In that abandoned hangar, the air reeked of smoke.
Everything was silent.
In the center of a small crater in the ground, Erick lay sprawled, bleeding out…
Erick breathed with great difficulty, riddled with arrows like a porcupine.
Then, nearly unconscious, Erick heard the sound of heavy wings flapping.
With his cheek pressed against the ground, he strained to see where the noise was coming from.
Glancing sideways, Erick saw none other than his angel.
"Your debt has grown," the angel said coldly, ignoring Erick's condition.
Erick managed a weak smile, but it faded as he coughed up blood.
"Help… me…" was all Erick could say.
"You're lucky your brother Mako's head is worth so much," the angel said, still hovering in the air.
The angel surveyed the surroundings first, noting the bodies of the hooded thugs scattered on the ground.
Slowly, the angel descended until their feet touched the floor. They extended a hand and chanted in a strange language Erick didn't understand.
A light spread from the angel's palm, bathing Erick's body in sacred glow.
Erick felt his wounds closing. The arrows dislodged, clattering to the ground.
"Thanks…" Erick said, instantly regretting the word.
"I only helped because dead men don't pay debts."
Erick grunted, standing. As he pressed his palms to the ground, he felt them slick with the pool of blood beneath him.
His suit was in tatters, riddled with holes from the arrows.
"I'll pay you later for using my abilities," Erick said, limping toward the exit.
"Oh, sure. Two or three times?" the angel asked.
"You know the answer; you don't need me to say it," Erick shot back.
"How cruel, Erick!" the angel said with a giggle. "But fine. You can use your ability as much as you want without paying what your soul craves, what excites it, but remember…"
Erick glanced back at the angel as he left the hangar.
Once Erick was gone, the angel surveyed the wreckage caused by Igor and the thugs he'd hired to kill Erick.
"Well, what a massacre," the angel sighed.
◇◆◇
Finally, after weeks since the battle between Mako and Catherine, all the bureaucratic paperwork was done.
It was time for Mako to present himself at the Royal Court.
But the day before he was to go…
Mako had finally confessed his feelings to Ana.
"I want… to die…" Mako sighed at his office desk.
He was slumped beside a pile of papers, sounding utterly defeated.
Two of his coworkers, Andrew and Zoe, noticed him like this.
Andrew was a noble from a prominent House known for crafting armor. He was a young man with reddish hair, sharp eyes, and a square jaw.
"Look at him," Andrew said. "First day, and he's slacking off."
"Come on, Andrew," Zoe replied. "Don't be so harsh. He's just Mako Sol, heir to Galandria's most important House."
Zoe, from a less prominent noble House, had earned her position through hard work, not fame or inheritance. The short-haired, blue-haired woman managed the mages' department.
Andrew, much taller than her, huffed at Zoe's response. He crossed his arms and kept glancing at the papers on his desk.
It seemed the topic had died, but both Andrew and Zoe couldn't help stealing glances at Mako's office.
"Ana…" Mako groaned, his face still buried in his desk.
"Ah! A girl's name!" Andrew exclaimed to Zoe. "You heard that, right?"
"Y-yeah," Zoe replied.
"Oh, love!" Andrew said passionately. Moments ago, he'd been scowling at Mako, but now his eyebrows arched dramatically.
"Love?"
"Yes, Zoe! Love! Mako's a young man; it's normal for us! Misunderstood romantics suffering over a lost beloved…" Andrew sighed.
Zoe had never seen Andrew like this.
"I'm sure it's something else," Zoe said, a bit uneasy. "I mean, maybe it's his mother? A relative?"
Andrew froze his poet-in-pain act and gave Zoe a puzzled look.
"Impossible," Andrew said. "Only two members of that House remain: Erick and Mako. The rest died that fateful night…"
Zoe's eyes sparkled as she leaned on her desk, propping her cheeks with her fists.
"Tell me, tell me," she whispered, glancing at Mako in the distance. "What happened to them?"
Andrew grinned, loving the attention. He leaned in to whisper back:
"No one knows for sure; it's all rumors, but…" Andrew glanced around to ensure no one was listening. "You have to promise not to spread this, okay? It's, like, super taboo, got it?"
Zoe nodded eagerly.
"Good," Andrew said. "It all happened about ten years ago, give or take."
"Don't give me 'give or take,' get it right," Zoe said, briefly dropping her excitement.
"Shh, let me tell the story, damn it," Andrew growled. "Anyway, as I was saying… a while back, there was a rebel uprising against the current Crown."
"Oh, yeah. I remember that. I was really young…"
"Yeah, I was barely old enough to join the army. If it had lasted another month, they'd have drafted me."
"That's terrifying," Zoe said, lowering her arms.
"I know, but one noble family stood at the forefront of the battle: the Sols," Andrew said.
"Of course! They protect the royal family," Zoe said, leaning back in her chair.
"Right, right. But back then, things were tense. You see… there were rumors that the Sols were actually helping the rebels," Andrew said, his tone somber.
"Impossible!" Zoe shouted.
Andrew panicked, looking around. No one had heard. He glanced at Mako's office, where Mako remained sunk in his strange sorrow.
"Phew… Don't do that again!" Andrew whispered, annoyed. "Anyway, the point is, one night, there was an emergency meeting at the Royal Court… All the high-ranking members were there."
"Ooooh," Zoe sounded thrilled, like a little kid. "Wait, how do you know so much?"
"Ha! Stop interrupting and listen. From here on, nothing's official—just rumors—but it's known there was a meeting because of the rebels' multiple attacks."
Andrew pointed at Mako's office after saying this, continuing:
"Apparently, the rebels infiltrated that meeting, killing Mako Sol's parents, leaving only him and Erick as the last members of their House."
Zoe looked at the office too.
"Oh, yeah… I think I heard that. But if there were those rumors about their House, why are they still so important?" Zoe asked.
"They're just rumors," Andrew concluded. "Though… that title of the most important House is more decorative now. We'll see if Mako's up to the task."
Andrew and Zoe kept gossiping.
Their theories about Mako's gloom spiraled into all sorts of wild conclusions about Ana.
Andrew suggested that, with the House so degraded, Ana must be a noble set to boost Mako's status through an arranged marriage.
Zoe, who held the House of the Sun in higher esteem, thought Ana might be the love of his life who had died.
The truth couldn't be further from either…
Mako, wallowing at his desk, could only think of Ana's words after his confession.
No, she didn't reject him. It was much worse.
"How is this possible?" Mako muttered to himself, unaware of Andrew and Zoe's presence.
Mako clenched his fists, filled with frustration.
"How is it possible that Ana's joining the royal army?!" he exclaimed, slamming his desk.