[Years Ago]

I followed Asil and the others up the mountain. The snow around this part was dense packed. With my short and thin stature, I wouldn't have been able to reach for the top if not for the others clearing the path.

"Hurry up, slow poke!" Liam yelled.

I staggered forward. "I'm coming!"

"Liam, don't be so harsh on Hyo. He's smaller than us," Nolce said as she glared at our brunette friend.

Liam grumbled. "You sound like his big sister or something. The kid will never learn to fend for himself if you keep being protective."

"Liam makes a good point there, Nolce," Asil said. "Hyo needs to overcome obstacles on his own."

Nolce moved her long purple hair out of her eyes sighed. "Alright. Hyo, if you need help, tell us. Okay?"

I smiled and nodded. "Okay!"

"Watch your step. The ground here is very slippery," Asil said as he continued to create a trail in the snow.

We were looking for the legendary Shirokuma. It's a spirit bear said to grant those who find it with whatever they wished. My little brother had been having a tummy ache, so I wanted to ask it to make him feel better.

Liliana was the one who suggested it. Sadly, she couldn't accompany us today as she had a violin rehearsal. Her mother wanted her to become a famous violinist in the future. Lily though hated the violin. She preferred the electric guitar.

If Kohri wasn't feeling sick, I probably would've asked Shirokuma to let Liliana be able to play what she wanted.

Though, there was no way of knowing if Shirokuma continued to live. Apart from the legendary founder of Shirayuki, Kokichi Kuroriku, no one had seen it. My ancestor's wish made the lands that Shirayuki was built on green. Though, the city had since grown beyond the green zone into the frigid lands around it.

Liam grunted as a strong gust nearly blew us back. "Maybe we should go back, Asil. The wind's really picking up."

Asil shook his head. "No. We promised Hyo that we would help his little brother." 

"T-thanks, Asil, but it's alright. I'll just find another way to cure Kohri's tummy ache," I said, smiling slightly.

"You sure?" My eyes widened as he slipped, falling to his knees.

"Asil!" Nolce yelled, stretching a hand out to him.

Asil pushed himself up. "I-I'm fine. We should be at the location the legends say it resides soon."

Liam shielded his eyes from the fierce wind and snow with his left hand. "Well, I don't see any caverns around here."

"The entrance must be buried beneath the snow," Nolce said, kneeling down. She removed one of her gloves and placed it against the snow. Her eyes twinkled. "I think I found one!"

"Great! Told you we needed to push on ahead. Let's go, guys!" Liam said, pushing onwards.

Nolce rolled her eyes. "Wasn't he the one who wanted to go back a moment ago?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

I giggled and followed after my friends.

My eyes widened as I suddenly fell back. The ground beneath me gave me.

"Hyo?" Nolce asked, turned back. She gasped as she realized I was being swept away by the snow.

"Hey, use your powers!" Liam yelled.

"I'm trying!" I yelled as I tried to stop the snow. The most I could do was slow it down.

"You're going to go over the edge!" Nolce yelled as Liam and her tried to stop the avalanche. "Try to fly!"

I turned around and saw the corner of a cliff that the falling snow cascading off. From the look of it, the fall was steep.

The tightly packed snow didn't give my wings enough room to spread out. Flying like this was impossible.

I closed my eyes and I went over the edge, but surprisingly, I didn't feel myself falling. Instead, I felt something holding me up from behind.

"Easy there. I got you, Duke," Asil said with a strained smile. He had grabbed me by the hood of my coat.

I flapped my wings, spinning awkwardly in the air. My flight skills weren't very good still. They certainly paled in comparison to his.

Asil laughed. "You look like seagull!"

I grumbled. "I'm still learning!"

He held out his hand. "Here, let me help you or you'll be flying in circles all day."

I whimpered and grabbed a hold of his hand. He guided me over to the others.

"I think that maybe we should go back after all," Liam said, sighing.

Nolce nodded. "Yeah. Maybe we can find something else to help the little duke."

I stared up the mountain. I'd wanted to meet Shirokuma, but continuing further was too dangerous.

"Okay," I said.

Asil crossed his arms and sighed. "Yeah, that's probably for the best. Guess that we're still too inexperienced to climb this mountain."

"M-maybe we can try when we're older," I said with a slight smile.

