Aster stood still at first, not able to move as he witnessed the arrival of his estranged friend. He was scared, confused, furious, but most importantly, he was happy. After all that worrying, the almost inevitable chance of defeat, he finally met hope face to face. "So, I'm not useless to you anymore...", the incubus remarked. Aster's throat became tight, turning his head toward Fleur. Her fists were clenched, as if unfinished business was whirring within and the need to lash out became ever stronger.
Aster could only witness as Fleur
She glared at Demitris with disgust and hatred, her hatred so intense that it began to burn. If he were her, experiencing the trauma, the sorrow as his lover was almost destroyed, it would sear into his soul, burning away all other thoughts except hate and resentment. He wanted to hold her close as her heart ached at the sight of this strange man, far from the friend he once was. She wanted to hurt him, yet she didn't want to hurt anyone once Vox's grin fixed upon the flying creature.
"So this depressed, horny monster is your secret weapon? Pathetic!", the fae shouted down to the entire group. "I guess it's true that you've grown into quite a character," Vox added with pride. Demitris stared daggers into Vox's eyes, retaliating with his words, his voice gravelly and cruel sounding, "Why do you care?", but his answer came in an unexpected way. Vox laughed loudly, "You mean you don't know? You must have figured it out when Rou died so suddenly!". The demon screamed, flapping his wings to get to Vox's level, "How dare you talk about him?!", the hatred in his voice was strong enough to kill a human if he spoke loud enough.
Demitris sped towards Vox, clawing at his entire body as if he could murder him right there, yet his attacks seemed to fall flat. Vox laughed again and continued talking, "Oh come now, my dear boy...", he teased. Demitris growled deeply, causing his wings to extend outwards, "You have no value for human life, you just destroy its very essence as if it's nothing, meaningless!!!", he roared. The demon's wings began beating aggressively, stronger than the wind of the storm.
Aster was certain that the fury rising inside Demitris's heart was so strong, he thought it might explode. However, a smile peaked on his face, a small but genuine grin, showing off his teeth, "I have a good feeling about this battle...", he commented, feeling that glimmer of hope, that optimism that the syndicate preached for the first time since the fight began. It was an unusual sensation, one that had not come back for years, perhaps ever since that fateful night in Tiliac. Even as Fleur and Edward looked at him utterly baffled, he was certain that the tides would turn.
Vox and Demitris stared at each other with complete loathing, the atmosphere thick and tense. The air was thickening, and everyone was feeling the tension of the moment, ready to burst into action any time. Before Demitris could strike again, a flash of lightning flashed upon his bare flesh, leaving behind a charred wound, the blood spurting out of his shoulder. "Fuck...", Aster mumbled, before rushing towards who knows where. "Aster, where are you going?", Fleur asked worriedly. Aster's heart beat fast, he didn't want to raise her concerns, so he simply answered briefly, "I have a plan...".
"Wait! What if it kills you?!", the elf girl squealed. Aster's ears tried not to pick up on her worried words, focusing only on supporting Demitris in the fight. "There's only one way out of this, you're not going to like it, but I won't let him get to you." And with that spoken, he took a step forward and began rushing towards the mansion garden. "What?" Fleur asked, following suit. The pair looked at each other in disillusionment, even more so when Aster fixed his eyes on the waterfall, now frozen solid, the spot where Rou slaughtered himself.
It seemed that the sight broke Fleur's heart, yet she refused to show her distress, she wasn't going to give Demitris that satisfaction. "Are you mad, boy?!", Edward yelled at Aster as he approached Rou's grave with seemingly no care in the world, "Do you realise how disrespectful that is?!", he demanded. The shouting was so loud that it alerted Vox and Demitris, the latter breaking out into inky tears once he saw what was happening, but Aster didn't yield. He knew for certain that this is what Rou would've wanted.
The black haired male stopped atop the glacier, placing his left hand on the top, "Hey, Rou...", he uttered softly. A single tear fell from his eye, thinking of his superior that grew to become a true friend. In the midst of the moment, it was almost like he was there guiding him, in voice and in spirit, "Look up at your target, and point your sword right at them! It shows will and bravery.", he heard. It was Rou's first lesson, had to put it into practice.
His only hand slowly ascended, holding a dagger tightly between his fingers, and some of Rou's ice in his mouth. With great difficulty, he swallowed his former capo's ice for the last time. Aster pointed his dagger, pointing it directly at the winged creatures in front of him. He fixed his glance at Vox, ready to strike, "Ice Forme!", he announced, the words ringing out in Rou's honour, showing the blood sweat and tears he had shed for every single one of his soldiers.
Ice shot out of Aster's sword at a mile a minute, slicing through the air. Fleur and Edward couldn't watch as fate decided on a path to go in a sea of unpredictability. Breaths of anguish came from Aster as well, just as anxious as them. His aim needed to be perfect. Within a second, the frozen shards made their impact, and everyone was set to jump for joy, until they noticed that it wasn't Vox who was falling from the sky but a battered Demitris