, Jegudiel,
You're not that hardcore, not like the others, I can tell."
"Do not look down on me just because of how I look!"
"But I'm simply saying the truth,
Do you ever think anyone would be scared of you?
Not even the weakest demon would dare shake on your presence,
And you may pour all your efforts,
But you'd never save these children,"
Jegudiel didn't flinch at any word he said,
Right now, all that's in his mind were the children.
He tried to find the white haired boy that one of the rescues had said,
But...he was still not there.
So...there must be many more of them,
Hiding or hidden in some place.
"What do you even want from them?"
"Well, you'll find out,"
And then the demon flicked his fingers,
And appeared a hole on the roof.
A monster with many hands appeared,
Grabbing the children, that couldn't help but scream.
"You have to follow inside if you want to save them,
And I'm telling ya, you won't be able to win.
Like I said, you are weak,"
"Azazel, even kindness can kill."
"Well, let's see about how true your statement is,
Let's see if you can truly defeat me for the sake of this kids."