Somebody tell Azrael it's not his fault Bahram's a narcissistic loser. Btw you can read about their backstory here: gumroad.com/l/boHZU

Akiva watches Azrael with softer eyes, then sighs tiredly. AKIVA: "I know he was your friend." Azrael visibly tenses up and looks away. AZRAEL: "He wasn't-- I don't know what he was. He... He wasn't a bad person, at first. Or maybe I was simply ignorant. But he was still my responsibility. We were on that quest together, after all. And I should have saved him before he corrupted himself." We see a flashback image to Bahram when he was still alive, still called Nikita, during his coven's ritual in which he had the markings of Azrael's mask painted on his face. He looks concerned about something. The next panel shows him right after he corrupted himself on the Elixir quest, eyes glowing bright red, his veins alight and red through his skin too, shaking with fury. Azrael looks down at Akiva with utterly exhausted eyes behind the mask. AZRAEL: "My own problems aside, there are flaws to this plan. To destroy a Low Spirit is also to tip the Balance. Not only that, but pacts are sacred. I cannot undo one from the outside. This is between Niki--... Bahram and his pactees."