Cleevus was leaning against a post outside his tent in Abaddon's base camp, staring up at the night sky with his arms folded. Gluttony's large moon was high in the sky, casting blueish moonlight over the camp and the bushy green tree tops of the surrounding forest. Nocturnal animals and insects were chirping and buzzing in the forest around him. Some of the larger tents in the center of the camp were lit inside, voices of the men inside were heard talking and drinking, with Wrathian music in the background.

  A cool breeze rushed past him as he stared up at the moon. He took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Dreyfus yawned beside him, the two's orange eyes glowing in the moonlight.

  His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out. It was Andras calling him. He picked it up and held it to his face.

  “Yes?” Cleevus asked.

  “Cleevus, there's an urgent matter you must attend to,” Andras said. “The Bureau of Inquisition has located Lucifer's widow in a city on Pride. They are tracking her now, and have sent a group of assassins to eliminate her. The Prince wants you to assist them in ensuring her demise. She's wandering the streets of Arrogantia as we speak. You are to go there and handle it immediately.”

  Cleevus paused, then sucked in his breath.

  “Got it,” he said.

  “The assassins have tracking enabled on their mobile devices, you'll be able to locate them on yours,” Andras continued. “Now you must go and see to it that she's killed.”

  “Will do,” Cleevus replied.

  He hung up and slid his phone back into his pants, looking down at Dreyfus, who looked back up at him. He then pulled his transit stone out of his pocket and placed a hand on Dreyfus's back.

  “Take him to my house on Wrath,” he commanded.

  Dreyfus's body was enveloped in blue flames, and he vanished. He then stood up and held the stone out in front of himself.

  “Arrogantia, Pride,” he commanded.

  Flames encircled him, and covered him for a few moments. They vanished, and he was in an alleyway between 2 tall buildings. The colorful Pride sky was above him, it was late in the day.

  He fished the other smaller, blood red stone out of his pocket, and held it out in front of him.

  “Lilith…” He said.

  The stone glowed, and he felt a sensation travel up his arm and into his head, suddenly blocking out the noise of the city around him.

  “...Lilith?” He asked, not fully expecting a response.

  After a few moments, a voice broke the relative quiet in his mind.

  “What do you want?” Her voice echoed through his mind, dripping with disdain.

  Cleevus paused, then spoke in a low voice.

  “Lilith… listen to me… if you're here in Arrogantia right now, you're being tracked, Satan's men are coming to kill you…” He explained.

  “Hmff… and he sent you to finish the job I see…” She remarked, still with great disdain.

  “Just listen… you need to leave Arrogantia now… get out of here…” He said.

  “I have nothing to say to you…” She said in a more indifferent tone.

  “Lilith-”

  The sensation in his arm was suddenly severed, and the stone's glow faded out. The city noise returned around him as the connection was lost.

  “Shit…” He muttered.

  He pocketed the stone, then pulled out his phone, and opened the tracking app that Andras had installed on it.

  It showed his location in the alleyway on a green 3-dimensional map of the city. He zoomed out, and found 8 red markers spread out about 5 blocks away from him, all were moving in the same direction. He turned down the intersecting alleyway, and ran in their direction.

  After some time running through the alleyways and across streets, he emerged from an alleyway onto a fairly busy downtown street. There were sinners and hellborn in casual wear walking up and down the sidewalks.

  He looked down at his phone, it showed that 2 of the red markers were both on this same street, up ahead. He began speed walking in their direction, moving past the people on the sidewalk. Some were giving him sidelong glances, seemingly because of his military attire, and the wounds from the previous battle; which were still healing.

  He glanced down at his phone. The 2 markers were on the opposite side of the street, which were only a little ahead of him. He looked to the sidewalk on the other side of the street, and began scanning over the people he saw. He picked out 2 sinners wearing unusually similar clothing, both were in gray pants and a black hoodie, and were wearing black shades. They were walking a few yards apart from each other.

  Cleevus picked up his pace and kept his focus on the 2 sinners, while passing vehicles and people walking on the sidewalks made them slip in and out of view. He looked ahead of them, trying to pick out if they were following someone. He noticed a person ahead of them wearing a long gray jacket with the hood up. It appeared as though the sinners were trying to match the hooded person's pace, as they were incrementally walking faster, then slowing down.

