Axel was still processing what had just happened as he exited the base with his team from Unit K. One moment he was with Callon, Eryx, and Hakken, and then he was chasing after Rae. But now, he was doing neither. He was marching through the destroyed city of Dexys in search of a way to end the war.

Unit K had suddenly been ordered to march toward the Transport Tower. They were the team that would spearhead the largest assault yet in the war against Hades. Eyrik encouraged the team with the promise of reinforcements joining them when they arrived at the Transport Tower. But they first needed to make it through the numerous groups of demons that separated them from their destination.

When the unit emerged from the base, they headed to a nearby skyreacher garage where they loaded into several rovers. They were met by two EDF units and the units that had come from Neptune and Jupiter. Altogether, the six units totaled just over a hundred soldiers.

Axel looked around at the combined units' low numbers and nearly scoffed. 100? How are we going to take the Transport Tower with just a hundred? Never mind that. How are we even going to make it to the Transport Tower with so few?

"Will the Heavens really open for us?" A soldier of the EDF inquired of Major Eyrik as Unit K joined them in the garage.

"If you pray hard enough," was Eyrik's response as he and his unit boarded several rovers. Along with the orders to charge on the Transport Tower, Grand Colonel Hendry promised Eyrik that reinforcements from Heaven were on their way and would join the units before they reached the tower.

However, Eyrik could not stop the sinking feeling that settled in his gut. Hendry would not have lied to Eyrik and sent the unit to their death, but he could not shake the feeling that they would not see the next sunrise. But, he kept his face from showing his doubt as he loaded up his unit.

After making sure everyone had a spot on a rover, Eyrik gave the command, "Let's head out."

"Major, were we expecting another unit?" Joi inquired of Eyrik as she sensed several other angels quickly approaching the garage.

"I guess they did make it after all," Eyrik commented as they watched Unit R enter the garage.

"A heads up would've been nice," Lt. Colonel Azyr, leader of Team R-11, said to Eyrik in greeting as Unit R came to stand in front of Unit K.

"Apologies, Lt. Colonel," Eyrik returned with a small bow. "We could not afford to wait."

Eyrik dipped his head in greeting to Rae as Unit R's commander stepped forward from his unit and scanned the crowd of soldiers ordered to fight to the death to reach the Transport Tower. Rae's cool, blue eyes flowed over the group of human soldiers mixed with those from Neptune and Jupiter before continuing to Unit K where his gaze landed on the hangel gazing at him intently from afar.

Axel was sitting on the rim of a rover that had been packed with members of Unit K, so he had a clear view of Unit R which had just arrived. Colonel... Axel's heart sped in his chest as he gazed into Rae's eyes. The cold and distant curiosity that had filled Rae's eyes just a few hours prior had completely disappeared. What now replaced it was worry and hope.

"We've no time to waste, Colonel," Eyrik reminded Rae of the situation's state of urgency, causing the colonel to break his eye contact with Axel and order his unit to load up on the remaining rovers. "Move out!" Eyrik commanded to the group of roughly 120 the moment the rovers were packed to the brim with soldiers.

Unlike past missions, the units were not concerned with creating noise. They sped out of the garage at full speed and headed in the direction of the demon-infested Transport Tower. The small army was bound to run into demons even if they traveled as quietly as they could on foot. So, they bit the bullet and took the means of rovers since it would allow them to reach the Transport Tower faster.

Many of the angels were aching to stretch their wings and fly. They had been cooped up in the base for months and would take any opportunity to lift to the sky. So, when they were attacked by demons after a few minutes of blazing through the city, several of the angels took flight to provide air support and cover the rovers as the rest of the soldiers continued speeding toward the Transport Tower.

Axel did the best he could. Hanging onto the rover while shooting at incoming demons was no easy task. Whenever the rover would swerve to avoid a ravaged demon, Axel thought his arm would be torn from his body. The rover he was riding in was now empty except for him and the driver; the angels who had been riding with him had all taken to the sky.

Well, it was empty until Unit R's star leaped from the rover he was in to land behind Axel. "Major Castyr!" Axel called out in greeting as the star came to crouch next to the hangel. He was happy to be joined by the star. Castyr was an excellent marksman, so Axel resorted to providing the star cover while he focused on sniping demons who were shooting at them from inside nearby skyreachers.

The longer they fought, the more demons that appeared. After being engaged in battle for roughly a half-hour, the most dreaded sound reached the soldiers' ears. Axel turned his head to the sky when he heard it: the low hum of aircraft.

Oh no. Axel's eyes widened when he saw several demon craft flying straight for them. He then looked at the angels flying above the rovers and prayed they would be able to protect themselves against the demon aircraft.

"Axel!" Castyr calling his name quickly brought the hangel's attention to the star as Castyr said, "There's a launcher under the passenger seat."

Understanding Castyr's meaning, Axel lept from the back of the rover into the front passenger seat and reached under the chair. Fingers stretching as far as they could, Axel finally felt the coldness of metal and reached as far back as he could until he wrapped his fingers over the cylinder.

Retracting the launcher from under the seat, Axel was surprised at its small size. However, he knew to not underestimate its power. Though small, these launchers packed quite the punch. Even so, Axel knew he would need to get to a vantage point where he could aim for the aircraft without the fear of gunning down an angel in the process.

