Chapter 5a: Escape Artists

"This is stupid. We need to get out of here before those creatures figure out where we are hiding!" A prison guard hissed to his partner as they sprinted down a torchlit corridor towards the compromised cell block, pointing in the general direction of the exit. "Alan's already been captured, which means the prisoners are free! They no doubt have uncovered the project and want vengeance."

"Cool it. All we have to do is get a general picture of what's going on back there. And you know what happens to deserters, right?" His partner responded, giving him an angry look.

The man sighed. "I guess you're right. Hopefully it won't be that bad."

"Stop being a coward. We're not even going to be fighting anything. We go in, make sense of the situation, then go back and let the knights deal with the monster prisoners."

Suddenly, the torches lighting the wall went out, completely blinding the guards. Then, a flurry of stun-based mana shots flew down the hallway, leaving the guards stunned. A trio of succubi stepped out of the shadows grinning at their handiwork. They began to descend on the dazed guards with full intent to claim them. Adrian stepped out of the shadows.

"Stop. Not now." The succubi stopped and glared at him.

"Why not?"

"Just wait. We still need you. Mark them if you really want them." Saralyn said from behind the group. The succubi groaned in disappointment and annoyance but complied, instead dragging the now unconscious men off to an empty room.

"It's okay. You'll have plenty of opportunities. There's dozens of humans waiting for you if we pull this off. Fine work, you did. That's our routine from now on until we get to the armory. Remember, stick to the shadows and be quiet."

Adrian, Saralyn and their small army of mamono repeated this three times until they finally reached the armory. It was a large room, with multiple entrances. Adrian could hear people talking inside the room, sounding panicked and stressed over the situation.

"We're here. Everyone, into position." A small group of hellhounds and werewolves lined up at the three entrances. A werecat with red robes began preparing a large-scale stun spell.

"This is going to cost me whatever energy I have left. If I don't get a husband after this, I'm going to kill you."

The werecat kicked open the door, revealing a group of ten guards waiting for them. The werecat released the stun spell. It dazed all of the guards inside, all of them fumbling for their weapons.

"Now!" Saralyn yelled. The hellhounds and werewolves burst into the room, tackling the guards, all clamoring to get a man. All of them began licking and rubbing themselves against the men, wanting to get as much of their scent on them as possible.

"Your turn." Saralyn turned to the woman from earlier, a nurarihyon if Adrian could recall correctly. She waved her hands around, and all of the weapons took on a purplish look. "It's done. They've all been converted to realm-silver."

"Everyone, take a weapon. You'll need it. You too, Adrian." He grabbed a short sword off of a rack, as well as a spear. Finally, he didn't have to rely on just a dagger to defend himself.

"The western cellblock should be right up ahead." He announced. Saralyn took out her revolver and made sure she had all six shots. Another large doorway sat in front of the small army. The remaining succubi took point in front of the door.

"Who's ready to get a husband?!" Saralyn asked the group, as loud as she could without altering every guard on the other side of the doorway. The group cheered quietly, the single monsters practically salivating.

"Alright, GO!" Saralyn yelled. She flung the doors open and began firing. Meanwhile the remaining succubi fired charm-based mana shots all over the cellblock. Adrian drew his newly acquired short sword and charged forth.

They managed to take out about a third of the guards in the cellblock, the remaining two-thirds drawing their weapons. A quick look showed roughly thirty-five remaining guards, against their twenty-two. Adrian hoped that the monster's natural strength would help them balance things out.

Saralyn managed to incapacitate five guards with the shots in her revolver, the sixth missing a guard, but shocking him long enough for the grizzly to knock him to the ground. Adrian snuck around the battle, taking out guards when he could; thankfully, realm-silver weaponry was lighter than normal weapons. Twenty-seven left.

Saralyn took cover behind a flipped over table, reloading her gun and firing six more shots. The mamono continued fighting, their heightened strength and agility just barely giving them the advantage over the guards. Nineteen left.

