Azra-El Series Arc 2 Ch. 02

Finally, her shield caught his punch at an angle and the force threw her tired arm to the side.

Frightened, the demon swung her sword at his chest.

Blaze ducked down under her arm, and rammed her into the tree with the force of his weight.

As if waiting for that moment, Liz let go of her arrow.

Blaze heard the demon spluttering and something warm fell over his hair, soaking it and dribbling down the side of his ear and cheek. It felt just like water but warmer.

He quickly stepped back and noticed the arrow in the demon's jugular. Her enfeebled defenses had been no match for an arrow to the throat.

"Chief, above you!" Liz's warning brought him to his senses.

He ducked and rolled to the side, picking up the shield that had slid off the demon's hand.

However, by the time he looked up from under the cover of the shield, he spotted the airborne demon retreating. Spurred by anger, he swiveled around and launched the shield at the demon. It swooshed through the air like a discus and clipped the demon in the wing, making her swerve and almost crash into the trees. Unfortunately, the demon managed to control her flight and sped off into the distance.

"Yeah! Ya better run, you cunts!" Blaze bellowed at her, before falling to his knees.

Nikolett stood still and observed her surroundings for a minute before turning around to Blaze. "Are you alright?" she asked, picking up her spear, which she had dropped it whilst trying to protect Blaze.

Blaze tilted his head to the skies and yelled, "I am fucking hungry!"

But then his ears picked up the bloody sputters of the demon as she struggled to breathe. Though he did not look back, the image of the arrow in her throat was crystal clear in his mind. The image combined with the stench of her blood on his skin made him feel sick. A shudder coursed through his entire body, and he fell on his forearms and gagged. However, there was nothing in his stomach for him to vomit.

Liz watched the sight and wondered. Is he really two different beings?

"Keep an eye out, and..." Nikolett signaled Liz towards the demon with her eyes, before walking up to Blaze.

She knelt beside him and gently rubbed her hand over his back.

Liz walked up to the demon and put her out of her misery.

When Blaze stopped gagging, Nikolett pulled him close, and let him rest his head against her chest until he calmed down.

***

After Blaze vigorously cleaned himself by a stream, Liz approached him and held up three coins: 47, 52 and 234. "Pick one," she told him.

Blaze chose forty-seven, simply because it was a prime number. He liked primes. She offered the other two to Nikolett and she picked fifty-two.

"These will be your personal coins, unless you find others that you like better," she decided.

"What if their owners are still alive?" Blaze asked.

"Oh, they are dead," Liz said solemnly.

"Didn't you say that hunters try not to kill one another, if possible?" Blaze asked, once they began to move.

"There are always a few crazy cunts. This is the first time I am running into these sorta people, though. They usually end up dead as well," Liz answered with venom in her voice.

"Why do they end up dead?"

"Well, a cornered demon will fight back. So, these sorta people may be successful a few times, but eventually, they will get hurt, and then there will be no mercy for them."

"Hmm. Have any idea why they were so intent on targeting me? Now that I think about it, everyone seems to target me first."

"That's easier to answer. You just look the weakest, which is a goddess-damned trap if ya ask me... Anyway, injured people can't escape, so going for the easiest target increases the odds of getting a coin."

For the rest of the day, the trio didn't run into any more demons, though Liz did manage to hunt down a horn-nose all by herself.

When dusk arrived, they once again sought the shelter of a tree. This time, however, Blaze decided to sleep on Nikolett's side of the tree.

"Did I do something wrong?" Liz asked, when he mentioned his intent.

"No, why would you think that? I just don't want Janey to feel lonely. I slept with you yesterday, so it's her turn today. Besides, we kinda trust you now, so we don't have to keep a watch on ya," Blaze circumvented. However, the truth was that he was unnerved by the demon's death, and despite his rational mind, he couldn't stop seeing Liz as a murderer.

"Ah, I see!" Liz said, as if she suddenly understood something.

Blaze gave her a curious gaze before heading up the tree. Soon, the two angels were comfortably perched up on two adjacent branches, gazing up at the eerie but somehow enchanting glow of the night sky.

"Thank you," Blaze said, after a few minutes of silence.

Nikolett accepted it without platitudes.