So, he did the craziest thing he could think of. He jumped from the rover. Pain shot through Axel's body as he collided with the rough surface of the road, and he broke his fall with a roll to lessen the impact. Axel immediately scrambled to his feet after completing a full roll and headed for the nearest skyreacher.

Luckily, Axel had trained his telekinesis well enough that he could have the launcher float behind him because he needed his hands free to fight the demons that were between him and the higher levels of the skyreacher. Axel was able to take down twelve demons before his gun was out of ammo.

Instinctively holstering his now-empty gun, Axel quickly scanned his surroundings for a possible weapon. Spotting a dagger on the ground from one of the demons he had decapitated, Axel quickly called for it to fly to him. Aware that it was a demonic blade, Axel knew the dagger may have been harder to connect with and control than a normal blade. But, he needed to try nonetheless.

He did not want to waste any of the ammo in the launcher, so he did his best to connect with the blade while evading incoming bullets from more demons who had spotted him. Come on, come on, come on! After struggling for a few seconds, Axel closed his eyes and focused on the weapon.

A growl sounded from just in front of Axel, alerting him to a demon that was nearly upon him. But he continued to focus on the blade, and at the last second, he was successful in summoning it. The black blade made contact with his hand just as the demon reached him. Bringing the dagger in front of him, Axel swiped it over the demon's neck.

Blood splattered all over Axel's face and neck as he then reached behind the bleeding demon and severed his cervical cord. Axel did not realize he had been holding his breath that entire time until the demon's body dropped to the ground. The hangel's chest heaved as he caught his breath and looked around the stairwell of the second level of the skyreacher.

He had managed to travel up two levels, but he knew he would need to climb even higher in order to gain a good vantage point. Now that he had connected with the blade, Axel released it from his grasp and let it float in front of him as he continued up the stairs. He did not encounter any more demons until he reached level six.

Determining six stories was high enough, Axel burst through the door leading from the staircase onto the sixth floor and immediately engaged in close-range combat with the three demons residing on that level. By the time Axel pushed his way through the demons and rushed to the floor-to-ceiling wall of glass, the rovers had passed on and were much farther into the city, but he still had a good vantage point of the battle in the sky.

Not realizing just how disconnected he was from the rest of the unit, Axel brought the launcher to rest on his shoulder and aimed the weapon's nose toward the demon aircraft firing at the angels in flight. Axel dropped to one knee and braced for the force of the weapon's launch as he zeroed in on a demon craft and fired.

The moment the launcher fired its first shot, Axel focused his telekinesis on the weapon and guided it through the group of angels as he best could until it made contact with its target. Axel released a huge breath of relief when the weapon did not hit any collateral. However, his mind quickly became exhausted due to the immense concentration that was required to stay connected with the launcher at such a great distance.

After taking out ten more demon aircraft, Axel was spent. By the time the launcher was empty of shots, the rovers and angels had moved on much farther than Axel could have imagined in such a short time. He was alone.

However, that did not stop him from getting on his feet and leaving the skyreacher in search of his unit. He was too tired to bring the launcher with him, so he left it on the floor of the sixth level and stumbled down the stairs until he reached the abandoned road. Bodies of slain demons were scattered over the street, but no one even cared to collect them. Everyone had moved on, even the demons.

Axel was stranded once again. The demons had followed the units toward the Transport Tower, leaving everything behind. The fear of being left alone again crept into Axel as he walked down the dead street. The bodies of three EDF soldiers were stuck in a rover that had caught fire. They, too, had been abandoned.

The sound of distant gunfire was the only thing that directed Axel where to go. He could no longer see the units, but he could see flashes of light each time an explosion occurred. Axel debated whether or not he had enough energy to catch up with the units and join the battle that was to happen at the Transport Tower. His mind was spent, but his body was still moving. Should he rest? Or should he keep pushing forward?

Why would you rest? People are dying right now! Axel was quick to scold himself for entertaining the idea of sitting down and resting. He had to get back to his unit. But, even more so, he did not want to be alone in the broken city.

So, he broke out into a run. Well, as fast of a run as he could manage. However, Axel did not have to run for long before he saw a sight he never wanted to see. A downed angel was sprawled on the ground, his wings spread out over him. Axel's eyes filled with fear as he approached the angel. He recognized those wings.

No, no, no. Please, no. Axel's body and mind forgot their fatigue as he broke out into a sprint and ran to the man on the ground. As he reached the downed angel, Axel's chest tightened when he saw another angel on the ground just in front of the one he had originally seen. Axel recognized the second angel as a member of Unit K.

One of her golden wings was detached from her and stretched out just above her head, and her golden eyes stared up at the sky above lifelessly. "Rest in peace, Lieutenant." Axel lifted a prayer as he reached over and closed the female angel's eyes.

After laying the lieutenant to rest, Axel hurried past her body and rushed to the man who was lying face-down. Tears escaped Axel's eyes as he knelt beside the man and lifted one of his wings to reveal his face.

"No, no..." A cry ripped from Axel's throat as he called out, "Colonel!"