Adrian spotted a werecat about to be cut down by one of the guards. He dashed forward, tackling the guard to the ground before he could make the kill. A slash to the throat with his new sword and the man was out cold. The werecat gave Adrian a nod of gratitude before picking her next target.

One of the magically inclined succubi managed to gather enough energy for another large-scale stun spell. Three left.

The remaining three guards were cornered, and dropped their weapons in surrender. Zero left. The mamono opened the cell doors, letting the humans out.

Adrian watched Laura and her mother run up to the man she was describing earlier, and smiled happily. Relieved that Laura wasn't going to be an orphan, he walked over to Saralyn.

"Holy shit, Saralyn. You're an insane planner."

"I was surprised it worked. I guess I have to give most of the credit to mamono for just being stronger than average." she responded.

"You also have some damn good aim. Are all dhampirs just gifted with the knowledge of how to use guns effectively?"

"Not really. I trained until I dropped from exhaustion in the five months I was traveling here. That's how I got good."

Saralyn looked around the now completely taken over cellblock. Dozens of mamono were enjoying themselves with their new husbands, some of them even in dominant positions over their new wives. Adrian guessed they weren't very faithful after all.

Meanwhile, Saralyn began getting antsy at the sight of everyone having sex. She wanted in. Even if she acted half human, she was still a full mamono.

Saralyn then walked over to Adrian, with a lewd-looking smile on her face. "You see all of these ladies enjoying themselves?" She asked him.

"Uh… Yes?" he responded nervously.

"I want to have some fun too."

"Saralyn. No." As he realized exactly what she was talking about.

"Yes. I mean it. I'm a mamono. These urges are natural for me. You're not going to leave me hanging, are you?"

"But we've known each other for less than a day?"

"Yeah, and all of these mamono have known their husbands for even less."

"Still, we shouldn't go this fast. I barely know anything about you."

Saralyn suddenly looked very guilty. "Oh. You're right. Maybe we should spend more time together." He sighed in relief. "Doesn't mean I'm going to let you off the hook, though." His eyes widened in response to that.

"Dhampirs are offspring of vampires. So, as a result, we have the ability to drink blood from our husbands. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"Will it hurt?" He asked worriedly.

"No! Of course not!" Saralyn exclaimed.

"Alright then." Adrian went to one of the empty cells and sat down on the bed. "Not very comfortable, but it'll do."

"I promise you, this will be the second best feeling you'll ever experience." Saralyn suddenly pushed him into the bed and laid on top of him. She pulled his shirt away from his neck, licking her lips. Finding a blood vein she liked, she bit down.

Adrian felt a tiny stab of pain at first, but then his entire body from the neck down started feeling good. Incredibly good. "Ooohhhhh god…" He half groaned, half spoke.

Saralyn's eyes glazed over in pleasure as she kept on drinking his blood. After about twenty five seconds Adrian felt overstimulated. "Saralyn… enough." He whispered.

"Nooo, just a little more…" Saralyn's response was muffled with her mouth on his neck. After what seemed like ten minutes, she finally stopped. "So delicious. I understand why vampires enjoy doing this so much." Saralyn said, lying on his chest, panting. Adrian was so tired that he didn't feel like talking, instead closing his eyes. Saralyn wrapped his arms around him, closing her eyes too.

She let out a small squeak of happiness as she got into position. Pulling the small blanket over the both of them, they decided to rest for a bit before they left the prison for good.

"We're finally united." Adrian heard Saralyn mutter. He was too tired to interpret what that meant. Not even bothering to take their clothes off, both fell asleep.

…

Adrian awoke, feeling very refreshed despite having his blood drained from him for half a minute. That feeling was quickly dashed as he heard something slamming against the doors leading to the cell block. Instinctively he tried to get up from the bed only to remember that Saralyn had fallen asleep on top of him. The dhampir gave him a discontent moan as she gripped him harder.

