Chapter 76

The demon stood inside the church by the altar with a book in its hand, its gaze fixed on the contents with a slight glare, evidently upset. Suddenly, the church doors burst open, and Larkin rushed in, his expression wrought with panic. "Hey! Somethin's going on with the sky!" he blurted out, breathless and alarmed.

"I know," the demon replied, its tone tinged with anger, which caught Larkin off guard. "Are ya okay? Do you know what's goin' on?" Larkin asked, his voice a mixture of tension and confusion. The sight of the usually composed demon displaying any emotion other than calmness sent a shiver down his spine.

"They were not able to stop the invasion from commencing," the demon explained, setting down the book on the altar. Larkin's eyes widened in shock at this revelation. "What!?" he exclaimed, his hand flying to his mouth in worry. *Shit! Then what the hell happened to Xain, Zee, and the others? Are they okay?* His mind raced with concern while the demon continued its explanation.

"And as a result, I am no longer bound by contract to protect Wolfdale or its people," the demon continued, its words sending another chill down Larkin's spine. He froze, his thoughts grinding to a halt as he turned to face the demon. "Wha-what do ya mean?" he stammered, fear evident in his voice.

"I can do whatever I want," the demon answered cryptically, starting to advance toward Larkin. Paralyzed by fear, Larkin could only watch as the demon drew closer and closer and closer.....

**Back to the mansion**

Xain stared up at the top of the mansion, where he could see people peering down at him and the others around him. *Yes, they're people. What else would they be? They can't be anything other than people, because we are going to stop the-* Xain's thoughts screeched to a halt. "Demons," the angel confirmed, his voice laced with anger, forcing Xain to drop his illusions.

"This is it, isn't it? We failed," Xain muttered hopelessly, letting out a hollow chuckle or two. Suddenly, he felt a firm grip on his armor collar, yanking him forward. "Stop losing hope, kid!" the angel yelled, forcing Xain to face him directly. "I'm here, aren't I?! Nothing's happening to this world while I'm here!" he declared, his words filled with frustration, though Xain could only stare at him in confusion.

"So stop moping around and get outta here!" the angel continued, releasing his grip on Xain. "What are you talking about?" Xain asked, bewildered by the angel's sudden outburst. The angel clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tch, this isn't your fight anymore. So scram. Don't worry, I'll drop your friends off later, so just get lost!" he exclaimed, turning his attention back to the looming demons above.

"You'll die! You said it yourself that you can't win! That's why you brought us here!" Xain protested, his shock evident in his voice as he struggled to make sense of the angel's words.

"I don't give a shit about what I said! I don't care if I have to fight the Silver-Haired Devil himself! I will beat those fuckers back into hell!" the angel exclaimed, his gaze fixed firmly on the looming demons, refusing to turn to face Xain. "That's what I came to do, and I will do it," he declared, his resolve unyielding.

Xain looked at him in astonishment before casting his eyes downward. *What am I doing?* he asked himself, his fists clenched tightly. *You're breaking another promise? Aren't you trash enough for breaking your first one?* he answered himself, the self-criticism weighing heavily on him. *What would they think? What would the people you see as friends think? What would Ercale think?* He continued to question himself before a tense smile broke across his face as he imagined Ercale's responses. *I couldn't take over Aetheria, and these pieces of trash think they can? Time to put them in their place.*

Xain lifted his gaze back up at the demons, taking in a deep breath. "I'm not running away. That kind of chicken-like behavior is more suited to you than me," he joked, trying to lighten the mood. The angel turned to him with a scowl, his anger evident. "You little shit! If I didn't have a demon invasion to stop, I would've punted you!" he exclaimed, his frustration boiling over.

The mercenaries around them observed their interaction in complete confusion, exchanging tense whispers among themselves. "How the hell are they so calm about this?" one asked, his voice filled with tension. "Is that guy some sort of weird demi-human? Why the hell does he have wings sprouting out of his back?" questioned another, eyeing the angel with suspicion. "Who the hell cares? Let's run away while we can, or else all of us are going to die," suggested another, voicing the sentiment shared by all the mercenaries except for one.

Marcus's gaze hardened as he stopped looking at the demons above and turned toward the mansion, striding purposefully toward the front door. "Where the hell are you going?" questioned the angel, raising an eyebrow. Marcus glanced back at him briefly before focusing on the mansion once again. "I don't want to keep fighting you," he replied calmly. "I have a friend to save inside."

"You do realize that the guys atop the mansion are demons, right?" Xain interjected, a hint of hypocrisy in his words. Marcus nodded. "I know, but they won't stop me from saving my friend," he declared before resuming his stride toward the mansion.

"Whoever your friend is, they aren't going to be safe as long as those demons are here," the angel cautioned. Marcus didn't break his pace as he replied, "Then I'll kill them."

The angel smirked, pleased with Marcus's response. *Just the reply I was looking for,* he thought to himself. "I'm starting to bear you," he said to Marcus, who ignored him and entered the mansion. The angel then turned to Xain and said, "If you're planning on staying, then go get your elf friend, because the brat (Grace) can take care of herself."

Xain nodded, his eyes briefly flickering with concern. "And what are you going to do?" he asked, observing as the angel clicked Heavens Inventory together. With a crackling sound of electricity accompanied by black lightning that vanished instantly, the angel now held a very unique guitar that Xain had never seen before.

"I'm going to fight demons, what else?" the angel replied confidently. He then turned to the mercenaries and yelled, "All of you, get the fuck out of here!" The mercenaries jumped in surprise before swiftly heeding his command, fleeing from the scene. The angel crouched down, fully unfurling his wings, as he prepared to launch himself at the demons.

"Be careful," Xain urged, his own readiness apparent as he prepared to run into the mansion.

"Don't worry about me, kid. I'm too stubborn to die," the angel reassured him with a confident grin. Xain could only give a nod in response as they both headed towards what was most likely their deaths—too prideful and self-hating to show how tense or fearful they truly were.

(Just to avoid any confusion, all this took place while the demons were having their conversation in Chapter 75.)