Denzyl was rudely woken from his rest by Ryiak throwing open the sliding door of the palanquin and intruding into the two captives' space with a few of his guards. Denzyl lazily opened one eye before closing it once he saw who the intruder was. Jun looked at Ryiak with a raised brow. The blue-haired demon was in a foul mood, and it radiated through the palanquin in a low snarl. Observing the bruises on Ryiak's cheek and eye, Jun discerned that the demon had had a rough start to his day, and was about to ask what he was doing interrupting his and Denzyl's resting time when Ryiak swung his leg and jammed his boot into Denzyl's side. 

Ryiak's sudden attack caused Jun to sit up straight as Denzyl crunched his abdomen in reaction to the pain that shot up his side. "You always seem to want to see me, Ryiak," Denzyl said to the angered demon after quickly catching his breath. "Now, why is that? I didn't think I was that popular."

Ryiak's brow twitched, and Jun stifled a snicker in reaction to Denzyl's inquiry. "Bring him outside," Ryiak growled in command to his accompaniment. Jun watched Ryiak pace about the palanquin as his guards lifted Denzyl and brought the avex out of the carrier. Turning to the young heir, Ryiak raised a brow at Jun's expression. "What do you look so feisty for? I don't bite," Ryiak said with a sneer.

Jun glared at the blue-haired demon and stared Ryiak straight in the eyes as he replied, "I do." Jun kept his piercing gaze stuck on Ryiak as the blue-haired backed away at his response. Knowing Jun was off-limits when it came to selecting his punching bag, Ryiak left Jun alone in the palanquin and followed his guards into the area outside the carrier. 

"Do you know just how much grief you cause me?" Ryiak questioned Denzyl as he paced back and forth in front of the avex who had been forced to his knees. Denzyl answered Ryiak with silence which only seemed to irritate the blue-haired even more. "I've never had a peaceful day when you are around."

Denzyl released a small scoff at Ryiak's childish pout. "So, let me go," Denzyl suggested. "I'll be out of your hair for all eternity. You'll never have to see me again." Denzyl's taunt earned him a kick to the gut and a growl from Ryiak. "You take me for a fool, don't you?"

"You just realized?" Denzyl returned with a raised brow and a slight smirk. Although he knew his jab would warrant more kicks, Denzyl could not help himself from pointing out the obvious to the blue-haired. Ryiak's eye twitched at hearing Denzyl's words, and he twisted his fingers into the avex's hair and jerked Denzyl's head back before thrusting his fist into Denzyl's chest. 

Coughing from the force of Ryiak's punch, Denzyl leaned over toward the ground to catch his breath once Ryiak released his hold around his hair. Crouching down in front of Denzyl and taking in the avex's state, Ryiak threatened, "You know, Klein said we need you alive to transfer the mark, but he didn't specify how much alive you need to be." Standing back up, Ryiak added, "I thought real hard all this morning on how I was going to return the favor you dealt to me last night. You see, I was visited by my father last night thanks to you." Denzyl had caught his breath by now and was watching Ryiak walking up and down in front of him as the blue-haired continued, "I hadn't gotten any good one-on-one time with the old man for a while now, but you sure as hell gave me quite the chance to get a good thrashing last night. I hadn't had one that good in a while."

Ryiak stopped pacing and turned to Denzyl before finishing, "It's only fair I return it to you since you were the reason I got it after all." Nodding to the two guards under his command, Ryiak ordered, "Lift him up," as he rolled his sleeves and charged Denzyl with clenched fists.

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>

The majority of the flight had been silent once Devyn had explained the situation with Denzyl's capture, the history of Denzyl's clan, and the destination of their trip. Silence with Kilo and Castyr was unlike what Devyn was accustomed to when with the angel and star. Castyr had been generally bubbly and wanted to talk about and hear about anything and everything. He was innately curious and happy. However, Devyn had immediately recognized a great difference in Castyr's current demeanor.

The star was now silent and reserved, even more so than Kilo. Devyn did not think that was possible, and he was sad to be proven wrong. The light that always surrounded Castyr was gone, and he seemed to be almost...empty. Understanding what had happened to Castyr during the battle in Hades from conversations with Denzyl, Devyn was able to put two and two together that Castyr had experienced something so tragic that no other being had ever been through. After drawing in all the darkness and evil from the King of Hades, Castyr was forced to undergo an excruciating coma where he struggled to not let the darkness consume him. 

Devyn was glad Castyr was able to wake from his coma, but his heart hurt for the star who would never be the same and could never be the same. Kilo had pretty much remained as he was except for his protective factor skyrocketing. Devyn was certain that Kilo would not hesitate to unalive anything or anyone who even came close to harming his star. He had lost Castyr once, and he was not willing to risk that ever again.  

A question for Castyr had been weighing on Devyn's mind since he set out to find the two on Mythos. He had held off from asking as he did not want to trigger any painful memories for the star, but he needed to ask the question nonetheless as it would be a crucial step in rescuing Denzyl. So, Devyn decided to wait for Castyr to fall asleep before asking Kilo his question. This would allow Castyr to not have to relive his time in Hades and let Devyn receive his answer.

After a few more hours of silence, Devyn watched Castyr eventually fall asleep and took that as his chance to ask Kilo about what had been on his mind the past several days. 

"What is it that you want to ask?"

Kilo's sudden question caught Devyn by surprise. But, remembering Kilo's training and high intelligence, Devyn could not be too taken aback by the angel's level of detail and observation. Kilo left the chair where he was sitting beside the sleeping star to sit in the co-pilot's spot next to Devyn as the human continued to steer the spacecraft. 

Knowing Kilo had been expecting a question for a while, Devyn got straight to the point. "Can Castyr still emit his blasts? You know, the thing that helped you win the battle in Hades. Can he eradicate demons and spare Denzyl?"

Kilo released a breath and crossed his arms over his chest. The angel looked back at the star to check on Castyr before turning back around and staring out the front window of the ship. A few moments passed while the two sat in silence before Kilo eventually began, "He can...but it will be more of a bomb than a silent kill." The angel's voice was low as he continued, "Castyr is no longer just pure light. He has been tainted by darkness and is unstable. The reason his blast in Hades did not kill Denzyl was that Denzyl is a descendant of an angel. Distant as he may be, the fact that one of his ancestors was an angel meant he has the slightest amount of light in him. Thus, he is not complete darkness."

Devyn listened patiently to Kilo's explanation as the angel added, "Castyr's blast eradicated everything that was complete darkness because he was pure light. Now that he has fallen, I cannot guarantee his light would spare Denzyl." Kilo was quiet for a moment before he solemnly said, "Castyr's blast may eliminate more than just darkness now. Do not ask him to do it. We do not know what his power is capable of now...He could also be hurt by it." 

"Ae, I understand," Devyn replied politely. He could sense Kilo's defense go up and acknowledged Kilo's warning. Kilo did not want Castyr to end up being a casualty of Denzyl's rescue mission, and Devyn would respect the angel's wishes. He would do the same and more for Denzyl.