Olivia hurriedly left the room, sensing that her anger would be corrosive to their cover in Kathoros. The door handle burst into millions of pieces at the slightest contact with her hand. This only heightened the fury brewing in her mind.
"Move!" screamed Olivia. She threw a single punch at the door, annihilating it, completely taking most of the surrounding walls with it, leaving a crater in the middle of the lounge.
The two men at Seraphina's side, twisted with concern and blatant shock, face her absurd strength. Standing there speechless, unable to move, at the ever-growing mysteries circling the pair.
"I'm sorry about her. She detests Devils and especially impurity. Whenever she hears that they are growing stronger, she flies into a rage. Please forgive her behaviour."
"The anomaly showing her might once again. That level of strength couldn't be possible. But it is of no concern that any power will be taken at the moment, no matter the mysteries surrounding it."
Ratella's gaze turned sharp for a split second, thinking Seraphina's questions had a chance of spiralling into full-blown suspicion or hostility.
"We'll join the Luminous Wardens if your offer is still in place. I don't think anything could stop Olivia from hunting down the Heralds of the Apocalypse now that she knows of them," exclaimed Ratella, putting on a graceful smile for the Dominion. However, his mind didn't bear such feelings. All other emotions overshadowed Wariness and caution; in the background, his emotion was a looming fury with every word from Seraphina's mouth. The person he trusted had kept him in the dark about such an important matter.
He would get answers he wanted, whether that be ripping the souls from each Herald or storming Mammon's laboratory to get them himself. Although his mind was yet to choose a route, Olivia's input was needed to sway his decision completely.
"You'll both be appointed as Captains because of your martial prowess shown in the arena. The Luminous Headquarters is under the Star of Light in the middle of Ironstar, past the third gate. These two are your superiors, and most, if not all, orders will come from them."
"I am Samael Vulcan, Lieutenant General of the Luminous Wardens."
Samael had features similar to Seraphina's; their hair was the same, and he had the same habit of talking with his canines on full display.
"I am Barion Heartweaver, Major General of the Luminous Wardens."
Barion was obviously unrelated to the others, with a silky set of blonde hair set atop his eye. His sharp golden eyes glared down at Ratella; his opinion on the man was set from the very beginning. He doubted it would ever change.
Both had four wings matching their hair colors. Barion's particular eye-catching golden and amber colouring was truly dazzling and nothing short of divine.
Samael was the male version of Seraphina, their mannerisms and features being exact replicas of each other. The only telling feature is their differing personalities. Ratella guessed that if Seraphina were to fall in battle, Samel would be the most obvious choice to replace her.
"At the current moment, the Luminous Warden's field surrounds 700,000 soldiers, with most of them being stationed in this very citadel, ever watchful of threats. Please note that while we number many, our overall warpower pales in comparison to the others. We mostly consist of lower-tier angels under us. While useful for defense, they are rather useless when attacking."
"You two will be put in command of an elite unit of the finest angels we have in the Luminous Wardens. Julius Croft has requested to join you as well; you should consider letting him join. An accomplished Captain such as him would boost morale and cooperation."
"I have no issues with allowing Julius to join the unit. What will be my responsibilities as a commander?"
"Your responsibilities will be split between the three of you. You will carry out orders that are given to you, ensure you don't take casualties, and ensure the safety of this citadel."
"12,000 soldiers have been selected as of this moment for the elite unit specialising in defense. It may increase in the future, and you are free to evaluate the applicants whenever you wish."
"Very well, if you have no other concerns, I must find Olivia. We'll head to the Luminous Headquarters in due time."
Ratella hurried out of the bar, beckoning for Memaru and picking him up with a free wing, depositing him into his arms. The three were quite surprised at his abrupt exit and lack of questions.
But gave no protest to his actions, letting him leave. His actions apparently didn't sit well with Barion, who wore a scowl.
His worry for Olivia was being to bite against his consciousness, seeing wasting time with the three as an insult to his new friend.
Memeru let out sorrowful chirps and yelps directed at Ratella, their absence greatly angering the little cub. Ratella didn't give any comfort to Memaru, focusing his whole attention on finding Olivia.