He smiled back. "Yeah. Let's try again in a few years. Hopefully, Lily won't have a violin recital, so she can come with us too."

***

[Present]

Asil squirmed as Tetsuya continued pinning him to the floor.

"Unhand me, barbarian!" my childhood friend said, elbowing Tetsuya in the chest.

Agnes's wielder continued to hold on to him. "Not until you say sorry to Hyosetsu!"

"Huh?" Asil and I said.

"He owes you an apology," Tetsuya said, looking straight at me.

"Like Cianio, I do!" Asil yelled as he hit Tetsuya again. This time it was enough to make my comrade in arms flinch.

"No."

I limped forward and shook my head. "I don't want, nor do I need his apology. Not if it's forced like this."

Asil slammed Tetsuya with a blizzard of black snow from his sword.

"That's the only way you'll get one from me," Asil said as he slipped from Tetsuya's grasp. "I'll never apologize to a freak like you."

Ifrit's words echoed in my head. Was I truly all that weird? People kept calling me strange, but I never really gave it much thought after my dad died.

"So what if I am a freak? At least I didn't sell my soul to a demon for power!" I said as I clenched Baldo with all my strength.

Asil scrunched his nose at me. "I did no such thing!"

"Look at your angel tool, dude," Tetsuya said, standing up. "It's as black as your heart."

"You stay out of this!" Asil yelled.

Tetsuya formed a barrier, blocking what appeared to be Asil's rapier. The strange thing was that Asil continued to hold it. So, was it a replica, or a projection?

Cracks ran up the barrier. "He's stronger than I thought."

I gasped. "Wait, how can you use Agnes?"

Tetsuya smiled. "It's similar to Hyoryu. My shield contains some of my abysmal powers."

"An abysmal? Those creatures that attacked Shirayuki?" Asil asked. He laughed and glanced back at me. "So, your ambition knows no bounds. You're willing to ally yourself with an abysmal to reach your goal of becoming grand duke."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I do wish to succeed my mother, but that is not why Tetsuya and I are working together. In fact. I've hated the guy for most of the time I've known him. That said, he is still a better person than you."

Tetsuya smiled. "Likewise." He put his hands on his hips. "Plus, should the guy who accepted power from a demon really be talking about betrayal and ambition?"

Asil scrunched his nose. "You are annoying me, peasant!"

Tetsuya snickered. "Annoying snooty nobles as yourself is what I do best!"

My childhood friend vanished and appeared in front of Tetsuya. My fellow knight defended against his rapier with a barrier, but it shattered soon after.

Tetsuya's barriers were usually stronger than that. His angelic abilities being sealed must've been weakening them. That or he hadn't completely recovered from the wound Ifrit inflicted on him. Or perhaps it was a mix of the two.

The Agnes knight raised his shield, blocking rapier as it broke through his defenses. His eyes were stern, much like his father's when he got serious.

Tetsuya grabbed a hold of Asil with his dragon tail which had sprung from underneath the red poncho he had strapped around his waist.

Asil coughed out saliva as his back slammed against the ground, shattering the stone floor.

I smiled as I recalled how troublesome that tail was during our match.

My childhood friend jumped up but was smacked into the wall by another swing from Tetsuya's tail.

"Is that all you got?" Tetsuya asked, rushing at him. "You accepted the power of a demon and can't even defeat someone who can't use his full power?"

Asil held out his hands, covering the room in a blizzard of ice. "Silence!"

Tetsuya shielded himself with twilight-form Agnes and laughed. "This ice pales in comparison to Satoru's."

"Damn you!" Asil said, appearing behind him.

Tetsuya's tail grasped his rapier and yanked it away. "Look what you did to your poor angel tool. Don't you feel sorry for the angel inside of it."

Asil glared at him. "Why would I? There's a reason we call them tools. They are to do our bidding!"

I gritted my teeth as I recalled my original angels. I'm not sure what would've become of me without them. They had helped get me through the loss of Father while Mom focused on consoling the infant Kohri.

Hyoryu, while annoying, had helped me come to terms with my feelings.

Asil looked up at me and grasped as both Baldo swords glowed bright blue.

An energy other than mana and prana flowed through the sword. It was the same kind of power that Yuri, Ryonoko, and the other Wynagans used, qi.