"Saralyn! Wake up!" Adrian began shaking Saralyn. He didn't want to get caught off guard because they got too comfortable in enemy territory.

"Nnnghhh… Five more minutes…" Saralyn drowsily grunted.

"Wake up!" He yelled loudly. Saralyn's eyes shot open as she quickly got up from him, looking disappointed. Adrian felt bad waking her up like this, but it wasn't safe to stay here.

"We gotta get the fuck out of here!" Adrian continued to shout, pointing to the doors. They shook as another slam echoed throughout the cellblock. "Someone's trying to break in!"

Saralyn sloppily drew one of her revolvers, pointing it at the door. Her eyes darted around the cellblock, widening when she noticed the lack of monsters. The entire cellblock had been emptied. It was impossible to tell how much time had passed because of the lack of windows in the prison.

Adrian looked around. There was no other way out of the cellblock other than the doors. He searched the catwalk around the ceiling. There was a small tunnel near the roof on one of the walls, leading upwards. Adrian grabbed Saralyn by the arm and began running towards the ladder that led up to the catwalk.

They had barely gotten anywhere when the doors finally broke open, several order soldiers holding a gigantic battering ram. One of them pointed towards the two escapees. "Kill them! Don't let them escape!"

Adrian quickened his pace, dragging the still-half asleep dhampir with him. Some of the Order soldiers armed with crossbows began firing arrows at the two. Adrian ducked as an arrow came way too close to his head, another one just barely missing his arm. Saralyn shrieked in fear as an arrow dented the railing, making a loud clang. She finally began to run faster.

They finally reached the tunnel leading upwards. From what Adrian could tell it was dug by a giant ant or some mining-inclined mamono. It looked like it would barely fit them but Adrian had no choice but to try. He frantically gestured for Saralyn to get inside the tunnel, following in after her.

Adrian sighed in relief as he heard the Order soldiers clamor around the entrance to the tunnel, not being able to get inside. Had either he or Saralyn been wearing armor, they wouldn't have escaped. Some of the crossbow wielding soldiers attempted to line up a shot, but the tunnel curved sideways at one point, making it impossible for them to line up a shot.

The noise from the Order soldiers grew quieter, and soon the only thing Adrian could hear was him and Saralyn breathing heavily. Adrian felt himself growing both tired quickly, the tunnel's stuffy air not doing him any favors for his breathing.

"I see the end of the tunnel!" Saralyn shouted back to Adrian. Excited, Adrian began to climb faster, and the two of them eventually dropped out of the tunnel into what looked like a deserted kitchen. Adrian was reminded of how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten since he had left Sharon's house almost a day ago now.

I hope she's okay.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I'm getting real sick of this place." Saralyn pushed open a door leading out of the kitchen, and the two of them began searching for the exit.

Both of them walked out the large doorway, and out into the halls of the prison. The place was a massive maze, and the exit could've been anywhere. Adrian cursed the Order for making their architecture so complicated.

What was stranger still, was the fact that they didn't come across a single guard. They knew they couldn't have taken out the entire population of guards just with their raids on the eastern and western cell blocks.

"Do you know where we are? Adrian asked Saralyn.

"Not really. We could be going in circles, for all I know."

While they were trying to find their way out of the prison, Adrian decided to try and make conversation with Saralyn. "What did you see while I was with Laura?"

"I dealt with this weird archmage. He was way more agile and dangerous than most of the mages I came across on my adventures. He managed to block my gunfire with his bare hands, which should've been insanely difficult for anyone else." Saralyn retrieved the documents she had obtained after her battle from her coat. "I also came across a couple documents explaining what they were doing here. Apparently they were siphoning mamono mana from the prisoners."

"What? Why? What do they have to gain from stealing energy from monsters? Wouldn't that just be dangerous and corrupt them? And how would they store it?"

"Apparently they were trying to see if they could neutralize it, somehow. Turn it into something they could use for their own goals. I saw some stuff about 'gray incubi' acting like a supersoldier for the Order. I think the archmage was supposed to be one of these gray incubuses. Only way to explain how he was somehow able to block bullets with his bare hands."

