A Cursed Fate.

The beast in front of them, once a proud member of the Knights of Ashes, charged at the two, slashing with its hands-turned claws and its great spear. Juno dodged the spear attack and retaliated with her scythe, using the flames of the Sun to push back her old companion.

The Sun was said to be a perfect counter against the Fallen. If it didn't outright kill them, it would drive them off. However, be it from its armor, now fused to its skin in a grotesque way, or from the rite that every Knight of Ashes had to undertake before being inducted into the order, the beast that used to be Sylus barely even reacted to the fire.

Its eyes locked with Juno's. Whatever traces of humanity in it were lost a long time ago, as he was now nothing more than a beast… Or was he?

Ritsuka tried to attack from behind while Sylus was distracted, but the creature was fast, and turned around to block the Master's strike with its lance before trying to pierce him with it. Just before the attack landed, Ritsuka was able to convert his weapon to a shield to block the strike, instead being launched towards a small rock.

Juno was overcome with emotions as the beast that used to be her friend turned its view from Ritsuka towards her. She felt sadness, fear, anger, all of it at the same time was overwhelming, and she couldn't move a muscle as the Fallen Knight slowly approached her.

It stopped briefly to look at her, almost like it was examining her, before raising its spear and preparing to strike her down.

Just as the weapon was about to touch her, Juno's scythe blocked the hit. Her eyes were teary, and she was trembling as she barely held on. Her teeths clenched together before she let out a huge scream, a scream of anger and desperation, as she pushed the beast back before launching a powerful attack with her scythe.

The blade of her weapon, filled with the flames of the Sun, fell down upon the creature's face, managing to break its helmet and pierce its head, carving out a chunk of it and drawing a lot of blood, dark crimson blood.

However, this attack didn't stop the beast, its great spear morphed in its hand until it turned into a huge hammer, which was then slammed into the ground. Almost like a call, the lightning around the Citadel fell down upon the hammer, after which the beast slammed it into the ground, creating a huge electrical shockwave which greatly damaged the girl and brought her to her knees.

She wasn't expecting an attack like that, and it caught her off guard. She cursed herself as Sylus approached her slowly again, but before it could reach her, Ritsuka took its attention away from the girl after turning his weapon into a bow and firing several flaming arrows at it. The beast roared and charged at him, the ground shaking as it rushed at maximum speed, as the boy switched the bow for the shield again to block the hit.

However, just before the attack could land, Juno jumped on top of Sylus, placing her scythe around its neck and igniting before pushing the blade back. The strength of the strike was enough to break its armor and reach the skin again, cutting deeply into it.

That strike would've killed any human, even a Knight of Ashes, but Sylus was not a human anymore. With a horrible roar, it caused the two to fall to the ground in pain due to the strength of the roar and their proximity to the beast. As both of them were still recovering, it jumped away from them and made its way towards the Citadel.

Ritsuka was the first to get back up, clutching at his head and turning his view to the Citadel - "That thing… I can't believe it" -

He then turned to look at Juno. The girl was looking at the ground, crying and punching the ground, still overwhelmed by sadness, despair and anger.

She then remembered something Sylus told her years ago, as she was first inducted into the Knights of Ashes. She feared that the Fallen could get to them, but Sylus reassured her. She remembered his words as clearly as day.

"The Knights of Ashes will never fall. We have the Sun on our side after all, and it will keep us safe" -

She believed this for so long, for as long as she was a member of the Knights of Ashes, she believed the words of one of her first friends. Sadly, said innocence didn't last. The massacre at Samsara broke that hope she used to have, and this only served as a remainder of that shattered hope.

Not only could they become Fallen, just like everyone else, but they wouldn't be just turned. If Sylus was any indication, they would mutate, they would become a monster that had no traces of humanity or who they used to be, other than their armor and weapons.

Juno tried to get up from the ground, but her knees were weak, and just as she stood up, she nearly fell again, with Ritsuka catching her before it happened.

The boy didn't say anything, he merely held Juno in his arms as the girl tried to calm down. The fear went away, so did the despair, but one thing remained.

Rage.

A deep rage against the Fallen for doing this to her friends, for turning them into these monsters, for turning humanity's last hope, into their greatest enemies.

She would free her friends from this horrible fate. As the last Knight of Ashes, it was the least she could do.

"I'm going… To kill it" - she spoke in a low tone of voice before pushing Ritsuka aside and taking a few steps towards the Citadel, only to drop to her knees after 4 steps. She was still hurt from the lightning attack from the monster.

Ritsuka wasn't going to let her do this. In her state, trying that would basically be a suicide. Instead, he carried her on his back, surprising the girl.

"What are you…" -

"I'm taking you back to the oasis, you need to rest. We'll plan our next move once you're healed" -

Juno wanted to protest, but she didn't have enough strength to do so. Instead, she whispered something to him before closing her eyes.

"Thanks… My Angel" -

Even after almost 2 weeks together, Ritsuka didn't get accustomed to the nickname that Juno gave to him, however, if it made her feel better, then he would be her Angel.