MLIII C4, P6- "Angels And Demons- Part 2"

"Angels And Demons" is the fourth Part of "Miracula Luxia III" 's fourth Chapter, as well as the second (and last) Part that carries this name.
It was released on 12.03.2022.
== Plot ==
Jonathan and his allies managed to teleport into the ruins of what was once the city of Paris. They managed to prevent Arzen from causing a widespread devastation and succeeded in scaring him away... for a time.
Even though the situation in Paris seems rather calm for the moment, Adam's team is still far away from their destination. And their troubles have only just begun,
Will Adam, Jared and Aalia reach the city, alive and well?
== Story ==
As the caravan slowly travels toward its destination, Adam and his father remember the event that shook them to the core. The time that they will never forget.
"When that man tried to kill us, you seemed so... vengeful. So determined to make him pay."- Adam says to his father- "It is as if you changed right before our eyes."
Jared looks down and shakes his head.
"Believe me, I did not want to do it. I knew that there were people who still cared about him, that I would invoke their wrath if I did something to him."- He says- "And yet, I still did it. It was too easy, almost as if I stole candy from a child. And the tears that fell from his eyes as I choked him to death... they made it worse." 
Adam nods.
"You said that you did not want to put him down. That you wanted to make him suffer for the atrocities that he committed."- He says- "Is this still true? Do you still think that people deserve to turn into... those things?"
Jared sighs.
"Every time I kill a villain like him, I try not to think about it. I simply let nature decide what to do with his lifeless body and I do not dare to intervene."- He says- "However, after you opened my eyes, I realized something. Sometimes, nature is cruel to us and when it turns a person into one of those creatures, it tries to punish us for being so careless, so ignorant... and punish the person in question for the crimes that they committed in life. But is it the right thing to do? I am not sure. Nobody knows whether it is fair or not. However, I am now aware that putting those poor, unfortunate creatures of darkness down is the best way to free their souls from the shackles of life. Or rather, unlife. It is the best that we can do and I, as a father, urge you and your friends to do it as well... regardless whether the ones whom we have to kill are evil or not."
He shakes his head.
"It is just that... nobody deserves to face such a horrible fate."- He says- "I do not want them to suffer. And yet, revenge is very hard to just swallow back into your soul."
He looks at Adam.
"Adam, I... "- He mutters- "... I want to ask you a question."
Adam raises his eyebrow, clearly anticipating it.
"One day, you will have to face the truth that, despite my legendary status, I am not completely invulnerable to the darkness that surrounds us. One day, I may fall victim to it. Leave this world behind, for good or bad."- He says- "If so, are you going to let the forces of darkness take over my body? To punish me for the mistakes that I made? Or would you free my soul and allow me to cross the road to the afterlife?"
Adam stares at him silently. He is clearly concerned about his father's well-being, yet he does not want to bring it up.
Finally, he gathers some strength and says:
"I will not allow anything bad to happen to you, dad."- He says- "You are the only person who is truly dear to me. You understand me better than anyone else. And I do not want to bear the burden of losing you to the shadows. I will fight them with all my strength... even if I must fall myself. The people need you, not me."
Jared shakes his head.
"It is not true. The people need you more than ever, and they will need you for decades, maybe even centuries to come."- He says to him- "However, I can tell that you are determined to protect me at all costs. If so, I promise that I will not let you turn into one of them. I will take you to our hometown and bury you in the most honorable way. I owe you everything that I fought for until now and you are just... just... "
He looks down and starts to cry.
Aalia sees that Jared is feeling sad and leans closer to hug him.
"I do not want to lose you either."- Jared says- "The people need a young, competent hero. Not an aged veteran like... like me."
Adam sighs and stares at the road.
"We can talk about it later."- He says- "I am sure that there will be enough time to discuss this."
The caravan master looks back at them and smiles.
"Well, I think that we're getting closer."- He says to Jared- "The signs say that Paris is not that far away."
Jared sighs.
"We understand."- He responds- "Go ahead, then. We must get there as soon as possible."
As the caravan continues to move, Adam wonders why everything is so quiet for them. Nobody has attacked their vehicle (or tried to stop them in any other way) for hours and the road has been cleared of any potential obstacles.
"It is as if they want us to think that they are merciful. That they finally understand how powerful we are and are scared of what we could do to them."- He says to himself- "No. This is not it. There is something that we are missing."
He stares ahead just as a thick mist envelops the caravan.
"This is the calm... before the storm."
Jared peeks his head out of the window and stares at the fog.
"Oh my."- He says- "Perhaps it was better to wait for a while."
He shakes his head.
"This fog is impassable."
The caravan master stares at the fog as well.
"Don't worry, sir. Even though it doesn't look like it, me and my boys have gotten through worse than this."- He says- "We'll get us out of here as soon as possible."
He ducks back into the caravan.
"Stay in here and don't peek out."- He continues- "Otherwise, you might get temporarily blinded... or worse."
Adam and his allies listen to his commands and sit tight in the caravan as it tries to get past the dark mist.
