Colonel! There's someone down there! Azyr alerted Rae as he spotted a form chained to the machine that produced the portal. Azyr had flown above the battle scene to peer over the stream of demons emerging from the red, glowing portal where he saw a man who appeared to be unconscious. They are leeching his life force from him. Azyr described the incapacitated man as he saw the black threads of energy leaving the man and entering the machine. I think this man is what is powering the portal.

What do you mean by that? Rae inquired of the lt. colonel as he sliced Genyr through a demon's neck, severing its head.

His energy is being drawn out and sucked in by the machine. If we can detach him from the machine, it should shut down the portal.

Recalling Orion mentioning that Aklys would be revived so long as Orion was alive, Rae concluded that the man being used to power the portal was Demon King Aklys. Though cruel, Hades' plan of using Aklys' endless source of energy to power the machine was genius. So long as Orion was breathing, Aklys could die as many times as needed. He would be revived, and his energy refilled making him the perfect power pool.

That man is Aklys. We need to get him away from the machine as quickly as possible. Azyr, Destil, Zetha, come with me. The rest of the unit will continue to slay the demons that cross over. After giving out instructions, Azyr Zetha, and Destil were quick to join Rae, and the group took flight. After flying as close to the roof of the underground tunnels, the four whizzed toward the machine while battling the demons who had taken flight to stop them from reaching the portal.

It was surprisingly easy to reach the machine. Since most of the demons that came through the portal were under Hades' trance, they were following the command to raid Dexys and did not give much thought to those who flew above them. While a few broke off from the horde to attack the three in flight, most of the demons were too dazed to realize what was going on.

When the four angels reached the machine, Azyr, Zetha, and Destil posted themselves behind Rae and defended their colonel from the demons who noticed them while Rae observed Aklys' restraints. The demon king was on the verge of another death when Rae reached him. The colonel furrowed his brows as he studied the machine and its attachment to the restrained demon. The chains that cuffed Aklys' wrists and neck glowed the same red as the portal, and they appeared to be the devices that were sucking the Demons King's energy.

The object was clear. To save Aklys and shut down the portal, all Rae needed to do was sever the chains. But something was not sitting right with Rae. The whole situation was off. Reaching Aklys was way too easy. Why was Orion unable to reach Aklys? The four of us were able to get to him easily. Rae rose to his feet and prepared to call Zetha over to get ready to heal the demon the moment he severed the chains.

However, before Rae could summon Zetha, a voice boomed throughout the underground system that surrounded the destroyed Transport Tower. "Has the great Seraph Orion already given up?" The voice was deep and filled with disdain. Whomever the voice belonged to held great hatred for Orion.

As the voice sounded throughout the underground chambers, Rae knew he had little time to waste, so he raised Genyr and slashed at the chains binding the Demon King to the machine. The moment Genyr made contact with the red chains, a bright flash burst from them. Rae and Zetha shielded themselves from the blast with their wings, but Azyr and Destil, who were busy fighting and did not anticipate the blast, were catapulted away from the machine.

Rae put away his wings when the flash had died down, and he saw that the chains had not even a dent in them. This was evidence that the chains were the creation of a highly skilled demon who knew the magical arts that had died out many, many centuries ago. Such knowledge of spells and enchantments had been lost generations ago - only a very small number of beings that used magic were still living.

This is not good. Rae's heart sank when he realized that the mysterious voice likely belonged to the chains' creator. This is why Orion could not save Aklys. Such a foe as this...is nigh undefeated.

"I was looking forward to piercing Aklys' heart in front of his lover again," the voice proclaimed upon its return. "I guess Orion couldn't bear to see Aklys die because of him for the twentieth time today. I cannot even count how many times he caused me to kill Aklys over these four months."

Rae's heart pounded with rage and sadness as he listened to the voice's taunts. He could not imagine watching his lover die in front of his eyes. He could not blame Orion for sending someone else to save Aklys. But...Orion is not the type to back down. Rae knew the seraph would not step down so easily. Orion would never stop trying to save Aklys.

