The plot thickens

There Angel was sword in hand provoking the bird man beast thing and there the beast was staring back at her head cocked like a pigeon eying a piece of stale bread. The beast smiles at her lifting it's hands up and throwing air blast after air blast towards Angel. Angel rushes forward with dexterity slashing at the air every time she knocked one of the invisible air blasts away the ice from her sword chipped away only to be reformed not even a second later. Angel slowly advances on the beast who seems to be playing with her just like the wind he keeps dodging and weaving smoothly making Angel believe she's close to hitting it but to no avail. Angel comes down with her ice sword trying to slash the beast at the top of its head but it simply turns sideways. As she retracts her sword the beast squares it's shoulder and shoots it's arm out hitting Angel square in the diaphragm.

She coughs up unable to breathe in a good amount of air the beast however gives her no room to recover hitting her with a right hook a left hook a knee to the stomach and the top of its foot smacking the bottom of her chin in an uppercut fashion she's propelled straight off the ground for about two feet and brought to the ground squarely on her back. She lets out a gasp as even more air escapes her lungs

'Hngghh my body I thought it was fast befor-'

She wasn't allowed to finish the thought as the beast straddles her hips and started to drop elbows square to the center of Angel face. Taken back by the sudden assault all she can do is lift her forearms so the third strike can't hit the bridge of her nose. The blood from her split nose was slowly trailing across her face and almost into her eyes. The beast grabs her right arm and and pulls it to the side on top of itself it's ankle crossed against her chest.

'Oh Christ now it's just playing around with me why didn't master teach us more fighting and less aura control'

She tries pulling her arm away from the beast but instead it arches its hips upwards pulling her wrist closer to its chest. The pain was unbearable Angel could feel her elbow about to pop in the opposite direction. Doing the one thing she could think to do to release the pressure she coats her fingers in ice like nails and stabs the shins of the beast. It didn't stop the pain however it did make the beast flinch allowing Angel to capitalize she rolls and plants her fist squarely in the center of the beast face.

'Mhm payback feels good'

She does it again as the beast is dazed just like Angel by the third hit the beast was blocking it face. Angel was doing her best to match the assault from earlier and raises the beast up on an ice pillar until the beast was eye level.

"Sup bird brain"

As soon as the last syllable left her mouth the ice was gone and the beast was falling to the ground from five feet up in the air. And just like Angel the beast had the wind knocked out of it and the grip around Angel's arm was released. Angel takes short fast steps back wanting to gain distance from the beast. Slamming her hands to the ground a row of spikes come from the cave floor towards the beast with the goal to skewer it. The beast rolls to its side the ice barely cutting its back using the wind the beast right itself into its feet. Angel isn't letting up a flurry of kunai make way towards the beast but pushed to the side the second they got within a foot of the creature.

She stops realizing she's just wasting energy as the beast was shielding itself with air. The beast raises its hands to its helmet. Angel rushes forward not wanting to get by another air blast. The beast starts frantically waving its hands back and forth desperately trying to stop Angels advance. Confused as to why Angel stops for some reason maybe she can trust it now? She still wouldn't let her guard down completely that would just be stupid but just enough to stop her advance.

The beast raises its hands to its helmet Angel's grip upon her sword tighten waiting for anything to happen. The beast slowly removes the mask, everything was going in slow motion for Angel it felt like an eternity before the beast revealed its horribl-

'it's Chan' she realizes

the swords melt away the adrenaline from her body dissipates quickly she falls into a sitting position. Staring up at Chan's face and get really only one thing comes to mind.

"Hey there Chan so you're some type of a bird furry?"

Taken aback by the accusation he starts vigorously shaking his head a frantically moving his hands around Angel had seen this a few odd times and knew it to be sign language however she never learned.

"Is talking to you always like a game of charades"

Chan was quite used to this not very many people spoke sign language... well 'you can't really speak a language with your hands can you' this was always his thought process. Only a few things made it into his brain how much he took speaking for granted, how much he would talk if he could, and how annoying it was that nobody knew sign language. Adam was fine after a year of traveling and being something of his interpreter Adam and Chan somehow made a secret language between them only they could understand. More than anything Chan missed his voice it'd been so long that even he'd forgotten what it sounded like.

Angel noticed Chan seemed to have zone out after her charades comment trying to bring him back to reality she clears her throat pressing on

"Right then so what exactly are you doing here besides exhausting me on an already tidious task?"

Chan holds up one finger signaling her to wait a second and with the wind at his finger tips writes into the ground "test = multiple parts"

"So multiple parts to this test. So not only do I have to make it back I have to fight the others."

Chan nods Angel rubs her forehead

"Wait Chan if you could've written into the ground this whole time why didn't you"

Chan scratches the back of his head sheepishly she could tell he only thought about it at the moment.

"Ok back to the topic at hand. Im guessing Virgil is somewhere out here too do I have to fight him as well?"

Chan shrugs.

"Thanks Chan. So how did I do because you did kinda give me a decent thrashing my nose is still leaking blood and my back is killing me."

Chan puts a thumbs up and waves goodbye.

