The searing pain in Merle's cheek was all but forgotten in a fraction of an instant. With absolutely no preamble, Vaan was once again standing, and she could only watch with shock as he promptly closed the distance between them. She could not decide what was more surprising; the expression Vaan wore, or the Reverend's hesitation to react to his presence. Merle's pulse raced as Vaan knelt down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder, staring her straight in the eyes.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Don't panic,"</span>said he.<br/><br/>Merle stared back at him for what felt to her like an eternity, the shaking in her body gradually calming. His touch was soothing, even now; her hand left the bloody scar on her face and moved to rest over his hand.<span style="font-style: italic">He's here.. He's alive.</span>Her eyes gently closed, masking the tears that were threatening to flow again, and the breath she hadn't realized she was holding finally escaped her lips. "Okay," she responded softly.<br/><br/>In the moments to come, she could feel that<span style="font-style: italic">something</span>was happening, although the nature of the event was lost to her as her eyes remained shut. It wasn't until the environment quite literally shifted around them that she blinked, her mind taking a staggeringly long time to process exactly what had just happened. The last moment where anything made sense in her world was when she and Vaan left to track down Death; everything after that just seemed like a blur, and now here they were.. in a forest.<br/><br/>Her mouth opened slightly in total shock as her senses came back just in time to watch as Vaan gave her a brief smile and collapsed. She stared at his unconscious body for a few moments, and returned the gesture, a very slight but relieved smile crossing her lips.<br/><br/>"Rest as long as you need, love," she crooned, lifting her clean hand and brushing a lock of fallen hair out of his face. "I'll be here."<br/><br/>----------------------------<br/><br/>The Reverend watched, utterly mystified, as Vaan halted his advance. His expression remained largely passive, belying the seething rage that was only growing all the more intense as time went by. Under any normal circumstance, he would have simply cut the boy down; but something in his gut told him this would be a bad idea, and it wasn't until Vaan reunited with Merle that he realized this feeling was Lucifer's influence.<br/><br/>He scowled at the two, who seemed to be completely ignoring his presence, and took a step forward; in that exact moment, they both burst into pitch-black flames, causing him to retrace his movement in the opposite direction, eyes widening in confusion and panic.<span style="font-style: italic">Black flames?!</span>he shouted angrily into his own mind. There was no response from his inner demon.<br/><br/>Before long, the flames evaporated, along with the two bodies that were there only moments ago. The Reverend stood there for an eternity, his expression still stagnant, giving the impression to any outsider that he was uninterested. This was far from the truth. Abruptly, after a few minutes had passed, he spun on his heel and strode out of the room, the doors in his way simply flying open in front of him, as if desperate to avoid his silent rage. In a matter of moments, he was standing in the elevator; his fist slammed into the button marked 'ground floor,' leaving a small smoking metallic crater in its wake as he removed it. Surprisingly, the machine still lurched into movement a moment later, descending towards the aforementioned destination.<br/><br/>When the doors opened once more, The Reverend was already halfway out of them, moving with purpose out of the building and into the wasteland he created. He came to a stop a few hundred feet away from his tower, and yards in front of him could be seen a bloody, cackling man.<br/><br/>"Hello, Ymir," he said calmly, placing his hands together behind his back; and despite his casual demeanor, the bloodlust in his tone was almost palpable as he stared his would-be opponent down.<br/><br/>----------------------------<br/><br/>Death sighed. One moment they're whining about a lack of air; the next, when he offers to fulfill the request, he is told to wait. He glared at the girl standing before him, remainingfully aware that she could not see the act.<br/><br/>"..You creatures are maddening," he finally said with a sigh, shaking his head from side to side. "Come," he continued after a moment, speaking in a voice perhaps louder than necessary as he walked over to a nearby wall with the intention of creating a new portal. "I have the strength to cloak us for a time. We'll retrieve your precious oxygen and take a look around, at the very least." He continued speaking loudly, more as an offer for anyone else who wished to join them. A demon though he may be, he understood that the city had been a home to all of them, and hiding all of them from sight at a distance would be child's play, even in his current state. If they wished to see the remains of their city, he would oblige.