Angel Monarch

"So, Last Angel. Tell me... Why do you carry a World Tree in your soul?"

The smile spreading across Sera's face quickly twisted into a deep frown. Of all the questions, of course he asks the most uncomfortable one to answer.

An annoyed sigh echoed from Sera's lips as her hand reached up and absentmindedly brushed against the vines growing around her neck and shoulders.

"This isn't a simple question to answer," said Sera, while keeping her eyes on the white knight.

"When Bea first placed her seed inside my chest, neither of us knew what it entailed. It might've been a mistake, but in that moment I'm sure Bea wasn't thinking about future consequences..."

'I never regretted making that decision! I don't care about right or wrong! I don't care about the consequences! I'd rather sacrifice everything than see you die!'

Bea's words brought a small smile to Sera's face, but her face soon became serious once again.

"I carry her in my soul, because she entrusted me with her most precious part. I'll nurture her into a full-grown World Tree, and together we'll figure out our lives!"

Sera's declaration made Purity chuckle in amusement.

"Oh my. What passion!... Anyway, you didn't answer my question. Why are you carrying her seed, or rather... If you got the chance to free Bea and remove the seed, would you take the chan—..."

Before the white knight could've finished, Sera already cut in.

"No! Never... This wasn't my decision, but Bea's. If she asked me to rip my soul apart and take out the seed, then I would oblige, but until she asks me, our souls will stay connected!... Wanna know why?"

The Angel leaned forward on her throne, her eyes burning with desire.

"...Because she's my soulmate!" she declared, but her words didn't have the intended effect.

Purity just tilted his head curiously.

"Lies. I thought we talked about this, Last Angel... I despise impurity, and your last word reeks of falsehood! Don't test me... Now answer honestly!"

However, Sera went pale and froze upon hearing Purity's words. She felt utterly shocked, since it wasn't a lie. Bea was her soulmate!

Sera tried hard. She kept saying the words, repeating them in her mind, yet in her heart, each declaration caused a pang of sadness... Her words were indeed not the entire truth, because Bea wasn't the only person Sera loved...

'It's okay, Sera. I understand... I'm not trying to replace Bran, and I know you won't ever be truly over him... Don't feel sad or guilty! Who decided one person can only have one soulmate! That's a stupid rule, so why not break it!'

Bea's words calmed Sera's guilt and melancholy. She leaned back in her chair with an exhausted sigh and grinned at the white knight.

"I wasn't lying, Purity. Bea IS my soulmate!... However, she isn't my only one. But that doesn't decrease the love I feel for her!"

Purity tilted his head again, but after a few seconds, he reluctantly nodded.

"That was a pure answer, which I accept... Thank you, Last Angel, for this educational conversation. I think I understand your character and personality now!"

The white knight rose to his feet, the metal armor making no noise. The white fabric throne dissolved behind him, and Purity turned his eyes towards where the cave opening used to be.

"Because of our conversation, I'll leave you alone for now. However, don't mistake this for a friendship or alliance. I'm merely a person interested in the purity of everyone's soul!"

With that, like a piece of cloth in the wind, Purity's body flew away, through the solid Angelic Metal barrier. His last words kept lingering though...

"Last advice! Leave before the other Horsemen get here!"

The Angelic Metal evaporated, but Sera didn't dismiss it entirely. Instead, she thinned it so no particles could be noticed floating midair.

The vine moved on Sera's throat, and soon Bea's form appeared by her side. They both stood at the cave opening and watched as three flying horses approached them from different directions. On the ground, four other horsemen appeared, riding on their own strange mounts.

"Faith!" shouted Sera, while turning towards her growing shadow. "Tell Qinrir the Arachnids will leave Earth in a few minutes! Bring Vicky here as fast as possible and ask Qinrir for The Chasm's coordinates!"

The Shadow nodded, but didn't disappear, since this was only one of her iterations.

"Hestia's talking with Qinrir, and Vicky will be there any moment. However, we'll need to give them one minute to evacuate everybody!"

Sera cursed and turned towards the seven approaching horsemen. Time was rapidly running out.

