This was bad! Very, very bad! Whatever Frost had seen, it wasn't pretty, and Diego could tell.
"Look, calm down for a moment—" Frost swung his katana again before Diego could finish his sentence. The wind blown by the katana took the form of a sickle, and Diego leaned back just enough to dodge it. The sickle blew right past him and slashed an entire hangar in half. The plane exploded, and debris rained down all around them.
'Talking isn't an option then,' Diego thought to himself as he got to his feet. He had no other choice but to fight or at least stall Frost... but how? For as long as Diego had known him, Frost had no weakness whatsoever.
Frost adjusted his grip on the katana, and Diego got ready for another slash, but this time Frost bolted right for him. Diego's Halo Mode was active by instinct, and that gave him enough speed to dash back. The katana grazed Diego's face, and when he backed away, he felt a trickle of blood oozing from his forehead.
Against an opponent like Frost, being in any form other than his normal one was a death sentence. Diego's Halo Mode made his hair white, and the two wings on his back did nothing more than make him a bigger target. The cut didn't stop bleeding, and his white hair dipped into it slightly with each movement.
"I'm sorry," Frost said. He lifted his katana one last time and swung it with force incomparable to the last one. The ground got sliced in half as the sickle made a beeline for Diego.
Diego knew he wouldn't be able to dodge this one, and his first instinct was to block the slash, but that definitely wouldn't end well. Time seemed to slow down for him as he fought for a solution to this when a memory flickered in his mind. His ice! Andrea mentioned the ice couldn't be broken, and from how much he used it, it might as well be true.
Diego tapped his foot on the ground, and a thick wall of ice grew in front of him. THOOM! The sickle slammed into the ice with a deafening thud, and an uneasy silence followed right after.
Crr-crr-crack!
The ice suddenly cracked, and before Diego could even react, Frost slammed the tip of his katana right through the crack, and the ice shattered like glass. The splinters flew all over the place, barely allowing Diego to see anything but Frost, whose katana was on its way to slicing off his head.
Diego shut his eyes and braced himself for the decisive blow, but it never came. He cautiously opened his eyes, and a wave of relief hit him when he saw Ivankov and King holding Frost back. They held his arms and pulled him back right before he could finish what he started. Frost's massive wings didn't make it easy, but they held him until he calmed down.
"I was gone for five minutes, and you managed to cause this much damage?" Ivankov said and let go of Frost. He looked down at Diego and said, "I'm surprised you're not dead yet."
"Y-yeah," Diego stuttered. His hands trembled slightly, but he forced himself to look normal.
"That cut says otherwise," King said and stepped back. Ivankov noticed the still-bleeding wound on Diego's forehead, and he grimaced. Diego pressed his palm to his forehead. He frowned when he realised he was still bleeding. A cut this small never took this long to heal itself.
"What did you see?" Ivankov asked. Frost didn't answer for a long moment. His eyes were fixed on Diego's bleeding forehead.
"Diego here kills us both..." Everyone went silent. Frost turned back to Ivankov and said, "The whole school gets destroyed by him, and hundreds of students get killed in his carnage. That cut was all I needed to make sure that doesn't happen."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Diego growled and got to his feet. "Why would I even try that?" More and more blood dripped down his face, and the blood loss wasn't something they could ignore anymore.
"It doesn't matter why. It matters that you'll do it when the time comes," Ivankov said. "There's no changing the future, especially one that Frost's trait shows him."
Frost strapped his katana on his back while keeping his gaze on Diego. "Chaos nullifies your ability to heal no matter who you are. You're going to bleed to death in a few hours unless something intervenes."
"I'm guessing that would be me." Frost froze and scowled deeply as soon as he heard the voice. All three of them turned around and saw a young man standing right behind them. He looked younger than Diego and was much shorter as well. He wore glasses and had curly blonde hair that matched his red eyes. He walked right past Ivankov and King but gave a disappointed look at Frost.
"Kidai..." Frost spat the name out with more resentment than Diego had ever seen from him. The young man was Kidai Bachi, the angel Ivankov had mentioned before the second round of the tournament and he was also the angel Frost seemed to hate more than anything.