  Cleevus matched their pace, between the sinners and the person being followed on the other side of the street. He looked down at his phone, it showed that 2 of the other markers were moving in their direction coming the opposite way. He looked ahead of the hooded person, and saw another 2 sinners in similar outfits and shades closing in on the hooded person from the opposite way.

  The hooded person then suddenly turned down an alleyway out of the street. When the 4 sinners came to the alleyway entrance, they all followed in.

  Cleevus ran off the sidewalk and into the street, towards the alleyway entrance on the other side. A car coming down the street slammed on its brakes and blared its horn at him. He ran onto the sidewalk and pushed past a sinner, who said something to him, then ran into the alleyway, and stopped.

  About halfway down the alleyway were the 4 sinners with their backs faced towards him, still following the hooded person. At the end of the alleyway, Cleevus saw another 4 figures all enter the alley in line, cutting off the hooded person. The hooded person stopped in their tracks, and froze. The 4 sinners closest to Cleevus all reached inside their hoodies to pull something out.

  Cleevus sprinted as fast as he could towards them. He closed in on the sinners as all 8 of them trapping the hooded person drew their handguns, while the hooded person looked around, uncertain of what to do. He pulled out his transit stone.

  “Wrath!” He said hastily.

  He shoved through the sinners closest to him, and ran to the hooded person, as the flames began to encircle him. He grabbed the person just as the flames surrounded him, and the sinners behind him shot at him, several bullets hit his back.

  The flames engulfed them for a few seconds, then died down. They were now in a different city alleyway with the red night sky of Wrath above them. The hooded person broke away from him, turning around. Cleevus instantly recognized the misty green eyes and dark red hair inside the hood.

  “You…” Lilith said, staring at him. “What in God's name are you doing?” She demanded.

  Cleevus shrugged.

  “Saving your life,” he said between breaths.

  She took several steps back while keeping her gaze on him.

  “I don't need your help,” she said, turning away from him.

  “Well obviously you do,” he retorted.

  She just stood there silently for a few moments, turned away from him with her arms crossed.

  Cleevus looked down remorsefully.

  “Lilith… you're right to be angry,” he said.

  “You don't say,” she replied.

  She sighed, then took off her hood, revealing her long red hair underneath. She looked up at the sky above them.

  “Where are we?” She asked.

  Cleevus looked around himself. He could see several tall maroon towers looming in the sky over the top of the building next to them.

  “Carvinoff,” he said.

  “And this is the best place you could think to take us?” She asked somewhat snarkily.

  “Well I wasn't thinking that far ahead,” Cleevus replied.

  Lilith paused, her expression softened.

  “Why are you doing this Cleevus?” She asked in a more neutral tone.

  Cleevus also paused, then was about to say something, when he heard footsteps on the pavement outside the alley nearby.

  A Carvinoff police officer in a black uniform walked into the opening of the alleyway. He noticed them out of the corner of his eye, and stopped, turning to look at them. He narrowed his eyes and looked at them standing in the alleyway suspiciously. He then locked his focus on Lilith, and his eyes widened in shock.

  “Shit,” the cop muttered as he drew his handgun.

  In an instant, Cleevus drew his automag and fired a shot at the cop's head. The bullet hit his forehead, and he dropped his handgun, then fell to the ground.

  “Damn it…” Cleevus muttered.

  “Be advised we have a gunshot heard in South Central district, unit 247 respond…” the radio on the deceased cop spoke only a moment after.

  “We need to get out of here…” Cleevus said with increased urgency. He turned to Lilith. “Can you make us a portal?”

  She paused, then shook her head.

  “Not outside of Pride…” she said.

  “Unit 247 has a blank HRM, nearby units respond at their location…” the person on the radio continued.

  Cleevus pulled out his transit stone. It was dull gray and black, instead of its usual bright orange and black; its energy was exhausted from his recent uses of it.

  “Come on!” He said as he ran out of the alley.

  Lilith followed him out onto the sidewalk, and he looked around for anything that would make a good escape vehicle. There were only a few cars parked on the mostly deserted street.

