The Will of Purgatory, Harper, and the Lycanthropes led by Eloise all stood in front of Ira. There was also a large pile of decaying corpses, but Ira didn’t focus on any of that.

“So you actually managed to climb out of purgatory?” Ira question was filled with approval.

“Yes, thanks to you. Though, the current state of this world, mainly the appearance of Angels, is quite concerning to me. Especially since this form isn’t very resilient.”

“So the Angels caused you problems too?” Ira inquired.

“A large amount in fact. It’s the first time in my memory that they’ve ever appeared though I guess it isn’t unwarranted.” As the Will of Purgatory finished speaking she glanced toward Ira.

“Why are you looking at me?”

“Are you not the cause?”

“All I did was take a little sap from a tree. Who knew they would get so upset?” Ira smiled.

The Will seemed speechless at Ira’s lack of awareness at his own actions. Then again, mortals were no long privy to the taboos and unspoken laws of the world. Before the collapse, Gods played a more active part in the Mortal Realm. Sending their guidance through proxies was one of the ways they balanced the world. At the current moment, the only one who could receive those messages was Juliana Fairfax and the Gods had no plans of informing anyone about the laws mortals were supposed to follow.

“I’ve absorbed the souls of hundreds of people in my time here and you are, without a doubt, the sole cause for the appearance of the Angels. Have you not realized? You entered purgatory while in your physical form and I warned you of what happened. I am unsure of what else you might’ve done but you killed a Primeval Beast and since you’re still here I’m assuming you avoided your ascension.”

As the Will explained the situation to Ira he slowly began to realize all the possible things he might’ve done that led to the current events. He frowned before showing a determined face.

“I get it…” Ira said with a chuckle as his expression brightened. “I’ll have to ask one of those Angels for myself.”

…

After sending the Harper and the others back to the Underground City, Ira traveled to the Great Forest. At one glance Avery’s handiwork could be seen for a few miles. A roaring blaze was consuming the vegetation and producing black smoke that filled the sky. Those within the Great Forest were most likely confused as forest fires were extremely rare. In fact, there was never a time where a fire spread very far due to the resilience of the plants inside of the forest.

Ira took a few moments to appreciate the sight and then went off in search of Avery. The entire forest seemed to be silent except for the crackle of burning wood.

In only took a few minutes for Ira to find Avery who stood with the Valkyries atop smoldering soil. The charred remains of Dryads and Elves lay near their feet while they remained without injury.

“Avery!” Ira shouted as he fell toward the ground. He landed softly and approached his wife with a warm smile.

“Ira.” Avery removed her helmet and began speaking. “We couldn’t locate any definite source but I’ve made sure to burn all the areas that could possibly be used for planting. Due to the nature of the Great Forest, I doubt that it’ll remain destroyed for long but it’ll allow us time to think.”

“Yeah...about that…” Ira looked off in a guilty manner.

“What?” Avery narrowed her eyes at him and he began to chuckle wryly.

“I’m going back to the capital.”

Avery looked at the Valkyries and then back to Ira which simply waved his hand and teleported them away. When the two were left alone, Avery began to speak.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“You’ve gone once, correct? Why do you need to return? Especially when they’re more likely to be alert.”

“We don’t know enough about what’s happening.” Ira gave with reasoning with a simple shrug. “I’m only going for a few minutes at the very most.”

“It’s dangerous and idiotic. If you thought that I would simply go along with it then you were wrong.” Avery spoke firmly.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting you to,” Ira mumbled to himself. “...Don’t get mad at me for this, Avery.”

“Ira don't–” Avery tried to speak but she vanished before she could finish.

“Whew.” Ira sighed. “She’s going to be so angry.”

Ira rotated his shoulders and drew a deep breath before he disappeared.

…

Inside of the Capital, Gavreel paced around in the temple with a slight tension while various other Angels stood nearby. A little less than an hour passed since Ira attacked and the news that it wasn’t the only one. The Angels occupying the Grenitian Capital meant they allowed others to use the teleportation arrays more openly. With that came the ability to mobilize soldiers and news spread far faster than was possible previously.

Juliana sat in the room with Gavreel who was waiting for the Gods to respond to her own prayers. She knew that the Tartarus would still need time before it was able to work.

“Lord Gavreel.” Juliana spoke in a voice that was closer to a whisper. She was completely rattled by Ira’s attack and the fact Randolph was currently healing didn’t soothe her nerves. Even the other Angels who were there to ensure her safety didn’t do anything but increase her nervousness.

