“You promised you wouldn’t kill us,” the secretary yelled as she grabbed the headmaster by his collar and yanked him away from the flames.

Raea shrugged. “If I was going to kill you, you would’ve already died,” she said as she walked over the flames. They licked her skin, but her body was untouched. Surprisingly, the new set of clothes received wasn’t affected by the flames either. “You should hurry up and run though.” Her brow furrowed when she saw the two staring blankly at her. Was her voice really that awesome? It was only after she walked past them that they reacted and scrambled away from the approaching flames.

Before the headmaster left his office, he pressed on a button near the door. Alarms blared throughout the academy. Raea stopped walking and turned around to face the two. Her eyes narrowed at the headmaster. “Was that for me?”

“It was just an evacuation alarm,” the secretary said, covering the headmaster’s mouth. She really didn’t trust him to speak at such a dire moment. He’d probably crack a joke, and Raea would take it seriously and kill them.

“I see,” Raea said, her brow furrowing. The alarm was shrill, and her head was beginning to hurt. She finally understood why Palan was upset in cities. Her hearing had improved and made the alarm unbearable to listen to. Raea ground her teeth together and was about to leave but stopped. She asked, “Which way’s the exit?”

The headmaster clawed aside the hand covering his mouth. “Are you sure you want to leave?” he asked. “You can leave your name behind in the history books if you let me study you some more! If we can figure out the phenomenon of metamorphosis, we can expand the angels’ territory even quicker. Besides, you’ll die if you leave the academy. Do you really think the council will let you go just because you got a little bit stronger? Do you think your parents would?”

“It’s funny that you mention parents,” Raea said as her tail slashed the air behind her. A gash was left in the stone floor as the metal edge ripped it apart. “During my evolution, I experienced the life of a scorpion. Did you know that mother scorpions will eat their babies if they’re hungry enough?”

“You experienced the life of a scorpion?” the headmaster asked, momentarily forgetting about the flames behind him.

“That’s the part you’re concerned about?” his secretary asked and pinched his waist. “Not the anger directed towards her parents bit?”

“Everyone dislikes their parents sometime in their life,” the headmaster said and snorted. “Not everyone turns into a scorpion.” He stared at Raea and wet his lips. “What was it like? Did you experience anything other than that?”

“Solve a kudosu puzzle and I’ll tell you,” Raea said and rolled her eyes. She pointed at the secretary. “Which way is the exit?”

“Are you sure you won’t reconsider leaving?” the headmaster asked as he gagged his secretary’s mouth. She struggled, but he found strength from deep within his wiry body and refused to let her speak. “The rebel army is approaching, and there’s a demon on the loose. It could be very dangerous for you. If you stay here, you’ll be safe.”

Raea’s eyes narrowed, and her knuckles cracked as her hands curled into fists. “Rebel army?” she asked and tilted her head. The red color of her pupils merged with her blue irises, turning her eyes purple. The flames behind the headmaster roared as they expanded and engulfed the ceiling as well.

The headmaster froze, and the gag dropped away from his secretary’s mouth, but she didn’t say a word. “Do you … have issues with them?” he whispered before swallowing his saliva. The flames threatened to lick his back, so he marched forward while pulling along his secretary.

“The rebel army owes me a life,” Raea said. The flat of her tail slammed against the floor, shaking the hall. “Every single soldier in the army owes me a life.”

“Did you know the council sent four archangels to quash the rebellion?” the headmaster asked while furrowing his brow. His secretary gagged him this time and pulled him down the hall. Why did her boss insist on antagonizing the angry archangel? She should’ve just let Raea kill him earlier since he wanted to die so badly.

“Stop,” Raea said. The secretary pursed her lips before halting. “What was the result? Did the archangels lose?”

“Rumors say they lost.”

Raea nodded and exhaled. “Then there’s still some left for me,” she said as a silver sheen covered her arms. The light crawled up her shoulders and enveloped her whole body. She spread her wings and tilted her head up before leaping towards the ceiling. Her arms easily pierced through the stone, and she tore open a hole for herself to exit through. She stood on the roof of the academy and inhaled deeply. It had been a while since she smelled fresh air. Her head lowered, and she said, “If a demon with a snake for a tail comes by, tell him I went to find the rebel army.”

“Don’t do this!” the headmaster shouted as she flapped her wings, bringing her higher into the air. “You’ll die! You have so much to live for! Think of why you suffered through the kudosu puzzles!”

A frown appeared on Raea’s lips as the academy got further and further away. She did have a reason to live: Palan. If she died, she’d be bringing him down as well. Didn’t she agree to help him reunite with his sister instead of seeking revenge? She did, but that was then, and this was now. A fire burned in her chest, threatening to melt her heart if she didn’t follow its will. She suspected she’d never get a good night’s sleep ever again if she didn’t listen. Maybe her wrath got stronger due to her evolution. Maybe her will got weaker. Maybe she really would die, but that didn’t matter. Sely needed to be avenged. And wasn’t Palan one of the main reasons why Sely died?

Raea snorted as her wings flapped harder. They glowed underneath the moonlight, casting a faint red shadow in the sky. If she died, then Palan would just have to blame his bad luck. Destroying the rebel army was something she had to do or die trying.