"This reminds me of the time when I was chasing a nefarious bandit leader throughout Paris's sewers. The man managed to make his way through them and even left a magical blizzard to slow us down."- Jared says- "It was hard to survive such an anomaly. At a certain time, I even considered giving up and freezing to death in there. However, thanks to sheer will and dedication, I managed to escape with my allies and chase the bandit into the lands of Avernum."
He sighs.
"Bad memories."- He continues- "And yet, here they are. Remaining in my mind for a long time."
Adam nods.
"You were talking about Derek's grandpa, weren't you?"
Jared looks at him, alarmed and surprised.
"How did you know?"
Adam smiles.
"I could tell that such a thing is not a simple coincidence."- He continues- "Few people would be brave (or foolhardy) enough to hide in dark sewers like those. The man must have lost his mind in the process."
Jared sighs.
"Believe me, he had already lost it."- He replies- "He was too far gone. A lost cause."
The two of them stare at the road ahead. They watch as the caravan's drives struggles mightily to both steer the wheel and get past the fog without crashing into something.
"I can tell that you're a little worried about this predicament. However, this is only the beginning of our troubles."- The caravan master says, without looking back- "Getting into the city- or what remains of it- will be far, far worse."
Jared nods.
"This is our destiny, good sir."- He says- "Going into that place will be our ultimate challenge. We know that it is a tempting target for the forces of darkness... and we cannot allow it to get destroyed by them."
Jared still believes that the city of Paris- his hometown- is standing in the face of evil. That the citizens are still safe and sound. However, he will soon witness what their enemies have done since his family's absence with his own eyes.
Unlike his father, Adam seems to believe that something is wrong. He continues to stare at the road ahead, worried about the friends and family that they foolishly left behind in that troubled city. He knows that he will see nothing more than ruins and despair and tries to steel himself for what he has yet to face.
"Please."- He says to himself- "Please be safe."
Aalia realizes that everyone has grown very quiet and tries to speak up.
"Do you think that Paris is still a safe place?"- She asks Adam- "I don't want to be a stranger!"
Adam smiles and nods.
"Of course. Paris is a lovely place and I am sure that you will love it."- He assures her- "Everyone that lives there is so sweet, so caring and welcoming. They will welcome your presence with open arms and respect you for the hero that you are."
Obviously, that is just a wishful thinking. Most people that still live there are nothing more than cold and cordial. They try to stay away from any kind of confrontation and fear anyone who enters the city... even if the arrivals are well-known heroes who have saved their hometown countless times.
"I hope so!"- Aalia says- "Most people simply shun me for being a lonely traveller. They don't care about me and think that I can take care of myself."
She looks down.
"It's just that I... really miss Bart and Ven."- She continues- "I wish they were here with us."
Adam nods.
"I miss them, too."- He says to her- "They were exemplary heroes."
Suddenly, the caravan driver points at someone in the distance.
"There's a person out there!"
The driver tries to slow down, but the caravan is too fast. A collision seems to be inevitable for them.
"Get down!"- Jared yells- "Brace for impact!"
Soon, the caravan crashes into the mysterious figure and kills it on the spot.
Furthermore, it also lands into a huge rock in the middle of the road, crushing the entire front side of the caravan and killing the driver, as well as the caravan master.
"Oh... my... goodness."- Jared mumbles as he leaves the caravan and inspects their mangled corpses- "Why? Why did this happen to us?!"
One of the merchants joins him and shakes his head.
"We're sorry, Mr. Kaos."- He says to him- "It looks like our caravan has lost its leader. We have no choice but to stay here for the time being."
Jared sighs.
"It is the best we can do."- He says- "Hold on. I will try to bury them."
Jared motions for Adam and Aalia to join him explains what he wants to do. They seem to approve of his plan to give a proper burial to the casualties.
Having come to a mutual agreement, the three of them grab the corpses of the driver and caravan master and slowly drag them away from the gruesome scene.
As the merchants try to pull the caravan away and repair it, Jared looks back at them and sighs.
"Adam, I have to help them out."- He says to his son- "They are our only allies in this wasteland and I do not want them to suffer from the same fate as their comrades."
Adam nods.
"I understand, dad."- He responds- "Go ahead, then. And remember. If you are in trouble, do not be afraid to yell for help. We are here to protect all of you and will rush to your aid as soon as we can."
Jared nods.
"Of course."- He says- "Just... try to be careful."
After sharing a brief hug, Jared departs, leaving his son and Aalia to bury the merchants.
"This was not meant to happen."- Adam says as he lightly pushes one of the corpses in a hole that he dug himself- "Those people had so much to live for. So many opportunities to take. And now, their families will never be the same. What will we tell them? How would they react? Nothing is quite certain anymore."
Aalia sighs.
"It's the way of life, I guess."- She says- "Some people, like us, are destined to survive and watch the world as it changes. Others are not quite as lucky and... well... you get the idea."
Adam sighs as well.
"I know that very well."- He says- "And yet, I still feel guilty, even though I was not directly responsible for their deaths. Their deaths haunt me for a long time. I never came to know them well... and now, I never will,"
Aalia notices the sadness in Adam's eyes. She hugs him.
"Stay strong, my dear."- She says- "We'll make it past this nightmare."
