Deep in the forest, about an hour's distance from the Netherim Fortress...

  Mina was running alongside Nox.

  Nox had already shed her black cat form and was running in her cat-eared beastkin shape. But Mina was reaching her limit. When she spotted a rock by the roadside that looked easy to sit on, she couldn't help but sink down onto it.

  "Whew, that was close...!"

  Mina sat down on the rock, breathing hard. Nox, by contrast, showed no signs of being winded at all. She stood beside Mina with a cool expression on her face.

  "I think Verglies was planning to capture you, Mina."

  When Nox said this, Mina wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, still breathing heavily.

  "Yeah... I figured he would."

  Then Nox leaned her face close to Mina's—so close their noses nearly touched.

  "When you carelessly walked right up to Verglies, I was a little shocked."

  Nox struck a slightly stern pose. Mina hastily pulled away, waving her hands as she backed up.

  "I-I'm sorry! I was so focused on trying to convince him!"

  Instead of answering, Nox let out a sharp huff through her nose, then smiled. She turned her gaze toward the Netherim Fortress.

  "But nobody's chasing us from the fortress. I think Verglies is probably wavering after hearing what you said, Mina."

  "Then do you think we can stop the war?"

  Nox nodded.

  "At the very least, there won't be a war tomorrow..."

  With Nox's stamp of approval, Mina looked up at the sky, unable to contain her joy.

  "I wish they'd just give up on the war entirely."

  Nox nodded in agreement with Mina's words.

  "Mina... for now, let's head back to Lady Lilisia. We can figure out the next step from there..."

  At that moment, something caught Nox's eye and tension seized her face. An unfamiliar man was standing right behind Mina.

  "Mina! Look out! Behind you!"

  Nox shouted and leaped into the air simultaneously, rushing toward Mina.

  The man was holding something like a ball in his hand. When Nox saw it, she screamed.

  "I won't make it in time!"

  The man hurled the ball at Mina's feet. It struck the ground and burst open, creating a black hole in the earth. The hole whipped up wind like a tornado, sucking in the air and pulling Mina's body into its depths. Beyond the hole was nothing but pitch darkness—to Nox, it looked as dark as the bottom of hell itself.

  "No—Mina!"

  Nox leaped up and stretched out her arms to grab Mina, but she was a split second too late. Mina's body was already inside the hole.

  Nox's hands clawed at empty air.

  "Damn it!"

  On instinct, Nox drew a pistol from her hip and threw it toward the hole. The gun was sucked into the black void along with Mina.

  "Nox—!"

  Mina's cry was the last thing heard before the black hole sealed shut.

  "Mina!!"

  Nox clenched her teeth so hard they ground together, squeezing her eyes shut.

  But the moment she landed on the ground, she instantly switched gears and fixed a fierce glare on the man.

  She could see him floating a halo above his head and beginning to spread white wings. Nox launched herself into the air after him.

  "Shadow Wire!"

  A black wire shot from Nox's left arm.

  "Aagh!"

  The angel, his wings tangled in wire, spun around and glared at Nox. This was none other than Cassiel—the angel who had been tracking Mina on Seraphim's orders.

  He had planned to take flight the instant he threw the ball, but Nox was far too fast. The Shadow Wire coiled tight around Cassiel's body, and he crumpled to the ground with a groan.

  Nox straddled Cassiel's back, gripping his wings with her claws extended. In an instant, his wings were stained red with blood.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "What did you throw at Mina?"

  The man let out a sneering laugh.

  "That was a gateway to hell... connected to a special room."

  Nox, consumed by rage, tightened her grip around Cassiel's throat.

  "Take me to that room—now!"

  She shook him violently, but the angel just laughed dismissively, refusing to take her seriously.

  "It's too late... An Archangel named Batanel is waiting inside that room. Mina is as good as dead."

  Nox's face went pale at those words. Seeing her expression, Cassiel grinned.

  "The space your friend got sucked into is a magical artifact called a Dimension Grab. It's an arena where only the victor can leave alive. Even if you do see your friend again, it'll be as a corpse."

  Nox squeezed her eyes shut in shock.

  "There has to be something... some way..."

  Cassiel shook his head.

  "No chance. Your little friend is probably being tortured in there as we speak. You'd better run while you can. Once the girl's dead and Lord Batanel comes out, he won't let you live either."

  Those words sent the blood rushing to Nox's head. Her vision turned crimson, and she couldn't think straight. She released Cassiel and staggered to her feet, then dragged his bound body along the ground as she screamed.

  "Aaaaaah...! AAAAAGH!"

  Nox clutched her head and writhed. Overwhelmed by fury and tormented by guilt for failing to protect Mina, she clawed at her own hair, raking her scalp. Her nails must have broken the skin—blood began trickling down her forehead.

  Watching this unhinged display, Cassiel was seized with terror at Nox's madness.

  "Wh-what the hell is wrong with this one...?"

  Then, before Cassiel's eyes, black fur began to spread across the small girl's body.

  "What... hey, what the hell is she...? Someone help me!"

  As Cassiel watched in horror, Nox swelled in size, transforming into an enormous demonic beast—a massive black cat with jet-black fur.

  "She's a monster... oh god, she's a monster!"

  Nox bared her fangs and snarled. She fixed Cassiel with a piercing glare, then opened her blood-red maw wide, showing her teeth.