The sunlight from outside temporarily blinded him. Once he opened his eyes, he saw the bloody visage of Olivia standing in the middle of the arena. Her head was down, a couple of tears dropping to the dirt below.
Her arms were riddled with scratches and cuts from her own nails; a few new craters had appeared in the arena. A river of blood dripped from her arms and lips; she had nearly bitten the entirety of her bottom lip off in her rage.
Memaru's chirps and yelps didn't reach Olivia's ears; she was clearly dazed and completely out of her mind. Her fingers still clawed out the open wounds of arms, punishing herself for whatever conflict was running through her mind.
She didn't react to Ratella's encroaching footsteps, not sharing him a single glance, even when he was directly behind her, his wings touching her invisible ones. She showed no awareness of his presence.
He spun her around, facing him. Her eyes were devoid of light or presence, empty. Her expression invited a corrosive sadness to ripple through his body, the expression bringing a tear to his eye.
"It'll be okay," said Ratella, softly grabbing her head and embracing the woman, wrapping his wings around hers. They sat there for a moment until Olivia snapped out of her daze, her shallow breaths growing heavier.
"They abandoned me. I'm supposed to be one of them, but I'm ignored in every decision. It's like I don't exist."
"You exist. Please don't say such corruptive things."
"But I'm the first, why would they ignore me? We're supposed to be family, not strangers?" said Olivia, a stream of tears freely falling from her eyes in his embrace.
"You don't need them anymore. You've got Memaru and me, we'll be your family."
"Really? You won't abandon me like they did, right?"
"No! Whatever you do, I'll protect and stand by you. We will!" exclaimed Ratella softly into her ear. Memaru yelped, backing up Ratella's point.
"Even if my wish was to kill them all and reap their souls?"
"Why not. I have no actual loyalty to Faravos or Kathoros, let alone Liliana; my trust in her has dropped after her devious scheme."
"Why would you help me? You don't even know me."
"Because you remind me of how I was in Nova, alone and abandoned. And I can always get to know you more after. We are Captains in the Luminous Wardens now, so we'll be stuck together for a while longer."
Olivia fully wrapped her arms around Ratella, nestling her face into his shoulder, her wings tightening around his own, ripping the breath from his lungs.
She eventually stood up, releasing her iron grip on his body, a newfound beautiful smile forming on her face before twisting sinisterly.
"We'll kill them all then. The Heralds of the Apocalypse, the Sins, and finally the Horsemen, we'll redesign Faravos in our image."
"If that's what you want in the end, I'll gladly help you achieve it only if you give me your aid in the battle against Primordial Light."
"If you follow me, I'll follow you even into the blinding light of a God."
Whether Ratella would actually follow through with killing the Horsemen wasn't yet decided in his mind. His trust for Liliana had greatly decreased, but he didn't wish for her death just because of a single lie.
His mind was split between Liliana and Olivia. Olivia has considerable power, eclipsing Liliana easily, making her the best ally against the Primordial Light. There was one question in his mind: would he be able to cut down Liliana if needed to defeat the Primordial Light and gain Olivia's aid?
He didn't know the answer yet; unfortunately, he would follow Olivia's path for now. He truly cared for the woman, not just because of her similarities to his childhood, but also because of a strange sense of love and familiarity that was creeping into his mind with every look at the beauty.
"I'll let you know right now, I'm not sure I'll be able to go through with killing Liliana."
"I wouldn't expect you to. We'll annihilate the Sins and Heralds, and if she still insists on defying us, I'll kill her personally."
Olivia's sorrow had quickly shifted into a burning determination to conquer and kill all those she deems enemies. Her ambition is to rule over the weak of Faravos and finally conquer Kathoros. Whether that involved the other Horsemen was completely up to them.
"Traitors to our cause will be met with death."
"Traitors to our cause will be met with death."
The two reaffirmed their ideals, embracing once again and determined to fulfill each other's wishes. One to slay a God and the other to rule.
The two would follow the Luminous Wardens for however long it suited them, playing the roles of dutiful soldiers until the tide shifted, opening a possibility to suit their goals better.