In comparison to Gavreel, the other Angels were stone-faced and unapproachable. Even though they had egos they wouldn’t lower themselves to comfort mortals more than was needed. One could even say they were almost like Valkyries except they were deadly fanatics.

“Yes, child,” Gavreel replied amicably.

“When Ira was here...he said that he...would come back for me.” Juliana trembled as she finished.

“Don’t fret, you are protected by the–” Gavreel’s body jerked sharply before she could finish.

“Protected by what?” Ira’s voice filled the room and a black claw pierced through Gavreel’s chest.

Gavreel froze at the abrupt attack, it was unexpected by all accounts. When Ira fled after seeing the Tartarus, she was sure she had scared him away. There was no way he would be able to guess it wasn't ready quite yet so that meant he bet his life on a sneak attack. It was completely illogical and with the way he acted, she would've thought he treasured his own safety more than petty revenge.

“Lord Gavreel!” Juliana screamed.

The Angels moved but Ira was faster as he teleported away with Gavreel and Juliana.

…

When they reappeared in the desert near the Underground City, Gavreel felt pain and was immediately perplexed. It was an unfamiliar sensation to her and she shouldn’t have been able to feel it but Ira’s abilities didn’t follow her, or anyone else's, common sense.

Ira slammed Gavreel into the ground and a crater formed while Juliana fell onto the ground roughly.

“You know…I’ve been thinking about that stone sphere thing and the reason why you haven’t used it yet?” Ira pulled his hand from Gavreel’s abdomen.

Gavreel summoned her wings and slowly raised her body. Her wound would’ve been fatal for anyone else but she was able to withstand it.

Divine power ran through her veins and a golden light shined from her eyes.

“Even if I die someone else will come to replace me...You cannot avoid the wrath of the Gods, Ira. They will erase you and everyone you love from this realm.” Gavreel raised a golden spear as she prepared to fight Ira but he had no such thoughts.

Ira shifted into his beast form and began to speak with a low growl. “Oh? Is that what they told to you?”

He sauntered toward Gavreel with heavy steps.

“Let me peek inside of your head. I really want to see it for myself.” He laughed coldly.

Gavreel remained silent as she thrust her golden spear forward but Ira smacked her away and sent her crashing into the ground. Of course, Ira had no intention of drawing out a fight. He approached her and grabbed her with both of his hands.

As his jaws opened up, all Gavreel could see was an endless darkness hidden behind a set of metal-like teeth. That was the last thing she saw before his fangs ripped into Gavreel and she was devoured in an instant.

Ira slowly returned into his normal form and turned his attention to Juliana.

“I wonder why you’re so special, Juliana Fairfax, youngest daughter of the Fairfax Family.” Ira grinned at the disheveled young girl who stared up at him in horror. It seemed he remembered their first interaction as the last part of his sentence was something she said long ago to him when she attempted to intimidate him with her status.

As new memories surfaced within his mind, Gavreel’s divine energy ran rampant within him.

“Shit.” Ira cursed before spitting out a clump of blood. His skin began glowing with the same divine light as Gavreel except it signified that her power was attempting to corrode his body.

Ira nullified the rampant divine energy and digested what he could from Gavreel’s experience. His mind was filled with the conversations she had with the Gods and what she had done during her time in the Mortal Realm. It was even clear that she cursed Sylvia in order to prompt him into action. Most importantly, the Gods wanted to capture him alive with the Stone Sphere and have him face “justice” but that was a clear lie. There were also glimpses of taboos that weren’t supposed to be broken.

Ira opened his eyes slowly as his body settled down. He couldn’t smile at his newfound knowledge or even laugh. Some of the Gods were targeting him and he knew that they wouldn’t spare a thought for anyone else around him. What they did to Indras’ family became fresh in his mind and he no longer had any thoughts of sitting idly by.

He approached Juliana and gripped her by the throat.

“So they talk through you, correct?” Ira made sure to be careful enough not to kill her since her importance had increased tenfold.

Juliana clawed at his arm but there was no way she could overpower him or even injure him enough for him to let go.

“You’ll let me talk with them, right?” Ira asked calmly but it didn't soothe Juliana at all.

Juliana felt her consciousness slipping but the sense of utter terror she felt didn’t diminish even as her vision became faint.