So, when the chains suddenly shattered, Rae did not jump in surprise. He smiled. He knew the seraph would never give up on his love.

Thank you, Rae. The seraph's voice sounded in Rae's mind as a dark whizz landed just in front of Aklys.

Being half-star, half-angel, Orion had more abilities than angels and stars. One such ability fuses the angels' telepathy with the stars' soul sight. The fusion of these abilities allowed Orion to extend his sight through telepathy, using a being's soul as the vessel. Simply put, Orion used Rae's soul as an antenna that strengthened his telepathic sight and allowed the seraph to see through Rae's perspective. So, Orion was able to see all that was going around Rae.

Orion was also able to use Rae's soul as the bridge that allowed him to use his magical abilities over a great distance. Using a spell he had kept hidden for a very, very long time, Orion freed his love from the endless cycle of death.

Rae was the first angel to see Orion use his magical abilities in several centuries. Not many knew of Orion's magical prowess, and those who had seen the seraph use spells mostly died before they had a chance to speak of it.

"Oh?? I see you snatched a vessel, Orion." The dark whizz that had jumped down in front of Rae, separating the colonel from Aklys was the owner of the wicked voice. The demon snarled as he lifted his head and glared at Rae with glowing red eyes.

A gasp sounded from behind the red-eyed demon as Aklys was revived once again. The moment the chains were broken, the demon king had died. But, when he was revived due to his tie with Orion, he was able to recover quickly since his energy was no longer being sucked from his soul.

Aklys looked around frantically as he regained consciousness. Orion? Orion, where are you? The demon king scanned his surroundings only to be disappointed when he did not see his lover. He had been freed, but he was still separated from the honey-eyed angel.

Aklys' brows furrowed in hatred as his vision focused on the demon standing in front of him. "Darath," Aklys snarled as he sprung to his feet and raced to the red-eyed demon. Being incredibly skilled, Aklys reached Darath in the blink of an eye. The demon king had activated his razor-sharp claws and aimed for Darath's cervical cord. But, Darath was just as skilled and easily evaded the demon king's attack.

Darath tisked at Aklys as he side-stepped the demon king. "Shouldn't you know that doesn't work?" Darath asked with a shake of his head as if he was disappointed in Aklys' failed attempt. "You should have just stayed dead."

Azyr, take Destil and Zetha and regroup with the rest of the unit. Rae ordered the lt. colonel to leave with Zetha and Destil as he realized Darath was on another level. Anyone who was able to evade an attack from the demon king could easily overpower those of Unit R.

But- Azyr began to protest, but Rae was quick to shut him down. Go, Azyr! He did not want his unit members to be harmed in the incoming fight that was bound to destroy the underground system.

Gritting his teeth, Azyr reluctantly heeded Rae's command and gathered Destil and Zetha before taking flight away from the two demons who immediately engaged in a fight that was a blur due to the insane speed.

Now that Aklys had been separated from the machine, the portal had begun to shrink ever so slowly. To Rae's horror, the portal was still functioning off a reserve of energy the machine had built up. Until the reserve was depleted, the portal would remain open and demons would continue to flood Dexys. At this rate, Earth would be overrun.

Rae let the two demons fight. He was not interested in getting hurt needlessly. It was apparent to Rae that Aklys and Darath had known each other for a very long time, and he was indifferent to their hatred. They clearly had beef between each other, so he let them be and instead focused on figuring out a way to shut down the machine. Taking Genyr, Rae decided it would be faster to just destroy it. However, as he raised the blue blade, a cry ripped through the underground tunnel system.

Rae nearly dropped Genyr when he heard it. He knew that voice. Axel! Rae's heart pounded furiously, and he immediately contacted Kilo and Orion. What scared Rae was the fact that the cry had originated above ground, but it was so vivid that it cut through the earth and sounded loudly even all the way underground.

What happened to Axel? Is he alright?

Kilo was quick to respond to the colonel's frantic questions. Axel is okay physically. The cry did not come from his body. It came from the sky. Whatever caused it is in another realm.

Another realm... Rae furrowed his brows when he heard Kilo's response until he realized it came from Angel's Landing!