"You must think that I am weak," Blaze stated, after a moment.

Blaze was unaccustomed to death. He was used to pets and animals dying, but he had never experienced the death of a person, let alone see such a gruesome end. The violent death of the demon had shaken him much more than he had ever anticipated.

"No. Not at all. I did not fare so well on my first time either, despite being prepared for it. I had nightmares for days and I presume you will too," Nikolett confessed.

"I wish I could erase that image off my mind..." he breathed out.

He had only seen it for a couple of seconds at most, but the image had been etched into his memory: her panicked grey eyes; the arrow sticking out of her neck; the nasty wound out of which blood flowed like a tiny unstoppable red stream; the struggling heaves of her chest, which refused to accept despite the hopelessness in her eyes; and the blood that spilled out of her mouth each time she gasped for air.

His hands and feet curled, and he felt physical pain at the memory.

"You shouldn't. You need to get used to it."

Blaze wanted to say that no one should ever get used to death and killing, but he was not in the mood for an argument with Nikolett. So, he sighed and closed his eyes, trying to conjure up happy memories.

***

While Blaze and Nikolett discussed his weakness in the face of death, Liz's mind was occupied by something quite different.

Demons revered strength. And the memory of Blaze's fists pounding over a solid metal shield brought a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was painful yet strangely pleasurable and exciting.

A giggle escaped her lips as she clutched her stomach and curled up on her branch, while the strangeness of her own behavior baffled her.

She wasn't quite sure what she wanted. Despite her fear of him, her mind kept going back to the experience from the previous night. She wanted to feel his touch again, or at least have him in her proximity.

She had been disappointed when he told her that he was going to sleep beside the 'nasty' angel, and even jealous when she initially thought that he was going to intertwine with her. But now that she realized that it was just the 'kid' speaking, she wished that he would wake up and start pounding the angel, so she could go and join the fun.

Thus, she spent the night in troubled sleep, having nightmares of him giving her pleasure, while Blaze had nightmares of the dying demon's face replaced by the faces of Jie Er and Elyssa.

oOo

Despite his troubled sleep, Blaze woke up the next morning feeling quite invigorated.

"You are on a starvation-high. Don't go crazy just because you are feeling energetic. The aftereffects will be worse," Nikolett told him, as he skipped through the forest.

"Aww... I wanted to climb trees and swing from those vines. My dream is to take down a demon while swinging. Hehe."

He took in a deep breath of the fresh forest air and let out a shout while banging his chest. "Aahuaaa uaaa uaaaaaaaa."

"Shh!" Liz cried. "What are you doing? You will scare away beasts and hunters alike."

"Or attract the strong ones, which will get us more points," he swung his finger.

"She is as crazy as a carnike, isn't she?" Liz asked Nikolett.

"I hate to agree with you, but you may be right. Maybe it's those berries she ate."

"What berries? No meager berries can affect the awesome me. This is just my natural self. Also, carnikes aren't crazy. They are super awesome creatures and make great pets. They might get a little nippy at times, but that's what makes 'em fun. I've raised a carnike horde, so I know! The ass bites are well worth it. Besides, I get to punt them without guilt whenever they try to bite me. Hehe."

However, despite Blaze's newfound enthusiasm, the day was quite uneventful. Liz had decided to make some headway towards the center, instead of scouting for demons.

Throughout the whole day, she stuck by Blaze's side, asking him various things about himself and the Heavenly Union; and Blaze gladly obliged as he himself had plenty of questions about the lives of everyday demons. However, he made sure not to reveal too much about himself.

Blaze did not ask Liz anything too personal, but from what he could deduce, she was an orphan. There were no orphanages that she knew of, so she could only depend on herself to make money.

"Zagros city is pretty good for orphans," she said, when he asked how she managed by herself. "There are a few abandoned buildings where we hole up at night, and there are enough ways to earn a few scraps o'er the day. The city-lord is quite ruthless towards slavers, so we don't 'ave to worry about getting nabbed and sold or worse. And, then there is this tournament that happens every coupla years, where we can make a decent amount of money. Yeah, it's dangerous, but it's well worth the risk. At least fifteen to twenty hunters are Zagros City's orphans. We all share our tricks with one another, so we usually have an edge o'er others. Echidna, who is one of the top hunters, used to be an orphan, but now she's bought her own home using the money she's earned from the tournament. She's even been selected to become a city guard; may even become a captain one day!"

