Flying high above the treetops, Celine could only watch in horror as the Captain was killed. The wind hid her gasp, and if not for her connection to Mimi, she just might have tried to do something about this, to help, but...

“Whatever you do, do not lose sight of White Claw. Do not engage either, keep your distance.”

The telepathic order was clear, and it revolted her. “She’s going to kill them all.”

“And if you engage, you’ll die along with them.”

Cold and loathsome, the order went against everything Celine had ever believed in.

And in her horror at the unfolding massacre, she’d nearly missed the singular other sign of life in the area. It had been because the source had been so weak, so meager, barely invisible in contrast to the thick elemental energy in the air.

A human, one whose aura was no more than a flicker in the darkness.

Celine’s mind surged at this, shifting her position to get a better view from above while making sure to keep White Claw within her line of sight at all times.

The human didn’t just have a weaker aura, he was weakened, greatly. It was hard to discern from up above, but it was a male, and he’d collapsed, either unconscious or close to it. She hadn’t seen any attack going in that direction, had the human been hit by collateral?

“KILL HIM!”

The mental screech rattled Celine’s brain, she’d nearly folded her wings and dove, but held off as she realized how close she was to White Claw’s location. “What?”

“That has to be the human White Claw’s bonded to! Kill him now! The shock should push White Claw into a blind rage! Capturing her would be a far easier task then!”

The glow in her wing’s stuttered as she turned to refocus on the bunker that had been intended to protect the rest of squad two and was now their final place of rest. Could they even stop White Claw anymore? The other squads were weakened, retreat should be-.

“She’s exhausted and pushing her limit, now’s our chance. Quickly! The Baron commands it!”

That locked it, pushing aside her hesitation, the angel shifted her attention towards the human. He was barely alive, finishing him off shouldn’t be hard. She removed her light she’d been beaming down at White Claw and focused it on her hands, slowly shaping it into an arrow.

The roar that exploded beneath her nearly knocked her out of of the sky out of sheer shock, every nerve on her body demanded she switch her focus towards the bigger threat. And it became clear why, seeing how the feline was currently climbing the nearest tree at an impossible speed. Celine folded one wing and dove to the side, avoiding the path the snarling feline would’ve taken to attack her had she spent a single second still.

Diving, she gained momentum, using it to put some distance. She only managed to catch a glimpse of White Claw dropping to the forest floor and picking up the near unconscious human. The glare that was sent her way gave her shivers, she should quickly gain altitude and keep her distance, this way she could freely attack from out of range. Celine’s breath grew ragged as she flapped her wings as strongly as she could, increasing her height.

The cool rush of the night air blew past her as she was changing her course, canting to a side and carefully looking down into the forest. A twinge of concern ran through her the moment she failed to spot White Claw. It couldn’t be, had she run with the human? Celine’s eyes widened slightly, flapping harder and carefully sweeping her gaze through the darkened forest floor, seeking the aura of either the maiden or the human.

“Did you lose them!?” Mimi’s voice burst inside her head and she flinched.

“Give me a- there!”

Celine dove just enough to gain some momentum again, she’d spotted the trail of elemental energy left by White Claw using shadow dash. They were heading further North? That was concerning. If they were seeking to escape the Lord and recover, then that could mean they’d be able to engage the Lord’s forces in full once night fell again. Maybe even finish them off.

Bronte had been their strongest fighter, things were looking grim already.

The Angel spotted the feline, running, arms occupied, no doubt carrying her human. Celine mentally confirmed the location and direction, and began charging her arrow.

But the human in White Claw’s arms saw her, and all too suddenly White Claw altered her course, jumping to the side and starting to weave her way through the trees. The angel cursed, wings pulsing in frustration, beating her wings as fast as she could to close the distance, the trees were getting in the way. She couldn’t lose White Claw a second time.

The feline was fast, using her incredible strength to bounce between the trees as the movements became increasingly erratic. The chances of landing a shot were becoming dimmer by the second, if she didn’t kill the human now…

The only reason she’d lasted this long had been because she didn’t just blindly charge at every opportunity. Just one shot, one hit, and White Claw was bound to go berserk. The Lord would use the remaining forces to bring her down. The angel aimed, releasing a light arrow. It missed entirely, the human was looking over White Claw’s shoulder and through it clearly signaling when the attack was coming as well as Celine’s location.

With a curse, she realized her mistake. With the dark sky above, and from this distance, it was too easy to see the attack coming and react to it. Made all the worse by the near unpredictable movement patterns.

“Engaging White Claw, aiming for the human.”

She dove closer to the treetops, holding back her light arrow and gathering the power within her instead, focusing so that her wings would not glow as well. It would be tricky, but she should be able to form the arrow and shoot it quickly enough to avoid being spotted by the human.

