That was surprisingly easy, Lily thought, watching the pompous angel leave. She had half expected a confrontation to erupt after he blew her cover. Truthfully, a part of her had hoped that to be the case, if only so she could nudge him down a peck of two. He had seemed a little too grand, were she to be a judge. 
 
Well, that and she might have been just a little spiteful that he saw through her disguise. 
 
But that was a thing of the past now. Diplomacy had gotten them through the situation, and possibly brought them closer to their ultimate goal, and so now was a time to move forward and deal with what may come. 
 
Lily headed back to where Souta and Fenn had been hiding, cursing the fact that she had not at least kept a pair of shoes on. Demon or not, the undergrowth of a forest was still uncomfortable to walk on. A few moments later she found her companions, and her clothes still with Souta, eliciting a small smile from the demoness. 
 
“Thank you for taking care of my clothes,” she announced and gave him a small kiss on the cheek before picking up her clothes. His expression, so forcibly deadpan that he might as well have not made the effort, betrayed his unease as he turned away. Lily made no effort to get behind cover as she started redressing, though she did make certain that her pendant - the one thing she hadn’t taken off prior to her disguise - was visible, resting against the front of her shirt. 
 
“So,” she said at length, fidgeting with the hem of her top to rid it of a few tiny twigs, “what do you say? Shall we follow them?” 
 
“I am not keen on it,” rumbled the large dog. Great furrows on the ground where he rested his paws suggested this was an understatement. "You degraded yourself, seeking peace with a fool who should have known better than to call such a bluff."
 
Lily shrugged, smoothing out her shirt. “We know [i]he[/i] is here. I don’t want to waste my strength fighting someone like those angels. If we do meet Him, I want to make certain that I get out alive. If momentary peace with angels is the way, then so be it.” 
 
Still sporting his Silverbeast gauntlets, Souta gave a nonchalant shrug. “We can make peace with the angels and still keep our distance. It’s not like we don’t have enough firepower. If we have all the intel we need, we don’t need ‘em around. In my line of work, letting more people in on projects always means more communication, more things that can go wrong, more headache.” He crossed his arms, mindful of his claws’ blades but treating them casually enough to make a show of it.
 
“I suspect the peace will not last long either way. I recognize the name of this force’s leader. We met them on the Council’s first errand, Imp” Fenn let out a sharp huff of air through his nose, as though amused. “I expect that one will not take kindly to our presence.”
 
“That much is true,” she conceded, finally looking up at Fenn now that she was finished making sure her clothes were alright. “And if he decides he wants a fight, we’ll give it to him.” She turned to Souta. “What you’re saying is also true. We don’t [i]need[/i] them around, but neither do we need them against us. If that guy from before is to be trusted, the Army of Light has been instructed to not bar our way any longer, so at the very least we have avoided unnecessary confrontations.” She hummed in thought, crossing her arms underneath her chest. “I think, for now, that we should just follow them and see this door of theirs. It can’t hurt.”
 
Souta nodded, ready to move.
 
A bit of teeth showed at the acknowledgement, and Lily turned to where the small group of angels yet waited for them. Lily had made no effort to mask where they were hiding, so they were within sight. “Let’s go then,” she announced and stepped out of their previous hiding space, moving towards the angels that would lead them to their destination. 
 
They didn’t look particularly happy with being near demons, as their reaction to Fenn’s appearance showed clearer than even Lily’s previous unveiling of herself. The small jump of fright they made as the behemoth of a demon stepped out of cover, was almost too much for Lily. And yet, she managed not to laugh but the mirth did show in her eyes. 
 
“Lead the way, gentlemen.” 
 
[hr]
 
“And this is why I don’t like angels. Their arrogance in presuming that they are somehow better, more righteous, than demons.” She spared a glance to Souta walking with them. Judging by the sardonic look and tone of Lily, she hadn’t been entirely enthusiastic about the angel who had briefed them. “They are the most xenophobic race there is. If you’re not them, you’re not good enough. In their eyes, demons are only slightly worse than humans.”
 
