I ran as fast as I could. I wanted to run away from everything. But those memories were faster than I could ever be and flooded my senses. I could hear his voice.

'All I want is to be by your side.'

'The most beautiful thing in this world is you!'

'I love you wifey.'

The words he had spoke stuck me as if a sharpshooter had fried them right in the middle of my head. Those memories haunted me such that I felt like I was living a nightmare. How could I ever run away from them? From him?

Was I wrong to fall in love? Somehow when I thought that, I tumbled and fell down right out of the main door. My knee was scratched badly, and the warm sensation on my nose told me that it was broken. But it didn't hurt. My heart hurt more!

Athena, who was sitting on the stairs, ran to me quickly. Her clothes were drenched in sweat.

"You okay?" She asked in a caring manner, but her face had this terrified expression. Her eyes were open wide and even though she was trying to control it, she surely was shivering.

I nodded and then asked her the same.

"But are you?"

Athena didn't seem to realize her condition. But she understood it after I asked. She exhaled out a deep breath and bitterly smiled.

"I heard everything. Expect nothing else from a monster. Even hurting the one who cared for him."

"He is not a monster!" I snapped back at her. It was as if I was atoning. I had said the same words to him back then. Black was a kind person, and no one had the right to call him a monster! Not even me.

"You still say that?"

"That person is someone else. He is not my Black." I was this sure that that guy was someone else.

"He was the One-winged devil. Surely." Athena affirmed it in her own way, and it hurt again. This time, as the realization struck me, I couldn't bring myself to correct her words. There was a huge lump in my throat that I couldn't swallow. I felt like if I opened my mouth, I will break. I repeatedly wiped away the tears from my eyes, but they just wouldn't stop.

"Your heart is pure. He is unworthy."

And I remembered how many times Black too had said the exact words. But didn't he know that I would gladly let my heart get corrupted if that means I could be by his side? I would gladly be ruined if he were to ruin me. I didn't mind falling from grace if it was for him. I couldn't suppress my feelings and finally cried out.

Athena let me be. She didn't stop me from crying. She just stayed near me and repeatedly shook her head. And after a short while, she spoke again.

"Let's go in."

"Huh?" Did Athena not hear Black before? He wanted to be left alone with his lover.

"He is gone."

I didn't want to see Lilith either! Why should I? Truthfully, I didn't blame her. I couldn't blame her. In fact, I wanted to give both of them my blessings for a happy life. But thinking and doing were two different things.

"You can go in. I'll not."

"Think you should talk to her."

"What is there left to talk now?"

"We need to get your leg and nose fixed."

I really had no idea how I was supposed to face Black's lover. I didn't want to, but Athena forcefully dragged me inside. I cursed her super-strength when Athena put me on her shoulder like cavemen used to carry their women and entered Lilith's apartment. I pleaded her to put me down, but my pleas were rejected. She threw me on the couch in the hall without caring for my injuries. I steadied myself and looked around.

I saw Lilith, who was pouring herself some water in the kitchen. She was so absent-minded that she didn't seem to hear us as we entered.

Lilith looked towards us only when Athena shouted her name. Lilith looked at me with a guilty expression, and I was shocked to find out that she was crying. Tears were still running down her face. She lowered her eyes after a few seconds and let out a self-mocking smile. I didn't understand the reason why she was crying. But I didn't know that like me, she too was crying for the loss of her love.

"Younglings..." Athena shook her head once more. Lilith chugged in a whole lot of water and wiped away her tears to the best of her ability before she looked towards us again. Looking at her calm and collected expression, no one could say that she was crying a moment ago. Unless of course they saw the dried up leftovers near her eyes.

"How can I help you miss Athena?"

"Maria is injured. I need your help." Athena replied. Lilith walked towards us, and she bent over and touched my nose with her fingertip. I felt a warm sensation passing through my nose and I felt that pain slowly fading away. In a few short moments, my nose was fixed.

Lilith proceeded without speaking a word to me and knelt down. She placed her hand over my knee, not even caring of the blood, and I saw the scratch healing right before my eyes. It appeared like the time was flowing in reverse.

"Stay here for tonight, okay? I would like to talk to you when I return." Lilith spoke sweetly, like she always did, and then both Lilith and Athena nodded while looking at each other. Before I could even speak to them, Lilith had magically appeared beside the window and opened it. Next second, they both jumped out of the window, leaving me alone in that apartment.