"What does the city-lord do to slavers?" Blaze asked.

"They are stripped, plucked, and eagled on the stockades at the city center for a whole month, before being guillotined. The worst of 'em have been hex-tered, or so I hear," Liz answered cheerily.

"Ugh," Blaze shuddered.

"It keeps us orphans safe," Liz shrugged.

Blaze glanced at Nikolett to see her nodding in approval.

"What about other cities?" he continued to probe.

"I know that Haydel is pretty bad. I heard the best fate for an orphan o'er there is being indentured. The city lord herself is known to buy young n' pretty slaves. However, no one knows of their fates. They simply disappear."

"Why don't the Valkyries intervene?"

"Well, it's not exactly done in the open, now, is it? All ya hear are the rumors. Besides, Lord Whitney of Haydel City is a well-connected devil. Even the Valkyries will be hard pressed to deal with her, especially if there is no proof. Besides, no one cares if an orphan or two disappear," she explained.

"If only the Empress would show herself," she continued with a sigh. "Then, all these tyrants will tuck in their tails and fall in line."

"Have you considered that Hela might simply not care?" Blaze asked, once again glancing towards Nikolett, but her expression was neutral.

"As long as the cratus fall in line, it doesn't really matter whether she cares or not, does it? Besides, if she didn't care, why would she have made those laws and created the Valkyries? Anyway, mum said that things were a lot better when Hela was active."

"Better?! Do you not know of the fairy genocide?"

"Geno-what? That was during the war, right? People die in wars."

"She ordered the deaths of almost six million fairies. Including children!" Blaze cried.

"Ne'er been ta school, so I don't know much about that. Maybe it's just angel propaganda. What I do know is that the fairies occupied our rightful lands and refused to leave, so we fought back."

Blaze quickly calmed himself down. History could be changed. He had expected the demons to view Hela as a tyrant, considering the atrocities she committed. However, maybe she was not just a powerful tyrant. Maybe she had managed to convince the masses that she was their savior, and maybe she truly was, depending on the perspective. One thing he could be certain about, however, was that demons as a society did not view themselves as purely chaotic evil. They certainly did not thrive on murder and mayhem like the angels would like to believe.

"Why did you make me take an oath on my mother?" Blaze changed the topic.

"I was told that angels usually keep their promises, but they are very tricksy with them. Maybe not as tricksy as the Ifrits but pretty tricksy. So, I had to make sure that there were no loopholes. I've heard too many stories about angels making promises only to trick us with wordplay," she answered.

"Er... Isn't that what the demons do?" Blaze asked, confused.

"Demons don't even keep their promises," Nikolett answered.

"No, we try to keep our promises unless it is necessary to break them. No point in keeping a promise if it means yer dead," Liz corrected. "Take me for instance. I will keep my promise with ya two as long as it does not cost me too much, like death or torture--can't disappoint me' mum. But ya angels will try to find loopholes in yer promise just 'cause I am a demon."

Blaze raised his brows and gave Nikolett a befuddled look. The angels he knew were pretty good on their word. A few angels could be very deceptive with their promises, but he had never experienced anything that could warrant Liz's stereotype.

"I have no idea," Nikolett shrugged and shook her head.

Liz looked between the two and made an unexpectedly wise statement. "Maybe it's demon propaganda!"

***

When the silver twilight set in, Blaze once again found himself on Nikolett's side of the tree. It had been easier to hate on her when they were separated by distance and ideology, but out here in the wilderness, he couldn't help but gravitate towards her. Even his initial harsh attitude towards her had disappeared. Instead, throughout their journey that day, he had found himself glancing at her for absolutely no reason. Nikolett had caught his gaze more than a few times, and soon began to blush each time, which only added to his waxing heart.

So, when it was time to sleep, Blaze said "freak it", and settled down on a branch beside Nikolett. He even considered saying something inane and taking her hand into his but decided that would be too much to take a step back from.

Blaze, however, did not consider Liz's feelings on the matter. After all, he had only known her for a couple of days.