“I find it difficult to care, Imp” Fenn drawled. Only moments ago, the group had spoken to the angel in charge of the forces guarding the door to the seal. He had told them of their current situation, and explained that three keys were needed if the gate was to open. Unfortunately for the other two in their group, the angel had pricked the demoness’s pride in the process.
 
Lily’s condemnation of the angels, disregarded by the hellhound, elicited a shaken head from Souta. He held up his hands to assist the delivery of his perspective with gesticulation and said, “Big-time blanket statements like those...maybe they work for demons, but that’s not the whole picture. Sure, Laguna’s a bunch of monsters; Gilgamesh has trashed a fair share of those and gotten a good look at their gooey insides. Real textbook stuff there, with the pristine outside hiding the freakshow underneath. But Army of Light’s not half bad. Disciplinarian and haughty, sure, but in a war for survival...what’s the phrase? I’m still not good with English idioms. ...Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows. In fact—” The smith cut himself off, his eyebrows furrowed. After a moment he shrugged and dropped his hands. “Ah, forget it.”
 
“You would be right, were it not for the fact that it’s not a war for survival. It’s a war of extermination.” She offered an apologetic look to Souta, as one might give someone who doesn’t quite understand something. “The Army of Light are disciplinarian, that much is true, and something to be admired at times. But they’re not fighting for their own survival. If they were, they would hole up in their realm, where they’re all at their strongest.” She turned away, looking through the lines of trees all around them. When she spoke again, her tone was sombre. “They kill every demon they come across, regardless of the intentions said demon might’ve had.” She turned back to Souta and Fenn again, a wistful look on her face. “It is not who you are that matters to them, but what.” 
 
“This bellyaching is tiresome,” the hound cut in, clearly uninterested by the direction their discussion had taken. “Not to say irrelevant. What shall we do about the door?”
 
“To you it may be, but to me it isn’t,” Lily replied tersely. “But be that as it may. We need to do something about the door. Souta?” 
 
The smith scowled, drumming up something he could say that would be both indicative and annoying. “No more bugs. Let’s exterminate some demons.”
 
“You are eager for one so small,” the hound spoke, a touch condescendingly, “but I fear you are putting the cart before the horse. If our goal is to protect the seal, and that gate leads to it, it may well be in our best interests to keep it shut.”
 
After a brief moment of consideration, Souta answered his ally’s point with a nod, and said, “Fine by me. We can still keep the keys from falling into the wrong hands, though.” He spread his hands. “It sounds like the bugs have one on lockdown, but who knows how long that might last. If we get involved in the battle, we can claim that orb for the Charred Council. Without it, no entry to the Seal.” His eyebrow furrowed. “Still, I think I remember Sevrin being able to bypass a barrier like this one in the ancient library. Or maybe he swooped in after we opened the door. Beats me which.” A shrug punctuated his musings, letting the other agents know that the decision lay in their claws.
 
“If he possesses the means to go through, we are likely already too late. If not, opening the gate to reach the seal may play into the snake’s plans.” Fenn let out a rumbling chuckle and glanced at his chosen leader. “A fine mess is in your hands, Imp. What would you have us do? We may yet turn back and smash the orb already on the door.” 
 
Lily, having paid close attention to both arguments, didn’t take long to respond. “I think,” she started, playing with her hair, “that we should go for one of the orbs, keys, what have you. What we lack is information and we don’t know where Sevrin is, or if he can penetrate the barrier or not. If he can, then we might need the orb to open the door to fight him off. If he cannot, then we can’t afford to let him get his hands on one. For better or for worse, gathering one of the orbs leaves us with the most options, and the best hand of cards we can have at this point in time.” She tucked the lock of hair behind her ear and faced the direction where the demons were allegedly assaulting the angels, a mischievous grin on her face. “So, shall we give the angels one hell of a confusing time, by having a couple demons and a human helping them in battle?” 
 
The sepulchral warhammer Escre appeared from a splash of water into Souta’s hands.  “Gee, sounds familiar.  But yeah, let’s do it.”