And at that exact instant, White Claw turned around.

Celine’s eyes widened as she saw the feline drop her human and shoot straight towards the nearest tree. The angel hesitated. Only a heartbeat, White Claw would reach her location before she could escape if she didn’t change course, but if she changed course, she wouldn’t be able to shoot the human.

“FIRE!”

Mimi’s voice inside her head snapped the decision in place, her right finger pointed towards the human, the left held the energy. And just as she formed the power, White Claw had appeared on her line of sight. The feline had leapt too early, not enough to reach her, but enough to block her view of the human. It didn’t make sense, she should know she’d fall before reaching Celine, at which point-.

CRACK.

A vial of brown ceramic, it smashed against the Angel’s breastplate, thrown by a mere flick of White Claw’s hand. Celine’s eyes widened, releasing the bolt right before the Phoenix’s fire ignited. Her attack impacted squarely against the feline’s shoulder, knocking her ever so slightly off course. Any thoughts to start a second attack were pushed away as fire burst from her armor where the vial had broken. The flames licked at her face, and she could only hold off the pain by using her elemental light to push the pain away while her hands moved to detach the piece of armor.

“RUN!”

The order came right as Celine felt something wrap around her ankle. She gazed downwards and saw a metal cable, a whip. Bronte’s whip. The wielder being none other than White Claw. The cat looked smug.

A shriek escaped the Angel, the piece of burning metal armor dropping off right as she was dragged along gravity. Her wings tried to sustain her, but her weight was too great with White Claw hanging off of her leg.

Screaming and shrieking as she fell, all Celine could do was draw every bit of elemental energy as she could to protect her body as the ground rushed up to meet her. She grit her teeth, breath knocked right out of her as the ground met her like a full-bodied hit from Bronte during training.

The dull thud was replaced with agony as she felt the sharp claws sinking into her wings. Celine shrieked, agony exploded forth, blood raining down around her as fear quickly took over. She was going to die, White Claw’s grip reaching for her neck.

“MONICA!”

The voice was a male’s, and suddenly White Claw’s hand stopped.

Celine breathed, holding back the pain, trying to focus her powers to use what little she knew about healing to stop the bleeding. She clenched her teeth and looked up from the ground. The human, the male, was walking towards them with unsteady steps and heavy breathing. He was pale and clammy, his aura shivered with pain, he held his right arm as if unable to move it yet Celine saw no injuries, only exhaustion.

“SHOOT HIM! THE LORD ORDERS IT!” Mimi’s voice rang within the Angel’s head, but she could barely move, it was impossible to carry through on it.

The human didn’t talk, his arms reached down and… Celine’s eyes widened as her collar was removed. She felt the weight of the bond vanish instantly and shuddered. What was he going to do to her? “I’ll never surrender.” She grit her teeth, fighting back the tears from the throbbing pain.

He crouched, and it was then that she noticed him drop a pouch he’d been carrying. It was a familiar pouch, from where…?

“You’re going to bleed out and die.” His words were ragged, breathless, the man looking as if he were at the very verge of exhaustion. “I don’t know which of these can heal you.”

Celine froze, blinking. The pouch, a knight's pouch. And she had a good guess as to who it once belonged if the badge on it was anything to go by. The angel grit her teeth. “Just kill me.”

“The only threat to us is the Baron, if you promise to leave us be, you don’t need to die. It’s why I removed the collar.” He pulled out one of the vials, a red colored one, showing it to her for a moment, carefully observing her reaction. “But I have other uses for you if you don’t want to collaborate.”

“Wh-?”

Celine’s jaw tightened as he poured a bit of the potion on her wings. Relief instantly washed through her as numbness overtook the area, a sigh left her as she relaxed ever so slightly. The human kept looking at her, taking a stick and poking at the area. “This potion helps, right?”

“Numbs the pain.” She nodded, no sense in hiding it. Shock came when she saw him empty the contents on White Claw’s burns.

A yowl escaped the feline maiden that was keeping the angel pinned to the ground, but what surprised Celine was watching the paleness in the human’s expression soften as he sighed. A great deal of tension in his body eased up, his previously almost limp arm moving slightly again.

“Next.” He pulled out a yellow potion, but the captured maiden couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“You.” She gasped, watching some color return to his features and his aura regain some vigor. Her eyes widened. “You… the bond… you were taking in her pain!”

Without a word, he pulled out the next vial, this one was small, barely a thimble in size, its contents a dark swirling black. Celine’s eyes widened at the sight of it, face going slightly pale. She knew she should ask to have that applied to her, to bring this situation to an end and avoid potentially falling into the hands of the enemy, but…

“Not it, then.” The human nodded and put the black sphere back into the pouch. “Let’s see what else we can use to patch Monica up…”