I sat on the ground, looking at Kohri and Nori work on fixing Agnes. It was what little I had to keep my mind off of Rosa who was also sitting down but with her back to me. It hurt more than her slap to have her so close, yet be unable to talk to her. The gap between us might as well had been as infinite as this realm.

"How's the shield?" I finally asked after hours of aimless drifting.

"I managed to fix the dents a little, but I wasn't able to make a full repair. We'll need to return to the surface and use fire or whatever was used in the formation of it. The wood in the center...I'm not sure if it's combustible. Do any of you know how it was made?"

"Wait, weren't you tasked to fix the shield and the other weapons in the first place?" Hyosetsu asked. "What kind of idiot doesn't know?"

"it's not my fault that the king didn't elaborate on the nature of the wood when he hired me!"

"We'll need to ask Father about that when we return," Setsuko said. "We can get it fixed once we've found Serrano."

"There, Yuko sees it!" Yuko yelled, jumping up and down. She pointed to a spiral shaped island. I had no doubt that it was the same one in which Yuko and I had nearly lost our lives a few days ago.

Hyosetsu formed an icy road for us to walk straight to a few floors lower than what Yuko and I had traveled through. The entire thing seemed to go miles and miles deeper, if not into infinity itself. Hopefully Serrrano wasn't at the bottom of that thing.

Kohri handed me back Agnes and we slide down the icy slope. Thankfully Kohri thought of covering the edges so we wouldn't slip off and fall into the unending abyss.

Yuko's hat moved as we got closer to the bottom of the slide. "Yuko hears something down there...it seems to be someone from our world. The sound is slowly fading."

"Me too!" Nori blurted out. He frowned.

Setsuko moved down the slide faster. As soon as she reached the bottom she looked around. "Where is the sound coming from?"

"Could it be Serrano?" Ximena asked, hope evident in her eyes.

Both Kyuu-Hyakuians covered their noses as their eyes widened. "No, no, no... It smells like death!" Yuko said, her eyes shaking with fear.

"Where is the scent originating from?" Setsuko asked, her face sweating despite the chilly air of the alien world.

"There!" Yuko said, still covering her nose. She pointed at an out of view location as we neared the end of the slide.

Setsuko jumped off the slide and ran on ahead. As soon as she turned the corner and let out a haunting shriek that made the world even more eerie than before.

I couldn't stand the smell of rotting flesh as soon as we got to the end. Yuko moved her head, as if in pain.

"Dead, dead!" she yelled, holding her head. She fell to her knees and out of a shriek. "So much death..."

Nori put his hands over his mouth and nearly stepped off the edge of the spiral into the depths of Abyss. Luckily Ximena grabbed a hold of his arm.

I wanted to comfort Yuko, but I needed to find out what had happened. I put a hand over my nose and ran over to join Setsuko. The ground was littered with light red cores, angel tools of varying shapes and sizes, broken armor, and half-decomposed bodies. Others however were picked clean, leaving behind nothing but ivory white bones.

Serrano... cousin... I fell to my knees and stared at the bodies in disbelief. I punched the black ground with both fists. No. It can't be... You fool. How could you have... how could you have... No!

Setsuko looked around at the bodies. Tears dripped down her face, landing on ivory bones. Whatever killed them must've devoured them soon after, that or there were vultures even in this realm.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't help you. I shouldn't have allowed you to have gone without me." She closed her eyes in silent prayer. "I promise by the name of our Angelic ancestors that I'll avenge you all."

"So, are you now a widow?" Kohri asked, glancing at the bodies.

Hyosetsu hit him upside the head. "You idiot! And you claim to be a good judge of people!"

The princess shook her head. "No. Wait, Yuko, didn't you say you heard the sound of breathing? Yuko?"

I stood up and ran back over to Yuko who was still on the ground. Rosa, Nori, and Ximena were patting her back, trying to consult her.

"Yuko," I said. "Is there anyone who is alive? If so then please tell us now. If there is then we didn't arrive here to only retrieve skeletons. Please tell me that someone is alive!"

She continued to cry.

I walked over to her and patted her head. "Yuko, please speak. I need to know if someone is alive..." I glanced away. "Please, Yuko."

Why is she acting this way? Even Nori is more stable. Could it be that she has seen something like this before.

No... could it have been similar to her parent's death?

I held Yuko's hands tightly. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Yuko. Get a hold of yourself! You're a knight, you must act like one!"

Nori gasped. "Yuko is hurt. Yuko isn't a knight, either!"

