My Soul card is a Reaper-Chapter 751: The world of Irth (part-17)

Later that night;

A soft knock at the door pulled Azzy from his light sleep. He sat up instantly, eyes sharp. The knock came again, hesitant but persistent. He opened the door, only to blink in surprise.

Leiza stood there in the dim hallway, clad in oversized bear pajamas, her arms wrapped around herself. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and her lips pressed into a small, uncertain line.

"What are you doing here?" Azzy asked, keeping his voice low.

Leiza shifted on her feet. "My uncle's plane got delayed because of the storm in Oakland. My maid's on leave because of my trip, and I don't trust those guards." She exhaled, glancing away for a second before meeting his gaze again. "Can I stay here?"

Azzy raised an eyebrow. "Here?"

"I'll sleep on the couch," she hurried to add, holding up both hands like a peace offering. "It's just for four hours. We'll be leaving before dawn anyway."

Azzy hesitated. The idea of sharing a room, even under these circumstances, was unusual for him. But she looked… uncomfortable, almost vulnerable, and that wasn't something he often associated with Leiza.

"Take the bed," he finally said, stepping aside.

Leiza's eyes widened slightly. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. She gave a small, sheepish smile before slipping past him. As she sat on the edge of the bed, she turned toward him. "Sorry and thanks," she murmured before lying down.

Azzy took the couch without another word. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, closing his eyes—but not to sleep.

His consciousness expanded outward. Azzy activated his Aura Sensing, his awareness stretching over the entire city like an invisible web. The pulses of life flickered against his senses—the steady rhythm of sleeping humans, the restless movements of nocturnal creatures. The distant, unmistakable energy of someone powerful.

Then—something stirred.

Azzy's entire body tensed as his Aura locked onto something vast, ancient, and suffocating. A presence unlike anything he had sensed before. It was not just powerful—it was overwhelming, a swirling vortex of malevolence so dense that it threatened to pull him in.

And then, it moved.

Azzy's breath hitched. The presence turned as if it had sensed him sensing it. In return, the presence tries to lock onto his location instead.

"Oh Sh*t…"

Without hesitation, he severed his connection, retracting his aura as if slamming a door shut. He kept his breathing even, forcing himself to remain still. "That was close. If only Leiza wasn't staying here with me, I could have just gone out and lured it directly… but circumstances…"

Meanwhile, thirty kilometers away from his location, somewhere in the suburbs, something monstrous had just become aware of him.

Miles away, standing atop the ruins of an abandoned cathedral, Abaddon smiled.

The fallen angel's presence exuded nothing but malice, a towering figure cloaked in abyssal shadows. His six great wings, once divine, had turned black as the void itself, tattered at the edges like burnt parchment. A faint, eerie glow pulsed from the cracks in his skin, as if something unholy burned beneath.

His golden, slit-pupiled eyes gleamed in the darkness. "Divine aura…" he murmured, his voice a blend of silk and poison.

His gaze shifted downward, toward the two lifeless bodies sprawled at his feet. One was Captain Astro. His once-proud uniform was torn, his body unnaturally twisted, as if he had died in agony.

The other… was the fallen angel Azzy had captured and was taken away by Astro.

Abaddon chuckled, crouching down, his clawed fingers brushing against the corpse's forehead. He tilted his head, inspecting his work, before rising again.

His wings stretched, their shadowy expanse swallowing the dim moonlight. "I bet this is the same angel that managed to reverse the seed of the fallen a while ago. Things indeed just got interesting."

With a single, effortless motion, Abaddon vanished into the night.

A few hours later, Azzy's sleep was interrupted by the sound of soft knocking at his door. His eyes fluttered open, groggy from the restless night. When he saw Leiza standing there, a familiar warmth bloomed in his chest. Without thinking, he muttered, "Claire..."