  “Pursuit units 161, 2, and 3 on route,” the radio said.

  Unexpectedly, Lilith touched her fingers to the side of his head.

  “Think of something we can escape in!” she said.

  Cleevus paused, somewhat confused, then thought of the first thing that came to mind. She pulled her hand away from his head, then held both out in front of her. Beside the sidewalk, a large rectangular mass began to form out of the air, the same way that she had made the medical box form at the tournament. The mass of white particles formed into the shape of a very familiar car, as she moved her hands outward. The particles then condensed, and recolored. Cleevus's charger was now parked in front of them on the street.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lilith begin to fall forward. He caught her just before she fell.

  “Lilith?” He asked while holding her.

  Her body was limp and her eyes were closed. She was out cold.

  He could now hear sirens rapidly approaching from the East. He swept her off her feet and quickly carried her to the car, opening the passenger door with some difficulty. He set her down on the seat and latched the seat belt around her, while her head hung to the side. He then slammed the door shut, vaulted over the hood to the driver's side, and jumped in. He quickly pulled out his keys and started it, the engine roared to life. He then saw 3 black motorcycles with red and white police lights flashing round the corner onto the street they were on from the rear view mirror. He slammed the shifter into gear, and the car's front end lifted off the street slightly as he took off.

  He floored the pedal, and the car launched itself down the street. They came over a slope in the street and the car jumped a little as he went over it, he then shifted up a gear. They were gaining distance on the motorcycle cops, but only slowly, as the car's exhaust roared against the sides of the buildings on the 4 lane street, and the blower whined. He raced down the 4 lane, flying by the occasional car on the street.

  He turned off onto a curved ramp leading onto the highway, the car's body tilted as he rounded the curve as fast as he could. He accelerated onto the highway, and saw the motorcycles quickly round the on-ramp in the rearview, closing some distance. He floored it and raced down the raised highway, weaving between the handful of cars and trucks on it. The biker cops behind him were gaining, they were quickly weaving through the traffic without having to brake. Cleevus continued pushing as hard as he could, weaving the large car between the trucks with only a few feet of clearance.

  One of the bikes caught up to him, and went through an opening in the railing separating the highway, and rode alongside him behind the railing. The cop pulled a light smg out of a holster on the side of the bike, and aimed it at him, spraying the side of the car. The bullets ricocheted off the side of the car, several hit the driver's window, but the small caliber rounds didn't penetrate the reinforced glass. Cleevus rolled down the window while dodging to the other lane to avoid a truck, and drew his automag, aiming at the biker cop on the other side of the barrier.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  He fired several shots, the cop was hit twice, lost control of his bike, and crashed. Cleevus raced on down the road, still dodging between trucks, while Lilith's head hung to the side limply, her body rocked with the motion of the car. Another motorcycle cop approached from behind, he saw the cop draw his smg in the rearview mirror. A storm of shots hit his back window, again not penetrating the thick tempered glass.

  Cleevus slammed on his brakes and the car quickly fell back, however the cop managed to narrowly dodge to the right on the maneuverable bike, avoiding the car. The cop swerved over to the farthest lane on the right and fired a storm of shots into the right side of the car, the glass chipping near Lilith's face. Cleevus swerved the car over the lanes towards the cop, trying to hit him, however the cop narrowly slipped past the car and the barrier wall by speeding up.

  The last of the 3 biker cops approached on his left side, and pulled out his smg, seemingly aiming at the car's tires. He fired, and Cleevus heard the bullets hitting the fender, but the reinforced tire didn't blow. He slowed the car down a bit to be level with the cop's bike, and fired several shots at the cop, but they mainly hit the cop's body armor. The cop fired more rounds at the side of the car, one of them grazed Cleevus's face.

  He swerved the car towards the biker cop on his left, and the cop dashed forward, the car barely missed the bike's rear tire. Cleevus then fired several rounds at the rear of the bike from out of the window, one blew the rear tire, making the bike fishtail. It then hit the pavement on its side as the rider fell off. Cleevus swerved to the right, narrowly avoiding the downed bike skidding on the pavement.