At the same moment, the two of them look back at the mysterious figure that attacked them earlier. They look closer and gasp when they realize that...
... the person who stood in their way... was a human!"
Aalia fails to keep her emotions under control. She screams and backs away into Adam's arms.
"Adam, look!"- She says to him- "It's a human! Human!"
Adam takes a step forward and confirms that it is, indeed, a human being.
Or rather, it used to be. After its death, the mutilated human reanimated into an undead and is now struggling to break free from the caravan that is trapping it next to the rock.
Adam pulls out his sword and sighs.
"I am sorry that this happened to you."- He says- "I hope that you can rest in peace in the Afterlife."
He takes a step forward.
"Please forgive us for... for doing this to you."
As he leans forward and prepares to put the creature down, it grabs him by the shirt and tries to bite him. However, Aalia manages to save Adam just before it happens and swiftly stabs him in the head with a dagger that she was hiding in her pocket.
Adam is surprised that Aalia is armed with something better than a staff.
"Thank you, Aalia. It was very kind of you to help me out."- He says to her- "However, I still cannot accept the fact that you are carrying a weapon with you."
He turns to her.
"How did you get it?"
Aalia shakes her head.
"Does it matter?"- She asks him- "We put the man down. The road is free. We need to get moving."
Adam sighs and decides to let the topic slip away... for now.
"Very well, then."- He says to her- "You are right. Getting to Paris is our first and foremost task and we must not hold back."
He looks at her again.
"Now that I think about it, didn't one of your friends use to have a dagger in his pocket?"- He asks her- "When I managed to kill his undead self, it just... fell out."
Aalia nods.
"This used to belong to Vennie- my best friend."- She responds- "In life, he used to fight with two daggers. I didn't manage to recover both of them after he died, but I still have this one."
Adam nods.
"I understand. It must be a precious memory to you."- He says- "You can keep it, then. I refuse to take it away from you."
Aalia smiles and hugs him.
"Thanks, Adam!"- She says- "You're the best!"
Adam smiles.
"Well, if you say so."
The two of them stare at the road ahead and notice that someone is approaching them. They draw their weapons and prepare to come face to face with those strangers.
As the two of them prepare to face the inevitable, they realize that thes one who are approaching them are not quite human. Both figuratively and literally.
When the creatures see who they are, they draw their weapons without saying a single word and attack them.
"Darklings!"- Adam mutters- "But what are they doing here?!"
Aalia looks at him, as if he just said something bizarre.
"What do you mean by that?"- She asks him- "What are darklings?"
Adam stabs one of them in the chest and shakes his head.
"I am afraid that this is not the right time, Aalia."- He says to her- "For now, we must fight for our lives."
The two of them prepare to face the darklings that surround them. They fight back and manage to kill most of them, but they manage to knock Aalia down.
"Adam!"- She yells- "Help!"
Adam rushes to her aid, but is stopped by another group of darkness. Regretfully, he is forced to deal with them.
Meanwhile, the group of darklings that is attacking Aalia is almost instantly slaughtered by Jared, who heard the girl's screams from a distance and decided to risk his life saving her instead of helping the merchants.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Kaos."- She says to him- "Those creatures, they're so powerful. Almost unbeatable."
Jared smiles.
"There is nothing to fear, my dear."- He says- "As long as we stay together, we will survive this-- "
Suddenly, his speech is cut short when the caravan erupts in flames. He hears the screams coming from inside and rushes to the merchants' aid.
Adam finishes killing the last member of the darkling band and joins him. He pulls out the unfortunates just as they are starting to burn to death and tries to douse the fire with his water spells. However, he soon realizes that, despite his best efforts, those people are doomed to die in a very painful way.
As he tries to help the rest of them, he notices a group of darklings staring at them from a distance. When they see that he is staring at them, they start to laugh, clearly amused by his misery.
"You murderers! How dare you?!"- He screams- "I will not let you get away with this!"
Then, ignoring his father and Aalia's pleas to stay with them, he draws his weapon and angrily charges at them.
Just as the darklings prepare to attack, he jumps high in the air, enchants his weapon with the power of light and slams it into the ground just as he falls down, causing a massive earthquake for a split second and killing almost all of the enemies with a single blow.
The remnants of this pathetic group attempt to avenge their fallen comrades, but Adam casts a light spell and pierces all of them with a single ray of light, ending their lives for good.
Ignoring the blood that was splattered on his face, Adam rushes back to help the merchants escape from the burning caravan. However, once again, his efforts are in vain.
Unfortunately, despite the heroes' best efforts, nobody manages to survive the attack. Every single merchant either burns to death immediately or dies from their injuries seconds (or, in the best case, minutes) later. 
Soon, the three of them are left completely alone in the wastelands.
"No... no... "- Adam says and falls on his knees- "Why did this happen? Why did they have to die?"
Jared sighs and shakes his head.
"Poor merchants."- He says- "All they wanted was to get to Paris without anyone bothering them. And now, they are... "
He wipes a tear from his eye.
"It does not matter, though. The deed has been done."
He turns to Adam and Aalia and sighs again.
"Children. I am afraid that our journey with those people is over."- He says, regretfully- "From now on, we are on our own."