Tainted

Leo didn't realise someone like Firosah could be so shallow. He knew immediately what they meant when they said, 'tainted,' but chose to play clueless. Maybe they would step on their own toes and prove to be just as untrustworthy as he first thought they would be.

'Huh? I think we'd make good friends.' Leo shrugged and smiled with the most vacant look he could muster. He was going to test this person until they broke, if that's what it took to save himself any future heartbreak or another betrayal.

'That hellfire means you have made a pact with a demon,' Firosah said.

'Actually, it just means I have a demon sponsor. Is there a problem with that, Firosah?'

Firosah's graceful form showed another side that they could muster as they pleased–long, thin and kind of scary. Their neck twitched and they grimaced like Leo's question had somehow infected their entire moral system. They drew holy water from thin air and swirled it above their head.

'Tell me, young Leo.' Firosah created a whirlpool of spinning water that whipped outwards at the edge like a saw blade. Again, Leo had to commend them on their control of the power. And it only just dawned on him that Firosah must have a lot of different pacts with angels to have so many holy water abilities. Unlike the elements of the archangels, hellfire and holy water abilities were rather straightforward. Even Leo could only form his hellfire into hands.

Firosah wound their open palm back, and with it, the whirlpool wheeled backwards. They were ready to strike. 'Where did you come from?' they asked.

'Earth,' Leo said dryly.

'After that, Leo.'

'Oh, I came from Heaven, of course.'

'Of course.' Firosah still held the whirlpool in their palm. They didn't seem convinced. At least Leo knew what their prejudice entailed.

He forced himself to avoid glancing in Jun's direction, knowing full well that the man had come straight from the pits of Hell. Jun had been put in a special place that dark warriors were tortured in constant battle. A paradise of pain, as Jun had described it. Somehow though, the guy was convinced he was wrongly placed there. After seeing the way the man slaughtered his opponents, Leo couldn't possibly guess how he earned a spot in the great pit.

'You seem nervous, young Leo.' Firosah didn't stop working on that whirlpool. More holy water filled it, causing it to grow until it was bigger than many of the giant crystals here.

'Just weighing up whether it's worth talking this out. My other option is defeating you and keeping my end of the deal.' After understanding why Firosah acted the way they did, Leo decided that if he couldn't convince them to drop their judgement on people who fell from grace, they weren't worth bringing into the House of Power. Besides, Jun wouldn't hesitate to finish them off if they even thought of offending his life before the afterlife.

'You seem to have honour, and I know you are a good man, so I don't believe you are from Hell. However, young Leo, you need to understand that any contact with demons is taking on their nature.'

'And you need to understand that I will use any means necessary to get my wife back.' He twirled his blade and lightning split from its metal. 'That's my goal, Firosah. Even the demons here have redeeming qualities. Sure, that doesn't check out with how religion paints them, but at least realise that every supporter in this colosseum is at least a tool for a greater goal.' Leo lowered his stance, ready to charge. The whirlpool had grown so large, he would need to become lightning itself to dodge it. There was only one way through this.

'Then you're going to have to kill me, Leo,' Firosah said, the light leaving their eyes like the end of dusk. Again, they were so dramatic about this whole thing. Leo broke into a run, and Firosah threw the whirlpool of holy water to the ground. The giant mess of water splayed outwards in an all-encompassing torrent. It spread around crystals and tore up the battlefield. Many of the crystals were pulled from their places, ripping through the water with the force of a moving truck.

Leo had his work cut out for him. He needed everything he could throw out at once, and so summoned Loderush in his free hand. He focused, pouring electricity into Nameless like overcharging a battery. Then he arced it downwards. With that, he tried to focus on Loderush at the same time, willing it to hammer at high speed and power. Much to his surprise, he could focus on both archangel powers at the same time. Maybe it was a good idea to refrain from complaining about Firosah's teleportation being too powerful. As his weapons struck the water, he unleashed a wave of shattering Ruh that splintered the whirlpool for just a moment. He dug his weapons into the ground as he rolled forward, then lunged to close the gap between himself and Firosah. The moment was over in a second, and he jabbed Firosah with a cocked knee. The whirlpool dissipated the second they hit the floor, sending crystals crashing down around them.

With that, Leo kept Firosah pinned and summoned Bellestar. It wasn't his style, but he pointed the barrel at their forehead. 'Yield,' he said as he took a sharp, husky breath.

'I would rather die than risk tainting myself.'

'Stop saying that.'

'Saying what?'

Leo felt his face turn into a furnace with frustration and confusion. 'Stop saying you're gonna die. You'll be back soon enough. Maybe you'll have to work your way back here, but you'll be back. Or, you could call it now, and we can work this out.'

'Wait, go back.' Firosah was the one looking confused all of a sudden.

'You'll be back?'

'Yes, that.' Firosah turned their head as a scream rocked out from nearby. Jun finally sunk his blade into his opponent, and the announcer called out the defeat with a loud cheer. Leo's body buzzed, then went numb.

'Leo.'

'Don't say it.' Leo coughed and hacked. His lungs burned. Immediately, Firosah was replaced by an image of Prim. Her dying breaths came back to him. The way she looked at him with such gentleness. The way she guided the same gun he held now to the same spot he held it on Firosah. The sadness in her eyes wasn't because she lost a fight, but because she was about to die.

Prim died.

Prim died for good.

Where would she go after Heaven?

Leo killed her.

Leo was a murderer.

Jun drew his blade from the corpse and made for Leo. The crowd went wild like a pack of starving beasts. Leo's hearing muffled until it heard the tune of his own thoughts. Prim's voice was there–the only thing in his head.

'I won't feel it, promise. The crowd'll eat it up.'