Baltazar was looking out of the window of the building where his troop settled. His countenance was more serious than usual (something that most people would consider impossible to happen a few days ago).
On that day, nobody ever dared to call him or even approach his room. He had his arms crossed and the eyes of someone who was looking at the person he wanted to kill the most. There was a gleam in his eyes that exuded killing intent, which made even birds turn in another direction when coming near the building.
From time to time, he would get tired of standing at the window and chose to sit on his old chair, just to get tired of sitting and then get up again. The tension on his shoulders, the slight fidgeting of his fingers, and the constant frown on his face, showed his anxiety clearly just as much as his continuous and repetitive actions did.
'Are they not coming yet? When will those bastards step into my room so we can end up with this boring meeting!? I am about to leave the territory of my clan alone and go meet each one of the bastards that were coming at my headquarters!'
Indeed, he was so angry that he could end up blowing up his entire room just with the roar of frustration and wrath stuck in his throat.
He left the window once again, tired of looking at the streets and crumbling buildings in the distance. He sat on his chair resting his chin on his hand and sighing hard. A sigh that could be heard two floors below, making each demon inside them shiver in fear.
'And, finally, there he goes another time, leaving the window once again,' Lily thought, standing on the streets from an angle where she could clearly see the window of Baltazar's room, she had her arms crossed under her breast. She sighed nearly as hard as Baltazard did, feeling quite down.
'If I only had been more assertive when dealing with Mark... If I could, at least, have the initiative to stop him... This situation would surely be different if I had done as such. But now, here we are, needing to deal with it in such a cowardly way, with our hands tied, only watching as the world burns around us and we stand in idleness.'
Lily's dark blue eyes seemed to get even darker as she turned her gaze to the exit of the building and remembered the night when she let Mark get out of that place. Her heart seemed to sink into her chest, its beats getting painful every second more.
'I wonder how is he doing out there? I hope that his sacrifices are worth it. That idiot put so many things on the line... And that's not even the first time, he ALWAYS put a lot of things on the line for everyone. I know that some may think that he acts like this because he knows that he is the strongest among us but... but I have a different feeling. When I look at his eyes, I somehow can be sure that he would do the same even if he was born as the weakest demon of all others.'
Lily and nobody in that building, not even Baltazar, could ever know the burden of the strongest. They wouldn't ever understand how Mark's mind worked. After all, only he knew how much the responsibility of his power added weight to his shoulders.
'Sometimes I wonder what are his limits and how far would he go just to save us in the end... If my guess is right, I just hope that there isn't something worst than death in this world, and if there is, that he never gets in touch with it ever in his life. Because Mark would surely fight against the own devil or God himself if it meant to achieve his goals.'
Lily noticed that someone was approaching her, which made her struggle to regain her composure and wipe the tiny tears that were threatening to come out of her eyes.
She knew that everyone was kind of mourning for Mark and that she shouldn't feel guilty about crying over him, but she didn't want to do it in front of...
"Valory!" she shouted as she waved at her best friend.
Valory smiled, casting a kind and fond gaze at Lily's eyes. There was a hint of sadness there as well, but Valory was struggling not to show it to her.
Both hugged each other for some seconds before separating and looking at the window of Baltazar's room. Both of them had worried eyes when looking at that place. The meeting that was going to happen that day shook the entire headquarters.
"Do you think that he will have the guts to do it?" Valory asked, squinting her eyes. There was a hint of anger in her voice.
"To be honest with you, he has the guts to do so. Just as Mark is able to do anything for the sake of all the demon race, Baltazar will go beyond any boundaries for the sake of our clan."
Valory snorted, crossing her arms.
"I don't know which one is more idiot, in this case.'
"Probably both are equally idiots... Though I think that some boldness is needed, after all."
Valory cast a glare toward her.
"Which side are you, after all?" she inquired.
Lily sighed once again, closing her eyes and feeling the slight breeze crossing the suburbs' streets shaking her short blond hair slightly.
"I am not choosing a side here since both sides are right. If Mark believes that what he is doing will turn the tables in this war, maybe it was for the best that he escaped. However, due to said circumstances, what Baltazar is about to do isn't wrong either, considering that we need protection.
"Alas... they arrived..."
Valory looked in the same direction as Lily was looking, her heart beating wildly. She saw four figures walking towards their headquarters with hasty steps. That sight made her expression get grimmer and she clenched her fists.
Lily held her closed hand, soothing her grip and making her relax by intertwining her fingers with hers.
"Don't worry. Trust in our leader... He will know what to do."
And once again Lily hated herself for saying so as it was just another empty phrase coming out of her mouth.
****
Inside Baltazar's room, things didn't last too long to get quite agitated as the tension raised.
"We should hunt him down and bring his head back home to show the paladins that we are cooperating! If we don't act assertively, there won't be anything assuring us that they will be so understanding with us!" one of those men said, slamming the table with his fist.
"What? You are kidding, right? Do you think that any of our troops are capable of killing that monster? To be considered a monster among demons, one needs to be truly frightening, and Mark Foster is nothing less than very, very frightening. I won't sacrifice any of my troops in a pointless pursuit that will just end in slaughter," another one retorted, seeming perplexed and outraged by the words of that man.
"Hey, are you two in your right mind? I am not saying that we shouldn't consider this option at all, but it is quite unreasonable to hunt him down. He is one of our comrades and fought side by side with our troops to achieve better days for the demon race. Some years ago we wouldn't even have food to eat if not for his effort on the battlefield. We should, at least, recognize this and avoid conflict as much as possible. He is still a demon despite breaking the rules, and for our sake by the way," another man, but with a more juvenile voice claimed, his arms crossed over his chest.
Someone stepped into the conversation, looking at Baltazar in his eyes, though he was saying it to the rest of the group as well.
"This man deserves the persecution, he deserves being judged by others, but let's not take things too exaggeratedly, please. There must be another way to keep him alive without getting into a direct conflict with one of the regions with the larger concentration of paladins."
Baltazar nodded his head at him. The man who just talked had a calm and soothing voice, which showed how intelligent and reasonable of a person he was.
The leader of that headquarters needed a second or two to regain his composure. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists while breathing in and out. His eyes were filled with melancholy and regret but he didn't falter once he started. His voice was serious, his gaze was straight, and his line quite simple, though it shocked everyone else.
"I am cutting the connection between our clan, our headquarters, and the demon race with Mark...", he gave a little pause as he looked at the eyes of the last man to talk there.
"In resume, I will disown him from our territory and any demon territory under our agreement. We shall not make a move to help him. From now on, he is not acting in the name of the demon race, but by his own self."