  As he drove on, the last of the 3 biker cops who had been chasing him fell back, seemingly giving up the assault, but still staying on his tail. Cleevus saw the exit to the route leading to the industrial area he was looking for, and exited the highway down it, leading into the streets through the outskirts of the slums. He turned left and went through the underpass of the highway he was just on.

  He passed by an intersection, where a patrol car was stopped with its lights flashing. It followed behind him after he passed, chasing him down the road through the slum buildings alongside the final motorcycle rider. After a minute or so of leading the chase into the industrial areas, another patrol car joined the chase from an intersection, and only a moment later he heard a chopping sound from overhead. A bright light appeared from over a gas silo and shined down from above onto his car. He continued racing over the rough pavement, as a loudspeaker on the chopper spoke.

  “This is the C.E.G., stop your vehicle immediately or we will open fire!” Someone in the chopper said.

  He braked and turned onto a road leading between more industrial complexes of twisting pipes and large concrete silos, as the chopper, patrol cars, and the final bike all chased behind him, with the chopper's spotlight staying focused on his car.

  He noticed the patrol cars and the last bike following him fall back, while the chopper continued to stay on him overhead. He came to the edge of the industrial area, which dropped down into a wide concrete drainage trench, with the tall city perimeter wall only about a mile away.

  He suddenly heard the sound of heavy machine gun fire from overhead as the chopper fired down at him from behind. He went down the ramp into the drainage just before the trail of projectiles hitting the pavement behind him came to the rear of his car. He turned and braked hard, nearly skidding off the side of the ramp into the deep drainage trench, and accelerated down the ramp into the drainage as the copter passed overhead.

  Cleevus raced down the drainage as the copter made a hard curve to follow him. He saw he was approaching the 3 drain tunnels on the right side of the trench he was looking for. He drove into the lower center of the ditch, which a shallow stream of water was flowing through. The water splashed on the sides of the car and splattered droplets onto his windshield, as the chopper's spotlight refocused on him as it approached from behind. He steered to the right out of the stream of drain water, as the copter began firing at him again, the rounds splashing in the stream and throwing up bits of concrete.

  He swerved to the right and braked as the line of machine-gun fire nearly hit the rear of his car, and steered hard towards the leftmost tunnel, the rear tires skidding on the wet concrete. He then accelerated down into the tunnel, as the light from the chopper’s spotlight and the sound of its rotors faded behind him. The dark flood-drain tunnel became filled with the roar of the car's exhaust as he drove down it at a more moderate speed.

  Cleevus steadied his breathing, refocusing himself from the heat of the chase. He glanced over at Lilith.

  She had a peaceful, sleepy look on her face with her head resting against the padded reinforcement beam running along the door, as her chest slowly rose and fell.

  He breathed a sigh of relief at seeing this, and focused on navigating through the dark tunnel. He turned on the wipers as more water from the shallow stream flowing through the tunnel spattered on the windshield.

  He continued on for some time, taking a certain route through the forks in the tunnels that he came to, knowing his desired path. After a while, he saw dim light at the end of the tunnel he was heading down, and slowed down as he approached it. The circular opening at the end of the tunnel was covered by a thick steel grate. He quickly jumped out and went around to the car's trunk, popped it open, and pulled out a silver case from between several others.

  Inside was a stainless steel plasma torch and a fuel cell. He pulled both out of the case, and attached the fuel cell to the torch, making a pshhh sound as he did. He then jogged over to the metal grate blocking their way out, which the low stream of water was flowing through. He crouched down and held the torch to the lowest rail on the grate. He pulled the trigger, and a stream of blue plasma blasted out, which melted through the metal with ease. He went up one by one, cutting through each rail, making a large rectangular outline big enough for the car to drive through.

  After cutting through the last rail, he grabbed the heavy grate, and pulled it out, breaking it free around the cut outline. He carried the large cut out of the grate over beside the car, and dropped it, making a loud clang. He then jumped back in the charger, and tossed the plasma torch in the backseat. He put it in gear, and drove slowly through the tight cut-out in the grate, which led down a concrete slope into a large flood drainage.

