".....hm." Hal muttered.

"Very well." he said.

"At least Vanessa has been dealt with." he muttered.

"Maybe some people can start to finally heal." he went on.

"...but though she may be gone, she's still left her mark on a number of people..." he continued, shaking his head slightly, before pausing.

"Ah! I need to go and find Hailie!" he realised.

Hal accepted the thing, and looked at it.

"....this..." he muttered.

"Wait... this is... is... this...?" he wondered, mumbling further.

".......WAIT!" he then exclaimed.

"This... this is Hailie's!" he realized, finally getting it.

"You... you saved her?" he asked Syraene.

"....Hailie..." Hal said quietly.

"And this time you're not under Vanessa's command..." he went on.

He then sighed, relief more than evident in his expression.

"Thank heavens." he said.

"You didn't deserve to be under the control of that... woman." he finished.

"...." Hal was silent, before looking at Hailie again.

"...we have a lot to talk about." was all he said to her.

Meanwhile, Syraene appeared in the realm of the archangels, and made her way to the front door of the manor. She knocked on it, and it was answered by Azrael.

"Yo." he greeted her.

"Come to return what's mine?" he asked.

Azrael just sighed as he accepted the blade, and held it in his hand.

"...yep." he said.

"This blade seems VERY satisfied." he commented.

"Hey, guys!" he then called into the manor.

"Encrae's finally gone!" he declared, which resulted in a resounding cheer.

"So how bad did the kid get it?" he then asked Syraene.

"It's better than being destroyed from the inside out and being consumed with rage and a thirst for vengeance." Azreal responded simply.

"Yes, but even when it's used for the right thing, for the right reasons?" Uriel asked, stepping up and having heard the conversation they'd been having.

"Remember when this was created." Azreal said.

"The fact that it even doles out lesser punishments is a miracle in and of itself." he muttered.

Uriel just sighed.

"Fair point..." he admitted.

"Syraene, I'm glad my boy survived." he then told the dark elf. "But we're not the ones to come to about discussions on fairness in the consequences on using the blade." he said further.

"If you can find someone that can do it, and is willing to, we won't stop you."

"....ah, yes." Uriel responded.

"She should be home any moment now." he muttered.

"Bye for now." he finished, before disappearing from where he was, as Raphael approached them now.

"He does us proud." he said, referring to Zeke.

"A strike-down worthy of ANY archangel." he went on.

"I'm sure what he's done will have altered the course of the future."

Raphael then shrugged in response.

"Fair enough." he said.

"Regardless, is there anything else, Syraene?" he asked the dark elf.

"If not, you may want to consider heading off." he suggested.

"Less that you're not welcome here, more I'm sure you have better things to do than stay up here and chew the fat with us." he reasoned.

"I'm sure you have your plate full after that Order corruption business."

Jake was silent as the person made her request. He looked at her, and did a few quick darts with his tongue.

"....Liv...?" he asked quietly.

"I... yeah...sure." he said.

"Sure you can." he told her, before pausing.

"...do you want an escort there?" he then asked.

'.......should she even BE here...?' he wondered mentally.

"............." Jake was silent again, before sighing.

"I'll take you there, myself." he said.

He then put up a sign saying he would be back momentarily, as well as setting up a detector of sorts.

"Will only take a minute." he told her.

"Come on." he then said, as the two of them entered the building, proper.

"So... uh... should you even BE here?" he asked as they walked.