"Wha...what do you mean?" Axel's face froze at the woman's words. Waiting for me? What does she mean?

Castyr came to stand behind Axel when he heard what Star Ellessi had said. Kilo followed his star and bowed his head shortly in greeting to the esteemed Star Ellessi.

"Your soul..." Ellessi gazed at the boy fondly as she said, "Your soul, dear Axel, will end this war with Hades."

Axel's brows furrowed as he stared at the white-haired woman. End the war...My soul? ...How?

Noticing the commotion from everyone's reactions to the star's prophecy, Rae quickly walked to the source of the noise. Finding Axel standing in front of the star Hendry was escorting, Rae came to stand beside his newest subordinate and bowed his head in greeting to the star.

"Star Ellessi, what is this about?"

Eyes still fixed on Axel, Ellessi responded to the colonel, "This boy...will end this terrible war and restore peace."

"How?" Grand Colonel Hendry inquired as he joined the scene. "How will this boy end the war?" Hendry had been searching for a means to put an end to this hell, so a star prophesying about how to end the fight with Hades called for the grand colonel's complete attention.

Aware that Hendry was a good person but eager to use whatever means necessary to win a battle, Rae stepped between Axel and the grand colonel. Axel was an untrained half-angel. Even if they knew then and there how his soul could end the war, it would be futile. He would need months if not years of training to unlock his abilities. No matter what Ellessi said next, Rae knew that Axel would not be able to perform it. He was not ready.

Thus, Rae was ready to whisk the boy away should Hendry step in and try to assimilate Axel into his unit. Hendry would do whatever it took to win even if it meant sacrificing a mere half-angel.

Watching Ellessi carefully, Rae braced to hear what the star had to say. Eyes still focused on Axel, Ellessi began explaining, "You are the key to Angel's Landing. With the full power of Angel's Landing, we will win this war."

"The key? What do you mean, Star Ellessi?"

Ignoring Hendry's inquiry, Ellessi continued, "You must find Angel's Landing, Axel. And you must unlock it."

Angel's Landing? Axel continued to gaze at Ellessi with furrowed brows. Knowing that he could end the bloodshed that was plaguing Dexys, Axel was all ears. He had resolved to do his best to rid Earth of the rabid demons and presence of Hades.

"But no one has ever been able to find Angel's Landing," Hendry returned. "How will this boy be able to find it?"

Once again brushing off Hendry's question, Ellessi turned her gaze to Rae before stating, "It is your job to train Axel and help him find Angel's Landing. Do what you could not in the past. Protect him well."

Rae's heart sank when he heard the star's order. Do what I could not in the past? What does she mean? Rae had felt a connection with the boy ever since he saw him bloodied and fighting against several rabid demons, but he had not been able to place where and when he had met the half-angel. Did we...know each other? Before I lost everything?

"I am highly qualified to train the boy, Star Ellessi. Allow me the honor of protecting the half-angel," Hendry pushed. He wanted to be the one to train the person who would help the Heavens win the war. He knew that if Axel were under his command, he could forge the half-angel into a mighty warrior.

Ellessi opened her lips to respond to the grand colonel, but a hovercraft flying overhead dangerously low stopped her. Lifting her head to the sky, Ellessi's eyes widened when she saw a bomb dropping toward the ground. Reflexes quicker than a cat's, Rae wrapped his arm around Axel's waist and twirled the boy out of the range of the bomb as it shot into a nearby building.

Ringing filled Axel's senses as the force from the bomb sent him and the colonel flying into the air. Wrapping Axel in his arms, Rae took the brunt of the fall as they landed on the other side of the street. Kilo and Castyr were quick to their feet after jumping out of the explosion's blast and rushed to the colonel and Axel as Jaemyn took flight to assess the situation.

Eight more hovercrafts headed toward us. They have us surrounded. Jaemyn landed back on the ground as he was spotted and fired at.

"Protect the star!" Hendry called as he sprung into action. Following their commanding officer's orders, the angels of Unit K surrounded Ellessi as her guardian shielded her from the shards of glass that showered over them.

Castyr helped Axel to his feet as Kilo gave Rae a hand. Jaemyn hurried to the colonel to report, "They're coming from all sides. They must have spotted us a while back."

"Let's regroup with Hendry and-" Rae was cut off when two angels from Unit K hurried over and grabbed Axel. "Unhand him," Rae commanded sternly. He glared at Hendry's subordinates as they attempted to bring Axel over to their commanding officer.

"Apologies, Colonel," one of the two said while dipping his head. "Grand Colonel Hendry requests we take the boy with us."