  The open expanse of Wrath’s desert hills were now before him, with the tall concrete perimeter walls of the city just behind him. He slowly drove the car down the wet slope, looking side to side.

  In the distance, maybe 5 miles down the perimeter wall, he spotted a copter searching another exit of the flood tunnels with its spotlight. Another copter was searching an exit several miles down the wall to his other side.

  He turned off the car's headlights, and rolled down the slope then steered left, avoiding the murky water in the ditch, and drove up the side of the concrete trench and onto the dirt.

  The rough terrain shook the car as he steered around the cacti and brush that covered the land. He came onto a dirt road leading from the drainage, and drove away from the city walls, going relatively slow to avoid throwing up a large cloud of dust.

  After following the road for some time and over a low hill, it led onto a paved highway leading to Carvinoff. He turned onto the desolate highway, and floored it. The tall walls and maroon skyscrapers shrunk behind him as he shifted up through the gears, speeding away, while the 2 copters continued searching the drainages around the wall with their spotlights.

  Cleevus took out his mobile device, and pulled a cover off the back of it, exposing circuit boards. He plucked out the tracking chip from its place, crushed it between his fingers, then threw the bits out the window. He then reinstalled the cover, slid it back into his pants, and focused on driving. Lilith stirred a little in the passenger seat as he made his way down the highway.

  After about another 10 minutes of driving at high speed, he arrived at the dirt turnoff to his house. He turned onto it, and drove through the perimeter barrier posts after briefly deactivating them.

  He drove the car into his garage, and closed the automatic door behind him. He sat in the driver's seat for a few moments, staring at the gauges. The tac needle shook a little with the car at idle, and the rumble of the exhaust echoed inside the garage.

  He slowly reached forward, grabbed the key, and killed it, letting out a slow breath as the garage went silent. He leaned back in the seat, closing his eyes for several seconds. He turned his head and looked at Lilith, who was still sleeping peacefully with her head resting on the pillar. He slowly reached over, placed his hand on her shoulder, and gently shook her.

  “Lilith?” He asked with concern.

  She stirred, breathing in, and slowly opened her eyes, blinking several times, not seeming to recognize her surroundings. She then looked at him with a little confusion.

  “Cleevus?...where…” She said, placing a hand on her head.

  “We're at my house…” He replied.

  She blinked a few more times.

  “Did we… get away?” She asked.

  He nodded.

  “Yeah, we're safe, for now…” He said.

  Lilith sighed, and looked down.

  “So… what do we do now?” She asked.

  Cleevus looked back at the gauges, thinking.

  “You can't stay here… not for long…” He said.

  He breathed out, then opened the driver's door.

  “Come on,” he said, stepping out.

  He walked around to the passenger side, and held his arm out for Lilith, helping her as she stepped out of the car. He then looked over the side of the car.

  The windows and windshield were chipped from the motorcycle cop's smg fire, as well as there being bullet splatters and scratches on the paint. He lightly shook his head while looking at the damage on his prized possession. Lilith reached up and touched the side of his head again, then waved her hand over the car, and the damage on the car began to dissipate. The scratches and cracks in the glass faded, returning the car to its mostly pristine shape. Lilith then started to lean to the side a little, and Cleevus quickly grabbed her sides, holding her up.

  “You alright?” He asked with concern.

  She placed her hand on her forehead.

  “Yes, just… headache,” she said as she straightened herself.

  “Does that… take energy from you?” He asked, releasing her.

  She nodded.

  “Yes… I can only produce so much material, it could kill me if I overuse it…” She replied.

  “Well… thanks,” he said.

  He then turned towards the door.

  “Let's go inside…”

  She had followed him out of the garage, when Dreyfus ran up to them as they walked to the house. He stopped in front of them, his focus on Lilith. Oddly enough, he wasn't growling at her as he had with some of the other strangers who'd entered his property. She smiled slightly down at him.

  “Hmm… and who's this?” She asked.

  “Uhh… Lilith, this is Dreyfus, my hellhound,” Cleevus said, Dreyfus's ears pricked up at hearing his name. “Dreyfus, this is Lilith, be nice,” he said firmly.