They couldn't fight here, since that would collapse the entire hill and cave system. She could surrender herself, but since two different Factions came for her, fighting would break out between the Horsemen of Genesis and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

This left Sera with only one choice...

"Well, this'll fucking suck..." she declared with a deep sigh, then turned towards Faith once more. "Get your main body here and defend the Arachnid evacuation! Collapse every entrance and keep the inner structural integrity under control!"

With that, Sera turned away and called out to Kastral using their connection.

'Hello my beautiful mount. Could you help me and this magnificent lady standing by my side? We need immediate evacuation!... Please!'

Kastral grumbled through their connection, but he didn't waste time and soon punched into the cave entrance like a meteor. Alyrine soon followed and landed with much more grace.

Both Sera and Bea mounted their respective hippogryphs, then flew into the sky, before the horsemen reached their exact position.

The Horsemen of the Apocalypse stopped at the sandy beach, the waves gently brushing against their horses' legs. The Horsemen of Genesis flew close to the ground and turned to chase after Sera.

"Kastral! Alyrine! Cover your ears!" shouted Sera over the loud wind.

Both hippogryphs stared at her like she's an idiot, since they couldn't cover their ear holes. However, Bea already guessed Sera's next move, and so she quickly made strong ear covers for each giant beast.

Sera glanced back with a small grin. She raised her hand and pointed a finger gun at the beach.

"Bang!" she said, and the next moment, the entire beach exploded into a fiery hell.

It looked like a second sun appeared just below the flying hippogryphs. All four horsemen on the ground went up in flames, while the other three used precious seconds to stabilize themselves.

Both women went deaf, but with Bea's healing and constant supply of life energy, they quickly regenerated.

'Where should we go, Sera?' asked Kastral in her mind.

Sera wasn't paying much attention, though. Her hands were carefully molding an object from Angelic Metal. Golden flames and green energy danced along her palm as she created a large golden-green gemstone.

'Just continue flying straight and make sure those horsemen don't get too close. But don't lose sight of them either! We need to lure them away!'

Kastral nodded and told Alyrine what Sera had said. They sped up just enough to keep the horsemen near the southern horizon.

While flying, Bea glanced at the Angel, who was still working hard on a silvery object. A few seconds later, she raised it, and Bea finally realized what it was... A crown made of Angelic Metal with a glowing bright, golden-green gemstone...

When she seemed satisfied with the quality, Sera turned and called out for her shadow.

"Faith, take this to Qinrir before they leave! Tell him, it's a present to his Goddess!"

A pale hand reached out of the shadow and grasped the crown. Sera also summoned a thin piece of Angelic Metal, which resembled a letter.

After Faith left, Sera glanced towards Bea's curious expression. The Angel chuckled and asked, "What's it? I'm just building connections for the future!"

Bea shook her head while holding the bridge of her nose, but she couldn't stop her lips from twisting into a small smile.

Eventually, Bea sighed and turned back towards Sera.

"Where are we going? There's nothing but the Pacific Ocean this way for thousands of kilometers!"

Sera grinned at the magnificent woman, and Bea had a bad feeling about that wicked expression.

"Yes, I know! For eleven thousand kilometers, to be exact! That's how long we'll travel until we reach North America!"

Kastral glanced back with a small shrieking chirp-like noise. His eyes burned with confusion as he asked, 'But that's the West Coast! You told me about how dangerous the western part of North America is! Why're we headed there exactly? To die?'

His rider just chuckled.

"No silly! The West Coast of North America is full of Abominations and Horrors roaming around! They're perfect for setting up an ambush! We might even kill those horsemen, albeit I doubt they'll die... I want them to at least run home battered and scared!"

Sera's fierce gaze glanced behind at the three flying horsemen. Below, atop the Pacific Ocean, the other four horsemen moved so fast, their bodies didn't sink.

"Let's see if we can lure some creatures to attack them," whispered Sera while summoning a few silvery metal balls with golden flames contained inside them.

Every few seconds, she let one slip from her fingers. They fell into the ocean below and, moments later, exploded. Saltwater shot into the air as loud bangs echoed across the ocean.

None of the horsemen cared as they continued riding through the waves. However, Sera didn't use the miniature explosives to attack them... Her actual plan was much more sinister...