"Shut up kid!" I said, glaring at him. "I'm talking to her, not you!"

Nori whimpered.

Ximena sighed and said, "Nori, Tetsuya means well." She glanced at Yuko who had now looked up.

"Though he could be nicer to him," Rosa said, glaring at me.

I ignored her and looked straight at Yuko's brown eyes. "Now, tell me. Is someone alive or not?"

Yuko nodded. She pointed at a giant cavity a few meters from the bodies. "There's only one alive. He or she seems to be at the end of the cavern."

"Are you guys coming?" Setsuko shouted as she glided over to the cavern entrance.

I pulled Yuko into my arms while Ximena lifted Nori into her arms and spread out wings out a bit. All of us glided over to the crown princess.

"Master?" Nori asked.

"We're going in there," Ximena said, her eyes filled with a mix of emotions. "I need to find out if that person is Serrano."

"Couldn't we just study these bodies and find out that way too, while the others go check on the purpose who is alive?" Kohri asked.

"Finding that person will narrow it down, idiot," Hyosetsu said as he closed his light blue raven-like wings.

"Okay, okay!" Kohri said as he studied the entrance. "Lets go rescue Serrano or whoever is alive!"

This guy is a little too honest...

Setsuko closed her wings and ran into the pitch black cavern ahead of us. I sped up and followed after her. She glanced back and grabbed my hand, and I grabbed Yuko's and the chained continued until Kohri who was the second to last person to enter. He offered his older brother his hand but he refused.

Setsuko and Hyosetsu managed to navigate the cavern without trouble. I on the other hand, could barely see much. However, I could sense what seemed to strange markings carved into the caverns walls around us.

Who made them? Were there people who came to the Abyss prior to us? If so, for what purpose? Or were the carvers intelligent beings native to here, like Daisaru and Takon? Or perhaps there are other species of beings other than those Abyssmal creatures... assuming that the different varieties we'd seen weren't different species from one another.

Setsuko came to a sudden stop, causing me to bump into her. "Hey, why did you stop?"

"Close your eyes if you can't see in the darkness and you'll notice that the path branches out here. But... the earth is acting strange, as if it's shifting. I think it's toward the far right, but I'm not certain."

I closed my eyes and felt over a score of caverns extending outward. Just like she said, the ground seemed to be shifting, yet it maintained firm. Whatever was causing the strange sensation must've been created to mislead those with powers over earth and darkness. I could only assume as to why.

"Yuko, think that you can lead the way?" Rosa asked.

"Take a sharp right-turn," Yuko said. Her hand trembled in mine.

I sighed. "Don't be scared. I'm here," I whispered.

Yuko's grip grew firmer and she let out a slight chuckle.

I wondered if any of this was affecting her not only mentally, but also physically. The pace we were moving in was bound to tire her out. Not to mention the emotional and mental effects of seeing all those dead people outside...

"How much further?" Ximena yelled from the back.

"Not much, I think," Setsuko said, touching the wall. "However Serrano got to the end of this cavern is a mystery."

She came to another abrupt start. "Is that... light over there?"

I blinked as small traces of light lit the cavern. "I think so. Let's continue! Before one of those creatures decides to appear."

"Right. Hyosetsu, how are things in your end?" Setsuko called out as she marched on ahead.

"No enemies sighted at all," the Sword-Knight responded.

Setsuko sped up and the light slowly intensified, but it was still weak. After walking a few feet, we came to a dead-end. At the farthest depths of the right-most cavern was a faint light coming from some broken crystals on the ground and a crystal embedded on the wall behind a heavily wounded Serrano.

Setsuko let go of my hand but continued to hold it out. "Your shield," she said. She summoned some herbs from her hyperspace ring and held them expectantly.

I held out my shield but nothing happened. "It...it must be broken," I said, shaking my head. I bit my lip. Why did it continue to do this whenever I need to save someone?

I closed my eyes. Oh, Sky Father, Earth Mother, make this dumb shield work! I beg of you! I need a potion! I need to save him... I need to save my best friend!

"Move aside," Rosa said. She walked over to Serrano and touched his forehead. Red energy flowed out her hands and into him. She winced after a few seconds.

"Hey, don't push yourself," I said as the glow died down.

"Serra, he's gravely hurt," Rosa said, closing her eyes. "I managed to give him some of my life force, but his body is having a difficult time processing the energy."

"Setsuko," Serrano called out, weakly.

Kohri grinned at Serrano and glanced over at Rosa Yuko, "You're lucky that we all came along. Rosa and Yuko especially."