Saralyn began a more thorough reading of the documents. Her eyes widened. "What is it? Is something wrong?" Adrian asked, concerned.

"Oh my god. They've got prisons like this all over the world. Who knows what they could've done with their research by now?"

Adrian began thinking of all of the possibilities. Had Saralyn's story about struggling to defeat one gray incubus been true, the entirety of monsterkind could be in danger. Images of massive armies of gray incubi demolishing mamono realms entered his mind. He didn't want the Order to win. According to his moral compass and personal experiences, the Order weren't exactly the type of people that he would want in charge of the world. A looming sense of dread filled his entire body.

"What are we going to do? Who can we go to for help?" he asked.

Saralyn began stroking her chin in thought. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "We could go to Lescatie. They're one of the strongest mamono realms in the world, they'll know what to do."

"Alright then, Lescatie it is." He had never been to a mamono realm before, at least he never remembered going to one. The dread from earlier began to fade and was replaced by excitement and curiosity. An idea popped into his head.

"Saralyn?"

"Yeah?"

"Assuming the world doesn't know anything about this… We'll be the ones to blow the whistle on this sick project. I feel like we should take part in uprooting the Order's operations, you know?" Adrian suggested.

Saralyn tilted her head in confusion. "Adrian, you don't really know how to fight. And I struggled against a single gray incubus. We could be going up against hundreds, thousands of those things, maybe. We'll get destroyed. Let's let the experienced people handle this. And besides, I want to get to know you some more." Saralyn flashed him a smile.

"Right. Right. You did suck my blood just a few hours ago…" Adrian trailed off as he realized what that meant. "Oh. We're…"

"Married. Husband and wife. Whatever you want to call it." Saralyn said, her smile growing into a wide grin reminiscent of a cheshire, a species from Wonderland that Adrian had read about. "I told you, you were my husband at some point. That's the only thing I remembered when I woke up. Someone was my husband and that someone was you."

"Right…" Adrian wasn't opposed to spending the rest of his life with Saralyn but the fact that he had made such a life altering decision without even knowing it hit him like a ton of bricks. His head began spinning with questions. What was our relationship like? What did we do together? How did we meet?

"I can tell what you're thinking. How about the two of us find out what happened to us together, alright?"

"Alright…" Adrian took a few deep breaths to calm down. "Just to make sure… No monster/human couple has ever been unhappy?" Adrian asked, recalling something he had read from one of the encyclopedias five months ago.

"Not a single one. Everything is going to be fine."

Adrian and Saralyn eventually entered a large area that looked like the lobby of the prison. A large sign above the entrance said "BLACK FOREST PRISON".

"Not going to be missing this place." Adrian said as both of them excitedly ran towards the doors marked "Exit".

"You and I both."

Adrian pushed open the double doors leading outside of the prison, and was shocked by how bright it was outdoors. Being in a dark prison for several hours had messed with his eyes.

"It's so good to be outside again, don't you agree?" said Saralyn.

"Yeah." Adrian agreed as he bathed in the refreshing sunlight. All his worries momentarily left him.

Everything was going to be fine.

Chapter 5b: The Speech

Outskirts of Ichoriya

A lich walked through the valley, taking in all of the scenery. She had spent the past several weeks in an underground laboratory. Despite being undead, she still appreciated nature and living things. She came across a river, one that connected to Ichoriya. When she first came here, she had set up her base of operations near a place that had a lot of travelers, in hopes of getting a husband. No luck so far.

To make matters worse, when she had disguised herself and went to Ichoriya to buy supplies, the main bridge had been destroyed and she had to spend an hour figuring out how to get into the city. She later found out that a wurm had destroyed the bridge chasing a man.

Stupid wurms. Why couldn't the Mamono Lord have fixed their overly-reliant-on-instinct brain when she had fixed all monsters? Now getting supplies for her experiments would be even more annoying and time consuming than it already was.