Tetsuya smiled and held out his shield. An aura of red qi covered it too.

"Let's finish this," my fellow knight said.

I shook my head. "I know that I'm being foolish here as we should be working together, but I wish to take him on by myself."

Tetsuya rubbed the back his neck and sighed. "No, I get it. In that case, have this energy!"

My eyes widened as red energy streamed from Agnes into my katana, turning it purple.

Asil laughed and charged at me. "Like you can defeat me! Your performance earlier was a disgrace! What can a little extra energy and glowing effect do for you?"

Tetsuya smiled and stepped back. "You'll be surprised."

Asil's eyes turned serpentine. "Shut up!" He threw a barrage of ice spears at him, all of which Tetsuya swatted away with Agnes.

"Hey, pay attention to the opponent in front of you!" I yelled, rushing at him.

Asil turned to face me and blocked my katana. He let out a huff as he was pushed back by the force. I on the other hand stood my ground. The shockwaves paled in comparison to those of my battles with my fellow knights.

"That all?" I asked, smirking.

He gulped and slammed his sword against the ground. A torrent of snow flew out of the cracks, sending stones flying in various directions. One of those stones was outright boulder.

I stepped back and slashed the the boulder. The giant rock split before striking me, both halves went flying to opposite corners of the room.

Asil gritted his teeth and ran at me. "How can you still fight?" he snapped, slashing the air incoherently with his claws. He had abandoned his angel tool...

He starting to become more demonic. If I don't finish it soon, he'll be more troublesome to stop.

I flipped my grip on my swords as I closed the space between us. Once close enough, I struck him in the gut with the kashira of my katana, sending him flying into the wall.

My childhood friend spat out blood as soon as his back struck the wall. "W-why did I lose?" Asil asked, gripping his chest as he fell forward. "Mammon's power should've been enough for me to have defeated you easily."

"It's because you sought power without working for it. Strength is earned through sweet, blood, and tears. Those who get it outside of those three take it for granted. Plus, you allowed my words to throw you off. If you had continued to fight without moving, I would've struggled more to grab hold of you. Your ability is strong. Keep polishing it and maybe one day we can fight again," Tetsuya said, walking toward him.

So, he wasn't provoking him without a plan.

Asil chuckled and closed his eyes. "What a weird man..."

I stared at the crystalline sword and picked it up, returning it to his hands. Some of the darkness around it had dissipated, making it dark gray. He still wasn't out of the woods yet, but at least he wouldn't cause us any more trouble for the immediate future.

"What should we do with him?" Tetsuya asked, glancing at me.

"Why are you asking me?" I asked, sheathing both my swords.

"He's your childhood friend, isn't he?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but it was all an act."

Tetsuya patted me on the back. "It's obvious that you still care for him despite that."

Did I?

Tetsuya covered Asil in a barrier and put him on his back. "Let's take him but be cautious. Just in case Mammon possesses him like he did Osamu."

I walked toward the stairs. "Alright. If you think that's for the best."

Tetsuya smiled and ran after me.

I came to a stop. "T-thanks," I muttered.

Tetsuya gasped. "For what?"

Did he really not know? Or did he want to indulge my gratitude?

"For what you said back there." I rubbed my shoulder. "Why did you intervene like this anyway?"

Tetsuya rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I know how it feels to be looked down at." He glanced at his shield. "As a kid, I was picked on for not having an angel tool. Some of my classmates even called me a demon because of it. I ended up getting into a lot of fights because of it and thus didn't have many friends until college." He smiled nostalgically. "But, I did have Serra. Even though he did turn his back on me when it came to the accusation, I still cared for him. Though, the rage of the betrayal still stung. You saw what happened to me last time we were here in Makkuroyama. I almost became what my bullies claimed I was."

I glanced up at the darkness of the stairs. "I see. Well, you aren't a demon. Not like Ifrit and Mammon. I wouldn't even say you're like Asil and Eiichi. Your resolve is stronger than theirs."

Tetsuya patted the hand on my shoulder. "Thanks!"

I smiled slightly. Hated to admit it, but I might've finally understood better why Rosa liked him. No, I already knew the reason from when we trained in Munil. Like Rosa said, he was like the sun.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. Thoughts? Theories?**