Haneul had no choice but to clutch tightly onto the deranged angel’s legs as he soared over the city with her tucked beneath his arms, shuddering with the cold that had arisen from the high altitude. She felt dizzy and nauseated with the impossible height; the world below her was a confusing smudge of colors and shapes. It was nothing like when she flew with Baro. That had been peaceful, enjoyable, and she could feel the love and kindness as he handled her; no, this was much different. As she dangled helplessly from the angel’s hard grip while he sped across the sky like a demented jet plane, she could feel his hate and malice burning within that gorgeous body of his. She was nothing but a tool to him, a means to an end for her beloved’s destruction. Tears stung her eyes, partly from the harsh wind stinging her face and partly from the bitter hopelessness of her situation. As she peered through her thick lashes down at the muddy splotch that was the city she had called home for the last eighteen years. For a moment, she considered thrashing about, forcing him to release her and plummeting the many miles to the ground to an instant, painless death.

That won't solve anything, she thought miserably. Even if I die, he'll still go after Baro. But if Baro dies… He'll get the chance for salvation… the thing he wants most in the world. The thing I want for him. It was a mess, a bloody mess, and Haneul was just so tired of it all. It wasn't fair. All she and Baro wanted was happiness; what kind of God would deny them that? Haneul had done nothing but right her entire life, and Baro regretted his past life with everything in him. Wouldn't a merciful God just let them be? Why would he just let Dong-woo do as he wished?

Unless… Unless this is a trial. Isn't that the kind of thing God did? It was all just so confusing. She couldn't reason anything out; nothing made sense anymore. All that she knew was that Baro loved her, and she loved him. She opened her eyes to glance down at the smudge of Earth once more, finding that the world had been split between the brilliant blue of the sea and the brown of civilization, with a thin white line of beach between. That is what I have to believe in. Though everything else was uncertain, no matter what the true circumstances were, she and Baro had one another. That was enough for her to shakily breathe in and steel her resolve, and dry her tears. Suddenly, Dong-woo banked sharply, his silver feathers streamlined against the wind as he spiraled down to the earth. Gradually, the world came back into view, and she recognized the jagged, rocky expanse of the cliffs that Dong-woo had brought her to the first time. It was almost ironic; what sort of attachment did he have to this place that would make it the site of the decisive battles? She didn't wonder too much about it, because it wasn't like she could ask him.

“Ungh!” she cried as he landed roughly against the rocky ground, his arm digging painfully into her gut. She coughed loudly as her middle burned with pain, but the angel ignored her discomfort and tucked his wings behind his back and looked impatiently out at the horizon. Haneul continued to dangle from his grasp, her feet and hands brushing against the rough, graying surface of the rock formation. She lifted her head wearily to glance up at him, finding his beautiful face morphed into an ugly visage of impatience. At the moment, he wasn't the least bit concerned with her.

“Come on, you pathetic demon… I know you're out there,” he scowled at the brilliant blue sky, his dark eyes searching the cloudless expanse for any sign of Baro. Haneul began to squirm, tired of being treated like an errant puppy or a bag of potatoes, and when he tightened his grip on her without even looking down at her, she did what any sensible girl would do- she whipped her head about and sunk her teeth into his leg, ripping through the pristine white fabric of his suit to sink into the soft skin below. Blood spurted into , but despite the sickening taste of iron, she refused to release. Dong-woo cried out in anger and jerked his leg in an attempt to shake her off, and when she defiantly resisted, her used both arms to forcibly pry her off and then tossed her ruthlessly into the air. She landed roughly on the unforgiving ground, and the harsh landing made her cry out in pain and shock. She groaned as she rolled onto her back, her right side scratched and bruised from the sharp daggers of rock, before she forced herself to sit up and glance at the angel. He was standing there still with his hands balled up into fists, his lovely white suit slowly being stained red by his own blood. His expression was thunderous; she had never seen such pure rage on someone's face before, and her bravado quailed for a moment in the face of such unbridled anger. She stiffened as he suddenly jerked, as if coming out of a trance, and began stomping over to her.

“Hey!” she cried in objection, scooting backwards and raising an arm in a miserable defense, then screeched as he snatched her up with brute force, his fingers digging into her raised arm as he dragged her to her feet.