The lich was snapped out of her self-contained complaining when she spotted something caught on a rock on the other side of a river. Channeling some of her power, she began to levitate across the river to see what it was.

It looked like someone's leg. Using her magic, she pulled the leg out of the water, only to realize it was a corpse of a human woman. The lich suddenly felt very sad. The woman looked young. She deserved to grow old. Have kids. Not drown in a river. The lich decided that she was going to give the woman a second chance at life as a zombie. She levitated the woman out of the river. It looked fresh; good, the zombie wouldn't be very essence starved. She began heading back to her base.

Just as she was about to enter her laboratory, she noticed something at the mouth of the river. The river emptied into a small pond, and there were two corpses floating in the water. Both were human men. Fine, she would give them a second chance too. One of them even smelled unclaimed. Maybe she will finally get a husband…

Floating them out of the pond and carrying him alongside the woman, she entered her laboratory. She laid them on three large tables, and got to work on reviving them.

The woman would be relatively easy to bring back. Stitching up some of the minor wounds she had, she prepared to revive her. Using her powers, she poured mamono mana into her body. Focusing, she uttered a spell that would call the woman's soul back to her body. Opening her eyes, she admired her work.

The zombie slowly opened their eyes, and looked around. She noticed the nearby corpses of the men on the tables. She immediately got off the table and sprinted over to one of them with an energy not usually seen from a freshly revived zombie.

"Stop. Do not exert yourself." The lich warned.

"Husband…" The zombie pointed at one of the corpses, then started sobbing.

"Do not worry yourself, I will bring them back. But it will take time." The zombie perked up a bit.

"In the meantime, do you mind telling me how you died?" The lich asked.

"Bridge fell…" The zombie groaned. The lich had figured that much.

"Notice something else." The zombie struggled to speak. The lich raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Disappearing man. Turned into wing creature." The lich didn't know how to interpret that. Could human mages mimic mamono? Was it an angel? Why would angels attack Ichoriya? It was a nation that worshiped the Chief God fervently.

"I will figure it out later. I must bring the others back." said the lich, gesturing at the male corpses.

Standing over the bodies, she began to perform the spell to revive them. She reached out to Hel and began chanting.

"Oh Great Hel, reunite these men's souls with their bodies, and usher them back to the realm of living. I hereby promise to love and cherish the unclaimed as long as I live."

The corpses began glowing red, then orange, then yellow, then white. Eventually they slowly opened their eyes and stood up. One of them rushed over to the zombie, both of them hugging tightly. The lich smiled, then turned to face the other male.

"Hello. Please do not panic…"

Ichoriya

Nuriel and Ophaniel donned their disguises; The robes of dark priests. Normally, they would've just disguised themselves as a human but being a dark priest would draw any attention away from Aperia, like Raniel had said. Neither of them bothered to include the whip-like tails characteristic of a succubus in their disguises, feeling that it would get in the way.

"The Order is gullible, so our disguises do not need to be accurate to fool them. Many of the Order's citizens have never seen a monster in their entire life." Ophaniel whispered to Nuriel as they got out of their hiding spot, behind a stack of hay.

"The fools just believe everything their priests and nobles tell them. They're too scared of monsters to do anything else."

"Nuriel, it is unfair to blame the citizens for their ignorance. They have been fed lies ever since they have been born. When someone tells you something enough, you tend to start believing it. The ones spreading the lies are to blame." Ophaniel looked at Nuriel's pocket. "Do you have the equipment?"

Nuriel nodded, producing several small tubes of metal from her pocket with long silvery nearly transparent pieces of string coming out of the top. "Yes, I do."

"Good. We have one chance to make this work. Failure is not an option, you hear me?" Ophaniel warned Nuriel.

The two fake dark priests reached their destination; A giant building that acted as a forge for the Order's equipment. Ophaniel scanned the building, noting several key support structures.

