Kilo immediately stood in front of Castyr when Miren read the relayed message. The angel remained on his guard as he prepared to defend himself and Castyr should Miren choose to deliver them to the demons. Castyr held his breath as the angel and star waited to see how Miren would react.

Miren tisked her tongue as she completed reading the transmission. "So damn cheesy. Who wrote this?" The human then turned to face Kilo and Castyr, her gaze softening. "Don't worry. Devyn entrusted you to me. Nothing will happen to you if I have any say."

Castyr released his pent-up breath in relief, and Kilo nodded his head in thanks. Miren would keep to her word. Now that Miren's intentions were clear, Kilo returned to the human's side where he read the translated message.

"Now, what to do?" Miren pondered aloud as she ensured The Flisea's attack system was operational. "How do we survive seven demon ships?"

A notification from the control center broke Kilo's focus on the first message as a second transmission was sent. "Here comes another one." Miren sighed as she opened the message and read, "You have one minute." The human released a scoff. "Great. Flis! Open fire!"

"Request affirmed." The Flisea was quick to respond, and the ship's guns began firing at the seven surrounding ships. Most of the rays and bullets bounced off the ships' shields, flying off into space or being destroyed by the protective barriers.

Miren furrowed her brows as she watched her ship's attack on the demon ships. Oddly, the seven spaceships were only focused on evading The Flisea's attacks. "Why don't they return fire?"

Watching the demon craft refuse to open fire on The Flisea confirmed Kilo's suspicions. "We're more valuable to them alive," the angel told Miren in response to her question. The demons intended to capture the angel and star; they were not there to eliminate them. 

"How did they find you?" Miren asked when she heard Kilo's reply. She had taken the necessary precautions when departing Borum and was sure Kilo and Castyr's location was safe. Miren's heart began to pound when she realized how wrong she was.

Kilo did not answer Miren's question. Telling the human that the precautions she had taken were useless would do nothing but feed her guilt. Instead, Kilo told her, "They will try to board when we run out of ammo. They can't transfer safely in the middle of our fire."

Miren cursed under her breath. "So we're sitting ducks." The human released a sharp breath as reality set in; her heart dropped when she faced the fact that there was not much they could do. They were completely surrounded.

Castyr clenched his fists and racked his brain for an option. Although he gave his all to think of a solution, Castyr had no battle experience and certainly never had any interactions with demons. But, Castyr did not let that stop him from continuing to think of ways to escape their dire situation.  

The Flisea eventually warned its three passengers that the weapon supply was running low. Miren lowered her head as The Flisea addressed her, "All weapons will be depleted in five minutes. Please state the course of action." Miren looked out the window as the report of the weapon supply concluded. What do I do...?

As The Flisea's weapons ran dry, the seven ships quickly closed in on the solo ship. Miren did not waste any time in collecting all the weapons she had stored with The Flisea. "Here we go," the human voiced under her breath as she cocked her rifle and waited to be boarded. A movement to Miren's right caused the human to widen her eyes in shock. "Woah! Where did that come from?" Miren questioned as she saw Kilo's black blade be pulled from his back.

Kilo flitted his eyes to the human in reaction to Miren's yelp, but it was only for a short moment. Not feeling the need to explain his body being a host for his sword, Kilo quickly turned back to his star. The guardian angel placed his star behind him as three figures appeared in front of The Flisea's passengers as the demons forced an inter-craft transferrable.

The demons were extremely tall and surprisingly beautiful. Their skin was flawless, and their eyes were piercing. Each demon brandished their own weapon as they scanned The Flisea for any and all passengers.

Kilo raised his sword as the center demon stepped toward the three passengers. "If you come peacefully, you will live," the demon proposed as he locked his gaze with Kilo.

Miren was quick to aim her rifle at the demon and she shot both her rifle and her response. "Go to Hell."

The corner of the demon's lips curled up in amusement. "Just came from there," he growled in a sarcastic retort as he pulled the bullet out of his body. The flesh healed as the demon wiped off the blood that now stained his clothes. He then released a low growl in annoyance and advanced upon the three passengers.

Kilo immediately ran to meet the demon who lifted his sword and clashed it with Kilo's blade. The demon snarled before kicking Kilo in the chest, sending the angel backward a few feet. Kilo quickly regained his balance as the demon ran toward him.

"Hey, little one!" Castyr, who had been focused on Kilo's fight with the demon, jerked his head toward Miren as the human tossed a gun in the air. The star caught the gun and shot at the demon just before it reached Kilo. The demon dodged the bullet as Kilo rushed to step between the two. 

The guardian angel sliced his sword across the demon's chest and turned toward Castyr. "Are you alright?" When Casytr nodded in response, Kilo whipped around to face the approaching demon.

The demon growled in pain, but the wound was quick to heal. Kilo evaded the demon's strike and jumped behind him. In one quick motion, the angel decapitated the demon. Castyr released a breath of relief as the demon's body dropped to the floor. However, to his horror, four more demons transferred onto The Flisea.

Kilo steadied his breathing as he faced the newly arrived demons. One down, six left.

"You have to chop off their heads? That's a bother." As she realized the method of elimination, Miren carefully aimed her gun at the demon's necks. Castyr joined Miren in shooting at the demons as Kilo charged the demon in the center of the group.

A cry of pain sounded as the experienced demon ran his sword across Kilo's side. Castyr felt his heart drop as he heard his angel's cry. "Kilo!" The star started toward his angel, but he could not go far as a demon was quick to grab him. The demon ripped the gun out of Castyr's hands and twisted his fingers in the star's silver hair. The demon pulled Castyr's head back and struck him in the stomach.

Stars filled Castyr's vision, and his breath was knocked from his lungs. Castyr grasped his stomach as the demon released his hold around his hair and let the star fall to the floor. Why am I so weak? Castyr clenched his fists as he landed on his hands and knees. I can't even fight to save myself. 

The star grimaced in pain as the demon roughly grabbed him by the hair once more and forcefully dragged him to his feet. Castyr was helpless as he watched the middle demon slice Kilo's leg as his angel attempted to reach him. Tears brimmed in Castyr's eyes as he watched Kilo be forced to his knees and subdued.

The demon placed his sword against Kilo's throat as two other demons captured Miren who was able to blast off three demon's heads before being knocked unconscious. A rage built up inside Castyr as he glared at the demons. Why are they doing this to us? What did we do to deserve this?

Castyr, who had just begun to experience the universe, was now undergoing the cruelty of Hades, and he could not understand what caused the demons to assault others so easily. A pained grunt sounded from Kilo as one of the demons stepped on the angel's hand when Kilo reached out for his sword that had fallen a few feet in front of him.

"Let him go!" Castyr yelled at the demons as a bright shine began to radiate from his body. The rage that was building within the star increased exponentially as he met Kilo's pain-filled eyes. The heat from the star's internal rage burned as it ran up through his throat.

Castyr felt as if his body would explode, and he cried out as a blinding wave of light pulsed from him. Everything turned white, overcoming the star's senses. The hands that grappled Castyr disappeared, and the star fell to his knees. Castyr felt incredibly weak as he fumbled about in an attempt to find his angel.

"Kilo...Kilo, where are you?" Castyr's voice cracked as he blindly reached for his guardian until he felt arms wrap around him. The warmth from Kilo's arms seeped into Castyr, and he relaxed in his angel's embrace. 

What just happened? Castyr was utterly confused. What was that bright blast? What happened to the demons? Were they safe, now? 

Castyr's body grew weaker and weaker from the sudden use of energy with every, and his vision darkened. Feeling himself fading, Castyr leaned his head against Kilo's chest and let his mind wander into the realm of unconsciousness.