But I was not about to be outdone by such cheap tricks. I used my sword to block his attack and bashed him with my shield.

"How do you know me?" I asked, ready to defend myself no matter what other surprises he might have in store for me.

"You are the most wanted individual in the realm," he croaked. "And I will be the one bringing you in."

As soon as he finished his sentence, he charged at me again. I blocked his slash easily with my sword, but his real move was revealed to me as he swung his left wing and propelled himself above and behind me, no doubt a class skill of his. I clicked my haste boots and rolled out of his way, just in time to avoid his backhanded slash.

I kept my eyes on the winged man as I strapped the shield on my back and unsheathed my second archangel blade.

"You're not supposed to wield such blades, mortal," he said and began side-stepping menacingly. "But I suppose I will return them to their rightful owners soon enough. Along with you."

"The angels?" I said, genuinely taken aback. "Do you work for them?"

The man croaked loudly and spat on the ground.

"I would never work for those arrogant bastards!" he shouted, and had to calm himself down before continuing. "But we all serve the same master. The Divine wants you, and I will be rewarded for bringing you to Its magnificence."

This is not good.

I thought that I might have been able to talk my way out of an attack, or at least flee. But I knew now that even if I ran away, this creature would notify Kai and bring down an army of angels upon me. I had no choice but to deal with him.

"You will regret having revealed your purpose," I said, and moved against this strange agent of The Divine.

"You really think we fight on the same level?" he said, and rushed toward me.

Just before our blades clashed he brought his free hand up in front of his face, possibly to cover his mouth. I was sure he was going to cast a short spell but without sight of his lips I couldn't tell what it would be.

His longsword thrust carried a lot more weight than I had anticipated and it forced me to take a step back. As soon as I regained my balance, ready to lunge at him with my second blade, he disappeared. Then I heard his breath coming down on me from behind.

The spell he'd cast was probably a minor teleportation one, since he'd moved from one place to the other instantly. There was no way to parry or dodge his attack and I knew that this move would probably prove to be my downfall. My only hope was to somehow position myself at such an angle that my shield could at least cover the back of my neck.

To my astonishment, there was a rather loud explosion and I managed to perform a forward somersault without being hit by the creature's sword. Mid-roll I glanced back at my enemy to see him being thrown back as if hit by a fireball.

It looked like the shield held more secrets than I knew. Myriam had taken extreme care to craft an item that would protect me for a long time.

I stood on my feet and looked at the winged man whose chest was still smoking. He was trying to pick himself up, but was unable to. He used his still undamaged wings to push himself up and glared at me.

"You dogs like fighting dirty," he said, and touched his chest.

A faint glow emanated from the inside of his palm and I could see the wound on his chest immediately start closing. I needed to break his spell if I wanted to keep my advantage. I charged and forced him to dodge my double sword thrust before he was completely healed.

"If you're not willing to come with me," he said, spreading his wings wide open, "The Divine will have to come here instead."

With that, he threw his winged arms down hard and jumped a good distance from the ground. This time, I was ready. The way he was fighting and gauging my abilities meant that he had to have identified my capabilities as a fighter and would not risk coming at me alone again.

Not wanting to give him the chance to fly any higher, I catapulted my sword at his shoulder, hoping only to slow him down. However, I was pleased to see the archangel blade pierce right through his shoulder and the wing behind it.

The bird-man, still bleeding, lost his balance and the second flap of his wings was met with a cry of agony and a swift but clumsy fall to the ground. I rushed toward him and eliminated any further attempts to defend himself with his sword by kicking it to the side.

"You'll regret this, mortal," he croaked as he saw me reach for my sword, which was protruding almost vertically from his crippled body.

"What are you after, chicklet?" I said, goading him.

For a second, he looked furious, and then screamed as I pulled my blade out of his shoulder.

"This isn't over," he said, in an extremely high-pitched voice. "I am not the only avoral scouting for you. The Divine will know of this."

"What do you get out of it?" I asked, puzzled at his fanaticism. "I've never even met your kind, and yet you hate me so much."

"You've never seen my kind," he replied, "because you filthy spellcasters exiled us to the other side of the mountains."

"Those 'filthy spellcasters' get their mana from The Divine," I shouted at him, "and yet that hasn't stopped you from allying yourself with It."

"But times change and so do gods, young Adel," he replied. He tried unsuccessfully to move his wounded wing-arm. "The Divine is no longer the benign old man it used to be. This Divine is ambitious and hungry. But most of all it hates you, mortals."

I crossed my swords over his neck and plunged them into the ground in order to pin him down for good. There was little space left for him to move as I held the rest of his body down with my right foot.

"It doesn't have to be like this," I said. "The people of Elysia, of Leka An, and all of the countries on this side of the mountains have no idea of whatever injustices were done to you."

"Of course they know, boy," the man replied with a look of empty determination in his eyes. "Your precious leaders know all about it. Even if the rest of you are ignorant, it doesn't change the fact you have taken away everything from me."

Before I could ask him any further questions, he pushed his body upwards and pressed his neck into the blades of my swords with such force that he started bleeding.

"You killed my wife," he said, his eyes unmoving. "My children. I will not rest until every last one of you is dead."

"I haven't killed any of your kind," I protested. "I don't even know you. Listen to me—"

"No, you listen to me, filth," the man interrupted, pressing even harder into the blades lodged into the ground. "Kill me. Kill me or I'll sack you like a piglet, take you back to The Divine as an offering, and then I'll go on to kill all of your friends and family."

A feeling of terrible unease grew in my stomach as I realized the truth of what I would have to do. This creature hated me and all people for something I had no knowledge of.

He had every right to be angry, but I would not let him bring me to Kai. That would mean the death of so many people.

Seeing how hellsbent he was on providing my location to The Divine, there was no way I could let him escape.

So what am I supposed to do? Murder him?

"Poor Krysha and Kard," he said, and once again I was taken by surprise. "That's right, I know of all your friends. Those are the ones I'll kill first."

Without even realizing it, I had grabbed my sword hilts and pressed them harder to the ground, drawing an even thicker line of blood from his throat. The back of his feathery neck was now painted completely red and his voice was beginning to sound hoarse.

"Yes, this is who you really are, Adel," he said, slowly. "A murderer. You're exactly like those who lead you."

"I'm nothing like them!" I shouted. I took a deep breath to steady myself. "I'm going to remove my blades now and you'll come with me. I promise you, nobody will hurt you. You have to believe me. I want you to stay alive."

The feeling of unease had now grown enough to make me feel sick, but I did not show any hint of it. I was looking into this creature's hateful eyes with determination. I did not want to take his life.

"I don't want your pity. The avoral are proud and honest people," he said, his piercing eyes looking straight at me. "I don't care about my life anymore, and I won't lie just so that I can see another day. If you remove your swords, I'll do my best to see your sister's unborn baby slain before it draws breath."

My hands were trembling. I couldn't believe the level of hatred emanating from somebody I had never even seen before.

I have no other choice.

"What is your name, avoral?" I asked, trying to muster the will to do what needed to be done.

"Avendereil," he replied, and eased his head back a bit, no doubt sensing the change in me.

I have no other choice.

"Do it!" he said in a raspy voice, "or I'll make sure all your loved ones will meet the same fate as that fool of a witch, Myriam."

My blades plunged so deeply into the ground that the hilts touched the soft grass. I could only hope he felt no pain.

I had no other choice.

I had to become a murderer.