  "AAAH! Help me! I'll tell you everything! I'll do anything!"

  Cassiel screamed, but Nox was no longer in her right mind. Her fangs sank into Cassiel's body. Her claws tore through flesh.

  "GYAAAAH—!"

  For a long while after that, Nox raged like a creature possessed. Cassiel's screams echoed through the air alongside her. In the quiet forest—human shrieks and the growls of a beast...

  When she came to, Nox was standing there, drenched in blood.

  She stared at her own crimson-stained hands. Tears streamed down her face.

  "Mina... please... come back alive."

  Nox fixed her gaze on the spot where the dark hole had been just moments ago.

  ◆

  "Aaaah!"

  Mina was being sucked through a dark tunnel.

  The sickening feeling of falling through darkness. Through the shrinking opening of the hole, she could hear Nox's screams.

  "Mina!"

  Nox's voice grew faint.

  Then the hole closed completely.

  "Where are you taking me?!"

  Mina was on the verge of tears.

  A strange sensation of weightlessness in the dark, with no way to tell which way was up.

  Only the sound of wind.

  As she slid downward, she managed to grab hold of the magic pistol Nox had thrown—the Shadow Reaver.

  "Nox..."

  The cold touch of metal made her feel as though Nox was still protecting her from afar. Mina gripped the pistol tight with both hands.

  After a while, she slid down into a pitch-black room.

  It was roughly the size of a tennis court.

  Completely black with no lighting—and yet, strangely, there was a dim glow. She could make out her surroundings well enough.

  As Mina peered into the darkness, she saw a muscular man sitting in a chair on the far side of the room. The sight of him made her flinch.

  "You're Batanel?"

  The man rose from his chair and smirked.

  "Oh? You know who I am? Mina."

  "Of course I do! You're the one who killed—you're my enemy!"

  Batanel laughed heartily as he walked to the center of the room.

  "This room is an arena. Neither of us can leave until one of us is dead. But there's a special exception. If you surrender before we fight, we can both walk out."

  "What do you mean, surrender?"

  Batanel smirked.

  "The device. Hand over the device... and I'll let you go."

  "I don't have it! I swear! I gave it to Verglies!"

  "Hahaha. You're a terrible liar, Mina."

  Mina clicked her tongue and opened her shoulder bag.

  She pulled out a small triangular object—something like a music box—and tossed it to Batanel.

  "Well, aren't you cooperative..."

  Mina shrugged.

  "If you already know I have it, there's no point in pretending."

  Batanel sneered at that. He examined the device, turning it over in his hands and tilting his head.

  "But there's no guarantee this is the real thing."

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "Prove it's authentic. Otherwise, I can't let you leave."

  Mina glared at Batanel, clenching her teeth.

  "Press the button... at the top of the triangle. It'll activate after a moment."

  "This button?"

  Batanel carelessly pressed the button. Instantly, the device began draining magical energy, and Batanel doubled over, clutching his chest.

  "Urgh—!"

  As Batanel gasped in pain, Mina called out.

  "The button! Press the button again!"

  Batanel jammed his finger onto the triangular apex once more.

  He released the device, breathing heavily. The draining sensation subsided, but Batanel was still panting.

  "I see... I definitely felt something being drawn out."

  Batanel straightened up and glared at Mina.

  "Now that I have the device, I have everything I need. You're no longer of any use."

  Mina glared right back.

  "You thief!"

  Batanel smiled with smug satisfaction.

  "In the world of angels, there are many rules and regulations. It is the duty of angels to uphold and enforce them. You killed Canconel, and you've broken plenty of other laws. You must be judged."

  "Big words coming from a con artist. You just lied to a child and stole from her... Shouldn't you be the one on trial?"

  Batanel slowly shook his head.

  "Those who disrupt order must be punished. I am the one who passes judgment—your opinion is irrelevant."

  "That's what every bully says."

  Batanel smirked.

  "This isn't bullying, Mina. You've committed real crimes. Criminals who refuse to accept their guilt always resort to criticizing us."

  "Excuse me? What crimes? Don't make me laugh!"

  But Batanel wasn't listening. He began swirling a vortex of air in the palm of his hand. Mina broke into a cold sweat at the sight.

  Batanel grinned at her.

  "Lightning magic, you see, is performed by combining water and wind magic. Like this... you use wind magic to freeze water into ice, and when the light ice crystals and heavy hailstones collide, they generate static electricity..."

  A miniature tornado swirled to life in Batanel's hand.

  He smirked. Raising the spiraling vortex of light before his face, he fixed Mina with a cold stare.

  "Because of you, I fell out of Lord Seraphim's favor. The only way to restore that trust... is with your life."

  Batanel raised his right hand high. In his palm, a ball of wind crackled with lightning.

  "Take this! Thunder Net Cage!"

  Batanel slammed the lightning ball into the floor. It expanded into a net of electricity that stretched seamlessly from floor to ceiling. The electrified mesh hurtled straight toward Mina.

  "What is this—there's nowhere to run!"

  Batanel bared his teeth in a grin.

  "This is your punishment for a child who dared to mock an adult. Prepare to be diced, Mina!"

  "I knew it—adults are nothing but liars!"

  Mina glared defiantly at Batanel.