I did not want to stay. But for some reason, I did... Whether it was for hope or for confirmation of my sight, I wanted to hear what she wanted to say to me. And before I knew, I had fallen asleep on the couch.

* * * * *

"Good morning," Lilith greeted me as I opened my eyes. I was still on the couch, but there was a blanket over me. I observed Lilith and saw her smiling cheerfully, unlike last night. It appeared that she had gotten over whatever reason she was crying for. Lilith walked over to me from the kitchen counter while holding two cups in her hands.

"Want some tea?"

"No. Thank you."

"Don't be shy." Lilith forced that hot tea upon me. I was forced to hold it in fear of spilling it all over me. The tea smelled nice and I decided to give it a try.

"Do you know?"

"What?"

"Black... He kidnapped Maria last night." When I first heard that name, I didn't recognise it. It was after a few moments I realized that Maria was the one whom Black had previously injured.

Why was Black behaving like a bandit? Kidnapping all women. First, he kidnapped Pandora and now Maria.

"I don't know why he kidnapped Pandora, but I do know why he kidnapped Maria. Want to know?"

"Of course..." I paused. Why did it matter what he did, and why he did? I only wanted to know if what I saw was true or not. "Not!"

"He did it because of you." Lilith still answered.

"Huh?" Now, what did I do? I never asked him to kidnap those women. Speaking in riddles is not a good thing to do so early in the morning when brain doesn't function properly.

"You accompanied Athena to here. That's why."

I still didn't get it! What has that to do with anything!? Lilith noticed my bewildered expressions. She continued her explanation.

"Athena came here to treat Maria's injury. And she came here with you. He understood it, and that's why he kidnapped Maria. To treat her. I don't think that he would do the same if Athena had come here alone."

"He didn't have to kidnap her though."

Lilith took in a deep breath and then asked, "Do you know about Bloodthirsty?"

"The angels who are destined to become demons are called Bloodthirsty," I replied.

"And?"

"There's something more to it?"

"Allow me to tell you then. As the name suggests, Bloodthirsty are the angels who thirst for blood since their birth. They have a strong desire to rule, to possess everything, to destroy everything. Anger, hatred, envy, lust, greed, pride and all such emotions are present in their instinct.

"As Bloodthirsty age, those instincts grow and they start to lose their rationale until they accept that they belong to the dark side. Until they become a demon. From what I have heard, such angels can not survive these instincts past sixteen years of age."

"Is that why he did that yesterday?"

"Black... From what I have seen, he treads on this dangerous grey line repeatedly, giving in to his desires. He is using the power of a bloodthirsty power to search for something. He doesn't want to be in front of you because then, he won't be able to give in to his darkness. The second he saw you last night, he regained his senses. Do you know, when you ran away, he whispered to me in such a painful manner, 'It is not time for me to return... But soon.'"

"You two are not together then?" As I thought about that, I found a glimmer of hope. There was, perhaps, a reason behind his actions.

"Do you think Black is omnipotent?"

"It appears to be so."

"You're wrong. Even though Black is too strong to be true, he does have limitations." Lilith then moved her arm and used her ability to encase us in a glowing sphere.

"Most of his abilities heavily rely on his dense lifeforce. I found this thing when I was learning to heal from him. Black can heal everyone else with a snap of his fingers. But to heal himself, he can only use the flames of resurrection when he is injured to the point of unconsciousness. If the injury isn't life threatening, he can not heal himself." The glowing sphere then burst open like a bubble, without any sound.

"But he told me that he can always heal himself."

"He lied. Perhaps he didn't want to worry you... Due to his physical body being remarkable, his recovery rate is pretty good."

"Damn it." 

"My ability to heal is also peculiar. I need to physically touch the wounded to cast my heal. And I can heal any injury as long as I have lifeforce left in me. But he doesn't let me heal him. He uses some kind of ability to forcefully suck away my lifeforce, to heal himself quickly. Last night what you saw was him healing himself. Maria is a healer seraph. That was the other reason he kidnapped her. He doesn't want return here. Now you understand?"

"I really thought that you and Black were in a relationship."

"I wish for that... Ha... If you didn't get it all after whatever I said, you must be pretty dumb. If you still want to personally hear from me, then no. He doesn't love me. We are not together. Seriously, in these six months, he didn't speak half of all the words he spoke yesterday!" Lilith laughed, but there was a strange thing about her laughter. It didn't sound happy.

At that moment, I forgot to notice how Lilith never said that she doesn't love him either. These angels around me were all liars.