"You will do no such thing," Rae returned.

"Hand him over Rae," Hendry ordered as he left the group protecting Ellessi and stormed over to the leader of Unit R. "The boy is vital in winning this fight."

Rae's eyes slanted as he glared at the grand colonel. "Focus on your duties, Hendry, and I will focus on mine."

Hendry could not refute Rae's statement. Ellessi had given Rae the command to train and protect Axel. Although Ellessi was not an officer in Heaven's Division of Defense, a star's word was final no matter the situation. Therefore, Hendry could do nothing except signal his subordinates to release Axel. 

"Do not fail us, Rae," Hendry said in a low voice as he turned from Unit R. "The fate of the Heavens is in your hands."

The moment Hendry turned from him, Rae called out to the members of his unit who were currently fending off the incoming demons. Retreat. We're leaving this district. Immediately following the colonel's command, all the members of Unit R spread their wings and took to the sky.

"Hold on." Rae's warning was short as he spread his wings. A hand around Axel's waist pulled him into the colonel, and Axel immediately got the hint about what was about to happen. Quickly wrapping his arms around the colonel, Axel held on tightly as Rae beat his wings down and launched into the air.

The colonel's wings were a rich, chocolate brown, matching the color of his hair and glistening in the evening sun. They were massive and powerful. With only a few beats of his wings, Rae was already nearing the mid-range of the skyreachers. The speed at which Rae was ascending made it hard for Axel to catch his breath, so the hangel did his best to regulate his breathing by breathing in and out slowly.

Though they were sitting ducks on the ground, they were in just as much danger in the sky. The hovercrafts changed their focus from shooting the angels on the ground to eliminating those who had taken flight. The whirring of a hovercraft alerted Axel to a ship that was charging at Rae at full speed.

With only a split second to react, Rae turned his back to face the craft and shielded Axel from the impending crash. However, a dark mass whizzed in front of the two. The dark blur spiraled toward the hovercraft as a string of purple light zipped through the demon ship, slicing it in two.

As the destroyed combat craft fell toward the earth, the spinning angel came to hover beside Rae. Kilo nodded at the colonel as he lowered his black blade to rest by his side. Kilo's wings were black and were massive like Rae's, but they were slightly smaller indicating the guardian angel was younger than the colonel.

Axel squinted his eyes as he looked at the black sword in Kilo's hand. Where did that come from? Axel had never noticed Kilo carrying around a sword. It was then that Axel realized the other angels who were fighting the combat craft were also now bearing their special blades. None of the angels had been carrying them previous to the fight, so where had they come from?

Axel had little time to ponder this anomaly because he saw Kilo vanish right before his eyes. One moment the purple-eyed angel was hovering in front of him and Rae, and the next second, he was gone. However, just as Kilo vanished, he reappeared. Except this time, he was cradling Castyr in his arms.

Being of the guardian class, Kilo was one of the few angels who had the ability of teleportation. Seeing Rae and Axel in danger, Kilo teleported to the roof of a skyreacher and temporarily left Castyr there before teleporting to save the colonel and hangel. Once Rae and Axel were safe, Kilo returned to collect his star.

With Castyr in his arms, Kilo followed Rae as the colonel continued to ascend toward the sky. When most of the combat craft had been eliminated, the members of Unit R regrouped around their colonel and the hangel and flew toward the edge of the city. With the revelation that the boy in Rae's arms had the power to end the war, each member of Unit R made it their mission to protect their colonel and the hangel; their lives depended on the two's survival.

Destination, Colonel? Kilo inquired about the unit's path of light as he followed Rae over the skyreachers.

District 30. We'll restock on supplies, and then we are leaving the city. Rae's initial plan was to regroup with Hendry's unit and rally together with Earth's forces to help drive Hades out of Dexys, but with the new order from Star Ellessi, Rae's priorities had changed.

Now, he needed to protect and train the boy in his arms. Wingless and yet to unlock his powers, Axel was extremely vulnerable, and Dexys was the last place he needed to be. With no sturdy base in Dexys, Rae's sights turned toward the country. Hades' reach went as far as the outskirts of the city, but Rae hoped to find a place to lay low and train the half-angel before sending him out to war.

He also wanted to investigate what Ellessi meant by her words. "Do what you could not in the past." Rae had felt immense sorrow and pain when he heard the star's statement, and he needed to know that he had forgotten, what he had lost. And he knew it had something to do with the half-angel. Axel was the key to his past, the key to his memories.

So, even though the city was engulfed in flames and death, Rae flew away from the terror brought on by Hades. He flew away from the fire and darkness to protect the one in his arms.