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Compared to the first sector, the capital was abandoned. Vast stretches of plains passed below Raea and Palan as they flew through the air, occasionally traveling above a road. Thankfully, it was nighttime—the capital had a curfew. She wouldn’t have to slaughter or watch Palan slaughter any of the neighboring families she grew up with. Sometimes, her neighbors treated her better than her parents did. It was a little strange that no one went outside to check their surroundings considering all the noise the fight with the lightning avatar had made, but years of living in absolute safety and the threat of expulsion for breaking curfew made the citizens complacent.
But the angels weren’t the only ones who were too trusting. Raea scowled as she glanced towards Palan. “Aren’t you the slightest bit suspicious about Asura?” she asked. “I’m pretty sure she used her power on you when she said to trust her. I’m supposed to be the naïve one, and you’re supposed to be the skeptic.”
Palan snorted. “Sometimes you can’t gain things without taking risks,” he said. “Besides, she’s trustworthy. Would you kill yourself and let someone eat you just to gain their trust?”
“I wouldn’t,” Cleo said, swinging her feet in the air with Danger Noodle wrapped around her waist like an inflatable tube. “Asura is definitely trustworthy. Didn’t you hear her? She said she’d guarantee no one would hurt us if we went to the top of the tower. And that’s most likely where the lightning avatar’s owner is. If she refuses to hurt us, then there’s no one who can stop Palan.”
Raea stared at Cleo with a deadpan expression, causing the lizardman to tilt her head and ask, “What?” with her eyes. Raea shook her head and glanced at the headmaster.
“Don’t look at me,” the headmaster said and shrugged. Raea’s eyes narrowed, and he cleared his throat. “But if you insist on knowing my opinion, Asura sounds like a very trustworthy person. She showed no signs of aggression, and she didn’t even retaliate after Palan melted her face.”
Raea bit her lower lip. Before she could say anything, Cory raised both of her wings into the air and leaned back against Palan’s tail while shouting, “I don’t trust her!” Cory let out a hmph and crossed her wings over her chest. “She’s definitely a pervert. You saw the way she looked into my eyes right? Only Crimson Snek can look at me like that.” Palan’s red tail raised its head while flickering its tongue.
“See,” Palan said. “Everyone thinks we can trust her.”
“Did you not hear what I just said, you dingus? I don’t trust her.”
“You’re a harpy,” Palan said and snorted. “Your words are automatically invalid. Call me a dingus again and I’ll eat you with my tail.” Crimson Snek put on a troubled expression—as troubled as a snake’s face could look at least.
“You know what,” Raea said and crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine. Whatever. Do your thing; I don’t care. I promised you I’d help you return to your sister, so I’ll do it even though I think you’re making a horrible mistake right now.”
Cleo whispered to Danger Noodle, “I think she’s mad at you.”
“Not me,” the snake said and shook its head. “Mad at other me.”
Raea glared at the two reptiles conversing with each other, causing Cleo to shut her mouth. The party fell silent, save for Cory’s grumbles, as they traveled through the sky. They had left the rebel army’s foremost kidnapping party far behind by now. The central tower had seemed small from the distance, but as they got closer, Palan realized it was actually massive—taller than the wall separating the first and second sectors. He increased the gravity around his body and landed on the ground before jumping even higher than before.
“Oh,” Raea said, jumping into the air again. She had landed when he did. “You weren’t just going to knock on the door and say, ‘Asura asked me to come here’? I thought she was trustworthy.”
Palan rolled his eyes. “I’m surveying the surroundings from above. An escape route is always nice to have.”
“Why would you want to escape from your honest friend?” Raea asked and jabbed his ribs with her finger.
“Are you still going on about this?” Palan asked and swatted her hand away. “What’s your problem?”
“What’s my problem? I have a hypocritical and stupid demon as my contractee,” Raea said and snorted. “What? My mana isn’t good enough for you? Am I such a bad contractor that my demon had to beg another woman to feed him mana?”
“I didn’t beg,” Palan said with a snarl.
“Oh really,” Raea said. She crinkled her noise and said in a deep voice, “I want power. Wah wah. Let me eat you. Forget about killing Sariel and reuniting with my sister. I’m so mad my girlfriend is stronger than me. Whine whine.”
Cleo whimpered as her waist was constricted. “I don’t want to be here right now,” she said and struggled. Palan’s body tensed as his eyes narrowed at Raea. Black flames sprung up around his body.
“Yeah, that’s right,” Raea said and snorted. “Use my own powers against me. You know you can’t hurt me with your pride because it’s so weak.” Her brow furrowed as she turned her head away from his piercing gaze. The tower was nearly beneath them. She muttered, “I wish you didn’t bring me back to life.”
Palan snorted and glanced down as the flames around his body dispersed. To his surprise, the top of the tower had no roof. The sides and top of the tower were a bit frayed, almost as if someone had ripped away the roof. “I’m going,” Palan said, glancing at Raea. She didn’t respond, hovering in place instead. Palan shrugged and released his powers, plummeting towards the open building. Four figures looked up at the same time, but no one tried to stop him from entering. A crashing sound announced his landing, his body leaving a web of cracks on the floor that showed through the carpet. The tower shook, and he thought he heard a scream coming from the second floor.
Raphael was the first to speak. “Hello. We’ve been waiting for you.”