*Sigh*


    "So let me get this straight," Raven sighed while holding Silver''s head in her hand. "You''re an angel who has fallen from grace, or rather have been kicked from the Celestial ne?


    "And now you''re trying to destroy this, because it has failed ''the test''?"


    "Yes, your highness," Silver said, not knowing what else to call this girl who held his fate within her hands, quite literally. "I was offered a mission from the seraphim. I could have been epted back into the Celestial ne if I had seeded my mission-"


    "That is none of my concern," Raven interrupted while shaking her head. "First, I care about what you''re saying about failing the test. Second, are you saying that the girl you were talking to was the one who had told you to destroy Earth?" Raven asked with a nk face.


    She wasn''t trying to hide her emotions, no. She didn''t know what to feel about that...


    "Yes, your highness," Silver said again. "ording to the seraph that spoke to me, this has failed their tests many times, and it was time to end it.


    "Also, that angel, err, girl, was actually one of the seraphim who hade to that conclusion and gave me my orders."


    "You''re not making sense," Raven gritted her teeth while tightening her grip around his head, "who are those seraphim? What are they? Why is Maya asking you to destroy the!?"


    "Your- your highness," Silver struggled to speak from the pain, "the seraphim are the angels that are responsible for judging the mortal realms.


    "There are four such angels, and they are called the Seraphim of the End, mostly because those who hear of them end up meeting their end. In the celestial realm, they are known to be the close servants of the Supreme Deity who rules this universe.


    "ording to what I''ve heard from them myself, they have conducted their tests on this and they''vee to the conclusion that it is not worth keeping around… that''s why they want to destroy it."


    Hearing that, Gaia felt fear taking a hold of her. There was no way she or anyone else could stop those Seraphim.


    "You don''t make any sense!!!" Raven almost squashed Silver''s head between her fingers. However, she stopped as soon as she felt blood coating her fingertips since she still needed Silver alive. "Again!! Exin why would Maya want to destroy this? This is her home! Did anyone mess with her memories? What happened to her? Tell me!"


    "Raven…" Gaia spoke slowly as she materialised near her. Touching her hand gently, she smiled, trying to ease the tension on her mind. "I think I can exin… in this universe, there are multiples such as myself.


    "Each has two nes, generally; the Material Realm, which is our Human ne, and the Sinners'' Realm which is our Demon ne." Taking a deep breath, Gaia continued. "I''ve only heard rumours, so Silver, correct me if I''m wrong.


    "But from what I know, I can tell you that the seraphim have the ability to create mortal vessels that are then used to observe the Material Realm, and judge the actions of the mortals there, so-"


    "No!" Raven''s aura suddenly burst out of her body as tears ran down her cheeks. "This can''t be true!"


    Understanding that Raven had quickly grasped her point, Gaia bit her lower lip. "I''m sorry…"


    "No…" Raven''s anger made her body shake as she struggled to keep herself from destroying the bodiless head in her hand, and anything around her for that matter. "Are you saying that Maya was just an illusion? There was never a real Maya? It was just one of those b*stards who want us dead now?"


    "But Raven please think about it," Gaia pleaded. "While I wasn''t always watching you since your arrival, I did witness quite a lot…


    "Do you want to tell me that Maya, if she was indeed a judge… would have been happy about the people living here?


    "Do you remember the poor little girl you met a few years back? The one that was mistreated in various aspects, the one that was tortured, the one who had no one to support her for the longest time… what would her judgment be?"


    Understanding her point, Raven felt her world suddenly shatter apart. Yet, nothing made any sense, or rather, Raven did not want anything to make sense. "No, it can''t be...


    "I saved Maya… I was her older sister, her friend and her... everything, why would she want to destroy this? Will she kill me along with Maria and Axane then? The people who took care of her- wait… what am I saying?


    "What the hell is wrong with me? There''s no way Maya would want us dead! It must be someone controlling her! Maya… I''ll save you, I promise…" Raven tried tofort herself, but to no avail.


    "Raven!" Gaia yelled. "You''re not stupid! You''ve been betrayed before haven''t you? Maya was nothing short of that!


    "She was doing her job as a judge and you were stupid enough to trust her, a girl that you''ve never known before! But guess what, she will end up killing us all!" Gaia was upset rather than afraid at his point.


    Gritting her teeth, Raven looked at Silver coldly. "So what''s going to happen now that you have failed?"


    "Your- Your highness," he stuttered. "I''m afraid that they will either send someone else to finish the job, or… *gulp* or they mighte here themselves…"


    "Good," Raven said before throwing the head to Abbadon. "Torture him," she simply said and he nodded. Not a second after, Silver was sent to the same hell as Lace, his subordinate.


    While Raven could have simply used Soul Torment or any other skill to torment him, she wasn''t in the mood for games.


    "Maeve," Raven called as her Precious Adjudicator instantly materialised in front of her, kneeling. "From now on, you''ll be responsible for leading my army. Gather as many troops as possible and make sure they''re fit for heavybat or good support.


    "I''ll name those who you deem worthy to increase our overall power. And don''t forget that you have subordinates now, meaning that you can order them to help you and gather even more troops."


    "Yes, My Mistress," Mavee bowed deeply before disappearing with her subordinates, meaning that no one was left but Raven, Gaia, and Abbadon. "Abbadon, you will be my personal guard. But for now, you''ll go clear out portals in the Human ne to help Gaia withstand theing war.


    "I''ll count on you to clear out most of them, but at the same time, I''ll send some demons to help you soon," Raven said while trying to calm herself down. She was still trying to figure out a way in which she can tell what she has just learned to Maria and Axane.


    "Yes, Lady Raven," Abbadon bowed. "Would you like me to start now?"


    "Ah, just make sure to take Keith and cer with you," she said. "Actually… I would not mind if you took the rest with you: Maria, Axane, Zeru, and Ae. Keep Liz for me though, I don''t want to force her intobat yet…" while saying that, she remembered that Ian and his small doll will be joining them.


    "Abbadon," Raven continued. "Make sure to let them watch and learn from you as well as apply their knowledge in practice. And needles to say, no harm will befall them, do you understand?"


    "Of course, Lady Raven!" Abbadon instantly said with a bow, understanding how precious those people were to her. But at the same time, he couldn''t help but smile since such a task indicated that his mistress trusts him quite a bit now.


    "Oh, andstly, coordinate with your three archdukes and let them get ready to be named. I want them to be strong on their own to take care of the Demon ne while we''re gone "


    "Yes, Lady Raven," Abbadon said. "If you''ll allow me, I''ll start now then."


    "Uhm, go," she nodded and he disappeared.


    "Raven," Ka called out in a hushed voice as she materialised next to her. "What''s your n?"


    "Eh? I just gave out my orders, what do you mean?" Raven asked.


    "Don''t y ignorant…" Ka said while slowly hugging Raven. "How will you bring yourself into fighting Maya? If that girl is truly her that is…"


    "It is," Raven said with a serious expression. "I''m sure of it…"


    Looking up, at the still red sky, Raven took a deep breath. "And, I will not fight Maya… I don''t think I can bring myself to do something like that. However, I may have to iste her while I try to figure out what''s wrong with her.


    "I''ll have to find out who is the b*stard that''s controlling her," clenching her fists, she felt anger rise in her veins. ''How dare anyone touch my Maya?''


    "I see, and how will you do that?" Ka asked, still hugging her.


    "I am not sure yet… but I''ll find a way. No, I have to find a way!"