Yeah, if it hadn't been for Rosa chasing after me, how knows what would've happened.

"We were also lucky to not have encountered another one of those bird-dragon things on the way here," Ximena said. She walked over toward Serrano and put her hands on his wounds. They were deep, so deep that it was a miracle that he was even alive.

"Ximena," Serrano said, staring at her with surprise. Serrano glanced over at Setsuko. "Setsuko... Why did you come? If I die...you...can...be-"

"Stop talking idiot, and what do you mean by why I came to save you?" Setsuko said, putting her hands on her hips. "You're my friend." Her face became red. "Plus, you're my fiancé."

Serrano smiled slightly. He closed his eyes and laid his head against the mural behind him.

"Serrano?" Setsuko said, moving him.

Rosa gasped. "His life, it's like a tiny candle flame."

"Serrano!" Ximena cried out as her mana failed to close his wounds. "Hey, don't do this to us!"

I stepped forward, mouth wide open. "Serra..." I clenched my hands into fists. "Serrano, open your damn eyes! You can't die until I beat you into a bloody pulp! Are you listening?"

There was no response.

I took a deep breath and marched on over to him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Wake up!" I screamed at his face.

Suddenly the stone in the center of the mural glowed deep emerald. The light ran through the markings on the wall and filled the entire cavern with an emerald sheen.

We shielded our eyes and prepared for the worst. But— when I opened them— I saw that we were in a stone building whose walls and floors were laced with moss. I let go of Serrano and ran over and took a peek outside of an opening. Surrounding the building was a dense pine forest, followed by fields of flowers dotted with cherry blossom trees. All of it eventually gave way to sandy beaches and an ocean or a sea.

"Where are we?" Kohri asked, glancing at the beach.

Setsuko hugged her fiance. "Wake up! Serrano. Wake up!"

Ximena carrassed Serrano's face and let out a dense pine green mana from her hands. She placed them over Serrano's wounds but they wouldn't close fast enough as blood continued to drip out at a steady rate. At the rate he was going, he would die of blood loss. It truly was a miracle that he had survived this long.

I glanced away and tried to figure out where in Heaven we were. "Do any of you know this place?" I asked.

"I think that this might be an island," Hyosetsu responded his brother and me after a brief delay. He pointed toward his right, there's more forest in that direction and eventually the beach. To his left it was the same. "That or a peninsula." He looked straight at the mountain rising above us. "Setsuko, Kasai no Ki girl. Make some medicine the old fashion way, we'll go and find out where we are. Stay here Tetsuya. Girl with the dog nose. Come with us. We might have a need for your abilities. You too red-head and Rosa."

"Wouldn't it be best for Rosa to wait here, with us?" I asked. "He's exhausted from trying to heal Serrano."

"Also, Yuko isn't a dog! She's a Tanuki!" Nori yelled, pouting. "Plus Nori would be better suited to heal Serra!"

"Whatever," he said. "We need to discover where we are, and the only way to do that is to look around. As for the princess coming with us, I don't trust you around her."

"I don't trust you with her either," I said, glaring at him.

"Don't fight," Rosa said. "I'll, I'll go with him as long as Yuko comes."

"Go with them you two," Ximena said, her focus still on Serrano. She grimaced in pain. Her mana had started to die down. "I don't think even if all of us heal him that we'll be able to save him. We need someone more experienced than us."

"Xi..." Nori said, glancing down. He turned over toward Hyosetsu and nodded. "Alright, lets go. Yuko, Rosa, come!"

"Master?" Yuko asked, staring at me with concerned eyes.

"Go with them, and keep an eye on Rosa. I don't trust Hyosetsu with her," I responded, leaning my head back against the stone wall. "Kohri and Nori will also be there to help you should something bad happen."

Kohri grabbed her hand. "We'll come back here as soon as we can."

"Alright," I said, sitting down on the cold stone floor.

Yuko nodded and followed the brothers, Rosa, and Nori out.

I stared at my shield and hit it. Suddenly the herbs that Setsuko had laying next to her were absorbed and out came a clear vial.

Ximena glanced back and stopped what she was doing. Setsuko ran over to me and grabbed the veil and ran back. The princess applied it over the various gashes on Serrano's chest. A sizzling sound came from the wounds as they closed.

Serra's eyes and hands twitched.

Setsuko laughed. Without warning, she ran over to me and hugged me tightly. "Thank you so much, Tetsu!"

My face became red. "Please let go of me. If your fiancé sees us he'll get jealous."

"Yeah, I will," Serrano said as he got up.

