Flames were raging all across the city the moment a giant blast suddenly erupted within one of the districts, tearing the attention of everyone towards the destruction it left in its wake.

"What was that?", Arcos tensed as he watched the fires burning down even more homes, mercilessly reaching out for anything in its path.

"That must have been Urzael, to bring the harvesting of souls to an end. We have sent him to lead the Death Maidens in their search, but now I have no doubt that it is him who is leading Malthael's forces within Westmarch.", Tyrael turned his head once Auriel chose to speak up again.

"Do you know where Malthael has gone? Once we have cleansed the town of his forces, he must answer for his actions.", to say that Tyrael was taken aback was an understatement, and his expression was not hiding it, something that Auriel simply chose to ignore. For that was certainly not something he would have expected from her.

Auriel was not to be mistaken as a pacifist, whenever the need arises and she is forced to act, she could be a fierce and fearless warrior in battle, the thousands of demons who have fallen through her hand being a silent proof of her skill. But still, she seeked harmony in all things, and violence was a means she would only resort to if she had no other choice.

Needless to say, her choice of words had more than implied of what she had in mind when she said that Malthael would have to answer for his crimes. It made him wonder…

"... when Malthael stole the Black Soulstone, a splint had broken off its surface in the process. I can use that splint to try and pinpoint his exact location, as well as what he might plan to do with it now that it is in his possession."

"Then we will head off and deal with Urzael, wherever he is hiding.", Arcos gripped his bow, and Auriel merely nodded in agreement.

"I can sense his presence within one of the grand towers that are overlooking the city, let us depart.", Tyrael watched as the pair took their leave until they were gone before he glanced at the dark splint in his hand, feeling the way it was seemingly trying to reach out for the Soulstone.

He couldn't yet fathom what Malthael was trying to achieve with all of this, but whatever it was, he shuddered at the mere thought of it.

In his current state, anything was possible.

The presence of the pair was immediately noted the moment they had begun to climb the wooden tower where Auriel could sense that Urzael was lingering, and indeed, once they finally reached the top, a shadow grew upon the middle of the ground before the giant Angel landed with great force, the ram in his hands causing the thick wood to crack.

Unlike any other Angel Arcos had seen before, this one was different, for he was large… very large. And it was also the first time he had ever seen something similar to skin, for his body was not covered in a full set of armor unlike most Angels, therefore, his pale skin was more than visible, even though his face was still hidden beneath his hood.

However, Auriel did not back away for a second before her clear voice filled the tense silence, not once hesitating to voice her demand. And indeed, it was nothing less than a command.

"Urzael, you have defied the will of the Council by siding with Malthael, as well as by attacking a mortal settlement. I am not keen to continue this conflict any further, if you cease your attack now, you may return to the Heavens and your actions will be discussed further by the Council. I will grant you this one chance.", her voice was calm and collected, but this time, the threat in her tone was unmistakable, and there was a whole other aura emanating from her, one that stood in contrast to her usual seemingly never ending aura of happiness and kindness. And Urzael was more than aware of what it meant to defy an Archangel.

Silence filled the air once more for a long moment in which Urzael merely regarded the pair, until suddenly, his deep voice echoed in the environment.

"In my time here on Sanctuary, I have observed the humans for a long while… I have observed their habits, their actions… and their sins. They turn against each other, they fight among each other, and when presented with a choice between good and evil, they overwhelmingly choose evil. In the face of their origin, it became clear to me that they were far closer and similar to the hellspawn than I believed.", he stopped, and suddenly, the wings upon his back began to turn into fiery tendrils instead.

"With this revelation, I have lost my faith in the Council. Tyrael's decision to cast off his wings in order to side with the hellspawn has deeply disappointed me, and now, even you stand at the side of evil. I would have never believed the dark rumors that had once been surrounding you, but now, they don't appear to be as far fetched anymore. Perhaps it was true that you have once interacted with the Lord of Hatred himself…"

"Silence!", Arcos gasped the moment Auriel's voice suddenly cut through Urzael's own, her hand clenching her angelic blade tightly once she stepped in front of him before she began to float slightly above the ground, pointing the end of her blade against the opposing Angel. This had sparked something within the Archangel that had ignited a fiery flame within her, and with each moment it was only beginning to grow, for in the face of him, she did not accept these words to go unpunished.

"I have never associated with demons. And I never will."

In the blink of an eye, Auriel charged ahead and cut her blade along Urzael's chest, causing him to stumble back with a grunt before he blindly fueled his ram with fire, using it as a flamethrower to try and force the Archangel to back away. But even through the flames, Auriel emerged through the sea of fire with a blinding light, her blade once again tearing through his body before he gripped his ram and blindly swung back at her.

To her misfortune, the end of his ram managed to knock her angelic blade out of her hand as she moved away to avoid the incoming strike, giving Urzael a moment to breathe. The flames had long caused the entire building to catch fire, the wooden tower beginning to burn alongside with the fires that were already raging outside.

And yet, before Urzael could move to counterattack, a barrage of arrows suddenly pierced him from the side, reminding him that the Nephalem did not simply remain idle as Arcos hesitantly began to engage him as well. But even as he decided to ignore him for the time being to focus upon the Archangel, he found that Auriel was already floating above him, and she had no need for her blade.

