Mars exhaled in relief when she saw Rei wave dismissively. She opened her mouth to say something about how she was glad that the fighting was done for the day, but her comfort quickly twisted into anger as Rei unveiled more of the situation. "I'm not letting any angels near this house," she insisted. "And they're clueless if they think dealing with me is better than dealing with a death penalty." The words escaped her mouth before she could think. It occurred to her that the angels from earlier that day might have instigated combat in search of their rogue comrades. The idea that those righteous birds would get shinigami involved in their plight brought her blood to a simmer. Even worse, she realized that she wouldn't be able to stop her partner from bringing death into their own house if it had anything to do with Nerva. Mars would ask questions and push back against some of her responsibilities from time to time, but she knew that Seamus wouldn't be caught dead on the other side of a dispute with the goddess.

"Tch," she snapped as she heard of the young angel. "They've always blamed us for their own war. I'm not letting them use children or criminals who want asylum to bait us into mercy." She took a breath and pulled back the wrath in her words, realizing that there was no reason to take her anger out on Rei. "Sorry... Yes, they're here," she continued as neutrally as she could manage. "But not for long. I can't stop Seamus from hanging herself with whatever this is about but I'm not getting the rest of my family get killed for it."

She spun on her heels and marched up the steps. When she opened the door she noticed Lea awake. "Lea, we have to leave," she said as she left the door wide open and moved over to grab her scythe from its resting hook on the wall. "Can you wake Jason up? You two need to go back to the safe house. I'll walk you there since it's so late."


Seamus turned an ear toward Arael. "I'm surprised that an angel would know this before us. What seals the source uses shinigami magic and the last time I sensed an angel near it was was hundreds of years ago."

"Hmm," Silas pondered as he walked. "If no angel came this way recently..." Horror struck him. "Maybe we have the wrong bay? N-no, that doesn't seem right. The illustration was pretty exact, even though no one visits here."

"You underestimate the sea's blessing," Seamus said. "Outside of the three of us, I don't invite my kin to this place because of its tendency to claim visitors one way or another. I've lost friends here, and have never seen an angel survive a swim. Your triumph is no accident."

"Oh, well, I'm glad we weren't drowned as soon as we landed," Silas stammered aloud. It was humbling to realize he had just narrowly escaped death. He glanced back at the shore that seemed considerably far away. "Wait―how can you watch over that place if it drowns everything?"

"I'm not privy to its intentions. I used to wonder if its preference hinged on our acceptance of our own afterlives," Seamus began. "But you rogues resist your duties and still survived so I'm less sure."

Silas looked toward the sky as the stars emerged. "My duty was to protect Jason," he said. "Even though I've left mortals before―the ones that outgrow a guard early, or the ones that were never interested to begin with―Jason never seemed tired of me. I really thought I could protect him forever: to keep him out of harm's way, to hold up an umbrella for him when it rained, and to remind him that the sun always rises even if you can't see it through the storm..." He trailed off. "I don't even remember what other things I did when I wasn't spending time with him. All I remember is him." He swallowed and paused. "And then I had to leave, and then he took his life."

Seamus looked over her shoulder toward Arael. "Surely this one told you about his cause before you risked treason together. Why did you join his side?"