"Wait Chan where am I supposed to go from here!?"

Chan looks back shrugs and flies off Angel looks up dumbfounded now that she wasn't in danger it was amazing to think that Chan could fly. Pushing the amazement out of her head refocusing on the task at hand sets off walking again deeper into the cave with no one else but her own thoughts

'Jeez I'm tired my neck is swore my face hurts when I breath. Chan is a pretty great fighter and the way he can use air was really impressive' she thought back to Adams introduction of Chan.

'Well just like Kazaki Adam left a lot to be imagined if I had to assume he can manipulate air or something like that? He can definitely do more than a light breeze his power was insane. Enough to chip ice he even stopped me in mid air like I was on flat ground.'

About twenty minutes in the cave she sees a light it was warm and orange it seemed to be calling out to her. Unable to resist her curiosity she walks towards it an finds herself in a circle of braziers within them a warm orange glow. She was in an open part of the cave it had a low roof that was about six feet above the ground. Angel looked across the opening towards the opposite direction she had came in from. The only expression written in her face was one of morbid curiosity as she saw a giant door with horrific imagery. It depicted war in the most gruesome of detail, bodies being torn apart by the bare hands of men, crucifixes being erected, demons we pillaging and having their way with human women and men alike. Angel was thoroughly frightened after taking in the whole image the realism of the raised brass gave her a feeling of dread as if she was in the scene laid out before her. The feeling of dread is thick in the air a pressure of anxiety is pushed upon Angel.

All the brazier are blown out by some invisible force the whole situation was too much for Angel to comprehend so she did the only thing her body let her do. She falls to her knees and screams at her screams the braziers reignite she stands to run away. As she turns she hits an invisible wall her eyes go wild as she runs along it into a brazier she knocks it over falling to the floor as she sees the contents. Viscera and bones she scoots backwards

'What the hell is this place this energy just seeped into me and caused panic'

During her frantic motions she bumps into a set of legs. Freezing up she tilts her head back at the and sees the face of the man standing behind her. The owner of the legs is wearing a hood along with a gas mask covering his face horns sticking protruding through the hood. The being speaks his voice a whispering echo reverberating off the walls making the braziers dicker with the sheer power of his words. "Welcome little Angel I've been waiting many a long years for a glimpse of the white hair offspring."

He his voice cut her ears like a knife it was a language she couldn't understand but comprehended all the same. Panic and terror written across her face she attempts to steel herself but her voice betrayed her as it came out as little more than a quivering whisper.

"What do you mean? who are you? where are we?"

Angel was silently making an ice knife she'd been scared before however she would not give in easily.

"Shh sh sh sh all will be answered soon. Perhaps sooner than you hoped the answer will come when not questioned now please sweet girl just gaze into my soul."

The man grabs Angel by the hair head butts her stars was all she seen before her vision focused the man, obviously not of this world, stays locked his eyes showing her the most horrific of images. Worse than that of the morbid door. As the door was just the picture this being was giving her the experience of it all.

"Only with an empty head free of sanity can one understand what is and isn't. I've been free of sanity since I've heard your story I know I had to find you I just never assumed it would be this easy though."

At this Angel's will crumbled and pure desperation took hold of her she had her knife in hand frantically stabbing the being's leg over and over again. Black blood with the consistency of tree sap slowly came out. After seeing it had no effect Angel finally realized this wasn't a man but something more a force of nature of sorts. With the realization she let out a choked sob calling the name of the one person she could think of.

"V-... virgil h-help"

Angel has a vision but slightly more defined as if she was in the past reliving it again. Fires were all around people screaming running for their lives only caring about themselves as they left babes and loved in their wake.

A village was getting raided by demons bodies were piled up the sounds of metal striking metal resounded through the air dissipating the smoke as more came from the burning houses. There was a man fighting a demon the man puts his sword through the demon turns and looks straight at Angel and Virgil.

"STOP STANDING TAKE YOUR SISTER AND RUN!"

Angel feels the grip on her hand tighten as her arm is tugged on she and Virgil run the opposite direction running past demons eating. The screams of people inside houses burning babies crying kids screaming. They kept their pace trying their hardest to ignore the chaos around them. Angel trips on someones detached arm finally the shock and adrenaline of what's happening wears off. Angel looks down eyes flooding with tears she looks back up and sees Virgil tears streaming they were only six seeing the ruin and strategy of war. Virgil slips, because of Angel's dead weight on the ground, he turns around his face and simple rags caked in mud and blood. Letting out choked sobs as he speaks to her.

"Come on w-we have t-to r-r-run"

Strangely angel is relieved to see Virgil weak and crying it let her know she wasn't the only one feeling the effects of the chaos around her. She stands up and they set off outside of town.

Angel returns to her current situation on her knees crown to crown with the force of nature in the shape of a man in front of her still holding onto her by the neck. He licks his lips in ecstasy a moan of pleasure lacing his words "sweet sadness and trauma I feed from it I must have more."

He stares deeper the fire and images in his eyes growing Angels nose bleeds a steady stream of crimson liquid she screams in agony as he pries.