"How many of those devices do you have?" She asked Nuriel.

Nuriel did a quick count. "Thirty of them."

"Good, that should be more than enough. Let's move." The twins moved around the building to the back. A high wall separated the forge from the rest of the city. It was a perfect location for what they were planning. Ophaniel crept up to one of the windows facing the wall. Peeking over the windowsill, she spotted two guards. The men were sitting in front of a table with several empty bottles on it.

"How responsible of them, getting drunk on the job. The fools." Nuriel snickered.

"Easier for us. Get ready." Ophaniel knocked on the window, then quickly ducked down.

"Huh? Who's there?" The first guard slapped his partner on the back. "Wake up!"

"Help! I'm outside the window! Open it, please!" Ophaniel said in her most convincing "Maiden in distress" voice. "You take one, I'll take the other."

"Got it."

The two guards stumbled over to the window, lifting it up and dropped outside. Their eyes widened, seeing a pair of dark priests staring at them.

"Mo-"

Ophaniel and Nuriel each tackled one of them to the ground. Nuriel drew her weapon of choice, a butterfly knife, and slit the man's throat while Ophaniel strangled her target. After a few moments both of them laid still. "Get them back inside. Let's find a place to hide the bodies."

The two dragged their respective targets inside, dragging them back into the building. Ophaniel stuffed one of the corpses into a cupboard, while Nuriel laid the other one face down on a couch, placing several bottles around his body to make it seem like he had passed out. She laid her butterfly knife near the man's hand. "Done. If things go to plan, they'll think they had an accident with a knife while drunk."

"Excellent, Nuriel." Ophaniel complimented her fellow valkyrie. "Let's hurry. We must finish the job before day breaks. For now, follow my lead and place those explosives whenever I tell you to. We'll need to lead them to one place, then we can light them."

The two snuck out of the room and headed into the main hall. The building had a simple layout; One giant hallway where everyone would be working, along with several rooms in the sides, presumably where people slept, ate, and rested. Ophaniel led Nuriel to a large pillar in the center of the room. "One here. Keep track of the fuse." Nuriel nodded, dropping one of the metal tubes near the load-bearing structure.

"Take the fuse and lead it back to the window we came from. Keep it in the shadows. It is critical that nobody discovers it." Nuriel gave Ophaniel a thumbs-up and split off, coming back a few seconds later.

"We will repeat this several more times. Let's go." Ophaniel ducked down and began leading Nuriel around the blacksmith, planting several more explosives. About thirty minutes later they had finished, and began backtracking to the room that they had first entered the building from. If one squinted enough they could see several near-transparent lines leading to the doorway.

"Get a torch." Ophaniel ordered. Nuriel grabbed a torch off a nearby wall.

"Ready to light them when you are."

"We should leave the building before lighting-"

Before Ophaniel could finish her sentence, a half-asleep Order blacksmith stumbled out of his room. His eyes widened as they snapped to the two disguised dark priests. "H-help! Monsters have infiltrated the building! Guards! Guards!" He shouted in fear.

"Drop it, now!" Ophaniel shouted at Nuriel. Nuriel tossed the torch onto a point where all the lines crossed each other and burst into the room with the two dead guards. Ophaniel vaulted out of the window, Nuriel following close behind. About ten seconds later, several explosions rocked the building. The two valkyries felt the ground shake as the roof of the building began caving in. Not bothering to look at the result of their work, the two quickly sprinted back to their hiding spot before anyone could begin to investigate.

"Human disguise." Ophaniel ordered Nuriel. With a bit of magic the two valkyries had transformed into two seemingly normal human women, and quickly got out of their hiding spot. The Order's military came rushing in from all angles to investigate the explosions, some rudely pushing the two to the side being completely unaware that they were the ones behind everything.

"Heh, I'd like to see the Order make their weapons now." Nuriel snickered before Ophaniel shushed her.

"Keep your voice down. We don't want anyone to overhear us!"

