David and Charlotte, do their best to distract the winged angel – the most powerful of the bunch. As Wyn’s team engages one of the wheel angels, David assigns Kai and Violet to join the fight against one wheel angel, while Heysoos and Ruben take on another. He and Charlotte focus on distancing the winged angel from the group. Their faction members and their ally, CU-NT – short for “See You Next Time” – support the Skill Tree leaders in dispatching the wheel angels as quickly as possible.

  Charlotte takes the fight to the air, gusting David up alongside her. With her icy flail, she extends the chain, allowing the mace to strike the back of the angel’s wings. The impact sends shockwaves through the area, causing icicles to form on the struck surface, and frost quickly spreads from the point of contact. However, it seems to have little effect; the winged angel, not needing to flap its wings to fly, turns to face Charlotte and effortlessly rises to her level. Gray tints on the wings shimmer as cyclones begin to manifest from its six wings – two from each, and the most powerful one from its single, glaring eye.

  Charlotte drops herself and David, then quickly resummons a gust of wind to catch them just before they hit the ground. In the air, David calls upon thunder strikes, directing them at the angel. As lightning arcs through the sky, the angel's wings catch fire, but a swift flap extinguishes the flames. Seizing the opportunity, Charlotte sends David to the back of the angel, where he sits on the upper outer rim of the upper wing. Without hesitation, he begins thrusting his sword with one hand and bashing the shield with the other into both sides of the wing, each strike infused with a flash of lightning and igniting on impact. The angel reacts by opening its wings wide; the sudden force nearly sends David off balance. However, Charlotte is quick to stabilize him, catching him from below and ensuring he remains anchored to the wing.

  The angel begins to soar through the air, wheel barrowing in an attempt to shake David off. Sensing the danger, David lets go, free-falling for a brief moment before Charlotte catches him midair with a gust of wind, safely bringing them both back to the ground.

  As they land, the angel glides above them, firing cyclones in their direction. David and Charlotte weave through the attacks, but knowing they can’t keep dodging forever, David raises his shield while Charlotte swiftly summons an ice dome to protect them from the onslaught. The cyclones slam into the icy barrier, pressing down with immense force, threatening to shatter their fortification. Without a clear view, David channels lightning strikes toward the angel’s back, hoping to keep the pressure on while the dome holds.

  The cyclones abruptly subside, and David, thinking the repeated thunder strikes might have caused significant damage, commands Charlotte to open just enough of the dome arch for him to peer through. His eyes widen when he sees Heysoos and Ruben spinning in the air with the angel.

  Heysoos, gripping an anchor weapon adorned with a series of sinuous, chained hooks, has latched onto one of the angel's wings. Meanwhile, Ruben assists by pulling with his wind powers, causing the angel to spin with them as it tries to shake them off.

  “I could’ve hit you both!” David exclaims.

  “Sorry, bosssss,” Heysoos apologizes, still spinning.

  David glances back at the wheel angels. The lovers appear to be delivering a finishing blow to the last one. Instructing the other members to wait somewhere safe outside the farm, they soon join David and Charlotte.

  Kai has a lean, swimmer’s physique and stands around Yu’s height. His short black hair is cropped close on the sides, with a slightly longer top. He dresses casually, wearing a fitted white tee with a large black circle in the middle, paired with dark, tapered jeans and white sneakers.

  Violet, standing about Wyn's height, has a soft, gentle appearance. Her brown eyes, framed by delicate lashes, carry a calm and tender expression. Her black hair, slightly wavy, falls just past her shoulders, often tucked behind her ears. Acne marks dot her face. She wears a fitted black tee with a large white circle in the middle, along with dark jeans and black sneakers.

  The angel slows its spinning, repositions itself upright, and spreads its wings. The movement sends both men flying upward, but as they fall, with Ruben’s help, they manage to anchor onto the same spot as before, this time tearing a chunk out of the affected wing. The angel reacts by repeatedly opening and closing its wings, prompting Ruben to stabilize both himself and Heysoos in the air to create a safe distance from the angel as they prepare for their next move. The ground squad seizes the opportunity to strike from below. Now with three souls surrounding it in the air – Ruben, Heysoos, and Charlotte – and three more attacking from the ground, the angel struggles to keep up.

  In an unexpected move, the angel launches cyclones while spinning in all directions, forcing the team to scatter for safety. Just then, a descending cyclone – fused with everyone’s elements except Mira’s and carrying weapons – crashes down onto the angel. The explosion erupts, and before the dust settles, David commands his team to summon ground attacks.

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  Now lying face down after crashing into the ground attacks, the angel's wings are significantly damaged but remain intact.

  “How does it get up from this position?” Wyn asks as his team joins David’s.

  “Oh, it will get up alright,” David replies.