Liz had been sure that the casual conversations she had with Blaze helped alleviate any discomfort he might've felt towards her. Consequently, she had been looking forward to the night, and was so very disappointed when he once again chose to spend the night on Nikolett's side of the tree.

Resting on her branch, she agonized over why he was ignoring her, and what she might have done wrong. She couldn't fall asleep for hours, and by the time sleep came to her, she came to an unwarranted conclusion. Maybe it is he who is unhappy with me. Maybe I need to show him more sincerity. He promised more if I did!

***

It was late in the night when Blaze and the others were awoken by something heavy pushing its way through the nearby shrubs and trees, accompanied by a sound that could only be described as wind rushing through a couple of large, soft pipes.

He quickly sat on all fours and glanced at Nikolett. She grabbed his shirt in a bid to stop him from doing something stupid but let go when he silently reassured her. He slowly crawled towards the edge of his branch and parted the leaves to peer down towards the source of the noise.

A moment later, the creature lumbered its way into his vision.

It moved slowly, so the first thing he spotted was its snout, with nostrils that somewhat resembled those of a pig. Through these nostrils it puffed out plumes of heavy air that created a layer of mist around its feet.

Edeina did not have clouds, but it was very humid. And, when the temperature got cooler at night, it turned very damp.

The creature's snout was a cross between a wolf and a crocodile, with sharp, finger-sized, canine teeth. And its body was a cross between a bull and a tiger, with thick and spotted fur. Its mouth was large enough to swallow Blaze in one bite.

However, the scariest aspect of the creature was its size. It was about nine feet high at its shoulders, with a body that seemed twice as long. Its size was seemingly unwieldy, but its toned muscles spoke otherwise.

By the time it reached their tree, Nikolett was by his side and peering over his shoulder. Blaze was sure that Liz was awake and watching, so he kept silent, knowing that she would give them a signal if they were in danger.

The creature paused at the base of their tree, sniffed, and glanced up. It stared at their spot for a moment, before displaying its sharp and bloody teeth in a gesture that oddly seemed like a Cheshire grin. The two angels tensed, ready to make a quick escape. However, after a moment, it lowered its head and ambled away.

Blaze and Nikolett let out their breaths only when the sounds of its hooves waned out of their ears.

"Liz?" Blaze called.

"Yes," she breathed out.

"What the Hela was that?"

"A pig-wolf!"

"What the heck?! That's such a misleading name!"

"I've never seen one so big, either. I didn't even know they could get that big," she rambled, seemingly as unnerved as they were.

"It's a good thing that Andy doesn't seem interested in us. If it was, I feel like it could've knocked down the tree," Blaze comforted himself and the others.

"What's an Andy?" Liz asked naively.

"It's short for Andrew. Since we are giving names that make no sense, I figured I might as well call it Andy. Maybe Andy will be kind enough to let us hitch a ride on its back, tomorrow."

"You're crazy!"

"Careful, or you might end up riding in its stomach," Nikolett warned.

After that, the three returned to their branches to get some more sleep.

"Blaze, do you believe in the Gods?" Nikolett asked, as she lay her head against the branch.

"Not really," Blaze answered, wondering where that question had come from. "You?"

"I do not worship them or usually care too much about their existence, but in times like these, I find myself praying to them. Praying that the two of us will return safely to the HU. Does that seem selfish?"

"Maybe... but I think it's just mortal nature. When we feel completely helpless, we seek solace in something greater than ourselves, even if it is imaginary. Anyway, if the Goddesses really do exist, I am sure they won't be offended by your selfish prayers."

"I hope so. What do you believe?"

"In deduction and logic, maybe... I may have believed in a magical superbeing during my first year after hatching. But now I think there are no Gods in a traditional sense. I've discussed this sort of a thing with Elyssa, and both of us came to the conclusion that if Rhea or another Goddess really does exist then she may just be a mortal who has transcended our realm of knowledge and power. Not some magical being."

"That is a terrifying yet hopeful idea."

In fact, Blaze often wondered if the world was a simulation, and the Gods were the programmers or a higher level of programs.

oOo

The next morning, Liz led them forward with a strange sense of purpose. By mid-morning they arrived atop a hill with a small two-storey tower.