Even though Vlad reacted fast and tried to dodge, he still got hit and suffered some deep wounds on his body. His suit was also ruined. Vlad stayed among the treetop and looked down at Michael with a calmness like he had not just gotten wounded. Michael very slowly and painfully pushed himself up off the ground using the sword still stuck in it. He looked up back at Vlad but his eyes seemed glazed over like he was only half conscious.

"Humph. You're still not dead. You must be one of the stronger angels if you're not already the strongest. Let's see how you survive this!" Many copies of Vlad was created again and they bore down on Michael at the same time. 

Michael saw the incoming attack and squeezed the handle of his sword. The same rugged light streaks shot up from the ground again and consumed the copies of Vlad, disintegrating them into nothing. Not only did Vlad looked unaffected, he even grinned. He repeated his move and sent copies of himself down. The same happened but, this time, Vlad was immediately following behind his copies. 

Watching this from a third person point of view, even a person as skeptical as Vanora could tell that Michael would not survive this. He did not even seem conscious enough to react to the fact that the real Vlad had been hiding behind his copies and is about to deal the finishing blow. She could not help but cry out urgently, "Derek!"

Vlad felt his heart jump and he missed his strike. His fist brushed against Michael's cheek, resulting in an abrasion, then hitting the ground beside Michael instead. He gritted his teeth in frustration as he wondered about the identity of the person that could get his dear Vanora to call out his name. What he would give for her to call out for him instead. 

Was there someone else hitting her up while I was occupied? He glared at where he left Vanora waiting and realised that there was no one else but her. In fact, she was looking straight at him. He was momentarily struck dumb.

"Are you done? I want to go now. We're wasting time." Vanora spoke much more calmly now.

Vlad finally remembered that he told her a fake name and that he was 'Derek' now. With this, he realised that there had to be a day when he has to come clean about his real identity, especially if he wanted to hear her sweet voice saying his real name. He hid his troubled feelings behind a smile as he pranced over to her obediently and gleefully. 

If only Vlad knew that his worries were for naught as it would be solved in a way he least expected.

As the pair walked away, Michael stared at the red-haired woman with a complicated gaze. His life would have been ended there and then if not for her. Not only was her behaviour odd, her initial reaction to him was odd too. Vlad's immediate hostile behaviour that rared to pick a fight with an angel was the norm. Not the way she looked calm and uninterested. Who is she...? Why is she with the demon lord? Why does he look like this? He looked very different the last time I saw him. What's going on?

He had been suppressing the curse that was still active in the surroundings. Now that he had the time to, he softly and slowly said the prayers to dispel the curse. Black smoke seeped out of the ground and destroyed trees. Michael placed his palm against the ground to restore the place back to how it was before the battle then slowly pushed himself up with his sword.

He walked aimlessly, trying to find a place where he could hide from the war and recover. Stumbling at every step he took, he had to use his sword that was kept in its scabbard as a walking stick. After walking for what seemed like an eternity, he chanced upon another angel. He heaved a sigh of relief as his vision began to blur and he felt his consciousness beginning to slip away again. Sounds of someone throwing a tantrum filled his ears. There was no one else but the angel there, so it could only be the angel acting that uncouthly. Another oddity... He thought as he passed out and collapsed onto the ground.

When Vlad had heard from Vanora that news of the recent battle they won had already spread among the angels, he guessed that they would be on guard for another sneak attack from the flanks. He decided to change his approach for the next battle. The new stragglers that he met were instructed to meet at a certain point where the rest were waiting on standby. Once enough of them was gathered, he would send them out in waves. The idea was to wear the angels mentally. Each time they thought that victory was close at hand, he would dash ruin their expectation. 

After a few days, Vlad and Vanora were finally done cleaning up the stragglers so they put his plan into action. Vanora felt that his plan was a little meaninglessly sick and cruel since they would have won the battle anyway if they went all out from the get go, however she let him do what he wanted. She did not feel the same urgency to get stronger because things have been progressing quite smoothly. Rather, she was at a stage of development where more physical practice was not beneficial. 

For the past month or so, she familiarised herself with the feeling of getting into an emotional state. This was so that she could try to reverse the process. If she could let the thoughts and emotions flow into her and come just like that, could she let them go in the same way? 

Finding it tough to do so without any form of visualisation, she started picturing her emotional and mental state like an ocean. When she was emotional, it was a choppy sea with raging tidal waves. To let go, she would picture the waves crashing back down and gradually settling back into its previous calm state. As for her thoughts, she imagined them as fishes in the ocean. Swimming around haphazardly within her or swimming away like it was only a temporary visitor. 