Kidai crouched down beside Diego and lifted two fingers. A small, white flame grew on his fingertips and he pressed them on Diego's wound. Diego flinched and shut his eyes but for some reason, the flames didn't burn at all. Kidai pulled back and when Diego touched his forehead again, the bleeding had stopped and his skin was perfect. Almost like he had never been cut in the first place.
"This would be a good time to introduce you to each other," Ivankov said and clasped his hands together. "Diego, this is Kidai Bachi. He's one of the only angels Hunter High has."
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lord Maelith," Kidai said. Diego frowned slightly at the name. It was his father's name and quite frankly, he preferred to be called Torrez.
"Why'd you call me that?" Diego asked as Kidai helped him to his feet.
"You're a descendant of God. As an angel, it's my duty to serve the Prince of Heaven," Kidai said and bowed slightly.
"You're still full of shit," Frost cut in and shoved Kidai back. "Angels like you think you're so high and mighty all the time! Condescending narcissists like you get on my nerves more than anything!"
"Says the demon brute that almost killed a descendant of your own king," Kidai mocked and shoved Frost back. "That little toy on your back becomes useless when it comes up against my flames! Or do I need to beat that lesson into you all over again?"
The two glared at each other, forgetting Diego completely, and they didn't even notice when the plane Frost sliced through exploded for the second consecutive time.
"WHAT HAVE YOU MONSTERS DONE TO ESMÉRALDA!!!"
The mechanic's distressed cry cut through the tension instantly. They all turned around in confusion. Esméralda? Who was that? That's when they saw the mechanic on his knees in front of his burning hangar. The mechanic's hands were on his head, and he was crying like his world was burning in front of him.
"Sorry about that," Ivankov apologised while scratching his head. "Just put that on the tab—"
"YOU MONSTERS DESTROYED THE FIRST PLANE MY FAMILY EVER OWNED!"
---
For the next few hours, Diego and the others cleared up the mess and carried off the plane wreckage into an empty hangar. The mechanic oversaw the whole thing and he looked more than angry.
"So... do you believe what Frost said?" Diego asked while he hauled more wreckage. They were away from the others and were alone for the moment.
"Yeah," Ivankov answered casually. "If Frost saw it, then it'll happen no matter what we do." Diego's eye twitched.
"Then how are you so calm about it?" Diego asked, genuinely confused. "Frost said I'd kill you and you're acting like it's a regular Tuesday?"
"Why wouldn't I be calm?" Ivankov shrugged and dropped a large chunk of metal on the ground. It fell with a loud thud and the mechanic glared at them. "Frost's not the first seer I've met and this isn't the first time I've been told my life would end."
"But you just said Frost's visions always—"
"If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead." Ivankov's tone shifted into a cold voice Diego had never heard from him. "By the way, you're going to Paris."
"Paris?" Diego asked. The subject change was sudden but definitely not unwelcome.
"Yeah. You've been here for hours but never asked why," Ivankov said and grabbed another large piece of metal.
"Yeah, I was so busy trying to wrap my head around everything that I forgot to ask," Diego muttered and lifted the plane's large engine off the ground. "But what are we going to do in Paris?"
"The association's planning on unveiling some big weapon for hunting Abominations," Ivankov said. "They wanted watchdogs to oversee the whole event and I selected the four of you to represent our school."
"In Paris? France is a little far from here, isn't it?" Diego asked as he walked beside Ivankov.
"Yeah. It's 4,775 miles or 7,685 kilometers from us. A flight from California to Paris might take as much as nine hours," Ivankov mumbled off.
"Don't talk like that," Diego shuddered. "It's creepy."
After an hour, they managed to clear up most of the wreckage and that's when the mechanic called them over and escorted them to a hangar at the very edge of the airbase.
"This bird is your ticket out of here. Gentlemen, feast your eyes on Gertrude." The mechanic opened the hangar and inside was a plane that had definitely seen better days.
The plane was a corrugated metal shipping container with wings. It had a flat, rectangular body, a blunt nose, fixed wheels, and a twin-fin tail wrapped around a wide rear cargo ramp with zero curves and zero sleekness. Most of the plane looked rusted beyond belief and the whole structure looked like it would collapse at any moment.
"She's an SC.7 Skyvan with more resolve than any other aircraft here," the mechanic praised.
