With one hand, Soren grabbed a struggling red-haired man and lifted him into the air.
"This man has nothing to do with you," he said while holding the man like he was a helpless kitten.
His voice was calm, and his face that was hidden behind the cross-shaped helmet, showing no emotion except for the tight press of his pale lips.
With that, Soren soared into the sky with his captive, ignoring the red-haired man's terrified screams.
At nearly 300 kilometers per hour, the red-haired man was almost scared unconscious.
He could barely open his eyes, half convinced he was seeing a hallucination from a drug trip.
Just then, he saw the moonlight pierce through the clouds and light up the face of the angelic creature beneath the mask.
That face was twisted into a terrifying, wide grin.
"Your punishment is only just beginning," the fearsome creature said, smiling.
At that moment, the red-haired man, already terrified by both the height and the words, fainted completely.
After tossing his captive into the place he belonged, Soren nodded to himself, quite satisfied with the outcome of his mission.
Fast, clean, efficient, and no evidence left behind.
He'd even have time to enjoy a glass of milk from Renee before bed.
...Well, except for the part where Batman accidentally stabbed a hole in his chest with that sharp mask.
...
The next morning, a red-haired man was found tied up outside the New York City Police Department.
After comparing his photo, the police confirmed his identity as Steven Fox, a hit-and-run fugitive.
However, the once-notorious criminal seemed to have suffered severe psychological trauma.
For days, he couldn't speak to anyone normally.
He just muttering somethings like "demon," "Satan," and "angel."
He also would often cry out and said, "Forgive me," "Let me down," or "Spare me," filling the police station with an unexpected sense of amusement.
The Hargreaves couple quickly heard the news, and they were so overwhelmed with joy that they burst into tears.
It felt as though the heavy burden that had weighed them down for years had finally been lifted.
The wicked one had received the punishment they deserved under the law, and the victims who had been trapped in darkness by evil could finally return to the light.
People said that justice might never come.
But justice had quietly arrived, just before dawn.
...
Renee Hargreaves sat at the edge of the bed, the fading light of the sunset casting her in half light, half shadow.
Her head was bowed, her right hand gripping a photograph of Benjamin Hargreaves.
Big tears rolled down her cheeks, falling onto the photo.
Charlie Hargreaves knelt beside her, wrapping his arm around her waist from the left and whispering softly, "Renee... that demon will get what he deserves. In a little while, we'll move to Kansas, and things will get better."
"I just, Charlie..." Renee covered her face in pain, "Every time I think that our Benjamin will never see another sunrise past the age of fourteen, my heart shatters..."
A mother who had lost her son, desperately clutching the photograph in her hands, with tears glistening in her eyes, as if the little boy in the picture was still sweetly resting his head on her knee, calling out, "Mom."
The news of the culprit being caught reminded her once again of the pain her son had endured.
She could still see his small, twisted body crushed beneath the car... every time the memory resurfaced, she was consumed by a nightmare of grief.
Charlie's hand trembled as he ran his fingers through her hair, pulling her closer.
Even the calm and dependable face of the middle-aged man now showed the weight of sorrow.
He stayed silent for a long time, also battling with the painful memories of the past.
Those memories were like a gray fortress, trapping them both inside with no way out.
They had been struggling for so long, and were nearly at the point of collapse.
Until one day, an angel came into their lives.
When he and Renee brought Soren home from the orphanage, he suddenly felt like there was light ahead again.
It was salvation—Soren wasn't the one they rescued; it's Soren who rescued them.
It was Soren's arrival that helped them lean on each other and slowly find their way out of the darkness.
This child was unbelievably beautiful, like the last gift from heaven to them.
He was lively and loved to laugh, with a natural warmth that made everyone feel at ease.
He was so full of joy that they couldn't help but feel guilty when they thought about how such a happy little angel had grown up in an orphanage.
Every time Charlie heard Soren's laughter echoing through the house, it felt like the blood in his body, which had long stopped flowing, was suddenly revived, warm and alive again, coursing through him.
Charlie trembled as he took a deep breath and said softly, "But God gave us a little angel to make up for it. Renee, we need to look forward now. You should think about Soren."
Yes... they still had Soren, the angel who had saved them.
Renee silently wept, her left hand resting on her chest as she gazed out the window at the setting sun.
In the golden glow of dusk, Soren was by the small pond in the garden, doing something with his head down.
His blond hair shimmered, almost translucent under the light of the sunset.
He looked so carefree, as if he had never seen the darkness of this world.
He didn't know how much she loved him.
Soren's arrival brought her love and renewed her hope of being a mother.
At least she could still be a mother, to give him the love she hadn't been able to give Benjamin.
She would pour all her love into this child.
She would do everything in her power to protect him, so he could grow up happy, safe, free from harm, and live his life as a joyful, carefree prince.