"Right, right. Sorry." The two casually walked past the swarms of the Order's military and back to the bridge. Or, what was left of it. The support pillars had been completely knocked down, and laid in ruin at the bottom of the river.

"Raniel and Cassiel must have finished up. Let's get out of here." The twins removed their disguises after making sure nobody was watching them. Afterwards, they stretched their wings out and began to fly back to the place that the team had met a day ago. There sat Raniel and Cassiel, along with Pahaliah. Raniel and Pahaliah had a smug, self-satisfied look on their faces while Cassiel simply looked dejected. Ophaniel chose not to question her, despite the nagging feeling that it would become a problem later.

"Nuriel, Ophaniel. Right on time." Raniel turned to the rest of the angels/valkyries. "All of you," Her voice pausing for a brief moment when looking at Cassiel, "Have done very well today. Ophelia shall be pleased. Head back to Aperia, me and Cassiel have something to discuss privately. We will catch up to you in a moment."

Nuriel, Ophaniel and Pahaliah nodded, all three of them flying off into the night sky back towards Aperia. Once Raniel was sure that they were gone, she turned to Cassiel. The angel looked away from her, staring at the wrecked bridge.

"Cassiel." Raniel tried to get Cassiel's attention.

Cassiel quickly wiped a tear from her face and turned towards her. "What?"

"The Matriarch has reached out to me. She wants to see you personally after we get back to Aperia."

"Why?"

"You are not in a position to ask." Raniel prepared to fly off. "I suggest you do not fall behind. Ophelia does not like to be kept waiting."

Aperia

Ophelia looked out the window of her castle. Raniel and her team would be back any minute now. Raniel had told her about Cassiel having doubts about her mission. She wasn't mad, but she needed Cassiel to learn that having blood on her hands wasn't exactly something she needed to be upset about. It was war; people were going to die no matter what.

Ophelia noticed Raniel and her team land outside her castle. She had ordered them to come to the castle after they had finished their mission. All of them entered the castle, and entered Ophelia's office.

"Raniel, have you completed your mission?"

"Yes I have, Matriarch. Ichoriya's farms, main supply bridge and forge have been annihilated."

"Did anyone see you?"

"Negative. Nuriel and Ophaniel were disguised as dark priests and Pahaliah disguised herself as a dark angel. Me and Cassiel were using invisibility spells. Even if anyone saw us, they would blame the Fallen God for our actions." Raniel grinned.

"Casualties?"

"A couple wagons were on the bridge when it collapsed, and I presume a majority of the people in the forge were killed when Nuriel and Ophaniel destroyed it."

"Good job. I'll have payment sent to each of you." Ophelia pulled out several large bags of gold that she had prepared beforehand.

"None of us are doing this for the money, Matriarch. We're doing this because it's what has to be done. We've seen firsthand how evil the Order can be, especially when they're backed into a corner. What you taught us was true."

"I know. You still deserve compensation. Use the money to buy new weapons or whatever you want. Everyone except Cassiel is dismissed."

"Thank you, Matriarch." Everyone except Cassiel filed out of the room, leaving her and Ophelia alone.

"Cassiel, Raniel told me that you were hesitating. I want you to know that this is war; people are going to die. You can't change that."

"But they didn't deserve it." Cassiel looked at the ground.

"You can't make an omelet without breaking a couple eggs, Cassiel."

"You're a seraph. You're supposed to care deeply for humanity. But you show no remorse for the people who you ordered the deaths of." Cassiel rebutted.

"It's for the greater good. We're creating a world without the Chief God's tyranny."

"You disgust me." Cassiel left before Ophelia could say anything.

Ophelia sat in complete silence. She refused to believe that she was doing anything wrong. If there was a way to prevent the deaths of everyone who didn't deserve it, she would've found it. The people that died on that bridge, died for a greater good. Collateral damage was unavoidable.

"Are you proud of yourself?" Ophelia spun around. She was the only person in the room.

