From his hidden position, Souta watched the proceedings with palpable intensity.  By the fierceness of the look of determination on his face, it seemed, he hoped to bolster the chances of the gambit's success.  As one might expect from a demonic trickster with centuries and centuries of experience, Lily was doing well.  The angels, riled up though they were, seemed to believe her.  When she mentioned the Charred Council, he grimaced, but in a matter of moments the demoness span it on its head to try and extract safe passage from Heaven's forces, should her ploy succeed.  [i]Very good!  Too good.  That kind of cunning and talent for deception is not safe.[/i]  He felt sure now, upon seeing the apparent effortlessness with which Lily duped the angels, that he wanted to keep her at arm's length at least.

His sidetracked mind returned to the present abruptly, however, when Lily's attempt to leave encountered sudden and unexpected resistance.  Souta watched, sweat beading on his forehead, as a new angel arrived to the scene who seemed to have his ally figured out the second he arrived.  [i]Less good.  Not good at all.[/i]  Being found out made him nervous, of course, but now that he thought about it, couldn't Lily take this guy?  He talked big and looked tough, but the smith had seen Lily in action, and he felt that nobody the trio might encounter this early in a mission could possibly challenge her.  Curious, he put aside his trepidation to focus on what came next.

Out of all possible options, Souta did not expect Lily to instantly betray his position.  [color=teal]”What.  Why.”[/color]  Leaving them as hidden backup would have been a far smarter move in his estimation.  Did she think he, a lowly human and metalworker, was going to spring out and whiteknight her the instant things started going sour?  [i]Hah.[/i]  Regardless of what Fenn did, Souta felt that the ball was still in Lily's court for her to play with as she saw fit.  Now that the angels knew that she had company, however, he could not help but fidget and reflexively summon his defensive weapon, Silverbeast.  The gleaming clawed gauntlets appeared on his arms and hands, ready to rip and tear or grab and block, but their owner remained still.  For a moment before he caught himself, Souta could not help but gawk as Lily reverted her transformation and attacked the holy warriors with a full-frontal assault, giving her allies a clear view of her rear in the process.  [i]Even for a demon...!  She has no shame.[/i]  He looked away, rolling his eyes, and listened to the angels going on the alert.  They called him and Fenn out, and Souta's quickened heartbeat did not relent.  

He couldn't quite make them out, but Lily and the new angel exchanged words.  The auspicious lack of fighting made him think that a peaceful solution might be possible, but he wasn't about to make a chicken out of a feather.