  Dreyfus walked forward and sniffed at Lilith some, and she bent down and rubbed his neck and ears, petting him.

  “That's a good boy…” She said as she petted him; he was being unusually friendly to a stranger.

  The 3 of them all went into Cleevus's house after he unlocked the door. Lilith looked around inside, taking it in.

  “Nice home… simple,” she commented.

  Cleevus sighed as he cracked open the blinds over a back window of the house, looking out at the less-than-distant city.

  “You can't stay here for long…” He said.

  Lilith sat down on the couch, placing her head in her hand.

  “And where do you think I should go?” She asked.

  Cleevus paused while thinking, not noticing any choppers or cars moving on the highway in the direction of the house.

  “I don't know…” He said, releasing the blinds and walking back to his bedroom.

  He quickly changed out of the worn combat pants, tank top, and boots he had worn while fighting on Gluttony, and back into his normal gray t-shirt and jeans. He then walked back into the living room.

  “You don't have people in Pride who will protect you?” He asked, sitting down next to her on the couch.

  “You mean the government?” She scoffed, shaking her head in her hand. “They ousted me as soon as they knew my husband was dead, and a war was coming… our manor was burned down the first night I returned…” She explained.

  Cleevus's face darkened at her explanation, he looked at her thoughtfully.

  “There isn't anyone you know who has somewhere you can stay and be safe?” He asked.

  “I… ugh…” She said with her head still in her hands, and her eyes closed. “Maybe, but I can't put anyone else in danger…” She said, rubbing the side of her head.

  Cleevus studied her, then got up.

  “Here,” he said, walking to the kitchen.

  He opened a cabinet, then pulled a small vial out of a rack, which was filled with white powder. He then took out a glass, and filled it with some filtered rain water. He popped the cap off the vial, and poured the white powder into the glass, then stirred it in with a liquor stirrer. He walked back to the couch, and held the glass out to her, which she took from him.

  “Drink it,” he said, sitting back down. “It'll help your head.”

  She held it up to her face, sipping it slowly, then drinking it down. She leaned forward and placed the empty glass on the coffee table, and put her hand back on her forehead, blinking as her headache seemingly cleared up.

  “Thank you…” She said.

  Cleevus nodded.

  “Sure thing…” He replied.

  She sighed.

  “That's why I was on the streets when they found me…” She continued. “I thought keeping on the move would give me the best chances of eluding any assassins,” she explained.

  “Huh… didn't work out so well…” Cleevus observed, which she scoffed at.

  Dreyfus walked over to them, and sat down in front of Lilith, looking up at her. Lilith pet Dreyfus's head as he leaned forward. Cleevus sighed again, thinking.

  “There's really no one else you can go live with for some time? You're not safe here in Wrath, or in any other big city in Hell where the bureau likely has spies…” Cleevus continued.

  “The bureau?” She asked, turning to him.

  He nodded.

  “The Bureau of Inquisition; Satan's spies, the ones who nearly killed you…” He explained.

  Lilith paused, looking thoughtful.

  “Well… there is a friend with a vacation home in the mountains on Sloth they're staying in now to avoid the conflict… but there's a problem…”

  Cleevus sat up.

  “What's that?” He asked.

  Lilith sighed and closed her eyes.

  “It's my son…” she said.

  Cleevus squinted at her in confusion.

  “Your… son…” He repeated.

  She nodded.

  “Yes… he's only 13… he's staying with them in their home on Sloth right now. I sent him to stay with them after our manor was burned down, to keep him out of danger…”

  Cleevus blinked twice, processing the fact that she had a child that she had never told him about.

  “Well… is he safe there?” He asked with concern.

  She sighed again.

  “I don't know… If your friends in the bureau were able to find me, I'm afraid of what might happen to him… I think they found me using some kind of magic, to trace the power that my husband gave me,” she explained.

  “Does he have powers?” Cleevus asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Not that I know of, but they may be able to find him the same way, he is my blood…” She said solemnly.

  Cleevus looked down at the floor, still processing all of it.

  “I… I doubt they'd be after him… Satan wants you gone, he was afraid you might be a threat to his power,” he explained, which Lilith scoffed and lightly shook her head at.