“You miserable little ,” he snarled, bringing his face close to hers, and she just stood there in shock as he held her up by her arm. “You bit me! How dare you! What makes you think that a pathetic, lowly, disgusting creature such as yourself can lay a hand on me, let alone bite me?” Haneul thought that her bone was going to snap underneath the incredible force with which the angel was clutching her arm, making tears rise to her eyes once more. No. I can't cry. I don't want to be helpless anymore… She was alone, with no one to save her; now, she had to save herself. She didn’t want to just watch anymore. She had to be the instrument in her own rescue. Biting down on her lip to keep her emotions in check, she set her expression as hard as stone, glaring up at him. “Oh? What's this? You don't have that stupid scared look on your face anymore,” he realized, narrowing his eyes. “You're not shaking, either. What's changed, Haneul? Have you finally realized that I’m right?” He's so deranged and full of himself that he doesn't even realize that I’m angry!

“Don't kid yourself, you psycho. I just realized that I’m not afraid of you,” she growled up at him. His eyebrows slowly crept up his head and his expression calmed, as if he was gradually processing what the girl was talking about; then, in an instant, the murderous rage snapped back onto his expression, and he threw her backwards with a disgusted growl. Haneul landed on her rump, scratching the palms of her hands as she tried to brace her fall. She gasped as he leaned down over her and grabbed her roughly by the front of her shirt, making her look up at him.

“You should be,” he hissed at her, every word dripping with pure acid. “You are nothing, you insignificant, puny cockroach. The dust beneath my feet is worth more than you and your pathetic kind. All of you- all of you disgust me to no end!” he raged, shaking her back and forth as his anger escalated. “Why? Why does He treasure you so? You are all so morally corrupt, selfish, violent, deceitful, and ugly. All you do is sin, no matter what you do! There is nothing pure about any of you! You are weak, and none of you deserve to enter the divine gates of Heaven! Even you- even you, who had endured so much trial and had remained radiant and pure and untouched by the sin of your surroundings. I hate thought you were different, but in the end you are just like the rest of them,” he snarled. “That demon has you enraptured, and by God, I will not rest until he is dead ten times over for the crime of tainting your soul.”

Haneul listened to the deranged outburst with total silence, bearing the rough treatment with cool composure. When he was finished, he was panting heavily, still holding the girl by the front of her shirt; Haneul's head hung back, giving her a clear view of the beautiful sky above. She was truly amazed. Somehow, the angel had twisted it in his mind that it was all her fault; she had been tempted by Baro’s charms, and needed to be saved. Expressionless, she gazed up at the blue sky, not sure how to feel. Perhaps it was her fault. All of it. Maybe she should have listened to Sandeul more, and voiced her feelings openly rather than bottle them all to inside. Maybe she should have been more insistent with her mother leaving, and the she wouldn't have died, and they both could be somewhere far away right now, safe and happy. Perhaps she shouldn't have let Baro into her heart, gotten to know him, let that smug smile and honey-sweet voice charm her. Maybe she should have done things differently.

But did she regret any of it? Not in the slightest.

“My soul,” she laughed bitterly and lifted her head to look up at him. “My soul. That’s all you people have ever wanted, all you've ever been concerned about. It’s tiring,” she muttered. She then smiled wryly. “You know what's different about Baro? He wanted my heart so much that he was willing to leave my soul alone.” That comment didn't go over well. With an animalistic snarl, he slammed her down into the rocky face, making her cry out despite her desire to not give him the satisfaction. A vein was popping out in his forehead and his face was slowly growing purple with fury, and he crouched over her with his silvery wings flared out, as if he was a threatened animal that needed to make itself look bigger. The way he was standing, the sun was to his back, and it made dark shadows form on his person; Haneul thought it was quite appropriate. She gritted her teeth as his grip on her shirt tightened, pulling the fabric uncomfortably around her body.

“Pathetic girl! Demons can't love!” he shrieked at her, and Haneul remained still even as spittle splattered across her face. It was a wonder she had even been afraid of him before. Now she just pitied him. What had led him to be so lost, only defined by his sense of duty? Dong-woo had just dissolved into almost a manic state. “Demons don't retain a shred of their humanity! They exist only for one purpose, to commit vile acts against God! This love of yours is nothing but an intricate farce to get your soul!”

“You’re wrong!” she shouted back at him. Now she was getting angry. Why was it that he could not see it? All of them saw it- Jinyoung, Sandeul, even Gongchan, who was an angel himself. What was so wrong with a demon having humanity? “I don't know about all demons, but Baro is different! He feels sorrow, and love, and pain, just like everyone else! Humans, angels, demons- there's no difference! The boundaries aren't black and white like you think!”

“Insolent girl!” She gasped as he suddenly struck her savagely across the face with his open palm. “How dare you compare divine beings such as ourselves to scum like you, and even worse, to those abominations from Hell!” As her cheek stung terribly, she could tell that she had hit a nerve. “It isn't true! He's gotten into your head, and I’ll beat it out of you if I must!”

