ANGEL'S LANDING | BL

CHAPTER 6 | DISTRICT 17

Arms around Axel brought the silver-eyed flying off the car and falling toward the ground when Callon grabbed Axel just as the demon was about to sink his teeth into Axel's neck. Hitting the hard surface of the road with a thud, Axel gasped for air as the wind was knocked out of him.

Dark orbs stared down at Axel as Callon shielded him from the ravaging demon. Being that close to the half-demon, Axel realized that Callon's eyes were a dark forest green instead of black. Only seeing Callon from afar, one would take his dark eyes as being black, but in reality, they were a deep green.

Upon making sure that Axel was alright, Callon retracted his hand from behind Axel's head, which he used to cushion the silver-eyed's fall, and turned to blow fire toward the demon as it reached the two. While the demon was blinded by the bright flames, Hakken seized the opening to wield one of his daggers across the back of the demon's neck, severing the attacker's cervical cord.

Axel stared at the demon with wide eyes as it dropped to its knees. Its mouth was opened, and its clawed hands were stretched out toward him as if it was trying to complete its kill even in death. A kick in the chest from Callon completed the demon's fall, and it lay on the ground lifeless as Hakken and Eryx rushed to Axel and Callon.

"Are you alright?" Hakken asked Axel as Eryx helped the silver-eyed to his feet. 

Nodding in response, Axel thanked Hakken for saving him with a tilt of his head before turning to Callon who was observing the dead demon. The half-demon's brows were furrowed as he studied the multiple gunshot wounds covering the ravaged demon's body.

"I thought the bullets were supposed to make demons stronger..." Eryx voiced as he, too, studied the wounds.

Hakken shook his head as he looked at the gunshot wounds. The black veins that covered the demon's pale skin originated from the gunshot wounds, and the black haze that surrounded the attacker had oozed out of the wounds. 

"We've got it wrong," Hakken said as he knelt and pulled up the deceased demon's shirt to get a better view of the wounds. "The essence of Hades doesn't make other demons stronger; it turns them into monsters."

"It's the dyre state." Callon's observation drew the attention of the other three.

"You think so?" Hakken asked with wide eyes. Callon nodded in confirmation. "Damn," Hakken sighed as he ran his fingers through his sky-blue hair. "If more demons who are residents of Earth get shot with these and their dyre forms take over..."

"All hell will break loose," Eryx finished.

"More than it already is?" Axel inquired. He could not imagine how it could get any worse. Forces from Hades were already rampaging the city. How much worse could it get?

"A lot more worse...." Eryx voiced in response to Axel's thoughts.

Aish...I'm still not used to that... Axel jumped slightly in reaction to Eryx's out-loud response.

"Sorry, I haven't quite been able to shut it off. I just unlocked it..." Eryx apologized with a dip of his head. "Anyway..." Clearing his throat, Eryx explained, "Unlike angels, demons don't have different classes. Instead, they have something called their 'dyre state.' It's basically a darkness that is locked deep within them. Some learn to control it and can harness it. But if demons who have not learned to control it suddenly have it unleashed within them...it would cause them to turn savage."

The four turned their eyes to the demon on the ground. Axel's eyes roamed from the gunshot wounds to the black veins that crawled through the demon's skin. So, that's what's happening. 

Axel now understood how things could get worse. If Earth thought battling forces from Hades was bad enough, defending the surviving citizens from not only Hades but their savage neighbors as well would quickly prove otherwise.