Palan yawned as he glanced around the room. It looked like a hurricane had passed through it. Belongings were scattered everywhere, and there were even claw marks on the ceiling. He hopped off the dilapidated bed that was previously in pristine condition and wandered around the wreckage.

“It’s interesting how old the furniture is in here,” Raea said as she lifted up a wardrobe and began picking through the clothes inside. “Have they been living underneath the angels this whole time? Just how many people are there in the army?”

Palan shrugged as he received a robe from Raea which he then shredded and tied around his waist, fitting it around his three tails. “Wouldn’t Sariel have discovered these people?” he asked.

Raea shook her head as she slit the back of a robe with her claws, making space for her wings. “Sariel’s never left the capital before,” she said. “Everywhere outside the capital is full of sin anyways. I’m not sure how her power works, but I think even she’d be overwhelmed.”

Palan nodded. He was about to say something, but stopped when a faint scream reached his ears. Raea furrowed her brow and looked at him. “Did you hear that?” she asked. “I swear they’ve been screaming for the past hour or so.”

“Your hearing’s improved,” Palan said and raised an eyebrow. He glanced around the room one more time, looking for anything of value. He didn’t find anything important, but if Cleo were there, she’d vehemently disagree. “Do you want to check it out? We might as well get to know this place better considering they’re our allies.” For now. A low hiss escaped from his torso-mouth. “And I’m getting hungry anyway.”

“Now that you mention it, we should eat after so much … exercise,” Raea said and stretched her arms towards the ceiling. Palan opened the door, and the duo stepped into the hall. The outside of the room was like a standard hotel building. The floor was flat, the ceiling didn’t have any trace of stalactites, and the walls were uniform. There were a few orbs hanging from the ceiling that illuminated the path, but every so often, the two would pass through areas without any lighting. The floor and walls in those areas resembled tunnels roughly dug out by tools.

They passed a few halflings who looked at them oddly, but no one stopped them from proceeding. It was impossible for every halfling to know everyone, and if strangers were able to appear here, then they were either accepted by Solra or they were strong enough to pass through the guardians at the entrances. Whichever reason it was, the halflings didn’t dare confront Palan and Raea as the two followed the sounds of screaming. They did pass Ivan Blackflame who made a face and pinched his nose before telling them where the baths were.

Palan and Raea laughed off the lizardman’s comment, causing him to flare up with black flames. He muttered something about finding Solra as he stomped past the two. “Do you think Cory gave us his room on purpose?” Raea asked after Ivan disappeared down the tunnel. “In a strange way, she reminds me of Sally.”

“Are you saying all harpies look and act alike?” Palan asked as they got closer to the source of the screams. Although they were getting closer, the screaming was becoming hoarser and fainter.

“I’m just saying Sally and Cory are … you know what, never mind,” Raea said and sighed as she shook her head. “I wonder how Sally and Elrith are doing right now. They shouldn’t be in any danger, but it’s surprising how little rumors there are about them. You’d think Elrith’s appearance would trigger waves of gossip anywhere.” Palan shrugged as the two reached a metal door.

“P-please,” a voice said from within. Screams followed shortly after. Raea knocked on the door before forcing it open without waiting for a response. A bloody stench assaulted her nose, causing her to gag. Palan inhaled deeply before licking his lips. His torso-mouth began grinding its teeth together.

“Well,” he said. “I think we found the cafeteria.”

Raea walked to a corner and threw up. Despite having killed hundreds of people back in the first sector during her fit of rage, there was something about this area that made her feel nauseous. “Oh,” a familiar voice said. “It’s you two.” Pyre waved the bloody lump in his arm at Palan. “Close the door.”

The metal clanged shut. Palan examined the room while his tails attempted to ease Raea’s sickness by rubbing her back. Though the metal door was an average size, the room it hid was not. Thousands of cages—most of them holding people—filled the room in a grid-like manner. Pyre was relatively close to the entrance, standing in front of an open cage. A mountain of skin, flesh, and blood lay on the ground, nearly covering his waist.

“P-please, kill me,” a hoarse voice said. Palan walked over and saw that the prisoner was Dinah. Her body was in pristine condition, but she was surrounded by a pool of blood, some of it congealing.

“In due time,” Pyre said as a lifted a hammer. Screams rang throughout the prison as the hammer fell, accompanied by snapping sounds. Palan watched as Pyre rendered Dinah’s arm completely useless before tearing it off with a saw. When she was about to faint, the half-angel healed her wounds. There was a pile of a hundred or so glowing white orbs stacked neatly by Pyre’s side. A dwarf was in charge of refilling the dim orbs by coaxing the powers out of other kindness angels trapped within the cells.

Palan pointed at the pulpy arm in Pyre’s hand. “Can I eat that?” he asked.

Pyre stared at the bloody limb. “Uh, sure?” he said with a confused tone before offering it towards Palan. Palan’s torso-mouth tore it to pieces. “She doesn’t have much mana in her flesh. It’s all concentrated in her vital organs by now.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Palan said and shrugged. “I was just hungry.” He glanced at Raea.

“I’m not eating that,” Raea said, holding back the urge to vomit again. “Who is this?”

“This? This is Dinah,” Pyre said. “One of the council members. I’m afraid there’s not enough time to let her feel the years of suffering that my family suffered, so I’m condensing it all into a short period. I still have other council members to deal with after all.” Whimpers sounded out from adjacent cages.

Palan raised an eyebrow as a familiar figure caught his attention. “Is that Michael?” he asked and approached a cage. Laughter exploded throughout the prison. When it stopped, Palan sneered at the trapped angel. “Do you remember, just a few months ago, how you nearly killed me with a single glance? I never got my revenge for that.”

Michael’s cracked lips trembled. “You’re the young Caelum’s demon,” he said and glanced at Raea. “Is that her?” He clenched his manacled hands. “Have the Caelums betrayed the capital?”

“More like the capital wants her dead, and she doesn’t want to die,” Palan said and smiled. He turned towards Pyre who was busy skinning Dinah. “Is he necessary for your plans or can I eat him?”

“Can you eat him and keep him alive?” Pyre asked. “He’s not crucial, but every bit helps. He produces seven orbs a day. A meager amount compared to the total but significant compared to non-archangels.”

Raea made a face. “I’m going to go find some real food,” she said and shook her head. “This torture stuff doesn’t jibe well with me.”

“I thought you wanted revenge,” Pyre said while raising an eyebrow. White lights snaked around Dinah’s body as Pyre discarded a flap of skin.

“That’s not it,” Raea said. “They can’t feel despair if you break them. What’s the point of getting revenge on a doll?” She furrowed her brow. “There shouldn’t be any danger to me around here, right?”

“No,” Pyre said. “Wait a moment.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a small badge in the shape of a blue square.

“What is this and why does it smell so disgusting?” Raea asked as she accepted the badge.

“It’s been smeared with … uh … pleasant stuff,” Pyre said and avoided Raea’s eyes. “Palan should be able to track you down by smell if you wear it.”

“I see,” Raea said and made a face as she pinned it to her robe. “I’ll be going to the real cafeteria then.” She paused. “There is a real cafeteria, right?”

“There is,” Pyre said. He gestured towards a dwarf and told him to guide Raea.

“Try not to explode anything,” Palan said as he chewed on Michael’s severed arm.

“I don’t explode things,” Raea said and snorted. “I just melt them. There’s a difference.”

“Whatever,” Palan said and rolled his eyes as Raea made her way to the exit. “You know what I meant.”