Setsuko ran back over to him and saw that Ximena hugging him.  Ximena's face flushed as soon as she noticed us staring at them. She quickly let go of Serra, only for Setsuko to tackle the guy back down.

Serrano blushed. "Let go of me. You two are embarrassing me in front of Tetsuya!"

I gave him a sly grin. So he still cared what I thought.

Setsuko let go of him. "Ah, sorry...I didn't mean to show this side of me..."

Ximena backed away. "Same. I'm just so happy." She wiped away her tears, causing Serrano to smile.

"I didn't expect you to come and save me," he said, averting his gaze. His silver eyes wondered around the place. "Where are we?"

"We were warped out of that cavern and into here," Ximena responded.

"Where exactly is 'here'? This doesn't look like any building in the capital that I know of. The only building left standing that is made entirely out of stone is the museum, and that building doesn't look like this in the interior." He stood up completely and gazed at the forest outside. "This place...I don't think we're in the clan's lands anymore."

"Nor do I," I said, leaning my back against the wall again. "There are no beaches like these in our clan's lands. The beaches that do exist are small and don't have sand as fine as the ones from here."

Serrano touched his side and winced. "Damn...do you have any more herbs?"

Setsuko shook her head. "The shield devoured all of them to create the medicine I gave you. We're lucky that it even functioned."

He closed his eyes. "To be saved by the scum's Angel Tool. Tch, I'm pathetic."

"Scum?" Ximena said, frowning. "Why are you calling him that?"

Had she not heard the rumors? If so, then maybe neither had my family.

"Don't refer to him like that," Setsuko said, putting her hands on her hips.

I glanced down. "It's fine. I'm starting to get used to being calling 'scum'."

"Tetsu," Ximena said, mouth wide open. She turned toward Serrano again. "What... happened between you two."

I avoided her eyes. "It's a long story..."

Serrano punched the wall in front of him. "Damn it...this is all my fault!"

I nodded. "Yeah, if you hadn't hurt me then there would've been no need for your fiancée to stay back and heal me."

He grabbed his side once more as he winced from the pain. "Shut up! You...it's actually your fault."

"Ohh?" I snickered. "I wasn't the one who went too far, that I almost killed my opponent. I'm not the one who-" I winced as a sharp pain spread throughout my face. Setsuko stood in front of me. For the second time today I had been slapped by a princess.

"Shut up," she said flatly, eyes filled with fury.

She walked over to her husband and slapped him too.

"You too!"

"He's hurt!" Ximena said, pulling him away from the princess.

Setsuko took a deep breath. "Sorry. But this isn't the time to continue your rivalry. Even the Kuroyuki siblings have managed to put aside their rivalry for the sake of this mission. I can't have you two make our situation worse. Serrano, please don't pick fights, especially in your current state. Tetsuya, please ignore him. He's actually thankful that you saved him."

"I'm not!" Serrano shouted. He winced. "I'm... thankful toward the shield. Not its owner."

I stood up and climbed down the stone stairs. "I'm going to go find some herbs. I can't handle being dissed by a wounded person who can't fight back."

He laughed. "So, what you want is to fight? That's right, I did hear you say something about beating me into a bloody pulp. Fine, let's fight! I'll beat you again!"

I grinned. "Then bring it if you think that you can handle me in your state."

Serrano smiled back. "I bet you won't last very long against me despite it."

"Oh yeah?" I asked as I stepped closer to him.

"Yeah!" he shouted back.

Setsuko sighed and shook her head. "You two are impossible right now."

"Guys," Ximena yelled. She glancing back and forth between the two of us. "Stop it! This isn't right! Best friends shouldn't be fighting! At least not like this!"

"Who said we still were?" the two of us yelled in unison as we continued stared each other down.

"You four!" a stern voice suddenly called out. It came from below. "Surrender peacefully or we'll be forced to attack!"

We rushed toward the openings on the tower and saw that we were surrounded by people dressed in black cloaks. They all held wands of varying designs in their hands, all of which were pointed straight at us.

Setsuko raised her hands. "At least we found out where we are, sort of."

Serrano crumpled to the floor and glance at the opening behind him. "Mages...just what we needed."

"Seems that we'll need to save our fight for later," I said.

Serra nodded. "Yeah."

"Will you dolts quit it?" Setsuko snapped.

"Hope Nori and the others are alright," Ximena said as she gulped.

**Solar Note: I bet some of you can guess as to where our heroes have ended up xD ;). Hope that you enjoyed the chapter, if so then please click on that star to show your love and support :3.**