He subconsciously took a step back in fright once he witnessed the cords within her hands that were normally surrounding her arms, but before he could even think to try and stop her, Auriel had already sealed his fate once she lashed the empowered cords out at him, using them as whips that were mercilessly striking down upon him.

Even if fire could not harm him, even if the burning heat of the flames that were surrounding them didn't even bother him, Urzael cried out in pain as the cordes struck at him, a searing pain coursing through his very being. For her cordes were imbued with a power that was burning upon his skin in a way that no flames could ever hope to accomplish, and for once, he could feel the complete and unrestrained fury of the Archangel who never seeked to harm anyone unless she had no other choice.

And it wasn't long until he finally succumbed to the ground, his body fading away until only the remains of his armor clattered onto the wooden floor.

But even so, as Arcos stared at the hovering Archangel above, seeing the way Auriel stared at the remains of the fallen Angel amidst the flames, that image never left his mind anymore.

What was it that Urzael had spoken about…?

Tyrael had already awaited the return of the two of them as he overlooked the town, not hesitating to show them the results of his efforts.

"I was able to track down the location of where Malthael must have gone, if I have read the signs correctly, then the splint is reaching for the far depths of Pandemonium. The Black Soulstone must be there, and Malthael along with it, albeit I was still not able to find out what it is that he plans to do with it.", Auriel shifted her gaze slightly to the ground the moment Tyrael mentioned the fields of Madness, the place where Angels and demons have fought against one another for countless ages.

"The only way that allows us passage lies within the High Heavens, we will need to depart as soon as possible. However, I will see if I can assist the remains of the survivors to take refuge in the enclave, until then…", Tyrael shifted his eyes towards Arcos, witnessing with slight concern the way he was almost absentmindedly staring at the ground until he realized that he was addressing him directly.

"... it might be a good idea at least for you to rest for the time being. We will depart by the rise of sunlight.", and with that, Tyrael took his leave, leaving only the two of them.

And it was then that Auriel finally spoke once more with the same care and kindness that he had grown so fond of…

"What happened today had to be done, their actions against your kind could not be left unpunished.", Arcos remained silent for a long moment, until she witnessed as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"... I have never seen you in a way like this before. I know what it is like to let hatred fuel your actions, your very being. And yet, it was you who has shown me not to let it consume me, to control me… so what was it that caused you to act like this?", he turned his head to return her gaze in full, not looking away from her hooded face anymore.

"What did he mean? Whom was he talking about when he mentioned the Lord of Hatred…?"

She had feared that her actions might have frightened him, and she had suspected that he would ask this of her. She had hoped that these rumors of the past would never resurface, especially now that she was finally standing together with him.

But if it had to be, then she would finally clear them once more, for the very thought of it disgusted her to no end.

"Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred, and the eldest of the Prime Evils. It was many centuries ago, when the discovery of Sanctuary, as well as your kind, was still fairly new to us all. In order to stop any and all conflict that revolved around Sanctuary, it was Mephisto who offered us a pact, one that would forbid both factions from meddling with mortal affairs. It was not unknown to us how the Nephalem came to be, it was due to the union of one of our own Archangels, Inarius, and a demon, Lilith…", Arcos knew as much, Tyrael had once told him of the origin of humanity, or the Nephalem, as they had once been called. For their origins went back to the angels as well as the demons.

"However, neither was it unknown to us that there were far more unions between angels and demons, for both Inarius and Lilith had gathered all those who had become tired from the Eternal Conflict, who wished to live in peace. Thus, it was Mephisto who first sparked the rumor that I have been a part of this as well. He seeked to place doubts among us, to shatter our unity by tainting me with a lie that shook the very foundation of the trust my kind had in the Council. Even though I did everything in my power to undo this lie, and the faith of most of the Angels prevailed, it still remained in the minds of some of our kind until this very day."

Auriel refused to look away from his eyes once silence began to fill the air once more, until a barely audible whisper escaped him.

"... and was it true?"

He could hear the gasp that escaped her. For the moment she heard this, witnessing the way he regarded her, she knew that he wanted to hear it from her still. If only to know that she was telling the truth. And yet, it felt as if a sword pierced through her heart, for it revealed to her that he still did not entirely trust her…

… and thus, she did not speak a single word further before she fully closed the distance between them, claiming his lips with her own as she conveyed what words alone could not. The moment she did this, he tensed beneath her touch, feeling the warmth of her light gracing upon his lips even through her hood, all until she slowly but surely parted, albeit her head remained close to his ear.

"No… they have never been true."

AngelicWisdom: I'm very happy if I could motivate you to play Diablo again! And yes, that beam annihilates everything, as much as I love my rapid fire, that beam fries anything in its path. It makes me want to create a new wizard again…

The Brutal Legend: I hope it won't become too confusing, but once again, I'm more than thankful that you want to give it a try nonetheless. I will try to picture the most important details as best as possible, and I hope that it remains to be somewhat enjoyable to you. Again, thank you a lot!

On a side note, I have started to make a longplay of another Diablo 3 playthrough, if you are interested in watching me play through the game once more with the Demon Hunter class, I have a link on my profile, I will play through it alongside with this story as it progresses.