He reached out to touch her cheek, the softness of her skin stirring something deep within him. But Leiza recoiled, a look of confusion crossing her face. "Rael?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Azzy froze. His hand halted midair, and his eyes snapped open fully as reality settled in. Not Claire. The warmth faded instantly, and the blur of his thoughts shattered. "I'm sorry, Leiza. I didn't—"

She gave a small, understanding smile, though her eyes still held an air of caution. "It's alright, really," she said, stepping back. "Just get ready. You've got 40 minutes."

At the airport, the early morning air felt crisp and unwelcoming, and the low hum of the crowd surrounded them. Azzy, standing beside Leiza, scanned the gathering group. His eyes narrowed slightly when he recognized one of the girls. Ciesta. She was standing with a few others, and the recognition was instant. They had been in the same class.

Leiza glanced at him and gave a small nod. "This is Ciesta," she said. "You know her, right?"

Azzy nodded in return, offering a polite smile. "Yeah, we've met a couple of times during lunchtime."

Leiza gestured toward the others. "And this is Nash Wells," she continued, pointing at the boy standing next to Ciesta, "he's her boyfriend from 12th-C."

Nash gave a brief nod, his posture stiff but friendly.

Leiza then pointed toward two other girls who Azzy didn't recognize. One was tall with brown hair and an easy smile. "This is Wendy," Leiza said, "and her boyfriend Max." Wendy waved cheerfully, and Max offered a polite nod.

The last girl, a petite figure with short black hair, was introduced as Rina. "And this is Rina," Leiza said. "and her cousin Zack is right here." She gestured toward the young man standing awkwardly beside Rina.

Rina's cousin, Zack, hesitated for a moment before offering a strained hello. As the others continued talking, he leaned in closer to Rina. "You didn't tell me Leiza was bringing a guy," he whispered with a slightly concerned tone, his gaze darting toward Azzy.

Rina simply shrugged, not too bothered. "Give me a second." She pulled him back into the conversation with the group. "Hey, Azzy," she said, flashing him a bright smile. "Is he your boyfriend?" she asked, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.

Leiza laughed lightly, shaking her head. "No, no," she responded, "He's just a friend. Nothing more." After a brief pause, she muttered, "atleast, not yet."

Ciesta chimed in from beside her, clearly eager to clarify. "Rael," she began, using Azzy's full name with a smirk, "is apparently a family friend of Leiza's. He lived abroad in Northern Europa until recently. He transferred to our school a little while ago."

Rina's cousin, Zack, studied Azzy carefully, his expression hard to read. "Hmm…" He shifted awkwardly, his gaze flickering from Azzy's height to his physique. Something in him didn't sit right, but he couldn't quite place it. Jealousy? It was hard to tell, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more between Leiza and Azzy than met the eye. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

The group exchanged pleasantries, each person offering a small greeting or comment. The air buzzed with light conversation, but Azzy's attention drifted. He wasn't much for idle chatter, but he smiled when needed, his mind half elsewhere.

Once inside Ciesta's private plane, the atmosphere shifted. The group settled into their seats, and the questions about Azzy started coming fast. Wendy raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "So, Rael, I heard you can do martial arts. So, what's your style?" Her voice was light, almost curious. Of course, as a boxer and a martial artist herself, she was indeed happy to see a bird of the same feather.

Azzy's gaze flickered to her, a slight smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. "I know a little bit and I don't have style. It's a freestyle that incorporates many fighting styles into it," he answered diplomatically.

Her boyfriend, Max, who was sitting across the aisle, chuckled. "Fighting skills, huh? That's pretty sexy," he commented with a wink toward Wendy before kissing her on the cheek. Wendy blushed at his action.

Azzy didn't react, but inside, a flicker of discomfort crossed his mind. Would they just stop focusing on him and talk among themselves instead?

A few hours later, the plane touched down with a gentle thud, and they disembarked. The sun hung low on the horizon, casting an orange glow across the water as they boarded a boat. The boat ride to Ciesta's family's private island was smooth, the scent of saltwater and fresh air filling Azzy's lungs.

He glanced back at the others, all chatting excitedly, their voices lost in the soft hum of the engine. A private island. There was something serene about the place, but also… far too isolated.