How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
They lived as they did, angels and monsters killing in a volley of killing and dying, dying and killing, seemed an arbitrary choice. (37.16)
The word choice is important here. Akiva fancies his side the heroes of war and frames the enemy as "monsters." Sure, they're actually kind of monstrous in appearance, but instead of calling them chimaera, he calls them monsters. This is some war-time propaganda for sure.
Quote #8
All Akiva could think of was the enemy girl, and how she might end up a black mark on some seraph's knuckle. (38.6)
It's hard to kill people you know. We're pretty sure that's why the higher-ups would prefer we wage war with robots these days, not actually people. So, when Akiva meets Madrigal, his whole view on the seraphim-chimaera conflict changes.
Quote #9
In a lifetime of hating seraphim, Madrigal had never thought of them as living the same life as she, but what the angel said was true. They were all locked in the same war. They had locked the entire world in it. (53.12)
Here, Madrigal realizes that her kind are not the only ones affected by this stupid baseless war. War affects everyone.