An angel panted as he removed his hands from the back of a cuirass of a sitting soldier. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his brow. The sitting soldier stood up and nodded at the medic before walking towards the circle of soldiers surrounding them in the distance. Another soldier stumbled into the seat that was just occupied. The medic sighed as his hands glowed, and he pressed them into the soldier’s back.Around him, there were roughly sixty other medics, some were busy healing while others were taking breaks. After he finished healing the soldier in front of him, the medic leaned back and sighed. Someone tapped his shoulder. “Swap with me,” a voice said. The voice was raspy and low, as if its owner hadn’t spoken in a long time.“Alright,” the medic said and nodded as he staggered to his feet. He turned around and a cloaked figure walked past him, brushing a hand against the medic’s chest. “Is it that cold? Why are you wearing your cloak?” The medic tilted his he

“Palan?” Cleo asked as she poked the demon’s unconscious body. She tilted her head and blinked at him. It was the first time she saw him sleep while lying down. He was always sitting up, but now he was lying on his stomach with his face planted into the floor of the tent. His arms were spread out to the sides, and his legs were slightly parted. In front of his head, there was a perfectly spherical rock. Cleo’s tail swished as she glanced at Uzziel. He was dozing off with his chin resting against his chest.The blanket stirred behind Cleo, and she picked up the rock and stored it inside her pouch. Moments later, she heard Raea groan. “Raea,” Cleo said and tore the blanket off of the sleepy-eyed angel. “Something’s wrong with Palan.” Raea became instantly alert as her heart missed a beat.“What happened?” she asked as she scrambled towards Palan.“I don’t know,” Cleo said and flipped Palan’s body over. His eyes were dull and unfocused, constantly moving around but focusing on nothing. C

“Hey, old man, you’re an angel of knowledge, right?” Palan asked, staring up at the sky. His body protested every time the storage chest jolted, but it was far better than walking by himself.“That is correct,” the blindfolded angel said and took out a pipe hidden in his robes. He pulled out a red orb and placed it near the opening of the pipe, lighting the contents on fire. Raea gaped at him and stared at the orb as Pyre placed it back into his robe. Pyre took a long drag on his pipe and exhaled, blowing out a fine cloud of purple smoke. “Would you like some?”“Absolutely not!” Raea said. “Where did you even get an orb of wrath from? And inhaling these kinds of substances will surely decrease your lifespan.”Pyre shrugged. “What about you, Palan?”“I never consume things other people give me,” the demon said.“Makes sense,” Pyre said. “Demons are very cautious folk, except for the gluttons. The fact that they can digest anything without getting sick probably helps.” Cleo was gazing u

“I can finally move,” Palan said as he sat up in bed. He clenched and unclenched his hands while laughing. Cleo climbed off of Palan’s legs and rubbed her eyes. She let out a yelp and curled up into a ball as a loud banging sound resounded through her ears. Powder fell off of Palan’s fist as he brought his hand to his side. There was a new fist-shaped hole in the wall next to him.Raea sat up in her bed across the room. “Palan?!” she asked as she threw off her blanket. “What happened?”“What’s going on?” a sleepy voice said. The door opened and Pyre stepped inside the room. The army had traveled to the outpost under much harassment and occupied it quite easily because it was empty. Uzziel was willingly replaced by Pyre as Raea and Palan’s watcher. “Young people are so lively.” Pyre yawned and pulled up a seat. He sat down and took out his pipe.Palan glared at Raea as she approached him. His contractor hesitated before speaking, “You’ve recuperated? That’s great.” Palan’s face hardene

“What are you staring at?” Palan asked as he bared his teeth at the guards standing on the watchtowers of the outpost walls. Palan wondered why Ishim’s army abandoned the fortified area for a glade in the middle of the wilderness but shook his head and inhaled as his ribs throbbed.“Should we let him in?” one guard asked the other. “Wasn’t Jeb supposed to be looking for him?” The guard leaned over the railing and shouted down at Palan, “Where’s Jeb?”“What kind of name is Jeb?” Palan said and snarled. “Open the gates, or I’ll open them myself!”“I think we should open the gate,” the other guard said and readjusted the handkerchief hanging around his neck. “He’s the mini-tyrant’s demon after all.”“Mini-tyrant?”“Yeah,” the handkerchiefed angel said. “You know, the Tyrant’s little sister. People are calling her the mini-tyrant now. I heard that she got into a fight with Uzziel over the quality of the food and killed his demon.”“Over food? Just what I expect from that man’s little sist