  “I have no power over the people of Pride… most of them probably just thought I was nothing but a pretty face to hang on my husband's arm…” She remarked. “But as for my son, only those close to me ever knew about him. He was never in the public eye…” She explained.

  Cleevus looked to the side, and shrugged.

  “Still, if they find out you have a son, they might use him to get to you…” Cleevus said. “Satan, he's…”

  He paused, the memory of the sound of the sinner's hand being crushed beneath Satan’s boot and his slight smile as he did it still fairly fresh in his mind.

  “He’s ruthless… he won't stop until everyone that was a part of Lucifer's government is eradicated…” He explained with a darkened expression. “He already almost has control of Gluttony, and he's executed every official he's captured. If he takes control of Hell, no one is safe…”

  “Hmmff… good to know you've been in the service of an evil tyrant…” Lilith remarked with a little disdain returning to her voice.

  Cleevus just sat silently at the comment, then she sighed again.

  “But it doesn't matter now… I just… I have to keep my son safe, he matters more to me than anything else in these damned worlds…” She said solemnly.

  A memory of his own daughter flashed through his mind, from when she was 6, and he was still alive on Earth. He let out a deep breath through his nostrils.

  “I'll do what I can for you and your son Lilith…” He said in a determined voice.

  She looked up at him.

  “But we need a way to keep them from finding you and him…” He continued.

  “Hmm… know of any powerful beings that can block such magic?” She asked somewhat sarcastically.

  Cleevus opened his mouth to speak, then stopped when an idea came to mind.

  “I… I might actually…” He said.

  Lilith sat up, looking intrigued, and he started pulling on his normal motorcycle boots. He stood up and walked out the front door and outside the house, Lilith and Dreyfus both followed behind him. A warm breeze blew past him, and he looked up at the gray sky.

  “Eren… I need to speak to you,” he spoke in raised voice, looking up at the sky.

  A few moments had passed with Lilith and Dreyfus standing behind him, waiting for something to happen, when a circle of dust began to swirl on the ground in front of Cleevus. A bright cyclone of white light formed out of the air, twisting, and then dissipating to reveal Eren standing inside, wearing his same angelic armor and garb. Dreyfus didn't seem to react to Eren's presence. He looked at Cleevus with his same critical gaze.

  “What do you want of me, Slayer?” He asked.

  “I… have another offer to make you,” Cleevus replied.

  He smirked slightly.

  “Is that so…”

  Eren looked to the side at Lilith standing behind him.

  “Do my eyes deceive me? Is that Lilith, 1st wife of Adam? And the betrayer…” He said in a somewhat vexing tone, to which Lilith gazed back at him with a look of intrigue and slight offense.

  “Enough,” Cleevus said firmly. “Satan and his agents are trying to find and kill her using magic. If you'll keep her and her son from being tracked down by them, or anyone else who wants to hurt them, I'll do something for you in return…”

  Eren tilted his head.

  “Enticing… So you're some kind of vigilante protector now?” He asked.

  “Are you able to keep them safe or not?” Cleevus returned.

  Eren paused, then nodded.

  “Yes… I can instill a barrier over them that would protect them from being traced by any magic wielders… What would you be doing for me in return?” Eren asked.

  Cleevus shrugged slightly.

  “Anything you want me to…” He replied.

  Eren studied him with his icy blue eyes, seemingly looking for any sign of deceit.

  “Very well… I may have much use of you to turn the tides of this conflict… I will contact you within 3 days with a task for you, and in return I will prevent any ill magic from being used to find her, and her son. But do not forget our previous agreement, I'll still be observing…” He stated.

  Cleevus nodded slowly.

  “It's a deal…” He said.

  “We'll speak again soon… This may very well be a turning point in all this…” Eren replied.

  With that, he vanished in a beam of white light, leaving Cleevus, Lilith, and Dreyfus standing outside his house, as a dusty breeze blew past them.

  “Was that… An angel?” Lilith asked.

  Cleevus sighed.

  “Yeah… I can explain later. We should get you to your friend's place now,” He said, turning back to the house.

  “Right,” Lilith replied, following him back inside along with Dreyfus.