"There must clearly be a misunderstanding here," Ivankov cleared his throat. "How do I put this... We were offered an aircraft better than this one." The mechanic laughed like Ivankov had made a joke.
"You people destroyed the one I was supposed to give you," the mechanic said and pointed at the remains of Esméralda. "We're taking Gertrude whether you like it or not."
Ivankov turned to the students behind him and they all looked just as perplexed as he did. "Well boys, I tried my best but the rest is up to you," he said and glanced at Frost. "Frost's in charge but King and Kidai, keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything rash."
"You can count on us, Sir," Kidai said. Ivankov nodded and walked back to his car. With one last wave, he drove off, leaving them with the mechanic.
"Let's not waste any more time than we already have," the mechanic said and boarded the scrappy-looking aircraft. They followed with King entering last.
"I've never liked planes," King muttered.
"It's actually my first time being in one," Diego said. The inside of the plane looked worse than any of them expected. The insides were wet and rusty. All the seats were dirty and some were green with moss. Every step they took made the metal floor creak loudly like it was ready to crack open. They all took seats a few rows away from each other and waited until the mechanic started the engine and the plane came to life.
When the plane began to move, Diego shut his eyes and took a deep breath. Even after everything he had been through these past months, sitting in an aircraft still made him nervous. Diego kept his eyes shut through every bump and violent shake the plane made until he could eventually feel they were in the air. He let out a slow breath and instantly regretted it.
Frost's katana was mere millimeters from his throat and the only reason he was alive was because both King and Kidai were holding him back just enough.
"This isn't the time for you to be acting this childish," Kidai said. Frost glared at him for a solid second and reluctantly lowered his katana.
"Fine..." Frost spat out in frustration and went back to his seat. Diego was still quite spooked but at the same time, he was intrigued. Frost seemed to respect Kidai more than he let on. What history might they have?
"Thanks for that," Diego said to Kidai while rubbing his neck.
"You don't have to thank me for anything, Prince Maelith," Kidai responded and took a seat beside Diego. This was going to be one long flight.
For the next few hours, time warped into a brain-fogged limbo. The constant engine hum dulled Diego's sense of time. The view from above the clouds was amazing as well and Diego occasionally fell asleep just staring out as the sun cast a beautiful glow above them. The plane occasionally took multiple stops for gas or even food to eat and by the time they reached their destination, it was early morning. As the plane descended, Diego spotted the Eiffel Tower in the distance. It was even bigger than he imagined. The plane eventually landed on a small airfield and came to a final stop.
"Well boys, we've arrived at our destination," the mechanic said and came out of his cockpit. He didn't say anything else and when he got out, they followed. Diego came out and when he was on solid ground, he took in a deep breath.
The air felt different, colder even. It felt like being the lead in a slow-motion movie, sitting at a tiny sidewalk table with a coffee, surrounded by warm pastries, cream-colored stone, and zero urge to hurry anywhere. Diego let out the breath with a sigh.
"Move your ass," Frost said and sent a sharp kick right to Diego's back. Diego fell down and Frost stepped over him. King and Kidai did the same thing, leaving Diego literally biting the dust.
"Does everyone treat you like shit?" Diego heard the voice and blinked. It was feminine but rough around the edges. He got up to his knees and froze.
The girl had straight, long blonde hair with the tips dyed black with loose face-framing strands and wispy bangs. Her skin was light with eyes just as blue as Romeo's. She wore silver hoop earrings, layered necklaces, and a black choker. She wore an oversized black jacket over a white top and she had a moody, slightly rebellious look. Diego couldn't take his eyes off her and his mouth hung open slightly.
"No, it's usually better than this," Diego said when he finally snapped out of his trance. The girl grinned and stretched out her hand. Diego took it as she helped him get back to his feet. He was taller than her but that didn't change how he saw her. She looked so badass and cool that Diego couldn't help but feel attracted to her. "I'm Diego by the way. Nice to meet you."
"I'd tell you my name, but you look like the type who'd write it down in a diary," she said with a grin. Diego's cheeks turned bright red.
"I- I wouldn't write it in a diary—" Diego tried to defend himself but then she laughed. A rough, heavy laugh.
"Relax red, I'm just joking. The name's MisaLionheart."
---
END OF CHAPTER 24