After a mere few minutes the air had been engulfed by the stench of metal and the thick barrier of smoke littering the small village streets.
With his vision blocked he relied on muscle memory to find the orphanage.
He reached the food stall he had recently just left, seeing no sign of the man, only puddles of blood dotted around the street.
Ratella truly wished for the man's safety from the looming death cutting down anyone in her path.
A multiple of thoughts encompassed his mind as he waddled to the orphanage.
How Nova could have committed treason in any form baffled the boy. He was never treated well but he still couldn't even think of the possibility that Nova was involved in the uprising of rebellious traitors spreading across Kathoros.
This wasn't the most concerning part of his theories, their executor's identity unsettled the boy even more than the idea of treason.
Luna, one of the three Seraphim in Kathoros. One of the angels who holds ultimate power in this land of the divine.
"Why would she be here?" Ratella thoughts blasted within his head. "They have the military to deal with matters of treason."
Ratella started to think out loud wanting to distract himself from the streets painted crimson and the many bodies littering the ground reaching out for mercy.
"Hel-p"
"Plea-se God. Forgi-ve us."
Muffled cries of the dying men and women enveloped the silence looming over the village.
At long last, Ratella reached the entrance to the orphanage, its form being cloaked in the endless trails of smoke emanating over the charred exterior.
Wafting the smoke from the entrance and entering he was met with endless bloodshed lining the corridors, corpses all with the same wound.
A single slash to the coronary artery, cutting their lives short instantly. Reducing their lifespan to a mere sixty seconds.
The sight was horrifying, inflicting a sense of nausea to overwhelm his senses and a collection of bile to rise up from his stomach.
He spilled all the contents from his stomach, half disgusted food launching from his mouth adding to the already potent stench hanging in the air.
After a couple minutes, he pushed forward, his brain becoming less sensitive to the terrifying scene.
His bones creaked and ached with every stair pushing through the pain he reached the entrance to the headmistress' office.
The door opened half way, voices coming from inside. Ratella did his best to stay undetected and sneaked into the room using his small stature to his advantage.
A six winged woman stood tall grasping Tila's neck in her hand, her face half covered by a pair of wings shielding her eyes. Her mouth is the only thing visible to the eye.
Two wings sprouting from the back of her head covering her eyes, and four attached firmly to her back. A silver and white garb covering her body stained crimson and scarlet.
Ebony black hair draped down to her ankles, its form silky and well kept not a knot or imperfection in sight. Its condition unbefitting for a warrior stained crimson looking more fit for the head of a noble woman.
A shining symbol hovered above her head, a halo with multiple lines crossing through its holy form.
The Seraphic Form, a mark of terror and admiration for the people of Kathoros.
"Unhand me, filthy usurper!" screamed Tila, scratching and clawing at the woman's arm. Luna remained unharmed, her body unharmed despite the woman's efforts.
"How can you still have this much courage even in the face of death?" asked Luna, looking genuinely confused and curious about the woman's motives.
Ratella was stunned by the divine woman in front of him, her beauty ethereal and divine. Reducing him to a mere statue only good for observing the surrounding situation. He stood in the darkness casted over the doorway, no matter how much he tried he couldn't move a muscle as if he had been petrified.
"I'll never let my mind fall in the face of you, filth!"
"Why do you say the Seraphim are filth?" asked Luna, tilting her head slightly baffled at what her crimes were. "We haven't done anything but follow his word and decrees."
"That's the problem right there. God isn't real and we shouldn't let false prophets decide this country's fate. The Horsemen are knocking on our door and you still choose not to meet them face to face. The Seraphim are nothing but cowards!"
"How can an angel be so dense?" asked Luna, not expecting an answer, just expressing her increasing anger towards the woman's ignorance. "The four horsemen aren't the only threats lurking in Favaros."
"What else could possibly be a greater threat than the four horsemen, stop lying to a dying woman!"
Luna's mouth adopted a frown exposing one of her canines.
"Most of the choir has its counterparts, even you must know that. The sins in direct opposition to the virtues for example. The Seraphim are no expectation of this rule."
"What? Lies! Just an excuse, filthy vermin!"
"Pointless,. I've had enough. Any last words, your dense mind is starting to affect my own."
"Tell me one thing, all mighty Seraphim." stated Tila looking directly into Luna's eyes. "Was the destruction of Nova an order from God as well?"
"It was not, you heard my declaration. It was the Seraphic Imperator order."
"Then how can you -"
Tila stopped herself returning to silence as she locked eyes with Ratella, her eyes emboldening. A single line of sweat dripping down her brow, her squirming growing more desperate and erratic. She felt no fear in the face of Luna but the sight of Ratella in the presence of the Seraphim shook her to the core.
Ratella had no idea of what could have brought on this reaction. Looking into her eyes still unable to move, unsure of what to do and he wasn't sure if any sound would escape his mouth if he tried to speak.
"No, no, no, no. Ratella run away, don't let yourself fall into their hands!" shouted Tila, trying to break the grip surrounding her neck. Pounding her fists against the Seraphim but to no avail, she didn't budge an inch; her attempts pointless only wasting her fleeting energy. "Foolish Boy! Run!"