"Who's there?"

"That poor angel. You're hurting her, you know that? I would've cared much more for her." Ophelia's blood began to boil. She knew exactly who the voice was.

"What gives you the authority to judge me, Fallen God?! What you do is worse than death." Ophelia spat.

"Do I force my angels to kill innocent people?"

"You make your priests corrupt entire towns."

"Towns in need of our help. Besides, it's for the greater good." Ophelia's rage began to overflow.

"If you interfere with what I'm doing, I will kill your followers. I will destroy your churches. I will personally tear apart Pandemonium." Ophelia ranted.

"How can you even call yourself a seraph anymore?" The Fallen God's tone had gone from her normal sultry and deceptive to shocked and hurt.

"How can you call yourself a god when all you do is corrupt?" Ophelia screeched. No response. Ophelia took several deep breaths, and sat back down.

Seraphs did not need to sleep, but she decided to go to her personal chambers to rest. Staring up at the ceiling while lying on her bed, she closed her eyes and tried as hard as she could to relax.

…

…

What's this you have for me?

A ring?

I'm sorry… But no.

Please don't think I hate you. I just can't afford to have such relationships. You know how it is, with the Fallen God always watching.

Go home, Michael.

…

Ophelia slowly opened her eyes. She remembered every detail of her dream. Michael… Despite her rejecting his proposal, she still cared for him. The anger and hatred she felt when she had learned that he had been killed by the Faithful. But she had moved on. She wasn't a disciple of Hel; he was gone and she couldn't do anything to bring him back. The best she could do was avenge him.

Ophelia looked at her calendar. It was finally time. She quickly dressed herself in the most elegant clothing she had. She needed to look as presentable as she could for the public. Using her magic to fix her hair, she went over to her office to review her notes for a declaration of war, one final time.

Thirty minutes later, she had memorized all her talking points the best she could. She took a deep breath, and using her magic, she teleported to the center of the city. A massive crowd of mamono and humans sat in front of a large podium. She cleared her throat, casting another spell on herself to amplify her voice.

Now or never.

"Good morning, cherished citizens of Aperia. I have an announcement to make. Recently, one of the Order's major supply cities suffered a disaster that incapacitated several of their methods of producing armor, weapons and food for the Order. You might be wondering, what does this have to do with us?"

The crowd murmured amongst themselves. A few people began shouting in either disapproval or approval, knowing exactly where her speech was going.

"Aperia has had terrible relations with the Order. If you have been reading the news lately, the Order has begun doing some very, very unsavory things to normal people like all of you; Both monsters, and humans. A last ditch attempt at maintaining what little power they have left. Their citizens live in squalor while the nobles sit on their thrones made of blood and gold. As a seraph, seeing those who are meant to guide the people abuse their power for their own profit is despicable. We cannot allow this to continue any longer, lest they cause more damage."

The murmuring grew louder, even more of the citizens singing their praise or continuing to shout in disapproval.

"There was a time where I thought we could stay neutral. Ignore what was going on with the Order, and live by ourselves. I'm sure you are aware of what happened to the old king and queen of Aperia… As well as who's responsible for it."

The shouting turned into a full on roar. Ophelia raised a hand and waited for the crowd to settle down, and continued to speak.

"So therefore, after extensive discussion with the Aperian Council, I have made the decision to declare war on the Order. Right now is the most opportune moment; Without vital supplies from Ichoriya, The Order is more vulnerable than ever. We will free the oppressed and unfortunate, and teach them that the Chief God has been deceiving them the entire time. Heed my words; The world does not need the Order or the Chief God anymore." Ophelia paused.

"Thank all of you for coming. "All we ask of you is that you have faith in our brave soldiers, heroes, and angels. We are on the verge of creating a better world, a world where priests and nobles do not abuse their power at their subjects' expenses. A world where corruption is stomped out at the first report. That is all."

Ophelia walked off of the podium, and teleported back to her castle.

No turning back now.