Having better control over her emotional state now helped her manipulate the level of her power easier than before as she felt more ready to manage herself at her peak rage. Currently, Vanora was trying to experience all those emotions without showing it outwardly. Although anyone familiar with her by now may be able to tell how she felt through her power output, she did not like being an open book to any stranger.

When Vlad and Vanora finally made their entrance in the battle scene, the presence of an ice cold beauty with blue hair and bat wings surprised Vlad. So Raven's here. But what's she doing out here at this time of the day?

He did not spend too long mulling as he quickly paid full attention on supporting Vanora. He had to be extra careful about the powers he used since he did not want Raven finding out who he was. 

Raven was drenched in sweat and her brows were furrowed together. It was clear for everyone to see that she was pushing herself to the limit. Nonetheless, it did not make her look any less attractive. Unbeknownst to Vlad, the moment he and Vanora joined the battle, Raven had already taken notice of them. After all, even if she wanted to, it would have been hard to ignore the beautiful raging indigo flames that suddenly appeared in the battlefield.

The fight dragged on till the sun set. When it did, Raven's strength increased significantly, especially when it struck midnight. The only light provided was by the angels' powers and by the crescent moon. While everyone else strained to see in the dark, Raven was able to move and attack with precision. The dark did not hinder her in any way. If anything, it gave her cover and she used it to sneak up on angel after angel. Her speed and strength became comparable to Vlad's and her regenerative ability was superior to his. 

Her growth in strength boosted the strength on the hell beings' side and they wiped the angels out just as the first sun ray appeared in the sky. 

While all the hell beings were busy cheering and celebrating their win, only Raven flew straight to Vanora and Vlad before they had a chance to get away if they intended to. She had found them suspicious from the start and was not afraid of letting them know it. "Who are you? Are you acquainted with Lord Vlad?"

Vanora shook her head. 

"How's it possible that a demon like you have not met Lord Vlad even once? You may not be very strong but you aren't weak either. You're enough to make a difference on the battlefield."

She shrugged. "He has told me about Lord Vlad before." She gestured towards Vlad. 

The beauty looked at Vlad and eyed him suspiciously from head to toe. Something about him seemed familiar. "Who're you?"

"Lord Vlad's messenger." Vlad replied coldly with an emotionless smile. 

"I don't remember him having a messenger." She challenged.

"Are you sure you know him well enough to know everything related to him?" He challenged her back. 

"I know enough." She then directed her conversation back to Vanora. "I didn't hear anything about you until recently. Are you new?"

Vanora nodded.

"Since when?"

"Around 2 months ago."

That's around the time Vlad went missing. Two mysterious characters with dubious backgrounds. There are those weird rumors floating around too... Only one way to find out.

Her blood red nails became razor sharp and she swung her hand in a way that would slice Vanora's throat. However, Vlad caught hold of her wrist after she barely raised her arm.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on her." Vlad growled out.

"Not many people can match my speed before the sun has risen." Raven spoke meaningfully then added with an emphasis, "My dear Lord Vlad."

Hearing a familiar name that is well respected and held in adoration, the masses turned their head towards the three with their ears perked. They were eager to hear news about their demon lord, especially one demon in particular.

Raven and Vlad stared each other down while Vanora stood by unsurprised that someone has finally recognised who he was. She knew that his disguise would be blown one day. After all, it was written in the book that Vlad led the army with his real identity, not as 'Derek'. However, she would not deny that that she was now unsure of how Vlad would respond or handle the situation. Vlad has been behaving strangely from the first day she met him. She had initially thought it was just that her understanding of his character based on the book was a little flawed. What happened a few days ago changed her view though. He would really have killed Michael if she had not intervened. It made her wonder if a bug has already happened in this world although her presence here was meant to prevent such bugs from happening. Some semblance of interest was reflected in her eyes that otherwise have been dead bored. 

The colours of the surrounding started warping in a familiar way, except that the hell beings all around them melted away together with the colours this time. Vanora was not the only one who knew that Vlad was teleporting them to the dimension between the living and the dead. 

"What's wrong? Why the sudden need for privacy, Lord Vlad?" Raven asked coolly with an eyebrow raised. 

He sighed heavily as he threw her hand aside. "Goddammit Raven. You almost exposed me in front of everyone there."

"Why should I make things easier for you? You went missing so suddenly that I had to clean up after you and take over your duties. I would have thought you were really missing if not for the mysterious rumours about me going around hell bullying other hell beings and favouring some demon girl with indigo flames. The only one with enough balls to disguise as me would be you."

"It's easier than wasting time on establishing my strength first." He muttered while avoiding her gaze. When he disguised as Raven, he knew that it may cause some issues for her but he did not particularly care. What mattered to him was only to get back to Vanora's side as soon as possible.