A relieved gleam brightened up in Aselica's eyes when Annette sent her the news over the Technomagic Angel Tower. She was doing her rounds and possible clue find where Arch could be. She didn't have the latter anymore: Arch was home. Even though she was advised to be ready about his state, the female angel was nothing but elated by the news.
Midnight came, and she reached the outpost. The drowsy soldiers were roused a little as they saw the bright white wings of the angel that graced them. These soldiers of the outpost once thought that being deployed here was a bad thing. They kept on getting attacked by hordes and hordes of demons; yet the saving grace was quite more than their fears.
Their chief was a beautiful male angel who had a rather kind and gentle heart. He wasn't like the other angels they heard about; he was nothing like those arrogant and conceited celestial beings. Then his new assistant was a cute and bubbly little girl. Energetic as she is, she was like the life of the outpost. Lately, they had been seeing another adorable little girl, but she was a demon so they were a little wary. They also began to see another beautiful angel. She might not be as warm as Arch, but she was learning to be a beacon of sweetness. Then recently, the beautiful princess of their kingdom came to see them. The temporary doctor was also worth the eye-candy, but she was too weird and dangerous to approach.
Tonight, they gazed at Aselica as she roamed the outpost to get to the Angel Tower where Annette should be. The soldiers had seen her rather despairing face days ago, and they couldn't help but to feel down along with her. Now that she was smiling again, their hearts were in a warm frenzy. The new muse of the outpost was again shining in happiness.
These soldiers knew how terrifying an angel could be, but they kept on focusing on their appearances—more importantly now that they just survived another attack days ago.
Aselica could hear their happy hearts as she passed by, but she chose to only smile warmly at them. She headed to the Angel Tower to fetch Annette. She was then guided to the infirmary where Arch, Mitra, Ezekiel and Viska were taken. Setting aside Mediana who was salvaging Mitra's arm, she walked to Arch who was gazing at the wolf with worried eyes.
The male angel lifted his eyes and greeted with Aselica with a small smile. "Aselica."
"Arch, what happened to you?" The female sat on the edge of his bed, taking a hold of his arm. The demonic regeneration veins were apparent, and she loathed its presence on her kin's frail figure. Her gaze swept around Arch's body, noticing multiple cuts and bruises that had seemed to heal a little. She could conclude that his abilities had been restricted.
"A demon named Shamilla did these to me. She was also the reason why Mitra suffered from Sherrkyle's wish to attack." He shook his head. He then turned to the direction of Ezekiel and Viska who were being attended by other medics. Nyx, Crow, and Aisha were seated around them, gazing at Mediana's procedures. "It was a miracle for them to survive with just those injuries. I'm glad they needed not to go through what she had done to me."
"A demon stronger than you..." Aselica's happy eyes turned sorrowful before turning to Mitra's direction. "Suffered from Sherrkyle's wish to attack? What do you mean?"
"Based from what Mister Crow found on Mitra earlier, it seemed that the Sherrkyle had entered its second form to counter the demon Shamilla during our escape."
"S-Second form?!" Aselica's round eyes had become rounder. She then lowered her head and sighed as she convinced herself to stop being shocked by Arch and the Sherrkyle's behaviors. The female angel just then focused on helping Arch with his curse. "We should be able to lift this curse with the help of Orvel's High Priestess."
Arch only nodded, going with her idea. However, he was still worried about the wolf. He was too weak to heal him again. He had spent the last of his magic reviving him from the wound Shamilla had left on him. Since it was inflicted by the Sherrkyle, Annette or Aselica's healing magic might not be enough. All he could do was to place some fate on the doctor fixing him at the moment.
Soon, the wolf was transferred to his room after Mediana successfully infused medicine with magic. Unlike regular healing magic, it would fix cell-by-cell. It might take a while, but at least the pain would be gone first before the scars. His arm's efficiency would be brought back as well—faster than regular healing magic. It was a good alternative for the soldiers of the outpost in the long run.
Even Arch was taken back to his room after finding no immediate cure to the curse Shamilla bored into him. He was forced to rest on his bed alone, momentarily missing the warmth of Mitra's body. He stared at his hands and at his arms—at those ugly purple marks—before sighing. Such defiling thoughts; it must be because of the curse.
If he was under the influence of a demon's maliciousness, would he feel the same way he did earlier when Mitra chose to make advances again? Would he still accept him without reservations, or would he hold him at arm's length?
His eyes closed at the frustration that clouded his mind. All these emotions that was so new to him; it was all attributed to the demon curse placed on him. Everything he had felt during the period it had affected him were too surreal for an angel. But somehow, in the back of his head, he knew none of those were lies—they only came out differently from what he wished to do.
Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep. Voices murmuring on his ears caused him to rouse. However, recognizing the voices talking, he chose not to open his eyes.
"... taking him to Orvel would be for the best. I can tell that you might wish to accompany us, but I doubt the blessing of the Church of Lua would not affect the demon that you harbor. It might be for your best interests to stay here and wait for his return."
"Nope, not happening. The last time I waited, he didn't come home. Besides, I have additional business in Orvel."
"Really? Please do tell."
"It's none of your business, but if it'll help you—I'm going to ask someone to sell me anti-demon artifacts if she had some." Mitra's voice had turned dangerously sharp. "Brute force only breaks that demon's body. There should some way to stop her from regenerating. Also something against a witch would be good."