  While still face down, the angel floats, gliding blindly close to the floor in an attempt to hit someone while keeping its eyeball protected. At this moment, Heysoos sends his hooks into the wings, securing all five of them. He then throws the anchor into the air, allowing the wind users and Wyn to help guide it. Their combined effort successfully controls the angel’s direction through the anchor, enhanced by the gray specializations.

  As the anchor descends, resistance increases, and the gap between the angel and the ground shrinks. Yu then calls on the blue-element souls to freeze the angel, now that it’s almost upright. The angel becomes encased in ice and crashes onto the ground, landing face up.

  Seizing the opportunity, David asks Wyn to jet with him toward the eye. After an explosion from Mira’s whip creates an opening in the ice, Wyn propels himself and David forward. However, just as he approaches the eye, it opens and fires a cyclone back at him. The wind users quickly rally to boost Wyn as he struggles against the angel’s powerful cyclone.

  “Keep going!” David says.

  “Aren’t you in pain?” Wyn asks.

  “I’ll be fine! We need to kill it!”

  The war of attrition concludes as the cyclone from the angel subsides, allowing Wyn to thrust himself forward. In a decisive attack, David thrusts his sword and wedges the side of the shield into the eye. Wyn takes a moment to catch his breath before lifting his feet into the air and summoning a cyclone that envelops both him and David. Electrical sparks crackle from within the eye as David's weapons glow red with a tint of yellow, engulfed in flames. Suddenly, an explosion erupts from within, propelling Wyn and David away from the force.

  Ruben catches both of them mid-air and gently brings them back to the ground. What lies before them now is a lifeless winged angel, its eye popped open from the inside, with chunks of it scattering across the battlefield.

  “We’re too late?” Eugene asks as he runs toward David, accompanied by Vivian.

  David had messaged all of his members to gather at the Burning Village the moment he saw the fallen angels.

  “Yup. We didn’t need you two this time because we had them,” David replies, directing their attention to Wyn’s team.

  Vivian, a skinny girl standing at one seventy-two, catches her breath as she reaches David. Her face and skin are sprinkled with freckles, enhancing her otherwise fair complexion. She has straight, shoulder-length dark brown hair. Vivian wears a loose, sleeveless white blouse paired with high-waisted, light-wash denim jeans that taper at the ankles. On her feet, she sports trendy green and white sneakers.

  “Tell me what happened,” David says.

  Kai and Violet, along with fifty others, were followed by the SETAC group. Upon reaching the farm area, SETAC made their appearance known and demanded that they turn back or join their faction. The lovers tried to avoid conflict, but the SETAC members refused to let them leave, escalating into a heated argument. Suddenly, a small group of SETAC rushed toward them from afar. By sacrificing a few of their own, they summoned a group of fallen angels to Skill Tree’s location. Afterward, they retreated through portals. With so many souls accompanying Kai and Violet, they found themselves in a position where retreat was not the optimal solution.

  “These bodies are ours?” David asks.

  “Yes, boss. I’m so sorry,” Violet replies, tears streaming down her face. Kai steps in to comfort her.

  “We lost about ten of our own…Some have already disintegrated. The CU-NT are all safe though,” he adds.

  David closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and exhales with a heavy sigh.

  “Call the others who are hiding. Let’s share this essence and head back,” he instructs.

  Wyn’s entire team shudders at the sight of the lifeless souls, memories of Anish flooding back to their minds. Despite the weight of their feelings, they know they must grow stronger to avoid losing another member again. Although the combined essence from the fallen angels isn't impressive when divided among forty or so souls, the additional essence from the fallen souls adds up to a substantial collection, bringing Wyn’s entire team to over fifty thousand essence.

  “Kai, Violet, I’ve been wanting to ask – can I join you two? After knowing you two were in danger, my heart, assuming I had it, couldn’t take it! Let’s make it a triple!” Ruben proposes, one knee on the ground.

  “Yes! We love you too, Ruben!” Violet responds, flashing a confirmation nod and a smile at Kai.

  “What is going on?” Wyn wonders aloud.

  “Come on, Oppa! It’s love!” Mira replies cheerfully.

  “Don’t waste your breath on him, eh. He’s cold as fuck. He doesn’t know what love is,” James adds.

  “That’s so uncalled for, you moosefucker!”

  The trio shares a group kiss, passionately slobbering over each other’s faces.

  “Ewww!” Yu exclaims, looking visibly uncomfortable but still watching, while Lisa turns away. It seems most of David’s members share the same sentiment.

  “Awww! They’re cute,” James remarks.

  “Awww! Threesome!” Mira chimes in, slyly placing her hand over James’ crotch.

  After the public display of affection, David briefly chats with his team before walking over to Wyn’s group.

  “What’s up? Aren’t we leaving?” Wyn asks.

  “None of you were seriously hurt, right?” David replies.

  “I’m fine!” Yu reassures him.

  “Then can you nice kids follow me? I want to take you somewhere for a nice stroll,” David says.

  With everyone else gone except for David and Wyn’s team, he instructs them to meet him on the second floor.