“What the Hell is wrong with you?! Why is your head so thick that you can't even consider the possibility that you’re wrong?” Another thwak resounded across the empty cliffs as he savagely slapped her across the other side of her head, with more force this time, leaving her head ringing.

“I am the hand that delivers God's justice! I am absolution! I am righteousness!” he shouted, shaking her back and forth once more. Haneul's head repeatedly struck the rough, rocky ground, and she began to feel the uncomfortable sticky sensation of blood soaking into her hair. When he settled down, her mind was swimming and her breathing was labored. Suddenly she was so tired, like she couldn't keep her eyes open. Stay awake, Haneul. You have to keep your wits about you. “What are you sneering at, little girl? Do you want me to hit you again?” She hadn't realized that such an expression had formed on her face, but perhaps she was just so astounded at his hypocrisy and insanity that she couldn't help it.

“Baro loves me,” she whispered. Slap! Her head whipped to the side, and her skull rang with the force and the metallic taste of iron leaked onto her tongue as her lip busted. “You're wrong. He lo-" Slap! Her head whipped back again, the pain blooming across her face like fire. One of her eyes was beginning to swell shut, and she panted heavily as she glared up at the angel through her meager peripheral vision. “He loves me.” Slap! Slap! Slap!

“Shut up!” he shouted, holding up his bloody hand to strike her once more if she dared speak. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Haneul groaned, turning her head so that she was staring directly up at him. His beautiful, angelic aura had dissolved completely. His hair was in disarray, and hard lines were etched into his pretty skin, and he was breathing hard for exertion. Even his wings were ragged, the feathers sticking out in various directions, their edges almost looking frayed. She was getting to him. She just hoped she could get him to crack without being killed. “You really are a glutton for punishment, aren't you?” he breathed with his eyes wide with pure madness. In that madness, however, danced the slightest smidgeon of fear.

“A girl will go to great lengths to protect the man she loves,” she smirked up at him, blood smearing her teeth, and she braced herself for another resounding slap. Dong-woo just snarled, perhaps regaining some of his composure, and glared down at her.

“He really has ensnared you, hasn’t he?” he hissed. “You know, we've been out here quite a while. Surely he would have come for you by now if he loved you, right? Perhaps he has finally decided that your soul isn't worth it!” he cackled.

“He'll come,” she responded instantly with utter surety. She had no idea what the demon would be up to, but she knew that he would rescue her from the crazed angel's clutches. Dong-woo didn't take very lightly to that, and gave her another good rattle. Haneul fell limp as he held her up afterward, her mind increasingly growing more muddled. She could feel that her hair was thick and matted with her own blood, and she could feel a small puddle of it behind her head; her entire head throbbed with the brutal beating she had suffered. Baro… I can’t do this on my own… she realized finally. This man was beyond reasoning with; only force could get through to him, and maybe not even that. Perhaps, only the angel's death would end this tormenting struggle. The angel mistook her patience for defeat.

“What’s this? Am I finally getting through to you?” he grinned down at her, bringing his face close. Haneul managed to muster up enough strength to chuckle, and the angel growled at her lingering defiance.

“Don't be mistaken. I’ve just realized that you're insane.” Dong-woo snarled at that and raised his hand to strike her, his hand curled into a fist this time. She had really pissed him off now, and she squeezed her eyes shut to brace herself for the blow. One second passed, but there was no hit, and she cracked an eye open just in time to see Dong-woo throw himself to the side, flapping his wings furiously to propel himself several feet into the air and land a few yards away. Haneul blinked as a shadow fell over her, and despite all she had been through she still managed to smile. “Took you long enough.”

“Sorry I’m late,” Baro smiled down at her, crouching over her to gently place a hand on her bruised, blood-splattered cheek. Though the contact stung, she did not flinch or pull away; she loved the feel of his hand against her sensitive skin, and it made her realized that she was now safe. His expression was so full of love, but so full of regret, too. “Look at what he did to your beautiful face,” he whispered, his face screwing up in pain. It then hardened into anger, and he stood up to whip out his obsidian blade, and it sparkled in the sunlight as he stepped over her to face off against the angel. “I’m gonna kill you for that,” he warned, his voice ominously level.

“I'd love to see you try,” Dong-woo sneered back and responded by pulling out his own crystal blade. Though it hurt like Hell, Haneul forced herself to sit up, and held a hand to the back of her head as she wearily watched the two beings square off.

Baro… I tried my best, but in the end, I need to rely on you…

End this. End this for all of us.

I believe in you…