The Angel of Frost

XVII.

Siberius hovered above the blackened plains of Asraca, flapping the wings on his back that were formed out of ice as dark as the black snow that engulfed the land in an unnatural winter.

"Your orders, sir?" a vile demon to his left asked. The creature wore golden plates of armor, and their purity glowed in stark contrast to his corrupted frame. He wore the marks of an experienced fighter, and he was second in command only to Siberius.

"Search the plains. Scour the lands. Extract information from witnesses, then kill them. Make sure no one who sees a demon will live another day."

"Affirmative, sir."

There was a grim tone in the demon's voice, and fear seeped through his eyes. Siberius wasn't fooled. The demon, like his comrades, took satisfaction in reaping souls, for they would fuel his sadistic nature as he tortured them in the pits of Hell. Though fallen, Siberius detested them with a hate that was almost holy.

He knew that the fear in the demon's eyes was from the knowledge that the nature spirits in Asraca had been corrupted into mindless, deadly beings by the black snow. He chuckled to himself. Odd that a corrupt being would fear one as bloodthirsty as it is.

He raised an open hand, and tendrils of black ice emerged from his palm and raced into the plains. A storm of black snow engulfed the plains of Asraca, uprooting trees and destroying homes. He felt the spirits swirling within the storm, pulled by its winds, but refusing to submit to his control.

Be mine.

And with that single thought, shards of obsidian ice speared into the spirits, embedding themselves into their intangible forms. With sense hidden to mortals, he could hear their screams of agony as the ice seeped into their very cores, corrupting whatever little had been spared by the appearance of the black winter.

By the time the storm had dissipated, every spirit had been rendered frozen in a cocoon of dark ice, which allowed movement only if their intent was to serve Siberius' whims.

"The spirits serve me, demon. Go, search without fear."

The demon didn't need much coaxing. He sped through the air towards the plains, pulling in his wings to increase his speed. His vile brothers flew after him in swarms akin to locusts.

He smiled. As vile as the demons were, they were quite eager to serve someone with more power, if their whims matched his.

Soon, even the snow on Asraca was hidden by the mass of demons searching for humans, and screams and shouts erupted along the countryside as survivors exposed by the black snowstorm were abducted. One group was even preparing to molest a poor girl caught in their claws.

Slightly, he turned his head to the side to avoid the horrible sight. Damned creatures! Don't they have even a speck of decency left in their evil minds?

As his head was turning, his eyes saw a sight worse than the one he had looked away from. A beam of golden light was erupting from a clearing in a nearby forest, penetrating the gloomy heavens in a blaze of holy fire.

He growled as he recognized the light of Heaven. His fists clenched, and the cocoons trapping the corrupted spirits imploded, killing them. He had been too late. Gabriel - or another angel, he didn't care; now he detested them all - had found the farmer and the druidess. He also sensed a stronger presence in that beam, someone powerful, other than Gabriel.

Lucifer would not be pleased. The farmer's blade and the druidess' affinity to nature were crucial to the demon lord's plans.

He'll scream at me again, enraged at how I have failed him another time. Let him waste his breath. Soon, Gabriel's actions will surely help our plans. Living mortals who had entered Heaven almost always never remained sane.

He felt a prick, a slight pain in his mind. It was from a distant memory. Almost...always? And who would be the exception?

He wished to search his memory, but Lucifer had warned him that past memories could sabotage their plans. He craved the power the demon lord's schemes offered, and he had reluctantly agreed not to think of the past.

He was filled with doubt now, though. He was sure there was something important buried in the past, something that could help him...

*

Hasuma wandered the streets of Namata, peering fearfully into every corner and looking behind her, half-expecting to see a crazed nymph dash at her with grasping hands and crimson eyes.

She had woken up earlier in some nondescipt corner of the city. She was in a part where the middle class usually lived, and she had wondered why the streets were deserted, covered in frost, and unusually cold, when she remembered everything.

At first, she had called out Levi's name, hoping to find him. After hearing a few odd noises that sounded suspiciously like throaty growls, though, she had elected to continue wandering the streets in a more silent fashion.

She knew she was hopelessly lost. The area she was most familiar with was the palace grounds, and she had never wandered deep into the city, only when visiting the citizens for publicity, and even then she hadn't gotten far.

She was wondering what to do about the ominous presences she sensed around her when she felt a familiar aura. Levi!

She swam faster, turning a few corners and knocking a few frozen clay pots, when she saw him, his demonic frame turned away from her. He stood in a square, which was completely abandoned except for the both of them.

Now that she was closer, she hesitated. She now felt a more sinister cloud around his aura that she hadn't noticed.

"Levi?" she asked in an uneasy tone, her body strung out with intense tension.

"Hasuma?" Levi replied, and his voice was happy. He still didn't turn, though.

"Are you okay? What happened? Where's Lissandra?" Hasuma asked, spitting out questions in relief, thinking nothing was wrong.

She knew she made a mistake, though, when Levi finally turned.

His eyes were a deep blue, as dark as an undersea trench. Scales now covered his entire body, giving him a reptilian appearance. His wings were more jagged and sharp, covered in hard, shining aquamarine scales. There was no mistaking the malicious intent in his eyes.

"I'm so glad I found you! Could you please come with me? I'm afraid I have to take you to Lissandra's palace."